Outside the dungeon, the prince waited for the vice-commander's arrangements. Soon, the vice-commander arrived and smiled at the prince, "All set, Your Highness. Please be careful."
The prince smiled, "Don't worry. With this pill, I'll make good use of it."
The vice-commander chuckled, then led the prince to Ember Yang's cell. Outside, the prince took out a pill, crushed it into powder, then carefully released the powder into the special cell inside the dungeon. Inside, Ember Yang was cursing loudly until she caught a strange scent and frowned, "What is that smell? It's so fragrant."
Hearing her voice, the prince walked in and closed the cell door. Now, only he and the vice-commander outside could open it. He grinned, "How do you feel? Smells good, right?"
"You?!" Ember Yang snapped, her fury blazing.
"That's right, it's me. Now, except for me, no one can open this door from the inside." The prince smiled.
"What are you trying to do?" Ember Yang asked suspiciously. At this moment, his presence definitely meant trouble.
The prince laughed loudly, his tone full of menace. "That was medicine—one that will keep you from using your strength for an entire day. I had this specially refined to deal with troublesome women like you."
"Medicine? Can't use my strength?" Ember Yang was stunned for a moment, but deep down she knew she wasn't poisoned and could still use her power. Why was he saying this? Maybe there really was such a drug, but she was immune—after all, she wasn't human.
"Ha, so? How does it feel?" The prince smiled.
"How is it? Actually, it feels amazing." Ember Yang smiled with biting sarcasm, then suddenly unleashed a blast of Phoenix fire at the prince, catching him completely off guard and leaving him covered in wounds before he could react.
"Ah! What's going on? How are you unaffected?" the prince cried out in shock.
"Because I wasn't poisoned at all. Now let's see where you think you can run." Ember Yang had already injured the prince and grabbed him, her voice icy as she spoke.
Subdued by Ember Yang, the prince snapped, "Let me go or you'll never escape from here!"
"With you as my protective talisman, I think I can get out just fine." Ember Yang smiled.
"What are you trying to do?" The prince, sensing things were going wrong, cried out in fear.
"Nothing much, just need to borrow you for a bit. Come on, open the dungeon for me." Ember Yang smiled.
"I don't know how to open it," the prince cried out in panic.
"Don't know how to open it? Who are you trying to fool? Looks like you won't talk unless I give you some real pain." Ember Yang snorted, then spat fire straight at the prince's face.
In an instant, half of the prince's face was ruined. He cried out in pain, "I'll talk, I'll talk!"
"That one," Ember Yang said angrily.
The prince, frustrated, reached out his hand. Suddenly, a tunnel appeared before them. He said, "Just walk out through here."
Ember Yang grabbed him and said, "Move." Then she dragged him out. Outside, they were still inside the dungeon, but there were many smaller cells around.
Remembering Lynn Lin was still locked up, Ember Yang asked, "Where's my Sister Lynn?"
"Your Sister Lynn? Who's that?" The prince asked, confused.
"The one who came in with me," Ember Yang said.
"I don't know. The vice-commander arranged for you to be here," the prince replied.
Hearing this, Ember Yang frowned. "Let's go. Take me to the vice-commander."
The prince, miserable, led Ember Yang outside the dungeon. Just as the vice-commander was wondering how to deal with the woman, he saw Ember Yang holding the prince and staring at him.
"Let go of the prince, now!" The vice-commander was shocked to see the prince covered in wounds and cried out in alarm.
"Release my Sister Lynn too, and I'll let him go," Ember Yang said.
"Alright, alright, I'll release your Sister Lynn right away," the vice-commander said, then brought Lynn Lin out. When Lynn saw Ember Yang holding the prince, she was overjoyed. "Ember!"
"Sister Lynn, are you alright?" Ember Yang asked.
"I'm fine," Lynn Lin replied.
"Alright, let's swap now," the vice-commander said. Ember Yang replied, "Let Sister Lynn come over first."
"Go ahead," the vice-commander said. Seeing herself released, Lynn Lin walked step by step toward Ember Yang. Ember Yang was delighted, but Lynn suddenly sensed something was wrong—a powerful aura rushed straight at Ember Yang.
Lynn Lin was shocked and darted forward, hugging Ember Yang. "Careful!" she shouted.
A sharp sound rang out, and Lynn Lin collapsed. Ember Yang froze, and by the time she came to her senses, the prince had already broken free and escaped.
"Sister Lynn, what's wrong?" Ember Yang cried out as she saw Lynn Lin covered in blood.
"Run, it's dangerous," Lynn Lin managed to say before passing out.
Then a hidden expert stepped out of the shadows, staring at Ember Yang.
