110: Chapter 110 There is a solution, which is to restore her cultivation.

The air in the Main Hall congealed.

Xu Ruyu maintained his bowing posture, the phrase "no matter what price must be paid" still echoing in the spacious Main Hall.

He kept his head lowered, his gaze falling on the fine patterns of the bluestone floor, but in his mind, the conversation he had just overheard outside the door, as well as Xiao Nianyin's aged and haggard appearance, kept surfacing.

Thirty years of Lifespan.

For a Saint Realm powerhouse who once stood at the pinnacle of the Cultivation World, thirty years might not amount to much.

But for a woman who has lost all her cultivation and has almost become a Mortal, these thirty years are an unbearable weight in her remaining life.

Not to mention that instantly aged face, those withered white hairs, and the exhaustion and weakness in her eyes that could not be concealed...

Xu Ruyu slowly straightened up, his gaze falling once more upon Xiao Nianyin's face.

This time, he looked more carefully, and felt even more heart-stricken.

Those fine wrinkles, every single one of them seemed to be etched onto his heart.

That pale complexion, those lips so faint they could barely show any color, those eyes that, while still clear, no longer possessed their former brilliance...

The once cold and moon-like, high-and-mighty Hehuan Sect Sect Revered Master had now become like a candle in the wind.

And all of this was because of him.

Because he was too flamboyant on the Law Execution Platform, because he provoked Liu Rurao, because he... did not have enough power to protect himself.

A sense of guilt he had never felt before coiled around Xu Ruyu's heart like vines, tightening more and more, so tight that he could barely breathe.

The previous dissatisfaction, wariness, and even faint hostility he had felt towards Xiao Nianyin vanished into thin air at this moment.

Yes, she had once regarded him as a Cauldron, as a tool to regain her cultivation. She would sneak into his room every night, practicing Plucking and Supplementing in the name of "entering dreams."

She had designs on him, and might even turn heartless after recovering her strength in the future.

But so what?

At the critical moment of life and death, it was this woman who, sparing no cost to burn her own Lifespan, used a forbidden treasure to save him from under Liu Rurao's palm.

In her heart, he might not just be a "tool."

At least, not entirely.

Xu Ruyu took a deep breath and turned to look at Madam Qingli, who had been standing in the shadows with a faint, mocking smile.

He stepped forward and bowed deeply to this Taihu Clan Old Ancestor.

"Senior."

His voice was more solemn than before, even carrying a hint of rare pleading:

"This Junior knows that you possess vast Divine Ability and profound knowledge. I beg you... please save my Revered Master."

Madam Qingli raised an eyebrow, a flicker of amusement flashing in her murky old eyes: "Oh? Save her? On what grounds?"

Xu Ruyu lifted his head, looking directly into those eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything:

"No matter what request Senior has, as long as this Junior can do it, I will definitely... do my utmost."

"Do your utmost?" Madam Qingli suddenly laughed, her smile filled with undisguised mischief, "Then if I want you to engage in Dual Cultivation with me, would you be willing too?"

"——!"

Xu Ruyu froze completely.

His face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye, spreading from his earlobes all the way down to his neck.

He opened his mouth, but could not say a single word.

Meanwhile, Xiao Nianyin, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up, an astonishing cold light erupting from her tired eyes:

"Qingli! You——!"

"What about me?" Madam Qingli interrupted her with a smile, her gaze still locked on Xu Ruyu's face, "Little Xu, speak up. Big Sister here is waiting."

Xu Ruyu felt his heartbeat speeding up as if it were about to jump out of his chest.

He subconsciously looked at Xiao Nianyin—the woman who had turned white-haired overnight to save him was currently looking at him with a complex gaze, a gaze containing anger, warning, and a trace of... nervousness she hadn't even realized herself?

Xu Ruyu gritted his teeth.

He looked back at Madam Qingli, his throat extremely dry, but his voice was unusually firm:

"If... if Senior can truly save my Revered Master..."

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only resolution remained in them:

"This Junior... is willing."

"Xu Ruyu!!!" Xiao Nianyin shouted sternly. Because she was too agitated, she began to cough violently, an unnatural flush appearing on her pale face, "You, you are not allowed to agree to her! This Seat does not need you——"

"You do." Xu Ruyu interrupted her, turned his head, looked at her, and said word by word, "Revered Master needs it."

His gaze swept over her full head of white hair, over her wrinkled face, and over her hands that were trembling slightly from agitation:

"This Disciple's life was saved by Revered Master."

"Let alone Dual Cultivation... even if you wanted this Disciple's life, this Disciple would have no complaints."

