After some time, when one looks at any incident or happening, it is easy to see that things could have gone differently. Sometimes the difference may have been a better result, sometimes a worse in turn, but still, not the same.

As for what happened on the day that Bai Qi connected to the Dao of fire and reached the peak of the Sage realm by entering the tenth, Heaven's secret level, anything but what did occur would have ended in a better result.

___________________________________________________________________

When Bai Qi discovered that the four Beastmen protecting him clashed with someone's aura, he had taken and practically absorbed both the qi-freezing and the knocking out poisons.

Thus, his senses and even thoughts had slowed down, as otherwise, he would have noticed that the aura he took as a hostile was one that he knew.

And in place of just assuming that there was danger from the linked feelings of Bai Ze and Bai Rui that showed decisiveness and intention to fight, he would have probably asked them via the link.

But he did neither of that, reacting as he reacted. His consciousness dulled, and his qi slowly began to stop circulating, he had only one way to act, and while he would usually avoid it, he asked Kui Mulang for help. {I will transfer you my soul power, so loan me your essence!}

{I will do so, but first, promise that you will permit me to do something when I ask you later.}

Without being able to use qi, and with a fading consciousness, there was only one way for him to fight, and while he did not like approving to a yet unknown favor, as soon as he felt that the Bai's sisters blood agitated, he agreed.

{Deal completed! Be careful with how you use it though I only have so much essence!} Bai Qi would have stopped and questioned himself several times about the matter as Kui Mulang was overly happy, but he did not. He directly accepted the demonic essence and allowed it to fill his pathways and meridians, substituting for the now almost frozen qi.

"Gah!" He loudly groaned as he felt his body creak and twist. After all, his human body was anything but the image of the demon that resided inside his soul.

*Plop*

With none of the qi and aura that allowed him to float as he had been, Bai Qi fell to the ground, but not as the young man from before, but something that was slowly morphing into the black-scaled and fire-faced being that was Kui Mulang.

And as the demon essence came into contact with the Ghostflame, each scale began burning in its black flame, provoking another groan of pain. After all, the Ghostflame and the essence were not linked, so the latter brought it out forcefully, tearing through flesh and skin.

***

As the demonic presence he had felt grew stronger, Huo Laohu felt more and more worried. Initially, just sensing it had made him feel something akin to fear. But by now, he felt a real threat. After all, the presence had just grown in strength and now could compare to his own!

He briefly scanned Bai Ze, Bai Ru, Heise Zhao, and Zhua, only to find that they were shivering in the same way as he was. He had no answers for either question and could only wait for what would happen.

Huo Laohu suddenly asked himself and, latching on the thought, looked at the Bai sisters. Both of them had spent a lot of time with him and even shared a link. Thus, maybe they could confirm if it was him?

*Crack*

But as his mouth opened, a sound, of something cracking, came from the direction of the [Seven Colored Grassland].

And right after it, the four man-beasts in front went to one knee, or even directly fell to the ground as Zhua, as their faces distorted in a grimace of pain.

The presence grew more immediate, although it did not move, and there was no need to ask the reason if one looked at the four man-beasts whose reaction showed that something, or someone, just broke their aura shield by force.

"Damn, it seems that I have indeed committed a blunder!" Huo Laohu growled, more to himself than anyone else, and commanded his aura to cover the four.

He intended to protect them, but probably, it did appear as an attack, as when his flaming aura moved, a roar that could be attributed to neither Beast nor Human resounded.

"TOUCH THEM AND DIE!"

***

Bai Qi was hardly himself by the moment the demonic essence filled his circulation system, and so, he roared as soon as his senses indicated the approach of the aura.

And when he later attempted to understand what happened during that day, he could not even find out how he moved from the center of the [Seven Colored Grassland] to the latter's entrance.

But he did, as the next image that his mind showed him was one of him standing in between the four Beastmen and the opponent.

***

The same question crossed the minds of everyone present, but for Huo Laohu, it was far more meaningful than for the other four. After all, the black-flame covered, crimson-flame faced, and blue-flame-eyed, the figure was only releasing killing intent towards him.

"Are you Bai Qi?!" Sensing a slight familiarity in the presence, not only Huo Laohu but even Zhua and Heise Zhao blurted out.

As for Bai Ze and Bai Rui, they were aware of the answer already. The link they shared was enough to understand that the answer would be yes.

