Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

Inside the border outpost of the Dark Flame Domain, the dark red light emanating from the lava pool cast flickering shadows on the rough stone walls.

The two Flame Demon soldiers, controlled by Lin Xiao, walked mechanically in front, while Lin Xiao maintained his fourth-order energy fluctuations and followed closely behind.

At the stone table in the center of the outpost, the fifth-tier Flame Demon Commander was irritably flipping through a tattered animal hide map, which marked the situation of the war zone where the Dark Flame Domain and the Blood Vine and Crystal Peak Domains intersected.

"Reporting to the commander, an envoy from the Bloodvine Realm requests an audience." One of the controlled Flame Demon soldiers approached the leader and spoke in a stiff tone.

The fifth-tier Flame Demon commander abruptly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his single eye: "An envoy from the Bloodvine Domain? What are they doing here at this time?"

His gaze swept over Lin Xiao, lingering for a moment on Lin Xiao's deliberately feigned fourth-tier aura, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "What tricks is that old hag, the Blood Vine Queen, up to now? Sending a fourth-tier being to deliver a message?"

Lin Xiao stepped forward, placed the forged vine rune token on the stone table, and said calmly, "Commander of the Flame Demons, I have come on the orders of the Queen Mother to deliver the latest developments regarding the Crystal Peak Domain. The Queen Mother believes that the Dark Flame Overlord may be extremely interested in this matter."

The Flame Demon Commander stared at the token that emitted a faint life force, his vigilance in his single eye slightly relaxed.

The rules fluctuations of this token are almost identical to those of the real Blood Vine Token, which is the result of Lin Xiao's precise projection through the Myriad Phenomena Returning to Flow rule.

"Crystal Peak Domain?" The Flame Demon Commander sneered. "What's that old turtle Crystal Rock up to now?"

Hearing this fifth-tier commander curse two seventh-tier beings in succession, Lin Xiao's lips twitched slightly.

Fortunately, he wasn't one of those two true subordinates at the seventh rank; otherwise, based on their words just now, he wouldn't have been able to remain so calm.

Lin Xiao coughed lightly, not answering directly, but instead turning his gaze to the map on the stone table: "According to our intelligence, Crystal Peak Domain has added seventeen rule crystal turrets in the Northern Theater Command in the past month. Each turret has a range of three hundred miles and is equipped with runes that target the rules of fire."

He pointed to several areas marked with combat symbols on the map: "The positions of these turrets have been carefully calculated to block the three main magma supply routes of the Darkflame Domain."

"If war breaks out, your Flame Demon Legion will lose more than 40% of its mobility within half an hour of entering the war zone."

The Flame Demon Commander's face turned extremely grim. He carefully checked the markings on the map, and the more he looked, the heavier his heart became.

The information Lin Xiao provided matched 70% of the frontline battle reports he had recently received, while the remaining 30% likely represented secret deployments that the Dark Flame Domain had not yet discovered.

"Why would the Bloodvine Queen tell us this?" the Flame Demon Commander asked, narrowing his eyes. "Didn't she just form an alliance with the Crystal Rock Domain to attack us?"

"An alliance?"

Lin Xiao chuckled lightly, her voice carrying just the right amount of sarcasm.

"In the Dark Sun Forest, where are there any permanent allies?"

"The Crystal Giant secretly contacted the Shadowmoon Wolf King three times to discuss jointly dividing up the Life Swamp in the eastern part of the Bloodvine Domain."

"Her Majesty the Queen simply felt that rather than being watched by two hungry wolves, it would be better to help her potential partners resolve their immediate troubles."

These words were half true and half false. The information about Crystal Rock's contact with Shadow Moon was pieced together by Lin Xiao from fragments of information sifted from the one-eyed old man's memory crystal, combined with deductions based on the omniscient rule.

But in the treacherous environment of the Dark Sun Forest, this level of secrecy feels all the more real.

The Flame Demon Commander remained silent.

He got up and walked to the wall of the outpost, where a larger and more standard war zone situation map was hanging.

The image clearly shows that the Dark Flame Domain is currently besieged on three sides.

The Blood Vine Domain is in the east, the Crystal Peak Domain is in the north, and the Poison Swamp Domain looms menacingly to the southwest.

The Dark Flame Overlord's territory has shrunk from nine large war zones at its peak to five and a half now.

"What do you need?" The Flame Demon Commander turned around, a decisive glint in his single eye. "The Bloodvine Queen won't send such important information for nothing."

"It's very simple."

Lin Xiao continued, "The Queen Mother hopes that the Dark Flame Domain will maintain moderate pressure in the Eastern Theater Command over the next month."

"We don't need to actually start a war, but we need to make the Crystal Peak Domain believe that the two sides are still at war. In this way, the Crystal Giants will have to divide their forces to defend the eastern front, creating an opportunity for the Queen Mother to take action in the northern theater."

"In return, Bloodvine Domain will suspend its attacks on the two resource points in the southern part of Darkflame Domain, and..."

Lin Xiao paused, then took out a blue crystal that emitted a chilling aura from his pocket.

"This is a specially made ice crystal sealing stone by the Queen Mother, which can temporarily freeze the operation of the rule crystals in the Crystal Peak Domain for ten breaths."

