When Yin Long started regaining consciousness, it wasn't the outside world that greeted him but rather the inside of his own soulsea. His soulsea had changed quite a bit compared to what it looked like before he entered combat, the events of what should have been a normal battle forever twisting his very existence. What was once a pristine silver ocean had turned murky, a shade of deep yellow mixing with the silver to produce a silvery-yellow ocean. The five orbs floating around his sword had also changed, turning into six without him noticing, all of them taking on the same color as the ocean.

The brilliant rainbow-hued sword that was Yin Long's soul had also been tainted by the yellow of the Netherworld, all the colors turning darker and murky, the very tip of the sword had even turned pitch-black. But the greatest change was located within the sky of the soulsea, where a massive yellow-black orb had appeared, radiating ominous energy as it acted like a moon. Yin Long knew straight away what the yellow-black moon was, it was pure Netherworld energy that his soul had yet to absorb.

His soul probably realized that sucking in more energy would tear his body apart so it left the energy for later, his now impeccable affinity with the Netherworld energy allowing the energy to remain quietly within his soulsea. Yin Long gazed at the moon that was quietly floating there as if it had always been here, not sure what to feel about it. Netherworld energy was the evilest and vilest energy in existence, but he personally didn't care much about that, it had saved his life and allowed him to protect that which he needed to protect.

The energy within the orb could also help increase his strength, he could slowly siphon away at it while cultivating or draw out a bit during a tough fight if he needed a boost. But the problem was that the energy within the orb was so vast and powerful that his body simply couldn't handle it. A single mistake in siphoning power from it, or even if it just burst on its own, would cause his entire body to explode into a fine mist of blood.

Yin Long felt his vision within the soulsea grow blurry and indistinct, a sign that he was about to properly wake up. He cast one last look at the dark moon before his vision turned dark, everything came at a price, and the price for power was pain, perseverance, and risk. The opportunity was placed right in front of him, it was up to him to take it, even if there was a horrible risk attached to it.

Yin Long didn't find himself within the cold embrace of water when his consciousness returned to his body, he instead found himself enveloped within a soft warmth and a delicate fragrance. His right arm and leg were being squished by something soft while his face was covered by what felt like thin strands of soft fabric. His eyelids were heavy but he eventually managed to pry them open, allowing him to observe his current location.

He was lying within a three-meter wide bed in a rather large room that had a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a few golden rays shining through a window and reflecting off the crystals. His robe had been shredded during the battle so he was currently only wearing a simple pair of underwear, the rest of his toned and tanned body on full display.

His wounds had all healed, only a hollow feeling and waves of pain remaining to remind him of the battle. As for the healed wounds, his skin hadn't turned as pale as Tao Enlai's did when the Netherworld energy healed his wounds, his affinity with the sinister energy allowed his healing to be nearly perfect. He stopped looking at his own body, immediately discovering the source of the fabric covering his body, as well as the soft feeling on his arm and leg.

Lan Yun was lying right next to him and snuggled up close to him, her breasts wrapping around his arm while her legs wrapped around his own leg. Her hair was untied and had thus ended up on his face, each strand feeling like a thread of silk. Lan Yun was one of the most sought after girls within Ten Flowers Pavilion, and as an extension one of the most sought after girls within all of Wolfsoul city, it was a reputation that was well-deserved.

But sadly, Yin Long ignored her defenseless charm and sat up somewhat groggily while giving his head a few shakes. Considering how she had practically wrapped herself around his body, there was no way Lan Yun wouldn't wake up with how much Yin Long was moving. Her eyes immediately sprung open when she sensed the movement, tears starting to well up at the corners of her eyes when she saw Yin Long sitting up as if nothing had happened. She promptly threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest, squeezing out a few choked-up words.

"You're not allowed to push me away, not with how much you made me worry."

Yin Long was indeed just about to push her away, they were both after all wearing not but a few thin pieces of underwear. But he stopped his hands after hearing her choked-up words, allowing her to bury her face in his chest while she quietly cried. Lan Yun was an orphan picked up by Yin Long's mother and then brought up to be part of the Lang clan's shadow, she was even sent to a brothel to work there the moment she turned 16.

Had it not been for Yin Long coincidentally arriving a few days after that, there was no telling what sort of things she would have to do to gather information. Wolfsoul city was incredibly vast, but the number of people that Lan Yun could consider friends could be counted on one hand, she really couldn't afford to lose Yin Long. He allowed Lan Yun to cry on his chest until her tears dried up, but just when he thought that she would act properly and let go, she ruined it by muttering spitefully at him.

"But really, you had such a charming and cute girl laying defenselessly next to you yet chose to do nothing, it's like you're trying to hurt my feelings."

