Hidden moth

Chapter 128 One Banner Power and Four Banners

The so-called abolition and expulsion means that at the same time as removing someone from the register, their skills and cultivation must also be abolished.

For some people, this may be a punishment more painful than death, from being a high-ranking extraordinary person to being reduced to their original form.

The punishment one level lower than abolition is expulsion from the sect, which means being expelled from the sect, and no longer receiving guidance on subsequent inheritance and various resource support.

However, the sorcerer's cultivation skills are still retained. As a price, he still has to accept the supervision of the sorcerer's sect and is not allowed to act rashly or spread the sorcery.

If a sorcerer who has been dismissed from the sect violates the rules again, his cultivation will be abolished and he will be exiled.

If it weren't for the incident involving Yin'e and the solid evidence provided by Yin'e, the affairs of the Huimingshi family would have been very difficult to investigate.

Even if the clan law hall wanted to deal with the Shi family and sent a special "working group", it is estimated that they would not be able to find much substantial evidence of guilt, and they might even have to give them a banner or a certificate of honor.

The Huiming Shi family has always attached great importance to uniting fellow practitioners, maintaining good relations with all parties, being generous and helpful... As for those dirty work, it is not openly done by the Shi family sorcerers, and there is no need for them to dirty their hands.

The reason why dealing with the hidden moth this time was not handed over to Kuchazi Gu Jiang alone was because it was of great importance and the cleaning department might not be able to complete it.

The more important reason was that Shi Haowu had taken the lead in this, and it was also a plan he had personally planned, but Yin Mo had found a flaw in it...

The two elders, Gu Chun and Zong Zheng, rushed to Huiming and took Yao Shaolan with them.

The Shi family certainly had no shortage of local connections and their own legal professionals when it came to rescuing people from the police, but they happened to have a disciple from the Shu sect who was well versed in law, and the clan elder didn't mind bringing an extra advisor of his own.

Forty-eight hours after being detained, Shi Haowu and seven others were temporarily released. The police investigation was not yet complete, and they were told not to leave their current residence and to remain available for further questioning.

But the Zongfatang understood that the police would definitely not be able to solve this case.

The seven were taken away and immediately handed over to the clan law hall, where they were separated and questioned one by one. There were also some stubborn people among them, and Gu Jiang didn't say anything, and he couldn't say anything more, so he committed suicide immediately.

When Gu Jiang realized that something was wrong, he immediately chose to end his life because he knew that his own affairs were the Shi family's Achilles' heel and he himself would definitely not be able to escape. Doing so might save others.

Gu Jiang's death was caused by the negligence of the relevant personnel of the clan hall. Elder Gu immediately ordered to take preventive measures to prevent the rest of the people from dying even if they wanted to... or at least they had to wait until the time came to die.

Those responsible for this negligence will also be subject to investigation by the clan law hall.

As Kang Rulin had expected, it was Second Elder Zongzheng who personally interrogated Shi Haowu. There was no need to go into detail about the process, but in the end, the boy even confessed to bullying female classmates in high school.

As for Shi Haosheng, he gave up resistance upon seeing Elder Gu and became very cooperative. Shi Haosheng knew he was doomed, but he had long since grown displeased with the Patriarch and Shi Haowu, so he simply told them everything he knew.

The final result of the clan law hall was that Shi Zhizhai, Shi Haowu and Shi Haosheng were "imprisoned for death".

The so-called closed-door policy is a euphemism, because the clan hall is not a secular law enforcement agency, and the elders and their sorcerers do not want to kill people with their own hands.

Warlocks can go into seclusion, so let them "voluntarily" do so until they become immortals.

With the deaths of Hu Shulue and Gu Jiang, all the senior members of the Shi family involved in this incident were caught in one fell swoop. In addition to the five of them, seven other sorcerers of the Shi family were also banished. They were not only aware of the situation, but also participated in the planning and support of the operation.

Another fifteen sorcerers were dismissed from the register.

Of the thirty-seven registered sorcerers of the Shi family, five were executed, seven were expelled, and fifteen were stripped of their membership. The remaining ten were all confined for one year after receiving instructions.

