After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, the yandere villainous heroine descends.

Dongzhou.

A biting cold air, accompanied by a deluge of snowflakes, swept down from the sky.

The vast land was completely covered by snow and ice, the biting cold as sharp as a knife, seemingly able to penetrate all things in the mortal world and even the heart of an immortal.

Si Anhe stood quietly in the swirling snow, snowflakes falling all over her shoulders, but she was completely unaware. She simply reached out her hand and caught a falling snowflake.

The coolness seeped into her skin through her fingertips, and her clear eyes gazed at the vast天地 (heaven and earth), lost in thought.

She had been standing there for quite some time.

Since returning from the ancient, desolate land, the Eastern Continent has been blanketed in heavy snow, and the chill is far greater than in previous years.

Even as a cultivator, one can clearly sense the chilling cold that seeps into the very flesh in the wind and snow.

"What are you daydreaming about again?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind.

Xie Wuhuan arrived in the snow, his steps light and slow, his body covered in snowflakes.

Si Anhe heard the voice but did not turn around.

In the blink of an eye, Xie Wuhuan had already walked to her side, standing shoulder to shoulder with her in the wind and snow.

"Master, when did you return?"

Si Anhe spoke softly, with a hint of melancholy.

"What? If I don't return, are you planning to stand here in the wind and snow until the end of time?"

Xie Wuhuan gave a cold snort, his gaze falling on her, his eyes filled with a helpless disappointment and a restrained pity.

"No, I was just thinking about something."

Si Anhe responded softly, her gaze still fixed on the melting snow in her palm, her voice so faint it was almost blown away by the wind and snow.

"You think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Xie Wuhuan spoke in a flat tone.

She glanced sideways at her slender disciple beside her, her tone suddenly turning cold, each word clear and distinct: "Give up. Your relationship with that boy has long since ended."

As soon as she finished speaking, Si Anhe's body trembled violently, her fingers clenched tightly, and snow water slid down her fingers. She looked up at the person beside her, her voice slightly hoarse: "Why?"

Why?

Upon hearing this, Xie Wuhuan's aura suddenly intensified, and his long-suppressed anger surged up instantly.

"Look at yourself now. Where is even a trace of the dignity and bearing of the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Saint Sect? Your Dao heart has long been entangled by romantic love, trapped in your own obsessions, and you can't even take care of yourself."

Xie Wuhuan said coldly, his eyes filled with a chilling disappointment.

"But he is my brother, the person I would do anything to protect."

Si Anhe lowered her eyes, her voice soft yet carrying an unwavering stubbornness.

Your brother died a long time ago.

Xie Wuhuan's tone was icy cold, leaving no room for negotiation.

She paused, then fixed her gaze on Si Anhe with a deep look, each word revealing the most hidden thoughts in her heart.

"Besides, do you really only see him as a younger brother?"

Si Anhe suddenly fell silent, unable to respond for a moment.

She couldn't answer her master's question, but only she knew that the bond she had with Shen Shuchou had long since crossed the line between siblings.

She developed strange emotions that defied her own conscience, emotions that she dared not delve into.

The wind and snow, carrying a chill, landed on her temples, freezing her face and making her expression stiff, but it couldn't suppress the turmoil surging in her heart.

"From this day forward, you shall enter the Wunian Hall for secluded cultivation. Without my personal command, you shall not step out of the hall even once."

Xie Wuhuan's voice was as cold as solid ice beneath his feet.

Upon hearing this, Si Anhe suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze filled with fear and resistance meeting her master's cold and stern eyes.

She instinctively took a half step back, shaking her head vigorously, her voice trembling but unusually firm: "No! Master, I won't go!"

"From beginning to end, this matter has never been up to you."

Xie Wuhuan's gaze was as cold as a blade, locking onto her without yielding an inch.

The Hall of No Thoughts stands in the most yin place in the sect. The cultivation methods in the hall are based on the annihilation of all thoughts and the unmoving of mortal desires, and the solitary adherence to the path of solitude. It is the most rigorous place of ruthless cultivation in the sect.

