184: Chapter 184 Granny Liu: Do you think his acquisition of the patriarch's inheritance was just luck?

Granny Liu's gaze was very calm, without pity or surprise, as if she were looking at an ordinary object.

But the moment Xu Ruyu was swept by this gaze, he had the illusion that his entire being was seen through—not his cultivation, but something deeper, as if even the mark from another world deep within his Soul could not hide from this look.

Granny Liu looked for a few breaths, her gaze lingering for a moment especially on the jade pendant on Xu Ruyu's chest, which was now completely silent and covered in fine cracks; a trace of realization and emotion, extremely difficult to detect, flashed deep in her eyes.

Then, she slowly turned her head and cast her gaze toward Xiao Nianyin, who was standing ten feet away with a bowed posture.

"Xiao Yatou," Granny Liu spoke, her voice old and raspy, her pace slow but every word clear, carrying a flatness that had experienced many vicissitudes. "Rise."

"You are the Sect Master now; there is no need to perform such a grand salute to an old woman like me who is about to enter her grave."

Xiao Nianyin straightened up, her ice-blue eyes staring intently at Granny Liu. The emotions in her eyes had been covered by calmness again, but her respect had not diminished in the slightest: "Martial Aunt will always be Martial Aunt."

"I only wonder why Martial Aunt would come out of seclusion today? And why... you would intervene in this matter?"

Her question was direct, even carrying a trace of subtle questioning.

After all, she was the current Sect Master, holding the power of life and death over the Sect.

Although Granny Liu had high seniority, she had not managed Sect affairs for decades. Her sudden appearance and intervention at this moment seemed somewhat abrupt, regardless of reason or logic.

Granny Liu seemed not to hear the sharpness in Xiao Nianyin's words. Leaning on her cane, she lightly tapped it on the ground.

The Ebony Cane made a soft "thud" as it touched the ice.

With that seemingly casual tap, an invisible ripple spread out from the point where the cane landed.

“Buzz—”

The Nine Nether Soul-Locking Grand Array covering the Law Execution Platform, those nine pitch-black pillars of light churning with Soul shadows, rippled violently like a water surface with a stone thrown into it!

The nine Elders presiding over the Formation groaned simultaneously, their faces turning pale and their auras becoming chaotic, nearly losing control to the Formation's backlash!

The Grand Elder's pupils constricted even further, and the look he gave Granny Liu was full of horror—no spiritual energy fluctuations, no Law manifestations, just a tap of a cane had invoked... some kind of 'momentum' of this world? What Realm was this?!

Granny Liu ignored the Formation's disturbance. She lifted her eyelids, looked at Xiao Nianyin, and said slowly, "Regarding today's matter, this old woman shouldn't have shown her face."

"You are already the Sect Master; the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of the Hehuan Sect should be in your hands."

"An old bag of bones like me, with half her body in the grave, should have stayed peacefully in the Forbidden Ground waiting for death, not coming out to be an eyesore and meddle in you youngsters' business."

She paused, her voice carrying an indescribable desolation and heaviness: "But... Xiao Yatou, why do I feel... as I listen and watch... my heart is always aching?"

Xiao Nianyin frowned slightly: "What does Martial Aunt mean by this? This Disciple is dealing with a spy, cleaning house, and reclaiming the Sect's stolen ultimate technique. Is there anything improper?"

"Improper?"

Granny Liu shook her head gently. Her cloudy gaze swept over the bewildered Disciples whose memories had been partially wiped by the Memory-Cleansing Divine Light, then over the battle-ready and murderous Elders, finally landing back on Xiao Nianyin.

"Xiao Yatou, you are the Sect Master. There are some things you should understand better than anyone without me saying them."

Her gaze turned to the dying Xu Ruyu behind her, then back to Xiao Nianyin. Her tone suddenly shifted, and her voice lowered a few notches, yet it carried even more weight:

"The things involved with this boy are too big and too deep. So deep that... perhaps even you yourself may not have seen them clearly."

