Having been given a second chance at life, I choose to join the Demonic Sect!

Seeing the other Void Refinement stage elders express their opinions, Tiancong's master, Venerable Zhenkong, sighed helplessly and then transmitted his voice to the other Void Refinement stage elders.

As time passed, Master Zhenkong's private telepathic communication finally took effect.

The other Void Refinement stage elders all nodded, clearly indicating that they had reached an agreement in private.

Mingfeng, who was in charge of the trial, announced the final result:
"Tian Cong, it is an undeniable fact that you harmed your fellow disciples, but considering that you did not succeed in committing a serious crime, Wu Hui is safe and sound, and your attitude in admitting your mistake is good, we will not hesitate to reconsider."

After careful consideration, in order to preserve the bonds between our sects, we have decided to treat this matter leniently.

From then on, Tian Cong was removed from his position as sect leader and demoted to peak master, receiving a salary for a thousand years.

At Mingkong Peak, where Tiancong resided, ten generations of disciples starting with Tiancong were stripped of their right to compete for the position of sect leader.

"If Tiancong commits another grave error, he will be executed without mercy!"

This was the punishment result privately discussed and agreed upon by the Void Refinement stage elder.

Although Tiancong survived, from the time he came up, the ten generations of Mingkong Peak were stripped of their right to compete for the position of sect leader.

This means that the Mingkong Peak, where Tiancong lived, would be marginalized for ten generations, and they would not be able to make any money from it in the future!

This move is tantamount to sacrificing the future of ten generations of Ming Kongfeng to save Tian Cong's life.

Master Zhenkong was helpless; Tiancong's mistake was too great and hadn't been properly dealt with.

Furthermore, given that he also shielded Zhong Bilian from harming the disciples of Tianyuan Valley and Xingchen Pavilion, it would be difficult to explain to Tianyuan Valley and Xingchen Pavilion if he were not punished.

Upon hearing this result, Tiancong was overjoyed.

It's just ten generations, isn't it?
After escaping danger, he arranged for his apprentices to take on disciples, and then for his grand-disciples to take on disciples.

We'll try to take several hundred years to get ten generations out of the system.

"Esteemed elders of the sect, Wu Hui is not convinced!"

Wu Hui expressed his dissatisfaction with Tian Cong's punishment.

What he wanted was to cripple Tiancong, not this kind of punishment.

To put it bluntly, as long as Tiancong is ruined...

He will have plenty of time to suppress Mingkong Peak in the future, and may even find a way to sever Mingkong Peak's lineage and kill off its descendants!

Master Zhenkong looked at Master Shanzheng, Wu Hui's master, his eyes seeming to say:
Didn't you promise me privately that you'd give me something later? What's your apprentice Wu Hui up to?

"We earnestly request all our elders to severely punish Tian Cong and uphold the ironclad rules of our sect!"

Su Qingyue, Yu Mengshang, and Huyan Ke all expressed their opinion at the same time, still demanding that Tian Cong be deposed.

Yu Mengshang and Huyan Ke were deeply offended by Tian Cong. They would not be able to eat or sleep in peace until Tian Cong was crippled!

For them, this is a rare opportunity, and if they miss it today, they don't know when they will have another chance.

Su Qingyue, on the other hand, was determined to uphold the clan's rules and regulations, and she wanted to give Cao Meng an explanation.

Master Zhenkong glanced at Su Qingyue and the others' masters, hoping they would give an explanation.

You've already promised to give them benefits, so what are your apprentices up to?

Wu Hui's master, Master Shanzheng, said in an annoyed tone:

"Isn't it normal for them to be dissatisfied with just verbal punishment?"

"In my opinion, we still need to resort to torture to convince the public."

Master Shanzheng wanted to both benefit from Master Zhenkong and punish Tiancong.

"What Shan Zheng said makes sense!"

Many Void Refinement stage elders agreed to use torture.

"That's it!"

Master Zhenkong sighed, having no other choice but to agree.

"Tiancong's crime may be pardoned by death, but he cannot escape punishment!"

