146: Chapter 146 Xiao Nianyin confirms that Xu Ruyu is an excellent vessel for cultivation.

Deep within Ningyin Hall, the icy aura inside the secret chamber was more biting than ever before.

Xiao Nianyin sat cross-legged on a Profound Ice cushion, eyes closed as she regulated her breathing.

The luoyun sword lay across her knees, its blade still swirling with a lingering chill—the residual power left behind after a single strike had intimidated everyone in all directions.

She slowly opened her eyes, and the intertwining light of icy blue and blazing gold in her pupils gradually faded, returning to a calm as deep as an abyss.

"Mid-Stage Saint Realm... it is indeed different."

Xiao Nianyin let out a soft breath, feeling the True Essence surging through her body, which was even more pure and solid than during her previous peak period.

She knew all these changes were because of her 'final' night of passion with Xu Ruyu—it seemed Madam Qingli's fixation on Xu Ruyu wasn't without reason; the Physique of this ant, Xu Ruyu, truly counted as an excellent Cauldron.

At this moment, the Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art flowed freely through her Meridians, the powers of ice and fire blending perfectly without the slightest obstruction.

Although Situ E's attack had disrupted her plans, it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise and helped her greatly.

First, it tested her strength—she had completely recovered and even taken a step further.

Second, it tested people's hearts—those who had been secretly defying her while waiting to see her fail were all fully exposed today.

"Zhao Wuji, Chen Xuanfeng, and those few fence-sitters..."

A cold arc curled at the corner of Xiao Nianyin's mouth.

These old foxes usually acted all dignified, constantly claiming loyalty to the Sect, but when the Sect was in real danger, they all hid in the shadows to watch, some even prepared to seize power.

Had she not acted forcefully today to intimidate the entire field, the one sitting in Ningyin Hall right now probably wouldn't be her.

"Fine then."

She slowly stood up and walked to an ice mirror on one side of the secret chamber.

What the mirror reflected was no longer the battle outside the mountain gate, but the scenes from various parts of the Hehuan Sect—

Inside the Immortal Cave of Second Elder Zhao Wuji, he was anxiously holding a secret discussion with several confidants, his face pale, clearly still terrified about whether his 'performance' today had passed muster.

In the residence of Fourth Elder Chen Xuanfeng, he was regulating his breath to heal his injuries—injuries he had inflicted on himself with great ruthlessness—while cursing something through gritted teeth.

The Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder had already quietly gathered together, seemingly discussing how to 'make up for their mistakes'.

"Every single one of them... is making their own calculations."

A cold light flashed in Xiao Nianyin's eyes.

"In that case, this Seat will properly settle the accounts with you."

She was no longer that young Cultivator from three hundred years ago who had just ascended to the position of Sect Master and still needed to rely on the support of the Elder council.

Today, with her Mid-Stage Saint Realm cultivation and three hundred years of presiding over the Hehuan Sect, she had long since organized the Sect into a monolithic block—at least, on the surface.

It wasn't that she didn't know about those Elders who were secretly defiant; she just hadn't been bothered to deal with them before.

But today's events made her understand one principle:

Some nails, if not pulled out in time, will eventually pierce into one's own flesh.

"Let's start with Zhao Wuji."

Xiao Nianyin spoke softly to herself, her voice carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"On the grounds of 'failing to protect the Sect and deserting before the enemy', strip him of his Elder position and cast him into the Frozen Hell to reflect for a hundred years."

"As for Chen Xuanfeng... let his 'cultivation deviation' continue forever."

"And the Sixth and Seventh Elders... since they like going out on patrols, let them patrol outside forever; there's no need to return."

One cold command after another took shape in her heart.

This was the rule of the power game—either don't do it, or do it thoroughly.

Since these people had already bared their fangs, they couldn't blame her for being ruthless.

"However..."

Xiao Nianyin's gaze suddenly turned toward the back mountain.

That was where Tingzhu Peak was, where the Ancient Hall of Love and Heaven stood.

And where... Xu Ruyu was.

