512: Chapter 512 You guys are not only inferior in combat strength, but also in intelligence.

Just as Shen Tianxing was about to continue assigning tasks, the air in the hall suddenly rippled slightly.

The ripple was very faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible, but everyone present was a master at the Saint Realm or Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and they all sensed it.

In an instant, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned in unison toward the center of the main hall.

There, a figure was slowly manifesting.

First, it was a faint phantom, like a reflection in water, blurry and ethereal.

Then, the phantom gradually solidified, turning into an old man.

He was thin and withered, his face gaunt, his skin like dried orange peel, full of wrinkles.

His hair was sparse and gray, but his eyebrows were very long, hanging down to the corners of his eyes.

He wore a dusty, gray Daoist robe, covered in patches.

But his eyes were terrifyingly bright.

Those eyes lacked any of the cloudiness of the elderly, possessing only a shrewdness that seemed to see through all worldly affairs.

His aura was unfathomable; standing there, he was like a towering mountain, pressing down so hard that everyone struggled to breathe.

Seeing this old man appear, everyone in the hall was shocked, then simultaneously rose and knelt in unison.

"Juniors of the Tianshu Sword Sect pay respects to Old Ancestor Xuan Jizi!"

Shen Tianxing knelt at the very front, his head bowed, not daring to lift it.

His heart was filled with both shock and joy—shocked that the Old Ancestor had actually come out of seclusion, and joyful that with the Old Ancestor here, the Tianshu Sword Sect now had a backbone.

This Old Ancestor, with the Daoist name "Xuan Jizi," was one of the highest-ranking Grand Elders of the Tianshu Sword Sect. He had lived for nearly ten thousand years, and his Cultivation had long reached the Peak of the Half-step True Immortal.

He was from the same generation as Tian Jianzi, but was older than Tian Jianzi, and his Cultivation was deeper.

Although Tian Jianzi was also a Half-step True Immortal, Xuan Jizi had stepped into the Half-step True Immortal stage a full three thousand years earlier than Tian Jianzi.

If not for his Life Qi withering, he would have long since achieved Ascension to the Upper Realm.

Xuan Jizi stood there, his gaze sweeping over the people kneeling in the hall, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, revealing a cold sneer.

In that smile, there was mockery, disdain, and also an anger at them for failing to live up to expectations.

"Get up." His voice was old and hoarse, but full of vitality. "Kneeling on the ground like this, what does it look like? The reputation that the ancestors of my Tianshu Sword Sect worked so hard to build is almost completely lost by you lot."

Hearing this, everyone knew the Old Ancestor was scolding them because of Tian Jianzi's affair.

But since Xuan Jizi told them to get up, they dared not disobey. One by one, they tremblingly stood up, but they still kept their heads lowered, not daring to look at him.

Xuan Jizi walked up to Shen Tianxing, looked him up and down, and huffed: "You are the current Sect Master of my Tianshu Sword Sect?"

Shen Tianxing hurriedly bowed, replying in an extremely humble tone: "This incompetent Disciple, Shen Tianxing, is indeed the current Sect Master."

"Shen Tianxing?" Xuan Jizi repeated the name, shook his head, and said, "Tianxing, Tianxing, the name your parents gave you is quite good. It's just a pity that you, yourself, are not quite capable."

Xuan Jizi's words immediately made Shen Tianxing's old face flush slightly, but even as the Sect Master, he dared not offer any retort.

Xuan Jizi turned around, looked at everyone in the hall, and sneered: "I was listening outside for quite a while just now. To deal with one Hehuan Sect, you actually want my dignified Tianshu Sword Sect to mobilize the entire Sect to surround and suppress Xu Ruyu and the remnants of the Hehuan Sect?"

Shen Tianxing heard the derogatory tone in the Old Ancestor's words and knew that the Old Ancestor did not approve of his decision, but since he was the one who made the decision, he couldn't deny it now, could he?

That would only make the Old Ancestor even angrier.

Thinking this, Shen Tianxing had to bite the bullet and reply: "Yes. The grudge of Old Ancestor Tian Jianzi must be avenged."

"Avenged?" Xuan Jizi's voice suddenly rose, carrying obvious anger. "With what will you take revenge? With your lives? Or with the lives of the entire Sect?

Xiao Nianyin is now in the True Immortal Realm; do you think all of you combined are enough for her to defeat with one hand?

Rushing up there so recklessly—is that taking revenge or just throwing your lives away?"

Everyone heard the dissatisfaction in Old Ancestor Xuan Jizi's words, and no one dared to speak. For a moment, the vast Sect main hall fell into silence.

Shen Tianxing's face turned even redder, but he dared not retort.

He knew that what Old Ancestor Xuan Jizi said was the truth.

Xiao Nianyin was now a powerhouse in the True Immortal Realm, an invincible existence that surpassed the Cultivation Realm of this Lower Realm.

Even if they all went out in full force, even if they banded together and exhausted every means, they truly would not be enough for her alone to defeat.

Furthermore, there was the bizarrely powerful Xu Ruyu—he was the strange figure who had worn Elder Tian Jianzi to death.

Seeing all the Junior Disciples in the hall looking dejected, Xuan Jizi, as the Old Ancestor, sighed, shook his head helplessly, and spoke in a voice full of disappointment:

"My Tianshu Sword Sect has truly become worse with each generation.

You lot, it's one thing to be inferior in combat power, but you're even intellectually deficient.

Knowing full well that she is in the True Immortal Realm, you still throw yourselves at her? You are purely seeking death!"

Grand Elder Zhou Yunhe couldn't help but ask: "Old Ancestor, then do you mean… just let it be?"