Yin Long walked through the forest with slow steps while taking in the surroundings, the lower hanging branches brushing against his white robe. His interspatial ring was gone, probably taken back by the clan, so he only had this white mourning robe that he was dressed in for his funeral to wear. But it suited him just fine, he had already abandoned the Lang name so he would feel a bit uncomfortable if he were to wear the clan's yellow robes like he used to.

It might seem somewhat strange to be bothered about the color of his robes, but since it made him uncomfortable he wouldn't wear them, that was how simple it was to him. It was just like Lang Ru said, the Lang clan and his position in it were nothing but shackles, his thoughts could flow much more smoothly and simpler now that the shackles had been robbed from him. Of course, having spent over six years in that position inevitably left some marks on Yin Long's thoughts and personality, it was just that he himself hadn't noticed these marks yet.

The sound of rushing water reached Yin Long's ears a short while after he and Lang Ru split up, a large stream of clear water just barely visible through the trees at his side. He moved over to the stream and started to walk alongside it, turning part of his vision inwards to take a look at his own soulsea. His soul had just absorbed a ludicrous amount of Netherworld energy so he wanted to take a look to understand the situation.

And what he saw left him completely breathless. Black-yellow energy stretched out as far as the eye could see, it had swallowed up the Netherworld moon that once hung within his soulsea and spread out to cover the entire sky. The scene in his soulsea had suddenly become a yellow-silver ocean, a rainbow-colored and slightly black sword, and a black-yellow sky radiating a heart-palpitating amount of energy.

He was just barely able to accept the moon of Netherworld energy residing within his soulsea, he would die if it exploded but since all the energy was contained in the moon then it should be possible for it to exist within his soulsea. But this sky-covering cloud of energy was different, its sheer existence should be enough to disintegrate his soulsea no matter how well contained the energy was.

Its existence within his soulsea should mean instant death, it was an impossibility. For a second the thought that it might be possible due to his affinity popped up in his mind, but he quickly discarded the idea. Affinity was not enough to allow his soul to store up so much Netherworld energy for future use, it would be the same as a lit match being able to carry all the magma moving through the crust of the planet. And the moment he discarded the first thought, another one flashed through his mind.

"Lord of the Everburning Trees..."

That was what the Netherworld denizens that surrounded him when he arrived had called him as they so reverently knelt to him. Back then he hadn't been quite sure what to think, and even now a small part of him believed that they were just mistaken, his entire life up to this point could easily be traced after all. But looking at that apocalyptic cloud of energy, Yin Long had to admit that there was an exceedingly great chance that he had some sort of ties with the Netherworld, something that went far above just getting great affinity for it thanks to his parasitic soul sucking up some energy.

In the end, Yin Long decided to retract his vision from his soulsea and discard the other thoughts. It didn't matter if he had ties to the Netherworld or not, he was Yin Long of the parasitic soul, whether it be good or evil, all would become part of his blade as he cut his way to the realm beyond the stars.

When he retracted his vision from his soulsea and directed it towards his front, his gaze landed on a very familiar section of the river lined with boulders. And sitting on the edge of the three-meter wide and one-meter tall boulder that Yin Long usually sat on was an anxious girl with her toes dipping into the cold water of the river. Winter had only just recently ended so the water probably hadn't even gone above 0 degrees yet, borderline freezing. But the girl, Lan Yun, didn't seem to pay the coldness any heed, her head moving around as her brown eyes darted across the area.

Her gaze eventually landed on the approaching Yin Long, a jolt running through her entire body as she sprung up and jumped off the boulder. She ran with all her might and threw herself at him like a lost child finding their parents, wrapping her arms around him so tightly that it seemed like she wanted to melt into him. She didn't make any of her usual improper jokes or quips, she simply cried loudly while burying her face in his chest.

She hadn't believed Lang Ru, she had prayed that she wasn't lying but she hadn't believed her. She had seen the sword dig into Yin Long's body, she had seen him practically get cut in half and collapsed, she had been there at his short wake and personally taken part in digging the shallow grave for him. He was dead, not a single trace or chance for life, so how could he possibly come back? How could she possibly believe such a tale?

