Yang Hong looked at the expectant disciple and suddenly thought of how he had just killed a group of people with a single palm strike for offending him as mortals.
Had he indeed become the kind of person he despised?
He recalled the Great Sui Dynasty, where he hated cultivators who casually disregarded mortal lives and treated them as less than human.
Thinking of this, a self-mocking smile touched his lips, much to the relief of the disciples of Qingfeng Villa.
But the next moment, their hearts tightened again.
"Heh heh~ It seems many Qingfeng Villa disciples have killed mortals.
Bullying the weak is probably also common, right?
What about betraying the sect? Killing fellow disciples? And those who cultivate demonic arts?"
As Yang Hong's questions continued, the heads of the eighteen enforcement disciples drooped lower. The Qingfeng Villa disciples kneeling on the ground, who had just regained some color, turned ashen again.
He directly unleashed his divine sense, observing the 63,204 disciples and over 20,000 rogue cultivators.
Over ten thousand Qingfeng Villa disciples had pale faces, while less than a thousand rogue cultivators showed signs of distress.
Seeing this, Yang Hong was filled with a sense of disappointment and anger, lamenting that they had not lived up to their potential.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he threw more than three hundred members of the Qin family into the teleportation array, sending them away.
He had not killed them, but their cultivation had been stripped away. They were now just "mortals" with slightly more physical strength than ordinary people.
Whether they could survive after leaving Qingfeng Villa would depend on their luck.
After all, the plants and animals in the wild across the Tianyuan Continent were currently evolving at an astonishing rate, with very few beasts not having transformed into demonic or monstrous beasts.
After dispatching the Qin family, he raised his hand again, pulling out 14,293 cultivators and fixing them in the air.
In the terrified gazes of all the disciples, Yang Hong said, "The Enforcement Hall, you will first investigate these individuals.
Other disciples, as long as they have not violated the Five Killings Edict, can step forward to identify those who have, and their previous offenses will be pardoned."
As Yang Hong's words fell, the entire plain was filled with cries of "I was wrong," and "Spare my life!"
Yang Hong ignored the pleas. He extended his divine sense again, found the eighteen Azure Willow Tree Spirits on the Jiuyan Plain, and summoned them all.
"Greetings, Master."
The eighteen Azure Willow Tree Spirits had also witnessed Yang Hong dealing with the disciples, so they immediately teleported over. Upon appearing, they immediately knelt in respect without a word.
"You eighteen will blockade the teleportation array, allowing entry but not exit. Anyone attempting to leave Jiuyan Plain will be teleported directly before me."
"Also, notify Qing Zhongying to restrict all teleportation arrays leaving the Lihuo Desert."
"We obey, little spirits."
The eighteen Willow Tree Spirits bowed and accepted the order, preparing to leave.
Yang Hong then said to Li Longjiang beside him, "Go to the Six Kingdoms and inform them that any mortals who have been harmed by cultivators can come here to identify them. Any cultivator identified will be certainly executed. Assure them they can come without fear."
"Yes~ Yes, but the journey is too far, and we might..."
Li Longjiang first responded with surprise and joy, then with a look of hesitation. Even a Grandmaster among mortals could not travel ten thousand li in a day. Crossing a million li of territory seemed like a pipe dream.
"I will, with us. Here are teleportation tokens. As long as you wish to teleport, activate them with your inner energy, and we will immediately teleport you."
The Azure Willow Tree Spirits nearby, who had not yet left, quickly produced a pile of cyan wooden tokens and actively taught Li Longjiang how to use them.
They did not need Yang Hong to speak. These tree spirits were not foolish; they could see that their master intended to rectify Qingfeng Villa.
The eighteen enforcement disciples, seeing Yang Hong's firm stance, dared not harbor any doubts. They requested Yang Hong's permission to retrieve the case files from the Enforcement Hall branch and quickly reported the situation to the Hall Master, Qiu Kun.
Having set up a magical formation to suspend the more than twenty thousand cultivators in the air, Yang Hong directly landed with the girl Jiujiu and inquired about her current situation.
