Abruptly, without any warnings, the atmosphere turned heavy as the auras of the beastmen went wild, and Tao Xuegang released his Warrior Emperor aura to push them back. But while Heise Zhao, Kass Shaa'r, Bai Ze, and Bai Rui were only 4th level Saint Beasts, equivalent to a 3rd level Warrior King at most, the result wasn't so predictable as the 5th level Emperor, Tao Xuegang, anticipated.
Bai Ze and Bai Rui had awakened their sacred ancestor blood so they could stand their ground even against someone as strong as Tao Xuegang. He could overpower them, obviously if considering the difference of over an entire minor realm, but only if he intended to kill or wound them.
"We will not harm him, but please understand that there is a need to confirm several details with him! Just remain here!" While Tao Xuegang wasn't keen on antagonizing Bai Qi's friends, and his own disciple, he was ordered two tasks, and he intended to see them through.
The first one was to maintain Bai Qi in the safe room where he had been healing until Head Kongbai arrived, as the latter wanted to speak with the young boy alone.
The second was to keep Chun Hua and preferably all Bai Qi's companions here. As Head Kongbai said, it would be for the best that they all stayed until she talked with Bai Qi, and Tao Xuegang was responsible for making it happen.
"You allowed usss to sstay near him before he awakened, but not now that he did?! Let us passss, or I ssswear by the heavenss that blood will be ssshed!" Kass Shaa'r savagely hissed. Even if he was being pushed back, it would not stop him from acting on his words.
Bai Ze did not speak but growled a low curse before taking a step forward.
"We are grateful for you helping heal him, but he almost died defending you. So if we want to meet him, or he wants to leave right now, it will be so. Scram!" The usually calm Bai Rui roared as she followed her sister, and a bead of sweat rolled down from Tao Xuegang's face as he felt that the two white fur beast girls' aura was increasing yet more, to the point he was about to be pushed back if he continued avoiding wounding them!
It was unknown how the situation would have ended, with Tao Xuegang being the only Warrior Emperor in the room, at least from the [Void Palace] side, if not for the arrival of Gu Guanyu and another Warrior Emperor elder. While far weaker, their two auras allowed Tao Xuegang to concentrate on blocking only the [White Tiger] sisters, and so, a semblance of balance returned while bloodshed was avoided.
"Chen Guang, or Bai Qi, is a member of the [Shuomen City] cultivators. I appreciate the help provided to heal him, but it is time for us to take him home. Any issues, questions, and so on that you may have should proceed via the City's Palace." Grandmaster Li was a peak Warrior King, so his aura could not influence the current stand-off much either, so he attempted to solve the situation differently.
But his words were ignored, though not of malice, but because neither Tao Xuegang nor the other [Void Palace] elders had something to say. And indeed, what could they say if each of them believed that Bai Qi, no matter how, had done a great service for their power?
"Huo Laohu considers Bai Qi his friend, and I think the situation merits his involvement." Suddenly, Heise Zhao recalled his aura as he spoke these words, which could only be considered a warning. Then, he took a few steps towards the side, intending to circle the blockade but moving not towards the [Void Path] leading to Bai Qi but to the one leading outside, towards the ravine.
He only took a few steps, before he was met with a pair of elders from the [Void Palace] that had been standing behind Tao Xuegang but had now stepped into Heise Zhao's path. "So we are captured as well?! I knew that some humans were devious but never expected ones that Bai Qi protected to be like that." The lynx-like beastman roared, releasing his claws and preparing to launch at the elders in front.
"No, please do not misunderstand! The head of the Palace will arrive shortly, and everything will be made clear!" Tao Xuegang knew that either because of his own feelings or because everyone present was so hot-blooded, the situation was about to turn to the worse, to bloodshed.
{Elder Tu, you are closer to the [Void Corridor]. Go, quickly summon the core elders, and try to contact Head Kongbai. I know of our orders, but if we start a battle now, even if we win, it will definitively turn into a disaster!} Tao Xuegang transmitted, all while thinking,
*Swoosh* *Crash* *Crash*
A strong aura, one of a 4th level Warrior Emperor suddenly entered the clash. Reinforcements had arrived, but regretfully for Tao Xuegang, the owner of the aura was not only someone that had come for Bai Qi, but also someone with whom negotiation would be impossible.
Deng Guiying, the renowned senior from [Shuomen City]. One of the most known Warrior Emperors in the region. Even if his cultivation wasn't so high as others, he was still famed and feared as if it was.
Deng Guying, known as one of the most stubborn cultivators of the old generation. And, an old rival of Tao Xuegang, with their battles, the first of which had transpired nearly two hundred years ago, being already the stuff of legends.
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"So if someone comes to help your Palace, he will be captured and treated like a criminal? Guests are now also unable to leave, just because you say so? What a nice [Void Palace]!" Deng Guying entered the view of everyone while mocking the Palace. And if his aura, already clashing against Tao Xuegang's one wasn't a clear indication of what would follow, the fact that Deng Guying held his weapon, a nearly ten-feet long spear, in the open did not leave any questions.