But the demon-like, both in presence and looks, figure did not answer anything. It did not even appear to be entirely conscious, but more if it was acting on an instinct level.

Feeling a spike in the killing intent and understanding that it could only mean that the demon in front was about to attack, Huo Laohu thought in alarm. He was an experienced fighter indeed, and his first reaction was to attack first.

"Land of the Flame Tiger, expand!" Feeling threatened, he immediately commanded the previously stopped ability to trigger.

But the figure did not react at all even as the fires began moving. Almost as if it was just standing there, frozen. Several thoughts appeared in Huo Laohu's mind in just an instant. And as he would find out later, they were pointing in the right direction.

Regretfully, when he decided to act on what he had thought, it was already too late.

***

Bai Qi's consciousness had indeed deteriorated to the most basic, instinctual stage.

He felt that someone was about to attack Bai Ze, Bai Rui, and Zhua. Heise Zhao was also present, but somehow, neither then nor later, the man-lynx presence truly mattered to Bai Qi.

And then he felt that an aura covered in flames was moving towards him.

The reason why any Saint, or higher realm, fight was so frightening lies in a simple reason - the Dao laws.

Just the knowledge of a single law can make both Heavens and Earth change, as nothing else but them, the Dao laws, are the inherent lining of anything and everything.

The basest instinct of any being was and would always be survival. And this latter, more often than not, meant to use any means and one's disposal to fight back the threat that affected one's survival.

Thus, whatever condition was Bai Qi's mind at the moment, and it was at one when probably only survival mattered indeed, it did act with all its means.

*Wave*

A single wave of what could pass as a claw was all the reaction that followed the inner thought of A thought and action reinforced by an inner plead to the Dao of Fire.

Bai Qi had comprehended and connected to just a single of the uncountable laws of the Fire Element Dao. Even so, his opponent had no connection to it. Thus, the command, coupled with the similar power between Bai Qi's true soul and Huo Laohu's cultivation, indeed made the surrounding world react by extinguishing all but Bai Qi's flames.

"Grrrah!" Huo Laohu groaned as he felt his innate fire being forcefully stripped and then extinguished, without him being able to do anything. A process that would hardly affect him, if not because his Spirit Core was mainly flame as well.

It was followed by the figure vomiting something black and oozy, something that hardly resembled blood. But it was blood indeed.

*Blergh*

Forcefully using something that he should not be able to, with no way to prepare or counteract the backslash, did affect Bai Qi. But the inner damage he suffered, or the several cracks that appeared on his soul, which was the only thing he was actually using at the moment, did not stop him from what he did next.

*Swoosh*

He launched forward with the claw-like extremities spread to the sides and wings of black fire growing from his back.

"Fuck!" Huo Laohu could only swear both inwardly and aloud, trying to prepare himself for the physical combat that would ensue.

***

"Bai Qi, stop! He's not an enemy!" Breaking out of her half-frozen state, Zhua shouted. To recognize the demon currently attacking Huo Laohu as Bai Qi was already a feat, but she also almost understood what was going on.

Her words were ignored, and Bai Qi's black flame claws ripped at Huo Laohu, who found himself hard pushed to defend or avoid the attack as his Spirit Core painfully pulsated. With his innate fire extinguished, his usual qi was down to a tenth, and his aura could not even extend.

Heise Zhao followed with a similar exclamation, only to be ignored as well.

The same thought crossed both [Death Hunter] man-beasts as they shared a glance.

As for Bai Rui and Bai Ze, they continued to stare at everything silently. It wasn't that they did not care about either of the sides or that they stood frozen on the spot as the others had been. On the contrary, they did care, and they had been the first to regain their full awareness. And since the figure appeared, they have been trying to communicate with Bai Qi via the link, sending him thought after thought.

{It's not an enemy but a friend.}

{We are fine. You can stop.}

{Please stop!}

But it wasn't working at all. It was almost as if Bai Qi was unconscious. {He's fighting on his instincts!} The same thought crossed their minds, and the link shared it between them.

Nodding to each other, Bai Ze and Bai Rui immediately released their previously retrieved aura and covered the demon-like figure. {If the thoughts via the link don't work, then let's hope that the Ancestor's bloodline does!}

***

Bai Rui and Bai Ze had managed to stop the rampaging, demon-like Bai Qi before he or Huo Laohu were injured seriously. Using a mix of their aura and a few drops of their true blood, they managed to break Bai Qi of his berserk state for a few moments.

