Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Standing at the bow of the ship was a middle-aged cultivator dressed in black, with a cold and stern face. His aura was as solid as a mountain, and he was clearly at the peak of the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm!

His aura merged seamlessly with that of the third-tier spirit boat beneath his feet, and his presence was in no way inferior to that of the newly awakened late-stage Core Formation True Person, Canglang!

The three Core Formation cultivators stationed there, along with the head of the Enforcement Hall, quickly flew forward and bowed in mid-air.

The head of the Enforcement Hall opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by a cold look from the middle-aged man in black.

Below, thousands of disciples of the Yunhai Cangming Sect, whether they were permanent residents or here on a mission, including Lin Zhao and Fang Yue who had just arrived, all bowed and greeted him: "Welcome, Sect Enforcement Envoy!"

A flash of light appeared in the cliffside cave, and the Canglang Zhenren, who had just stabilized his realm and whose aura still carried some ripples, appeared in mid-air.

His expression remained calm as he bowed to the middle-aged man in black, saying, "I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you properly, Senior Brother Zhao."

The middle-aged man in black, Zhao Kun, had eyes as sharp as lightning. He lingered on Canglang Zhenren for several breaths, showing no courtesy whatsoever despite the fact that Canglang Zhenren's cultivation level was higher than his own.

Master Canglang also lowered his eyes slightly, showing none of the arrogance one would expect from someone who has just broken through.

He knew in his heart that this was the real ruthless character in the Enforcement Hall. His cultivation level might not be higher than his, but his combat power and methods were absolutely terrifying.

This Master Zhao is known for his ruthless actions and is not someone to be trifled with.

Master Zhao stopped looking at him and turned to face the crowd. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "Canglang, the guardian of Zhenhai Cliff, an investigation has revealed that during your tenure, you arbitrarily disturbed the spiritual veins of the vital Zhenhai Cliff, privately refined spiritual artifacts, and stole spiritual materials from the sect for personal gain. The evidence is conclusive. Do you admit it?"

He did not produce any jade slips, but simply stated the facts as if they were undeniable.

After a moment of silence, Master Canglang bowed decisively and said, "Senior Brother Zhao, you have a clear understanding of this matter... I admit it."

An uproar ensued! Many lower-level disciples and even some Foundation Establishment cultivators wore expressions of disbelief.

A newly advanced Core Formation stage cultivator didn't even utter a word of explanation before the Enforcement Hall? Is this the authority of the Enforcement Hall?

Only a few experienced and shrewd cultivators understood the situation.

They knew all too well that the sect's Enforcement Hall always had two faces.

On the surface, it adheres to rules and evidence, and everything is done according to the sect's laws and regulations.

If you follow the rules, it will reason with you and allow you to defend yourself.

But if you try to outsmart it, play tricks, or use underhanded tactics... then it will show you what the sect's sharpest "sword" truly is.

The cultivation world is full of mysterious methods and secret techniques. If every matter required irrefutable evidence, the Enforcement Hall would have no job.

It is first and foremost the sect's violent apparatus, representing the sect's most direct will, and only secondarily a law enforcement agency.

When necessary, the "result" serves as evidence.

As a veteran Core Formation cultivator, how could Master Canglang not know those rules?

Legend has it that a thousand years ago, a direct descendant of a Nascent Soul ancestor committed a heinous crime, but that Nascent Soul descendant has been able to escape justice through various secret techniques.

The enforcement office could not find complete evidence, so they had no choice but to release the person.

As a result, on the day the Nascent Soul descendant was released, he was attacked and killed by "robber cultivators" within the sect that very night, his body and soul destroyed.

What a ridiculous notion that a "tribulation cultivator" would appear in such a sacred place as a sect.

The Nascent Soul Ancestor was furious and caused a ruckus in the Enforcement Hall, but was stopped by the combined efforts of many Core Formation cultivators in the Enforcement Hall.

The Enforcement Hall only asked one question: "Where is the evidence?" The Ancestor naturally could not produce any evidence of the Enforcement Hall's actions.

The matter escalated to the sect's Cangming Hall, but ultimately could only be dropped.

Master Canglang asked himself if he had crossed some lines in his actions, but he had not yet reached the point of no return.