But here he was, just like was promised. She could hear his heartbeat, feel the warmth of his blood, feel his pulse, she could even see that carefree smile she thought would be lost for good. So she cried, she cried for that warmth, cried for that smile, cried for what she hadn't lost.

Yin Long didn't push her away, wrapping one arm around her while using the other to softly stroke her amber hair. He knew that his actions and choices had hurt her, he didn't regret doing them, but the least he could do now was apologize like this. Lan Yun's sobs died down after a little over two minutes, a somewhat vindictive voice leaking out from the place where her face was buried into his chest.

"The next time you pull something like that, I'm coming down to the Netherworld to haunt you."

Yin Long could only smile slightly at the vengeful mutter. To be in the Netherworld was practically the same as being a ghost, could a ghost even be haunted? But he didn't bother saying that, a somewhat cheeky grin surfacing on his face for a second before he gave her hair a soft pull.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, I've got legions of strong followers down there. But forget about that, what happened to your hair?"

Lan Yun's amber hair used to be like Yin Long's, it used to hang all the way down to her buttocks. But while Yin Long tied his long hair into a simple ponytail, she usually took a bit more care to make a ponytail and then braid it. But that long hair was gone now, she had cut it so short that it just barely reached to below her ears.

Lan Yun stopped hugging Yin Long and pulled back a bit, grasping a few strands of her hair and rolling it between her fingertips. She looked at the hair out of the corner of her eyes and then turned them back onto Yin Long, smiling contently.

"You abandoned your name and your life while I abandoned my hair and my past. You told me, didn't you? If there is a next life, you hoped we could travel together as friends while you hone your sword, in the light this time. It came a bit faster than expected, but now you've got your new life, it's only fitting that I follow along. The prostitute known as Lan Yun took her own life the day after her lover, the great sinner of the Lang clan was killed, romantic isn't it?"

Lan Yun had been raised to become a useful tool to the Lang clan, but that tool was broken the moment Yin Long started wielding it. The tool would still be useful to the Lang clan, but only as long as it was wielded by the man who broke it, without the wielder it would be useless. Now the wielder had left the Lang clan, it was only fitting that the broken tool vanished at the same time.

Yin Long had nothing he could say to Lan Yun's statement, he could only respond with a soft and grateful smile. She could be considered the one person he had picked up and drawn into his small circle of close ones, he would be lying if he said that he didn't look forward to traveling with her now that his shackles had been torn off. Lan Yun could guess his thoughts, smiling brightly while removing a familiar yellow ring from her left hands ring finger.

"Here, Lang Ru gave me this and said that it was rightfully yours, you should check the contents."

She tossed the ring to Yin Long, who caught it and looked at it with a soft gaze. The yellow ring was engraved with two long dragons that coiled around an amber dragon eye, it was the interspatial ring that had followed him since he was seven. He put the ring on his right hand's middle finger and let out a soft breath, thankfully the ring hadn't been taken away. He then sank his mind into the ring to check the contents, skipping over the normal content like rations clothing and wine that his sister had placed in it.

His attention was quickly focused on two items, both of them getting extracted from the ring. The first item was a pure white Jian sword, Yin Long's sword, the one had personally picked out on the day his father gave him the interspatial ring. The ring and sword were both the last remaining gifts he had from his parents, seeing them both safe he couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.

He couldn't use the sword within the territory that the Lang, Tao, and Deshi clans operated as it would lead to there being too many signs pointing toward him being the supposedly dead Lang Yin, but just having them gave him peace of mind. He pulled out a more normal-looking metal ring, another interspatial ring that his sister had prepared for him, and transferred everything from the yellow ring over into it. He cast one last look at the ring on his right hand before sliding it off and storing it into the normal-looking ring, his gaze finally landing on the last item he had pulled out from the interspatial ring.

The item was a half-meter long box that looked like it was made from a single bone, a slightly chilly aura radiating out from it. Yin Long opened the box and gazed at the crimson jade slip resting on a bed of soft silk, his heartbeat speeding up slightly as he guessed at the identity of the jade slip. He picked up the jade slip and sank his mind into it, confirming his guess.

