"Well, that would definitely be nice!"
Bai Zihan muttered.
Anyways, the Demonic Cultivators made contact soon after.
And it was devastating.
The eastern flank collapsed almost instantly as a tide of shadowy figures crashed into the already-strained Desolate Heaven Empire lines.
Demonic qi collided with Desolate Heaven Empire cultivators.
Explosions lit the battlefield like violent fireworks.
Already having their hands tied fighting the Demonic Beasts, the cultivators of the Desolate Heaven Empire had no spare attention to deal with Demonic Cultivators as well.
If they shifted their focus to the Demonic Cultivators, then the Demonic Beasts would shred them to pieces.
However, it wasn't as if they could ignore Demonic Cultivators, who would obviously not miss such a golden opportunity.
The Beast Tide did not pause or slow-it surged even harder, crashing into their backs while the Demonic Cultivators cut down the front.
The result-
Carnage. Imdiate, bloody carnage!
Screams drowned beneath the roar of demonic spells.
Bodies were hurled into the air.
Formations shattered.
And because the Demonic Cultivators revealed themselves too abruptly without being detected-the reserve units stationed farther back were not quick enough to respond.
Commander Wei Zongyuan's expression twisted as he saw the slaughter unfolding.
They had anticipated an infiltration.
They had prepared counterasures.
But not even he had expected the Demonic Cultivators to get this close, undetected, before springing the trap.
And now, in the first few minutes, the Desolate Heaven Empire lost more cultivators than they had in the entire battle before the ambush.
Bai Zihan clicked his tongue as a corpse flew past him.
"Tch! Annoying."
He could no longer afford to focus solely on killing Grade-9 beasts.
If these Demonic Cultivators broke past him-they would crash directly into the area where the Bai Clan's forces were stationed.
Although they wouldn't go down easily, there would definitely be casualties, and that wasn't sothing good.
He imdiately stopped advancing forward and instead stepped back several ters.
His foot pressed lightly against the blood-soaked ground-
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted beneath his heel as he propelled himself backward, carving a clear, controlled are through beasts and enemies.
Landing atop a pile of still-twitching monster corpses, he adjusted his stance.
The Demonic Cultivators surged toward him like a black tsunami.
He swept his gaze coldly across their ranks.
Now, instead of advancing deeper into the Beast Tide, he positioned himself squarely between the incoming demonic army and the Bai Clan's position behind him.
But the Demonic Cultivators did not rush at him.
Not the way Demonic Beasts did.
Instead-
Their charge stuttered.
Their steps slowed.
Many outright stopped several dozen ters away, skidding to a halt as if hitting an invisible wall.
Whispers rippled through their ranks.
"D-Don't go near him..."
"That's Bai Zihan!"
Even the most deranged, battle-hungry Demonic Cultivators valued their lives
when reality slapped them across the face.
Because Bai Zihan was not a simple prodigy.
He was a walking calamity.
They weren't stupid enough to not know what Bai Zihan had done.
Not only because of the news about him killing Grade-10 Demonic Beasts- there were rumors about Bai Zihan having survived Gou You's punch.
That was an Immortal Realm expert's punch. And he survived.
A single person.
And yet-
A large group of Demonic Cultivators-thousands strong-hesitated.
So instinctively stepped back when Bai Zihan's gaze happened to sweep over them, as if his eyes alone could sever their heads.
Even the Void Refinent Realm Elders paused, faces tight and grim.
They had originally planned to rush forward and carve through the righteous forces.
But now?
A single young man had stopped their advance.
One person.
Bai Zihan!
The Void Refinent Elder leading the east flank gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his temples.
"We cannot allow this brat to hold us here!"
His roar snapped many out of their fear, but not their caution.
He quickly assessed the chaotic battlefield and ca to a swift decision.
"Spread out! A group will circle around him and hit the rear!"
He pointed toward the distance where the Bai Clan's forces were stationed.
"If we wait too long, reinforcents will arrive, and our ambush will fail!"
His voice turned razor-sharp.
"Before that happens, we must reduce their strongest force-the Bai Clan!"
Several elders nodded grimly.
This wasn't just a raid.
It was a decisive strike ant to cripple the Empire.
They could not afford hesitation.
"Three teams will move past Bai Zihan and charge the rear lines! Do not engage
him unless absolutely necessary!"
"And the rest of you-"
His eyes locked on Bai Zihan, the youth standing alone like a solitary mountain
carved from arrogance and unshakeable calm.
"-will stop him here!"
