Bai Qi took a long, silent look around himself. Three hundred feet from the 8th tower's entrance, he was met with practically the entire forces of the [Brave Wolf Gang], numbering 22.

With his plan being to free passage for Shen Kun, the formation master inside, Bai Qi hoped to draw out all the [Wolves], but that had been wishful thinking. Still, drawing all but four wasn't bad either, and now the question was to keep them outside.

Usually, Bai Qi never concentrated his sense on a single thing, but he had no choice but to do so this time. Over twenty opponents, from which each would require effort to deal with, not to mention some opportunistic enemy may attempt to attack from behind. Thus, Bai Qi converged all his mind power and sensing capacity into a single specialty, life sense.

Aware that standing motionless would not serve for anything and that the wolves would remain silent until Bai Qi talked, he quickly went over all of his thoughts and sensations and looked toward the person he assumed to be the leader.

"We have agreed to an exchange of these three -" Bai Qi motioned towards the three unconscious and restrained cultivators behind himself, supported solely by a strand of his aura, "- for the [Void Palace] elder in your power. Strangely, I do not see her anywhere."

"It could have been a trap, so we chose to be more careful than you, [Black and White Terror]. But, we will comply with our word." Someone whose shrill voice and the entirely wrapped figure did not allow the genre to be determined spoke up.

The speaker's placement was a surprise for Bai Qi, as he had assumed that the leader of the Wolves would be standing in front, not on the side.

It appeared as if everything would go out fine, at least for this part, but as the bizarre-voice cultivator raised his hand in a signal, all the cultivators, Bai Qi included, felt a shiver.

While one may give out dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of reasons for the simple question of what makes a cultivator different from a mortal, all of them would stem from the mention of qi. Since the beginning of cultivation, qi was the sole reason behind a cultivator's increased strength, speed, resilience, life force, etc.

At the very first steps of the Yellow Realm, a Body realm cultivator was able to surpass ten mortals, all thanks to the [Earth and Heavens Qi] cruising his body.

Later on, qi would allow the development of a dantian. Then it would be the source and means for awakening one's consciousness and soul. And while mind-power and soul-power were distinct resources of a cultivator, both still required qi infusion, be it via the consciousness or the soul, to be replenished or even used.

While zones without qi existed, cultivators usually avoided them, and even if not, it was just a matter of preparation. Preparation, both mental and physical. With the former being far more significant than it could appear. After all, a cultivator without qi would slowly lose most, if not all, of his abilities, including one's senses, and no sane being could remain unchanged by such.

Most of the losses would not occur instantly, only as one's circulation was devoid of qi. But there would be one meaningful matter transpiring when a cultivator entered a qi bare zone. That one's aura would be unable to gather surrounding qi and so not function. Thus, not only lowering a cultivator's expanded senses but also halving one's offensive and defensive capabilities by half, or even more in the cases of cultivators in the Earth realm and above, where most fighting methods depended on aura usage.

The disappearance of qi had been so sudden and unexpected that even Bai Qi felt something resembling despair and overwhelmed for a brief time. But he did not allow such emotion to overtake him, forcefully vacating his mind and returning to his usual self. And right in time, as the situation turned dangerous.

"What?! You, what have you done?!" Feeling their soul power unable to gather even a trace of qi, all of the [Brave Wolf Gang] cultivators turned to Bai Qi, assuming that no one except him could be in the know. Maybe not responsible, but aware for sure. After all, who, if not the [Void Palace] members, could have prepared such a hellish trap?!

"You think I would be crazy to enter a wolf's den without any defenses or senses?! It was not me, and the [Void Palace] wants to rescue He Delan, not kill her! Sense your damned cultivations. There are no more restrictions!" Although Bai Qi did calm himself, it did not help him keep his emotions back when forced to answer.

