117: Chapter 117 Your ungrateful behavior, how is it any different from Liu Ruyao's?

The moment Xu Ruyu stepped over the threshold of the Main Hall of Ningyin Hall, the heavy sound of the doors slamming shut behind him felt like a dull hammer striking his heart.

He stood still in the courtyard bathed in the faint morning light, not looking back.

The hem of his moon-white gauze inner robe fluttered gently in the morning breeze, carrying the lingering, cold scent of another person from the previous night.

The soreness in his waist remained clear, reminding him of the reality of that madness. Deep within his Qi Sea, that strand of icy blue thread lay dormant, like a silent witness.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool air.

Tingzhu Peak...

A secluded place on the back mountain, far from the core of the Sect—it was practically an exile.

This was the "arrangement" she had made for him after recovering her cultivation.

Just as his heart was filled with mixed emotions and he was about to step away—

"BOOM—!!!"

An earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from deep within the Main Hall behind him!

The sound wasn't an explosion; it was more like the ruthless crushing of pure power!

Immediately following, a sharp, cold, invisible shockwave carrying the scent of destruction pierced through the thick hall walls and blasted outward!

Caught off guard, Xu Ruyu was struck in the back by the residual shockwave, stumbling forward several steps as the Qi and blood within his body churned!

He turned back in horror, looking toward the Main Hall.

He saw a visible layer of frost instantly condense over the surface of the majestic palace!

The carved window lattices, the heavy wooden doors, and even the glazed tiles on the roof were frozen in an instant, reflecting a piercing cold light under the morning sun.

Furthermore, a heart-palpitating, frigid Killing Intent belonging to a Saint Realm powerhouse spread out like something physical, enveloping the entire area of Ningyin Hall!

Xu Ruyu's pupils shrank suddenly, and the hair on his body stood on end!

Who was this Killing Intent directed at?!

Burning bridges? Killing the donkey once the grinding is done? Or... silencing the witness?!

Madame Qingli's mocking words echoed in his ears again: "Once these so-called great experts recover their cultivation, they become heartless and completely lose their humanity..."

All the tenderness of last night, that choked sob of "Ruyu," the arms wrapped around his neck, that question of "Do you not despise me?"... Was it all really just a play she had to perform to survive? Now that the play had ended, was she going to personally erase all "stains," including him, the one who knew and participated?

In an instant, Xu Ruyu's heart turned icy, and a trace of absurd regret even welled up—was last night's decision truly a mistake? Had he saved a monster who had lost her humanity, leaving only cold cultivation?

Inside the Main Hall's bedchamber.

Xiao Nianyin withdrew her palm expressionlessly.

That palm strike just now sent invisible, terrifying spiritual power sweeping out like a raging tide, shattering everything in her bedchamber—the brocade-covered jade bed that bore the madness of last night, the moon-white gauze scattered on the floor, the messy bedding and pillows, and even the last trace of lingering intimacy in the air—into the finest dust, before being completely annihilated by the extreme cold spiritual power, vanishing into nothingness.

It was as if by doing this, she could erase the fragile, wavering self that had shown affection last night, along with that mistaken relationship.

A large space was cleared in the center of the bedchamber, the ground as smooth as a mirror, with only the cold bluestone reflecting the dim light from outside the window.

Thick frost condensed on the surrounding walls and pillars; the temperature of the entire space plummeted, turning breath into ice.

She stood in the center of the empty ruins, her plain white robe untainted by a speck of dust. Her appearance had recovered eighty to ninety percent; though she hadn't reached her Peak beauty, she had regained her cold and otherworldly bearing.

Only those eyes were colder and deeper than ever before, like a ten-thousand-year-old frozen pond, without a single ripple.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle..."

A burst of charming yet clearly mocking laughter abruptly rang out in the deathly silent bedchamber.

"Oh, my Grand Sect Master Xiao, having recovered your cultivation, are you putting back on that aloof, untouchable iceberg act of yours?"

Madame Qingli's figure emerged like a ghost from behind a frozen pillar in the hall.

She still looked old and hunched, but a blatant, mocking smile hung on her face now. Her cloudy old eyes stared at Xiao Nianyin, flickering with the light of someone who had seen through everything.

"I wonder who it was last night... hmm?" She intentionally dragged out her tone, her voice so cloyingly sweet it gave one goosebumps. "Who was it leaning against that little brother's ear, saying 'continue'?"

"BOOM—!"

The Aura around Xiao Nianyin's body suddenly surged!

A terrifying Saint Realm pressure, like a physical mountain, crashed down toward Madame Qingli!

The frost in the bedchamber made "crack, crack" splintering sounds; the air solidified, and the space itself seemed about to be frozen and crushed!

If it were the previous Madame Qingli facing such wrathful Saint Realm pressure, even if she weren't heavily injured, she would have certainly retreated in a pathetic state.

But now—

Madame Qingli's expression remained unchanged; even the sneer at the corner of her mouth didn't fade. She simply raised her wrinkled hand unhurriedly, palm upward, and gave a gentle lift.

"Hum—!"

A soft yet ancient and vast nine-colored radiance emerged from her palm, instantly transforming into a palm-sized, ancient-styled, three-legged tripod flowing with a blurred halo.

The moment the small tripod appeared, its body began to rotate slowly on its own, and the mouth of the tripod seemed to turn into an invisible vortex.

Xiao Nianyin's terrifying pressure that came crushing down like an overwhelming tide was actually absorbed silently by that small tripod the moment it touched the nine-colored radiance, like mud entering the sea, failing to stir even a single ripple!

The heavenly fox tripod!

One of the Taihu Clan's guardian Treasure Artifacts; legend has it that it can absorb, transform, and even reflect all worldly techniques, especially having miraculous effects against Divine Soul and pressure-based attacks!

A clear flicker finally crossed Xiao Nianyin's icy eyes.

"Qingli," her voice was colder than the ice in the bedchamber, "what is the meaning of this?"

"What is the meaning?" Madame Qingli toyed with the heavenly fox tripod floating in her palm, her smile growing more brilliant and more piercing. "Xiao Nianyin, oh Xiao Nianyin, look at your face now.

What, are you planning to silence even me, your 'partner'?"

She shook her head, her tone full of "heartbroken" mockery:

"And to think you always prided yourself on being a 'white lotus' of the Demonic Path, keeping yourself pure and refusing to sink into the mire.

But look at your actions today—after using your savior, you turn your back on him in the blink of an eye, casting him off to a Cold Palace on the back mountain, and even deceiving yourself by destroying the bed to erase the evidence. How is this way of burning bridges any different from those vicious women like Liu Rurao whom you usually despise the most?"