116: The sect leader was seriously injured, and Lin Ye took power.

Qingyun Sect, Sect Master's Great Hall.

In the center of the Great Hall, Sect Master Su Changqing's once thick, black hair was now completely white, devoid of any vitality.

His face, which had been ruddy and imposing without anger, was now covered in deep, gully-like wrinkles, as if hundreds of years of his Lifespan had been drained in a single day.

Around the ice bed, the Qingyun Sect's only remaining seven Core Elders all had ashen faces, their expressions extremely solemn.

"Sect Master... he burned nearly eighty percent of his Dharma Body Origin, and his Divine Soul fire is... flickering out."

An Elder specializing in the Dao of alchemy, with a trembling hand, slowly withdrew it from Su Changqing's wrist, and said in a hoarse voice, "Unless... we can find the legendary 'Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill,' otherwise... I fear... his days are numbered."

Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill!

That was a legendary ancient Divine Pill, which had been extinct for thousands of years!

As these words were spoken, the entire Great Hall was instantly enveloped by an even thicker atmosphere of "despair."

"Demon Shadow Tower!!!" A hot-tempered Elder slammed his fist onto a jade pillar beside him, his eyes, once ethereal, now filled with terrifying bloodshot veins, "If this grudge is not avenged, how can we... face the ancestors of the Qingyun Sect!!"

However, his grief and indignation only met with a heavier... silence.

Revenge?

With what could they seek revenge?

The opponent was a Demonic Path magnate in the Middle Stage of the Dharma Body Realm! And their Qingyun Sect, after losing Sect Master, its pillar of strength, only had a few Elders in the Early Stage of the Dharma Body Realm left!

Once the Demon Shadow Tower attacked again, what awaited them would be... the calamity of annihilation!

...Just as the Sect Master's Great Hall was filled with gloom and despair, as if the end of the world had arrived.

In the Nine Revolutions Spirit Pool, Lin Ye finally opened his eyes.

"Senior Brother Lin! You're awake!"

Fatty Wang, who was guarding the pool, was the first to notice his signs of awakening, letting out a shriek filled with endless joy and excitement!

Lin Ye ignored his fuss.

He felt the Divine Soul power within his body, which had already recovered completely, and was even more condensed and powerful than before.

He knew that he had, once again, walked back from the gates of hell.

He slowly rose from the vibrant spirit pool.

He did not look at his body, which had already fully recovered, but instead raised his head, his dark eyes penetrating layers of Restrictions, gazing in the direction of the Sect Master's Great Hall, his voice hoarse as if abraded by sandpaper.

"Take me... to see the Sect Master."

...When Lin Ye's figure, supported by Fatty Wang, appeared in the sorrow-filled Sect Master's Great Hall, all eyes instantly and uniformly focused on him!

Those gazes were filled with complexity.

There was gratitude, there was awe, but more than that, there was a kind of... bewilderment, not knowing how to face him.

If not for this young man, their Qingyun Sect would have been completely annihilated in that shocking ambush.

But, if not for this young man, how could their Qingyun Sect's pillar of strength, Sect Master Su Changqing, have fallen into such a tragic state of flickering out?

"Lin Ye... you're here."

Just then, on the ice bed, the figure, whose breath was as faint as a wisp of smoke, slowly opened his already cloudy eyes.

"Father!"

"Sect Master!"

Su Qingyue and several Elders quickly gathered around him.

Su Changqing ignored them; his cloudy eyes simply gazed at the young man standing at the entrance, and slowly beckoned him over.

"Come here."

Lin Ye calmly walked, step by step, to the ice bed.

He looked at the aged figure before him, who had burned all his life's fire to protect him, and his heart, which had long grown cold due to cultivation, inexplicably trembled violently.

He slowly knelt down.

"Disciple Lin Ye is unworthy of Sect Master's high hopes!"

"Rise," Su Changqing's voice, though weak, still carried an undeniable authority, "This matter has nothing to do with you."

"It is my Qingyun Sect that owes you."

He laboriously raised his hand, which had already withered like a chicken's claw, and gently placed it on Lin Ye's shoulder.

"Good child," his cloudy eyes sparkled with unprecedented admiration and... relief, "You have not disappointed me."

He slowly turned his head, his authoritative eyes sweeping over every Elder present, and his already tear-streaked daughter, and announced a decision in a loud voice, almost like a "final burst of energy," that shook everyone present to their core!

"Hear my decree!"

"Effective immediately, I, Su Changqing, shall enter 'Death Seclusion'! During this critical time for the Sect's survival, I shall not... be awakened!"

Death Seclusion!

That was the legendary ultimate place in the Sect, where there was entry but no exit, and which would never be opened until the very last moment!

"Father! No!" Su Qingyue let out a heart-wrenching shriek!

However, Su Changqing seemed not to have heard her.

His eyes, filled with supreme authority, stared intently at every Elder present, and he said, word by word:

"During my seclusion..."

"All matters, big and small, of the Qingyun Sect shall be jointly... overseen by my daughter, Su Qingyue, and the Core Disciple, Lin Ye!"

Boom!!!

"Sect Master! You cannot!" A Core Elder was the first to step forward, his face filled with disbelief, "Qingyue is your daughter, so overseeing the Sect is only right! But... but this Lin Ye, he... he only joined the Sect a few months ago, his qualifications are shallow, how can he... bear such a heavy responsibility?!"

"That's right! Sect Master! Please reconsider this matter!"

"Qualifications?" Su Changqing seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world; he gave a bitter laugh, his laughter filled with endless desolation and... determination!

"I ask you!" He suddenly raised his voice, and a terrifying glint burst forth from his already cloudy eyes, "When three Dharma Body Realm powerhouses from the Demon Shadow Tower descended, could you all resist?!"

"When the Sect's honor was trampled into the dust at the Seven Sect Martial Gathering, who turned the tide?!"

"When the Black Wind City blood sacrifice ceremony was about to devour dozens of Genius Disciples of our Sect, who ventured alone into danger and single-handedly slew a Treasure Body?!"

His series of questions were like resounding slaps, fiercely striking the faces of every Elder present!

"I tell you!" Su Changqing's voice was like a final judgment, "Now, my Qingyun Sect is in grave danger! The Demon Shadow Tower is eyeing us covetously! The other six Sects are even more covetous of our Sect's right to explore the 'Ancient Ruins'!"

"At such a critical juncture of life and death, what our Sect needs is not some damned qualifications! Nor is it some outdated custom of seniority!"

"But rather... strength!"

"The absolute strength... sufficient to lead our Sect to carve out a bloody path!"

He slowly turned his head, his eyes, filled with endless trust and anticipation, fixed intently on the young man still calmly kneeling on the ground!

"And he has it!"

"My decision on this matter is final!"

"Who dares to disobey?!"

The final residual might of a Middle Stage Dharma Body Realm powerhouse erupted with a roar!

The entire Great Hall hummed under this terrifying pressure!

All the Elders who had still wanted to speak and dissuade him instantly turned pale, no longer daring to utter another word of nonsense!

...Half an hour later.

When Su Changqing's figure, supported by the several Core Elders, slowly disappeared into the endless darkness leading to "Death Seclusion."

Lin Ye slowly rose from the ground.

In his hand was a Sect Master's Token, crafted entirely from purple-gold, as if containing the entire starry sky...

He turned around, meeting the gaze of the beautiful figure who had remained silently behind him, her eyes, already red and swollen from crying, filled with endless complexity and... reliance.

"From today onwards," he slowly began, his voice not loud, but every word was firm and resonant, filled with undeniable power, "I will protect the Qingyun Sect."