"Tian Cong is to be punished by being sent to the Thunder Pool to suffer the torment of having his bones burned by heavenly lightning for eighty-one days, to be carried out jointly by the Thunder Hall and the Punishment Hall!"

"You shall have no further objections!"

Mingfeng, the person in charge, announced the latest punishment for Tiancong.

Upon hearing the punishment of being burned to the bone by heavenly lightning, Tian Cong frowned.

Although this punishment wouldn't kill him or destroy his cultivation, it would definitely be unbearable.

Tian Cong swore that he would better not give himself the opportunity, otherwise he would make Wu Hui, Yu Mengshang, Huyan Ke, and Su Qingyue pay for their blood debts.

"Where are the Thunder Hall and the Punishment Hall? Take Tiancong to the Thunder Pool!"

To avoid further trouble, Mingfeng immediately called for backup.

"As ordered!"

After the two hall masters of Thunder Hall and Punishment Hall appeared, they bowed to Tian Cong and then used talismans to imprison him and dragged him to Thunder Pool.

As Wu Hui and the others watched Tian Cong being dragged away, they knew that there was no way to cripple him.

"You may leave now; we still need to discuss the three spiritual veins!"

With Tian Cong's matter resolved, the Void Refinement stage elders signaled to those Nascent Soul stage cultivators to get lost.

Next, they discussed important matters and sought benefits from Master Zhenkong.

If Master Zhenkong dares to renege on his promise, they will dare to turn around and sentence Tiancong to death!
……

The Thunder Pool of the Xuantian Sect was built by the ancestors of the Xuantian Sect by setting up an array and combining the power of heaven and earth.

The Thunder Pool is divided into two areas: one is the Thunder Punishment Area where the Heavenly Thunder is raging, and the other is the Cultivation Area where the Heavenly Thunder is gentle.

The Lei Chi Lei Xing area is rarely open to the public and few customers experience it.

Ordinary disciples and elders who commit serious mistakes are either stripped of their cultivation or killed.

Ordinary disciples and elders are not qualified to be subjected to the Thunder Punishment in the Thunder Zone.

According to Lei Tang's records, Lei Xing District seems to have been closed for nearly a century.

Fortunately, Lei Tang didn't rely on the Thunder Punishment Zone of Thunder Pool to earn spirit stones, otherwise Lei Tang would have collapsed long ago.

Lei Tang mainly earns spirit stones from the Lei Chi cultivation area; the cultivation area is Lei Tang's cash cow.

Many people in the Xuantian Sect practice thunder techniques, or use thunder to temper their bodies, or use thunder to refine pills, forge weapons, and create talismans.

These people have to hand over a portion of spirit stones every time they come to the Thunder Pool's cultivation area, so the people of the Thunder Hall live quite comfortably.

Thunder Execution Platform...

Lei Tang Master Wang Longhai and Xing Tang Master Yuan Jun brought Tian Cong, whose spiritual power had been imprisoned, to this place.

"Senior Brother Wang, this Thunder Pool is your territory. From now on, it's yours to take over!"

After Yuan Jun finished speaking, he quickly left the Thunder Execution Platform and ran to the Observation Platform.

It wasn't that Yuan Jun was afraid Tian Cong would hold a grudge, but rather that the Thunder Execution Platform was the most violent and intense place in the entire Thunder Pool.

Sometimes, even without activating the Thunder Punishment, lightning will still strike.

When the Thunder Execution Platform was built, the ancestors of the Xuantian Sect intended to use thunder execution to intimidate the other disciples. In order to make it convenient for the disciples to watch the execution, the Observation Platform was built.

The execution platform is protected by a formation, impervious to heavenly lightning, ensuring the safety of those observing the execution.

Although Yuan Jun was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was also afraid that Wang Longhai might not handle things well and might kill him as well.

According to Yuan Jun's memory, he remembered that Wang Longhai had not used the Thunder Punishment for a long time, so his technique must have become rusty and the probability of making a mistake was not low!

Now, standing on the execution platform, Yuan Jun finally felt at ease. "Senior Brother Tiancong, don't blame me. This lightning punishment will pass quickly!"

Wang Longhai muttered a few words to Tian Cong, then made a hand seal and took out the array plate to start controlling the array of the Thunder Execution Platform.

