125: Chapter 125 Lady Qingli: I want you to go to the Transmission Hall and find a young girl.

"Creak—"

The door of the bamboo hut was gently pushed open.

Xu Ruyu was sitting cross-legged on the bamboo couch, eyes closed, regulating his Qi.

Hearing the sound, he opened his eyes and saw Lady Qingli walk in, a trace of confusion inevitably appearing on his face.

"Senior? Why are you..."

"Don't speak yet."

Lady Qingli interrupted him, closed the door behind her, and then tapped gently on the door leaf.

A soft nine-colored halo rippled out, instantly enveloping the entire bamboo hut—this was the power of the heavenly fox tripod, sufficient to isolate all prying eyes.

Xu Ruyu's heart stirred; knowing Lady Qingli had important matters to discuss, he immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Senior, please sit."

Lady Qingli sat down across from him, her cloudy old eyes examining him carefully.

Xu Ruyu's complexion was a bit better than before, and the look of confusion and pain in his eyes had faded significantly, replaced by a calm determination.

This brought her some comfort.

At least, this child had not been crushed.

"Xiao Yuer," Lady Qingli began, her voice calm, "I just received some news."

Xu Ruyu listened quietly.

"Your Revered Master, Xiao Nianyin," Lady Qingli paused, observing Xu Ruyu's reaction, "is currently in the secret chamber of the Hall of Power Transmission, personally guiding Leng Ningshuang."

Xu Ruyu's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

But he quickly regained his composure, though a trace of dimness flickered deep in his eyes: "Disciple... had guessed as much."

"Guessed as much?" Lady Qingli raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Xu Ruyu nodded, his voice so calm it was heartbreaking, "Since Revered Master cast me out of Ningyin Hall, it is only natural that she wants to draw a line between us.

And guiding my opponent... she probably wants to make the duel three months from now more 'fair'."

"Fair?" Lady Qingli scoffed, "Xiao Yuer, you are too naive."

She looked directly into Xu Ruyu's eyes, emphasizing every word:

"Leng Ningshuang is at the Late Golden Core Stage, at the seventh level of the Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art.

You are at Qi Refining Level 9—although this Qi Refining Level 9 is somewhat strange, it is ultimately just the Qi Refinement Stage."

"This was always a duel with a vast disparity in strength; where is the fairness in that?"

"What's more..." Lady Qingli's voice turned cold, "Xiao Nianyin guiding Leng Ningshuang, I fear she is teaching her more than just the crux of the Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art.

I have received news that she even intends to teach her the lethal secret techniques within the Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art!"

Xu Ruyu's pupils suddenly constricted!

The Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art!

He finally understood why Lady Qingli was so furious, and why she had come to find him in such a serious manner.

This was no longer a simple matter of "guiding an opponent."

This was clearly... aiming to put him to death in the duel three months from now!

"Senior..." Xu Ruyu's voice was somewhat dry, "Does Revered Master... really want me to die so much?"

Lady Qingli looked at the pain in his eyes and felt a pang of reluctance, but she decided to lay the truth bare:

"It is not that she wants you to die, but rather... she is afraid of you living."

"Afraid of me living?" Xu Ruyu was puzzled.

"Don't you hold her 'secret' in your hands?" Lady Qingli looked at him meaningfully, "Although I do not know what that secret is, it is clearly of vital importance to her, enough to shake her position as Sect Master."

"Her previous show of false courtesy, taking you as a Disciple, was all to keep you stable. Now that her cultivation has recovered, she naturally must find a way... to completely eliminate this hidden danger."

"And the best way is to have you 'accidentally die' during a 'fair duel'."

Lady Qingli's words were like a cold knife, slicing open all disguises to reveal the bloody truth.

Xu Ruyu's face turned pale, and his hands trembled slightly.

Although he had been mentally prepared, when it was all laid out so bluntly, he still felt a suffocating heartache.

So...

the tenderness of last night, the phrase "Do you not despise me?", the thrill of skin-to-skin contact...

were all just a play acted out to "keep him stable."

It was all just so that today... it would be more convenient to get rid of him.

"Heh..." Xu Ruyu suddenly chuckled, his laughter full of bitterness and self-mockery, "So that's it... So that's it..."

He lifted his head, and the last trace of attachment and expectation for Xiao Nianyin in his eyes was completely extinguished.

In its place was a near-cold clarity.

"Senior," Xu Ruyu said slowly, his voice terrifyingly calm, "You came to find me, not just to tell me these things, right?"

Lady Qingli watched this change in him, feeling both heartache and relief.

The heartache was that this little man had to experience such cruel growth.

The relief was that he was not crushed, but instead had forged a more resilient will amidst the pain.

"Correct." Lady Qingli nodded, "I have come to point you toward a path."

"A path... that will allow you to gain a foothold in the Hehuan Sect, and even make Xiao Nianyin afraid to easily move against you."

A glint flashed in Xu Ruyu's eyes: "Please, Senior, guide me!"

Lady Qingli stood up, walked to the window, gazed at the towering Hall of Power Transmission deep within the Hehuan Sect, and spoke slowly:

"Xiao Yuer, you do not need to rush to Cultivate.

With your current progress in cultivation, in three months, even if you Cultivate desperately, it is absolutely impossible to leap from Qi Refining Level 9 to a level sufficient to contend with the Late Golden Core Stage—even if your Qi Refining Level 9 is strange, it still won't work."

Xu Ruyu nodded. He knew this clearly.

"Therefore, do not waste your remaining time on closed-door cultivation." Lady Qingli turned around, looking at him with burning eyes, "I want you to go to a place."

"What place?"

"The Hall of Power Transmission." Lady Qingli emphasized every word, "Go to the ancient hall at the very back of the Hall of Power Transmission."

Xu Ruyu was stunned.

Of course he knew about the Hall of Power Transmission; it was the important place where the Hehuan Sect stored Cultivation Techniques and classics for Disciples to study and practice.

He had previously read many classics on the first floor of the Hall of Power Transmission.

But "the ancient hall at the very back"...

"Senior, isn't the depth of the Hall of Power Transmission a Forbidden Ground of the Sect?" Xu Ruyu frowned, "It is said that only the Sect Master and a few Grand Elders are qualified to enter."

"Correct." Lady Qingli nodded, "But that applies to others. For you... it is different."

"For me?" Xu Ruyu was even more puzzled.

Lady Qingli walked up to him, patted his shoulder with her aged hand, lowered her voice, and spoke with a mysterious tone:

"Xiao Yuer, I want you to find a person in that ancient hall."

"A person?" Xu Ruyu's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, a Little Girl." A look of reminiscence flashed in Lady Qingli's eyes, "About... thirteen or fourteen years old.

She always likes to wear pure white robes, wears her hair in double buns, has very large, bright eyes, and has two dimples when she smiles."

Xu Ruyu listened, completely baffled.

Deep in the Hall of Power Transmission, a Forbidden Ground of the Sect, inside an ancient hall... there is a thirteen or fourteen-year-old Little Girl?

How is that possible?