Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 478 Where's the Treasure?

The Azure Sun Holy Sect had fully capitulated!

Their revered Sect Leader had forsaken them too. Thus, they realized their utter doom.

Bai Zihan had no intention of letting them off lightly.

He gazed upon the vast crowd in golden robes on their knees, followed by the four Immortals bowed low at the forefront.

'Since you've opted to yield,' he stated tonelessly, 'yield completely.'

Nobody grasped his intention—

Until the next words dropped.

'Every disciple and elder from the Azure Sun Sect.'

'Prostrate yourselves fully. Touch your foreheads to the earth.'

A wave surged through the assembly.

They were kneeling already.

Yet this—

This demanded total submission.

'What? Dare you resist my command?'

Bai Zihan inquired. It appeared that defiance would lead to their total annihilation.

Given Bai Zihan's nature, all present suspected he would indeed carry it out.

After all, hadn't the Mei Clan been obliterated merely for aiding Shen Liang in accusing him?

And now, their offense targeted his very existence. Forgiveness was out of the question.

The Earth Immortal Ancestor shut his eyes momentarily.

Imploring for life beat certain death any day.

Then, he bowed his head until it met the stone.

The remaining three Immortals mimicked him.

Like a falling wave—

Thousands leaned forward.

Foreheads met the ground with impacts.

'Admit your hubris. Admit your avarice. Admit that the Bai Clan granted leniency to pests like you.'

The courtyard quivered with stifled fury and shame.

Yet none ventured to stay quiet.

'We acted with arrogance!'

'We were sightless!'

'We are grateful to the Bai Clan for our reprieve!'

...

Voices clashed in disarray.

Some voices broke with emotion.

Some faltered.

Others almost howled.

'Once more!'

They echoed the confessions, and the entire Azure Sun Holy Sect started denouncing themselves while lauding the Bai Clan loudly.

Bai Zihan observed impassively, nodding in approval at their compliance.

'Excellent! You've grasped a measure of meekness.'

He remarked, appearing content.

Numerous individuals sighed in relief, believing the ordeal neared its close.

But then Bai Zihan declared,

'Administer one hundred slaps to yourselves.'

Dead quiet!

'Isn't this excessive? We've yielded already?'

The Earth Immortal Ancestor attempted to negotiate with Bai Zihan.

'Eh? You sought my demise, and I'm extending mercy. Do you view me as weak?'

Bai Zihan responded, his tone icy and ominous.

Gulp!

Observing Bai Zihan's gaze, it seemed he spoke earnestly about his mercy.

The Earth Immortal Ancestor's jaw clenched.

He lifted his one remaining hand.

Slap!

The echo rang sharp in the hush.

Disciples and elders of Azure Sun stared in disbelief at the sight, unforeseen in their lives.

The other Immortals proceeded similarly.

Slap! Slap!

Throughout the courtyard—

Thousands of hands ascended.

And descended.

The noise amplified into a booming cadence resounding across the peaks.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Cheeks flushed red.

Then puffed up.

Blood started trickling onto the stone.

Cheeks flushed red.

Then puffed up.

Blood started trickling onto the stone.

Within the prostrated masses, a single Soul Formation disciple's eyes narrowed faintly.

One hundred slaps?

Acceptable!

But the intensity remained unspecified.

He lifted his hand skyward—

Smack!

The noise carried weight.

Yet his palm scarcely grazed his face.

Once again.

Smack!

His head jerked theatrically, feigning a mighty blow.

In reality, pain evaded him.

As long as the tally reached completion, details faded in importance.

He even smirked to himself.

The young master couldn't oversee thousands simultaneously...

A shadow loomed upon him.

The disciple's pulse raced.

Before glancing upward—

A composed voice resounded overhead.

'Is this your method of self-slapping?'

It belonged to Jin Yuanzhan, pre-instructed by Bai Zihan on the protocol.

The Soul Formation disciple went rigid.

Smack!!!

A fearsome palm lashed his visage.

Qi-infused power burst on contact.

His skull wrenched savagely, bones snapping as blood and teeth flew from his lips.

He tumbled across the yard before slamming into a column.

The whole square halted briefly.

Jin Yuanzhan advanced deliberately, his presence unwavering in the Nascent Soul Realm.

'Since you're ignorant of the proper way,' he intoned icily, 'allow me to demonstrate.'

He hauled the dazed disciple upright by the collar.

Then—

Smack!

Smack!!

Every blow bore focused qi.

The Soul Formation cultivator failed to channel his energy for protection amid the Bai Clan's restraint.

