Dancing blood.

Jin Wang was keeping a close eye on Yin Long despite the fact that they were several tens of metres underground and should be well hidden. He was a Demonic beast, his senses would always be as sharp as they could be, especially during moments where one would think that they were otherwise safe. He was a bit surprised when Lan Yun suddenly started walking forward, but he had already gotten somewhat used to her fawning over Yin Long so he didn't move and just continued to keep watch.

But his instincts flared up when she got within 10 metres of Yin Long, there was something about the way she was walking that nagged at his mind. And when she swiped her interspatial ring and drew out a dagger, his body shot forward on instinct, a brutal light flashing through his black eyes as he opened his maw and unleashed his swallowing energy to hamper Lan Yun's movements.

He reached her just as the tip of the dagger was about to touch Yin Long's chest, his sharp fangs sinking into her upper arm. He bit down as hard as he could, serrating her flesh and scattering her blood through the air while the bones beneath his fangs were shattered. He didn't show an ounce of mercy, tearing at her arm as if he wanted to rip it apart for daring to point a weapon at Yin Long.

But strangely enough, even with her arm bleeding profusely and nearing the point of being torn off, the now green-eyed Lan Yun didn't even seem to notice it at all. Her right arm was occupied so her left arm shot forward instead, the laws of tearing and crushing circulating around her slightly bent fingers.

Jin Wang released a deep growl and yanked his head back, lifting Lan Yun up into the air and tossing her behind him with such force that she crashed into the distant wall of the cavern. He swivelled around and lowered his head slightly, blood dripping from his jaws while the fur on his body stood on end in a warning display.

Lan Yun's right arm now hung limply at her side, but she still acted as if she couldn't even see Jin Wang standing between her and Yin Long. She stretched out her left arm and unleashed her Qi, the roots above the cavern piercing down into it and heading for Yin Long while the earth around him also rose up like a jagged maw.

Jin Wang spun around and kicked off of the ground, jumping directly into the path of the roots and the closing maw of earth. His hindlegs reached one of the earthen maws and kicked off, shattering it into small lumps of earth while he himself was launched at the other maw. He bit down on the descending roots as he moved, tearing several of them apart and blocking the rest with his own body, splattering more blood throughout the cavern.

He landed on the other earthen maw, his front paws sinking into it and tearing it apart in a savage manner, none of the attacks even touching Yin Long. Jin Wang might not have the same variety of abilities like Lan Yun, but what he had was a tough body, strong life force, and savage strength that few others at his realm could compete with.

Lan Yun wasn't bothered in the slightest by her attacks being blocked, in fact, she wasn't displaying the slightest trace of emotion, looking more like a puppet than anything else. She continued to reach out with her left arm, Jin Wang sensing that the Qi within her body started to surge again. He knew that just blocking all the attacks wasn't a sustainable strategy, and he didn't want to halt Yin Long's cultivation unless there was absolutely no other choice.

The alpha had to be the strongest, nothing could be allowed to stand in the way of the alpha increasing his strength. That was how Jin Wang's thoughts moved so he quickly settled on the best course of action, remove the threat that was aiming for Yin Long. He kicked off of the ground and shot forward at full speed, revealing his bloody teeth as he took aim at Lan Yun's throat, who still ignored his existence in favour of Yin Long.

But just as Jin Wang whizzed past her outstretched arm and prepared to sink his teeth into her throat, the green colour that had flooded her eyes vanished. An inquisitive look appeared in her pupils, but Jin Wang's fangs had already reached her throat, the muscles of his maw springing into action to clamp his jaws shut.

But just as he was about to finish the task, a strange scene unfolded, his body violently jerked and halted, escaping his control. His veins started to writhe and bulge as the blood within his body moved chaotically, resisting his movements so that he couldn't finish his attack. The blood that had scattered throughout the cave started to rise into the air, even the blood pouring out from Lan Yun's right arm and Jin Wang's wounds were subject to this treatment. The blood flew away, a familiar voice sounding out from the area where the blood was gathering.

"Before things get worse, could I possibly get an explanation?"

Lan Yun's vision drifted past Jin Wang, who regained a little control over his body so that he could also turn his head. Their gazes landed on Yin Long, who had stood up from his seated position and was looking at the two of them with wrinkled brows. All the blood within the cavern had flown over to him, each drop forming small crimson leaves that danced around him in a joyful manner.

An inquisitive and somewhat confused light lingered in Lan Yun's eyes, but Yin Long was equally confused as he stood there. He ignored his newfound control over the law of blood, even ignoring the fact that the blood had formed small leaves reminiscent of the ones that appeared on his body or his swords. All that could probably be chalked up to the Lord of Everburning Trees, who Yin Long seemed to have very close ties to.

