116: Chapter 116 Reuniting with the "Dream Visitor," Cold and Aloof Like the Moon in the Sky

That aura was as cold as the moon and as pure as snow, so familiar it made his heart tremble.

It was the aura of his Revered Master, Xiao Nianyin.

It was something she had left behind.

Last night, while he was actively transferring power back to her, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she had left this wisp of Origin aura in the deepest part of his Qi Sea.

It lay dormant quietly, having no effect on the circulation of his True Qi, nor did it possess any aggression or rejection.

It was like a silent mark, a voiceless gift.

Xu Ruyu knew that everything from last night was not a dream.

This wisp of aura was what she had left for him...

Xu Ruyu slowly opened his eyes, emotions surging within them.

He lowered his head, looking at the moon-white thin gauze undergarment that belonged to her on his body, a bitter yet firm curve forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Revered Master..."

Before the words could finish—

"Awake?"

A voice rang out without warning, cold, distant, devoid of any warmth, and even carrying a bone-chilling coldness.

Xu Ruyu shuddered violently and looked up abruptly!

He saw that the carved wooden door leading from the bedchamber to the inner room had been left ajar at some point.

The light behind the door crack was dim, and a slender, straight figure stood in the shadows, appearing and disappearing.

It was his Revered Master, Xiao Nianyin!

But this voice... how could it be so icy?

That choked-up "Ruyu" from last night, the warm arms wrapped around his neck, that near-sinking response... could they all be fake?

Xu Ruyu's heart felt as if it had been pierced by an ice pick, both cold and painful.

"Revered Master?" His voice was dry. "Have you... recovered your Cultivation?"

The figure behind the door did not answer.

Silence.

A suffocating silence.

After a long while, that cold voice sounded again, enunciating every word clearly, like ice beads hitting the ground:

"Since you are awake, leave my bedchamber."

"Now, immediately, at once."

Xu Ruyu froze in place.

He looked down at the disheveled undergarment on his body—still bearing the traces of last night; then he looked up at the blurred figure behind the door crack, trying to find a trace of warmth in her tone.

There was none.

Only a coldness that kept people at a distance, and a sense of alienation that bordered on disgust.

It was as if the person who had been intimate with him last night, sharing in the pleasures of the clouds and rain, was simply not her.

Or perhaps, that was the mistake she wanted to erase the most.

Xu Ruyu's lips trembled slightly.

He wanted to ask why, wanted to ask what last night meant, and wanted to ask what that wisp of ice-blue aura left in the depths of his Qi Sea meant.

But all the words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single syllable.

Because he suddenly understood.

Xiao Nianyin Cultivates the Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art.

The ultimate goal of this Cultivation Technique is to sever emotions and desires, freezing the seven emotions.

The higher the Cultivation, the more she rejects and loathes romantic feelings.

Last night, perhaps because her Cultivation was lost and her Heart-Nature was shaken, she briefly revealed her true feelings.

And now—

She had recovered.

That cold Heart-Nature belonging to a Saint Realm powerhouse had, along with the return of her power, regained dominance.

The intimacy of last night, to her, was perhaps just a necessary transaction.

The transaction was complete, the humiliation was over.

Naturally, it was time to draw a line.

Xu Ruyu slowly stood up.

The soreness in his waist remained, but compared to the coldness in his heart, it was insignificant.

He lowered his head, tidying up the ill-fitting thin gauze undergarment on his body bit by bit, pulling the disheveled lapels together.

Even though this action seemed ridiculous at the moment.

Then, he looked up at the figure behind the door crack and bowed deeply.

"Disciple... will take my leave."

His voice was calm, with no detectable emotion.

After speaking, he turned around, his bare feet stepping on the cold, smooth bluestone floor, walking step by step toward the door of the bedchamber.

With every step, the soreness in his waist reminded him of the reality of last night.

With every step, that wisp of ice-blue aura in the depths of his Qi Sea trembled slightly.

But he did not look back.

When he reached the door, Xu Ruyu paused and said softly:

"Revered Master, take care."

Then, he pushed the door open, stepped into the cool morning air, and closed the door gently behind him.

"Click."

The sound of the door latch falling was very light.

Yet it was like an invisible barrier, separating last night from this morning, warmth from coldness, the woman who would choke up while calling him "Ruyu" and the Sect Master who wrapped herself in ice...

Completely separating them.

"From today on."

Inside the door, that cold voice pierced through the door panel, clearly heard:

"You are to move out of Ningyin Hall and live at Tingzhu Peak behind the mountain."

"Without my summons—"

The voice paused, the coldness intensifying:

"You are not to step foot into Ningyin Hall."

With his back to the tightly closed hall door, Xu Ruyu's figure stiffened slightly in the morning light.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, his eyes were clear.

"Disciple... will obey."

He did not look back, took a step, and walked toward the Side Hall.

The hem of his moon-white thin gauze undergarment fluttered slightly in the morning breeze.

The aura of Qi Refining Level 9 flowed quietly within his body.

Like a Dragon hidden in the abyss, quietly waiting for the wind and clouds.

Meanwhile, inside the bedchamber.

Xiao Nianyin stood alone by the window, watching that receding figure, and in the depths of her cold eyes, a faint ripple flashed and vanished instantly.

She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing over her lips.

There, it seemed that the scorching temperature of someone from last night still remained.

But the next second, she clenched her fist tightly, her nails digging deep into her palm.

"Forget..."

She said to herself in a low voice, her voice hoarse:

"Forget everything."

The Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art slowly circulated, the extreme Yang spiritual power flowing through her limbs and bones, taking all the inappropriate emotions remaining from last night...

Bit by bit, crushing and erasing them.

As if by doing so, she could act as though everything had never happened.

But when she opened her eyes again, her gaze involuntarily fell upon that messy jade bed with the brocade quilt.

There, the traces of another person lying there still remained.

And, in the air, that aura belonging to him that had not yet fully dissipated.

Xiao Nianyin bit her lower lip hard and flicked her sleeve.

"Boom—!"

The cold Spiritual Pressure exploded, and all the windows of the bedchamber opened at once!

The morning wind roared in, swirling the gauze curtains, taking all the ambiguity, all the intimacy, all the mistakes of last night...

Blowing them away completely.

As if they had never existed.