Moments enough for him to force Kui Mulang's essence back and to manage to say a few words, "Don't be alarmed by what happens!"

And after pronouncing them, the slowly returning to normal figure of the man they had chosen to follow fell on the ground. Thankfully, this time of clarity allowed him to share what he did and was about to before he sensed the fight and forcefully stopped to defend the sisters and the two lynx man-beasts.

Bai Ze and Bai Rui felt happy that he went to such an extent, but they also felt guilty. After all, how hard was it to contact him and explain the situation? Ask him if he was able to meet Huo Laohu?

But it wasn't time for nitpicking on what happened. They had to make sure Bai Qi survived what he brought over himself because of their, Huo Laohu's, or whoever else's fault!

___________________________________________________________________

Days later. Somewhere near the [Tiger of the North] war pack's camp.

"It seems that it's now common for me to wake up in this tent after almost killing myself." Bai Qi murmured as he slowly regained consciousness. Even if his eyes had not opened yet and his senses and aura were retracted, the pelts and the sweet herbal aroma that entered his nose, he was sure of his location.

*Cough* *Cough*

A strong cough followed his words. A cough that made him feel the taste of blood. But neither that nor the slowly raising pain, one that will shortly assault him in force, was the reason for the thought that followed,

***

His previous panic had come because he could not feel anything but his body, neither qi, soul, nor mind. But thankfully, after forcing himself to concentrate, he managed to feel and connect to his inner view. And by doing so, he found out that the three parts that made someone a cultivator were still with him.

Now, knowing that the state he was in was temporary, Bai Qi relaxed.

But it was just a moment of relaxation as the next moment he found himself gritting his teeth in response to the increasing pain. It wasn't just any pain, but one that came from everywhere as if every inch of his body was burning.

His thoughts blurred again, as even his willpower failed to resist the ever-increasing pain, and then, Bai Qi fell unconscious again.

***

A few hours later, Bai Qi awoke again. The pain was still present, and it had not decreased even slightly. Still, it had not increased, and he felt that now he should be able to manage.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to confirm that he was indeed in the tent that he had awoken twice from a similar state before.

But this time, there were two small, or if one considered sizes, pretty big changes. A white-colored figure was present to each side, and their identity wasn't hard to guess after Bai Qi's gaze landed on his chest, where he felt a pressure coming from. Wincing in pain, he still managed to joke as he eyed the two paws on his chest.

***

Bai Ze and Bai Rui woke up only after a couple of hours, although it wasn't surprising. Bai Qi did not move because he could not, and his qi and aura were inactive. So even though he did regain consciousness, both Beast girls did not sense it.

"I see that I do serve as a pillow?" Bai Qi hid the pain he felt and asked in a light and joking tone as soon as he felt them move.

"BAI QI?"

"BAI QI!"

Two surprised exclamations, one questioning and one affirmative followed, and Bai Qi groaned in pain as both Beast girls almost rolled on top of him.

"Wait, I am not quite alive yet!" His body was strengthened thanks to the cultivation method he followed, and so even without a qi circulation, he was not crushed by a sudden weight of several hundred pounds. Still, it did make the pain explode in new colors, and he could not hide the painful notes in what otherwise would be a joking remark.

***

After using their link as a means to tap on the sisters' qi and operate his [Void Ring], Bai Qi took out several pills he had prepared previously. And after a few hours, when they naturally digested, both the pain and his cultivation started returning to normal.

Bai Qi was yet unable to control the link, so all of his thoughts were shared.

Thus, Bai Ze's question immediately followed his internal remark, "What do you mean the pain is returning to normal?"

"Because of what, and how, I did, I will be feeling some level of pain for several weeks, if not months." He simply shrugged as he explained. He did avoid even thinking that the true reason was his, unneeded, attempt to save them, and from the lack of anything but a few shouts, he was probably successful.

"Idiot! What were you thinking then?! If it was so dangerous and painful, why simply not advance as normal cultivators do?!"

"Sorry, but you are mistaken." Bai Qi stood up before completing what would be his only, hopefully, lie to the sisters, "Any cultivation method has a degree of risks and pain. It's just that I know that and so don't act all surprised."