[In the ninth year, the third year of your agreement with Gu Xinyue arrived.]
[Ever since two years ago, when you had exhausted all the Spirit Stones you seized from Qingyun Sect, your cultivation speed had visibly slowed.]
[Two years later, your cultivation had become stuck at the middle stage of Nascent Soul.]
[On this day, Gu Xinyue came to find you and informed you that it was time to head to the Pill Sect and prepare to seize the Void-Breaking Pill.]
[She had received word that three days ago, the Pill Sect had already harvested that spiritual herb and brought it back.]
[The next day, you and Gu Xinyue arrived at the Pill Sect.]
[This was your first time visiting the Pill Sect. Unlike the Sword Pavilion, it was also different from the appearance of other sects.]
[The Pill Sect was built atop a towering structure, a tower divided into nine levels from bottom to top.]
[Gu Xinyue told you that your destination this time was the Sect Master's alchemy chamber on the topmost ninth level.]
[You did not immediately take her into the Pill Sect. Instead, you voiced the doubt in your heart.]
"Senior Sister! Are we really just going in like this?"
[Without even thinking, Gu Xinyue answered directly.]
"Of course! Otherwise, how would we know when that old bastard finishes refining the Void-Breaking Pill?"
"But if we go in just like this, would it not be easy to get discovered?"
[At that point, Gu Xinyue understood your concern, so she taught you a concealment technique.]
[She also told you that under normal circumstances, unless the other party was deliberately concentrating on sensing you, they would not be able to detect you.]
"Relax. The old man on the ninth level is refining pills, so all his attention is on alchemy. Besides him, there is basically no one else there!"
[With Gu Xinyue saying that, you felt much more at ease.]
[In the next moment, you used the Great Void Technique to bring her directly into the ninth level of the pill tower.]
[The space on the ninth level was far larger than you had imagined. After entering, the first place you arrived at was an empty grand hall.]
[You looked at Gu Xinyue, signaling for what to do next.]
[Gu Xinyue closed her eyes, and after a short while, she pointed toward a corridor on the left.]
[You and Gu Xinyue used the concealment technique, causing yourselves to enter a disguised state. To the naked eye, it was as though you were no different from empty air.]
[Before long, you reached the end of the corridor.]
[There, you saw a bronze gate standing at the end, radiating waves of Pressure.]
"This is a formation?"
[Gu Xinyue nodded and said that to your Great Void Technique, such a low-level formation was practically useless.]
[You then waited outside that secret chamber for a full ten days.]
[On the tenth day, you and Gu Xinyue sensed a wave of medicinal fragrance drifting out from within.]
[You exchanged a look with Gu Xinyue, knowing that the time had come.]
[In an instant, you used the Great Void Technique to bring Gu Xinyue straight into the secret chamber.]
[The moment you entered, the Pill Sect's Sect Master also sensed your presence.]
"Who goes there?"
[Just as the Pill Sect's Sect Master turned to look at you, Gu Xinyue gave you a meaningful glance.]
[From that one look, you immediately understood what she meant.]
[You used the Great Void Technique to teleport above the Alchemy Furnace and snatch away the few Void-Breaking Pills floating above it!]
"Old bastard, thank you for refining these pills for me!"
[The moment Gu Xinyue's words fell, she slashed at him with a sword. The Pill Sect's Sect Master answered with a palm strike.]
[Borrowing the force of his attack, Gu Xinyue flew straight back to your side. Without the slightest hesitation, you repeatedly used the Great Void Technique to flee the Pill Sect with her.]
[After leaving the Pill Sect, the two of you restored your original appearances.]
"Senior Sister, where do we go now? Back to the Sword Pavilion?"
[Gu Xinyue frowned in thought, then looked toward the direction of the Heavenly Abyss.]
"We are not going back to the Sword Pavilion. We are going straight to the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm. I am going to break through to Void Refining there!"
[Hearing that, you did not ask further questions and instead used the Great Void Technique with your full strength to head toward the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm.]
[You knew that the Void-Breaking Pill was crucial to the Pill Sect's Sect Master breaking through to the Void Refining realm. There was no way he would let this matter go so easily.]
[Even though you were fleeing at full speed, you could still sense several auras pursuing you from far behind.]
[Half a month later, you successfully arrived at the Heavenly Abyss, and then the two of you jumped down.]
[You and Gu Xinyue entered the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm, and only then did you finally let out a sigh of relief.]
[There were formations within the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm, so you were not afraid that the Pill Sect would charge in and kill you. As long as Gu Xinyue could break through to Void Refining, there would be no need to fear the Pill Sect anymore.]
[Just when you thought you were safe, you suddenly saw a familiar figure fighting someone in the distance.]
"Wan Yemo? Who is he fighting?"
"Something is wrong!"
[Gu Xinyue did not pay attention to the two people fighting in the distance. Instead, she tightly furrowed her brows and closed her eyes.]
"What is it, Senior Sister?"
[You looked at Gu Xinyue in confusion, not understanding what had happened to make her expression turn so ugly.]
"The Fallen Immortal Secret Realm has a problem!" Gu Xinyue looked around with a grave expression.
[Hearing this, your heart violently trembled.]
[At that moment, you suddenly thought of something. In one of your previous simulations, the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm had also undergone a change. Back then, the formation had been broken and the Spiritual Energy had been contaminated.]
[Thinking of this, you abruptly closed your eyes and sensed the Spiritual Energy within the secret realm.]
[After a long while, you opened your eyes in disbelief.]
[You discovered a fact: the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm had been contaminated again. Although the degree of contamination had not yet reached the same level as the outside world, it was only a matter of time.]
[But this time, you had never come to the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm. When you returned three years ago, the secret realm had still been completely fine.]
[So you suspected that the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm must have changed during the three years after you returned to the Sword Pavilion.]
[Combined with how, last time, the changes occurred only after you entered the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm and then went into the Bronze Divine Hall, you ruled out the possibility that you were the cause.]
[You thought back to that previous simulation. Aside from you, only Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi had entered the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm.]
[Because of that, you suspected that the problem must lie with Ye Chuxue and Lin Qi.]
[Of course, before confirming that the problem was with them, you first had to confirm whether they had come to the Fallen Immortal Secret Realm during these past three years.]
[But under the current circumstances, returning to the Desolate Village was basically impossible. There were people from the Pill Sect guarding outside.]
[Even if you had the Great Void Technique, you could not guarantee that they did not have formations or other methods specifically meant to counter you.]
[The only thing you could hope for right now was for Gu Xinyue to break through to Void Refining.]
"Senior Sister! Is there still a chance to break through to Void Refining now?"
[You still held onto a trace of hope. You believed that as long as the contamination of the Spiritual Energy was not too severe, there should still be a chance.]
[But Gu Xinyue's answer made your heart go cold.]
"It is useless now. Once the Spiritual Energy is contaminated, no matter how light or severe the contamination is, breaking through here is no different from breaking through in the outside world."
[At that moment, the sounds of battle between the two people in the distance grew louder and louder.]
"Wan Yemo, you traitor! I never thought you would end up being parasitized so easily!"
...