Ye Qin left the North Camp Mountain and flew straight back to one of the seven main peaks of the Azure Pill Mountain Range, Azure Spring Peak.

At the General Affairs Hall of Azure Spring Peak, he handed in the bronze token for menial labor that he had used while mining at North Camp Mountain. The Senior Brother Qian, who was originally in charge of assigning menial tasks, had departed and was replaced by a new disciple named Li, who was at the seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

Although this Junior Brother Li was somewhat surprised that a high-level cultivator like Ye Qin would go down to the mine shafts to dig, as a junior brother, he dared not question the affairs of a senior brother.

In a grand sect like the Azure Pill Sect, the hierarchy was strictly enforced; lower-level cultivators dared not inquire about the matters of those at higher levels.

Ye Qin submitted his completed task and then left. To his surprise, Uncle-Master Zhao, one of the managers of Azure Spring Peak, who seemed deeply preoccupied, happened to be entering the General Affairs Hall to handle some business. They brushed past each other, and Zhao showed no reaction whatsoever, not even sparing a second glance.

Ye Qin finally relaxed completely. Uncle-Master Zhao must be busy with many matters and had likely forgotten Ye Qin even existed. If even Uncle-Master Zhao, who had intensely suspected him three years ago, had forgotten him, then no one else, certainly not a disciple with zero renown, would take any interest in him.

This was partly due to the changes in his appearance and aura. Over these three years, he had grown taller, shedding the naiveté of a young cultivator. His skin was also fairer from spending so long within the mine shafts, presenting him as a mature and steady young man. The aura he projected had become extremely faint, making it difficult for others to sense or capture. It was normal that Uncle-Master Zhao remembered the person he was three years ago but couldn't recognize his current self.

Ye Qin mused silently as he walked out of the General Affairs Hall.

It seemed that three years of mining in the North Camp Mountain shafts had not been entirely without benefit.

A disciple at the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage in the Azure Pill Sect was already quite rare; among the eight thousand Qi Refining disciples, there were fewer than a thousand at that level. The vast majority consisted of disciples at the eighth and seventh levels.

As a ninth-level disciple, unless dealing with Uncle-Masters or Elder Martial Uncles at the Foundation Establishment stage, few lower-level disciples would dare to question him casually. As for cultivators of the same rank, their status was similar, and they likewise had no grounds to pry into his affairs.

His purpose in returning to Azure Pill Mountain was to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect. However, the sect controlled these pills extremely tightly, and getting results on this matter would not be immediate.

Ye Qin pondered for a moment, then headed toward "Drunken Moon Tower," a five-story pavilion near the main square at the front of Azure Spring Peak. Having been in seclusion in the mine shafts for three years, he was completely unaware of the current situation within the Azure Pill Sect. He decided to gather some intelligence first.

Drunken Moon Tower was a pavilion specifically dedicated to the leisure and entertainment of junior disciples. Young cultivators from affluent families often loved to summon large groups of fellow disciples here when they had free time, to idle away the hours, mingle, and chat about anything and everything.

Furthermore, because many people frequented this place, numerous Qi Refining disciples used it to trade items. It functioned as a small marketplace. Cultivators selling goods would simply find a table and chairs in the pavilion, display what they wished to sell, post their asking prices, and wait. If other disciples were interested, they would approach directly to negotiate a purchase—it was very convenient.

At least half the people here were disciples who worked primarily as merchants, stocking goods from other disciples to resell here. Of course, if one wished to avoid the middlemen fees charged by these merchant disciples, they could buy things directly themselves.

Ye Qin had purchased seeds and formulas for low-grade elixirs here before, so he was somewhat familiar with the location.

Entering the spacious first-floor hall, Ye Qin glanced around. There were at least two to three hundred Qi Refining disciples in the noisy room. He moved to one side of the hall, chose an unoccupied table, ordered a few light dishes and some wine, and sipped his drink, subtly listening to the conversations of the other disciples. Although most of the talk consisted of boasting and flattery, he still managed to glean a good deal of useful information.

The minor competition held three years ago had seen over three hundred Qi Refining disciples attain the Foundation Establishment Pill through "Plant Cultivation, Alchemy, or Direct Combat." Although that competition had long since concluded, it remained the topic disciples discussed most eagerly, often becoming visibly excited the moment it was brought up.

"Hey, do you know? My sworn brother—no, my sworn Uncle-Master Yuan—he successfully established his foundation just last month. He's the seventh cultivator in our sect this year to achieve Foundation Establishment, making him eligible for the Foundation Establishment Grand Competition at the end of the year."

At one table, a slightly plump young cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining was proudly boasting to others.

The other green-robed cultivators at the table expressed awe. "Senior Brother Wang, you are so fortunate! With a sworn Uncle-Master looking out for you, who in the sect would dare cause you trouble in the future? Among us brothers, yours is certainly the strongest backing!"

"Senior Brother Wang, we brothers will be relying on your care from now on!"

"Haha, I wouldn't dare claim so much. Big matters are uncertain, but you can count on me for small things," the plump young cultivator laughed proudly.

Ye Qin glanced at them briefly, silently continuing to drink his wine.

Every year, about seven or eight fellow disciples successfully ascended to the Foundation Establishment stage, leaping forward to become the most promising Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Azure Pill Sect. This ratio wasn't high, but it was certainly not low.

He continued listening.

Recently, disciples from influential families originating from various nations had attracted the most attention. Supported by the substantial financial resources of their great families, they consumed various elixirs to boost their cultivation almost daily, their progress accelerating rapidly. Once they succeeded in Foundation Establishment, their family's strength would soar, bringing them immense benefits. Such disciples from powerful families were not uncommon in the Azure Pill Sect; nearly all of them were celebrities, highly regarded by the sect, taken as direct apprentices by elders on various peaks, and were the focus of envy and discussion among the masses of Qi Refining disciples.

