Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 382 The Blooming of Demonic Qi!
Previously on Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan!...
"Well, that would definitely be nice!"
Bai Zihan muttered under his breath.
Regardless, the Demonic Cultivators initiated their assault shortly after.
The impact was catastrophic.
The eastern flank disintegrated almost immediately as a wave of dark silhouettes slammed into the already struggling lines of the Desolate Heaven Empire.
Demonic qi clashed violently against the Desolate Heaven Empire cultivators.
Explosions erupted across the battlefield like savage fireworks.
With their hands already full battling the Demonic Beasts, the cultivators of the Desolate Heaven Empire possessed no spare focus to confront the Demonic Cultivators as well.
Should they pivot their attention toward the Demonic Cultivators, the Demonic Beasts would promptly tear them to shreds.
Yet, they could not simply ignore the Demonic Cultivators, who were clearly not going to overlook such a perfect opening.
The Beast Tide neither faltered nor slowed—it intensified, striking from behind while the Demonic Cultivators slaughtered from the front.
The consequence—
Slaughter. Instant, crimson slaughter!
Agonized screams were swallowed by the thunder of demonic spells.
Bodies were tossed into the sky.
Battle formations crumbled.
Due to the Demonic Cultivators appearing so suddenly without detection, the reserve units positioned further back could not react in time.
Commander Wei Zongyuan’s face contorted as he witnessed the massacre taking place.
They had foreseen an infiltration.
They had set up defenses.
However, even he hadn't anticipated that the Demonic Cultivators could get this close, completely unnoticed, before triggering the ambush.
In those opening minutes, the Desolate Heaven Empire suffered more casualties among its cultivators than in the entire conflict prior to the trap.
Bai Zihan clicked his tongue as a lifeless body flew past him.
"Tch! Persistent pests."
He could no longer focus exclusively on purging Grade-9 beasts.
If these Demonic Cultivators broke through his position, they would charge straight into the sector where the Bai Clan’s units were stationed.
While they wouldn't fall easily, casualties would be inevitable, and that was unacceptable.
He immediately halted his forward momentum and retreated several meters instead.
His foot struck the blood-drenched earth—
BOOM!
A shockwave burst from beneath his heel as he launched himself backward, cutting a precise, controlled path through both beasts and foes.
Landing upon a mound of still-shuddering monster remains, he reset his posture.
The Demonic Cultivators rushed toward him like a dark tsunami.
He cast a frigid gaze across their approaching ranks.
Instead of pushing deeper into the Beast Tide, he now stood firmly between the incoming demonic army and the Bai Clan’s forces behind him.
But the Demonic Cultivators did not charge him recklessly.
They didn't act like the Demonic Beasts.
Instead—
Their momentum faltered.
Their pace slowed.
Many stopped dead several dozen meters away, skidding to a halt as if they had struck a hidden barrier.
Murmurs spread through their lines.
"S-Stay away from him..."
"That is Bai Zihan!"
Even the most insane, bloodthirsty Demonic Cultivators prized their survival when reality hit them in the face.
For Bai Zihan was no mere genius.
He was a sentient disaster.
They weren't foolish enough to be ignorant of Bai Zihan's deeds.
It wasn't just the reports of him slaying Grade-10 Demonic Beasts—rumors circulated that Bai Zihan had endured a strike from Gou You.
That was the punch of an Immortal Realm expert. And he had lived.
A solitary individual.
And yet—
A massive throng of Demonic Cultivators—thousands of them—wavered.
Some pulled back instinctively when Bai Zihan’s eyes happened to drift over them, as if his mere stare could decapitate them.
Even the Void Refinement Realm Elders hesitated, their expressions strained and grim.
Their original intent was to storm forward and butcher the righteous forces.
But now?
A single young man had halted their entire progression.
One man.
Bai Zihan!
The Void Refinement Elder commanding the eastern wing gnashed his teeth, veins pulsing at his temples.
"We cannot let this brat keep us pinned here!"
His shout broke many from their trance of fear, though not their dread.
He rapidly evaluated the chaotic field and reached a quick conclusion.
"Disperse! One group will bypass him and strike the rear!"
He signaled toward the distance where the Bai Clan’s troops were positioned.
"If we delay any longer, reinforcements will show up, and our surprise attack will fail!"
His tone became sharp as a blade.
"Before that happens, we have to cripple their most powerful force—the Bai Clan!"
Several elders gave a grim nod of agreement.
This was more than a simple raid.
It was a strategic blow designed to break the Empire.
They could not permit any further hesitation.
"Three squads will move around Bai Zihan and assault the back lines! Do not fight him unless it is absolutely necessary!"