Although the emotional answer may have been in response to the sheer idiocy behind the question, even if Bai Qi or the [Void Palace] could have done such a thing, why would they do so? Considering that all of the Palace's defenses depended on formations, and the latter absorbed qi from the surroundings to operate? And while such could be used, why would Bai Qi participate in something where his disadvantage would grow exponentially? With or without aura, it did not change that now he was surrounded by 22 cultivators, each of them of higher cultivation than him!

***

Neither Bai Qi nor anyone else in the entire [Ice Phoenix Ravine] was quite aware of the causes, but panic struck everyone equally. Although, no one despaired more than the [Void Palace] leadership. Losing all of their methods of communication and surveillance in one sweep, at first, Head Kongbai did not think of such. But a moment later, she had no choice but to accept that, indeed, the worst had happened.

"Vice-head Tao, while the outsides are in chaos, let's move out!" But Kongbai Meili was anything but a coward. She could despair and feel fear, but it all came from her responsibility for the lives of the several hundreds of members of the Palace. And now, aware that without qi, the formations that protected both towers and their respective control rooms would die off in a matter of a few breaths, the same responsibility propelled her to action.

"Aare you sure? Our cultivations are not restricted now, so if we take any action, we will be rent useless far quicker than if we remain still." Tao Xuegang had been the first to notice the lack of qi, and he was the first to notice that the [Shearing Restriction Formation] had been deactivated.

"There is no other way. Without communication, the elders and disciples in the control rooms will remain there, and we will lose the chance to regroup. I will go to the west and then try to reach the south towers." Kongbai Meili spoke up as her figure started wavering.

"Understood. I will take the east area then and move south as well. Best of luck!" While reluctant before, Tao Xuegang did not bicker and was the first one to leave, although he chose to conserve his reserves and so rushed out on foot in place of using the void as Head Kongbai intended.

"Meng Chin, examine the pocket realms and confirm if the connections can be maintained with the qi inside. If so, then as soon as elders and disciples arrive, order all to move inside. If not, then make everyone inside leave, as we can not be sure how long the pocket realms will be operable without a stable connection." Kongbai Meili would have preferred to do so herself, but she was unable to be present at two locations at the same time.

***

A hellish nightmare. Such were the only words to describe the chaotic mess that followed the disappearance of qi in the ravine. Some besiegers despaired, some tried to move out of the palace grounds in the hopes of leaving the place before running of qi, and others crazily assaulted the now defenseless towers and control rooms. Although the number of the latter was truly small, as most present cultivators weren't even close to the besieged elders' cultivations.

The besieged, at least the ones who analyzed the situation in a similar way to Head Kongbai, immediately took action. Rushing out of their towers' control rooms, they started clearing a path for their disciples to escape. As for the rest, they assumed a view akin to Vice-head Tao Xuegang, to remain still and spend the lesser amount of qi possible. After all, now they could do battle, even if it was without any of the aura-related abilities. And so, at some point, they would.

As in any imagined hell, death accompanied chaos. And even more, chaos surged from death.

Forgotten, left behind, or ignored, the dozens of wounded and unconscious besiegers were the first victims claimed by this lack of qi. With most of the healing methods dependant on the latter, it was to be expected indeed...

On the ravine's south edge, outside the [Void Palace] grounds that were now under the effect of the [Mortality Formation] created by his most useful ally, an old man dressed in a seven-colored robe laughed crazily. Standing half a mile above the ground, filled with cultivators in the robes of the [Seven Souls Sect], his gray hair and beard flailing wildly, Head Linghun would look like a crazed madman to some and as a true face of the [Demon Worshippers Alliance] to others.

Still, it wasn't enough for him to feel the almost tangible despair coming from the ravine, or hear the angered shouts of the leaders of his disposable pawns. This latter now surrounded by the [Seven Souls Sect] elites and unable to act at all. His objectives were to destroy the Palace, and so he would do.

"Commence!" He shouted, and in response to the command, five hundred leather-cloaked disciples and elders of his, [Seven Souls], released the long-prepared skills and techniques.

{Deal with them.} And a silent qi transmission to the elites surrounding the bosses, leaders, and heads of the Sect's so-called allies...