Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 224 - 223: Breakthrough Failure (Please Subscribe)_1

Chapter 224: Chapter 223: Breakthrough Failure (Please Subscribe)_1

Spring went and autumn came.

The production of Evil Qi Lake on Dragon Fish Island attracted the hearts of many Qi Refining cultivators.

Yet, Fang Xi maintained his aura of mystery and his shut-in traits, without leaving the island lightly.

In the eyes of outsiders, with a second-tier Great Array and Foundation Establishment cultivators as guards, Dragon Fish Island was as stable as Mount Tai.

Unconsciously, several more years passed, and quietly, Fang Xi celebrated his 130th birthday.

Inside the closed-door cultivation room.

A surge of blue light emanated from Fang Xi, casting fluctuating brightness and shadow within the cultivation room.

Today, the liquid magic power within his body finally accumulated to 120 drops, cultivating the "Green Wood Longevity Skills" to the limit in the mid-phase of Foundation Establishment!

This was in part thanks to his decision to abandon cultivating the Green Barley Sword, as well as his focus on the Longevity Skill, which had accelerated his magic power progress over the years.

And once his Dantian Qi Ocean expanded to the extreme, Fang Xi naturally decided to attempt breaking into the late phase of Foundation Establishment!

As the azure radiance flickered continuously, time seemed to lose its meaning.

Suddenly!

Fang Xi’s expression shifted slightly as he clutched his dantian, feeling as if countless small knives were stabbing inside him, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

Phooey!

In the next moment, his magic power dissipated, and he spat out a puff of dark red mist.

"Failed, huh..."

Fang Xi’s complexion was somewhat pale. He took out a second-tier healing pill from his Storage Bag, swallowed it, and then once again closed his eyes to refine and assimilate it.

Several hours later, he looked a bit better, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said somewhat helplessly, "Failing to break through to the late phase of Foundation Establishment means I’ve hit a bottleneck..."

For cultivators, reaching the limit of a realm does not guarantee a successful breakthrough.

Fang Xi’s last successful initial Foundation Establishment breakthrough could only be attributed to a fortunate combination of circumstances and his decent Spirit Body talent.

"My Spiritual Root is only of low grade, and with the Green Wood Spiritual Body, it can barely compete with a general high-grade Spiritual Root... but even high-grade Spiritual Root Foundation Establishment cultivators do not all manage to break into the late phase. It is quite normal to be trapped by a bottleneck."

After all, after breaking through to the late phase of Foundation Establishment, accumulating enough magic power to reach peak Foundation Establishment is just a matter of time, with no further bottleneck or barriers in the way.

And how many among the cultivators in Yue Country with peak Foundation Establishment and the opportunity to form a Core could there be?

Even within the Song Family, there was only Ancestor Song!

Fang Xi closed his eyes and introspected, realizing that since he didn’t forcefully push for a breakthrough and had treated himself promptly after failing, the backlash of the failed attempt was not severe. With the aid of healing pills, he would be fine after a period of recuperation.

"The problem is... breaking through the bottleneck will be somewhat difficult."

Throughout history, when cultivators encounter bottlenecks while attempting to advance in their realms, there are only a few methods they could try.

One is to consume pills that assist in making a breakthrough!

Another is to travel or engage in combat, seeking a moment of enlightenment!

And the last is to whittle away at it slowly over time!

"The pills that aid a mid-phase Foundation Establishment cultivator to break through to the later stage are too precious... being confined to Dragon Fish Island, it’s impossible for me to obtain them."

"Wandering and combat are also out of the question. Could it be that I must rely on time to slowly grind it out?"

Fang Xi fell into contemplation.

Even if he continued to meditate and cultivate daily, the limit of 120 drops of liquid magic power would not be broken. His magical power cannot progress further without overcoming the major realm bottleneck.

Essentially, with the exception of those with Heaven Grade Spiritual Roots, every Foundation Establishment cultivator is bound to face a bottleneck, with some even stuck there for a lifetime.

"Fortunately... I still have another path!"

