[ You wanted to keep trying, but your family fortune was already depleted. ]
[ You had no choice but to work to earn money. ]
[ In your fifth year, you set up a stall in the market to refine Medicinal Pills, increasing your prices and taking on many orders. ]
[ Finally, in the middle of that year, you paid off your loan and began to accumulate wealth. ]
[ From your customers, you heard that a peerless Prodigy named Golden Feather had appeared in the outer Sect. ]
[ This person was a Disciple of Blood Fiend Peak, originally unknown. ]
[ Until a month ago, he suddenly challenged the top ten Geniuses on the Prodigy List, winning every battle. ]
[ He even defeated the number one on the Prodigy List, becoming the Senior Brother of the outer Sect, his name shaking the entire Sect. ]
[ Later, some people dug up information, revealing that Golden Feather was not only a Grade A Heavenly Spiritual Root, but also Cultivated a Earth Rank High Grade Cultivation Technique, suspected to be the Reincarnation of a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor within the Sect. ]
"Tsk tsk, what kind of Son of Destiny is this?" Xiao Hao gasped.
[ You didn't pay much attention to this, continuing to accumulate wealth. ]
[ In the middle of your sixth year, you began to purchase Spirit Medicine, preparing to refine second-order Medicinal Pills. ]
[ From the discussions of passersby in the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, you heard news of an acquaintance. ]
[ A remarkable Fairy named Xia Ning霜 appeared on Blood Fiend Peak. ]
[ With the Aptitude of a Grade C miscellaneous Spiritual Root, she ascended to the tenth spot on the Prodigy List, earning the title "Fairy Ningshuang" from the world. ]
[ Later, she even gathered followers on Blood Fiend Peak and established a Gang called the "Slaying Hao Hall." ]
"I never expected Xia Ning霜 to have such abilities!" Xiao Hao was greatly surprised.
He remembered that in his previous life, Xia Ning霜 had a very miserable time until the third year.
Not only was her cultivation low, but she was also severely injured and had no money to buy medicine, having to bandage herself with gauze.
"It seems that in this life, Xia Ning霜 didn't act like a sycophant, and instead used all her Cultivation resources on herself, which allowed her to rise."
"This truly echoes that saying from my previous life: a sycophant will not die well!"
[ You grew interested in this. ]
[ You planned to find a time to seduce Xia Ning霜 and obtain Cultivation resources. ]
[ You bought all the Spirit Medicine and began to seclude yourself. ]
[ Your first attempt at refining a second-order Medicinal Pill failed. ]
[ Your second attempt at refining a second-order Medicinal Pill still failed. ]
[ Your third attempt… ]
[ In your seventh year, after much arduous effort, you successfully refined a second-order Medicinal Pill. ]
[ You struck while the iron was hot, continuously practicing with the remaining Spirit Medicine, raising your success rate for refining second-order Medicinal Pills to thirty percent. ]
[ By this point, you could truly be considered a second-order Alchemist! ]
[ Your cultivation, after a year of accumulation, successfully Broke Through, reaching Qi Refining Eleventh Layer. ]
"Finally, success! It wasn't easy!" Xiao Hao was ecstatic.
"It wasn't in vain that I lay in bed, staring at the simulator! My eyes are sore from it!"
[ You didn't make a sound, quietly leaving the market and finding Yao Tianhai. ]
[ Upon learning of your Breakthrough, Yao Tianhai was overjoyed and immediately took you to meet the Hall Master of Pill Refinement Hall—Hall Master Zhao Huaizhen. ]
[ Hall Master Zhao Huaizhen personally assessed your Alchemy attainment, and upon seeing you refine Medicinal Pills using Gu, he clicked his tongue in wonder, expressing sincere admiration. ]
[ "So young, yet able to create your own Dao of Alchemy, remarkable! Truly remarkable!" ]
[ Hall Master Zhao Huaizhen patted your shoulder and earnestly told you that he would report this matter to the Sect's higher-ups, asking you to wait at home for news. ]
[ You agreed. ]
[ On the way back, Yao Tianhai cautioned you to be very careful recently. ]
[ He had received news that six months ago, Liu Lu was ambushed and killed by Righteous Path powerhouses while traveling outside. ]
[ He suspected that the Sun Family might be behind this incident. ]
[ You nodded in agreement, becoming extremely vigilant. ]
[ You borrowed money from Yao Tianhai, wanting to buy treasures for self-defense. ]
[ Yao Tianhai waved his hand, directly tossing you a Storage Pouch. ]
[ You opened the Storage Pouch, your pupils shrinking sharply. ]
[ You obtained the High Grade Talisman Artifact Armor—Earth Kun Armor. ]
[ You obtained the High Grade Talisman Artifact Flying Sword—Heaven Qian Sword. ]
[ You obtained thirty first-order High Grade Talismans, namely Evasion Talisman, Speed Talisman, and Divine Light Talisman. ]
[ You obtained a bottle of second-order Medicinal Pills—Tortoise Shell Pill. ]
[ You obtained the first-order High Grade Formation—Three Fires Gathering Yang Formation. ]
[ You obtained… ]
"The old man dropped gold!" Xiao Hao was dumbfounded.