After praising those fortunate few who achieved Foundation Establishment—the "natural prodigies" from the great families—that group began mocking those whose attempts at Foundation Establishment had failed.

Ordinarily, when a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator consumed a Foundation Establishment Pill and failed to break through the bottleneck, they would remain at the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage.

But there was a rare, special circumstance: a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator might break through the ninth layer entirely, jumping into the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage. They had broken through, but instead of advancing to Foundation Establishment, their Qi Refining level had simply increased further.

This was a maddeningly frustrating but unavoidable outcome.

Within the Azure Pill Sect, there had once been a supremely talented Senior Brother who, over ten consecutive years, participated in the minor combat competition and successfully won three Foundation Establishment Pills. He consecutively achieved "breakthroughs," reaching the legendary twelfth level of the Qi Refining stage, becoming nearly invincible among the eight thousand Qi Refining disciples.

However, even an invincible existence within the Qi Refining stage was still merely a Qi Refining disciple, not a Foundation Establishment one.

Ultimately, that legendary, near-invincible Senior Brother, after wasting three Foundation Establishment Pills, was forbidden from participating in the minor competitions again. Under the cold mockery and scorn of countless fellow disciples, he lost face staying in the sect and voluntarily left to establish a family in another country, spreading his lineage.

Such an outcome was truly enough to cause one to sigh deeply.

This year happened to be the Grand Competition, held once every nine years. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators were eligible to participate. The rewards for this Grand Competition were even rarer than those of the minor competitions. The prize was the Longevity Pill, used to extend one's lifespan. A single pill could add five or ten years to one's life, and it was one of the Azure Pill Sect's three miraculous elixirs. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators were qualified to consume such a magical panacea.

Ye Qin touched his nose helplessly.

The timing of his entry into the sect was not ideal. He had missed the minor competition three years ago. For the current Grand Competition, he did not meet the requirements and was ineligible. He would have to wait three more years for the next minor competition, where the Foundation Establishment Pill was available.

Could he afford to wait three years?

Ye Qin felt a momentary gloom.

If he could not break through this bottleneck quickly, then the moment he meditated, he risked his consciousness ceasing activity due to the restrictive nature of the Secluded State Sutra cultivation method, causing him to fall into a deep sleep until death. He had already stopped all seated cultivation and stopped taking Qi Gathering Pills to prevent his cultivation base from advancing further.

Suddenly, Ye Qin's ears twitched.

Far away, near a window and distanced from the noisy crowd, at a quieter table, four blue-robed male and female cultivators, all at the ninth level of Qi Refining, were sitting together with grim expressions, discussing a sect matter in low voices. These blue-robed disciples clearly looked like core disciples—the kind who received formal guidance from a master in the sect.

A fair-skinned young disciple with delicate features looked distressed. "The spiritual stone supply in the sect has been too tight for the past two or three years; the rewards paid to all menial laborers have dropped by nearly thirty percent. If this continues, it greatly impacts our spell cultivation. Rumor has it that a few of our sect's spiritual stone mines are close to depletion. Is this true?"

An arrogant young cultivator held up his wine cup and sneered, "Hmph, who knows? In any case, for the last two or three years, the sect has stopped assigning new disciples to mine spiritual stones in the various mining shafts. Without a labor token, no one can enter the mines, making it impossible even to investigate. I suspect there aren't many spiritual stones left to mine, which is why they haven't arranged for such labor anymore. This rumor is likely true. Although the higher-ups have kept everyone in the dark about exactly how many spiritual stones remain, over the past three years, the sect has dispatched dozens of batches of Qi Refining disciples to search for spiritual stone veins in the dangerous regions of the Spirit Mist Mountain Range. They even sacrificed nearly a hundred fellow disciples for this effort, yet they only discovered one small vein, the stones from which will last the sect perhaps only a few decades at most. What do you say? Is our Azure Pill Sect on the decline? Can we maintain our status as the third-greatest immortal cultivation sect?"

"It's obvious that the spiritual stones in the Spirit Mist Mountain Range are being depleted the more we dig. How could our Azure Pill Sect be the only one facing this scarcity? Wasn't there news recently that the Great Luo Sect's spiritual stone mines had also been exhausted? While this news hasn't been confirmed, it's almost certainly true. I refuse to believe that the Ancient Artifact Sect or the Earth Locus Sect are doing any better," a middle-aged cultivator said, his expression placid and unconcerned.

A female cultivator nestled close to him, seemingly his dual cultivation partner, nodded and smiled. "Senior Brother speaks well. Our Azure Pill Sect is, after all, an immortal sect with tens of thousands of years of history, having produced countless outstanding cultivators. They surely have plans for this and would not let the sect decline so easily."

The fair-featured young disciple considered this, then lowered his voice. "Right, Senior Brothers. My master mentioned that the Sect Master and the Deputy Sect Masters seem to be preparing a major operation soon, intending to dispatch a group of experts for a dangerous mission. It should be within half a month, coinciding with the Grand Competition for the Uncle-Masters. What exactly they plan to do is unclear; my master refuses to say, and I couldn't pry. However, my master told me to prepare in advance, saying... Are you all going?"

As the disciple spoke the last few words, he suddenly switched to ventriloquism, communicating very cautiously to the other cultivators via a low murmur directed internally.

The arrogant young cultivator at the table, as well as the middle-aged couple, displayed looks of astonishment upon hearing the message spoken through his gut. They exchanged glances. "Junior Brother's master is Deputy Sect Master Zheng, so this news is likely accurate. Since that is the case, it seems we should also prepare properly. We cannot miss such a good opportunity." (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in to qidian.com for more chapters, to support the author and legitimate reading!) First release