Xiao Nianyin's heart jolted, but her face remained impassive: "Is Martial Aunt referring to the Legacy of the One Sword of Emotional Heaven he stole? The evidence is conclusive; the Elder on duty at the Hall of Power Transmission can testify."

"Evidence?" Granny Liu's lips curled into a faint, almost mocking arc. "Xiao Yatou, do you really think that just because this old woman has been in seclusion in the Forbidden Ground of the Hall of Power Transmission for decades, she is truly ignorant of the outside world, blind and deaf?"

She stopped looking at Xiao Nianyin and instead tilted her head back, looking up at the sky dimmed by the Spirit-Locking Great Array and the Nine Nether Array, as if recalling some distant past:

"How many years has the supreme ultimate technique 'One Sword of Emotional Heaven' left by our Hehuan Sect's founding Ancestral Master, Fairy Qing Tian, been lost?"

"Three thousand years? Or even longer?"

"Generations of Sect predecessors, including your Master and yourself, have spent so much effort and searched so many ancient ruins and Secret Realms. Have you ever found even the slightest clue of the true Legacy?"

Xiao Nianyin fell silent.

This was a fact.

The loss of the One Sword of Emotional Heaven had been the Hehuan Sect's greatest regret and pain for hundreds of years.

Granny Liu continued, her voice steady, but every word struck the hearts of every Elder present who knew the inside story: "Now, this ultimate technique has appeared on a newly admitted junior Disciple with a cultivation level only at the Qi Refinement Stage."

"Furthermore, he is the 'Personal Disciple' that you—Sect Master Xiao Nianyin—personally recruited and exceptionally allowed to live in Ningyin Hall."

She turned her head, her gaze as deep as an ancient well, looking straight at Xiao Nianyin: "You just said publicly that he is an enemy spy who infiltrated the Sect just to steal the Legacy."

"Those words might fool the Disciples whose memories were wiped."

"But Xiao Yatou, in your own heart, do you really believe them?"

Inside her sleeves, Xiao Nianyin's jade-like hands clenched slightly.

Deep within her ice-blue eyes, the chill grew stronger, but there was also a trace of anger from having her thoughts exposed: "What exactly is Martial Aunt trying to say?"

"What I want to say is," Granny Liu's tone suddenly grew heavy, and the Ebony Cane in her hand tapped the ground again. A "clack" sounded, louder than before!

The entire Law Execution Platform seemed to vibrate along with it!

"One who can obtain the Legacy of a Heaven-Defying ultimate technique like the 'One Sword of Emotional Heaven' can never do so by luck, much less by theft!"

"That is the 'Fated Method' recognized by the Ancestral Master! It is the 'Karma' destined in the unseen!"

She took a deep breath, her aged voice carrying a power that pierced through time:

"Xiao Yatou, do you still remember when you and your Master, in order to seek a sliver of Opportunity for the Ancestral Master's Legacy, went deep into the Hall of Power Transmission and knelt sincerely outside that legendary 'Ancient Hall of Love and Heaven' for forty-nine days?"

Xiao Nianyin's expression changed slightly.

This matter was a secret between her and her Master, known to very few. How did Martial Aunt Liu know?

"At that time, the Ancient Hall was tightly shut, and the Ancestral Master's jade statue in front of the hall door showed no reaction." Granny Liu stared intently at Xiao Nianyin and asked word for word, "Do you know why?"

Xiao Nianyin pursed her lips and did not answer.

"Because the Opportunity had not arrived, because... that person had not yet appeared."

Granny Liu's voice was like a twilight drum and morning bell, striking the hearts of everyone: "And now, this ultimate technique has automatically appeared on this boy named Xu Ruyu."

"Do you think this is just a coincidence?"

She slowly took a step forward.

Just one step, yet it made everyone, including Xiao Nianyin, feel an inexplicable tightening in their hearts.