Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 417 Toward the Great Wilderness

Initially, Bai Zihan was certain he had misheard the news.

Luo Qing had been abducted.

Those were the words his father had just uttered.

The sentence drifted through his ears but failed to take root in his consciousness, vanishing like mist before it could solidify.

Luo Qing?

He remained seated, his posture composed and his expression undisturbed. It simply didn't make sense to him.

Why would Demonic Cultivators bother with a mere mortal after successfully infiltrating the most powerful clan?

Even if she were to be used as leverage, he couldn't imagine Demonic Cultivators being that idiotic.

"...Are you certain?"

The inquiry left his lips without any real weight behind it.

Internally, his mind was already dismissing the report, assuming it was a simple misunderstanding.

Demonic Cultivators wouldn't squander their resources on something so trivial. However, Bai Tianheng confirmed the name again.

"Luo Qing."

Everything came to a standstill.

It wasn't a violent jolt or a sudden crash.

It just... ceased.

For a fleeting moment, Bai Zihan’s mind went completely blank.

Luo Qing!

She wasn't just any servant.

She was his maid.

No—

That didn't capture it accurately.

She was the one present during his childhood when his temper was volatile, back when other servants shunned him like a plague and the Elders could only sigh in disapproval.

She was the sole person who stayed by his side.

It wasn't out of some grand sense of loyalty.

It was because no one else was willing to take the position.

And it was because he hadn't yet dismissed or executed her.

When his rage erupted, others fled. Luo Qing remained because that was her duty as his personal maid.

Aside from his own parents, she was the individual who had stayed with him the longest.

She might even be considered a childhood friend—though Bai Zihan, never viewing anyone as his peer, didn't believe in the concept of friendship then or now.

But she was undoubtedly the closest thing he had to one.

"...She was taken."

The reality finally integrated into his mind.

And something within him fractured.

No.

Fractured wasn't the right word.

Something shattered.

The light in the room seemed to fade, as if the very colors of the world were retreating. The tent, the surrounding people, the distant battlefield—everything became a blur.

A single, razor-sharp thought took hold.

(Those filthy bastards...)

His fingers began to curl inward slowly.

They actually dared.

They dared to touch her?

Before he even realized he was rising to his feet, the pressure exploded from his body.

BOOM.

His aura surged outward, no longer held back by restraint or control.

A killing intent—pure, lethal, and ancient—saturated the tent like the sky itself was falling. The earth beneath him groaned.

The air shrieked. Outside, disciples were forced to their knees, feeling as though they had been struck by a divine hammer.

Bai Zihan saw none of it.

He was indifferent to everything else.

His vision was consumed by a crimson haze.

"How dare they?"

The words emerged from his throat in a low, gravelly tone.

Then, his voice rose to a roar.

"HOW DARE THEY?!"

The mask of self-control he had maintained for years was obliterated.

"They are courting death."

Even in his fury, his mind calculated the next move.

Demonic Cultivators!!

Since the perpetrators were Demonic Cultivators, there was only one location that would provide the answers he sought.

Where is Luo Qing?

Bai Zihan shifted his gaze toward the horizon, toward the Great Wilderness.

Whoosh!

Bai Zihan disappeared.

The moment his eyes locked onto the direction of the Great Wilderness, his body tore through the tent's exit like a blade leaving its sheath.

The ground where he had stood cracked under the force, Qi erupting in a violent wake.

BOOM—

The entire camp was thrown into a state of panic.

"What happened?!"

"Is it an enemy raid?!"

"Form the battle ranks—now!"

Disciples rushed from their quarters, Elders ascended into the sky, and defensive arrays hummed to life instinctively.

Many assumed a master from the Demonic Cultivators had breached their perimeter.

Then they caught sight of him.

A solitary figure was cutting across the sky, trailing a tide of killing intent that felt like a crashing ocean.

"...That is Young Master Bai."

"What is going on?"

"Good grief—who managed to provoke him like that?"

Whispers spread like wildfire as cultivators watched him, their faces turning from shock to utter disbelief.

Following closely behind Bai Zihan was another powerful and unmistakable presence.

Bai Tianheng!

The Patriarch of the Bai Clan was in full pursuit, his own aura unleashed to its peak as he chased his son.

Observing the two, some disciples traded puzzled glances.

"...Is the Young Master challenging his father for leadership?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Who would be brave enough to challenge Bai Tianheng?" "But look at that killing intent. I have never seen Young Master Bai in such a state."

Some gave nervous laughs, while others swallowed hard in fear.

Yet, not a single person tried to stop them.

Nobody was foolish enough to get between Bai Zihan and whatever had driven him to this madness.

High in the air, Bai Tianheng shouted out.

"Zihan—!"

His voice was instantly lost to the wind.

He increased his speed, pulling up alongside his son and reaching out a hand—

"Zihan’er, calm down!"

There was no reply.

Bai Zihan’s gaze was fixed forward, his pupils burning with a sharp light, his aura roaring like a beast that had slipped its chains.