"And the rest of you—"
His gaze fixed on Bai Zihan, the youth standing isolated like a lonely peak forged from pride and unshakable stillness.
"—will hold him here!"
The command sent waves of terror through the troops, but fear of their leader won out.
Dozens of Void Refinement experts swapped looks.
Nobody wished to be the first.
Nobody wanted to challenge the blade that harvested beasts like dry grass.
But they were out of options.
"Delay him. Keep him occupied until the Great Ascension Elders arrive!"
The strategy was desperate.
Hazardous.
Perhaps even suicidal.
But it was the only path forward.
As the first wave of Void Refinement Demonic Cultivators gripped their weapons tighter and began a slow, reluctant advance toward Bai Zihan—
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Bai Zihan tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing.
"Oh?"
A subtle, mocking grin played on his lips.
"It seems you've finally decided to act."
His sword vibrated with a chilling light as he raised it slightly.
"But as for going around me..."
His voice sank into a lethally soft whisper.
"...did you truly believe I would permit that?"
The earth quivered—
As Bai Zihan struck.
The moment Bai Zihan altered his stance, ten Void Refinement Realm Elders lunged forward simultaneously.
"Establish the cage!"
Demonic qi flared like ten columns of obsidian flame, knitting together to form a dome of lethal pressure around Bai Zihan.
In a flash, the youth was encircled—blocked from every path. A flawless containment.
Or so they hoped.
The Elders smirked, their terror hidden behind a facade of courage.
"He is caught!"
"Excellent! Keep him pinned!"
However—
Bai Zihan merely lifted an eyebrow.
"Caught?"
He always found it humorous how people grew bold simply because he was being patient and didn't react instantly.
SHOOOM!
A dozen demonic cultivators broke away from the primary force, sprinting toward the rear where the Bai Clan’s soldiers held their ground.
"There! Get past him!"
"Slay the other Bai Clan cultivators first!"
"Hehe... They are busy with the Demonic Beasts. They won't be able to resist."
They moved with great speed.
But...
Bai Zihan’s grip tightened on his hilt.
"Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword!"
The steel flickered—
And disappeared.
Then—
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
Nine bolts of radiant silver tore through the air, weaving through the openings between the Elders surrounding him.
The retreating demonic cultivators froze in mid-motion.
A second later—
Their bodies collapsed into pieces like sliced fruit.
Blood erupted in nine flawless arcs, staining the ground in crimson.
The Elders who had "trapped" Bai Zihan widened their eyes in shock.
"T-This velocity—!"
"Is he truly only in the Spirit Severing Realm?!"
The following wave of Spirit Severing and Nascent Soul demonic cultivators trying to sneak around him stopped immediately, shivering in place.
Despite their dread, the ten Void Refinement Elders bellowed in rage.
"Curse you—!"
"Block him!"
They attacked together, their unified strike vibrating the earth and warping the heavens.
But Bai Zihan didn't even blink.
His blade moved in elegant arcs, parrying, cutting, and shifting—each impact sending one or two Elders reeling back, spitting blood.
Even while surrounded, he felt no pressure.
He took a single step forward—
BOOM!
Three Elders were hurled back dozens of meters.
"S-Stop him!"
"Don't let him shatter the formation!"
But Bai Zihan was already in motion again.
The rest of the demonic cultivators—those intended to bypass him and charge the Bai Clan—halted entirely.
None dared to move an inch.
Not after watching dozens of their peers slaughtered like livestock in a pen.
Terror anchored them to the spot.
The Void Refinement Elder leading the charge spotted their hesitation in the heat of battle.
His face twisted with fury.
"You spineless cowards!" he screamed, barely parrying a blow that caused cracks to spiderweb under his feet.
"What are you doing?!"
He swung his weapon with his full strength, requiring two other Elders to support him just to remain upright.
"You are squandering the vital opening we provided! Go around him and eliminate the Bai Clan before their help arrives!"
The mere thought of the crushing pressure he faced and the risk of death, only for them to cower, made the Elder livid.
Under his command, they finally began to move—slowly and with great caution.
Bai Zihan attempted to break free but was unsuccessful. This time, the Demonic Elders were going all-out, using every ounce of power to restrain him.
"Tsk!"
Though he disliked it, he had to admit that handling ten Void Refinement Realm elders was pushing the limits of his current power. He had fought seven such elders in the Falling Star Empire, and while he maintained the upper hand then, it was because those cultivators used inferior techniques.
Conversely, these Demonic Cultivator elders all utilized at least Earth-Grade techniques—and there were more of them.
Naturally, Bai Zihan didn't fear for his life, but doing anything more than holding them at bay was currently out of the question.
(Well, I've done everything I could.)