All disciples who enter the Wunian Hall and complete their seclusion have severed all seven emotions and six desires, eradicated love, hate, sorrow and joy, and become practitioners who only know how to uphold the Dao and have no mind or thoughts, without any trace of worldly affairs.

Xie Wuhuan was reluctant to force her in such an extreme way, but seeing her gradually becoming entangled by her obsession and her Dao heart teetering on the brink of collapse, she finally hardened her heart.

She couldn't bear to watch her disciple, whom she had poured her heart and soul into raising, become entangled in romantic love, ruining his talent and shattering his lifelong Daoist aspirations.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wanheng stared coldly at the person in front of him, finding almost no trace of memory of this person in his mind.

Looking at Lu Wanheng's indifferent and aloof expression, Ye Li slightly curled the corners of her lips, her tone tinged with amusement: "It seems that Your Highness has long forgotten me."

"That's quite normal. In the end, I'm just a defeated opponent of the Holy Maiden in the past. It's only natural that Your Highness wouldn't remember me."

Ye Li continued slowly.

Lu Wanheng remained silent, his face expressionless.

Ye Li continued speaking, his tone tinged with mockery: "But things are different now. In this round, I've become the winner, while Your Highness the Holy Maiden is the one who has lost completely."

"roll."

Lu Wanheng finally spoke.

She had no interest in listening to Ye Li's empty provocations, nor did she care to delve into the deeper meaning behind his words. She had only one thought in her mind: to make this person disappear from her sight immediately and get him away from the bed.

Seeing Lu Wanheng's reaction, Ye Li's smile froze slightly.

She had hoped to glimpse a crack or a loss of composure on that usually cold and aloof face, but in the end, she found nothing.

After a moment, she slowly regained her composure and chuckled softly, "As expected, Your Highness is as cold-hearted and indifferent as ever."

She paused slightly, her gaze sweeping contemptuously over Shen Shuchou on the bed, her words carrying a pointed sarcasm: "Oh, I must have been mistaken. The Holy Maiden of today actually stays in the palace, diligently supporting men."

Lu Wanheng remained silent, but deep within his clear, cold eyes, a chilling killing intent was already gathering, and a bone-chilling coldness slowly emanated from his body.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

Lu Wanheng suppressed her anger and hesitated to make a move, because Shen Shuchou was still lying on the bed, and she did not want to disturb him.

If Shen Shuchou weren't here, she would have already taken decisive action and would never have tolerated Ye Li uttering a single word.

"Didn't anyone tell you?"

Ye Li spoke indifferently, "You have been stripped of your position as Holy Maiden, and I am here to take your place."

She chuckled softly, a hint of self-mockery and resentment in her voice: "It's really laughable. Back then, I couldn't compete with you, and in the end, I had to rely on you making a mistake to get this position."

"But I, Ye Li, have never admitted that I am inferior to you, Lu Wanheng, by even a fraction."

"I have never cared about the position of Saintess."

Lu Wanheng's voice was icy. "If you want it, take it. Now, disappear from my sight."

Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Ye Li's eyes. He looked at her coldly and said, "Are you trying to take pity on me? Lu Wanheng, you have truly disappointed me."

She changed the subject, a playful smile playing on her lips: "I've already heard about your situation. How about I play a game with you?"

Lu Wanheng's heart sank, and a sense of foreboding arose inexplicably.

"Let's have a fair and square duel."

Ye Li said bluntly, "If you win, the position of Saintess will still be yours. If you lose, it doesn't mean you're giving it away. It just means that I am more worthy of this position than you are."

"I'm not interested."

Without a second thought, Lu Wanheng coldly refused.

Upon hearing this, Ye Li's gaze suddenly shifted to Shen Shuchou, who was lying on the bed beside him.

The next instant, she suddenly raised her hand and reached straight at Shen Shuchou.

