Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 494 Spoils of a Fallen Sect

The Azure Sun Holy Sect, previously hailed as a dominant powerhouse within the Desolate Heaven Empire, had reached a total collapse.

An imperial decree arrived with swift, merciless precision.

Ultimately, the Sect was dismantled.

Every parcel of its land was confiscated.

The Imperial Family seized the assets, though they largely acquired land; Bai Zihan had already secured the bulk of the valuable treasures.

Demanding them back was simply out of the question.

Furthermore, portions of the seized territory were granted to the Bai Clan as compensation.

In the end, the Bai Clan emerged far more prosperous from these developments than the Imperial Family.

Still, the sanctions were not applied without discernment.

The rank-and-file disciples remained untouched.

Most were blissfully unaware of the illicit experiments occurring in the shadows of their Sect.

They were typical cultivators simply pursuing cultivation resources and guidance.

Following an extensive investigation, they were granted the freedom to depart.

While some dispersed to join smaller organizations throughout the empire, renowned geniuses among them were recruited by other prestigious Sects.

However, the fate awaiting the Elders and Grand Elders was far more severe.

A great many had either directly participated in the Sect’s nefarious deeds or had remained complicit through their silence.

They were promptly arrested and incarcerated.

Some faced multi-year sentences, while others endured harsher penalties consistent with their level of complicity.

The once-venerated Sect had been transformed into nothing more than a permanent blemish in the annals of the empire.

Yet, amidst all those ensnared... there remained one notable exception.

The Earth Immortal Ancestor.

Quite unexpectedly, he faced no retribution.

The official justification was simple enough.

During the inquiry, he had cooperated by exposing the Sect’s transgressions.

But the true motivation lay hidden.

The actual cause stemmed from behind-the-scenes intervention by the Bai Clan.

Through calculated political maneuvering and private negotiations, the Bai Clan ensured that the Earth Immortal Ancestor remained free from imprisonment.

The ancestor was subsequently housed within the Bai Clan.

Naturally, his standing was far from elevated.

He held the rank of neither Grand Elder nor Elder.

By hierarchy, he was positioned closer to the average disciple, if not lower.

However, no one dared to treat him with anything less than caution.

He remained, after all, an Earth Immortal Cultivator.

Even a force as formidable as the Bai Clan would not foolishly overlook such raw power.

Clan Leader Bai Tianheng himself extended reasonable courtesy toward the man.

He was supplied with cultivation resources, assigned a private courtyard, and provided with servants.

When compared to the abysmal fates of those rotting in the imperial dungeons, his circumstances were arguably fortunate.

Of course, one critical condition remained.

To guarantee his allegiance, the Earth Immortal Ancestor was coerced into cultivating the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.

The old man was terrified at the start.

For4 centuries, he had cultivated his previous methods; switching techniques so suddenly carried immense risks.

A clash of techniques might lead to his cultivation being completely crippled.

But he had no room to negotiate.

He lacked any leverage.

Thus, with profound hesitation, he commenced his practice.

Before long, his anxieties vanished.

Not only did the technique prove entirely harmless to his existing foundation, it was fundamentally superior to the methods he had practiced within the Azure Sun Holy Sect.

The flow of spiritual Qi through his body became incredibly fluid.

His Meridians felt notably strengthened.

Even his stagnant cultivation began showing slight, promising signs of progress.

This revelation shocked him to his core.

He finally understood why this technique was propagating so rapidly across the Desolate Heaven Empire, though the specific intent behind Bai Zihan’s directive remained a mystery.

Perhaps he surmised that the technique itself was the very reason he had been spared.

Even so, he never lost sight of his reality.

He was no longer a Sect ancestor.

He was, in effect, a controlled asset of the Bai Clan.

Should the clan issue a demand, he would be forced to comply.

Yet, compared to the prospects of execution, torture, or life behind bars, this outcome was vastly superior.

He possessed the resources to advance.

