The Azure Sun Holy Sect, once considered one of the strongest powers within the Desolate Heaven Empire, had completely collapsed.
The imperial decree was swift and rciless.
The sect itself was dismantled.
Its territories were confiscated.
Its assets were seized by the Imperial Family. However, it mostly owned land and territory, as most of its treasures were taken by Bai Zihan.
And it was not like they could demand it back.
Not only that, so of the territory was to be given to the Bai Clan as a reward.
So, the Bai Clan gained much more from this than the Imperial Family.
However, the punishnt was not entirely indiscriminate.
The ordinary disciples were spared.
Most of them had known nothing about the sect's hidden experints.
They were rely cultivators seeking resources and guidance.
After a thorough investigation, they were allowed to leave.
So scattered across the empire, joining smaller sects, while other renowned
geniuses joined another prestigious sect.
But for the elders and grand elders, the outco was far harsher.
Many had directly participated in the sect's darker activities.
Others had at least known of them and remained silent.
They were arrested and imprisoned.
So were sentenced to several years.
Others received far heavier punishnt depending on their involvent.
The once-glorious sect had now beco nothing more than a stain in the empire's history.
Yet among all those involved...
There was one exception.
The Earth Immortal Ancestor.
Surprisingly, he was not punished.
Officially, the reason was simple.
During the trial, he had helped expose the sect's cris.
But in truth-
The real reason lay elsewhere.
Behind the scenes, the Bai Clan had intervened.
Through subtle negotiations and political maneuvering, the Bai Clan ensured that the Earth Immortal Ancestor avoided imprisonnt.
The ancestor was taken into the Bai Clan.
Naturally, his status was far from high.
He was neither a Grand Elder nor an Elder.
In terms of rank, his position was closer to that of an ordinary disciple, perhaps even lower.
However-
No one truly treated him lightly.
After all, he was still an Earth Immortal Cultivator.
Even the Bai Clan, powerful as it was, would not casually ignore such strength.
Clan Leader Bai Tianheng himself treated the man with reasonable respect.
Cultivation resources were also provided to him.
A private cultivation courtyard was arranged.
Servants were assigned.
Compared to the miserable fate of those rotting in imperial prisons, his situation could almost be considered fortunate.
Of course-
There was one critical condition.
To ensure loyalty, the Earth Immortal Ancestor was forced to cultivate the Heavenly Mandate Assimilation Art.
At first, the old man was terrified.
After cultivating his previous technique for centuries, suddenly changing thods could be extrely dangerous.
If the techniques clashed...
It could cripple his cultivation entirely.
But refusal was not an option.
He was in no position to bargain.
Thus, with great hesitation, he began practicing it.
And soon-
His fears disappeared.
Not only was the technique harmless to his existing foundation...
It was actually far superior to the cultivation thod he had used within the
Azure Sun Holy Sect.
The circulation of spiritual Qi beca smoother.
His ridians felt more stable.
Even his stagnant cultivation showed faint signs of movent.
This discovery shocked him deeply.
He finally understood why this cultivation technique was spreading so quickly
in the Desolate Heaven Empire, though he didn't understand why Bai Zihan wanted him to cultivate it.
Perhaps he thought that it was for his cultivation-the reason why he was
spared.
Even so-
He never forgot his situation.
He was no longer a sect ancestor.
Now he was effectively a controlled cultivator within the Bai Clan.
If the clan demanded sothing, he would have to comply.
Still...
Compared to imprisonnt, torture, or execution-
This outco was far better.
He had resources.
He had freedom to cultivate.
And his dignity as a powerful cultivator was mostly preserved.
At the very least, people still treated him with courtesy.
Even Clan Leader Bai Tianheng spoke to him respectfully.
Of course-
There was one person who behaved very differently.
Bai Zihan!
The young master of the Bai Clan showed almost no reverence at all.
But strangely...
It did not feel like arrogance.
Rather-
Bai Zihan seed to treat everyone the sa way.
Even the Bai Clan's own Grand Elders received very little respect from him.
After witnessing this several tis, the Earth Immortal Ancestor simply
accepted it.
In the end-
He could only sigh.
The Azure Sun Holy Sect...
A sect he had nurtured for centuries...
Was completely gone!
But regret served no purpose now.
The past could not be changed.
And compared to many others...
His ending was already fortunate enough.
***
While the Earth Immortal Ancestor had already accepted the fate of the Azure
Sun Holy Sect...
There were others who had not.
Far from it.
The ones most shaken by this incident were the mbers of the Li-Zhao
Alliance.
What had happened was simply too shocking.
The Azure Sun Holy Sect had not been so minor force.
For centuries it had stood as one of the strongest powers within the Desolate
Heaven Empire.
Its influence spread across nurous territories.
Its disciples numbered in the tens of thousands.
Its elders were powerful cultivators respected across the empire.
And yet-
Such a sect had collapsed almost overnight.
All because of a single move from the Bai Clan.
This realization made many people uneasy.
Very uneasy.
Inside the halls of several alliance sects and clans, the atmosphere had beco
tense.
Many leaders could not help but ask the sa question.
If the Azure Sun Holy Sect could fall so easily...
Why couldn't the sa happen to them?
What frightened them even more was what had happened afterward.
The Li Clan and Zhao Clan weren't able to do anything.
Even the Emperor of the Desolate Heaven Empire had ultimately allowed the
matter to conclude without interfering too much.
Obviously, it was certain that it was because the Azure Sun Holy Sect had
conducted illegal experints, which was a taboo in the Empire. But reason aside, to many observers...
It almost looked as if the Bai Clan had acted completely unchecked.
That realization caused chills to spread among the alliance mbers.
If even the imperial authority could not restrain the Bai Clan...
Then what exactly was protecting them?
The confidence they once had in the Li-Zhao Alliance began to crumble.
Quiet discussions started appearing behind closed doors.
"What if the Bai Clan targets us next?" "Will the Li or Zhao Clan truly protect us?"
"Or will we simply beco the next sacrifice?"
Such questions slowly spread like poison.
Doubt grew.
Fear grew.
And along with it-
Distrust.
So smaller clans had already begun secretly preparing contingency plans.
A few bold leaders had even started considering sothing far more drastic.
Leaving the alliance entirely.
After all-
No one wanted to remain on a sinking ship.
And right now...
That was exactly what the Li-Zhao Alliance was beginning to feel like.
But obviously, among them were hardcore alliance mbers who would rather
bla the Bai Clan for unscrupulously invading another sect, despite the reason that was officially accepted.
They still believed that everything was orchestrated by the Bai Clan in order to
justify their invasion.
They even spread rumors that it was the Bai Clan who had conducted the experints and then blad them on the Azure Sun Holy Sect. Obviously, at this stage, no one believed those lies, and most people still trusted
the Bai Clan, especially since the Imperial Family had also announced the truth. But that didn't stop them from slandering the Bai Clan. They claid that it was actually the treasures that the Bai Clan was after,
saying that they should return them if their purpose had truly been to save the children. They also pointed out that the Earth Immortal Ancestor who testified was now with the Bai Clan, suggesting that he might have been the one who conducted the experints on the orders of the Bai Clan but later pushed the bla onto
the Azure Sun Holy Sect.
Many conspiracy theories were created to make the Bai Clan look as bad as
possible. Even if the effect might be small, they still put in the effort to do so. Strangely though, both Li and Zhao Clan remained quiet. They didn't do anything to those leaving their alliance nor did they stop others
from spreading rumors about the Bai Clan.
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