[After hearing this news, a shocked expression appeared on your face. You had never expected that Spiritual Energy could actually suppress the bizarre insects.]
[At that moment, you suddenly realized something—this indirectly proved that the current Spiritual Energy of the Canglan Realm had a serious problem.]
[Ye Chuxue continued, "Therefore, that senior suspected that the Spiritual Energy of the entire Canglan Realm had been corrupted by some unknown substance."]
["Later, that senior discovered that the ruin had been left behind from the remote ancient era, and that era was already one hundred thousand years ago."]
["According to the discoveries later made within the ruin, he learned that the Spiritual Energy inside the ruin was the original Spiritual Energy of the Canglan Realm, while the Spiritual Energy we cultivate with now is the product of contamination."]
["Up until now, whenever we break through, as long as we enter the ruin and use its Spiritual Energy to suppress the alien insect inside our bodies, we can remain conscious."]
[Hearing this, you felt confused about one thing—why had Ye Chuxue been injured so severely? Why had she not gone to the ruin to recover?]
[Seeing the confusion in your eyes, Ye Chuxue seemed to understand your question and continued explaining.]
["I know what you are wondering. You are curious why I was still injured even though we can go to the ruin."]
["First of all, the Spiritual Energy reserves in the ruin are limited. Only cultivators with higher cultivation are qualified to enter and use it."]
["If everyone were allowed to use it, the Spiritual Energy there would have been completely exhausted long ago."]
[At this point, you finally understood the entire cause and effect. You then asked the final question in your heart.]
["Where is that ruin?"]
[Ye Chuxue did not hide anything and answered directly.]
["The ruin lies within the forbidden zone between Qingzhou and Youzhou—Tianyuan!"]
[Tianyuan! You silently memorized the name of this place.]
[Although you had been in the cultivation world for many years, you had never truly taken the time to understand the situation of the Canglan Realm. You only knew that the Canglan Realm was divided into five great continents, and the region you currently lived in was Qingzhou.]
[After leaving Ye Chuxue's Cave Dwelling, your mood was clearly heavy.]
[From the conversation you had just had with her, you had completely understood the truth of this cultivation world.]
[In your eyes, how could this be called a cultivation world? It was practically hell, filled with man-eating monsters everywhere.]
[More importantly, when you asked her how one could safely break through to Foundation Establishment, Ye Chuxue actually advised you to abandon the idea.]
[She told you that your talent was too poor. When you attempted a breakthrough, you would not be able to sense the existence of the bizarre insect. Only those with extremely high talent or those born with divine physiques could perceive it.]
[Ye Chuxue herself had only managed to detect the possession of the bizarre insect because she possessed the Taiyin Physique. In the end, she suppressed the insect within her body by using the Extreme Yin Power during a full moon night.]
[For a moment, you found it difficult to accept such a reality, so you decided to start by focusing on Alchemy.]
[In your view, since the bizarre insect devoured the soul, then as long as you strengthened your soul power through Alchemy, you might still have a chance to break through safely once your soul became powerful enough.]
[The next day, you went to the Academy as usual.]
[You stepped forward to greet Ye Chuxue, but discovered that she completely ignored you, as if the two of you were strangers.]
[At that moment, the man who had targeted you previously walked up to you again, looking down at you with arrogance as he began to threaten you.]
["Kid! I remember warning you last time to stay away from Ye Chuxue. Do you really think you can touch the woman that "Young Master Bai" has taken a liking to?"]
[Seeing that the other party had come with ill intentions, and noticing that Ye Chuxue clearly did not want to acknowledge you in such a public setting, you turned around and left.]
[Not long after you departed, Liu Hao stared at your retreating figure with a vicious expression and beckoned to several people beside him.]
[That night, while you were cultivating, you sensed several auras approaching your Cave Dwelling. You guessed that it was most likely Liu Hao and his companions.]
[You stepped out of the Cave Dwelling and said calmly, "Since you have already come, stop hiding in the shadows."]
[Liu Hao walked out from the darkness.]
["Kid, daring to covet Ye Chuxue means you have chosen death. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for provoking someone you cannot afford to offend."]
[As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hao raised his finger and shot a streak of sword Qi toward you.]
[You immediately counterattacked, pretending to be injured as you staggered backward before turning around and fleeing.]
[A Qi Refining cultivator had absolutely no chance against someone at Foundation Establishment. Even though you were proficient in many spells, the gap in cultivation realm was simply too great.]
[After realizing that you had tricked him, Liu Hao flew into a rage and began chasing you with two others.]
[Before coming, Liu Hao had already investigated your background. You had no father or mother, and had recently been accepted as a disciple by Elder Mo Chen of the Alchemy Hall.]
[At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in your mind.]
["Come to the Back Mountain!"]
[Upon hearing this voice, you did not hesitate and sprinted toward the Back Mountain.]
[When Liu Hao and the others saw that you had suddenly changed direction and were running toward the Back Mountain, they began mocking you from behind.]
["Trash! Have you realized you cannot escape and decided to find your own grave?"]
[Soon, you led Liu Hao and the other two to the place where you had encountered Ye Chuxue yesterday.]
[After arriving, however, you did not see where she was.]
[Before long, Liu Hao caught up to you. He looked at you with a mocking expression.]
["Trash, do not worry. I will make it quick."]
[However, the moment he finished speaking, he suddenly heard movement behind him.]
[When he turned around, he discovered that the two people who had followed him had somehow already collapsed into pools of blood.]
["Who is there?!"]
[Only then did Liu Hao realize that he had fallen into your trap.]
["Trash, you dare to kill me? You should know that I serve "Young Master Bai"! "Young Master Bai" is a core disciple of the Qingyun Sect. If you kill me, he will never let you go!"]
[You were completely indifferent to such threats.]
[Not to mention that so-called "Young Master Bai"—even if it were the entire Qingyun Sect, you would still kill them all.]
[In your eyes, they were no longer human beings. They were merely hosts parasitized by bizarre insects.]
[You never intended to change this despairing world, but since this world blocked your path of cultivation, you would tear it apart completely.]
[Liu Hao suddenly sensed killing intent from behind him.]
[When he turned around to counterattack, a familiar figure appeared before his eyes.]
["Ye... Chuxue?"]
[At that moment, Ye Chuxue's sword pierced his throat. Liu Hao collapsed into a pool of blood, staring at her face with despair.]
[Even in death, he could not understand why Ye Chuxue had appeared here, why she had come to kill him, or why she would associate with someone like you.]
[Soon, Liu Hao lost all signs of life.]
[Ye Chuxue walked to your side and said coldly:]
["During the day, try not to speak to me. If you have anything to say, come to my Cave Dwelling at night."]
[After saying that, she turned around and left without another glance.]
[Watching her departing figure, you felt somewhat awkward, unsure whether you should visit her Cave Dwelling to ask the questions in your heart.]
[After thinking it over repeatedly, you decided to abandon the idea. In your opinion, your guess was most likely correct.]
[During the following year, you continuously refined pills, and your Alchemy skills improved rapidly.]
[This caused Elder Mo Chen to look at you in a new light. He even generously gifted you various spiritual herbs that nourished Spiritual Energy.]
["Su Ming, these are treasures that I have collected for many years. Today I will give them all to you so that you can break through to become a Second-Grade Alchemist as soon as possible!"]
...