Fang Xi slowly exhaled a long breath, "The cultivators with Heaven Grade Spiritual Roots face no bottlenecks in the Foundation Establishment phase precisely because they have exceptional talents! The bottleneck that’s trapping me is just a result of insufficient talent... Once I elevate my talent further, breaking through to the late stage should be quite simple."

In fact, he felt his Green Wood Spiritual Body was brimming with vitality, greatly aiding healing.

Under these conditions, as long as he heals his wounds and tries to break through several more times, he could likely overcome the bottleneck of the late phase of Foundation Establishment.

But Fang Xi has a better plan!

"Within ten years, my Wood Spirit Body will surely be achieved!"

"With the qualifications of a Wood Spirit Body, this mere bottleneck of the late phase of Foundation Establishment can be directly shattered..."

Fang Xi cast a Cleaning Skill on himself, instantly refreshing his blue mage’s robe.

Thanks to the excellent recovery effects of his Green Wood Spirit Body, his complexion had already returned to normal. He stood up and walked outside of his closed-door cultivation room.

Before leaving the closed-door cultivation, Fang Xi thought for a moment and lifted part of the Breath Concealment Skill’s effects, raising his cultivation level to just entering the mid-phase of Foundation Establishment.

After all, he had announced to the outside that he was closing in to attempt overcoming the mid-phase bottleneck.

Having practiced Foundation Establishment for over seventy years and only just barely breaking through the mid-phase bottleneck, he appeared to others as having no hope for Golden Core.

But at the very least, he could deter a portion of the eager Foundation Establishment-robbers.

The word these last few years had not been good. The news from Yan Changkong spoke of turbulent times in Baize Immortal City; even Ouyang Zhen was struggling to maintain control, resulting in twenty-nine disciples from the Bai Feng lineage being slain by Individual Cultivators while out and about!

Thousand Island Lake had been calm for a while after the Gloomy Moon Sect’s Senior Elder slaughtered the Three Points Hall, but unrest arose once again soon after.

There were even rumors that the Long Family, one of the once seven major Foundation Establishment noble families of Yue Country, intended to relocate to Thousand Island Lake.

In such uncertain times, Fang Xi felt that he needed to display his strength to deter petty criminals.

"Young Master?!"

Outside the closed-door cultivation room, Xiahou Ying, Zhong Hongyu, and Yan Hongxue, who were anxiously waiting, felt the fluctuations of magic power emanating from Fang Xi’s body, stronger than ever before, and they could not help but reveal delighted expressions on their faces, "Congratulations, Young Master, on successfully making a breakthrough!"

"Sigh... After suffering through more than a Jiazi of arduous cultivation, I’ve only barely managed to break through to the middle phase of Foundation Establishment. To catch a glimpse of the late phase of Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, I would have no regrets."

Fang Xi shook his head, giving a wry smile.

"Island Master, your breakthrough to the middle phase of Foundation Establishment was achieved without the aid of any spirit pills, which speaks to the solid foundation... If fate permits, the Dao may not be out of reach in the future."

Zhong Hongyu quickly comforted him.

Her own cultivation level had also made a breakthrough, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining, catching up with Yan Hongxue.

And what of Xiahou Ying?

She did not harbor any obsessions about making breakthroughs, and seeming to have encountered a bottleneck, her cultivation level had remained stuck at the seventh level of Qi Refining, but this was already quite good.

When considering Dragon Fish Island and even Thousand Island Lake, she could be counted as quite powerful.

"Hmm, very good, it’s a day for great celebration, a feast shall be held... Have someone go to Elder Zhong and get a few more Little Green Dragons..."

Thinking of the deliciousness of the Little Green Dragons, Fang Xi couldn’t help but salivate.

At this moment, however, Xiahou Ying exchanged a glance with Yan Hongxue and bowed respectfully, "To report to Young Master... Zhong Qi has passed away."

"Oh? When did this happen?"

Fang Xi was slightly startled.