Ember Yang looked at the unconscious Lynn Lin, knowing she was badly hurt because of her. Heartbroken and furious, she shouted, "You... I'm going to kill you all!"
"You? You'd better behave yourself," the expert said.
"Damn it, I'm going to kill you all! It's all your fault Sister Lynn got hurt!" Ember Yang, consumed by rage, opened her mouth and unleashed flames. She didn't even know how much power she could use—her fire flooded the dungeon, burning people alive and causing screams everywhere. Even the expert dared not approach, terrified by the flames.
"I'm going to kill you all!" Ember Yang was still raging, not caring if she could hold out—she just wanted to burn everyone who hurt Sister Lynn.
Only when Ember Yang's flames slowly died down did she start to feel exhausted and dizzy. If someone attacked her now, she might not be able to resist.
At that moment, the vice-commander and others, having noticed the flames, rushed over. Just as they were about to surround her, the sound of a zither echoed through the air. Hearing it, Ember Yang managed a weak smile and murmured, "Sister Melody, you finally came."
"What happened to her?" Melody Wood was shocked to see Lynn Lin covered in blood.
"Sister Lynn was hurt because of me," Ember Yang sobbed.
"Don't worry, let's get out of here first," Melody Wood said. She grabbed both girls and flashed away at such speed that no one could catch up.
The vice-commander was terrified. "We're doomed! The commander isn't here, no one can match her. Damn it!"
By now, the prince was barely alive, unconscious and on the verge of death. The vice-commander was even more frustrated, hurried over to check, and found he seemed poisoned—no matter what he tried, he couldn't get rid of it.
"How could this happen? No, I have to find the commander right away," the vice-commander muttered, annoyed.
The vice-commander contacted the commander. When the commander heard what happened in the dungeon, he was shocked and rushed over. Seeing the prince lying in a heap and the dungeon empty, he roared, "How were you watching the prisoners?"
"They were rescued by that masked woman," the vice-commander replied awkwardly.
"This dungeon is specially reinforced—even that masked woman shouldn't have been able to break in! What's going on?" the commander said angrily.
The vice-commander had no choice but to explain everything. When the commander heard the prince had been taken hostage, he was both angry and helpless. He told the vice-commander, "Keep tracking them. Report to me as soon as you have news. I'll take the prince to the king—maybe only he can cure him."
The vice-commander nodded and quickly sent people to search, while the commander took the prince to the palace. Arriving at a pavilion, he called out, "Your Majesty, there's an emergency. Please wake up."
The king, who was communicating with the White Tiger Divine Beast, was annoyed by the interruption. "Didn't I tell you last time? Don't disturb me!"
"Your Majesty, the prince is afflicted with a strange fire poison. The flames can't be expelled from his body, please help—otherwise he won't survive the day," the commander said anxiously.
Hearing this, the king rushed out, startled. A middle-aged man checked the prince and frowned. "What's going on?"
The commander explained the situation.
"Damn it! Go find those people at once. Leave this to me," the king said angrily.
The commander nodded and vanished in a flash. The king picked up the prince and, with a flash, entered the pavilion. After examining the prince, he fumed, "Who could be so vicious, destroying all your meridians?"
Even if the fire poison is removed in time, the prince will have to start cultivating from scratch. The king was furious.
After his outburst, the king opened a tunnel inside the room, leading to another place. Carrying the prince, he entered and soon arrived at a cave, where a White Tiger lay.
When the White Tiger saw the king bring the prince, it frowned. "Didn't I tell you I don't like humans?"
"White Tiger, please help. This is my child, he's afflicted with fire poison, and only you can cure him," the king pleaded.
"I won't help! Your child has nothing to do with me," the White Tiger replied.
"White Tiger, please help. I don't know what kind of fire poison he's afflicted with," the king pleaded. Although he was a deity, he truly had no way to remove this fire poison.
The White Tiger was about to refuse again, but when it glanced at the strange fire, it was shocked. "How did this happen to him?"
Seeing the White Tiger finally ask about it, the king knew it would help. He quickly said, "He was hurt by a woman who used a strange fire attack."
"Let me take a look, but you must hand that woman over to me," the White Tiger said.
"No problem, White Tiger," the king replied, handing the prince over. The White Tiger told the king to leave, so he had no choice but to go. The White Tiger examined the flames inside the prince and muttered, "This flame could only belong to a divine beast. Among divine beasts, only two wield such fire: the Fire Qilin and the Fire Phoenix!"
Thinking it might be one of those divine beasts, the White Tiger was delighted. If so, it could evolve into a true divine beast, not just a descendant.
After imagining the possibilities, the White Tiger began to examine the prince's body and infused its own power into him.