[You already knew that once you broke through to Foundation Establishment, it would be impossible to escape the fate of being possessed by the bizarre insect. Gradually, you began accepting the use of pills.]
[Adhering to the principle of taking whatever you could get for free, you refused none of the spiritual herbs given to you by the Elder. As long as they were beneficial to Soul Power, you consumed them directly.]
[In the sixth year, you successfully advanced to become a Second-Grade Alchemist. At that time, your master, Mo Chen, began urging you to hurry and break through to Foundation Establishment.]
["Disciple! These past few years you have devoted all your effort to Alchemy, but this will not do. You cannot neglect your cultivation. You should break through to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible!"]
[After hearing this, you did not think much about it and refused the idea of breaking through, using the excuse that you had not yet reached your limit.]
[However, Elder Mo Chen did not give up and once again tried to persuade you.]
["My good disciple! You must understand that many pills rely not only on Soul Power and alchemical insight. The most important factor is still cultivation. If you continue like this, you will only harm yourself."]
[Hearing this, you knew that what he said made sense. However, you had your own difficulties that prevented you from breaking through.]
[Without absolute certainty that you could suppress the bizarre insect, you would never rashly attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment.]
[In the tenth year, after several years of hard cultivation, you still could not break through to become a Third-Grade Alchemist.]
[Whenever you attempted to refine third-grade pills, your Spiritual Power was always insufficient, causing the Alchemy Furnace to explode. As a result, your Soul Power could not advance any further.]
[You could not help but think to yourself: Is this the end?]
[Unwilling to accept this outcome, you wanted to find Ye Chuxue and ask her for clarification. However, in the sixth year, Ye Chuxue had been discovered by the sect as a member of the Demonic Sect and had fled the Qingyun Sect.]
[At this moment, you had no idea where she was. Just then, you suddenly remembered something.]
[In one of your previous simulations, there had been a mission in the mortal Qin Kingdom to suppress demonic cultivators, and the target of that mission had been Ye Chuxue.]
[However, the problem was that the event had happened in the sixth year. Now that ten years had passed, would she still be there?]
[With the mindset of trying anything when desperate, you decided to go down the mountain and take a look.]
[The next day, you casually accepted a mission from the sect that required leaving the mountain and set off for the Qin Kingdom.]
[When you arrived at the place you remembered, the courtyard there was already dilapidated. It looked as though no one had lived there for several years.]
[You were greatly disappointed and decided to wander around the Qin Kingdom to try your luck.]
[On the bustling streets of the Qin Kingdom, you experienced a feeling you had never known before.]
[Life here seemed to have none of the troubles of cultivation. Everyone was busy with their daily lives. For a moment, you suddenly felt that being a mortal might not be so bad.]
[Just then, a voice sounded in your mind.]
["Follow me!"]
[Upon hearing this familiar voice, you did not hesitate and followed its guidance to a secluded courtyard.]
[When you saw Ye Chuxue, you finally breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that this trip had not been in vain.]
["Why did you come to the Qin Kingdom?"]
[Ye Chuxue looked surprised to see you.]
["I came specifically to find Senior Sister.."]
[You directly told Ye Chuxue the purpose of your visit.]
[However, when she heard your words, Ye Chuxue's pupils suddenly contracted. She immediately asked how you knew her whereabouts.]
[You explained that four years ago the Qingyun Sect had issued a mission to suppress demonic cultivators, and the location had supposedly been the Qin Kingdom.]
["But at that time I spared those Qi Refining disciples and deliberately made them believe 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 had guessed she might still be in 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 certainly would not come to find me without a reason. Tell me, what trouble have you encountered?"]
[Seeing this, you spoke frankly.]
["Senior Sister, I want to know how to break through to become a Third-Grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining stage!"]
[After hearing your request, Ye Chuxue immediately saw through your true intention.]
["You want to rely on the Soul Power gained from becoming a Third-Grade Alchemist to suppress the bizarre insect?"]
[Since she had already seen through your true goal, you did not deny it and simply nodded.]
["I advise you to give up. Your spiritual root is too poor, and you lack any special physique. It is impossible to break through to become a Third-Grade Alchemist during the Qi Refining stage."]
[Hearing this result left you somewhat despairing. You then asked her again whether a Second-Grade Alchemist at Great Perfection could suppress the bizarre insect.]
[This time, Ye Chuxue did not reject your question outright. Instead, she gave an ambiguous answer.]
["I do not know. First of all, very few people focus on Alchemy during the Qi Refining stage and become Second-Grade Alchemists."]
["Secondly, for someone like me who broke through to Foundation Establishment as a Second-Grade Alchemist, I did not rely on the Soul Power of a Second-Grade Alchemist to suppress the bizarre insect, but rather on my physique."]
["Of course, if someone were a Third-Grade Alchemist, they should be able to suppress the bizarre insect right after breaking through to Foundation Establishment."]
[You were clearly dissatisfied with such an answer. Just as you turned around to leave, Ye Chuxue suddenly stopped you.]
["Wait. Are you truly determined to break through to Foundation Establishment?"]
[You nodded seriously.]
[Seeing how resolute you were, Ye Chuxue sighed.]
["Sigh... It is not completely impossible to break through to become a Third-Grade Alchemist during Qi Refining. However..."]
[When you heard that there was actually a way, you immediately asked what it was. Ye Chuxue poured another cup of tea and gestured for you to sit down.]
["According to certain records within the ruin, the current Qi Refining Great Perfection is not the true Great Perfection."]
["Cultivators nowadays generally break through to Foundation Establishment once their Qi Refining reaches ten layers. However, during the remote ancient era, those geniuses would break through only after reaching the thirteenth layer of Qi Refining—the ultimate realm of the Qi Refining stage."]
[The thirteenth layer of Qi Refining! Your heart trembled with shock. You had never expected that the tenth layer was not the true Great Perfection, and that the true limit was the thirteenth layer.]
[You immediately asked how one could reach the thirteenth layer of Qi Refining.]
[Ye Chuxue shook her head.]
["I do not know. The ruin contains no records of it. That is why we believe it to be nothing more than a rumor."]
["If you truly want to reach the ultimate realm of Qi Refining, you will have to explore that path yourself."]
[After obtaining the answer you wanted, you bid farewell to Ye Chuxue and returned to the Qingyun Sect.]
[On that day, your Elder master once again urged you to break through to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible, warning you not to miss the best age for cultivation and end up being stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage.]
[With no other choice, you temporarily brushed him off by claiming that your spiritual root was too poor and that you needed more time to break through.]
[In the fifteenth year, during those five years you constantly consolidated your cultivation, suppressing your own Spiritual Energy every single day.]
[In the twentieth year, after ten years of bitter cultivation and the support of countless spiritual herbs, you faintly felt as if you had touched something...]
...