The so-called instructions are that the clan hall discloses the results of the investigation, announcing why the Shi family is being investigated, what they have done, and who is implicated, hoping that everyone will take it as a warning.

The list of instructions will be made public within the sect.

All the sorcerers of the Shi family were instructed by the clan law hall and punished with the confiscation of their power.

To pursue means to reclaim the benefits received.

Anything related to the art and magic that was not legally purchased or made by the sorcerer himself, but was given or donated by the direct line of inheritance of Shi Zhizhai, will be recovered by the clan law hall.

For example, the flying magic weapon "Yipiyun" passed down from the ancestor Cang Yun was taken back by the Zongfa Hall. There are many such things.

All the sorcerers of the Shi family, even those who knew about the fate, even if some people had no involvement in the matter and did not know the details, all benefited from it and were also punished with instructions and expropriation.

Even Kang Rulin, the elder of the clan hall, was among those who were reprimanded and pursued.

There are two types of treatment for Zhiyuanke. If the behavior is bad, an additional ban will be imposed.

"Forbidden to teach" means that the sect will no longer accept this person into the sect, and will no longer teach or pass on their skills. Furthermore, they are not allowed to pass on their skills to others. For example, Li Weiping, the short-haired man, was included in the list of forbidden to teach.

In fact, people like Li Weiping are not easy to deal with. He is indeed running errands for Shi Haowu, but he does not know the real inside story and is not even qualified to participate in important matters.

There is no nationality to be revoked and no merit to be abolished, so he won't be killed, right?

If the Zhiyuanke is truly unrelated, they can simply be instructed and their possessions revoked. For example, Li Weiping's brother-in-law, Shi Haotu, was subjected to this treatment. If he can cultivate to the point of entry in the future, he can still become a formal disciple of the sect.

Li Weiping's sister, Li Yu, is now a second-rank scholar within the Ruwei Sect. She hasn't been expelled, but has been instructed to remain a disciple for a year and have her name revoked. There are ten such Shi family sorcerers. With the original lineage abolished by the sect, what will become of these disciples?
In principle, they would be transferred to Kang Rulin's lineage, and either Kang Rulin would take charge personally or appoint a disciple to take charge. Even those who were not forbidden to teach, such as Shi Haotu, were also attached to this lineage.

Dealing with a behemoth like the Huiming Shi family is much more complicated than the above lists and numbers indicate.

Take the pursuit as an example. If something is to be taken back from the sect, there must be a basis for fate and law. The Shi family has so many people and a large group of sorcerers. They have created a huge amount of wealth over the years, and it is not all plundered.

The Shi family also owns many industries and various assets, with different origins and situations. Some of them may be seized and divested and taken over by people from the Shu sect.

But some of it will be left to the people related to the Shi family, and that should have been theirs.

Even for industries that should be divested and taken over, the operations are extremely complicated. Once the disposal principles are determined, it is estimated that it will take more than a year or two to complete the process.

Therefore, Zongfatang not only transferred lawyers like Yao Shaolan, but also professionals in finance, auditing and other fields to carry out verification, screening and integration operations.

The Shi family still has a lot of assets left. After all, not everyone was involved in Shi Zhizhai and his gang's mess, and not everything was obtained illegally. Even if they were to be reclaimed, there must be a legal basis for the recapture.

The Zongfatang took over two mining companies secretly controlled by Yuanshi Zhizhai, as well as a planting group that owned several modern agricultural demonstration bases, all of whose outputs were related to cultivation resources.

The Kanglin Hotel was also taken over by the Zongfatang.

Does the sect's patriarchal hall also own assets? Of course, it is responsible for the development and coordination of resources for the cultivation of magic. Specific industries will be handed over to the corresponding sects for management.

The biggest gain this time was the collection in the Shi family's secret vault. The four elders opened and entered the vault together, identifying and registering every item.

The most precious thing among them may not be a cloud, but the weapon refining inheritance left by the ancestors of the Cang Yun lineage, which is recorded in a purple jade bamboo slip, which is the bamboo precepts of inheritance.

Major issues of principle must of course be decided by several elders, and the final disposal plan also needs to be approved by the elders of the clan hall, but it is impossible for the elders to do all the related detailed work personally.

The Zongfa Hall transferred more than fifty sorcerers from various schools of magic to handle these complicated matters.

