Golden Turtle Island Rules, Myriad Immortals in Uproar

The whipping of Ma Yuan was like a massive boulder cast into a placid lake, stirring towering waves across Golden Turtle Island.

Xuan Chuan's name was no longer the silent, vague symbol of the Eldest Senior Brother. It had become inseparably linked to words like "ruthless," "decisive," "wielder of the Purple Lightning Hammer," and "carrying out punishment on behalf of the Master."

Instead of returning to his remote cave dwelling to tend to his wounds, he went straight to Myriad Immortals Plaza at the center of Golden Turtle Island, where the Dao was usually expounded and assemblies were held.

At the center of the plaza stood an enormous jade wall called the Edict Jade Wall, normally used to announce the sect leader's decrees or important notices.

Xuan Chuan's steps were still somewhat unsteady, and his face was pale, but his back remained straight.

Ignoring the growing crowd and their pointing, whispering gazes, he held the Purple Lightning Hammer and walked step by step toward the Edict Jade Wall.

Then, he formed a sword with his fingers and used his immortal power, mixed with a trace of the Law of Thunder from the Purple Lightning Hammer, to carve the first decree, flashing with purple lightning, onto the smooth jade wall:

1. Fellow disciples are forbidden from killing one another! Those who fight privately will have their cultivation crippled; those who cause death will pay with their lives!

The characters were sharp and forceful, carrying a chilling aura of slaughter!

A low uproar rose from the gathered disciples. Sparring between fellow disciples was common, and fights to the death were hardly rare. This rule struck directly at the habits of many.

Xuan Chuan did not pause and continued carving:

2. The wanton slaughter of innocent living beings is forbidden! Offenders will be whipped according to the weight of their Karmic Force until both body and soul are destroyed!

This rule caused the faces of many disciples who relied on killing and devouring living beings to cultivate or satisfy their desires to change drastically. Ma Yuan was the warning before their eyes!

3. The strong are forbidden from bullying the weak and oppressing fellow cultivators! Offenders will be severely punished without exception!

4. All Jiejiao disciples must report to the Deacon Hall within the allotted time to register their magical treasures, primary divine abilities, and major external karmic ties! Those who conceal them and fail to report will be severely punished once discovered!

One decree after another was carved onto the jade wall, flashing with cold lightning like shackles about to be placed over the entire Jiejiao.

When the final decree, requiring them to do good deeds and accumulate virtue to reduce their Karmic Force, was finished, the entire Myriad Immortals Plaza erupted!

"Why?! We cultivators live freely, settling grudges and seeking vengeance as we please, fighting Heaven for our lives! Why should we be bound by such restrictions?"

"Register our magical treasures and divine abilities? How is that any different from exposing all our assets? What is Eldest Senior Brother trying to do?"

"And we have to do good deeds and accumulate virtue? What a joke! I cultivate for freedom and immortality, not to become some damned good person!"

"That Xuan Chuan is only relying on the Purple Lightning Hammer bestowed by the Master! Does he really think he's the sect leader?!"

"We refuse!"

The clamor, doubts, and curses surged forth like a tsunami.

The strongest reactions came especially from the numerous Outer Sect disciples, as well as some Inner Sect disciples accustomed to freedom, disorder, and acting without restraint.

They had joined Jiejiao for the protection of a Saint's sect and its relatively free environment. These new rules were practically trying to pen them in like livestock!

Xuan Chuan turned around expressionlessly, facing the thousands of impassioned fellow disciples.

His serious injuries had yet to heal, and his aura was unstable, but beneath the lightning of the Purple Lightning Hammer, he possessed an inviolable majesty.

"This is by decree of the sect leader, to rectify sect affairs!" His voice was not loud, yet it clearly overwhelmed the surrounding noise and reached every disciple's ears. "This is not restraint. It is preservation!"

"Do you not know that when Karmic Force entwines your bodies and karmic ties entangle you, once the great tribulation arrives, that will be the day your bodies perish and your Dao fades! These rules are meant to cut off the root of disaster and eliminate the Killing Tribulation!"

He tried to make them understand the stakes, but most disciples had already been blinded by dissatisfaction and fury. How could they listen?

"Preservation? I say you're cutting off our path of cultivation!"

"What Killing Tribulation? Nonsense meant to frighten us!"

"It must be Xuan Chuan trying to seize power for himself, using us as tools!"

Not only did the doubts fail to subside, they grew even more intense.

Xuan Chuan sighed inwardly, knowing that words alone could not persuade disciples who had long grown accustomed to the old ways. Reform would inevitably be accompanied by pain and resistance.

He wasted no more breath and simply slammed the Purple Lightning Hammer down!

Boom-crack!

A bolt of purple lightning exploded outward from him. The ground blackened, lightning serpents writhed, and the entire plaza fell silent in an instant.

"The decrees have been issued. I have said all that needs to be said!"

"Those who obey shall be pillars of Jiejiao!"

"Those who disobey... do not say I gave no warning!"

After saying that, he did not linger. Dragging his wounded body, he transformed into a streak of light and flew toward his cave dwelling.

He needed to heal as quickly as possible, then deal with the coming resistance through thunderous measures.

After establishing authority, he needed to establish trust—and, even more importantly, establish rules! Some people were destined to step forward as examples of what not to do.

Sure enough, just as Xuan Chuan returned to his rather simple cave dwelling, set up restrictions, and prepared to circulate his cultivation to heal his injuries—

Outside the cave dwelling, wave after wave of powerful, even violent auras rapidly approached, surrounding the entire place!

"Xuan Chuan! Get out here!"

"Give us an explanation!"

"Why the hell did you make such rules?!"

At the head of them were Qiu Shou Immortal, one of the Seven Attendant Immortals whose true form was a blue-maned lion, and Lingya Immortal, transformed from a giant white-tusked elephant!

Both possessed the cultivation of Taiyi Golden Immortals, their auras fierce and savage. Behind them followed dozens of Inner Sect and Outer Sect disciples with hostile expressions and faces full of malice.

Qiu Shou Immortal held a Floral-Patterned Great Axe and pointed it at the cave dwelling's doors. His voice boomed like a great bell, filled with provocation:

"Xuan Chuan! Stop hiding inside like a turtle! You're using the Master's token to issue orders—do you really think we fear you? If you don't give us a satisfactory explanation today, we'll tear down your cave dwelling!"

Inside the cave dwelling, Xuan Chuan, who had just swallowed a medicinal pill, slowly opened his eyes. There was not the slightest surprise in them, only icy coldness.

They had come.

Perfect. After killing a chicken to warn the monkeys, it was time to slaughter a bull.