Five Crimes Beyond Pardon

Clang, clang, clang.

On this day, the bell rang.

It rang three times in succession. As the bell tolled, the cultivators on Ziyang Mountain made their way to the council hall one after another.

Half a day later, aside from those out carrying out missions, most had gathered here.

Within the council hall, the Lu Family Ancestor sat in the central seat to the north, with the Foundation Establishment Elders seated in chairs on either side.

As for the Qi Refining stage cultivators, they stood along both sides, without seats.

Lu Fuming spoke. "I will enter seclusion to heal my wounds and reverse life and death. If I succeed, I may borrow another fifty years of lifespan from Heaven; if I fail, I will merely turn to ashes. Whether I succeed or fail, my Cave Mansion may be opened in twenty years. Before entering seclusion, I have a few matters to address."

"First, the family still has eighteen Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They shall be ranked anew and assigned positions."

"Second, some of the family's businesses must be appropriately scaled back. Certain benefits from the marketplaces must be ceded to the Wu Family, Ye Family, Qian Family, Sun Family, and the like."

"Third, the choice of Patriarch."

"Fourth, a renewed declaration of the family rules."

Lu Fuming rose to his feet, releasing a thread of Terrifying Aura that bore down upon everyone present.

"Flowers do not stay bright for a hundred days, nor do people remain prosperous for a hundred days. Our Lu Clan is merely a Purple Mansion Family, yet even Golden Core Families and Nascent Soul Families have gone through prosperity, decline, and destruction. Successful families each have their own splendor, but failed families are all much the same. Either their elders act unjustly, their family falls into internal chaos and becomes a miasma of filth; or their disciples are overbearing and domineering, offending enemies outside and bringing disaster upon the family; or the family encounters a strong enemy it cannot withstand and is wiped out on the spot."

"Our Lu Clan has endured for a thousand years because our family rules are strict. We do not commit acts that outrage Heaven and reason, and we have a bottom line in all we do... So long as that bottom line is upheld, I am a man who sides with kin over reason... But some people's deeds have become utterly vile. This old man no longer wishes to endure such evil."

Lu Fuming said, "This seclusion is fraught with life and death. I shall clear some parasites from the Lu Clan."

"Lu Xuance, you managed the family's marketplaces and shops, yet you disregarded the rules. After customers left the marketplace, you repeatedly pursued and killed them, murdering them for their treasures and tarnishing the family's reputation. At Qi Refining Layer 8, you assassinated eight customers; at Qi Refining Layer 9, you assassinated twelve. By killing customers, you amassed enough for a Foundation Establishment Pill and entered the Foundation Establishment realm."

"After entering the Foundation Establishment realm, you continued killing customers time and again. Many customers died by your hand."

"You were very clever. You left the members of cultivation families in Qingshui Commandery untouched, and you did not touch cultivators with powerful cultivation. Instead, you set your sights on Rogue Cultivators, hunting those Rogue Cultivators with no backing... And when hunting customers, you did not leave the marketplace and assassinate them immediately. You followed them for three days, then only struck once they were far from the marketplace."

"Lu Xuance, do you know your crime?"

The Purple Mansion Ancestor shouted sternly, killing intent surging as his Terrifying Aura pressed down.

Lu Xuance stepped forward and trembled. "Ancestor, I know my crime."

He dropped directly to his knees.

He had committed a crime; arguing would only add another degree to it.

"If you know your crime, then kill yourself. Save me the trouble." Lu Fuming said coldly, "According to the family rules, colluding with the Demon Race is punishable by death, falling into demonic cultivation is punishable by death, killing clansmen is punishable by death, killing marketplace customers is punishable by death, and selling out the family's interests is punishable by death."

"The five capital crimes cannot be pardoned. Even Foundation Establishment Cultivators must be killed."

"Slit your own throat."

As he spoke, he tossed over a sword.

"Ancestor, I know my crime, but I refuse to accept it!"

Lu Xuance said stubbornly, "Back then, my father died for the family. My father rendered great service; back then, I reached the Qi Refining peak at forty-five and was qualified to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill. With both combined, I should have received the family's Foundation Establishment Pill, yet in the end it was given to Tianming."

"At the time, I was already fifty. The family had no Foundation Establishment Pill for me, so I could only fend for myself."

"Over the years, I have rendered military merit for the family and suffered injuries many times. I merely killed a few Rogue Cultivators. What was the big deal? Could the deaths of a few Rogue Cultivators possibly affect the family's business? Absolutely not. If Ancestor insists on killing me for a few Rogue Cultivators, then I know my crime, but I refuse to accept it."

"Ancestor, Xuance is guilty, but his crime does not warrant death. I ask that you show some mercy." Lu Tianyi spoke in persuasion. "He should be exiled to the frontier and severely punished."

"When the Lu Clan does things, we must do them openly and honorably. Yet you intercepted and killed customers outright. Whoever breaks the rules must die. Since you are unwilling to kill yourself, this old man will kill you."

Lu Fuming said coldly, a spirit sword in hand, his killing intent boiling.

"Ancestor, you are heartless."

Lu Xuance said, "I refuse to accept it."

"You refuse to accept it?"

Lu Fuming sneered. "Why should this old man need your acceptance? I need only be worthy of the ancestors. As for you, you are nothing but a petty man gone mad with success. Today, you can intercept and kill customers for a few spirit stones; tomorrow, you can sell out your clansmen for a Foundation Establishment Pill; the day after tomorrow, you can sell out the family for a piece of Purple Sun Jade."

"This old man will kill you, using your head to warn others—let us see whether your head is hard, or this old man's sword is sharp."

Rip.

A destructive Sword Qi tore through Lu Xuance's body. This Foundation Establishment Cultivator fell on the spot.

"Men, drive all of Lu Xuance's descendants within three generations down the mountain. For nine generations, they may not undergo spirit-root testing or serve as officials among mortals. Let them live or perish as they will."

Watching this scene, everyone felt a chill rise in their hearts.

Lu Xuanji watched as well, his mind trembling.

"Lu Yanping, in a chance encounter, you obtained a Demonic Cultivation Method called the 'Six Desires Harmonious Union Art.' You could harvest and supplement from female cultivators, using them as furnaces to increase your cultivation. Over the years, you captured thirty-eight Qi Refining female cultivators and two Foundation Establishment female cultivators, keeping them in an estate. Those female cultivators were successively harvested to death by you, while you gained immense benefits."

"At merely one hundred and twenty years old, you reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer. Your progress was indeed fast, but you entered the demonic path. You must be killed."

"I am going to kill you. Do you accept this?"

Lu Fuming continued, looking toward a family cultivator.

"Ancestor, spare my life."

Lu Yanping knelt on the ground and said tremblingly.

"Haha, calamities wrought by Heaven may yet be endured; calamities wrought by oneself cannot be escaped." Lu Fuming sneered and cut him down with a single stroke.

Lu Yanping's head shattered, and he died on the spot.

"Lu Xiuqin, you were in charge of the family's trade, yet over these years, you colluded with the Demon Race, selling White Yang Rice, all manner of pills, magical artifacts, cultivation texts, and more to them, earning immense profits from the Demon Race. But the supplies you sold to the Demon Race would strengthen demon beasts and bring danger to humanity."

"Do you know your crime?"

"Ancestor, I know my crime."

Lu Xiuqin spoke, her voice calm. "There is no need for Ancestor to act. I will end myself."

As she spoke, she circulated her true qi. Her meridians ruptured, and she died on the spot.

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