Bai Qi felt that something wasn't right, and with each step he made, the feeling only grew stronger. Being aware that both the situation and his views could have affected his conclusions, Bai Qi quickly recalled the entire meeting with the being.

From there, a negotiation and Bai Qi's escape followed. Still, there was nothing abnormal during them either, at least if the aura gathering around the incorporeal form of the consciousnesses was left aside.

And then, as Bai Qi made another of the hundreds of steps he had already made, he understood.

"Damn!" Bai Qi roared as he forced himself to a stop, and then he activated 'Counting Steps', back, towards the consciousness.

___________________________________________________________________

Heise Zhao remembered everything that happened before he was knocked unconscious. And he recalled the human's qi transmission, "If I manage to escape, we will meet at the [Fake Arrow] tree!"

"But why am I here?" The man-lynx muttered as his gaze rested on the aforementioned tree. He could not understand how he reached this place, almost a hundred miles from his previous location.

A thought crossed his mind, and Heise Zhao pondered over it for a few moments before turning towards the west.

"I have to get the elders. I have to" He muttered as his eyes lost their natural glitter, and he began walking.

For some reason, one he could not understand, he was walking at a mortal speed.

As another thought crossed his mind, his slow pace turned into a jog.

___________________________________________________________________

'Counting steps towards Hell and Heaven' was one of the rare evolving techniques. Bai Qi had obtained it even before he reached the Soul realm, and even now, it was by far his best movement technique. One that he now preferred to hide, as its effect was far from what one could expect from a low-tier plane.

Bai Qi had asked himself the same question several times already,

He had not found an answer yet, but still, 'Counting Steps' again showed its prowess. Not caring about what its user thought or believed.

In the instant that it took Bai Qi to revert course and then instantly move near the being, his mind raced to find an answer to the question of how.

With no physical body, the gathering of consciousness was impossible to destroy via physical means. Not even the aura that it used was its own, but something it had sucked from the Demon Beasts it dominated or even forcefully created. Thus even if Bai Qi found a way to, destroying the aura would not affect the being in the slightest.

It could be affected by mindpower, but it would have to be something above its level, and Bai Qi's mindpower was slightly short. Something proved by the fact that the being did manage to intrude into Bai Qi's mind before.

Bai Qi did not count with consciousness talismans of any quality either, what to say about the Earth-tier he would require for the being.

The hidden level of the Soul Realm was to awaken and summon the martial soul. Bai Qi had done so and surpassed the level. Still, even the brief summon he had managed had provoked several injuries to both body and soul.

A martial soul, or the embodiment of a soul, was an ability that only advanced Warrior Emperors had. And in Bai Qi's case, it was also the only ability that would allow him to suppress the being he had named Lan Ke.

It wasn't an easy decision, as Bai Qi knew he would need to maintain the martial soul for far longer than a moment.

Summoning his martial soul would take time and preparation, thus he thought,

***

*Swoosh*

Bai Qi materialized on the verge of Lan Ke whose form could not be discerned because of its mist-like artificial aura.

"Scorching Claw!" He roared while releasing a 'Ghostflame' covered claw at the being.

He knew that it could not affect the being in the slightest and would be stopped by the tightly woven aura around it even if it could.

Bai Qi's thoughts were both right and wrong at the same time. He was right about the logical component, but at the same time, he was wrong about what would be the reaction of the being in front. After all, each individual of the seven would have their reaction manner.

But because of luck or just a play of the heavens, it still worked. Each consciousness that formed the gathering reacted differently, and for Bai Qi's luck, the one that had control at the moment of the attack was the weakest, the four-armed human-like creature.

It only flew a few feet back, avoiding the attack, but Bai Qi's deed was done. Lan Ke, the gathering of consciousnesses, had broken its concentration. And no mind spell, especially if Bai Qi's hunch about mind control was right, could be maintained while acting in any way.

___________________________________________________________________

Heise Zhao shook his head several times until he regained his senses. He wasn't aware, but as he regained them, the vacant look in his eyes also disappeared.

"What is going on?!" He shot a few bewildered glances to his surroundings as he growled.

He knew and felt that he had been returning to the camp, but...

He questioned himself, but he could not find any answer. Beastmen had an underdeveloped consciousness when compared to cultivators. And even inner view was something akin to a legend for them. They did know such a thing existed, but a Beastman using it? It would be a miracle.

Even so, Heise Zhao forced himself to sit down and tried to feel for any possible root of what was happening. He had no luck at that, but at least it helped him to calm down.

The man-lynx stood up and turned around. He had not moved far from the [Fake Arrow] tree, and among his thoughts, Heise Zhao felt that if the human would manage to escape, he could help or at least identify the issue.

___________________________________________________________________

{You returned. Are you here to offer your body in exchange for the Beastmen?} Assuming the form of the human, the being calmly questioned via qi transmission.

"No" Bai Qi shook his head while closing his eyes. One's martial soul was the true embodiment of it. And manifesting it was difficult, even for a Warrior Emperor.

{Then you are of no use for us. Although now that you are close, we may be merciful and kill only you. Surrender your body, or surrender to your fate.} As the being proclaimed, it willed for its aura to surround Bai Qi again, this time trying to if not suppress, then at least prevent him from escaping.

Wave after wave of mindpower, some stronger and some weaker assaulted Bai Qi's mind, and even his previous shielding faltered slightly against the being's real attempt. But Bai Qi stood calmly and with eyes closed as if it wasn't something worthy of notice.

Such conduct intrigued the consciousnesses or at least some of them. {What are you trying to do? We will not fall for the same trick again, and so, if you do not surrender}

But the being's qi transmission was cut short, as Bai Qi's mind submerged into nothingness. At least, that was how it appeared to the being, as it could not sense any trace of consciousness from the young man in front of it.

But in reality, Bai Qi's mind had not descended into an unconscious state yet, but plunged into his own soul.

As he commanded inwardly Bai Qi felt how his soul power first waned, and then disappeared from his body. Outside it appeared as his aura retracted, and the being's aura immediately got hold of Bai Qi's body, restricting him entirely.

And then without warning or notice, the being's aura suddenly disappeared.

{What is going on?!} Calm and rational it may be, the Beast consciousnesses were still slightly emotional, even if it was just a fake emotion coming from their memories.

"Haaaa..." As Bai Qi exhaled, an ebony mist began exuding from every pore of his body, and a few moments later, it had covered several hundreds of feet to each side.

{A domain? But that's impossible. You are just a Sage realm cultivator. What did you do?} The same question was repeated several times, almost as if every consciousness had tried to ask the same. But neither of the questions got its answer, at least not in words.

*GRRRRRAARH*

A savage roar, one that could not be attributed to any known beast or being resounded from the mist-like haze that surrounded both Bai Qi and the being.

{What did you just summon?!} But again, the being's clamoring fell on deaf ears.

***

Bai Qi knew that the stress from summoning one's martial soul was something that his current cultivation could not sustain. At least in the normal way. So to lessen the burden on his mind and body, he had forced the soul to separate, only giving it one command, annihilating the being in front. And after that, he shut down his mind and even stopped his circulation, forcing himself into a state near death.

The last thought that crossed his mind had been,

In his previous life, his martial soul had the form of a Fenghuang, brightly shining with all the elements colors, and its spread wings an image of his search for knowledge.

And while Bai Qi wished for it to be the same, he knew that he was no longer the same knowledge searching immortal...