No, the source of his confusion was the scene that greeted him as he finished his cultivation. With the aid of the Netherworld energy and the crimson sword, he had easily managed to bring up the last two orbs from the ocean in his soulsea, bringing himself up to the 9th Mortal Door.

But as he had yet to come up with a way to enter the realm of the Immortal Doors, he decided that it was time to bring this round of cultivation to an end. And what was the first thing he saw? Jin Wang's teeth about to pierce and tear out Lan Yun's throat, she might have truly died there if he hadn't ended his cultivation when he did and subsequently acted on instinct to help her.

Yin Long's gaze moved between the girl and beast in front of him as if he was trying to tell what was going on by just looking at them. He pulled his right arm back a little, Jin Wang ending up getting pulled away from Lan Yun as the blood within his body nearly started to move in reverse. He relinquished his control over Jin Wang's blood after he pulled the two apart, walking towards them as the blood that danced around him sank into his body and vanished. Lan Yun was the first one to speak up, her confusion evident in her voice.

"I... I don't know what happened. I was keeping watch over you when my mind suddenly flashed, a brilliant green covering my vision and drowning out my mind. All thoughts vanished in the face of that colourful light, the only thing that remained was an intense drive to... to kill you..."

The pain from her right arm should have hit her now, but Lan Yun was just looking at her left arm with wide-open eyes and a face that had already turned pale. Some said that ignorance was bliss, but Lan Yun could only describe it as terrifying. Yin Long was the person she cared for the most in the entire world, yet she had just tried to kill him with her own hands.

The drive she felt for those moments made it seem as if killing Yin Long would be the greatest thing she would ever do, just the thought of it filled her with such rapture that she feared that she would lose herself in it. And even worse, she had no idea where those thoughts had come from, making her feel as if not even her body and thoughts were her own any longer.

Yin Long's eyes slowly narrowed when he heard Lan Yun's scared explanation, his gaze drifting sideways and landing on Jin Wang, who nodded his head to say that Lan Yun had indeed attacked him. Yin Long's gaze narrowed further, but an idea flashed through his mind after he gave the situation a bit more thought, his gaze landing on Jin Wang again.

"How long ago was it? When did she start acting like that?"

Lan Yun and Jin Wang thought back a little before giving their answers, one voicing it while the other used his paw to write it in the earth. Yin Long gave a soft nod of his head after hearing that it had taken place not even five minutes ago, his gaze landing on Lan Yun. He stretched out his right arm and tapped into the Netherworld energy inside his soulsea, the scaled-leaf pattern appearing on the right side of his body like it always did.

The world in front of his eyes changed when he drew upon the Netherworld energy, a flame appearing in the chests of Jin Wang and Lan Yun. Jin Wang's flame was completely transparent, but Lan Yun's flame was a brilliant green, looking into it was like looking into a sprawling forest.

Yin Long's gaze lingered on the flame, which radiated an aura he had never felt before, for a second before he lowered his gaze to look at his own chest, taking a look at his own flame for the first time. And just as he had started to suspect, his own flame was a radiant yellow without the slightest impurity, the aura of the Netherworld radiating off of it in an intense manner.

But his goal right now wasn't to check out these flames, which he was starting to suspect were actually the souls of living beings. He continued to draw upon more of the Netherworld energy, keeping track of how much energy he drew down while also making sure that his gaze remained locked on Lan Yun.

And then, as he surpassed the amount of energy he used in the past and drew down Netherworld energy equal to about 40% of his own Qi, a tremble ran through Lan Yun's body. A brilliant green colour flooded her eyes as her left hand shot at Yin Long's abdomen, her laws of crushing and tearing circulating around her fingers. Jin Wang immediately reacted, baring his fangs as he lept at Lan Yun's throat again.

But his actions were met with a swift rebuttal from Yin Long, all the blood within Jin Wang's body practically freezing as it suddenly felt heavier than a mountain. He was pressed down against the ground, only barely able to raise his gaze to see that Yin Long was glancing down at him out of the corner of his eyes, his gaze containing a light that Jin Wang could only describe as inviolable majesty.

"There are other ways to resolve this. I've already buried my parents, I refuse to bury anyone else. Understood?"

Lan Yun's arm halted in front of Yin Long's abdomen, her veins writhing and twisting as the arm was forced back in an unnatural manner. Jin Wang could only nod his head in response, the alpha had given an order that was not to be defied. Yin Long relinquished his control over Jin Wang's blood, his head tilting somewhat as he looked at the blood that seeped out from the wounds on his body.