Feeling Deng Guying's commitment, the Beastmen also prepared for combat, which, in turn, forced the disadvantaged [Void Palace] side to take out weapons as well.
Probably no words would have stopped the blood from flowing, or at least none said by the present. But when the words, "A wise one waits before taking action." registered for everyone, each cultivator, human or beast, [Void Palace] or not, stopped in their tracks.
And indeed, how could they ignore what was, unmistakeably, Bai Qi's voice?
"Everything is fine, so just wait for me." Another phrase followed, and the tension disappeared as if it wasn't there.
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Bai Qi spent a considerable amount of time attempting to understand just what was the scale on his chest. Even touching it was painful, to a grade he himself did not expect, but even that turned out to be incomparable with the pain he felt after attempting to use qi and examine it.
Not even to remove it as Bai Qi's first thought had been, but simply to examine it. And still, he found himself on his knees, groaning and panting, feeling as if he was about to blackout.
Having gained not even the slightest insight, after spending a few moments to calm himself, Bai Qi decided to leave the scale alone and concentrate on the rest of his body. Thankfully, no new surprises awaited him, and he found that he was, indeed, entirely healed.
***
Bai Qi finished putting the robe back on when he caught on the wavering air and immediately brought his guard up while retreating towards the farthest wall. He did not suspect foul play or an enemy, but something felt off, maybe because the wavering was far more forceful than a simple [Void Corridor] should have or because it was so near, almost on top of him.
*Crack*
Any passage into or from the void was nothing but a crack in reality. One that tore at the plane and connected to the outside. The one that opened in the room was as that, although its size, with the crack opening from ceiling to floor and nearly from wall to wall, could hardly be called a common crack.
"Bai Qi greets the [Void Palace] Head." But while unsure of the reasons and even of the need for such an appearance, it all did not stop Bai Qi from cordially saluting.
"Come, we will talk somewhere else." There was neither confirmation nor response to Bai Qi's greeting as the aura-cloaked woman responded. But as she finished talking, Bai Qi was nearly sucked into the enormous space tear without leaving him any chance for action or words.
Bai Qi had neither seen nor even talked with Kongbai Meili before, but it wasn't hard to guess the identity of this person. Indeed, who could have cultivation nearing the 7th level of the Warrior Emperor realm, have an aura cover of pure void, or create such [Void Passage]? And he was not wrong indeed.
***
If later, someone asked Bai Qi about what he could remember about the [Void Palace] Head, Kongbai Meili, that someone would meet only a blank stare. And what could he answer if in the several hours he spent with the darkness-covered figure, neither his senses nor discerning mind had obtained even a single clue or hint about her?
Her aura revealed her cultivation, and Bai Qi had a faint sensation that she was not a simple Warrior Emperor either. Still, except for that, he could not say anything else but confirm she was indeed a master in manipulating the void.
The talk took place inside an elaborately embellished room, with phoenixes carved on the marble walls and each stone plate on the floor and the ceiling shining, providing light for the occupants of the two throne-like chairs that were the only furniture.
And nothing of that would be surprising for someone who spent nearly half of his life in Palaces and Manors far more luxurious if not for the fact that the room did not exist. Or at least, it did not in the plane, being nothing else than a personal void space, almost like a pocket realm.
Oh, Bai Qi did have experience with the pocket realms. But here, Kongbai Meili had not stabilized or connected this place to anything, no, it was directly placed into the void, and only she could find its location as it freely moved by following the currents.
Bai Qi also acknowledged that Kongbai Meili's control over the void was frightful, as not even he, at his prime, could have been able to create real stone, furniture, and even light from the chaotic qi that formed up the majority of the void's currents.
As for the talks themselves, they could be resumed in three stages.
The first, and the main one being Chun Hua, the main question being if Bai Qi knew that she wasn't human.
The so-logical one about the Bonejade, the existence of which had been revealed to them by Deng Guying after the latter sensed the so-similar aura traces.
And while reasonable, a slightly distressing talk about Bai Qi himself. Kongbai Meili had no need or notable interest when asking about his story, but the question that had begun this part of the talk was indeed uncomfortable, "And you, apart from being a demon, an experienced fighter, and a cold-blooded killer, what are you?"
Bai Qi felt no need to hide anything about the first two topics, so he did not. As for the third, probably the most important one for himself, he battled to answer both frankly and, at the same time, not reveal what others should not know. Thus, in the end, he acknowledged Kui Mulang's existence and that the latter had been a part of his soul for long.
"But there is no demon anymore, just his remains. However strange our relationship may appear to others, he did not try to take over me, and I allowed, even interacted with his embodiment. And maybe because of that, he decided to sacrifice himself, thinking that I would also die, to destroy the one responsible for our, assumed, death." Bai Qi finalized the explanation, and while he did not lie, he did not reveal more than an ounce of the truth.
"I have learned everything that I require to reach a decision." Without any emotion and not even the slightest hint that she required any of Bai Qi's explanations to take it, Kongbai Meili pronounced, and so, at last, the incident of the [Void Palace] siege was closed...