Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkeys, Tongtian's Tacit Approval

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

For all of Golden Turtle Island, these three days had been as oppressive as the dead silence before a storm.

The Immortal-Slaying Platform had been established by Master Tongtian to punish the utterly wicked within the sect and even execute foreign enemies. It itself contained endless murderous sword qi and the might of a Saint.

Now, one of the Seven Attendant Immortals was to be taken there and annihilated in body and soul. Since Jiejiao's founding, such a severe punishment had been exceedingly rare!

Countless gazes, open and hidden alike, were fixed upon that stone platform whose baleful aura pierced the heavens.

The cave dwellings of Qiu Shou Immortal, Lingya Immortal, Golden Light Immortal, and the others remained tightly shut, with no further sound emerging from within, as though their earlier collusion and indignation had never happened.

Before Xuan Chuan's absolute strength, embodied by the Purple Lightning Hammer, and Master Tongtian's tacit approval, any thought of storming the execution ground seemed utterly laughable. It would have been seeking death.

As the morning sun rose, it stained the clouds blood-red, as though foretelling the day's outcome.

The area around the Immortal-Slaying Platform had long been packed with Jiejiao disciples, a vast sea of black heads, yet not a single person made a sound. The air was thick with killing intent and tension.

Xuan Chuan appeared precisely on time. He still wore that plain Daoist robe, his expression calm, neither joyous nor sorrowful.

In his hand, he carried Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, who was limp as mud, his eyes vacant and his cultivation utterly destroyed.

Step by step, he ascended the Immortal-Slaying Platform, built from unknown black boulders and covered in sealing and slaughtering runes.

He threw Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal into the center of the platform, where a depression faintly connected to the earth veins and the killing formation encompassing all of Golden Turtle Island.

Xuan Chuan turned to face the thousands of fellow disciples below, his gaze sweeping across faces filled with awe, fear, and complicated emotions.

"Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's crimes were publicly announced three days ago."

His voice was not loud, yet it reached every disciple's ears with a cold metallic edge. "Betraying the sect and conspiring with its enemies, stealing secrets and committing murder—the evidence is conclusive. By the law, he shall suffer the ultimate punishment: annihilation of body and soul!"

"Today, upon this Immortal-Slaying Platform, the sentence will be carried out!"

There was no lengthy pronouncement, no unnecessary sentiment, only the most direct declaration.

As his words fell, Xuan Chuan raised the Purple Lightning Hammer in his hand.

"Rumble—!!"

It was not the sound of the hammer striking, but of the Purple Lightning Hammer serving as a conduit to link heaven and earth!

The previously clear sky was instantly covered by dark clouds, while lightning serpents writhed madly!

Vast heavenly might descended, resonating with the baleful aura of the Immortal-Slaying Platform itself and forming a terrifying pressure that made souls tremble!

The Purple Lightning Hammer erupted with blinding lightning brighter than ever before, as though it had become a vortex drawing in thunderbolts!

From above the nine heavens, an incomparably massive bolt of deep-violet Violet Firmament Divine Thunder, containing the will of Heavenly Dao's punishment, was forcibly drawn down.

Like a roaring thunder dragon, it tore through the sky and struck the center of the Immortal-Slaying Platform with unparalleled precision, blasting directly into Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's utterly defenseless body!

"Aah—!"

A brief, agonized scream, so short it was nearly negligible, was instantly swallowed by the thunder's roar.

Lightning exploded outward, dyeing the entire Immortal-Slaying Platform a pure violet.

There was no spray of flesh and blood, no lingering soul escaping.

Beneath that ultimate thunder containing the laws of a Saint and the punishment of Heavenly Dao, Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's physical body, primordial spirit, and even every trace of his existence were instantly vaporized and erased!

True—annihilation of body and soul!

Only a scorched mark remained, along with the gradually fading aura of destruction lingering in the air.

Silence!

Deathly silence!

Every observing disciple, whether from the Inner Sect or Outer Sect, regardless of cultivation, felt a chill surge from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads!

Some of the weaker disciples even had their legs go soft, nearly unable to remain standing.

Witnessing a Taiyi Golden Immortal, one of the Seven Attendant Immortals, being erased in such a brutal and thorough manner delivered a dual shock to the eyes and soul that surpassed any verbal warning!

Xuan Chuan, the Eldest Senior Brother, truly dared to kill! Moreover, he possessed both the strength and authority to carry out such ruthless decisions!

From the direction of Biyou Palace, a vast yet indifferent divine sense lightly swept across the Immortal-Slaying Platform. Like a breeze brushing past, it neither lingered nor offered any response.

Yet all the disciples understood—Master Tongtian knew, and he had tacitly approved.

That final sliver of hope was utterly extinguished.

Xuan Chuan put away the Purple Lightning Hammer, and the lightning around him faded. Expressionless, he glanced at the crowd below without saying another word, then turned and walked down the Immortal-Slaying Platform step by step.

Wherever he passed, the disciples instinctively made way and lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

After this event, Xuan Chuan's authority was truly established on Golden Turtle Island.

The previous atmosphere of outward compliance and secret defiance toward the new rules, along with all the complaints, was swept clean away. The resistance to his various rectification measures visibly plummeted.

The traitor had been purged, and his authority successfully established!

However, just as Xuan Chuan descended from the Immortal-Slaying Platform and his heart settled slightly—

Suddenly, his soul jolted violently!

A will filled with malice, greed, and some lofty calculation seemed to cross endless space and lock onto his direction from afar!

That will was vast and obscure, carrying an intent of extinction and salvation entirely unlike Xuanmen Dao arts. Like a disease clinging to the bone, it made him intensely uncomfortable.

The Western Teachings!

Xuan Chuan's steps paused almost imperceptibly. His eyes instantly sharpened like blades as he looked toward the western horizon.

Was it Zhunti? Or Jieyin?

With Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, that chess piece, removed, he had clearly drawn the attention of the one behind the scenes—and perhaps even their displeasure.

An opponent of a higher level had already turned his gaze upon him. The road ahead would likely be even more perilous.