The methods for achieving a Breakthrough are many, and they only indicate that it is almost certain to succeed—any path could lead to success, but that does not mean it will happen immediately.
The Imperial Realm is after all the most typical watershed of the two epochs, and it has become such a watershed primarily because it is the most difficult, thus forming a strategic pass in the division of epochs.
Even if it was considered by Ye Wuzong as "not truly eternal life to be kept undying by treasures," without breaking through this barrier, one cannot achieve an Undying Ghost state even with the protection of treasures, and would die early... Broadly speaking, achieving a breakthrough here could truly be said to be touching the door to eternal life, with a normal lifespan many times longer than that of ordinary Martial Artists. At least in terms of maintaining one's youth, it is hard to grow old.
