Before anything else, Bai Qi scanned his own body. And again, he found that part of his qi wasn't entirely his. But that wasn't everything.
Using his soul as a medium, Bai Qi connected to Kui Mulang. {You, do you believe I will not proceed to exorcise you now?!}
{-} Kui Mulang could not cut the connection by himself. But he could not answer, and so he did.
{So you want to test me? Fine!} Bai Qi had never been a follower of the way of the monk, be it Buddha or any of the other dozens of different beliefs that people of different planes had. Still, as a scholar and a traveler, he had learned his fair share of mantras.
Bai Qi joined his palms with a clap and closed his eyes before beginning to chant his selection, [Hail to the jewel in the lotus].
{Graarh, stop it! You damn human, are you torturing me?!}
{Oh, so you can speak? Then explain why I encountered traces of yours inside my circulation system? Attempted a quick takeover?} Bai Qi questioned inwardly, without stopping reciting the passages.
{Stop it, stop it!}
{Answer first. I thought we had settled on you not trying things like this?}
{It was before you agreed! And it did not work either. For my great ancestor's sake, it even made you good!}
{Before, huh? Still, I feel better after reciting it. Maybe I should begin doing it regularly.} Bai Qi did stop but added in absolute calmness.
{Damn you! Just try to, and the deal is off!}
{So I can absorb you completely now?} Both of the parties knew that neither could do anything for now, but Bai Qi was enjoying this bickering.
{-}
{Anyway, what was that about making me good?} Bai Qi asked the only thing that had interested him from the previous answers.
{Not saying.}
Bai Qi had wondered since the start, just how old was Kui Mulang's self? Demons that reincarnated via a vessel should have been decently powerful in their original life, which meant they weren't youngsters either. But from Kui Mulang's manner, which wasn't faked as Bai Qi's one, it was impossible to judge him anything but young.
{I am a kindhearted demon, and so, I will tell you. I received some damage before because I could not control your entire soul power. That damage was reflected on your body when you entered our shared inner world. But as you are not a demon, it could have been dangerous.}
{So failing your takeover, you recovered part of your essence that I absorbed naturally. And now are trying to sell it as healing? I see.}
After bickering for some time more, Bai Qi cut the connection. The traces of the demon's essence inside his body were small and would not affect him in the slightest. Thus, Kui Mulang had said the truth.
***
Based on his previous awakening, Bai Qi did not try to look around the tent but directly summoned a change of clothes and then walked towards the exit.
Outside the camp, life was going as usual. Some beastmen were working on their basic crafts, others resting, and groups arriving or leaving. Something that had made Bai Qi wonder was that he had not seen even a single one of the beastmen fight.
Adding it to the list of things he should ask, Bai Qi moved towards the elders' tent. Inside, there was no one except Xiaoshan Mao, and so after asking for permission, he walked in and sat down as indicated.
"Have you recovered?" The [Mist Cat] elder asked.
"Yes. My soul has recovered. But I would like to ask what happened and how much time did I spend unconscious?" Usually, Bai Qi would sense the date instinctively. But this time, because of the inner world, he asked.
"Heise came for us seventeen hours after you started your healing, and we found you unconscious and with a chaos-like qi emanating from you. Tell me, are you truly a human?" Xiaoshan Mao began to explain but changed topics midway and asked while her aura enveloped Bai Qi. It wasn't hostile, at least not yet, but it did restrain him.
"It is a side effect from the Demon core treatment I used. Some traces of it linger in my meridians even now, but they will not affect me." Beastmen were extremely sensitive and even frightened about close contact with Chaos Qi, so Bai Qi understood the reason behind the elder's conduct.
"I see." Xiaoshan Mao's aura retracted, but not before her senses scanned Bai Qi several times. A process the latter allowed, as otherwise, his mindpower would block even her 6th Saint Beast level senses.
A few moments after her aura receded, she continued, "Since we found you, exactly three sunrises had passed. Huo Laohu will return tomorrow."
"Understood. And I thank the elders and everyone else who took care of me." Bai Qi rose up and slightly bowed.
"It is only natural." Xiaoshan Mao nodded in response.
Bai Qi had the perception of his true self, so even the slight reluctance of the elder to continue speaking with him did not escape it.
"I will return to my base and continue my training. During the next few days, I will pursue the Path of Refining. Thus, if the pack requires any weaponry or materials, I would like to offer my assistance, as lacking my skills may be." Bai Qi did not sit back and after saying this, slightly bowed again before making his way out of the tent.
He had already exited, and probably it wasn't related to him, but he overheard how the beast woman sighed.
He had awoken close to noon, so he had most of the day left. Kass Shaa'r would arrive the next day, and Bai Qi planned to spend only a few days here before proposing an outing.
In truth, Bai Qi did not even know why he felt so, as he was sure he had not done anything bad. On the contrary, both times the Beastmen treated him had been because of matters related to them and not of his doing. Still, if he felt like that, there could be some reason.
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***
The insides of his room, at least if he called it like that, were messy. The soul-mending array had not been needed, and so it was partially active even now. But seemingly, Kui Mulang took a chance to consume some of the chaos qi, as most of the cores had shattered after being used. After cleaning it, as well using his aura to clear any remnant chaos qi, Bai Qi decided to spend the rest of the day in meditation.
His dantian was filled to its brim, but circulating his qi would allow him to clean the demon's remnant essence, as well accommodate the slightly foreign qi he had been infused with.
But he had only made a couple of circulations as he felt a sudden urge to breakthrough.
"Huh? My cultivation method has never been one of insights and inspiration. Why now?" Surprised, he opened his eyes and wondered aloud.
Before he attempted to connect with his soul, Bai Qi had created a few healing pills, and the soul-mending ones had been of the Earth-tier. Thus, his mastery on the Pill path was now one of a Grandmaster. But still, he had reached the requisites for the method during every level, and he had never felt such impulse.