131: Chapter 131 The Ancient Palace of Love, Not a Single Hair?

The entrance to the "Ancient Hall of Love and Heaven" marked on the map given by Senior Qingli seemed to be deep in the third level.

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder." Xu Ruyu said respectfully, "This Disciple will meditate here and will not wander about."

Elder Mo nodded and looked at him a few more times, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately did not speak.

He actually really wanted to ask, how exactly did Xu Ruyu comprehend those incomplete texts?

Those classics that were regarded by countless Disciples as "chicken ribs" or even "waste paper"—why, when they reached his hands, could they unleash such terrifying power?

But secrets involving personal Opportunity were really not easy to ask about.

"Then feel free to do as you please, nephew. This old man will return to the front hall first." Elder Mo added a final instruction, "If you have any questions, you may come to find this old man at any time."

"Farewell, Elder."

After Elder Mo's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Xu Ruyu did not immediately begin to browse the classics, but stood in place, quietly observing this space.

Nine coiled Dragon stone pillars were arranged according to the nine-palace positions, faintly forming some kind of Formation.

The distribution of the niches was also quite regular, seemingly in line with the trajectories of the stars.

The spiritual power circulating in the air, though dense, was not violent, but instead carried a sense of gentle nourishment.

"As expected of the important Legacy site of the Hehuan Sect..." Xu Ruyu sighed inwardly.

But the purpose of his trip here was not this.

He took out the yellowed map given by Senior Qingli and carefully compared it.

The map depicted the layout of the deep parts of the Hall of Power Transmission, with simple, ancient lines, and many details corresponded one-to-one with what he saw before him.

And the position marked by the eye-catching cinnabar red circle in the center of the map...

Xu Ruyu raised his head, his gaze falling upon that bronze gate.

The position of the red circle was shockingly behind the bronze gate!

"The third level Forbidden Ground..." Xu Ruyu's brows furrowed slightly.

Elder Mo had clearly stated that, except for the Sect Master and the Grand Elder, no one could enter.

Although he had the Sect Masters Personal Disciple jade token, whether he could open that door was still an unknown.

But since Senior Qingli let him come, there must be her reasons.

Xu Ruyu no longer hesitated and stepped toward the bronze gate.

The gate was about three zhang high, cast entirely from bronze, its surface covered with mottled verdigris, clearly having existed for countless years.

Intricate cloud patterns were carved on the door leaves, and there was a groove in the center that matched the shape of the Sect Master jade token.

Xu Ruyu took out the ice-blue jade token, took a deep breath, and inserted it into the groove.

"Hum—"

The moment the jade token made contact with the groove, it emitted a low hum.

Ice-blue radiance flowed out from the jade token, spreading along the cloud patterns on the door.

Those ancient lines seemed to be activated, lighting up with a soft glow one by one.

"Click... click..."

A heavy mechanical sound rang out, and the bronze gate slowly opened inward.

Behind the door was an even darker passage.

Xu Ruyu retrieved the jade token and stepped inside.

The passage was not long; after walking about a hundred steps, the view suddenly opened up.

This was a... hall so plain it was almost crude.

The hall was circular, about thirty zhang in diameter and five zhang high. The dome was a simple arc shape, without any carvings or decorations.

The floor was paved with flat bluestone slabs, polished as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the faint skylight cast from the dome—that light came from nowhere, soft and uniform.

The hall was empty.

There were no bookshelves, no Jade Slips, no classics, not even a prayer mat or a lamp.

Truly... "nothing at all."

Xu Ruyu stood at the entrance of the hall, stunned for a good while.

This was the "Ancient Hall of Love and Heaven"?

It was worlds apart from the magnificent, classics-piled-high scene he had imagined!

But thinking of Senior Qingli's instructions, he quickly calmed his mind and stepped into the hall.

Footsteps echoed in the empty hall, clearly audible.

Xu Ruyu walked slowly along the wall, carefully observing every inch of space.

The walls were built of ordinary bluestone, tightly fitted without any decorations or text.

The ground was clean and flat, without even a single scratch.

The dome was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting no image.

He walked circle after circle, even crouching down to tap the ground and listen carefully—it was solid.

"Could it be... Senior Qingli is joking with me?"

Such a thought could not help but arise in Xu Ruyu's heart.

But he immediately dismissed it.

Although Senior Qingli had a lively personality and loved to joke, in matters like this, she would never act without a purpose.

Since she had solemnly asked him to come find the "Little Girl" and even said, "Find her, and no one in the Hehuan Sect will dare to say no to you," then there must be some mystery in this ancient hall.

It was just... where was the mystery?

Xu Ruyu stood still in the center of the hall, closed his eyes, focused his mind, and slowly spread his Divine Sense.

His Divine Sense touched the walls, the floor, the dome—what was fed back was only the most ordinary bluestone material; there was no spiritual power fluctuation, nor any hidden Formation or Restriction.

This was just an ordinary stone hall.

So ordinary... it was despairing.

Xu Ruyu opened his eyes, a flash of doubt in them, but it quickly returned to calm.

He remembered Senior Qingli's words:

"After you enter the ancient hall, do not wander about, just sit down on the prayer mat in the center of the hall, and then... wait."

A prayer mat?

Xu Ruyu looked around—where was a prayer mat?

But he quickly understood Senior Qingli's meaning: the so-called "prayer mat" was just a symbol. The point was not whether there was a prayer mat, but "sitting down" and "waiting."

Xu Ruyu no longer hesitated and sat cross-legged directly on the bluestone floor in the center of the hall.

He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and began to circulate his Taixu True Qi.

The Qi Sea of Qi Refining Level 9 slowly rotated, and the nine-layered ring structure lit up with a faint glow one by one. That wisp of ice-blue aura lay quietly dormant in the depths of the Qi Sea, like a sleeping glacier.

Time passed bit by bit.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours...

The hall remained empty and silent, without any changes.

Yet, Xu Ruyu's heart gradually calmed down in this long wait.

At first, he would open his eyes from time to time to check, expecting that "thirteen or fourteen-year-old Little Girl" to suddenly appear.

But as time passed, he no longer expected, no longer felt anxious, and even stopped thinking.

He just sat, circulating his Cultivation Technique, letting the Taixu True Qi flow naturally within his body.

Those distracting thoughts—Xiao Nianyin's coldness, Leng Ningshuang's killing intent, the duel three months later, Senior Qingli's schemes, and even last night's absurd yet real intimacy—all settled down and dissipated bit by bit in this empty silence.

He suddenly understood Senior Qingli's deep meaning.

Letting him come here was perhaps not just to find that "Little Girl."

It was even more so to... let him have a place where he could truly calm his mind before the storm arrived.

In this empty ancient hall, there was no temptation of Cultivation Techniques, no eyes of others, no entanglements of grievances. Only himself, and his Dao.

A faint, almost imperceptible arc curled at the corner of Xu Ruyu's mouth.

He was no longer waiting.

He was just cultivating.

In this ancient hall named "Qingtian," in this eternal silence.

In the depths of his Qi Sea, the speed of the Taixu True Qi's circulation quietly accelerated by a fraction.

And that wisp of ice-blue aura seemed... to tremble slightly.

As if it had sensed something.

Or as if it were just an illusion.

The hall remained empty.

The skylight remained soft.

Time continued to flow silently.