He couldn't help but be surprised at the sheer ease and proficiency he showed with the law of blood, controlling it felt as if he was controlling just another part of his body. It was as if it was a law that had always been his, just lurking beneath the surface and waiting for him to tap into it. Of course, with that surprise also came renewed determination to find Bai Xiang so that he could learn the truth about himself.

He crouched down and placed his hand on Jin Wang's back, halting all the blood that was flowing towards the wounds so that he could apply a medicinal salve to the wounds without the blood getting in the way. Lan Yun was still held back by Yin Long's control over her blood, she seemingly didn't think about using ranged attacks since he was so close to her. As such, Yin Long had enough time to bandage Jin Wang's wounds, his expression loosening up somewhat as he rubbed Jin Wang's head.

"Thank you for protecting me at the expense of your own body, but rather than have you two fight, I would prefer it if you woke me up. Since you consider me the alpha, isn't it only right that I make sure that the entire pack remains together and healthy?"

Jin Wang could only let out a low growl and lower his head slightly in the face of Yin Long. It was just as he said, Yin Long was the alpha, so one of his duties was to make sure that the pack maintained its unity, even if there should be disagreements and fights. Yin Long flashed Jin Wang a smile before standing up again, his gaze turning onto the puppet-like Lan Yun as he started to decrease how much Netherworld energy he used.

As the amount of Netherworld energy he used decreased, the green light in Lan Yun's eyes vanished, once again replaced by a mixture of fear and inquisitiveness. Yin Long had no definitive proof, only guesses he had come up with over time, but he still crouched down in front Lan Yun and voiced his thoughts.

"I have a guess as to what might be going on. I think you might have some ties with the Celestial World, or the Celestial World is taking over your body whenever it senses a certain amount of Netherworld energy in me. Other than the Celestial World, I can't think of anything else that would react so strongly to Netherworld energy. Currently, the reaction seems to be triggered whenever I use Netherworld energy equal to about 40% of my own Qi, but I don't know if that number will change in the future so we'd best keep an eye on it."

Yin Long spoke about it in an exceedingly casual manner, but Lan Yun's eyes couldn't help but tremble as he voiced his guesses. The Celestial World? How could she possibly have ties to something as grand as that? And if she didn't have ties to them, what was she to do about them possessing her to kill Yin Long?

In the face of something as grand as the Celestial World, what sort of resistance could she put up to prevent them from using her as a puppet? Lan Yun prided herself on her resilient mind and ability to adapt, but right now she felt nothing but fear and worry. What if she became possessed again and hurt Yin Long? What if she actually managed to kill him? His Netherworld energy was one of his greatest trump cards that could be used to turn around almost any battle.

If he kept her at his side he was effectively sealing up one of his own trump cards and weakening himself. How was he supposed to go all out if he knew that doing so would cause one of his own allies to turn against him? At that point there was no longer a point in considering someone a burden, they had already become completely detrimental.

Facing such thoughts, it was inevitable that even Lan Yun's mind would sink drastically. After all, she had become detrimental to the person she cared about the most and her body and thoughts could be taken from her at a moment's notice. But just as her heart and mind sank, she felt Yin Long's hands land on her right arm.

His law of blood stopped all the blood that was pouring out from the wounds that Jin Wang's teeth had left behind, a cold sensation rushing up Lan Yun's arm as Yin Long started to apply a medicinal paste to her arm. He also swiped his interspatial ring and took out a pill similar to the ones Xue Qiuling had given him, stuffing it into Lan Yun's mouth before he swiped his interspatial ring once more and took out one of the Heart-root Tulips he had plucked earlier.

These roots were filled with a tremendous amount of life force and would greatly increase the speed at which Lan Yun's wounds healed. He stuffed the root into her mouth without giving her time to protest, forcing her to chew it and swallow it. He then moved his gaze and locked eyes with her, speaking to her with the utmost sincerity.

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes there are things we can't control, that's just how life is. But that doesn't change the facts, it doesn't change who you are. You are Lan Yun, and you are my closest friend, someone who has stayed by my side for years and will continue to do so for countless years. It doesn't matter if you have any ties to the Celestial World or if they are trying to use your body, those facts will never change. And if the Celestial World does try to change those facts, then that just means that we'll have to point our weapons at them and bring them to their knees so that they understand their position. Okay?"

Faced with a gaze so sincere that it was practically burning, Lan Yun's eyes couldn't help but tremble and redden. She was Lan Yun, and she belonged at his side, that was a fact that he wouldn't let even the grand Celestial World change. She couldn't muster up any words, only able to silently nod her head as a few tears started to run down her face, a single thought running through her mind.

Thank you, gods, thank you for allowing me to end up at his side.