Hearing Yang Hong's question, Jiujiu mimicked the disciples of Qingfeng Villa and clasped her fists in greeting. Then, she replied with a low tone,
"Reporting to the Sect Master, Jiujiu only has her grandfather left as family. All other relatives were killed by people from the Qin Royal Mansion.
Father, Mother, elder sister, elder brother, and many uncles and aunts all died protecting Jiujiu.
Waaah~~~~"
As she counted, the little girl suddenly burst into tears, causing Yang Hong great heartache. He gently held her in his arms.
Perhaps it was the comfort of Yang Hong's embrace, but the little girl fell asleep while crying.
Looking at the sleeping girl with furrowed brows, Yang Hong's calmed killing intent began to resurface.
However, just as he was about to personally unleash a massacre, Zhu Yuyan and the other two teleported over.
The Azure Willow Tree Spirits, also worried that their master's killing intent might spill over to them, knew that only these three mistresses could possibly dissuade their master. Thus, they directly sent the three women to Yang Hong.
"Husband, what has happened to make you so agitated?"
Zhu Yuyan flashed to Yang Hong's side, ignoring the fact that he was holding a young girl, and gently asked while holding his arm.
"Heh heh~ Who does this little girl remind you of?"
Yang Hong smiled and slightly lifted the girl Jiujiu in his arms so that Zhu Yuyan and the other two could see her clearly.
"Eh~ Doesn't she look like Sister Lizhi?"
"Husband, have you found Sister Lizhi's reincarnation?"
"Ah~ She really does resemble her, and I feel a sense of familiarity."
As Zhu Yuyan and the others spoke, they took the girl Jiujiu from Yang Hong's arms.
As for the disciples of Qingfeng Villa still suspended in the air, awaiting screening?
They were strangers; who cared about their lives or deaths?
Seeing that the three mistresses paid no mind to their fate, and that the girl in the Sect Master's hands seemed to be someone important to them, the disciples in the air were filled with despair.
Simultaneously, Qiu Kun's heart was also filled with despair.
Watching the Sect Master's family of four happily chatting and laughing, he still forced himself to approach.
"Sect Master, do we really have to enforce the Five Killings Edict?"
"Enforce it. Investigate first. If there is anyone with too high a cultivation that you cannot kill, notify me, and I will act."
Yang Hong glanced up at Qiu Kun, suppressed the impulse to slap him to death, and said in a low voice.
Bang~
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Kun knelt down and said anxiously, "I implore the Sect Master to retract this order. Most disciples in the sect strictly adhere to four of the Five Killings Edict.
However, the rule against indiscriminately killing mortals has been broken by many fellow disciples.
If it is strictly enforced, many people may die."
Yang Hong's brows furrowed again, and he asked coldly, "Many?"
"More than thirty percent of the disciples have killed mortals."
"Hiss!"
Hearing "thirty percent," Yang Hong gasped, his hands trembling with anger.
With over a million disciples in Qingfeng Villa, one-third of them had killed someone. Had they treated his meticulously crafted sect rules as mere nonsense?
"Sect Master, please calm your anger. As you know, where there are people, there is martial arts. Some disciples had grudges with others before they began cultivating, and after achieving success..."
"Hmph~ Even so, they have violated the killing precept against bullying the weak, and they deserve to die."
"Sect Master, please calm your anger. After all, it is difficult to determine right or wrong when it comes to grudges. I implore the Sect Master to slightly reduce the scope of punishment."
Qiu Kun quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy.
As the head of the Enforcement Hall, he was an absolute law-abider. He kept records of mortal deaths and disciple deaths, and knowing how many would die, he pleaded desperately here.
If the Sect Master could not quell his thunderous wrath, Qingfeng Villa might lose at least thirty percent, or even forty percent, of its disciples.
Yang Hong was also conflicted, as the number of people to be killed was simply too large!
Moreover, they were his own disciples. Should he...?
Kill?
Or not?