46: Chapter 46 Madam Qingli saw through Xiao Nianyin's dilemma

Inside Xu Ruyu was her Saint Realm Power, its nature vastly different from ordinary Spiritual Qi and incredibly overbearing.

If she taught him a high-level Cultivation Technique, once he attempted to Cultivate, it likely wouldn't be the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi he drew upon, but the uncontrolled Saint Realm Power within him. The consequences would be unimaginable; it would likely blow him apart in an instant, destroying her remaining hope along with him.

The "Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art" was the gentlest and most basic, aiming for "Qi induction" and "returning to the origin." Perhaps it could slowly guide the "sense of Qi" from the power within him, laying a tiny bit of groundwork for her later attempt to "guide the flow back," even if there was only a one-in-a-billion chance.

More importantly, she needed time.

Three months was the deadline she had set for herself to recover a portion of her strength.

During this time, nothing could happen to Xu Ruyu, and he couldn't be allowed to possess any power or knowledge that might slip from her control.

A low-level Cultivation Technique was perfect for letting him Cultivate "with peace of mind" without any unexpected complications.

As for the competition in three months... A flash of complexity flickered in the depths of Xiao Nianyin's eyes.

She hadn't truly decided how to handle Xu Ruyu when that time came.

Killing him to eliminate any future trouble was the cleanest choice and part of her original plan.

But for some reason, whenever this thought became clear, she would always remember the serious profile of his face when he grilled fish, the way he panicked and dodged when facing Su Mei, and the genuine desire and pain in his eyes as he struggled in the illusion...

Even the dream from last night under the influence of the "Drunken Immortals Lure," his unconscious responses and his burning body temperature...

The cold killing intent in her heart would quietly melt a little, like snow meeting sunlight, causing her a wave of inexplicable hesitation.

"Ruyu?" Xiao Nianyin suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her heart and called out, her voice still cold. "You seem... to have some doubts about my arrangements?"

Xu Ruyu suddenly snapped back to his senses, forcibly suppressing the surging fear, anger, and coldness into the deepest part of his heart.

He looked up, his face struggling to squeeze out a hint of gratitude and an "enlightened" expression, though it was somewhat stiff.

"This Disciple dares not!"

He hurriedly bowed, his voice carrying deliberate excitement and a sense of being "overwhelmed by favor." "Revered Master's considerations are thorough. This Disciple is dull-witted and failed to grasp Revered Master's profound meaning!

Revered Master must have considered that this Disciple has no Foundation and a Physique different from ordinary people, fearing that I might be too eager for success and suffer Qi Deviation. That is why you bestowed this most stable 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art' to lay the firmest Foundation for me!

This Disciple... this Disciple is moved to tears of gratitude!"

He spoke very quickly, as if eager to show his loyalty, but the content of his words was hollow and forced, showing traces of a performance.

How could Xiao Nianyin not hear the insincerity in his words?

Those flickering eyes and slightly trembling fingertips all betrayed the turbulent waves in his heart.

He had guessed it—at least a part of it.

This realization made the irritation in Xiao Nianyin's heart grow even stronger, and at the same time, a faint sense of... disappointment arose?

He had indeed begun to doubt her.

"It's good that you understand." Xiao Nianyin averted her gaze, no longer looking into his eyes which seemed respectful but had already built up a defense. She said indifferently, "The technique is here; commit it to memory."

She flicked her finger, and a beam of light sank into the space between Xu Ruyu's eyebrows.

Xu Ruyu felt his mind swell slightly as the mnemonic for a technique of over a thousand words, along with the corresponding Qi Circulation map, was clearly imprinted in his memory. It was indeed the "Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art."

The content of the technique was indeed very simple, mainly focusing on sitting in meditation, sensing the "Qi" drifting between heaven and earth, and then attempting to use one's will to guide a strand of "Qi" to run a Small Cycle through the body along a specific route, eventually returning to the Dantian.

The entire piece consisted of the most basic concepts and steps, without any descriptions of attacks, defenses, or special effects; it was as plain as water.

"After you return, meditate calmly and practice diligently.

If there is anything unclear... you may come and ask me."

Xiao Nianyin said at last, her tone still flat, but it lacked some of the initial aloofness and gained a hint of inexplicable complexity.

"Yes, this Disciple takes his leave."

Xu Ruyu did not stay for a moment; he immediately rose, bowed, and then turned to walk quickly toward the hall doors.

His back was straight, but it carried a sense of haste as if he were eager to escape, as if staying for one more moment would see him swallowed by the invisible pressure and schemes within the hall.

The heavy hall doors closed silently behind him, isolating the inside from the outside.

Inside the grand hall, silence fell once again. The glow of the Night Pearls seemed to dim slightly.

After a long time.

"Giggle, giggle..."

A lazy, seductive, and undisguisedly playful giggle came from the shadows on one side of the hall.

As light and shadow shifted, Madam Qingli's swaying, graceful figure slowly emerged from behind a massive dragon-coiled pillar.