Lu Wanheng darted out instantly, but was ultimately a moment too slow.

An invisible force suddenly restrained Shen Shuchou's body, lifting him into the air. In an instant, he vanished from Lu Wanheng's sight.

"You're asking for it!"

Lu Wanheng's eyes flashed with coldness as he roared angrily.

Without suppressing the killing intent in his heart, the icy true energy in his palm surged and condensed, transforming into a sharp ice blade, which pierced straight into Ye Li's heart.

Ye Li flicked his hand, and a long, narrow weapon suddenly appeared. A sharp blade aura shot out and shattered the incoming ice blade on the spot.

Lu Wanheng's phoenix eyes suddenly narrowed, and a chilling aura suddenly raged around him. His thick Xuanbing True Qi surged and circulated, instantly condensing into a sky full of palm strikes.

She darted out like a shadow, her jade hand flipping in mid-air, a palm carrying a biting frost wind, with the force to shatter mountains and split rocks, crashing straight towards Ye Li's face.

Before the palm even landed, a bone-chilling coldness already assaulted my senses.

Ye Li's expression remained unchanged, a hint of cold arrogance flashing in his eyes. The long blade in his hand suddenly gleamed with a cold light, and with a twist of his wrist, he slashed out horizontally.

The chilling blade energy whistled through the air, carrying a domineering and fierce force, directly meeting Lu Wanheng's palm strike brimming with true energy.

A deafening roar followed!

The icy palm strike clashed fiercely with the sharp blade light, and a violent shockwave suddenly exploded outwards.

Lu Wanheng felt an overwhelming force crashing down on him, rushing through his palm and into his body.

His blood and qi surged and churned instantly, causing him to stagger backward several steps.

Each step left a shallow indentation in the ground, and the strong wind whipped his sideburns into a messy flutter.

Ye Li stood firmly in place, holding his knife, his clothes fluttering slightly, his expression calm. He looked at Lu Wanheng, who had been forced back, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"You're not in the right state right now. Even if I were to defeat you at this moment, it would be an unfair victory."

Ye Li wore a cold smile as she looked down at Lu Wanheng, who was trying hard to suppress his emotions.

"Lu Wanheng, I'm giving you seven days. In seven days, we'll settle this at the summit of Xuanling Mountain. If you want him to return alive and unharmed, you'd better do as I say."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Li didn't linger any longer.

With her robes fluttering, her figure transformed into a faint shadow, instantly breaking through the palace doors and disappearing completely from the Holy Maiden's Palace.

In the empty hall, only Lu Wanheng, covered in a bone-chilling cold, remained. In his indifferent eyes, there was only a turbulent anger and anxiety.

After leaving the Holy Maiden's Palace, Ye Li went straight back to his residence.

As soon as they arrived at the courtyard gate, they bumped into Elder Ye, who stood with his hands behind his back and a solemn expression. He had been waiting there for a long time.

Where did you go just now?

Elder Ye looked up at her.

Ye Li remained calm, casually brushing the dust from his sleeve, and said frankly, "I went to the Holy Maiden's Palace and made a seven-day agreement with Lu Wanheng for a duel at Xuanling Mountain. If she wins, the position of Holy Maiden will remain hers; if she loses, then this position will be one I earned through my own abilities."

Upon hearing this, Elder Ye's anger flared instantly, and he shouted angrily, "This is utter nonsense! I went to great lengths to secure this position of Holy Maiden for you. How dare you act so recklessly and treat your own future like a game!"

Ye Li's nonchalant expression vanished instantly, replaced by a sudden coldness. She raised her eyes to look directly at Elder Ye, her tone filled with arrogance: "I only want to prove that I, Ye Li, am no less than Lu Wanheng, no less than anyone else. What rightfully belongs to me, I will take back myself. But if you force it upon me, even if I were to sit on the throne of the Holy Maiden, I, Ye Li, would never covet it."

P.S.: Happy Labor Day!