These words were spoken decisively, without a shred of hesitation.

Xiao Nianyin was stunned.

She looked at Xu Ruyu, looking at this Disciple whom she had once regarded as a tool, as a Cauldron, as the key to regaining her cultivation, who was now looking at her with a pair of clear and firm eyes, with no trace of Impurities in them, only a pure, almost stubborn determination.

Her heart skipped a beat uncontrollably.

Then, came an even more intense, stabbing pain.

"You... you fool..." She murmured, her voice carrying a tremor she hadn't even noticed herself.

On the other side, Madam Qingli had already begun to laugh "cackle, cackle, cackle."

She laughed until she was rocking back and forth, laughing until tears were almost coming out.

After a good while, she managed to stop her laughter, wiped away the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, and then——

She walked over.

Before Xu Ruyu could react, she reached out with those wrinkled, yet exceptionally soft hands, and gently cupped his face.

"Little brother~"

Madam Qingli's voice suddenly became soft and seductive. She leaned in close to Xu Ruyu, her warm breath almost spraying onto his face:

"Don't look so resigned to death and unwilling, okay~"

"What, is it so difficult for you to engage in Dual Cultivation with me?"

She blinked, her murky old eyes now flickering with a certain demonic luster:

"I remember, in the Great Fox Illusion, you were quite valiant, little brother~"

"Big Sister here could barely handle it~"

"What, now that you've eaten your fill and wiped your mouth, you're starting to despise Big Sister?"

Boom——!!!

Xu Ruyu only felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to the top of his head!

His face instantly turned as red as if it were about to drip blood, his ears were buzzing, and his mind went blank.

Great Fox Illusion...

That, that matter...

He subconsciously looked at Xiao Nianyin, only to find that his Revered Master was currently looking at him with an extremely complex gaze—that gaze contained shock, disbelief, anger, and a trace of... emotion he couldn't read.

It's over.

Revered Master knows.

She must know.

Xu Ruyu wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into right on the spot.

"Sen, Senior!" He stammered, trying to break free from Madam Qingli's hands, but those hands, while looking soft, held him firmly in place like iron pincers, "That, that was a misunderstanding! I——"

"Misunderstanding?" Madam Qingli interrupted him with a smile, her fingers mischievously caressing his cheek twice, "Little brother, that's not what you said in the illusion~ What was it you said? 'Big Sister is so soft'? Or 'Big Sister, you smell so good'?"

"——!!!"

Xu Ruyu could no longer speak at all.

He felt like he was about to explode.

And Xiao Nianyin's complexion had already turned from pale to iron-blue, and from iron-blue to a near-transparent ghastly white.

She stared fixedly at Madam Qingli, then looked at Xu Ruyu, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say a single word.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore~"

Madam Qingli suddenly let go of her hands, stepped back, and resumed that cynical, lazy posture.

She looked at Xu Ruyu's appearance of dying from shame and indignation, then looked at Xiao Nianyin's appearance of being so angry she was about to faint, and laughed even more happily:

"Big Sister here, I just love seeing you young people all flushed and flustered~"

"Rest assured, Big Sister said it before, I'm not interested in forcing anyone. Big Sister likes that kind of... natural progression."

She paused, her gaze sweeping between the two of them, a trace of profound light flashing in her eyes:

"However, Little Xu, Big Sister has remembered that sentence of yours from just now."

"As for the way to save your Revered Master..."

Madam Qingli put away her smile, her expression suddenly becoming serious:

"It's actually very simple."

She looked at Xiao Nianyin and said slowly:

"The best way is to let her recover her cultivation."

"Your Revered Master is at the Saint Realm cultivation, with skills that place her among the very top tier of the entire Cultivation World. The Lifespan of a Saint Realm Cultivator is counted in thousands of years; a mere thirty years of Lifespan is, for her in her prime, nothing more than a snap of the fingers."

"As long as she can recover her cultivation, this bit of loss can be compensated for in an instant."

"Even, because she has experienced life, death, withering, and flourishing, her state of mind might actually advance further, and it is not impossible for her to break through to a higher Realm in the future."

She paused and added:

"Of course, the premise is..."

"That she can live until the day she recovers her cultivation."

"In her current state, her vitality is slipping away every moment. If we cannot find a method to recover her cultivation as soon as possible, I fear..."

Madam Qingli did not finish.

But the two people in the hall both understood her unspoken words.

Xu Ruyu turned his head sharply to look at Xiao Nianyin.

And Xiao Nianyin was also looking at him.

Their eyes met.

In those tired eyes, Xu Ruyu saw a certain... almost desperate calm...