Li Yuan stood in the forest's silence, gazing at the soul clump floating calmly before him. After deciding to gather all the touched souls across the planet, a practical question began to emerge in his mind—a question that made him realize that good intentions alone weren't enough to solve a problem on a cosmic scale.
"Do I need to release my Wrapping Understanding and draw all these souls in at once?" The thought flowed through his consciousness like water testing a river's depth before crossing.
The idea sounded logical at first. He had used the Wrapping Understanding for thousands of years to protect his understanding from those who weren't ready, to filter spiritual resonance so it wouldn't overwhelm others. Theoretically, he could reverse that function—instead of wrapping his understanding inward, he could wrap the touched souls from the outside and pull them in.
But as Li Yuan began to analyze this possibility with his fully focused Soul Understanding, a worrying realization began to surface.
"My understanding..." he muttered, sensing the limits of his abilities, "is not yet sufficient to influence or retrieve all these souls on a global scale."
The Fundamental Difference
Li Yuan began to grasp the fundamental difference between "wrapping understanding" and "wrapping souls." When he wrapped his understanding, he was working with a spiritual substance that was a part of himself—like someone folding their own clothes. His control was complete, resistance was minimal, and the process went according to his will.
But these touched souls, despite not having active consciousness, still possessed... individual integrity. They were not a part of Li Yuan, not an extension of his understanding. They were separate entities that happened to be affected by his resonance.
"Wrapping them would be like..." he searched for the right analogy, "like trying to fold someone else's clothes from thousands of kilometers away, without touching them, just with the power of thought."
It was technically possible, but it required a level of control and strength far beyond his current abilities.
The Challenging Scale
Li Yuan expanded his consciousness, using Soul Understanding to detect the existence of other clumps in a wider area. Five clumps in a radius of a few kilometers. Dozens in a radius of tens of kilometers. Hundreds in a radius of hundreds of kilometers.
And that was just a small area of one continent on the planet.
"Millions of souls are scattered across the world," he calculated with deep concern. "Even if I could wrap one soul per second—which is already beyond my current ability—this process would take months or even years."
Moreover, there was an unignorable risk. Using the Wrapping Understanding on such a global scale might create uncontrolled resonance—just like what happened four thousand years ago. Li Yuan did not want to create an unwanted side effect for a second time.
An Alternative Approach
"No," Li Yuan decided with a clarity that flowed like water finding its path. "A global approach won't work. I have to do this... individually."
This decision brought with it an intimidating implication. Instead of a single, dramatic operation, he would have to perform millions of small ones. Visiting each location, wrapping each soul one by one, and placing them into his Zhenjing with care and precision.
"Like a collector gathering rare flowers," he reflected, "I have to be careful with each specimen, ensuring none are damaged in the collection process."
Mental Preparation
Li Yuan looked at the soul clump before him—the first of millions he would collect—and felt a fundamental shift in his perspective on the spiritual journey.
For ten thousand years, his journey had focused on personal understanding and transformation. Now, for the first time, he was facing a purely altruistic task—a task that would not provide new understanding or personal spiritual growth, but was solely to address the consequences of his past actions.
"This will be a different journey," he admitted with the calmness he had learned from his Water Understanding. "Not a journey towards something, but a journey to gather something. Not a search for understanding, but the execution of a responsibility."
With that decision, Li Yuan began to prepare himself for one of the greatest undertakings in his ten millennia of existence—the systematic collection of millions of touched souls scattered across the planet, one by one, with patience that would be tested to its limits and a determination that had to last for as long as needed.
A new journey had begun—a journey of responsibility, not of seeking.
A journey that would transform Li Yuan from a seeker into a guardian, from an individual into a sanctuary for millions of souls that could not protect themselves.
The Collection Begins
Li Yuan stood before the first soul clump, his consciousness body upright but not tense. The decision had been made, the method had been determined, and now was the time for the first action in an operation that would fundamentally change the nature of his existence.
"Alright," he whispered to the unresponsive clump, "let's begin."
He raised his right hand slowly, not in a dramatic gesture but with an intentional and meaningful movement. The Wrapping Understanding began to flow from his consciousness—not as a burst of power, but as a... gentle spiritual embrace.
