As Du Ping made another circle around the garden near the tower assigned to his [Zephyr Desert Company], he could not help but wonder why they were here. Or why they did the trek even.

By now, over two weeks had passed. Traveling from the desert and then meeting in the [Demon Worshippers Region]. And then the start of the so-called siege that wasn't anything but sending the weaker groups and cultivators to fight while the strongest ones stayed back. And while the [Zephyr Company] had been lucky enough and had lost no one, they had not gained anything either.

Such thoughts could not be even called cowardly, as they were right.

Now gossips of a strange youth with black and white hair circulated. Rumors that made Du Ping wish to leave this ravine already. After all, in the previous day, dozens, if not hundreds, had fallen to his bizarre techniques, skills, and weapons.

Appearing and wantonly killing, he was said to disappear with no trace when he wanted. And that latter could not be fake, as not even a full search, in which Du Ping's companions also participated, by all of the 38 towers of the east leading to anything!

Du Ping had even asked some of the [Earth's Demon Sons] about the young cultivator that saved him before, but while they did not say they did not know him, they had not provided any information either.

***

*Spit*

"Damn, just for how long they will be making me patrol?! And why do we even need to? The [Void Palace] bastards are inside, not outside!" A cultivator dressed in a heavy, winter-like wolf fur robe groaned after spitting on the ground.

"Maybe to look for that [Black and White Terror] guy?" A similarly dressed woman responded after glaring with disgust at her companion.

"Hah! Terror?! I think they are just hiding something shameful like having their asses handed down by the cubs of the Palace." The man did not react to the glare, speaking with absolute disdain about the other groups participating in the siege.

"So you think the Boss' words about a reward are fake?" A third person, one's whose genre was impossible to distinguish, asked in a squeamish voice.

"Who knows? But if it's real, I wish that guy comes to our area!" Recalling the crazy sum of a hundred medium spirit stones bounty on the [Black and White Terror], the man wishfully whistled.

"I would be unsure of his existence if not because I know Lin Wuhan from before, and he would not lie. He said the [Sky Grass] lost thirteen and got another twenty wounded in less than a day! Adding the other affected groups, I don't doubt the bounty could increase even more." The woman spoke up again, her words provoking another whistle from the man.

"Now, now. Let's scout the surroundings once and return to the tower. We are in the 8th tower and the last one where the [Black and White] guy was the 29th. So I doubt he will come here anytime soon." The high-pitched and somehow disgusting voiced cultivator determined, and the other two nodded, revealing that the former was entitled to decide.

Suddenly, the three of them turned to face the same southern direction. The three's senses covered the entire area from the start, and they had not felt anyone approach. But, just now, the three of them felt a presence just a hundred feet from themselves!

"Huh, did you?"

"Yes."

"Mmm."

But while the three could not have the same mistaken impression, they did not see or sense anything on the spot now...

***

After spending the night resting underground with the help of [Earth Crab Hidden Shell], Bai Qi had recuperated and replenished enough to start a new day of hunting. The night was a good time as well, but recalling the constant expenditure and wounds, Bai Qi had chosen to allow himself to rest.

Bai Qi nodded to himself, confirming his plan for the day.

Confirming that there was no one above him, he quickly emerged. Then, masking himself with one of the last concealment talismans in his [Void Ring], he gave a wide berth to every cultivator he could sense and began slowly moving towards the decided direction.

In a room of the courtyard prepared for guests and visitors, a figure sat, all of its attention turned to a ten feet tall, three feet wide, column-like obelisk of a pure white color that occupied most of the room.

Cloaked, hooded, and with not a hint of aura, it was impossible to determine genre, age, or if the figure was even a cultivator or not.

But probably no one would be interested in either, as the pressure coming from the obelisk would attract the attention of any cultivator that entered the room. Such was the case for the young woman in a dress and leather cape that had just entered.

"Why do you disturb me, Xun Ling?" A young male voice asked the woman, and she snapped out of her daze, quickly bowing to the back of the sitting figure.

"I am truly sorry, young lord. But a runner from the Sect Master has arrived, and the orders are urgent." Without raising up, Xun Ling began talking. But she stopped midway as the cloaked figure made a waving motion with its sleeve.

"No need. I know what orders they are. Send the runner back, say that I will commence in six hours." After these words, the waving motion turned into a shooing one.

And while the motion could be said dismissive, Xun Ling did not dare to remain even a moment or show any dissatisfaction.

***

As soon as the door behind him closed, the cloaked man with a youthful voice suddenly laughed, "So it is the time at last? Let's see how they enjoy their own formation then!"

Du Ping forced himself to make another circle around the 15th tower they had been assigned. He thought as he shuddered in the cold wind.

It wasn't that he felt cold, as it was far above the limits of a Warrior Lord cultivator, even of the 1st level. Neither did he feel worried, as after thinking about the rumors about the [Black and White Terror], he recalled that his tower was far from the zone where the latter operated.

