Ji Yuanfang had stepped into the Yang God Realm long before Ji Taichang's father became emperor.
Without the strength of the Yang God Realm, he couldn't have become the Deputy Governor of the Dragon Martial Bureau.
In the following decades, the power Ji Yuanfang displayed always seemed to remain at the Yang God level, as if he hadn't advanced at all, which was actually quite normal.
To step from Yang God to the Dharma Manifestation Realm, some martial artists spend their entire lives without success, even with the support of a major sect behind them.
This is why the governors of the Five Families and Seven Sects in Southern Mountain would go to any lengths to drive out the Demon Cleansing Bureau, establish a Magic Platform, and use the Incense Fire Divine Seal to enhance their power.
Their greed is partly to blame, but it's also because entering the Dharma Manifestation Realm is so difficult it's despairing.
