Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 470 Experiments with Sun Dao Fragments

"Argh! Argh!"

"P-Please, just kill me!"

"Why are you doing this to me? Ahhh..."

A piercing scream rang out across the rocky passageways.

It bounced off the walls etched with fierce sun patterns, wavering up and down like a fading spark fighting the breeze.

Then-

Silence!

Thud!

The heavy smell of blood hung thicker in the atmosphere.

Within the hidden chamber below ground, a magical formation glowed with intense golden radiance.

Symbols resembling tiny suns spun lazily in the air, each marked with old script that gave off burning warmth.

Right in the middle-

A form twisted in agony.

Skin splitting open.

Veins swelling dark under a layer shining like liquid fire.

Golden fire burst from deep inside the body, scorching its way out.

The shape bent sharply one time-

Then fell limp.

Burned to crisp.

Gone!

The golden symbols faded.

The room grew still, save for the soft buzz of the formation's lines as they cooled down.

A figure lingered close by, arms crossed behind him.

His robe bore a shining sun emblem- golden threads that gleamed despite the low light in the chamber.

His face stayed unchanged.

Not from the cry.

Not from the end.

Just his gaze shifted- icy, calculating.

"Another failure."

His words came out even.

Almost indifferent.

A follower positioned a few paces back bowed his head even lower right away.

"My apologies, Elder."

The figure brushed off the words.

He moved ahead, bending down next to the remains. Two fingers reached out, gently pressing the charred torso.

A wisp of spiritual sense flowed into the body.

He checked the meridians.

The dantian.

The broken spiritual routes.

"Compatibility ratio... twenty-three percent."

He whispered under his breath.

"Better than the last group. But still not enough."

He rose gradually.

The golden formation sparked once more as he pulled a tiny piece from the destroyed dantian of the corpse.

A chip no bigger than a nail clipping.

It shone dimly-

Like a fading star.

The Sun Dao Fragment.

He tsked in annoyance.

"The human frame is still too weak. One tiny error, and they wind up dead."

His look wandered to the distant wall of the chamber.

There-

Metal cages stretched along the side.

A few vacant.

A few occupied.

Tiny fingers clutched the bars.

Eyes staring wide.

Shaking.

They served only as resources.

Nothing else.

"Bring in another specimen."

His voice held firm.

The follower acted without delay.

"Yes, Elder!"

He spun and signaled.

Two pupils hauled in a skinny young lad, chains rattling on the stone ground.

The youth resisted feebly, tears running over dirt-smeared face.

"Please-please don't-!"

The Elder offered no reply.

His digits drew a sign through the air.

The formation array blazed anew.

Golden glow engulfed the space.

Cries started up again.

The Elder's gaze tightened a bit- not from the pain-

But from how the Dao fragment reacted inside the youth's form.

The piece throbbed wildly.

"Unstable. Too much rejection."

The meridians started bursting right away.

"Hmm."

He watched with detached interest.

"No structural adjustment. Instant breakdown. Looks like the supplies they fetched were poor grade."

The yells stopped suddenly.

Smoke curled up from the heart of the formation.

Yet another body.

Yet another lost fragment.

The Elder breathed out steadily.

Annoyance.

Not sorrow.

The Elder waved his sleeve casually.

Ashes flew over the formation's stage. "Bring three more."

His manner stayed the same as earlier.

As though asking for extra ingredients in pill-making.

The follower tensed.

Quiet lingered.

The Elder kept his back turned.

Yet the golden energy around him wavered slightly.

"Is there a problem?"

The follower knelt on one knee at once. "E-Elder... there are not that many left."

The chamber felt chillier.

Beyond the metal bars, a handful of kids pulled back on instinct.

The Elder turned his head gradually.

"Tsk! Supply has been dropping."

He faced his follower.

"The last shipment gave only three successes."

His voice edged sharper a touch.

"That is unacceptable." The follower gulped.

"Well, people have gotten more cautious, and it's gotten tougher to get materials-especially the good ones."

The Elder's stare grew colder.

"Damn! If only the war against the Demonic Forces had lasted longer, we'd have grabbed way more resources without hassle."

He paced leisurely in front of the formation array, golden glow bouncing off the smooth stone surface.

At the war's peak, whole towns vanished in a night. Settlements turned to cinders. Groups of refugees disappeared traceless. Probes were out of reach.

The Imperial Family's troops marched to the battlefields, and mighty clans drained their top talents.

No moment to chase the lost, no notice for the kids who vanished, the rogue cultivators who didn't come back, the full refugee bands that just faded away.

All got lost in the turmoil, their ends overlooked amid bigger calamities.

Records were made, doubts voiced, but the fight called for every skilled soul.

Masters couldn't be pulled for hunts of the vanished. Those had been the Elder's prime days. The disorder brought liberty.

Full loads traveled unchecked. Even when whispers spread, they got waved off as war's side costs, mere whispers in a clashing realm.

It served as ideal shelter to run tests openly, free from watch, free from limits.

Dozens of attempts wrapped up, the win rate rising bit by bit, the honing of methods sped up without meddling.

Now, peace had come. The Demonic Forces pulled back, the borders held firm, forces headed back.

The leaders and sects, safe from close dangers, looked inside.

The Imperial Family launched checks within, small smuggling rings got exposed and crushed, eyes sharpened over all lands. The liberty that let free testing was gone. Sourcing paths shrank, twisted, grew wary.

Resources ran low, dropped in grade, and with weak stock came weak matches. Tests halted.

The Elder's anger bubbled under his skin, golden qi flickering softly near him.

"Widen the gathering range. Doesn't matter if they're ordinary folk or cultivators-grab whoever we find." His tone dipped a notch.

"If we wait more, the Sect Leader will grow unhappy."

The follower bent low in respect. "Yes, Elder!"

The golden shine dulled once again.

The Elder glanced at the waning light of the Sun Dao fragment in his grip.

"So many failures..."

His mouth twisted slightly.

"But the success rate inches up. When we hit over fifty percent..."

The fragment lit up a fraction, drawn to his spiritual qi.

"...then we'll dominate this realm!"

He clenched his fist.

The fragment disappeared.

"Go."

His voice slid back to cool detachment.

"Resupply!"