Bai Qi did not plan to jump into battle, at least initially. But after spending a few minutes walking around, passing for one of the hundreds of nobodies that filled up the entirety of the ravine, he found out that he would need to.
Not a single person of the [Void Palace] remained in the open, and the insides of the towers were warded against any method of communication, void transport, and so on if one wasn't part of the Palace itself.
He considered the option of going and knocking directly on the Palace doors, but he quickly desisted as that would attract too much attention. After all, while people from dozens of small powers and organizations were around so he could pass unnoticed, the center of the ravine was a different story. All of the people he could see were dressed in strange leather hooded garbs that resembled a second skin and carried not only [Seven Souls Sect] badges but also irradiated a unique type of aura.
There was also the matter that he was starting to attract attention because of his constant walking around. Thus, Bai Qi chose the most isolated tower he saw and rushed inside with a worried face as if he had some orders.
Bai Qi's choice turned out to be a lucky one, as when he expanded his senses inside, he found only ten cultivators, and neither counted with cultivation higher than a 2nd level Warrior Lord.
Bai Qi thought as he barged into the tower and left a small amount of aura at the entrance to serve as an alarm.
And indeed, for Bai Qi's current level of cultivation and his above-level prowess, two of the grand formations active in the ravine were a true blessing.
[Shearing Restriction] was meant to drop one's cultivation to the formation level. Not only does such a formation restrict both beasts and cultivators alike, but forcefully attempting to use powers above the limits would lead to severe backlash. And for Bai Qi's luck, the current level set by the formation was one of the 3rd Warrior Lord one.
[Earth's Attraction] was meant to impede cultivators from flying or sky-walking by lessening qi and air density a hundred feet above the ground. And while it cut down the chances of escaping, it also signified that no scouts or wide-area attacks would be usable by the attackers. After all, the ravine was just slightly over a hundred miles in size, and even a thousand people already made it feel crowded.
The third formation that Bai Qi had sensed was one of talisman interference. Called [Unstable Qi Flow], it was a formation capable of stopping the use of any treasure, talisman, or item that required surrounding qi to activate. Seemingly there was wear or accumulated damage at some cores, as the effect was just enough to impede talismans at the moment, and so it served neither as obstacle nor benefit for Bai Qi.
*Crash* *Snap*
He saw the first enemy on the second floor, and before the peak Sage could even react, Bai Qi crashed him against the [Void Stone] wall. Something in the man's body snapped, and he fell like a puppet with its strings cut, but Bai Qi did not even spare the unconscious man a glance.
Bai Qi continued his way up to the third floor. Two 1st level Warrior Lords from the same power, dressed in identical brown robes, stood in the middle of the passage, discussing something.
"Who are you?" Sensing the approach of someone, they both turned to face Bai Qi. They were not worried, as they knew that the [Void Palace] members were all holed in the closed rooms at the top of the towers, so they asked more in curiosity than alarm.
"You two. I was sent here by the boss to look for our guys. Have you seen anyone from the [Flaming Fist]?" Bai Qi invented the name of an organization and asked right away. He also ignored any greetings, as he was stronger.
"Flaming Fist? Not that I have heard of you. What kind of rubbish group is that?" Being a ragtag bunch, most of the low-level cultivators gathered by the [Seven Souls Sect] had inadequate knowledge about what others groups were present. Granted, they knew some of them from before, but all?
"Black robes and a crimson armband, all around my level. So what's it, have you seen any? I am sure they went towards this tower." Bai Qi impatiently glared as he moved closer to the two men.
"No. There are the [Earth's Demon Sons] here." The one that was shorter and looked older shook his head.
"You should look somewhere else. And don't think about taking anything with you. This tower is ours." The younger and taller one glared back at Bai Qi and made a shooing motion. While Bai Qi's words about the rest being of his level were slightly unsettling, their group was one of the strongest, so the guy felt safe.
"I see." Bai Qi muttered and made as if he was turning around, only to rush forward.
*Swoosh* *Slash*
He waved his sleeve once, releasing a throwing dagger towards the younger, and his left arm, covered in qi, descended in a knife-like manner on the other one.
"What the fuck?!!!" The younger one turned out to have pretty decent reflexes as he dodged the dagger, but he could only scream as he saw how his companion started falling on the ground, almost cleaved in two.
*Plop* *Swoosh*
And before the body fell on the ground, Bai Qi had moved the couple of feet and sent his right fist towards the lucky remnant.
The latter tried to expand his aura, but he was just a moment too slow.
*Thump* *Splatter*
Bai Qi's fist emerged from the back of the man, spreading a cloud of blood and gore.
"Idiots indeed." Bai Qi could only shake his head. Two 1st level Warrior Lords, authentic cultivators of the Earth Realm, dead just like that because they felt safe.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
And while Bai Qi did not hesitate to kill, he even felt bad for the two idiots from the [Demon Worshippers] region's low-level power.
***
Having sensed he was above their level, the remaining seven people had gathered on the open area of the sixth floor. And as soon as Bai Qi entered, welcomed him with a wave of daggers, knives, and needles, among other projectiles. Half of them weren't even weapons, but random trash.
With the tower's materials obstructing and making close-to impossible using techniques and skills, and Bai Qi's aura showing his more advanced cultivation, it was unsurprising for the [Earth's Demon Sons] to do so. Still, neither of them was a cultivator that specialized in such weaponry, so Bai Qi did not even need to act, his outer aura enough to stop all of the projectiles.
"Are you done?" Bai Qi asked with a bored tone as his aura blocked a second barrage of projectiles.
"Who the damned heavens are you?!"
"Why are you attacking us?! You aren't from the Palace!"
"The holy son will hear of this, and you will wish to be dead!"