The First Process
Wrapping was an understanding he developed for protection and mediation. For thousands of years, he had used it to protect his understanding from exploitation, to filter resonance so it wouldn't overwhelm others. Now, he was reversing its function—using the Wrapping to protect the fragile soul from the trauma of displacement.
The wrapping energy flowed from his hand like transparent silk, enveloping the soul clump with infinite gentleness. Li Yuan felt minimal resistance—the clump did not resist, did not react, it just... existed, like a stone wrapped in cloth.
"No pain," he observed with relief. "No trauma, no disturbance to your spiritual structure."
The second step was the connection with his Zhenjing. Li Yuan opened a spiritual portal—not a physical rift, but a direct access path between external reality and his inner world. This portal opened precisely in the Soul Understanding space within his Zhenjing, the most suitable place to house other souls.
Entry into the Zhenjing
With a control honed over ten millennia, Li Yuan guided the wrapped soul clump through the spiritual portal. The process was smooth—the clump moved like a drop of water flowing through a channel, without resistance, without complication.
Inside his Zhenjing, the Soul Understanding space received its first "guest." The space that had only contained abstract notions of souls now held an actual soul—albeit in a dormant state.
The soul clump floated calmly within Li Yuan's spiritual landscape, its greenish-white light harmonizing with the Soul Understanding energy that surrounded it. Like a fish placed in an aquarium that matched its habitat.
"One," Li Yuan counted with a mix of satisfaction and concern. "One out of millions."
Effect on the Zhenjing
What surprised Li Yuan was the positive impact of the first soul's presence within his Zhenjing. Instead of being a burden or a disturbance, the soul clump seemed to... complete the Soul Understanding space.
All this time, Soul Understanding was an abstract concept about appreciating the uniqueness of every soul. Now, with an actual soul within it, the understanding became more... concrete. It was like a library that not only contained books about music but also had real musical instruments.
"You complete my understanding," Li Yuan spoke to the clump that couldn't hear, "not as an object to be understood, but as a... a realization of the understanding itself."
Towards the Second Soul
With the success of the first collection, Li Yuan moved toward the second soul clump he had detected near the river. The process was identical—wrapping with the Wrapping Understanding, transferring through the spiritual portal, and placing it in the Soul Understanding space.
But with the second soul, something interesting began to happen. The two soul clumps in his Zhenjing did not interfere with each other, but they... resonated. Not an active resonance like communication, but a passive one—like two tuning forks vibrating in harmony.
"You complete each other," Li Yuan observed with awe. "Even without consciousness, souls still possess... a natural harmony when they gather."
The Emerging Pattern
The third, fourth, and fifth souls were all collected with the same method. And with each addition, Li Yuan began to see an interesting pattern in his Zhenjing.
The Soul Understanding space began to change. Not physically expanding, but... developing complexity. It was like a garden that initially only contained empty ground, then began to be planted with different flowers, each adding to the overall beauty.
The five soul clumps floated in an unarranged but harmonious formation, their greenish-white light interacting to create ever-changing yet always beautiful light patterns.
Initial Realization
"This is not just about collecting," Li Yuan realized with deepening understanding. "It's about... integration. You are not just being stored within me—you are becoming a part of the evolution of my Soul Understanding."
Every soul collected added a new dimension to his understanding of the soul. Not an intellectual understanding, but an understanding through direct contact, through shared presence, through a subtle but constant resonance.
"Five souls, and I already feel the difference," he reflected. "What will it be like when there are millions? Will my Soul Understanding evolve into something entirely new?"
Commitment to the Long Journey
Li Yuan looked out from his Zhenjing, his consciousness spreading to detect the locations of other soul clumps. Tens of thousands on this continent alone. Hundreds of thousands on other continents. Millions scattered across the planet in various terrains—forests, mountains, deserts, beaches, even at the bottom of the sea.
"This journey will take a very long time," he admitted with patience honed over ten thousand years. "But I have forever. And you... you deserve a safe place."
With the first five souls safely stored within his Zhenjing, Li Yuan began to calculate a route that would take him to every corner of the planet. Not a geographical calculation, but a spiritual one—the most efficient path to visit every location where a touched soul floated in its silence.
The global collection operation has begun.
Five souls are safe.
Millions of others await.