Found You! Awakened One!

[In the tenth year, after several years of accumulation, you finally touched the threshold of the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining.]

[That year, you successfully became a Third-grade Alchemist.]

[In the eleventh year, you successfully broke through to the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining at the end of the year. However, you discovered that breaking through to the extreme realm had actually drawn the attention of a Heavenly Tribulation.]

[You did not dare think too much about it and hurried to the Back Mountain to prepare for the Heavenly Tribulation.]

[Very soon, all thirteen bolts of Heavenly Tribulation struck your body. In the end, you lay by a cliff, your flesh torn and mangled.]

[With the talent of a Young Supreme Being, you successfully obtained a trace of the True Meaning of Heavenly Thunder from the Heavenly Tribulation.]

[What you did not know was that although the Heavenly Tribulation's cleansing had made you stronger, the Sinister Worm within your body had also grown stronger.]

"What? The Sinister Worm grew stronger too?"

Seeing this, Su Ming found it somewhat unbelievable.

He could not understand why the Heavenly Tribulation would aid the Sinister Worm inside his body.

It completely defied logic.

Could there have been some other unknown power within the Heavenly Tribulation?

"That's not right either. If that's the case, then it means the Heavenly Dao..."

Before he could finish, Su Ming shook his head.

"Impossible, impossible! There shouldn't be anything wrong with the Heavenly Dao... right?"

Very soon, Su Ming turned his gaze back to the Simulator.

[After you broke through to Foundation Establishment, you soon sensed the Sinister Worm rushing from your dantian toward your Primordial Spirit.]

[Though you had made thorough preparations and believed you could easily crush the Sinister Worm, you discovered that it broke through your suppression and lunged at your Primordial Spirit to bite it.]

[Seeing this, you were completely dumbfounded, unable to understand which part had gone wrong.]

[You remembered Ye Chuxue telling you that a Third-grade Alchemist's Primordial Spirit could easily suppress the Sinister Worm when breaking through to Foundation Establishment.]

[But the truth was that not only had you failed to crush the Sinister Worm, you had instead been directly crushed by it.]

[After thinking it over and over, you could think of only one possibility: the Heavenly Tribulation!]

[Just as your Primordial Spirit was about to be devoured, the True Meaning of Heavenly Thunder in your Sea of Consciousness surged out and struck the Sinister Worm.]

[At that moment, you clearly sensed the Sinister Worm's aura beginning to wither. Seizing the opportunity, you successfully suppressed it.]

[Very soon, the Sinister Worm's aura completely vanished from your perception. You even believed it had died.]

[But from what Ye Chuxue had told you, you knew that the Sinister Worm could not be killed. It would remain lurking within your body.]

[What you did not know, however, was that the Heavenly Tribulation you had triggered had already come to the attention of Qingyun Sect's upper echelons.]

[Fortunately, they believed it was merely an ordinary Heavenly Tribulation and did not suspect you in the slightest.]

[In the twelfth year, in order to better conceal your identity, you chose not to join Qingyun Sect's Inner Sect. You knew that place was no longer a world for humans, but a world for Sinister Worms.]

[You now faced a major problem. Your Fortune Qi Refining Art could only allow you to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Realm; you had no cultivation art for higher realms.]

[The next day, you decided to go to the Treasure Pavilion of Qingyun Sect's Outer Sect and seek out some incomplete cultivation arts for deduction.]

[Very soon, you found a Longevity Art. After returning to your Cave Mansion, you began deducing the cultivation art using the talent of a Young Supreme Being.]

[In the fifteenth year, you successfully deduced the Fragment of the Azure Emperor Longevity Art. It could allow you to cultivate up to Nascent Soul Great Perfection.]

[In the sixteenth year, relying on the talent of a Young Supreme Being, you successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.]

[That year, you prepared to descend the mountain and seek out Ye Chuxue to learn what needed attention when breaking through from the late stage to the Core Formation Stage.]

[However, when you reached the sect gates, your path was blocked. You were told that the Sect Master had recently emerged from seclusion, and no one was allowed to descend the mountain.]

[Left with no choice, you could only return to your Cave Mansion and continue cultivating.]

[Just as you were still immersed in cultivation, a voice rang out in your mind.]

["All disciples at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above, assemble at Qingyun Sect Inner Sect's trial grounds immediately! Those who fail to come will bear the consequences!"]

[Upon hearing this voice, a bad feeling immediately rose in your heart, but you could not figure out what had gone wrong.]

[This voice was clearly Qingyun Sect's Sect Master transmitting his words to all Foundation Establishment disciples.]

[You had not wanted to go, but after seeing the Sect Master say that those who failed to come would bear the consequences themselves, you still resolved to make the trip.]

[After arriving at the Inner Sect trial grounds, you discovered that the grounds were already packed shoulder to shoulder, filled with Inner Sect cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm and above.]

[On the pavilion at the very center sat a dignified figure.]

[Not long after you arrived, Qingyun Sect's Sect Master rose to his feet and spoke.]

["Today is Qingyun Sect's once-in-a-decade Enlightenment Assembly! You will have one opportunity to use our sect's Sect Protecting Divine Artifact."]

[After saying this, you saw Qingyun Sect's Sect Master take out a small pagoda and toss it into the air. It then slowly grew larger, hovering above all your heads.]

["This is Qingyun Sect's Sect Protecting Divine Artifact—the Sky-Piercing Spirit Treasure Pagoda!"]

["It can help you communicate with heaven and earth, comprehend cultivation arts, and even destroy Inner Demons born within your hearts! It will keep your hearts steadfast throughout your cultivation!"]

[As he spoke, Qingyun Sect's Sect Master chanted several incantations, and the Sky-Piercing Spirit Treasure Pagoda began to tremble, radiating a strange aura.]

[Seeing everyone sit cross-legged and close their eyes to cultivate, you followed suit and began cultivating as well.]

[But you soon discovered that no matter how you focused your mind, you could not comprehend the mysteries within it. You even felt nothing toward the aura emitted by the Sky-Piercing Spirit Treasure Pagoda.]

[At that very moment, you happened to look up toward the pavilion and discovered that Qingyun Sect's Sect Master was staring at you with a weird gaze.]

[The next second, before your shocked eyes, the Sect Master split open.]

[That was right—he split directly open. His entire head unfurled like flower petals, and a disgusting crawling insect grew out from within.]

["Found you!!!"]

["Awakened! One!"]

[The instant his words fell, you heard all kinds of sounds coming from around you.]

[All the Qingyun Sect Inner Sect disciples seemed to have received some command. Their heads exploded, and a Sinister Worm crawled out of each one, all of them staring at you.]

[Only then did you realize that this was not a once-in-a-decade Enlightenment Assembly at all!]

[This was clearly a once-in-a-decade selection assembly, specifically meant to screen for Awakened Ones like you, who had suppressed their Sinister Worms after breaking through to Foundation Establishment.]

[When you tried to flee Qingyun Sect, you discovered it was already too late. You had been surrounded by every Sinister Worm in Qingyun Sect.]

[You were gnawed clean by the Sinister Worms!]

[You died!]

[Ding! Simulation complete. Choose one of the following rewards.]

[1: Your Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation from this simulation]

[2: Third-grade Alchemist cultivation]

[3: All remaining spirit stones from this simulation]

[4: All genuine insights from this simulation]

[5: Talent from this simulation: Young Supreme Being!]

[6: A trace of the True Meaning of Lightning]