168: Chapter 168 Sect Leader, did she really cultivate with you?

"Boom—!!!"

The aftershock of the Taixu True Qi explosion echoed within the barrier for a long time.

The ice on the ground shattered and churned, with shards of ice spraying out like a rainstorm, hitting the inner walls of the barrier with a dense "pitter-patter" sound.

The ice-blue light barrier vibrated violently, ripples spreading across its surface as if it were about to shatter at any moment.

Leng Ningshuang, kneeling at the edge of the barrier, slowly raised her head.

Her long hair was disheveled, draped over her shoulders, with a few strands stuck to her cheek by the fresh blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth.

Her ice-blue eyes were hollow at this moment; the pupils, once as clear as an ice lake, could not reflect any light or shadow, only bottomless bewilderment and... cracks.

Yes, cracks.

Her Dao Heart—the "Mirror Heart" upon which the seventh stage of the Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art, "Heavenly Maidens Descent," relied—was currently like a piece of glazed glass struck by a heavy hammer, its surface covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Every crack was a scar of her perception being overturned.

Every crack was a mark of her faith collapsing.

"Mirror Heart reflects the world, Ice Heart serves as the mirror."

This was the very first sentence in the preface of the Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art.

She had spent sixty years Cultivating this technique, from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, from the Outer Sect to being a Personal Disciple, and she had taken this sentence as her guiding principle throughout her journey.

She had thought her heart was truly like a bright mirror, capable of reflecting the true nature of all things.

She had thought her loyalty to the Sect Master, her responsibility to the Sect, and her persistence in "justice" were the "truth" reflected by this mirror.

But now...

The mirror was broken.

What was reflected on the mirror surface was not justice, not loyalty, not responsibility.

It was deception.

It was exploitation.

It was the stupidity of being used as a blade by others.

"Heh... heh heh..."

A broken wheeze escaped Leng Ningshuang's throat. She struggled to stand up, but her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground once more.

She braced her hands on the cold, shattered ice; her palms were pierced by ice shards, and fresh blood seeped out, blooming into a striking red on the icy surface.

But she could not feel the pain.

The excruciating pain in her heart had already overwhelmed everything else.

"Senior Sister Leng."

Xu Ruyu's voice came from ahead.

He had long since restrained his aura, and the Taixu True Qi had returned to calm.

His moon-white robes were spotless amidst the flying ice dust. He stood there quietly, looking at the kneeling Leng Ningshuang. There was no triumph of a victor in his eyes, no pleasure of revenge, only... a trace of complex pity.

"Do you still want to fight? Or perhaps more accurately, do you still want to be used as a weapon for someone else?"

He asked softly.

Leng Ningshuang slowly looked up, her hollow eyes fixed on him.

Fight?

How could she fight?

Her Dao Heart had shattered, and the Foundation of her Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art was collapsing.

The pure and condensed icy spiritual energy within her body was currently like a wild horse off its leash, rampaging through her Meridians and backfiring on her.

For every bit of spiritual energy she circulated, the crack in her heart deepened by an inch.

She could even "hear" the "crack" of the ice mirror within her shattering.

Crisp, piercing, and desperate.

"You..." she opened her mouth, her voice as hoarse as a broken bellows, "Is everything you said... true?"

Xu Ruyu remained silent for a moment, then nodded: "I have no need to lie to you."

"The Sect Master, she..." Leng Ningshuang's voice began to tremble, "Did she really... really with you..."

"Dual Cultivate?" Xu Ruyu said those two words for her, his tone calm, "Yes. To save her life."

"To save her life..." Leng Ningshuang repeated, murmuring, then suddenly let out a low, desolate laugh, "To save her life... so she exploited you... to save her life... so she had to kill you to silence you after recovering her cultivation... to save her life... so she lied to me... and made me the executioner..."

Her voice grew louder as she spoke, her tone becoming more agitated, until finally, she was almost screaming:

"Then what am I?! What does that make me, Leng Ningshuang?!

Since I, Leng Ningshuang, joined the Sect, I have always taken Xiao Nianyin as my benchmark, looking forward to the day I could become her Personal Disciple.

My sixty years of bitter Cultivation, my sixty years of loyalty—in her eyes, am I just a blade?!

A blade that can be discarded once used up?!"

Tears finally broke through the dam.

The coldness, arrogance, and firmness that had accumulated in her ice-blue eyes for sixty years collapsed at this moment, turning into hot tears that streamed wildly down her cheeks.

The tears dripped onto the ice surface, instantly freezing into tiny ice beads, only to be melted by the next drop of tears.

She cried without any regard for her image.

Like a child betrayed by the whole world.

Behind her, the six Senior Brothers looked at each other, caught in a dilemma.

Lin Feng frowned, complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

He had cultivated the sword Dao for three hundred years and had seen too many treacherous human hearts. He was already seventy percent convinced that Xu Ruyu's words were true.

But the Sect Master's order...

"Senior Brother Lin," Chen Yun in the black robe asked in a low voice, "What should we do?"

"Wait," Lin Feng said in a deep voice, "Wait for Senior Sister Leng to make her own decision."

"But the Sect Master's order is to execute Xu Ruyu..."

"That requires Senior Sister Leng to strike first," Lin Feng interrupted him, "The Sect Master said 'If Leng Ningshuang is not a match, you all shall strike.'

Right now, Senior Sister Leng has not officially been defeated; if we act rashly, it would go against the rules."

Fang Yue and the others looked at each other and said nothing more, only silently forming a defensive formation, watching Xu Ruyu vigilantly.

On the stage, Xu Ruyu looked at the weeping Leng Ningshuang and sighed softly.

"Senior Sister Leng," he said slowly, "You have two choices now."

Leng Ningshuang raised her tearful eyes, looking at him blankly.

"First, continue to carry out the Sect Master's order and kill me," Xu Ruyu's tone was calm, "Although your Dao Heart is damaged, if you fight to the death, and with the help of your six Senior Brothers, killing me shouldn't be difficult."

He paused: "Then, you will become the sharpest blade in the Sect Master's hand, continuing to clear away all 'obstacles' for her.

Until one day, you too become an 'obstacle'."

Leng Ningshuang trembled all over.

"Second," Xu Ruyu continued, "Stop. Ask your own heart—are you really Cultivating the Mystic Ice Heavenly Maiden Art, or a 'Blind Obedience Art'?

What you are pursuing, is it 'reflecting the truth,' or 'self-deception'?"

He stepped forward, his voice even softer, yet every word was like a hammer:

"Senior Sister Leng, a mirror that is broken can be recast.

But if you don't even have the courage to recast it, then in this life, you will really only ever be a blade."

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Only the sound of Leng Ningshuang's suppressed sobbing echoed faintly within the barrier.

She knelt in the shattered ice, her vision blurred by tears, countless scenes flashing through her mind—