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Chapter 72: Penalty
Zhao Yanbei had served as the head of the Zhao Family for many years, leading them in confrontations against other families without Foundation Building cultivators. He relied not only on his Cultivation Base, which had reached the Refining Qi completion level, but also on his ability to judge the situation and steer accordingly.
Knowing that Sect Master Xiao Haisheng of Twin Success Valley had murderous intentions, he didn't dare plead for Zhao Renlong. It was better for Zhao Renlong to suffer than for the entire Zhao Family to bear the wrath.
Xiao Haisheng didn't have many concerns about dealing with subordinate forces. He didn't bother to continue questioning Zhao Renlong and instead directly began extracting his soul.
The malicious act of soul extraction was employed by many Foundation Building cultivators, but it was generally not abused. This was because the subjects of soul extraction, if they survived, could end up with anything from mental confusion to becoming a mindless fool, and at worst, losing their lives.
With raging fury, Xiao Haisheng pressed his palm against Zhao Renlong's head, activating the soul-extraction technique. Scenes appeared in Xiao Haisheng's mind, including many of the Zhao Family's secrets.
Xiao Haisheng had no interest in the trivial matters of the Zhao Family and was mainly interested in how Zhao Renlong came into possession of the Lesser Foundation Building Pill.
Zhao Renlong did not lie; he did find the Lesser Foundation Building Pill. He had no knowledge of its origin and had never met Xiao Shenqiang.
After the soul extraction was completed, Zhao Renlong, already weakened due to age, couldn't withstand the process and perished on the spot.
Xiao Haisheng casually tossed Zhao Renlong's corpse to the ground, deep in thought.
The members of the Zhao Family, witnessing the tragic end of their elder, felt a deep sorrow that stifled any dissent or even daring to look at their elder with disapproval.
This was the sorrow of the weak and their fate.
As a series of events settled, Xiao Haisheng became calmer and realized that something was not right.
If Xiao Shenqiang's death had nothing to do with the three Foundation Building cultivators across from them, then who was the murderer? What purpose did they have in killing Xiao Shenqiang?
Being a force's leader, Xiao Haisheng had seen many intrigues and deceptions in the Cultivation World, and a bold idea formed in his mind.
Could it be that someone wanted to provoke conflicts between Twin Success Valley, Green Bamboo Mountain, Liu Family, and Forest Spring Watch? Using Liu Family's cold poison and Yin Thunder to kill people seemed like an attempt to frame Liu Family. Scattering Xiao Shenqiang's belongings, making them be found by cultivators from various forces, was meant to cause internal chaos in Twin Success Valley and create hostility between them and other forces.
Lost in his conspiracy theories, Xiao Haisheng began to think about some of Twin Success Valley's opposing forces.
Meng Zhang's use of the cold poison Yin Thunder was his only method to harm Foundation Building cultivators, and he had only acted out of self-defense to confuse the situation. He had never expected that it would lead Xiao Haisheng to imagine a bunch of conspiracies against Twin Success Valley.
Xiao Haisheng found it challenging to decide how to handle the situation. He had just confidently accused Liu Family, and now he had to backtrack and say that Liu Family had nothing to do with Xiao Shenqiang's death. Xiao Shenqiang was a senior elder of Twin Success Valley, and his death needed an explanation.
While Xiao Haisheng was suspicious and hesitant, a cyan-colored flying ship appeared in the distant sky and rapidly approached them.
The flying ship soon arrived not far ahead, and two figures flew out and stood in front of Xiao Haisheng.
Seeing their arrival, Liu Dachuan and Old Man Bamboo Stick were delighted, while the cultivators from Twin Success Valley immediately assumed defensive postures.
"Liu Dajiang, Zhujian, you two arrived quite quickly," Xiao Haisheng sneered.
"Receiving a distress call from our fellow clansmen, Dajiang didn't dare delay. If Dachuan offended Sect Master Xiao, I hope Sect Master Xiao can be magnanimous and not hold it against Dachuan," Liu Dajiang said politely.
Liu Dajiang possessed a mid-Foundation Building Cultivation Base and was not only a formidable expert in Liu Family but also its grand elder. His status and influence within Liu Family surpassed Liu Dachuan's.
Zhujian was a middle-aged man with a cold expression. Though he was much younger than Old Man Bamboo Stick, his Cultivation Base far exceeded the latter's.
As one of the top experts of Green Bamboo Mountain, Zhujian had only a mid-Foundation Building Cultivation Base but was fearless when facing Xiao Haisheng, a late-stage Foundation Building expert.
Zhujian nodded at Xiao Haisheng as a form of greeting, leaving the talking to Liu Dajiang, who was more eloquent.
At least for now, facing the powerful Xiao Haisheng, Green Bamboo Mountain, Liu Family, and Forest Spring Watch stood on the same side.
Xiao Haisheng knew that when the three forces found him, they must have secretly signaled for reinforcements to come.
Now that the reinforcements had arrived, continuing the confrontation would likely lead to more forces joining the fray. Having been accustomed to being dominant, Xiao Haisheng was reluctant to back down easily as it would make others look down on him and believe that he couldn't handle the pressure from the three forces.
Thus, both sides were deadlocked again.
Xiao Haisheng took a strong stance, stating that all the Refining Qi cultivators who found Xiao Shenqiang's belongings must undergo soul extraction and questioning.
The three Foundation Building cultivators from the opposing forces naturally refused to subject their subordinates to such torment. They strongly opposed Xiao Haisheng and argued vehemently.
After a long back-and-forth, with neither side willing to yield, it was Forest Spring Watch's Daoist Guang Hong who was the first to verbally relent. He expressed his willingness to help Twin Success Valley investigate the murderer. Then, Liu Family and Green Bamboo Mountain had no choice but to make verbal promises to assist in the matter and to punish the Refining Qi cultivators who found Xiao Shenqiang's belongings when they returned.
Seeing the three Foundation Building cultivators and their disciples leave, Xiao Haisheng's anger was still unresolved. He knew that continuing the entanglement was pointless. Shan Ying was called over and given some orders before leading his disciples to depart.
Shan Ying arrived in front of the remaining people and announced a series of punitive decisions. Anyone who found Xiao Shenqiang's belongings and failed to report it immediately was severely punished. As for the Zhao Family, although Zhao Renlong had died, all their cultivators present were punished, sentenced to three years of hard labor at Singing Sand Mountain.
Knowing that Twin Success Valley was venting their anger on them, the Zhao Family had no thoughts or capability to resist.
The cultivators from other subordinate forces were quickly dismissed.
Meng Zhang secretly rejoiced, grateful that he had managed to escape this disaster.
Fortunately, he wasn't greedy and voluntarily gave up the items from Xiao Shenqiang's storage bag while confusing the situation. Involving cultivators from Liu Family and
other forces had made Xiao Haisheng wary, and he reluctantly let the matter go.
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