At the thought of this name, an uncontrollable wave of loathing and... killing intent surged in Xiao Nianyin's heart.

Yes, killing intent.

It wasn't anger or resentment, but the purest desire to completely erase a certain existence from the world.

"Ant..."

She whispered these two words, her voice as cold as ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

Think of her, Xiao Nianyin, the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect, a Saint Realm Expert who had lived for nearly five hundred years—when had she ever suffered such humiliation?

Her cultivation completely lost, her life force draining away, as weak and powerless as a Mortal, and even... even having to bow her head to a junior at the Qi Refinement Stage, relying on his 'charity' to survive.

And those nights...

Those nights she still refused to recall, yet were etched into the depths of her memory like a nightmare.

Bodies entwined in the darkness, scalding breath, suppressed low moans, and... her own arms, like a drowning person clutching a piece of driftwood, tightly encircling that youth's neck amidst the waves of passion.

And that sentence... the most humble words she had ever spoken in her life:

"Do you not find me repulsive?"

Whenever she thought of those words, Xiao Nianyin wanted nothing more than to rush to the Ancient Hall of Love and Heaven and crush Xu Ruyu into mincemeat with a single palm strike!

How could she have possibly said such things?

How could she... show such a fragile, humble, and even pleading stance before someone?

"Damn him... they all deserve to die..."

Xiao Nianyin clenched her fists tightly, her nails sinking deep into her palms, drawing traces of blood.

But she quickly released her grip.

Under the circulation of the Mystic Maidens Sun-Stealing Art, the wounds on her palms healed rapidly, leaving not even a scar.

It was as if those humiliations, that fragility, and those emotions she shouldn't have felt could be frozen, crushed, and completely erased just like these wounds.

"If it weren't for Madam Qingli watching in the shadows..."

A flash of wariness crossed Xiao Nianyin's eyes.

That woman from the Taihu Clan, though her cultivation was inferior to her own, the heavenly fox tripod in her hands was truly troublesome, not to mention the legendary Ancestor Tianhu who might be standing behind her.

If not for that, the moment she recovered her cultivation, Xu Ruyu would have already been a dead man.

However... it didn't matter.

Xiao Nianyin slowly walked to the window of the secret chamber, looking out at the sinking twilight.

There were less than twenty days left until the Three-Month Agreement.

Twenty days—what could a Cultivator at the Qi Refinement Stage do?

No matter how gifted or 'strange' Xu Ruyu was, it was impossible for him to jump from Qi Refining Level 9 to a level where he could contend with Leng Ningshuang at the Late Golden Core Stage within twenty days.

Unless...

"Unless Madam Qingli forcibly transfers her own cultivation to him."

Xiao Nianyin gave a cold laugh.

"But doing that would be no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

A top-down power transfer damages the caster's Foundation; how could a calculating woman like Madam Qingli destroy several hundred years of her own cultivation for a junior she's known for barely a month?"

Therefore, Xu Ruyu would surely die.

Die during the Three-Month Agreement, die at the hands of Leng Ningshuang.

Die in the 'fair duel' she, Xiao Nianyin, had personally arranged.

"When the time comes, this Seat will be there in person to watch you die."

Xiao Nianyin whispered to herself, a trace of morbid satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

"To watch how you, an ant who brought me humiliation, struggle in despair and draw your last breath in resentment."

"And then..."

She paused, her voice suddenly turning icy cold.

"This Seat will personally extract your soul and refine it into the luoyun sword, so you can never be reincarnated and will forever remain a dead soul beneath my blade!"

As her words fell, the temperature in the secret chamber plummeted below freezing.

Even the air condensed into fine ice crystals that rustled as they fell.

Xiao Nianyin stood in the secret chamber amidst the dancing ice crystals, her pure white figure like an eternal iceberg, radiating a heart-stopping chill.

This was the real her.

The true Sect Master of Hehuan Sect, Saint Realm Expert, Xiao Nianyin.

The woman who would be fragile at night, who would sink into passion, who would say 'Do you not find me repulsive'...

Was merely a mistake that shouldn't have appeared in her long life.

A mistake that must be erased.