"Go in." Xia Yuan's gaze fell on Lin Taichu. "Choose your own punishment. Don't be afraid of trouble—go ahead."
"Mm." Lin Taichu nodded slightly and walked toward the center of the Punishment Hall. A statue stood at its very center: a majestic man with a burly build and peerless handsome features, like a war god descended upon the world. Every gesture he made seemed to exude an overbearing aura that looked down upon all beneath heaven.
"That is the statue of the Emperor Cang. After the Emperor Cang fell, it remained here. Every Punishment Envoy throughout the generations paid respects to the Emperor Cang whenever they came here."
Xia Yuan introduced, "The Emperor Cang was my Senior Brother's close friend and saved me many times. Therefore, we all regard the Emperor Cang as our benefactor. Anyone who bullies or insults the Emperor Cang will be killed without mercy."
"Thanks for the reminder." Lin Taichu's eyes flickered. He did not have many doubts; such things could not deceive him.
He looked ahead and saw three Stone Pillars standing there, each carved with three lifelike ancient beasts. Every ancient beast contained overwhelming might, as though it could guard an entire region and suppress the eight desolations.
"The punishments of the Punishment Hall are on those three Stone Pillars." Xia Yuan pointed at them and said solemnly, "These punishments were rules personally established by the Saint Emperor. Every punishment is immensely destructive. Once triggered, at best, one's cultivation will be crippled and one will be expelled from the sect; at worst, one will be executed on the spot!"
Hearing Xia Yuan's words, Lin Taichu's heart twitched violently. The Saint Emperor's rules were indeed domineering, deciding another person's life or death with a single thought.
"What do I need to do?" Lin Taichu asked.