"Little Bing's dreams are truly extraordinary."
"Most dreamwalkers probably wouldn't even be able to enter..."
Qin Yuzhi's figure rapidly blurred and shrank as she silently established a connection with the dream bubble emanating from Ying Bing. Based on her past experience, most people's dream bubbles were relatively soft during sleep, a reflection of their relaxed state.
But Ying Bing's was different.
Her dream bubble was like an ancient, unmelting sheet of ice. Yet this was no challenge for the experienced Sect Master Qin. Instead of forcing entry, she simply merged herself into the dream, becoming part of it...
With a faint sound, Qin Yuzhi was accepted into the dream bubble. The watery barrier of the dream dissolved like ripples, and the scene before her gradually sharpened.
Frost filled the sky, obscuring the sunlight.
She seemed to have just stepped out of a cold, austere pavilion amidst the snowstorm.
"Even the winters in Beifeng aren't this cold..."
Qin Yuzhi shivered, feeling a chill that went beyond the physical.
"Our Moon Palace is all year round—there is no winter."
A female disciple in a white dress eyed Qin Yuzhi strangely.
Qin Yuzhi had never heard of such a faction. Had it been established after she went into seclusion?
But Ying Bing was a disciple of the Qingyuan Sect—why would she dream of this so-called Moon Palace?
"Do you know Ying Bing?"
"Junior Sister, have you lost your mind from cultivation deviation?"
The female disciple's expression immediately changed, and she hastily covered Qin Yuzhi's mouth.
"How dare you address the Palace Master by her name so casually!"
"Indeed. Our Palace Master is the Phoenix Heavenly Empress, sovereign of the Lunar and Divine Phoenix Great Daos, reigning supreme among the Nine Heavens. Are you a spy from a rival sect? How could you not know this?"
Qin Yuzhi's round eyes widened further as she stood rooted in place.
How could Little Bing have such a dream?
Well, given her talent, this wasn’t exactly a pipe dream.
"Hmm, you probably aren’t a spy. A spy wouldn’t be this clueless."
The white-robed disciple scrutinized her before asking,
"Are you a new recruit?"
Qin Yuzhi quickly nodded. "Yes, yes! Senior Sister, could you tell me more about our Palace Master? What kind of person is she?"
"The Palace Master... ranks first among the Ten Thousand Beauties. She is extraordinarily beautiful."
The disciple answered earnestly.
"That much is common knowledge—no need to mention it..."
The disciple glanced around before lowering her voice. "Well... she’s extremely cold-natured. Not only has she severed all emotions and desires, but she also demands that all disciples of the Moon Palace remain pure in heart and mind. So, if you’re thinking about romance..."
"Absolutely forbidden?" Qin Yuzhi frowned.
"Absolutely must not be discovered by the Palace Master."
Qin Yuzhi understood now.
Emotions and desires were part of human nature—who could truly sever them?
So, in truth, many disciples in the Moon Palace were secretly engaging in romance... or, in other words, illicit affairs.
Fortunately, the Palace Master spent her days in solitude, accompanied only by the cold moon, detached from worldly affairs as she pursued the pinnacle of the Great Dao.
Peerless in strength, utterly devoid of emotion.
"The influence of the Primordial Phoenix Ancestor has already... reached this extent?"
Qin Yuzhi murmured to herself.
Legend had it that after the Nine-Colored Primordial Phoenix returned from the Celestial Realm, she sought to govern the affairs of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths with absolute impartiality. To achieve this, she emulated the Heavenly Dao and created the Supreme Emotion-Severing Method.
If Little Bing truly became in the future...
The moment she ascended to immortality might very well mark the return of that existence.
The fact that she was already dreaming meant the influence was far from trivial...
Just then, the female disciple spoke again:
"Junior Sister, since I’ve told you so much, could you do me a favor in return?"
"What favor?" Qin Yuzhi asked.
"Little Junior Brother accidentally wandered into the Palace Master’s chambers and was caught by the elders. He’s been punished with meditation at the Frostmoon Cliff—it’s freezing there. Could you deliver this meal to him?"
"Little Junior Brother? Who’s that..."
Qin Yuzhi took the food box, puzzled.
"Li Mo, of course. He’s the only male disciple in our Moon Palace. Gentle as jade, kind and generous—many female disciples want to sneak around with him. Pity I don’t fancy men."
For the third time, Qin Yuzhi’s brain short-circuited.
Little Bing was the Palace Master and Empress.
But that brat was her junior brother?
Didn’t that make them master and disciple?
What kind of absurd plot was this?!
If only she had read The Domineering Empress Falls for Me, she might have had some frame of reference...
Carrying the food box, Qin Yuzhi hurried toward Frostmoon Cliff. But before she could get close, she sensed something amiss.
Someone had arrived before her.
She immediately diminished her presence in the dream, observing from the shadows.
Through the jade-like branches, she spotted two figures standing before the cliff.
The dream version of Li Mo still looked like a youth, no different from his real-world self.
"You knew I would come?"
Little Bing—no, now she should be called Big Ice Block.
Ying Bing had fully matured, her figure breathtaking, her legs so long Qin Yuzhi almost felt they reached her waist...
Yet her ethereal, divine aura remained unchanged—only now, her icy demeanor was laced with an alluring contrast that was downright lethal.
What was she doing here?
Wasn’t she the Palace Master of the Moon Palace?
Big Ice Block frowned slightly, as if reprimanding him:
"I told you not to sneak into my chambers. Now that the elders have caught you, if I don’t punish you, how can I justify it to the others?"
Qin Yuzhi thought she understood.
Ah, so she favored this disciple and came to admonish him?
A bit odd, but not entirely unreasonable.
But Li Mo’s next words petrified her on the spot.
Li Mo: "But Elder Sister, I missed you."
Sect Master Qin recoiled slightly. What kind of way is that to speak to the Phoenix Heavenly Empress?!
If Ying Bing was truly under the influence of the Emotion-Severing Dao, wasn’t this courting death?
Big Ice Block lowered her gaze, her frost-pale cheeks tinged with a faint blush:
"This Palace... missed you too."
Qin Yuzhi’s scalp prickled. What kind of way is that for the Phoenix Heavenly Empress to speak to her disciple?!
Is this what you call being influenced by the Emotion-Severing Dao?!
"Your hair is loose. Let me tie it for you."
And so, the Phoenix Heavenly Empress and her little junior brother—no, Big Ice Block Elder Sister—proceeded to sit on her darling younger brother’s lap in broad daylight.
"You... stop squirming. If you keep this up, soon my mouth won’t be the hardest thing about me..."
Qin Yuzhi felt as if struck by lightning. What in the heavens are you two talking about?!
Is this the kind of dialogue that should be happening between an empress and her disciple?!
What happened to severing emotions and forbidding romance among disciples?!
No wonder the disciples are all sneaking around with affairs—this culture of impropriety stems from the rotten roots at the very top!