His features crumpled.

Blood gushed.

Upon the tenth impact, awareness fragmented.

By the twentieth—

He slackened utterly.

Jin Yuanzhan discarded the body like refuse.

Hush enveloped the yard.

Those who nursed similar notions inwardly dripped with chilly sweat.

Their hands, previously gentle—

Swiftly turned vigorous.

Slap! Slap!!

Flesh tore.

Preferable to endure self-inflicted harm over an external qi assault.

The booming cadence returned, intensified.

Even the Immortals battered themselves relentlessly.

Upon the hundredth strike—

Quietness reigned once more.

Inflamed visages.

Shattered dentition.

Blood besmirching golden attire.

Bai Zihan scanned them all.

'Restrain their cultivation!'

Bai Clan elders advanced without delay.

They operated with utmost accuracy, obstructing meridians to hinder Qi flow.

Upon completion, thousands remained kneeling—helpless.

Bai Zihan pivoted toward the four Immortals.

'The treasury.'

The Earth Immortal Ancestor's expression flickered subtly.

'...Follow me!'

He stood gradually and guided them further within the sect.

Bai Ren accompanied Bai Zihan mutely. His awareness probed the environs ceaselessly.

Even amid capitulation, caution prevailed, particularly regarding Bai Zihan's safety. They traversed courtyards and secluded halls until arriving at a gigantic bronze portal set into a cliffside beyond the primary summit. Primeval formations glowed softly on its face. The Earth Immortal extended his hand and placed his palm on the seal.

Multiple barriers dissolved.

The portal groaned ajar.

A surge of thick spiritual energy billowed forth.

Within—

Innumerable artifacts hovered in formations. Swords, lances, barriers, garments.

Earth-grade resources heaped in crystalline containers.

Gold amassed in modest mounds.

Vials of assorted pill grades. The legacy of millennia.

The Earth Immortal bowed rigidly. 'This constitutes our sect's vault.' Bai Zihan entered unperturbed.

His eyes roamed the contents once.

Then again.

No alteration in his demeanor.

These items paled against his personal holdings.

None exceeded the Bai Clan's reserves.

Bai Ren huffed softly.

'The Azure Sun Holy Sect proves more destitute than anticipated.'

'Precisely as I foresaw from them.' Bai Zihan concurred.

Such remarks stung the Ancestor like a blow.

Centuries of toil yielded this hoard, yet Bai Ren labeled it meager.

Certainly, he wouldn't contest its inferiority to the Bai Clan's, but abundance lingered.

Furthermore, despite deriding the sect's vault, Bai Zihan proceeded to claim it all. Items vanished into Bai Zihan's storage ring.

Not even minerals or basic supplies escaped.

In under a score of breaths—

The expansive vault lay barren.

Empty surfaces persisted.

The Earth Immortal's sight hazed momentarily.

No remnants whatsoever.

Not a fragment.

His fingers quivered inside his sleeves. Millennia.

Lineages of buildup. Meticulously guarded for eventual flourishing.

He had denied lavish use of these assets during sect growth, ever envisioning the future. Little did he imagine—

That future arriving thus? All possessions.

In another's grasp.

He abruptly regretted his thriftiness.

At minimum, greater expenditure might have lessened the agony of witnessing their legacy swept away in one sleeve flick.

The vault stood vacant.

Bai Zihan paused at the threshold briefly.

The Azure Sun Ancestor assumed the conclusion neared.

Yet then—

Bai Zihan's gaze returned to him. 'One additional matter remains.' The Earth Immortal's chest constricted.

'Where lies the Sun Dao Fragment?'

The four Immortals tensed.

The Earth Immortal mustered a forced grin. 'That... represents our sect's holy legacy. Surely the Bai Clan won't seek to deprive us of—'

He trailed off.

Bai Zihan regarded him.

A mere glance.

But those frigid, shadowed orbs conveyed utter detachment.

Azure Sun rested wholly in his control.

Their fate hinged on his whim.

The Earth Immortal's throat parched.

'...Proceed this way!'

He wheeled about.

They ventured further into the restricted range.

This route plunged below the chief peak, delving into a subterranean vault hewn from dark spiritual rock.

At its terminus loomed a immense portal.

Differing from the treasury entrance— This emanated primordial dominance. Potent arrays wove over its expanse like a sun arrested in eternity.

Intricate runes throbbed steadily, emanating pulses of searing Dao intent.

Merely nearing warped the atmosphere.

The Earth Immortal halted scores of paces distant.

'Here resides the seal on the Sun Dao Fragment.'