Under Wang Longhai's control, the two towering golden pillars with coiled dragons, each a hundred feet tall, on the Thunder Execution Platform emitted golden light.

Two coiled dragons opened their mouths and spat out two cold iron chains, which locked Tian Cong in place.

"what!"

With a wail, two chains pierced through Tian Cong's collarbone, suspending him in mid-air.

After the Nascent Soul of the Nascent Soul stage transforms into the Primordial Spirit, it may seem that the physical body has no weaknesses, but this is not actually the case.

The collarbone is a major weakness; if a cultivator's collarbone is hooked with a specially made chain, their spiritual power will be temporarily lost.

Besides imprisoning spiritual power and binding the prisoners, the chains of the Thunder Execution Platform have several other functions.

Tian Cong's spiritual power was already imprisoned by the talisman, and now his collarbone is hooked by chains. With this double imprisonment, he is now unable to escape.

The pain of having his collarbone pierced made Tiancong curse Wang Longhai in his heart.

This is what Wang Longhai meant by "just bear with it and it will pass." The execution hadn't even officially begun, and he was already suffering so much.

The execution has officially begun! This is outrageous!
At the same time, Tiancong wanted to know which scoundrel ancestor of the Xuantian Sect had set the rule that the Thunder Punishment involved piercing the collarbone with chains and suspending the person in mid-air.

It's caused him to experience constant pain in his collarbone.

Meanwhile, Wang Longhai's side was also fully prepared.

As the Thunder Execution Platform's formation was fully activated, a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl struck Tian Cong fiercely.

This bolt of lightning felt like a thousand arrows piercing his heart, causing Tiancong excruciating pain.

But Tiancong was unaware that the heart-wrenching pain had not yet truly begun.

The Panlong Golden Pillar began absorbing the lightning, which traveled along the chains to Tiancong's collarbone and entered his body.

Thunder raged within Tian Cong's body; this was truly heart-wrenching.

As bolts of heavenly lightning struck from both inside and outside, Tiancong howled in agony.

Tian Cong was being scorched by the heavenly lightning from the inside out, and in an instant, he became a bloody, mangled black lump of coal.

Under the scorching light of the heavenly lightning, the former brilliance in Tiancong's eyes had long since faded, replaced only by fear.

The scorching lightning strikes caused Tiancong to faint several times.

But just as he fainted, lightning struck him awake again, continuing to ravage every inch of his skin and every bone.

The terror in Tiancong's eyes gradually faded, becoming numb and empty.

On the execution platform, Yuan Jun watched Tian Cong being punished. For a moment, he felt that the punishments of the Punishment Hall were nothing compared to the Heavenly Thunder Burning Bones of the Thunder Hall.

Yuan Jun felt that the name Xing Tang might be more suitable for Lei Tang.

"What sect leader, peak master? I thought he was a tough nut to crack, but he's just like that!"

Wang Longhai walked out of the execution platform and came to the observation area, muttering to himself.

Upon seeing Wang Longhai, Yuan Jun quickly said:

"Senior Brother Wang, Tiancong won't succumb to the strain and die, will he?"

"If Tiancong dies, we won't be able to explain it to Uncle-Master Zhenkong!"

Seeing that Tian Cong had become like a dead dog in such a short time, Yuan Jun was starting to worry about him.

Honestly, if Tiancong were killed by the chop, it wouldn't be fun at all.

Wang Longhai dismissed Yuan Jun's concerns and immediately reassured him:
"Junior Brother Yuanjun, don't worry. Over the years, no one has ever died from the Heavenly Lightning that scorches bones at the Thunder Execution Platform. At most, it will cripple a person!"

Wang Longhai was incredibly confident in the bone-scorching thunderbolts emanating from his own Thunder Execution Platform.

If Tiancong were truly killed by the lightning strike, the question then wouldn't be whether Tiancong lived or died, but whether the formation of the Thunder Pool was malfunctioning.

"Senior Brother Wang, what exactly happened?"

Seeing Wang Longhai's confidence, Yuan Jun was puzzled. He really didn't understand where Wang Longhai got his confidence from.