"It happened while Young Master was in seclusion. They said he was quite well a couple of days ago, even went fishing... but suddenly, he was unable to get out of bed. After lying down for two days, he passed away from old age..."

"Because Young Master was in seclusion at that time, we did not dare to report it, please forgive us..." Yan Hongxue informed.

"Nevermind..."

Considering his age, Old Zhong had already lived several years longer than Wei Yixi. What more could Fang Xi say?

He did spend half his lifetime raising fish for himself, so he said, "Let’s go visit his grave, and ask the surrounding people if the old man had any last wishes. If it’s within my power to fulfill them, I will take care of it..."

...

The fish farm.

The usually lively Azure Horn Fish Dragons seemed somewhat listless, lying at the bottom of the lake.

When Fang Xi arrived at the lakeside, amongst a field of reeds, he saw a grave mound.

Around it stood several fishermen of beginning to middle Qi Refining levels, diligently tending to the area.

One of the fishermen, at the sixth level of Qi Refining, bowed and reported, "To inform the Island Master... Elder Zhong spent his life without children, and now that he has passed away, he did not leave behind any possessions..."

"Impossible..."

Fang Xi shook his head. He considered himself quite generous to his employees, rewarding them with Spirit Stones annually and occasionally allowing them to take some Spirit Fish and Spirit Rice. How could it be that Elder Zhong left nothing behind?

Could it be... that these people had embezzled it?

With this thought, his expression turned somewhat dangerous.

The middle-aged fisherman shuddered, quickly kneeling on the ground, "Island Master, Elder Zhong’s letters are here, you will understand once you read them..."

"Oh?"

Fang Xi took the bundle of letters, the first few of which were on paper, already yellowed with the traces of ancient years.

He was sensitive to their authenticity, knowing they were not forged.

He read one and was immediately surprised, "Old Zhong... was actually still sponsoring Zhan Tu?!"

From the letters of Elder Zhong, it turned out that he had been in contact with Zhan Tu, occasionally entrusting others to deliver spiritual objects to Zhan Tu, who was cultivating at Mysterious Heaven Sect.

’Originally, I only assigned him to deliver Zhan Tu to Mysterious Heaven Sect. I didn’t expect that they would forge such a relationship...’

’Moreover, it’s possible that Zhong Qi pinned all his hopes for his own Taoist path on Zhan Tu...’

While Fang Xi did not understand such actions, it did not prevent him from expressing his admiration, "Truly, an old warhorse in the stable and expertise offered with utter dedication..."

"Someone come!"

He called out softly, and the middle-aged fisherman immediately responded, "Here!"

"Send a condolence letter to Zhan Tu of Mysterious Heaven Sect, reporting the death!"

Fang Xi calmly ordered, then turned to look at the middle-aged fisherman, "What’s your name?"

"To inform the Island Master, I am Zhong Lu, one of the first batch of Immortal Seedlings since the Island Master took control of Dragon Fish Island..."

Zhong Lu replied.

"Oh, I have some recollection..."

Fang Xi responded nonchalantly, but at any rate, the man was one of the beneficiaries of his rule, and he noticed that among the fishermen of the fish farm, this man had the highest cultivation, so he said, "Then take over Zhong Qi’s position, be the manager of the fish farm..."

"Thank you, Island Master. I will give my wholehearted effort to manage things well," Zhong Lu said, with a hint of joy on his face.

Being the manager of the fish farm was already the highest aspiration for male immortals of Dragon Fish Island. After all, they were not beautiful women who could be selected for the Evergreen Pavilion.

Moreover, this Island Master was known for the generous compensation provided to those in charge. Just by looking at how well Zhong Qi had lived, even able to support a Sect Cultivator’s cultivation, one could understand a thing or two.

’Hmph... I won’t sponsor outsiders, I would definitely choose from my own family’s Immortal Seedlings.’

Zhong Lu thought secretly. Although he was just a fish farmer, he had a dozen wives in the mortal world and a host of children, all of whom he hoped might possess a Spiritual Root.

Likewise, cultivators from the Top Three Families such as Taishu and others all shared this aspiration!