CHAPTER 1428: CHAPTER 511: SUMMONED BY THE SIX SAINTS! (PART 2)

The Heavenly Dao reveals that among the families behind these dozen or so elders, only five are relatively clean.

"Relatively clean" means they may employ certain methods in their dealings but refrain from extreme measures like murder and arson.

Li Ping’an first called these five family elders before him, admonishing them briefly and recounting their deeds over the past centuries, leaving them speechless.

Li Ping’an’s punishment for these five families was relatively light, merely imposing fines.

Once he finished reviewing the matters of these five families, the Xuanwu realm had already become quite lively.

Large numbers of masters from the Desolate Era had rushed here from the main world;

The first batch of children from ancient clans, escorted by Heavenly Soldiers, had already been pressed to kneel outside the main gate.

As the Heavenly Emperor, Li Ping’an couldn’t continue prattling on nonstop. He casually drafted an edict and ordered Heavenly General Yue He to read it out loud. The edict displayed line upon line of text in a large emblematic column.

The Heavenly Court’s reckoning with these ancient clans officially commenced.

First was the Ye family, those of the Ye family who waded in blood were to pay with their lives, accessories to their crimes were to be treated the same, those who knew but didn’t report were to be exiled to small worlds, and those unaware were to contemplate and repent for three hundred years.

The main culprits, the third elder of the Ye family and all Ye family executioners, would have their bodies obliterated, Primordial Spirits stripped of cultivation, sent to the eighteen layers of hell to endure a millennium of extreme punishment before their souls were completely annihilated with no circumstances for mitigation.

In this, Li Ping’an still remembered past ties.

The head of the Ye family should have been executed together, but Li Ping’an merely judged him for dereliction of oversight, stripping of cultivation and exile, sparing him three to five hundred years of a remnant life.

Ye Zisang, being an official of the Heavenly Court, although he hadn’t committed evil, nevertheless shielded his family’s evil deeds. Ye Zisang had his duties suspended and was to accompany his father into exile for five hundred years, after which he may return to the Heavenly Court.

The Ye family’s assets were confiscated.

In deference to Ye Zisang, the Ye family’s ancestral home was spared.

Li Ping’an designed these punishments with levels of severity so that once completed, he could rest, but Yue He was in a bad situation.

He needed to read out every offender’s crimes, and for major events like mass murder, detail the time and place, reading until his mouth was parched.

All matters herein could be verified by the Heavenly Dao.

The observing masters sighed one after another, truly not expecting the new Heavenly Emperor to create such a stir right out of seclusion.

By the time Yue He ceased, more than two hundred people from the Ye family had been pressed by the stream beyond the gate.

"Your Majesty! The wicked have surrendered!"

"Execute!"

With an order from Li Ping’an, over two hundred Heavenly Soldiers outside the gate simultaneously raised their long blades, imbued with the power of the Heavenly Dao. Heads flew in all directions, and full Primordial Spirits were recaptured by immortal soldiers, stripped of cultivation, and returned to souls.

Off to the side, ghost envoys from the Underworld Chain arrived upon hearing the news and bound all the souls, leading them through the City God’s Well, back to the Underworld Office.

After the Ye family, it was the turn of the Seven Great Families.

Those elders who came along with Old Man Tianli truly hadn’t expected the fire to reach them.

Meanwhile, Li Ping’an commanded those apprehended by the Jade Pool to bring subsequent batches of offenders continuously to this place.

This, however, was only a portion.

The Human Race’s ancient families, numbering in their hundreds, have operated on the East Continent for tens of thousands of years, within which many similar affairs have undoubtedly occurred.

During Xuanyuan Huangdi’s era, since there was an external threat, most families were intimidated by the authority of Xuanyuan Huangdi and Fenghou, thus not daring to act too recklessly, and much evil from families was overlooked or ignored.

Now, times were different.

The main theme of the world differed entirely from ancient times.

Especially after Xuanyuan Huangdi perished in battle, and Li Ping’an declared his retreat; the families quickly became extraordinarily active, with the evils committed over several centuries far surpassing those of the prior ten millennia.

Today’s actions by Li Ping’an were but a prelude, planning later to command the Court of Heavenly Judgement to investigate step by step.

The charges against the Seven Great Families were recited for a day and night, and the stream had long since been stained red with blood, with all heads and bodies reduced to flying ashes and all Primordial Spirits sent back into souls and conveyed into the Underworld.

More and more onlookers gathered around.

Many Qi Cultivators applauded, while others sighed deeply.

The relentless executions left everyone at the scene trembling with fear, and only then was this event coming to a close.

Old Man Tianli had become numb to what he witnessed.

He had initially come to intercede, yet never expected to be arranged by Li Ping’an to sit on one side, witnessing the confessions of these individuals and observing the scene where thousands were punished and consecutively beheaded.

This reminded Old Man Tianli of the past, the time when Li Ping’an brewed wine in the East Alliance...

The elimination of evil must be thorough and indeed happened today.

"Senior?"

Li Ping’an softly called, and Old Man Tianli instinctively stood up, quick to respond and bowed his head to salute.

"Your Majesty!"

Li Ping’an smiled and asked, "Senior, what do you think of my handling today?"

"Naturally, it is justified and appropriate."

Old Man Tianli sighed and said:

"Today everyone knows that ’Heaven sees what people do,’ and is that truth known, causing those who once committed evil deeds to live in constant dread, unable to find peace day or night.

"Your Majesty, since this matter is settled, this old man ought to return and safeguard Emperor Xuanyuan’s tomb, no longer daring to show himself much."

"Senior, don’t be hasty; there are still some offenders not yet punished."

Li Ping’an spoke slowly:

"Returning to the matter of the Ye family, there are two batches of offender officials here.

"First, an immortal official from the Ministry of Wealth concealed the matter of a spirit mine’s hidden ore and kept this information as a commodity, then sold it to the Ye family.

"Following that, there were Heavenly Soldiers and Generals who secretly communicated and reported to the Ye family, handing over Wei Yuxue to these executioners.

"The immortal officials from the Ministry of Wealth and this Heavenly General should both be punished today."

Old Man Tianli glanced left and right, quietly said: "Your Majesty, I think perhaps it would be better to leave this to the Court of Heavenly Judgement for investigation and resolution... All immortals are now aware of your determination to cleanse the muddy air of the world, but if Heavenly Court officials are punished too harshly, I’m afraid it may cause the immortals to be overly cautious in the future."