Yin Long could feel his expression and calmness crumbling, it was like he was observing a building collapse as it lost its support. He knew that he had to immediately regain his calm, otherwise there was a chance that his lies might get exposed, and that could have disastrous consequences. But with what he had just heard, it wasn't strange that it would crack his calmness.

Lan Yun, a doll created by the Celestial World? One that would even self-destruct if he used too much Netherworld Energy? It was a story that was a bit hard to believe, but it certainly made some piece fall into place nicely. Gates could be created to the Netherworld, Yin Long had already seen two, one that was even about to let a being slip out, so it only stood to reason that the same was true for the Celestial World. And considering what happened to Lan Yun when Yin Long once used a fair amount of Netherworld Energy in her presence, it only made the story all the more believable.

Yin Long's chest tightened stealthily, his own blood turning rigid and sharp as it pierced through some of his veins and stabbed into his nerves. He used the abrupt flash of pain to regain his composure, preventing his collapsing facade from falling to a state where it was visible. He couldn't even draw in a stealthy breath since he was worried that it might be discovered, all he could do was put on a thinly-veiled sneer.

"Starblood, you're oh-so knowledgeable, aren't you? Tell me, what are those dolls? Go on, no need to be shy when it's just the two of us."

Yin Long saw a very faint shiver course through the shoulders of the kneeling Emperor Starblood. With how deferential he was acting, it was clear that he had great fear and respect for the Lord of Everburning Trees, who Yin Long was currently posing as. He found the question to be strange, but he didn't dare to be tardy with his response when he heard the cold intent hidden in Yin Long's words.

"Yes, Milord. It's hard, and technically illegal, for your two realms to actually interfere with this plane, but with the loophole you found, it's not entirely impossible. The Heavenly Dolls are artificial bodies and souls created by the Celestial World and sent to the mortal plane through various gates, you can consider them the same as our Fiendheart Dolls. They are given personalities and bodies that make them popular and easy to get along with so that they can more easily travel about. They remain dormant most of the time unless they're given orders, focusing solely on getting closer with various people of power to further facilitate their own travels. But when they receive an order from above or detect certain levels of Netherworld Energy, they spring into action to complete their orders, the extermination of any Netherworld denizens. Should it be necessary, they will detonate their bodies and souls to drag their target down with them. After all, they're just puppets, they can be replaced with the flip of a hand."

Yin Long once again stabbed his own nerves with some of his own blood, forcing his mind and facade to remain under his control. The more he heard, the more his stomach churned. A fake soul, a fake body, even emotions and personalities were faked so that the dolls could integrate more easily, so that they could accomplish their extermination more easily. They truly were puppets, the sole reason for their existence being to follow the orders of their creator, it was their greatest desire. It was a sickening revelation, but Yin Long forced himself to remain calm, his sneer growing wider.

"You really like wasting time on spouting words, seems like some things never change. But exactly, the Heavenly dolls are the best way for the Celestial bastards to interfere here on this mortal plane, unless they've copied our actions of course. So tell me, do you think they'd expect one of their greatest enemies to hang around a weapon specifically designed to hunt them down?"

His voice was tinged with the faint flavour of mocking, another soft shiver running through Emperor Starblood's shoulders. His head seemed to raise on its own, his light red eyes locking with Yin Long's black pupils, the sharp darkness in them causing his own pupils to tremble for a second before he quickly lowered his head again.

"...It's darkest just beneath the lamp... marvellous, Milord."

Yin Long wasn't sure if he felt like sneering or laughing at the actions of Emperor Starblood. A grand and exalted Province Emperor was kneeling so reverently and fearfully, he had only dared to raise his head once before quickly lowering it again. Of course, this also spoke about just how fearsome the Lord of Everburning Trees was, or had been at least. But he couldn't show either of those emotions, indifferently waving his hand as he spoke about the elephant in the room.

"You've already noticed that I don't have my previous strength, there were multiple accidents during the reincarnation so I've even lost my flames. As such, right now it's best that I remain a bit lowkey, even this interaction carries some danger since your ties to me may have already been exposed."

The Lord of Everburning Trees had the ability to make even a Province Emperor kneel in fear, but Yin Long was far from that stage. As such, if he didn't speak about this very obvious fact, there was a chance that Emperor Starblood would find it strange. At the same time, he spoke about a fact that should only be known to the Lord of Everburning Trees, the fact that his flames were gone.

After all, this was something he heard from the subordinates that had been waiting for him when he descended to the Netherworld, and they sounded extremely surprised at it. Emperor Starblood didn't raise his head again, a rueful sigh sounding out as he gave a light shake of his head.

"You are still as wise as always, Milord, it is good that you know when its best to remain unseen. It is a shame that you've lost your Everburning Flames, but I've heard that you've acquired the ability to turn things into swords so we can thank our stars that Bai Xiang's sudden betrayal didn't bring with it only bad news. And you may rest assured, this little one has taken your words to heart and will make sure that he doesn't appear around you again unless you contact him."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Bai Xiang had cut all contact with them after he delivered the report that the reincarnation had just finished. He had even hidden all traces of himself and their reincarnated lord, if this wasn't a betrayal then he didn't know what was. Emperor Starblood's words also revealed an additional piece of information to Yin Long, the ability to use his soul to form swords wasn't something that belonged to the Lord of Everburning Trees.

