The truth was as it should be; How could the knowledge of someone like the [White Scroll Immortal] fail him? How could a known fact, such as the one about the [Shameless Lions], be mistaken?

While even the release of the [Ghostflame] to brute force his way out of the illusion had failed, it still allowed Bai Qi to exit. The reason? By this point, the [Ghostflame] was nothing but part of him, and even if he had not used it to clear the area where he fought with the [Shameless Lion], the [Demon Flames] still retained a trace of something that only the flame owner could sense.

Thanks to this, Bai Qi obtained the location of the fight, which was authentic, no doubt, the beast's corpse still stored in his [Void Ring]. From there, it only took seven attempts to find a path that didn't get him into the illusion once again.

Even if Bai Qi managed to break through a defense that not many Warrior Kings, or even some Warrior Emperors, could, he still felt no arrogance of it, instead thinking of how he could have done better.

It was a somewhat uncharacteristic thought process for him, someone who had always considered himself more experienced and prepared than anyone around, at least at this and the past plane. Yet, he found it refreshing - this manner of striving to improve further what he considered his forte until now, his, for so long, accumulated knowledge.

***

*Slash* *Slash* *Slash*

His cultivation had recovered even further, even if he had overspent qi to leave the illusion. Thus, Bai Qi didn't require anything but a thought to cut through the weak beasts that ambushed him after finding the correct path and step combinations and actually left it.

*Splatter* *Splatter* *Splatter*

An entire pack of [Shameless Lions], dead and torn to pieces before they even managed to sense that neither their numbers nor physical strength meant anything against a cultivator, especially one that was an entire major realm above their level.

*Thump* *Thump*

A couple of fully-matured [Vicious Bears] fell to the ground, dead, bleeding from all their orifices, crushed to death by the bare minimum of Bai Qi's aura.

The [Vicious Bears] are spirit beasts known as one of the most savage and dangerous of their level, the peak, ninth level. With their bloodshot eyes, nearly always blood-drenched fur, and a primal aura, they are truly fearsome opponents.

Moving in pairs with synchronized grace, their strength, and resilience are unparalleled. Males possess power and sharp claws, while agile females launch rapid attacks. They rule their forest territory, symbolizing raw power. Although, because of their savagery, they are also known to be unable to gauge their opponent's strength, attacking any intruder, making them as fearsome as easy prey to powerful cultivators.

***

After dealing with a couple of types of Spirit beasts more, Bai Qi arrived at what appeared to be the end of the forest, the tall, strange-looking trees giving space to a rocky ascent, the skirt of a hill that looked bare of anything but stone.

"Huh..?" Intrigued by the strange rock comprising the hill, Bai Qi lowered, picking one of the black pebbles on a barely visible path. <[Midnight Granite]? A rare find!> With an entire hill of spirit material in front of him, even Bai Qi was surprised. After all, considering that the [Palace] could send someone here and Bai Qi had encountered nothing but spirit beasts that were no threat to any Warrior Lord,

The answer would reveal itself in a moment, as Bai Qi used his moving technique to disappear from the spot he was on. While the [Full-Mountain Feathered Roc] attack had been unexpected, Bai Qi had not lowered his guard even without encountering dangerous beasts. Thus, he noticed the evolved [Armored Roc] diving at him from the sky and avoided it, even if giving enough time for the winged beast to change directions, flying upwards once again, probably to repeat its dive.

*Swoosh*

This time, Bai Qi didn't move away but concentrated on the enormous mass of the approaching eagle-like beast that looked as if covered in the same stone that comprised the hill.

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*Crash* *CRASH*

In its place, he avoided it at the last moment before sending a punch imbued with a good deal of his qi to deal with the 1st-level Saint Beast, sending it crashing, its left wing broken, against the rock-covered ground.

***

From that point, Bai Qi would meet only a single beast more, but what a beast!

A 3rd level Saint Beast, already something above his bare cultivation, but it wasn't a common one either!

After all, even a fake dragon was still a dragon..!

A [Fake Earth Dragon], the [Legged Snake of the Depths] was nothing but an unusual evolved [Rock-Crushing Snake], the only difference laying in it having legs, as well as an aura usage that was not common to any savage Saint Beast. Though the latter could be said to be a contradiction, after all, the [Legged Snake of the Depths] was no savage beast but a conscious being with intelligence no lesser than of a cultivator.

