43: A bag of bones, and the whole hall trembles with fear.

Zhao Changqing remained silent for a moment. He raised his eyes, his gaze falling once more upon Qi Yuan, though his expression had grown more complex and somber.

“Heh,”

The corners of his mouth twitched into a faint sneer, his voice remaining cold and hard.

“You do indeed have some minor skill. No wonder... Elder a collateral branch Foundation Establishment cultivator, you have indeed... ‘gone to great lengths’.”

These words sounded as if he were praising a collateral branch Foundation Establishment cultivator's eye for talent in discovering a Spiritual Planter with genuine ability.

However, anyone present with a shred of wit could hear the underlying meaning when combined with Zhao Changqing's previous attitude of deliberate provocation.

Qi Yuan stood with his head bowed, his face as calm as an ancient well, as if he hadn't caught the deep implication in those words, yet his heart sank.

As expected, his previous suspicions were likely close to the truth.

Between this Zhao Changqing and a collateral branch Foundation Establishment cultivator Elder, even if they weren't enemies, they were certainly not on good terms.

He had essentially become the fish caught in the crossfire of a burning pond.

A stifled surge of anger quietly took root, but he quickly suppressed it.

The situation was stronger than the individual; at this moment, any outward display of emotion would be unwise.

He could only bury these feelings deep within his heart.

Zhao Changqing didn't bother to spare Qi Yuan another glance. He waved his hand, signaling for the tribute payment process to continue.

The remaining Family heads dared not delay. They stepped forward one by one, their movements even more cautious and wary than before.

With Qi Yuan as a cautionary example, no one could guarantee whether this unpredictable Immortal Envoy would find trouble with someone else.

Zhao Changqing also seemed to restrain himself slightly; the subsequent inspections passed by cursorily, but the heavy pressure enveloping the hall did not diminish in the slightest.

Once the tributes from all the Families had been inventoried and confirmed to be correct, Zhao Changqing did not immediately announce the end of the proceedings.

He slowly rose from his seat of honor, his gaze like a frigid current, slowly sweeping across the face of every Family head in the hall.

“The tributes are cleared. My mission for this trip is considered concluded.”

His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying a heavy weight.

“Since you have all been enfeoffed by the Zhao Family and enjoy the protection of the Spiritual Vein, you should strictly observe your duties, diligently cultivate your virtues, pay your tributes on time, and strictly follow the Zhao Laws.”

His tone suddenly shifted, becoming bone-chillingly cold.

“Do not think that because the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, you can harbor thoughts of luck, practicing deception, negligence, or feigned compliance!”

“The laws of the Zhao Family allow for not even a fraction of disrespect!”

“What is rightfully yours shall not be diminished by a single point; but if you take even a fraction of what is not yours, it will be the path to disaster!”

His gaze lingered pointedly for a moment on the faces of several Family heads whose families were of middling strength and who might usually harbor small schemes, causing them to break out in a cold sweat.

“To be able to sit here today and pay your tributes is your duty, and also the grace of the Zhao Family.”

Zhao Changqing's voice sounded as if it were quenched in ice.

“You must understand that this grace is not permanent. If one day a Family declines and cannot even fulfill this most basic duty...”

He gave a cold snort and stopped speaking, but suddenly flicked his sleeve!

An inconspicuous grey leather pouch at his waist flashed with spiritual light, and in the next moment, over a dozen figures were thrown out.

Thud after thud, they fell onto the cold, hard bluestone floor!

Gasps instantly rang out!

There were over a dozen people!

Men and women, old and young—all possessed cultivation, but now everyone was covered in wounds, their auras weak and withered.

They were further bound by specially made Spirit-Restricting Chains, appearing miserable, their eyes filled with despair and terror.

“This... this is?!”

Someone cried out in shock.

Zhao Changqing looked at the people on the ground with indifference and said calmly:

“Linchuan Prefecture, the Bai Family. A century-old Foundation Establishment Families, once quite prominent in their region.”

He paused, his tone as flat as if he were narrating a trivial matter.

“The Bai Family Old Ancestor's life ended, and their Family head failed his attempt at Foundation Establishment three years ago, suffering heavy injuries before vanishing; his life or death remains unknown. ”

“The Family's industries suffered successive failures, with expenses exceeding income. Now that the time for tribute has arrived, they have still failed to pay in full.”

His gaze swept over the trembling members of the Bai Family on the ground, then slowly rose to look at the pale-faced Family heads in the hall.

“According to Zhao Laws, for overdue payments, the Family's Spiritual Vein is reclaimed. The direct lineage members are pressed into service as ‘Labor Cultivators’ to repay the debt, sent to the ‘Black Abyss Mine’ to serve for a hundred years.”

“The collateral branches and subordinates are demoted to Loose Cultivator status, and their names may not be recorded in the Immortal Records for three generations.”

As the words ‘Black Abyss Mine’ were spoken, the temperature in the hall seemed to plummet!

That was a notoriously bitter and dangerous place within the Zhao Kingdom, where Spiritual Qi was thin and mixed with turbid air, and subterranean monsters frequently attacked.

Being sent there as a ‘Labor Cultivator’ was almost equivalent to a death sentence; after a hundred-year term, not even one in ten would come out alive!

A Family that once possessed a Foundation Establishment Cultivator had fallen to such a miserable end simply because their mainstay had collapsed!

Their Spiritual Vein seized, their clansmen enslaved—a century of foundation vanished in an instant!

A chill, like a cold venomous snake, instantly coiled around the heart of every Family head present.

Looking at those members of the Bai Family who might once have been prestigious but were now like lambs to the slaughter, and then thinking of themselves, everyone felt a piercing dread.

The severity of the Zhao Family laws was by no means an empty threat!

Things might be peaceful normally, but once the bottom line was touched, those thunderous methods were enough to bring any Family to eternal ruin!

Zhao Changqing was very satisfied with the deathly silence in the hall and the fear and paleness in everyone's eyes.

This was the effect he wanted.

To establish prestige and intimidate, making these Family heads from remote corners carve the authority and laws of the Zhao Family into their very bones at all times.

He didn't spare another look at the trembling Bai Family members on the ground.

The grey beast-containing bag at his waist shimmered once more, and an invisible suction emerged. The dozen or so figures bound by chains were seized as if by an invisible hand.

Accompanied by faint whimpers and the clatter of chains, they turned into streaks of light and were drawn back into the pouch, vanishing from sight.

In the hall, no one yet dared to breathe loudly.

“I hope you all take the matter of the Bai Family as a warning.”

After saying this, he ignored the crowd as that pale silver Flying Cloud Spirit Shuttle silently appeared once more.

He stepped into the shuttle, which flashed with light and, just as it had arrived, passed through the Formation barrier without hindrance and vanished above the hall.

Not until the light of the spirit shuttle had completely disappeared and the Formation's light screen over the hall had returned to calm for a long while did the atmosphere change.

The scalp-numbing sense of oppression within the hall finally began to recede like a tide, but the residual chill and palpitations lingered for a long time.

Qi Yuan stood among the crowd, a cold light flickering deep within his lowered eyes.

What a Zhao Family Immortal Envoy, what a Show of Force!

In the world of cultivation, strength is indeed respected above all; the so-called rules and laws are merely fences drawn by the strong for the weak.

Today's actions seemed to follow the law, but in truth, they were permeated with a condescending arrogance and a wanton display of the power over life and death.

Zhao Changqing... Qi Yuan had certainly noted this name.