Honestly, he did not know why he shuddered himself. Or at least he did not until a moment later. When without any warning or sign, a hand landed on his shoulder. And immediately, the blade of a sword touched the other. Du Ping was surprised himself. But his thoughts quickly flowed in another direction, being full of the questions,

Especially the latter,

{Don't dare to raise your voice or even breathe.} A qi transmission entered Du Ping's mind, and as if to show what would happen if he did not follow the order, the sword moved slightly closer to his neck.

A breath later, a few questions about the number and strength of the people inside the tower followed, and the qi transmission was left open, indicating Du Ping to answer through it.

{My brothers of the Zephyr Desert are inside, and they are numerous and powerful. Better leave me, and I will forget about all of this.} Du Ping was sure that not even in the [Shengda Sha] desert a lot of people would know of his band, and so attempted to bluff.

As for why attempted? The answer was that he wasn't expected to talk since the start, the sword covering with qi and penetrating Du Ping's defenses, cutting his neck as soon as he finished.

But neither head, body, or even a speck of blood fell on the ground, vanishing into thin air. Or, to be more exact, into the holding space of a [Storage Ring].

"I did say that I will kill him at some point." Bai Qi shrugged as he muttered under his breath. Then, after confirming that no one was nearby, he moved into the tower.

Only inside did Bai Qi dispel both the talisman and the spell that had allowed him to cross over six miles of terrain without being discovered.

It wasn't the first time that such a thought crossed Bai Qi's mind. After all, even on the [Seven Islands Plane], his Sage realm opponents at least attempted to use some, but here? He had yet to find anyone who was at least adding mind power into their senses.

Bai Qi cleared his mind after thanking, in a mocking manner, his enemies for this. He then scanned the tower, confirming the presence of 11 cultivators, all in different levels of the Warrior Lord realm, and started to advance openly.

*Clang* *Clang*

"We are under attack! Gather!"

*Splatter* *Swoosh*

"Damned bastard!!"

*Tear* *Slash*

"It's the [Black and White Terror]!!"

"KILL! There is a bounty of a hundred medium stones!"

*Thump* *Splatter*

Inside the tower, skills, techniques, and spells alike were unusable. Thus, the only way to fight was to do so physically.

Regretfully for the [Zephyr Desert Company], none of their members was even close to the first step of their weapons. Neither of them had any prowess above their level, so they fell to Bai Qi's blade, unable to fight back even slightly.

Finding not even the slightest challenge, Bai Qi grew close to questioning if he had to kill them. A thought he quickly dismissed just a breath later, replacing it with,

***

Different from the other towers, the control room of this 15th one was not only closed shut but also reinforced with a defensive formation of some kind from inside. And while wondering why the Elder of it did not try to attract the enemies inside the zone where no cultivation restriction was active, Bai Qi decided to knock.

*Knock* *Knock*

But no one answered, even after Bai Qi revealed his identity and flared his aura to allow the people inside to confirm the former

Feeling that something may be wrong, Bai Qi stored his weapon, focusing on his left arm, and sent a punch at the door as soon as the [Bright Heavens] glove was ready.

*Thump* *Shatter* *Slam*

"I am sorry for barging in..." Bai Qi's words trailed off as his senses registered the situation inside. And not caring to continue speaking, as there was no one able to listen to him, Bai Qi rushed inside.

***

"Thank you, young hero." A middle-aged woman, who had introduced herself as Elder Xiong, slightly bowed towards Bai Qi.

She had been the first one to awaken after Bai Qi moved her and the three disciples from the control room into the basement and allowed their bodies to start regaining qi.

"None needed, Senior. But if I could ask, how did you end in such a state? I thought that by now, all the towers had made one or two outings each. And so, no one should be lacking qi like that." Bai Qi asked while making a quick check on the three disciples, confirming that they were recovering as well.

"I could blame either luck or my lack of combat prowess under the limit. But no matter the reason, the fact is that in both outings, we hardly had the chance to descend even a single floor. So while others managed to recover some qi, we in turn only spent it." The Elder explained with a wry smile.

"I see, but if it's not a problem, could Senior describe what enemies did prevent you from doing so? The ones present in the tower were nothing more than a dozen of absolute trash." Bai Qi could not assure that each Elder of the [Void Palace] was a good fighter, but dealing with the [Zephyr Desert Company] would be not a problem even for a cripple, probably.

"Then the blame lies with me indeed. If I had known that the enemies had changed, we would not reach such a state. But regretfully, I deactivated all of the formations except the defensive one, in hopes of saving at least some qi." Elder Xiong lamented before taking a breath and describing the enemies they had met to Bai Qi.

***

After guarding the Elder and her awakening disciples for half an hour, Bai Qi left the tower with a clear target in mind.

Elder Xiong mentioned that even she was unsure about their allegiance. She had never met such clothing, fighting style, and, most importantly, a power whose cultivators all counted with prowess above their level. And this had piqued Bai Qi's interest, so he decided to search for them...