"This might be useful if the Dark Flame Overlord decides to launch a surprise attack on the Crystal Peak Domain."

The Flame Demon Commander received the Ice Crystal Sealing Stone and sensed the ice-type energy contained within it, which was completely opposite to the rules of fire. A glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Whether this thing is real or fake is not important; what matters is the sincerity shown by the Bloodvine Domain.

"I will relay this information to the Lord." The Flame Demon Commander put away the sealing stone. "You can rest here for a day, and I will give you an answer tomorrow."

"No need."

Lin Xiao shook his head: "I still have some business to attend to at the edge of the Bone Tomb Domain. If Your Majesty is willing to cooperate, I will be waiting for your envoy in the Lava Rift in the Eastern Theater in three days."

After saying that, he turned and left the outpost without waiting for the Flame Demon Commander's response.

Two controlled fire demon soldiers followed behind him until they were out of the outpost's field of vision, at which point Lin Xiao waved his hand to release the seal.

The two fire demon soldiers shook their heads, exchanged a blank look, and completely forgot what had just happened.

Lin Xiao had already transformed into a shadow, silently merging into the depths of the Dark Flame Domain.

The matter that Lin Xiao just proposed is indeed what the Blood Vine Queen desires, and she has even sent an envoy.

However, the envoy was killed by a third-party force before he could even step into the Dark Flame Domain.

This is why Lin Xiao was able to disguise herself so boldly.

Over the next two days, Lin Xiao moved cautiously within the Dark Flame Domain.

He avoided major battlefields and large strongholds, specifically choosing to traverse areas with disordered rules and weak surveillance.

The omniscient rule continues to operate, constantly collecting fragments of information from the environment.

The ruins of the destroyed Flame Demon Fortress bear the corrosive marks of blood vines, and fragments of the Crystal Peak Domain's rule crystals are scattered on the scorched earth. Occasionally, small groups of Flame Demon patrols can be seen fleeing in panic, and the mournful cries of Dark Flame Dragons can be heard from time to time in the sky.

Their numbers have indeed decreased significantly, as the intelligence reports suggest.

In a secluded valley near the Eastern Theater Command, Lin Xiao finally witnessed a small-scale conflict.

A battle formation of about fifty fire demon soldiers held off attacks from two directions.

To the east are dozens of thick, blood-sucking vines that writhe like living things, their tips spraying out a corrosive green liquid.

To the north are three slowly moving crystal peak war puppets. These behemoths, made of regular crystals, can create deep craters in the ground with each punch and release shockwaves that interfere with the rules of fire.

Although the Balrog soldiers fought desperately, they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Their fire attacks are effective against Bloodvine, but they do almost no damage to Crystal Peak War Puppet.

The Flame Demon commander in the center of the battle formation roared and tried to organize a breakout, but a giant vine that suddenly emerged from the ground entangled him and his three personal guards. In just three breaths, they were sucked dry and turned into dried corpses.

Lin Xiao, hidden in the shadows of the distant rock wall, calmly observed every detail of the battlefield.

The omniscient rules scan the energy flow, rule application, and tactical coordination of both sides in a battle, much like a precision instrument.

"The corruption rules of the Bloodvine Domain are specifically designed for living beings, but the damage bonus against elemental creatures like the Balrog is only 15%... The actual results far exceed the theoretical value, indicating that they used some kind of auxiliary means to enhance corruption."

"The defensive rules of the Crystal Peak War Puppet are not absolute. There is a 0.3-second gap in energy flow at the joint connection... but the attack accuracy of the Flame Demon Soldier is not enough to detect this flaw."

"The morale of the Flame Demon Legion has dropped to a dangerous level. Their retreat was chaotic and disorganized. This is not only a tactical problem, but also a systemic collapse caused by insufficient supplies and continuous defeats."

The information gathered in Lin Xiao's mind formed a clear understanding of the current state of the Dark Flame Domain.

This ruler is indeed in trouble. The cost of fighting on two fronts is enormous, his legions are exhausted, and his territory's resource points are falling one after another.

Without external intervention, the decline of the Dark Flame Domain would probably have been inevitable.

But all of this was not a bad thing for Lin Xiao.

A ruler in a difficult situation is often more willing to engage in higher-risk transactions.

On the evening of the third day, Lin Xiao arrived at the pre-arranged lava rift valley.

This is a massive fissure that runs across the eastern part of the Darkflame Domain. A river of scorching lava flows through the valley floor, and the cliffs on both sides are covered with cave dwellings and fortifications carved out by the Flame Demons.

Lin Xiao did not venture deep into the rift valley, but instead lay in wait in a secluded cave near the valley entrance.

He manifested several monitoring runes scattered around him, while the Omniscient Rule continuously scanned the surrounding environment at the lowest power.

While waiting, Lin Xiao began to organize another goal of this trip, which was also the main objective: to find clues about Nelly.

He took out the memory crystal given to him by Xingyan from his pocket and reviewed the information about the Shadow Moon Domain and the Bone Tomb Domain again.

"The Shadowmoon Wolf King has been tracking the target with the golden halo for two months... An unusual golden fluctuation has been detected at the edge of the Bone Tomb Domain..."

Two pieces of information were parallel in his mind.