If they try to be cunning now, the next "chance" they encounter might not be some overseas whale, but some other "accident."

The Law Enforcement Hall has stood firm in the sect for ten thousand years, and it is not only because of the sect's laws and regulations.

------

"Since you have confessed, you shall be dealt with according to the law."

Master Zhao's voice remained calm. "First, effective immediately, you are stripped of your post as the garrison commander of Zhenhai Cliff. Within one month, the sect will send a new garrison commander to take over."

Second, your proceeds from this private forging, along with the corresponding sect contributions, spirit stones, and resources, will be confiscated to replenish public funds. The specific amount will be calculated by the Enforcement Hall.

The list of confiscated items was quickly read aloud by the accompanying deacon, and the contents caused the crowd below to gasp in surprise.

It wiped out almost 90% of the Canglang Master's hundreds of years of accumulation, leaving only a few natal magic treasures and a few personal belongings.

Master Canglang remained expressionless. Having undertaken this task, he had naturally considered the consequences, and he agreed to all of them.

Finally, Master Zhao turned his gaze to the three deputy guardians who had reached the Core Formation stage.

The first two were only given a few words of admonishment and fined some spirit stones as a warning to others.

But when his gaze fell on the third person—the one who had secretly colluded with the former head of the Enforcement Hall—his eyes instantly became as sharp as swords.

"As for you, Master Liu," Master Zhao's tone turned cold, "colluded with members of the outer hall, leaked important secrets, and attempted to frame your colleagues; this is one crime."

During his tenure, he committed two crimes: embezzlement, dereliction of duty, and misappropriation of sect resources.

Even worse, they secretly colluded with pirates from other regions to ambush and kill dozens of disciples of the sect, robbing them of their wealth and lives—this constitutes three crimes!

Each time he confessed a crime, a jade slip would pop out, and the images, atmosphere, and even confessions recorded inside would flash across the light screen, providing irrefutable evidence!

"Furthermore, Lin Zhao, a disciple of your sect, is on your recent list of targets. Although you haven't acted on it yet, your intentions are despicable!"

Master Liu's face turned ashen, and he shouted angrily, "Zhao Kun! You're spouting lies! I'm going back to my sect to speak with the elders and explain myself!"

Having said that, he suddenly transformed into a streak of light, attempting to escape!

"Insolence!" Master Zhao snorted coldly. Without him making any move, an invisible yet powerful and chilling domain suddenly opened up!

Within this domain, it wasn't a water-based domain like that of Master Canglang, but rather filled with countless incomparably sharp, pale golden sword energy phantoms! A sword domain!

When Liu Zhenren's escape light crashed into this sword domain, it was as if he had sunk into a quagmire. The protective spiritual light around his body was cut by countless sword energies, causing it to flicker and emit a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.

He roared and unleashed his magic weapon to resist, but Master Zhao simply pointed his finger, and several incredibly solid golden sword lights within the sword domain suddenly merged into one, transforming into a giant sword phantom that slashed down from the sky!

"Snap!"

Master Liu's domain shattered like glass. The giant sword pressed down on him, and he screamed as he was seized by an invisible force of confinement. He was forcibly suppressed from the air and fell onto the deck of the spirit boat. Disciples of the Enforcement Hall stepped forward and bound him with specially made spirit-sealing chains.

His disciples were also all taken into custody.

Master Zhao withdrew his domain of power, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

He glanced one last time at the complex-faced Master Canglang, and left with the words, "Take care of yourself."

He then piloted the spirit boat, taking all those involved in the case and his subordinates from the Enforcement Hall with him, transforming into a streak of black light and disappearing in an instant.

Fang Yue was among them, and he nodded slightly to Lin Zhao before leaving.

Canglang Zhenren stood alone in mid-air, gazing in the direction where the spirit boat had disappeared. After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Although he suffered heavy losses, almost emptying his coffers, he ultimately preserved his cultivation and freedom.

He was no longer destined for the Nascent Soul stage, but he still had several hundred years of lifespan remaining at the late Core Formation stage. Returning to his sect with a few handy magic treasures and living a peaceful and quiet life as a refined cultivator was not necessarily a bad outcome.