He didn't slow down, nor did he even acknowledge that his father was there.

Bai Tianheng recognized that expression.

This wasn't a rage that could be tempered with words.

The boy had already made up his mind.

If Bai Zihan kept this up—charging into the Great Wilderness alone—the result would be a disaster.

Demonic Cultivators were inherently sadistic.

Mó Zun was a foe unlike any other.

And in this mood, Bai Zihan would never back down.

This is a disaster.

Bai Tianheng clenched his teeth.

"Grand Elder!"

A third figure appeared, his presence both tranquil and dominant, slicing through the chaotic Qi with effortless grace.

Bai Tianheng had already foreseen this possibility—that Bai Zihan might react this way and need to be restrained.

Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—he knew his own power wouldn't suffice to stop his son.

That was why Bai Ren had been summoned.

Bai Ren had been trailing them silently until this moment.

Bai Tianheng didn't waste time.

"Please, stop him."

No more words were needed.

Bai Ren gave a single nod.

In the next breath, space itself seemed to shrink. He vanished—

And materialized right in front of Bai Zihan.

He stood squarely in the path.

Bai Zihan’s wave of killing intent slammed into him like a tsunami.

Bai Ren didn't flinch.

He reached out and gripped Bai Zihan’s shoulder with a firm hand.

The resulting pressure made the heavens tremble.

"Bai Zihan," Bai Ren commanded, his voice low but saturated with absolute power.

"That is enough!"

Bai Ren’s grip was as unyielding as a mountain.

The moment he touched Bai Zihan, the swirling Qi was forced downward, suppressed by an overwhelming force.

The heavy pressure of the Immortal Ascension Realm descended.

Bai Zihan’s body jerked mid-air.

For the first time since his outburst began, he was forced to a halt.

His eyes darted toward the Elder.

"Move!"

The word was frigid and final.

It wasn't a plea.

It was an order.

Bai Ren didn't even flinch.

Instead, a small smirk appeared on his face.

"Heh," he let out a soft chuckle. "Make me, you brat!"

The suppression grew even heavier.

Bai Zihan’s bones began to creak, and his muscles strained under the sudden weight of the aura.

For anyone else, this would have been the end—they would have been forced back to their senses, crushed by a realm they couldn't hope to fight.

But the fire in Bai Zihan’s eyes only grew more intense.

His Qi surged—not in a mess, but in a violent, structured flow, like a sword being forged in the heat of battle.

He spoke in a whisper.

"Heaven’s Mandate Reversal."

BOOM—!

The world itself shook.

Bai Zihan’s aura flared, no longer confined by the limits of the Spirit Severing Realm.

His cultivation level spiked, shattering invisible barriers in a heartbeat.

Peak Spirit Severing—

Void Refinement—

Great Ascension Realm!

Bai Ren’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"What—?!"

PAH!

Bai Zihan threw off Bai Ren’s hand as if it were a mere annoyance.

He bolted forward, putting hundreds of meters between them in a flash.

Then, Bai Zihan pulled his blade from his storage ring.

With one swift, decisive motion, he slashed the air.

RIIIP—!

The fabric of space was torn open.

A dark void appeared before him, its borders flickering as unstable spatial currents leaked out.

This was a technique only those at the Void Refinement Realm and above could perform.

Without a second thought, Bai Zihan stepped into the tear.

He was gone.

For a moment, the sky was silent.

Then Bai Ren erupted into laughter.

"Hahaha—!"

But there was no joy in the sound.

Only pure shock.

He vanished instantly to follow Bai Zihan, while sending out a high-level mental transmission.

"Grand Elders, follow me! Bai Zihan is in grave danger!"

Behind them, Bai Tianheng finally arrived, his face twisted with anger.

"Why didn't you stop him?!"

He barked the question, ignoring all etiquette as he yelled at Bai Ren while flying.

Bai Ren didn't slow his pace.

"Because if I had exerted any more force," he answered grimly, "I might have caused him permanent injury."

Bai Tianheng realized the truth in those words.

Bai Ren had already applied Immortal Ascension Realm pressure to a Spirit Severing Realm cultivator—something that usually results in injury.

And yet, despite that, Bai Zihan had still managed to break free.

Bai Ren let out a sharp breath, his eyes locked on the figure ahead who was literally tearing through space.

"Who would have guessed that even that wouldn't hold him?"

He shook his head, caught between a curse and a laugh.

"What a monster!"

Bai Tianheng followed him in grim silence.

He couldn't hold a grudge against Bai Ren.

The Elder had been careful not to hurt Bai Zihan—and it was that very mercy that allowed Bai Zihan to escape.

Beyond that, Bai Tianheng wasn't sure what to think about his son's reaction to Luo Qing’s kidnapping.

He had always assumed his son was incapable of caring for anyone.

And yet—here they were.

In front of them, Bai Zihan sliced through space once more.

His path was set.

The Great Wilderness.

And anyone who dared stand between him and Luo Qing—

Would perish!