"Better go ask for forgiveness, or your entire family, no, power will die along with you!"
"I see. Now, are you done?" Bai Qi did not pay any attention to the questions, curses, threats, and whatever else shouted at him. Bai Qi would have already acted, but he had sensed how someone's eyes were observing from the void, and he decided to play for a bit. After all, if not someone from the Palace, who was looking at his actions?
"Damn bastard! I will tear you apart!" The strongest of the present cultivators yelled and jumped forward, slashing with a gold-like ax.
*Grip*
"It's a bit dangerous to wave such a thing around, you know?" Bai Qi actually enjoyed playing the arrogant young master, and so in place of dodging the attack, he extended his hand and caught the ax blade.
The meaty-faced, robust man charge probably served as an indication for the others to act. And the others rushed while waving their weapons right as Bai Qi was mocking.
He would usually knock them out, as they were slow, weak, and far too inexperienced for him to bother doing anything else.
He sidestepped another ax, two swords, a spear, a staff, and two hammers as it was nothing, all without releasing the ax blade he was holding!
Regretfully for them, the presence he felt observing him was now someone important.
But what a presence! Even while the small void crack was usually unnoticeable to others, Bai Qi did feel the presence. And it came from a true powerhouse.
And this made him start fighting earnestly.
Seventeen breaths later;
*Plop* *Clank*
Bai Qi released the sword he had taken from the 5th level Sage that even dared to approach, and as it fell to the ground, the head of the last of the seven men that attacked him did as well.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
"An impressive display, young friend." Clapping and a grin on his unshaven face, a black-haired and pale man, walked down from the seventh floor.
Seven and a half feet tall, he reached the ceiling. In fact, the man had to hunch to avoid the stone arches. His width wasn't lacking either, as Bai Qi could not see the stairs behind him. A long, black and unadorned robe covered this veritable giant. And even while restricted, his aura allowed anyone to comprehend that he wasn't a mere Warrior Lord. Neither was he a Warrior King. Indeed, even though a 1st level one, the man was a Warrior Emperor!
"Thank you for the praise, but the opponents weren't the right ones to deserve it." Bai Qi saluted. He did not need to look at the green-crystal title plate on the man's belt to understand that an elder of the [Void Palace] had come out to meet with him.
"Maybe the next ones will? Now, before they arrive, accompany me up." The man did not stop grinning as he nodded to Bai Qi's salute and surprisingly briskly turned around.
***
Gu Guanyu did not need to go and welcome a lowly Warrior Lord, especially one that had no relationship with the [Void Palace]. Not to mention that it was dangerous when considering that under the restriction, he could only use the power of a 3rd level Warrior Lord while the new arrival had shown a prowess far above that.
Still, when he was told that someone was cleaning his tower from the rabble that invaded, Gu Guanyu could not help himself. And he found that it had been the right thing to do, as he did like what he saw.
Even though he probably did the young man a disservice, as now the tower had been overrun by at least fifty hostile cultivators. Thus, the young man, who had introduced himself as Bai Qi, would need to stay along with Gu Guanyu and his eight disciples inside the small and draining control chamber of the 7th floor.
"Well, it shames me that a guest arrives to visit a friend and finds himself in such a situation." Gu Guanyu laughed as he found out that Bai Qi was here to visit Chun Hua, He Delan's disciple.
"Ah, Elder Gu jests. Even if I did not know from before, which I did, I would have still noticed the hundreds of people running around with weapons, wouldn't I?" Bai Qi responded similarly.
Gu Guanyu turned out to be an interesting man. One who showed none of the usual older and experienced cultivator pride when dealing with a youngster. And his disciples, all of them at different stages of the Warrior Lord realm, acted as Bai Qi was a long-time friend as well.
"Hmm, so while I would love to hear more about how did you find yourself jumping into this cesspit voluntarily, I have my orders." Gu Guanyu wryly smiled and proceeded to ask what Head Kongbai was most interested in.
"I sent one of my companions to [Yan Yu City] and used a long-rage talisman to inform Revered Elder Deng from [Shuomen City] about the situation. I am unsure what either will do, though." Bai Qi had indeed sent Ma Su to [Yan Yu], a city just half a day from the eastern part of the plateau. In truth, it was a way to confirm her allegations, but he did feel that she would do it.
As for Deng Guiying, he was the only important person who Bai Qi could contact. And so he did, spending the talisman that went along with the [Shuomen City] badge he received.
"Mmm, but is your companion strong enough for the journey?" Gu Guanyu asked. It was a reasonable question indeed, as with Yan Yu city being the closest one, it was probable for the [Seven Souls Sect] to have placed a few men to avoid someone from finding out about the attack.
"She's a 4th level Warrior King, so I trust she will be safe."
"So you send a Warrior King as a messenger and rush into the fray being a Warrior Lord? I am unsure what to say to that." Gu Guanyu's strongest disciple, a twenty-year-old, good-looking and in a flowery dress in place of the black robes, 5th level Warrior Lord said in a jesting manner.
"Mmm, the restriction would have dropped her level to mine anyway, and between us, I regard that I am stronger on it." Bai Qi explained, but his expression and light tone showed that he was doing it not because he took offense.
"Excuse her. She is just dumb and probably enticed by the fact that someone came to rescue her. Even if it wasn't so." A slightly younger girl, who shared most of the facial features with the 5th level Warrior Lord said with feigned shame.
"Ok, good. Now that you all are friendly. Care to start preparing as the others?" Gu Guanyu had already explained Bai Qi the plan, and as the latter said he would join, he considered him one of the group as well.
Thus, while he felt it wasn't wrong that his pair of female disciples were hovering around the young man, some preparation before the outing to happen in just three hours would be good.