This shows that He Kao, the hidden moth, mainly played the role of providing clues. He fired two shots and ran away. The real aftermath work still requires so many people to work together.

If He Kao himself had tried to confront the Huiming Shi family head-on, he would probably have been crushed to pieces. But in front of the patriarchal hall, which represented the righteous cause, the Shi family had no room to fight back. Such was the power of the order system.

The clan hall certainly has enough strength, but during the handling process, no physical fights occurred.

Over fifty sorcerers, possessing unique skills and specialized knowledge, had been working overtime for the past few days. The four elders also took time out to hold a small meeting. One issue they needed to discuss was how to respond to the hidden moth.

The evidence this time was provided by Yin'e, who was also the most direct victim. The Zongfa Hall had dealt with the Shi family, and whether it was compensation or gratitude, they had to show some appreciation to Yin'e.

As mentioned above, every item that is pursued must have a basis in fate and law, and this includes the Soul Locking Formation. The Soul Locking Formation was not created by the Shi family themselves, but is also a legacy passed down by the Cang Yun lineage since ancient times.

There are four pieces of formation equipment in this set. The black main flag is also called the Soul-Locking Flag, and the blue, yellow and red core flags are called the Heavenly Spirit Flag, the Earthly Spirit Flag and the Human Spirit Flag.

Once the Soul Locking Formation is activated, it can lock away a region of heaven and earth. Besides the artifacts, the inheritance of the formation is even more important; otherwise, even if someone obtains the artifact, they might not use it.

But the formation tools are indispensable. If the Earth Spirit Banner is taken away by the Hidden Moth, the Soul Locking Formation will be useless. The value of the Soul Locking Formation cannot even be measured in money. The Shumen certainly wants to take back the Earth Spirit Banner, but it is not easy to let the Hidden Moth hand it over like this.

What's even more embarrassing is that the Soul Locking Formation can limit the power of the Hidden Moth, and the Hidden Moth would not want anyone to use this against him again, so even the Clan Law Hall cannot speak up.

"Mr. or Ms. Yin E, you have taken away the Earth Spirit Banner. It is no longer useful against your Soul Locking Formation. Please return it." - Unless you are seriously ill, I am afraid you would not say such words.

Gu Chun even brought the remaining three flags and placed them on the table. The elders frowned as they watched.

The sect elder, who always gave people a silly impression, asked Kang Rulin, "Old Kang, you are the weapon refining master of the Shu Sect. Based on your knowledge, can you refine a new Earth Spirit Banner and repair the Soul Locking Formation?"

Kang Rulin didn't want to bring up the matter, but the Second Elder insisted, so he had to answer: "According to the Cang Yun lineage's weapon-refining heritage, including the weapon-refining experience of the ancestors above the seventh rank, theoretically it can be re-refined.

However, the Soul Locking Formation was refined as a whole. Not only the materials used, but also the sacrificial refining process were all connected as a whole. Otherwise, it would not have formed such an exquisite formation.

It's theoretically possible to refine a separate Earth Spirit Banner, but I'm afraid it won't be as effective as the original. Not only will it affect the operation of the formation, it may also reduce its power and make it lose many of its magical uses."

Wild Phoenix: "You don't have to be so technical. Just tell me directly, how much would it cost to refine a complete replacement Earth Spirit Banner?"

Kang Rulin: "Although it's not as good as refining a Soul Locking Array from scratch, it's not much different. That's the nature of the array. Besides, the sect doesn't have the materials for refining the Soul Locking Array in its collection right now. Whether we can find them depends on fate."

Gu Chun: "Oh, you mean, we must take back the Earth Spirit Banner? Then you will speak on behalf of the clan law hall and ask Yin E to return it.

As for compensation, we can recover a lot of good things from the Shi family this time, so let Elder Kang decide."

Kang Rulin quickly waved his hands: "That's not what I meant!"

Wild Phoenix: "Lao Kang, you should make the decision on this matter first. Don't wait for us to speak."

Kang Rulin pondered and said, "My idea is to give the Soul Locking Formation to Yin E. It's useless since he only took one Earth Spirit Banner. We can just give him the remaining three banners."

**
(End of this chapter)