And since it didn't belong to this Netherworld Lord then it could only belong to Yin Long himself, an ability that set himself apart from the person he was the reincarnation of. Yin Long was greatly interested in Bai Xiang's relationship with Emperor Starblood, as well as what their final plan was, but he only nodded his head with slightly narrowed eyes.

"That's good. You may contact me in secret if you find any news about Bai Xiang's whereabouts, but you and the others would do well to stay away if there is nothing else. We may have our plans, but they've already taken so long that it won't matter if they take a few years longer while I build up my strength again. Plus, there are many things I can do here that I couldn't do down there, it would be a true shame to not enjoy them to their fullest."

It was a conspiracy that included the inscrutable Baik Xiang and even a Province Emperor, Yin Long refused to believe that something so grand would include only these two people. There were definitely more people out there, others that may keep an eye on him if he should enter their areas. But he could learn about all of them in the future, talking too much here would not be good.

He had indirectly told Emperor Starblood that he should leave, but the kneeling man showed clear signs of hesitation. After all, Yin Long had degraded to this state so it was only natural for him to be worried. As such, Yin Long stretched out his right arm, a bit of his Qi surging to the tip of his finger.

"You don't need to worry, I may not be able to use my Netherworld Energy in excess, but I still have this to keep me safe. And I am not the type to fall before I drag my plans to completion, you should know this."

A yellow light flashed at the tip of his outstretched finger, radiating a quiet yet oppressive tyranny before it vanished. This yellow light was the strange law he found himself with after Xue Qiuling kidnapped Lan Yun, back then it had even paralyzed Lan Yun with fear. Her eyes had flushed with a vivid green back then so she had definitely been under the control of the protocol's installed into her, but even so, she was so fearful that she couldn't even move closer to him.

As such, this yellow law should be at least a little bit stronger than Netherworld Energy. But as for exactly what sort of law could have reached such a level, or evilness, Yin Long had no idea. Emperor Starblood once more let a tremble course through his body as he sensed the yellow light, but this time the tremble ran through his entire body. He lowered his head even further, his forehead practically touching the ground.

"This one does, Milord, forgive me if there was any offence in my worry. I can rest easy now that I have seen you, so this little one will take his leave. Please take this and contact me should you ever need anything, Milord. Should worst come to worst and I am unable to aid you, then I will directly call upon Lord Floodlight so that he may aid us."

He swiped his bronze interspatial ring and tossed out a simple ring made from milky-white jade. Yin Long caught the ring and inspected it, the arrays within it suggesting that it was a fairly standard communication item, he could even use it to contact others he registered in it if he wanted to. Yin Long put the jade ring into his interspatial ring, nodding his head casually and waving his hand dismissively.

"Good, now leave, our time to rise will come."

He turned around and started to walk away without even waiting for Emperor Starblood's reaction, fully displaying the arrogance of a mighty ruler. He sensed Emperor Starblood vanish behind him, the eyes that seemed to have been on his back ever since he stepped into the vast arena earlier finally disappearing.

Yin Long didn't head directly back to the dome-shaped building where the Three-Fold Territory Clash was still taking place, wandering through the streets as he took in the slightly cool evening air. He had just learned a lot of things he hadn't expected so he wanted to take a bit of time to sort out his own thoughts, his own plans.

He eventually stopped a few kilometres away from the large building, his head tilting back as he raised his gaze to the sky. There wasn't a single cloud covering the grand sight above him, a blanket of shimmering stars spreading out above him. And beyond that sea of stars was the Celestial World, hidden away somewhere out of mankind's reach, subtly influencing even the lives of normal people.

He raised his own arm and opened his hand as if he wanted to grasp the sky, but all the stars simply slipped between his fingers. A soft light flashed through his eyes as he lowered his arm again, the light vanishing into the depths of his pupils as he headed back to the dome-shaped venue.

He moved through the hallways with ease and quickly reached the massive room where the battles were taking place, several fierce fights taking place on the stage as the two teams battled. He walked over to his team's seating area with slow and calm steps, Lan Yun and Jin Wang quickly entering his gaze. The both of them looked him up and down, Lan Yun smiling radiantly at him when she saw that he was unharmed.

"Good, you came back in one piece, it seems like you can still be allowed to 'walk around' in the future."

Yin Long sat down on his seat and ruffled Jin Wang's mane, his gaze locked on Lan Yun, studying the features that he had already seared into his mind. Her amber hair had once reached all the way down to her waist, much like Yin Long's own silver hair currently did, but she had cut it ever since they left the Lang clan, a symbol that she was no longer the prostitute that worked for the clan. Her brown eyes were filled with an enchanting yet gentle light as she looked at him, curling her lips as she pretended to bashfully wriggle under his gaze.

"What? Spellbound by my beautiful appearance? Dying to ravish it again?"

Yin Long didn't roll his eyes as he usually would when she acted like this, he simply maintained his gaze, peering into her eyes as if he wanted to see into the depths of her soul. And whether or not he found his answer in them, he stretched out both arms and pulled her close, embracing her while whispering in a soft yet steely determined manner.

"Even if I end up unable to trust anything else in this world, I will always trust in your emotions, I will believe in their purity no matter what."

"...Goddamn casanova..."