She had a bright smile on her face, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the silent Xiao Nianyin on the jade throne, her red lips curving into a charming arc.

"Sister Nianyin, this Disciple of yours... doesn't seem very appreciative?"

Madam Qingli strolled forward, stopping gracefully beside the prayer mat where Xu Ruyu had sat earlier. She leaned over to look at the mat, which still held some lingering body heat, as if she could smell the uneasy aura he had left behind. "Look at that little look of his; respectful on the surface, but in his heart, he's probably doubted you, his Revered Master, from head to toe."

Xiao Nianyin didn't look at her, her gaze fixed on the empty hall doors. Her voice was devoid of emotion: "Whether he doubts me or not isn't important. As long as he is still in Ningyin Hall and under my control."

"Oh? Is that so?" Madam Qingli raised her eyebrows, her smile becoming increasingly meaningful. "But I see that your heart seems to be starting to waver as well.

Explaining the transfer of even the lowest-tier technique in such an... obvious way.

Are you afraid he'll overthink, or are you afraid of your own... soft-heartedness?"

She walked up to Xiao Nianyin and leaned down slightly, getting closer. Her breath was like orchids as she lowered her voice to a seductive whisper: "The Disciple begins to doubt the Master, guarding against her at every turn, always ready to strike back or run away.

And the Master? Clearly planning to dispose of him after he's been used, yet seeing the Disciple's act of forced composure—when he's actually panicked and stubborn—the cold, hard string in her heart seems to have been quietly plucked. It's a bit soft, a bit chaotic, and maybe... she's even a bit reluctant to let go?"

Every word of Madam Qingli's was like a fine needle, accurately piercing the weakness Xiao Nianyin was trying to hide.

"Xiao Nianyin, oh Xiao Nianyin," Madam Qingli straightened up, crossing her arms and shaking her head with a light laugh. Her nine fox tails swayed leisurely behind her, carrying a sense of pity and irony that saw through everything. "Look at yourself. What kind of Ill-fated relationship have you created with your own hands?

You summoned him as a tool, lost your cultivation because things went wrong, and now you want to take him back as a Cauldron. And the result?

The tool has started to have its own thoughts, and before the cauldron is even warm, you yourself are starting to... waver?"

She slowly paced around the jade throne, her voice echoing in the vast hall: "I told you long ago, that little Disciple of yours is no pushover.

Those eyes of his look ignorant, but they are actually quite clear.

Your current act might fool him for a while, but it won't last for three months.

When he completely figures it out, or when the day comes that you really have to make a move... Hehe, guess what he'll do? Will he offer his neck to the blade, or... will he fight to the death and drag you down to Hell with him?"

Xiao Nianyin remained silent, but her knuckles had turned white from gripping her knees. In her cold eyes, a storm was silently brewing.

Madam Qingli's words were like the sharpest mirror, reflecting the chaos and struggle deep within her heart that she herself was unwilling to face.

"Enough, Qingli." Xiao Nianyin finally spoke, her voice bone-chillingly cold, carrying the humiliation and anger of being completely exposed. "My affairs are none of your concern!

Just remember our deal!"

"Oh, are you angry?" Madam Qingli didn't care at all; instead, she laughed even more merrily. "Fine, fine, I won't say any more.

But Sister Nianyin, as an 'ally,' I'll still give you a piece of friendly advice—"

She stopped smiling, her gaze becoming sharp and serious: "He who hesitates is lost.

If you really can't bring yourself to do it, then make other plans early.

If you still decide to go according to the original plan... then put away that pointless bit of compassion.

On the path of cultivation, the most taboo thing is to be driven by emotion.

Especially for us women, a soft heart often means... eternal damnation."

Having said that, she stayed no longer. Her figure flickered and merged once more into the shadows in the corner of the hall, as if she had never appeared.

Leaving behind only a faint wisp of Fox Clan fragrance and a set of words that left Xiao Nianyin's mind in even greater turmoil.

Inside the hall, silence returned.

Xiao Nianyin sat alone on the cold jade throne, staring in the direction Xu Ruyu had left for a long time without moving.

The glow of the Night Pearls cast shifting shadows on her exquisite face, making her look more lonely than ever, and more... lost.

Her Disciple's suspicion, her ally's prodding, her own inexplicable wavering... everything was like an invisible spiderweb, wrapping tighter and tighter around her.

And the source of all this pointed to that youth who seemed ordinary yet had stirred the entire trajectory of her world—Xu Ruyu.

An Ill-fated relationship?

Perhaps.

But this Ill-fated relationship, once started, could no longer be easily severed.

The night outside the hall grew deeper.

Ningyin Hall was like a temporarily calm island in the eye of the storm, while the storm was quietly gathering strength in unseen places.

Xu Ruyu's suspicion and self-preservation, Xiao Nianyin's schemes and wavering, Madam Qingli's watchful eyes, and the undercurrents within and outside the Hehuan Sect... everything was pushing this Master and Disciple toward the edge of estrangement, or perhaps even an ultimate confrontation.