The order sent ripples of fear through their troops, but obedience won out.
Dozens of Void Refinent experts exchanged glances.
None wanted to be the first.
None wanted to test the sword that butchered beasts like weeds.
But they had no choice.
"Stall him. Hold him until the Great Ascension Elders arrive!"
The plan was desperate.
Risky.
Maybe even foolish.
But it was their only option.
As the first wave of Void Refinent Demonic Cultivators tightened their grips
on their weapons and slowly, reluctantly stepped toward Bai Zihan-
The air thickened.
Bai Zihan tilted his head, eyes narrowing faintly.
"Oh?"
A faint, mocking smile tugged at his lips.
"Looks like you finally decided to move."
His blade humd with cold light as he lifted it slightly.
"But going around ..."
His voice dropped to a dangerously soft murmur.
"...did you really think I'd allow that?"
The ground trembled-
As Bai Zihan moved.
The mont Bai Zihan shifted his stance, ten Void Refinent Realm Elders burst forward at once.
"Form the cage!"
Demonic qi ignited like ten pillars of black fla, weaving together into a do of murderous pressure around Bai Zihan.
In an instant, the young man was surrounded-cut off from every direction. A perfect encirclent.
Or so they wished.
The Elders grinned sharply, their fear masked by forced bravado.
"He's trapped!"
"Good! Hold him here!"
But-
Bai Zihan simply raised an eyebrow.
"Trapped?"
He always found it amusing how people beca confident just because he took it easy and didn't respond imdiately.
SHOOOM!
A dozen demonic cultivators broke away from the main group, rushing toward the rear where the Bai Clan's forces held the line.
"There! Move past him!"
"Kill the other Bai Clan cultivators first!"
"Hehe... They're preoccupied fighting the Demonic Beasts. They won't be able to fight back."
They were fast.
But...
Bai Zihan's fingers tightened around his sword.
"Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword!"
The blade flickered-
And vanished.
Then-
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
Nine streaks of blinding silver ripped across the air, weaving through the gaps between the Elders encircling him.
The fleeing demonic cultivators froze mid-stride.
A heartbeat later-
Their bodies slid apart like sliced fruit.
Blood sprayed in nine perfect arcs, painting the battlefield crimson.
The Elders who had trapped Bai Zihan widened their eyes.
"T-This speed-!"
"Is he really in the Spirit Severing Realm?!"
The next wave of Spirit Severing and Nascent Soul demonic cultivators who attempted to slip around him halted instantly-trembling.
Even through their fear, the ten Void Refinent Elders roared in fury.
"Damn you-!"
"Stop him!"
They lunged simultaneously, their combined assault shaking the ground and distorting the sky.
But Bai Zihan didn't even flinch.
His sword moved in clean arcs, blocking, slicing, redirecting-each clash
sending one or two
Elders stumbling back, coughing blood.
Even surrounded, he wasn't pressured.
He stepped forward once-
BOOM!
Three Elders were blown back tens of ters.
"S-Stop him!"
"Don't let him break the formation!"
But Bai Zihan was already moving again.
The remaining demonic cultivators-those who were supposed to bypass him
and charge toward the Bai Clan-stopped completely.
None dared to take a single step.
Not after seeing dozens of their comrades butchered as if they were chickens
in a slaughterhouse.
Fear rooted them to the ground.
The Void Refinent Elder leading the assault noticed their hesitation
mid-battle.
His expression twisted with rage.
"You cowards!" he roared, barely blocking a strike that sent cracks
spiderwebbing beneath his feet.
"What are you doing?!"
He swung his blade with all his might, forcing two of his fellow Elders to
reinforce him just to stay standing.
"You're wasting the precious opportunity we created! Go around him and kill
the Bai Clan before their reinforcents arrive!"
Just thinking about the imnse pressure and the possibility of death for them to only cower like this made the Elder furious.
Though with his command, they finally managed to move-slowly, cautiously.
Bai Zihan tried to break away but failed. This ti, the Demonic Elders were going all-out and stopping him with everything they had.
"Tsk!"
Although he didn't want to, he had to accept the fact that taking care of ten Void Refinent Realm elders was too much for his current strength. He had fought against seven Void Refinent Realm elders in the Falling Star
Empire, and while he still held the advantage back then, it was because their cultivators had inferior techniques.
On the other hand, the Demonic Cultivator elders all had at least Earth-Grade techniques-and there were more of them.
Of course, Bai Zihan didn't think he would die, but trying to do anything
beyond holding them back was out of the question.
(Well, I did all I could.)
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