Heavenly Tribulation Descends on Canglan River

On Soul Lamp Square, everyone's eyes converged on the cross erected at the very center of the plaza.

Nailed to the cross was an aged figure with graying hair.

Song Xiangjie, once ranked among the top five in status within the Brocade Banner Council of Elders, now resembled nothing more than an ordinary old man at death's door, his heart ashes as he waited for the judgment that belonged to him.

Song Changxue's cold voice rang out above the square. "Song Xiangjie, holding a high position yet failing to repay the clan, instead exploiting your authority for personal gain; indulging your descendants in harming their own kin; and, to conceal the truth, not even sparing mortal clan members, resulting in the deaths or crippling of thousands of clan members.

"Your hands drip with blood; your crimes could fill every bamboo slip in the world.

"Everything listed above is supported by irrefutable evidence.

"This Elder, in accordance with the Clan Rules and before the ancestors of every generation in the Ancestral Hall, sentences Song Xiangjie to lingchi. His Divine Soul and True Spirit shall be annihilated, and his head displayed in all four quarters, to comfort the spirits of the thousands of clan members in heaven.

"Let this be a warning to you all. Do not use your own bodies to test the law, or this shall be your fate!"

Song Changxue's gaze was sharp, her tone filled with warning.

Everyone present turned solemn.

When the Law Enforcement Hall passed judgment, it would usually take old ties of kinship into account and stop short of the extreme. Annihilation of Body and Spirit was already the highest punishment, and they would not humiliate someone excessively.

Yet Song Xiangjie's sentence shattered the tacit understanding and rules maintained for so long. Not only had