[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. You had also gradually begun accepting the medicinal pills.]
[Upholding the principle of taking freebies, you never refused the Spiritual Herbs the elders gave you. As long as they benefited Soul Power, you swallowed them directly.]
[In the sixth year, you successfully advanced to become a Second-grade Alchemist. At this time, your first master, Mo Chen, began urging you to hurry and break through to Foundation Establishment.]
["Disciple! For the past few years, you've focused all your energy on alchemy, but that won't do. Your cultivation cannot fall behind. You'd better break through to Foundation Establishment sooner rather than later!"]
[You did not think much of his words. Citing the fact that you had not yet reached your limit, you refused to consider breaking through to Foundation Establishment.]
[However, Elder Mo Chen did not give up, and once again urged you to break through to Foundation Establishment.]
["Good disciple! You must understand that many pills do not merely rely on Soul Power and talent in alchemy. What matters most is cultivation. If you continue like this, you will only harm yourself."]
[Hearing this, you knew his words made sense, but you had your own unspeakable reasons for being unable to break through.]
[Before you had absolute confidence in suppressing the Sinister Worm, you would not rashly break through to Foundation Establishment.]
[In the tenth year, after several years of arduous cultivation, you still could not break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist.]
[Whenever you refined third-grade pills, your insufficient spiritual power caused the furnace to explode, leaving your Soul Power unable to advance any further.]
[Is this all there is? you thought.]
[Unwilling to accept this, you wanted badly to find Ye Chuxue and get a clear answer. However, in the sixth year, the sect had discovered that Ye Chuxue was a Demonic Cultivator, and she had defected from the Azure Cloud Sect.]
[You had no way of knowing where she was now. Just then, something suddenly occurred to you.]
[In several previous simulations, there had been one mission in the Qin Kingdom of the Mortal World to encircle and suppress Ye Chuxue.]
[But the issue was that it 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 though 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 was now decrepit beyond repair. 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 trouble. Everyone hurried about for the sake of making a living, and for a moment, you suddenly felt that being an ordinary mortal was not so bad.]
[Just then, a voice entered your mind.]
["Follow me!"]
[Upon hearing that familiar voice, you followed its guidance without hesitation and arrived at a secluded little courtyard.]
[The instant you saw Ye Chuxue, the knot in your heart loosened. You could not help sighing that this trip had not been in vain after all.]
["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.]
[However, upon hearing your words, Ye Chuxue's pupils contracted sharply. She immediately asked how you knew her whereabouts.]
[So you explained that four years ago, the Azure Cloud 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 believe that 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 the safest place, and you believed she had not left the Qin Kingdom.]
[After hearing your explanation, Ye Chuxue finally lowered her guard. She brought you to the backyard, poured a pot of tea, and asked.]
["You definitely didn't come to find me for no reason. Tell me, what trouble have you encountered?"]
[You got straight to the point. "Senior Sister, I want to know how to become a Third-grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining Stage!"]
[Hearing your idea, Ye Chuxue saw through your true purpose at a glance.]
["You want to use the Soul Power gained from becoming a Third-grade Alchemist to suppress the Sinister Worm?"]
[Seeing that she had uncovered your true intentions, you did not deny it and nodded in admission.]
["I advise you to give up. Your Spiritual Root is too poor, and you have no Special Physique. It is simply impossible to become a Third-grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining Stage."]
[Hearing this result, you felt somewhat despairing. You again asked whether a Second-grade Alchemist at Great Perfection could suppress the Sinister Worm.]
[This time, Ye Chuxue did not dismiss your question, but instead gave you an ambiguous answer.]
["I don't know. First, very few people focus on alchemy during the Qi Refining Stage and become Second-grade Alchemists."]
["Second, even Second-grade Alchemists who break through to Foundation Establishment like me do not rely on a Second-grade Alchemist's Soul Power to suppress the Sinister Worm. They rely on their physique."]
["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 take your leave, Ye Chuxue suddenly called out to stop you.]
["Wait. Are you determined to break through to Foundation Establishment?"]
[You nodded very seriously. Seeing how unwavering your resolve was, Ye Chuxue let out a sigh.]
["Sigh! It isn't entirely impossible to break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining Stage, but..."]
[When you heard that there truly 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."]
["Modern cultivators generally break through to Foundation Establishment after cultivating Qi Refining to the tenth layer. Yet in ancient times, those geniuses would only break through after reaching the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining—the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining."]
[The Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining! Your heart shook violently. You had never expected the Qi Refining Tenth Layer not to be 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 contain no record of it, so we all believe it is merely a false rumor!"]
["If you truly want to break through to the Extreme Realm of Qi Refining, you can only try to walk this path yourself."]
[Having obtained the answer you sought, you bid Ye Chuxue farewell and returned to the Azure Cloud Sect.]
[That day, your elder master once again urged you to break through to Foundation Establishment early, lest you miss the best age and ultimately be forever stalled at the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[With no other choice, you could only temporarily fool him by claiming that your Spiritual Root was too poor and that breaking through to Foundation Establishment would take more time.]
[In the fifteenth year, during these five years, you continuously consolidated 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.]
[...]
Before you continue