Yin Long rolled his eyes and pushed Lan Yun away, delivering a swift chop to the top of her head before standing up from the bed. He checked his hand and saw that his interspatial ring was fine, removing a yellow robe from it and putting it on. Lan Yun kept her gaze focused on Yin Long while he was getting dressed, not bothering to hide the desire within her pupils. Yin Long couldn't help but give a slight shake of his head as he started to speak, Lan Yun swiftly cutting him off.

"Lan Yun, you really shou..."

"I know, I know. You don't love me and think that you might never be able to do so. Me loving you and pursuing you will only end up with me getting hurt, I'll be no more than a moth to a flame. But even so, I'll continue to chase after you, even if I get burned by the fire. Because you see, I don't think the moth regrets flying into the fire, even if it leads to its demise. For that one moment where it touches the flame, its life will be brighter and more glorious than ever before. That is even more so the case for us and our sad existences, doomed to forever serve as nameless shadows no matter how great we may be. "

There was no rebuttal that Yin Long could give, Lan Yun had made her stance and determination clear, saying anything more would be disrespecting her choice and will. He finished getting dressed, Lan Yun getting up and putting on a simple blue dress as well, Yin Long taking this chance to ask about the situation.

"Can you give me an update on the situation and the mission?"

He didn't know where he was, even surveying the surrounding area with his senses didn't yield any results that might reveal where they were right now. He could see Jin Wang resting in a room on the floor beneath them, but other than him there weren't any other living beings in the area. Lan Yun gave a slight nod of her head, tying up her hair again while explaining what had happened.

"Mission is complete, not a single person left alive, and two days have passed since then. What I assume was your final attack tore out the entire bottom of the pagoda, had it not been for Jin Wang managing to find you within the surging water you might have drowned there and then. I couldn't recover anything from the lower floors but I managed to force one of the people on the upper floors to tell me what they were planning there. They wanted to open a gate to the Netherworld so that they could break out some of the warriors living within the Netherworld, they could then use them to greatly increase the influence of their clan."

"I didn't find anything like a gate or a hole within the water or the surrounding area so your attack should have closed it for good. I had Jin Wang help me drag you to our associate within the village, who gave us a one-time use array that sent us here, to this inn in Stone Heart Village so that we can pretend like we've been here all along. Jiu Meiyu is out right now, acting like he's apologizing to the girl he said he was going to introduce you to. The story is that she was less than pleased that you brought another woman and have been spending nearly all your time in the room with her, resulting in her storming off angrily."

Yin Long nodded his head slightly after receiving the update, seeing those fingers rise up through the black hole made him rather certain what the Tao clan was planning. They had even prepared for if things went wrong by opening the gate within the territory of the Lang clan. Yin Long raised his head slightly after he nodded his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the ceiling and locking onto the distant sky. Lan Yun tilted her head slightly but quickly realized what Yin Long was probably thinking of, speaking in a slightly hushed town.

"You're wondering if a similar tactic can be used to open a gate to the Celestial World, aren't you? Do you want to bring back your parents?"

Lan Yun could be said to have a pretty good understanding of Yin Long, she was after all someone who could be said to have seen the true him that he usually kept hidden. But while she felt that she was just about spot on, Yin Long actually shook his head, shrugging his shoulders casually towards the very end of his sentence.

"No, I don't really want to bring them back. They lived long and happy lives and left this world with content smiles, they were happy with their lives and left behind minimal regrets, there is no need to bring them back from their peaceful afterlives just because of my own selfishness. But they said that they would have loved to stick around until we all got married and had children of our own, so I was just thinking that one day it might be possible to open a gate to the Celestial World so that I can show them Lang Huo and Lang Ru's future children. But that's a worry for the future, let's go check out the hotsprings here for a bit before we head home, it would be a waste not to."

Yin Long would be lying if he said that he didn't have a desire to bring his parents back to life, but that was just a selfish desire of his, there was no need to act on it and drag his parents away from their peaceful afterlife. They had lived and fought for so long, they deserved to get their rest now, they deserved to have no more worries.

Yin Long gestured for Lan Yun to follow him and headed for the door, grimacing slightly when he took the first step. Now he didn't have the adrenaline of battle to keep him going so the pain wracking his body was more than just a bit of a nuisance. Lan Yun moved around the bed and wrapped her arms around him, placing his arm around her neck so that she could support him while walking.

It suited the image they were going for within the village so Yin Long didn't resist, the two leaving the room and heading for Jin Wang. Lan Yun didn't say anything while they walked, she would only glance somewhat worriedly at Yin Long. It might have been on purpose, or perhaps he simply hadn't noticed it himself, but she had most certainly noticed that he excluded himself when he spoke about showing his parents their future children.