197: Chapter 197 Sect Master, if it doesn't work, let's summon our ancestors.

Just as Xiao Nianyin was lost in her own thoughts, the Elders below were becoming somewhat anxious.

Although the Sect Master had "revived," her aura was weak and her attitude was strange, while that terrifying Little Girl was still watching from the side with predatory eyes!

Today's humiliation of the Hehuan Sect, the Sect Master being "slain" in public, and the Sect's dignity being swept away—could they just let it go like this?

"Sect Master!" Elder Kumu spoke again, his voice somewhat raspy with agitation, "It is well that you are unharmed!

But today's matter absolutely cannot end like this! This villain—"

He pointed his finger at the snow-haired Little Girl, who was tilting her head and observing Xiao Nianyin at her leisure. "This villain humiliated our Sect and harmed your sacred body; she deserves ten thousand deaths!

Sect Master, please give the order! Everyone in the Hehuan Sect is prepared to fight to the death!"

"Yes! Fight to the death!"

Many indignant Elders and Core Disciples roared in response, their emotions surging.

The humiliation of the Sect Master was the humiliation of the Sect; this was a hatred that touched their very bottom line.

However, Xiao Nianyin only shook her head gently, her movements slow and carrying a deep sense of exhaustion.

She looked at Elder Kumu, her voice calm without a single ripple, yet possessing an unquestionable decisiveness: "Elder Kumu, pass down my order. No one in the Hehuan Sect... is to act rashly."

"Sect Master?!"

Elder Kumu was stunned, almost unable to believe his ears.

The other Elders were also dazed.

Xiao Nianyin's gaze swept over the crowd once more. Her clear eyes held the authority of one long in power. Although her aura was weak, it still made everyone's hearts tremble: "I have my own plans regarding this matter. Everyone, withdraw from the Law Execution Platform and do not approach."

The command was clear, but how could the Elders be willing? If they retreated in disgrace today, the Hehuan Sect would completely become the laughingstock of the entire Cultivation World!

Just as everyone hesitated and the atmosphere became tense, Granny Jingxu, who had been silently watching from the side, suddenly thumped her Coiled Dragon Staff heavily.

"Thump!"

A dull sound rang out, as if striking everyone's hearts.

This Grand Elder, who usually lived in seclusion and rarely interfered in mundane affairs, slowly stepped forward now.

Her figure was hunched and she looked aged, but as her cloudy eyes opened and closed, it was as if the river of time was flowing within them. Wherever her gaze passed, even the air grew heavy.

Granny Jingxu didn't look at Xiao Nianyin or the snow-haired Little Girl. Instead, she cast her gaze further beyond the Law Execution Platform, as if piercing through layers of mist to see some existence deep within the Sect.

Her raspy, old voice rang out, not loud, but with a heavy penetration that echoed in everyone's ears:

"It is a relief that the Sect Master is unharmed. However, today's situation is no longer a matter for the Sect Master alone, nor is it a common Sect dispute."

She paused, thumping her staff on the ground again, her voice suddenly rising with a sense of resolve:

"This villain's Divine Ability is beyond our speculation.

Defeating the Sect Master with one finger and moving ten thousand swords with one sword—this is no longer a technique of the Saint Realm. It seems... she has touched the threshold of that legendary realm!"

"Hiss—" At these words, all the Elders gasped. The legendary realm? Wouldn't that be... an Immortal?

Granny Jingxu continued, every word weighing as much as a thousand catties: "The Hehuan Sect has stood for eight thousand years, weathering storms with an unbroken Legacy. We rely not only on the brilliance of successive Sect Masters but also on the foundations and hidden cards left by countless Ancestral Masters!

Today, the Sect has suffered such a great humiliation, and with a powerful enemy pressing upon us, we have reached the autumn of life and death!"

She suddenly turned her head to look at Xiao Nianyin, who was still weak and had a complex expression in the air. A brilliant light never seen before erupted from her cloudy eyes as she bowed deeply, her voice earnest and impassioned:

"Sect Master! I, Jingxu, venture to advise you!"

"To ensure the Sect's Legacy is not cut off, and to wash away today's heaven-tilting humiliation—"

"Please, Sect Master, open the Forbidden Ground, use the burning of souls as a guide, and sacrifice the essence blood and Divine Soul of all current Grand Elders of our Hehuan Sect..."

She spoke one word at a time, her voice raspy yet exploding like a thunderclap:

"Summon... the Ancestor... to return!"

"Boom!"

These four words were like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire scene!

Summoning the Ancestor!