The jade slip didn't contain a terrifyingly strong cultivation manual, but it was still considered the greatest treasure of the Lang clan. Even clan leaders would have to have kept their position for 1000 years if they wanted to inspect this jade slip, Yin Long could only assume that Lang Ru had enlisted Jiu Meiyu's help in stealing it. What the jade slip contained was the technique created by the founder of the Lang clan, the technique that birthed the name of the Lang clan, Twin Fangs of the Wolf.

The Lang clan founder's name was written down as Lang Chi, but he was actually born as Zhuye Baiyung. Only upon entering a life-and-death duel with a terrifying wolf-type Demonic beast and successfully slaying it, forging two weapons from the beast's fangs and creating this technique did he change his name. The technique mainly focused on the strange dual-sword setup that the founder used, where one sword was nearly a meter and a half long while the other was a bit less than half a meter long.

But even though it focused mostly on this dual-sword setup, there were still countless things Yin Long could learn from this sword technique, which had been created by someone known to have reached the legendary Sovereign God realm. Yin Long gleamed through the introduction of the technique, a thought striking him when he read about the strange dual-sword setup.

He stretched out his right arm and moved his soul, a translucent sword forming in his grasp. But when the sword reached its normal length, Yin Long focused his mind a bit more and pictured the image he saw in the jade slip, his sword continuing to grow. The blade quickly became a meter and a half long and strangely thin, a perfect replica of the sword within the technique. He then focused his mind again, the sword shrinking until the blade was a bit less than half a meter long, another perfect replica of the image he had seen.

Yin Long looked at the altered sword with a pleased smile, he hadn't ever really thought about needing a sword of a different length or size so he never tried if he could actually alter the shape of his sword. But from his tests just now it was clear that it was exceedingly simple to do so, the sword was formed from his soul after all. Knowing this, Yin Long couldn't help but grow slightly excited, this meant that there were now countless other sword manuals out there that he could study and learn from.

He stopped experimenting with his sword and dissipated it, storing the jade slip back into the box and giving it a slight bow. He then stored the box into his interspatial ring, letting out a soft breath. The Lang clan founder was long dead and gone, even his famous twin swords had turned to dust on the wind. But his name remained, his legacy and technique remained and continued to aid the Lang clan despite his own absence.

The sound of something moving through the forest reached Yin Long's ears after he put away the box, his senses immediately spotting who was approaching them. He turned his body slightly to look at the large cat with faded yellow fur that came walking over after having smelled his scent, a pleasantly surprised and joyful look in his eyes. Looking at the approaching Jin Wang, Yin Long couldn't help but be reminded of the day before he was arrested and set up.

Back then he had spent the day sparring with Jin Wang, who eventually tried to prevent him from returning to the city. He originally thought that it was because Jin Wang wanted to drink more wine, but could it be that his instincts had warned him that Yin Long was in danger? Yin Long discarded the thought as soon as it hit him, at this point, there was no longer a reason to think about it. He looked directly at Jin Wang, flashing him a somewhat slanted smile.

"Hah, two wandering beasts with no shackles or place to call home. Say, Jin Wang, how about joining us and making it three beasts?"

Jin Wang looked directly at Yin Long with his deep black eyes, his mouth opening as he let out a loud growling sound while trying to produce a roar. Yin Long had beat him in combat several times and also treated him very well, caring greatly about his freedom as a Demonic beast. Jin Wang was a proud being, but he had already submitted to Yin Long and accepted him as both the alpha and a friend.

He had tried traveling at Yin Long's side several times in the past, but Yin Long would warn him each time that the city would only be stifling for him, especially with Yin Long's position as the clan's shadow. But now there were no such shackles, no cage to contain Yin Long, now he could wander and show the world exactly what being even the proud Jin Wang willingly submitted to.

And just like that, the group of two traveling people was joined by a lone Demonic beast, Lan Yun pulling out the teleportation scroll that Lang Ru had given her. She tore the scroll in half and activated the array within it, Yin Long's group vanishing from the Lang clan territory to embark on a journey that none of them knew just how long would last.