Observing the massive beast in front of him, one he failed to notice, even with all of his senses at full alert, even Bai Qi felt a sense of dread. Even while he recognized the [Legged Snake of the Depths] as a fake Dragon, one that would never actually reach the level of one, Bai Qi couldn't help but slightly shiver, perfectly aware of the difference between his actual strength and the primal one standing before him.

Measuring over six feet from the heels of its massive claws to its back and having over twelve in length, even without its enormous and long, five-foot tail, the [Legged Snake of the Depths] was a truly humongous beast, a size only complemented by their level, which since birth was already one of a Saint Beast, and would only increase as they aged.

Bai Qi, the [White Scroll Immortal], had met his own share of dragons, but even as a True Immortal, he had never fought against one. After all, the few beasts that survived to become actual dragons were nothing but true Immortal beings, their state being so above the peak of the realm, which Bai Qi had actually reached, that nearly none of the cultivators he knew could boast having fought against one and lived, what to say about winning.

And while a [Fake Dragon], one akin to the one he saw now, could be considered nothing but a kind of prey for a hunt or a source of precious ingredients by Immortals, Bai Qi was perfectly aware that even his 4, even 5 level prowess above his level wasn't enough to face such a beast.

Indeed, 3rd level Saint Beasts, as the one in front, were usually considered equal to cultivators in between the 7th and the 9th level of the Warrior Lord realm, but,

With scales made of the nearest spirit material tier mineral and with the strength of a Warrior Lord, even at birth, such beasts were nothing but a scourge to any cultivator that ventured near their lairs, especially when considering that their innate ability was nothing else but a toned-down, Dragon-like invincibility to techniques and skills that used qi. And while a strong enough control over qi could break through the [Legged Snake of the Depths] defenses, after all, it was no actual dragon; their intelligence allowed the beast to avoid cultivators that would pose it a danger, at least in most cases.

As the beast raised its head, on a long neck that added a good two feet to its already towering height of six, Bai Qi said nothing, only concentrating on his qi flow while dropping into a guard position. A thought followed by an afterthought, as Bai Qi concentrated most of his free qi around his feet and fists,

One that wasn't acquainted with Bai Qi's physical prowess, one bordering the peak of the Warrior Lord realm thanks to the requisites of the [Master of Everything, Ruler of Nothing] set, would actually cross him out as crazy, as even a low-tier weapon was better than facing something like a [Legged Snake of the Depths] while barehanded.

But if one were acquainted with Bai Qi's physical strength and knew about the weapons at his disposal, they would only nod to such a decision, no matter how reckless it could appear.

Bai Qi counted with several weapons that could rival top-tier Spirit weapons and even one that reached even the Earth-tier power level. Among them, his [Blue Fury], or [Sky Fury] as he sometimes chooses to refer to it, was not only damaged by the constant use and none of the required maintenance but barely reached the Spirit-tier top. As for the [Spear of Blades]?

It was undoubtedly a peak Spirit-tier weapon, even if Bai Qi didn't consider his work as one, and could even rival Earth-tier treasured weapons. Still, this latter had lost one of the four daggers that comprised the form of the blade, damaged by his challenge to the title of an [Arena Conqueror].

The only weapon that Bai Qi held and which could actually damage the opponent in front was the [Sha Dao], the sand sword, a cursed treasure that used the user's blood, qi aura, and life force, basically everything that made up a living being to fuel its attack. And yet, it was so revulsing, at least to him, the thought of using such a cursed item. A blade obtained by sheer luck when its user attempted at his life or better said, at Kass Shaa'r, before. Preferring his bare fists, something that any expert would agree to, even if the [Sha Dao] were an actual option to anyone.

Bare fists and feet, even while infused with qi and prowess comparable to a peak Warrior Lord, against the black and rocky scales of a beast that could be called a Dragon, even when a fake one. It was a battle that could be the makings of the legends, or cautionary tales, at least when levels could be compared, with one side being barely a 4th level Warrior Lord, while the other easily peaked the same realm in the charts between beasts and cultivators.

A shame that except for a few, in this case, the five elders that still, hiddenly, followed after Bai Qi's actions, and a couple of presences that were neither identified nor sensed by either of the involved parties, at least in the fight, would see.