He maintained freedom for his Cultivation.

His dignity as a powerful figure was largely intact, and at the very least, he was afforded basic decency.

Even the Clan Leader, Bai Tianheng, maintained a respectful tone when addressing him.

Of course, one individual behaved quite differently.

Bai Zihan.

The Young Master of the Bai Clan displayed almost zero reverence.

Curiously, it didn’t register as arrogance.

Rather, Bai Zihan seemed to treat everyone with the same detached neutrality.

Even the Bai Clan’s own Grand Elders were met with little deference from him.

After witnessing this dynamic repeatedly, the Earth Immortal Ancestor learned to accept it.

He could only sigh in the end.

The Azure Sun Holy Sect, a legacy he had fostered for hundreds of years, had vanished entirely.

But dwelling on regret was meaningless now.

The past was immutable.

Compared to the many who had fallen, his own conclusion was already fortunate enough.

***

While the Earth Immortal Ancestor had reached a state of acceptance regarding the Azure Sun Holy Sect, others remained deeply unsettled.

In fact, the members of the Li-Zhao Alliance were profoundly shaken.

The scale of the events felt entirely unprecedented.

The Azure Sun Holy Sect had been far from a minor entity.

For centuries, it had stood as one of the most powerful pillars of the Desolate Heaven Empire.

Their influence reached into countless territories, their disciples counted in the tens of thousands, and their Elders were venerated practitioners throughout the land.

And yet, such a juggernaut had been shattered virtually overnight.

The sheer impact of a single move by the Bai Clan sent ripples of unease across the region.

Anxiety hung heavy in the halls of numerous allied sects and clans.

Many leaders were haunted by the same nagging question.

If the Azure Sun Holy Sect could be dismantled with such ease, what hope did they have?

The aftermath was even more chilling.

The Li Clan and Zhao Clan proved entirely incapable of intervening.

Even the Emperor of the Desolate Heaven Empire had allowed the matter to finalize without offering any significant resistance.

While it was known that illegal experiments—a strict taboo—had taken place, to many observers, it seemed the Bai Clan was operating completely without check or balance.

The realization caused a sense of cold dread to permeate the alliance.

If even Imperial authority could not constrain the Bai Clan, what force could possibly guarantee their safety?

The sense of security they once derived from the Li-Zhao Alliance began to disintegrate.

Behind closed doors, quiet, fearful discourse proliferated.

Would the Bai Clan target them next? Could the Li or Zhao Clans actually defend them? Or were they merely being groomed as the next sacrificial lambs?

Such poisonous doubts spread unchecked.

Fear flourished, and with it, acute distrust.

Several smaller clans initiated secret contingency plans.

A few courageous leaders even began to contemplate more drastic measures, such as abandoning the alliance entirely.

After all, no one wished to remain aboard a sinking ship, and to many, the Li-Zhao Alliance now felt exactly like that.

Of course, hardcore loyalists existed who preferred to blame the Bai Clan for an unscrupulous invasion, ignoring the official justification.

They clung to the belief that the Bai Clan had engineered the entire scenario to provide a facade of legitimacy for their aggression.

Rumors were circulated claiming the Bai Clan had actually conducted the experiments and pinned them on the Azure Sun Holy Sect. At this stage, such fabrications found little traction, especially with the Imperial Family verifying the truth, yet the slander persisted. They argued it was mere greed for treasure, and that if the Bai Clan’s goal was truly to save children, they should retroactively relinquish their spoils. They even pointed to the inclusion of the Earth Immortal Ancestor within the Bai Clan as proof of corruption, suggesting he may have been a puppet serving the Bai Clan’s interests all along.

Various conspiracy theories were fabricated to tarnish the Bai Clan’s reputation. Even when the impact was marginal, they persisted in their efforts. Curiously, both the Li and Zhao Clans maintained silence. They made no move to punish those fleeing the alliance, nor did they discourage the spreading of rumors against the Bai Clan.