Wang Longhai pointed to the chain piercing Tian Cong's collarbone and said:
"Junior Brother Yuanjun, do you see those two chains? Besides imprisoning others' cultivation and guiding lightning, these two chains also have another ability: monitoring the physical condition of the person being tortured!"

"Once the victim can no longer endure the torture, the Heavenly Thunder Burns Bones will automatically stop the torture."

Furthermore, he instructed the people of Lei Tang to treat the wounded, and once the wounded had recovered somewhat, to continue the torture, repeating the cycle endlessly!

Wang Longhai told Yuan Jun these unimportant things directly.

"Senior Brother Wang, this Thunder Execution Platform has broadened my horizons!"

When Yuan Jun learned of this, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

The people of Xuantian Sect all say that the people in their Punishment Hall are living Yama, but today Yuanjun feels that the living Yama is clearly the Thunder Hall.

The heavenly lightning that burns bones in the Thunder Hall and Thunder Execution Platform is truly vicious!
After some time, Huyan Ke, Wu Hui, and Yu Mengshang arrived at the execution platform together.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Huyan, Senior Brother Wu, and Senior Sister Yu!"

Wang Longhai and Yuan Jun quickly bowed and greeted them to avoid offending them and getting into trouble.

After gesturing for them to dispense with formalities, Yu Mengshang suddenly said to Yuan Jun:

"Junior Brother Yuanjun, I heard that you are about to break through your cultivation realm and will be going into seclusion for a while!"

Yuan Jun had cultivated for hundreds of years and wasn't stupid, so he naturally understood the meaning behind Yu Mengshang's words.

"Senior Sister Yu, you're right!"

"Senior brothers and sisters, I'm going into seclusion. I'll leave this place to you all, Mengzhao."

After bowing to Yu Mengshang and the others, Yuan Jun quickly withdrew.

Now that Tiancong has fallen from power, the position of sect leader has been vacated.

In Yuan Jun's view, Yu Mengshang has a high probability of becoming the sect leader.

Therefore, he was unwilling to offend Yu Mengshang, lest she make things difficult for him in the future.

So Yuan Jun decided to give Yu Mengshang face and slipped away, going along with what she said.

As soon as Yuan Jun left, Huyan Ke turned his gaze to Wang Longhai and said:
“Junior Brother Wang, Tian Cong is our fellow disciple. Although he has made a serious mistake, we should still show him mercy.”

"Junior Brother Wang, we can't bear to see Tian Cong suffer so much after being tortured. After each round of torture every half hour, please use pills to help Tian Cong recover from his injuries!"

Huyan Ke may seem to be acting out of kindness and concern for Tian Cong, but that is not the case.

The intensity of the lightning strikes at the Thunder Execution Platform is related to the physical condition of the victim.

As the victim's injuries worsen under the scorching lightning, the lightning strikes become less severe.

Huyan Ke instructed Wang Longhai to give Tiancong medicine to heal his injuries after each time he tortured him.

This was all so that Tian Congyi could face the most severe heavenly lightning in a better posture, making him a true living Yama!
Wang Longhai didn't know that Huyan Ke knew about this, but he knew that the other party was really ruthless!
"Senior Brother Huyan, one or two days is fine, but if it lasts for eighty-one days, it will consume too many pills!"

Wang Longhai felt that this matter could be handled, but he would not bear the costs involved.

You have to understand that Tian Cong was given a pill to recover from his injuries every half hour. After eighty-one days, the energy expenditure was too much for him to bear.

"Junior Brother Wang, rest assured, since this was a suggestion made by the three of us, we will naturally take responsibility for the loss of pills."

Yu Mengshang understood Wang Longhai's meaning, so she readily agreed to take charge of the losses.

It's just a little bit of pills, right? As long as they make Tian Cong suffer a fate worse than death for eighty-one days, they'll pay for it!
"Junior Brother Wang, may I take a look at the array plate that you use to control Lei Xing?"

Wu Hui stared intently at the array plate in Wang Longhai's hand, his eyes filled with longing. He wanted to personally torture Tian Cong and make him pay the price. (End of Chapter)