Ancient Secret: The Extreme Realm of Qi Refining!

You knew that once you broke through to Foundation Establishment, you would no longer be able to escape the fate of being subjected to Body Seizure by the Sinister Worm. Gradually, you began accepting the pills.

Holding fast to the principle of taking whatever was free, you refused none of the Spiritual Herbs the Elder gave you. As long as they benefited Soul Power, you swallowed them directly.

In the sixth year, you successfully broke through to become a Second-grade Alchemist. At this time, your master, Mo Chen, began urging you to break through to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

"Disciple! All these years, you've devoted all your energy to alchemy, but that won't do. Your cultivation cannot fall behind either. You should break through to Foundation Establishment sooner rather than later!"

Hearing this, you did not think much of it. Using the excuse that you had not yet reached your limit, you rejected the idea of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

However, Elder Mo Chen did not give up and urged you once more to break through to Foundation Establishment.

"Good disciple! You must understand that many pills do not rely solely on Soul Power and alchemical insight. Cultivation is the most important thing. If you keep this up, you'll only harm yourself."

Hearing this, you knew he had a point, but you had reasons why you could not break through.

Without absolute confidence that you could suppress the Sinister Worm, you would not rashly break through to Foundation Establishment.

In the tenth year, after several years of bitter cultivation, you still could not break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist.

Whenever you refined Third-grade pills, your lack of spiritual energy caused the furnace to explode, leaving your Soul Power unable to advance any further as well.

You thought to yourself, Is this really as far as I can go?

Unwilling to accept it, you wanted badly to find Ye Chuxue and get answers. But in the sixth year, the sect had discovered that Ye Chuxue was a Demonic Cultivator, and she had betrayed Qingyun Sect and fled.

You had no way of knowing where she was now. Just then, something suddenly occurred to you.

In several previous simulations, one of the missions to encircle and suppress Demonic Cultivators in the Qin Kingdom of the Mortal World had targeted Ye Chuxue.

But the problem was that the incident had happened in the sixth year. Ten years had now passed—would she still be there?

With the mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, you decided to go down the mountain and take a look.

The next day, you casually accepted a mission to leave the mountain from the sect and set off for the Qin Kingdom.

When you arrived at the place from your memories, the Villa there was already dilapidated beyond recognition. It looked as though no one had lived there for years.

Greatly disappointed, you decided to wander around the Qin Kingdom and try your luck.

In the bustling Marketplace of the Qin Kingdom, you experienced a feeling unlike any before.

Life here seemed free of every worry. Everyone was running themselves ragged for a living, and for a moment, you suddenly felt that being an ordinary person would not be so bad.

Just then, a voice rang in your mind.

"Follow me!"

Hearing that familiar voice, you followed its guidance without hesitation and arrived at a secluded Courtyard.

The moment you saw Ye Chuxue, you let out a breath of relief inwardly, feeling fortunate that this trip had not been in vain.

"Why have you come to the Qin Kingdom?"

Ye Chuxue was also startled to see you.

"I came specifically to find Senior Sister Qin!"

You directly stated your purpose to Ye Chuxue.

But upon hearing your words, Ye Chuxue's pupils suddenly contracted. She directly asked how you knew her whereabouts.

So you explained that four years ago, Qingyun Sect had issued a mission to encircle and suppress Demonic Cultivators, and it was said that the location had been the Qin Kingdom.

"But I spared those Qi Refining disciples at the time and deliberately made them think I had already left the Qin Kingdom. How did you know?"

Faced with Ye Chuxue's question, you helplessly explained that the most dangerous place was often the safest place, and you believed she had not left the Qin Kingdom.

After hearing your explanation, Ye Chuxue finally lowered her guard. She led you to the back courtyard, poured a pot of tea, and asked.

"You definitely didn't come looking for me without reason. Tell me, what trouble have you run into?"

Seeing this, you got straight to the point. "Senior Sister, I want to know how to break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist while still in the Qi Refining Stage!"

The moment she heard your idea, Ye Chuxue saw through your true purpose.

"You want to use the Soul Power gained from becoming a Third-grade Alchemist to suppress the Sinister Worm?"

Seeing that she had exposed your true intentions, you did not deny it and simply nodded.

"I advise you to give up. Your Spiritual Root is too poor, and you have no Special Physique. It is impossible for you to break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining Stage."

Hearing this result, you felt somewhat despairing. You asked again whether a Second-grade Alchemist at Great Perfection could suppress the Sinister Worm.

This time, Ye Chuxue did not reject your question. Instead, she gave you an ambiguous answer.

"I don't know. First of all, very few people focus on alchemy during the Qi Refining Stage and become Second-grade Alchemists."

"Secondly, Second-grade Alchemists like me who broke through to Foundation Establishment did not rely on the Soul Power of a Second-grade Alchemist to suppress the Sinister Worm. We relied on our physiques."

"Of course, if one were a Third-grade Alchemist, they should be able to suppress a Sinister Worm that had just broken through to Foundation Establishment."

You were clearly dissatisfied with such an answer. Just as you turned to leave, Ye Chuxue suddenly called out to stop you.

"Wait. Are you truly determined to break through to Foundation Establishment?"

You nodded earnestly. Seeing how firm your resolve was, Ye Chuxue sighed.

"Alas! It isn't entirely impossible to break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining Stage, but..."

The instant you heard that there really was a way, you immediately asked what it was. Ye Chuxue poured another cup of tea and gestured for you to sit down so she could explain slowly.

"According to some records in ancient ruins, the current Great Perfection of Qi Refining is not true Great Perfection."

"Cultivators nowadays generally break through to Foundation Establishment after cultivating Qi Refining to the tenth layer. However, in ancient times, those geniuses all broke through only after reaching the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining—the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining."

The Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining! You were deeply shaken. You had never imagined that the Qi Refining Tenth Layer was not true Great Perfection, and that the Thirteenth Layer was.

You hurriedly asked how one could break through to the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining.

Ye Chuxue shook her head. "I don't know. The ruins contained no records, so we all believe it is a rumor—a falsehood!"

"If you truly want to break through to the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining, you can only try to forge that path yourself."

Having obtained the answer you wanted, you bid Ye Chuxue farewell and returned to Qingyun Sect.

That day, your Elder master once again urged you to break through to Foundation Establishment soon, lest you delay past the best age and ultimately remain stuck at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

With no other choice, you temporarily fooled him by claiming that your Spiritual Root was too poor and that breaking through to Foundation Establishment would require more time.

In the fifteenth year, you spent those five years constantly consolidating your cultivation, suppressing your own spiritual energy every day.

In the twentieth year, after ten years of bitter cultivation and the support of all kinds of Spiritual Herbs, you vaguely felt as though you had touched upon something.