"No, not the old man, but Father-in-law!"
[ You returned to your Immortal Cave and set up a Formation. ]
[ In the following days, all was calm. ]
[ You secluded yourself for arduous Cultivation, and with a large amount of Cultivation resources, you successfully Broke Through to Qi Refining Twelfth Layer in one fell swoop. ]
[ One more step forward, and you would reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, where your Lifespan, strength, and status within the Sect would all rise significantly. ]
[ You sought a Foundation Establishment Pill from Yao Tianhai. ]
[ Yao Tianhai fell into hesitation. ]
[ It was only at Yao Ling's plea that he gave you a Foundation Establishment Pill. ]
[ "Boy, this High Grade Foundation Establishment Pill was something I painstakingly refined a few years ago." ]
[ "I originally intended to save it for Ling'er's Breakthrough, but now it will benefit you!" ]
[ You put on a grateful expression, "Uncle, rest assured, once I Break Through to Foundation Establishment, I will personally refine a Foundation Establishment Pill for Ling'er!" ]
[ Yao Tianhai did not reply, only sighing deeply. ]
[ Under Yao Tianhai's Protector, you attempted to assault the Foundation Establishment Realm. ]
[ After a period of strenuous effort, you failed. ]
[ You discovered that your Spiritual Root was too weak to assault the Foundation Establishment Bottleneck, seeing not a shred of hope. ]
[ You finally understood why Yao Tianhai had sighed just now. ]
[ Yao Tianhai told you that the reason Cultivation placed such importance on Aptitude was precisely because of this! ]
[ Grade D Spiritual Roots cannot Break Through to Qi Refining Late Stage, Grade C cannot Break Through to Foundation Establishment, and Grade B cannot Break Through to Golden Core. ]
[ Only Grade A has the hope of assaulting Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, or even breaking through the realm and Ascension. ]
"Boy, your Aptitude is limited; you are destined to be unable to Break Through. Accept your fate!"
"Grade A Aptitude, huh?" You sighed, a figure appearing in your mind.
You never thought that upon arriving in this Cultivation world, Aptitude would still be an insurmountable mountain.
But soon, your gaze became firm again.
You asked if there was any way to improve Aptitude?
Yao Tianhai answered you earnestly, saying that to his knowledge, there were two methods.
First, obtain a Heaven-Defying Opportunity, such as an Immortal Cave left behind by an Immortal from the Upper Realm, thereby changing your fate against the heavens.
Second, he knew of an ancient Medicinal Pill called the Heaven Patching Pill, which could improve Spiritual Root Rank when consumed.
The Pill Formula for this Pill was not a secret; he even had it.
However, the main Spirit Medicine for refining this Pill—the Heaven Patching Mushroom—had already gone extinct in ancient times.
You fell into a long silence.
Yao Tianhai patted your shoulder and told you a secret.
It was said that there was a Secret Realm in the inner Sect that opened once every ten years, and only Core Disciples of the inner Sect could explore it.
This Secret Realm had a significant origin; it was left behind by a True Immortal from the Upper Realm.
Within it, heaven and earth were undivided, Yin and Yang unseparated, containing countless Spirit Medicine from the Upper Realm and even from other planes, and perhaps there might be Heaven Patching Mushroom.
Since you were about to become a Core Disciple, perhaps you could enter the Secret Realm and try your luck.
You kept this matter firmly in mind.
Seeing that your cultivation was difficult to Break Through, you focused your energy on Alchemy and Spells.
Your Alchemy attainment improved; your success rate for second-order Low Grade Medicinal Pills increased to thirty-five percent.
You Cultivated the Five Elements Great Evolution Sword Control Art to the fourth layer.
From it, you comprehended the strongest Spell for the Qi Refining Stage, the Earth Rank Low Grade Spell—Five Elements Unified Qi Slash.
You Cultivated the Human Rank High Grade Evasion Spell "Cloud Sword Evasion."
You Cultivated the Human Rank High Grade Spell "Great Dust Gathering Art."
In a flash, half a year passed.
However, the Elder's transfer order had not yet arrived.
You felt a vague sense of unease.
You found Yao Tianhai and together went to pay respects to Hall Master Zhao Huaizhen, urging him about the matter.
Hall Master Zhao Huaizhen told you that he had reported the news long ago, and the higher-ups had already discussed it, asking you to wait a little longer.
You could only continue to wait.
One month later, on a dark and windy night.
You were contemplating Spells.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, an anomaly suddenly occurred! You felt that the defensive Formation of your Immortal Cave had been triggered by someone!