The oldest, most secret, and ultimate method of the Hehuan Sect!

In the eight thousand years since the Sect's founding, through several great tribulations—even crises where the mountain gate was breached and the Legacy was nearly severed—this ultimate trump card had never been used!

According to scattered records in ancient texts, this method required the current Sect Master to lead, gathering all the essence blood and part of the Divine Soul of at least three Grand Elders as a guide to communicate with the strongest Ancestral Masters of past generations. These masters might be slumbering in the deepest parts of the Sect's Forbidden Ground, or had merged with the Heavenly Dao, or had ascended to the Upper Realm, or had long since passed away but left behind an indestructible mark. The goal was to make a wisp of their true spirit or projection briefly "return" to protect the Sect!

Every time the Ancestor was summoned, an unimaginable price had to be paid. The leading Sect Master and the participating Elders would, at best, suffer a massive loss in cultivation and a sharp reduction in Lifespan; at worst, their Dao foundations would crumble on the spot, and they would suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

The awakened Ancestral Master's true spirit or projection would also consume the power of the mark they left in the world, and it might even affect their status in the Upper Realm or Reincarnation.

This was a truly suicidal taboo technique, never to be used unless the Sect was on the brink of extinction!

"Summoning the Ancestor?!"

Elder Kumu's whole body shook, the color draining from his old face, but immediately after, a nearly insane look of resolve took its place. "Yes! Yes! Summoning the Ancestor!

Only by inviting the true spirits of the past Ancestral Masters can we suppress this villain and reclaim the dignity of our Hehuan Sect!"

Ghostly light flickered in Venerable Youming's eyes as he said hoarsely, "Indeed! Sect Master! This villain is strange and cannot be defeated by human strength! Only by Summoning the Ancestor is there a sliver of hope! This subordinate is willing to offer all my essence blood and Divine Soul!"

"Sect Master! Summon the Ancestor!"

"The Hehuan Sect cannot just end like this!"

"Please invite the Ancestral Master to return, slay this villain, and revitalize the Sect!"

For a time, led by Granny Jingxu, several Grand Elders with deep auras who usually remained hidden appeared one after another. They gathered below Xiao Nianyin, pleading in unison, their voices tragic and resolute.

A bloody mist began to faintly steam from their bodies—a sign that their essence blood was starting to burn—and their eyes were filled with the madness of those ready to die.

More Elders and Core Disciples were moved by this tragic atmosphere and knelt one after another, shouting hoarsely, "We beg the Sect Master to Summon the Ancestor! Protect our Sect!"

The waves of sound were like a tide, rushing straight into the clouds. The entire Hehuan Sect was filled with a tragic and grim atmosphere.

However, facing the surging emotions of the Sect's veterans below, who did not hesitate to advise her even at the cost of their lives, Xiao Nianyin, suspended in the air, remained terrifyingly calm.

She didn't even look at those Grand Elders whose essence blood was burning and whose gazes were resolute. Instead, she cast her gaze toward Xu Ruyu again, and then slowly moved it toward that snow-haired Little Girl, who had been wearing an expression as if watching a play ever since Granny Jingxu mentioned "Summoning the Ancestor."

The corner of Xiao Nianyin's mouth twitched ever so slightly, as if she wanted to laugh, yet also as if she wanted to cry, eventually turning into a nearly inaudible sigh.

Summon the Ancestor?

Invite the true spirits of past Ancestral Masters to deal with this... mysterious existence who likely has a very deep connection with the founding Ancestral Master of the Hehuan Sect, and might even be some form of the Ancestral Master herself?

How absurd was this?

More importantly, after her heart's paranoia and delusions were severed by the "One Sword of Emotional Heaven," Xiao Nianyin's perspective on things had already changed.

She knew better than anyone that the root of today's disaster lay in her own cultivation of an Evil Technique and her twisted Heart-Nature.

Xu Ruyu was an innocent person caught in the middle, and this mysterious "Senior" was unfathomable.

If the Hehuan Sect insisted on going its own way and used a taboo technique like "Summoning the Ancestor" that damaged its very foundation, no matter the outcome, it would be an unbearable disaster.

She opened her mouth, wanting to stop them, wanting to tell Granny Jingxu and the others the truth, wanting to order them to stop.

But below, the five Grand Elders led by Granny Jingxu could no longer wait!

Seeing Xiao Nianyin remain silent with a weak aura, they only thought the Sect Master's injuries were too severe for her to take charge. With a powerful enemy nearby and the crisis imminent, they absolutely could not delay any longer!