"Why can't they stay?" She looked at the unconscious prisoners, sensing nothing unusual about them. "They're all human bombs. If pushed too far, they'll self-destruct." Yun Di lowered his eyes, as if recalling something terrifying. "I understand. I'll be careful, don't worry." Ye Lanshan had no intention of giving up the chance to interrogate them. Finally having an opportunity to find out where Xia Ri was, she naturally wouldn't let it slip. "I hope you don't get us all killed," Yun Di murmured under his breath. "Who are you? Why did you capture us?" As the prisoners slowly regained consciousness, they saw a woman of breathtaking beauty with an even more ethereal aura, but the coldness in her eyes seemed capable of freezing them solid. "Do you know them?" Ye Lanshan pointed at Qing Dai. The men were momentarily stunned, then shook their heads. They truly had never seen Qing Dai before. "Is that so?" Ye Lanshan felt a pang of disappointment. She had hoped to find clues about Xia Ri through them, but it didn't matter—as long as she could get the latest intel on that mad faction. "Then tell me, what kind of organization do you belong to?" Ye Lanshan crossed her arms over her chest, the chill in her eyes fading slightly. Though her tone was light, they could clearly hear the threat beneath it. "This... it's not that we won't tell you, but we can't. Please don't make things difficult for us. Look at you—so beautiful, with such a pure aura—please be magnanimous and let us go. We really can't say anything." The men knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically, though resentment burned in their hearts. "Can't say? I think you mean you don't dare to say. It's fine if you don't dare—I've got plenty of good things here for you to try. Maybe after a taste, you'll feel like talking." Ye Lanshan smiled, a chilling, bone-deep smile. Just as the men were about to self-destruct, Ye Lanshan slapped a immobilization talisman on each of them. Now, even if they wanted to blow themselves up, they couldn't. With only their mouths able to move and everything else frozen, they had no choice but to submit to Ye Lanshan's interrogation. "We really can't say anything." The men were on the verge of tears. Weren't they just following orders to steal the Five Mystic Fruit and Twin Fruit, and grab a few talented individuals while they were at it? How did they end up in this mess? Not only did they fail to get the fruit, but they were captured too. Wait... why did this place look so familiar? After racking their brains for a while, it suddenly hit them—wasn't this where the phoenix once roosted? But the phoenix had already been contracted. Could this woman be its master? Was she capturing them to ask about the phoenix's whereabouts? "Are you the phoenix's master?" "Yes, that's right. So you do know where the phoenix is." Ye Lanshan looked at them with a half-smile, waiting for them to confess and earn leniency. Upon hearing her answer, a blazing intensity lit up their eyes. They stared at her as if she were a priceless treasure. "Truly, we searched high and low but found nothing, yet here you are without any effort. We've been looking for you." The men began to struggle violently, and soon the immobilization talismans lost their effect. How was this possible? Their strength shouldn't have been enough to break free from the talismans so quickly. "No, this is a trap. Stealing the fruit was a ruse—finding you was the real goal." Ling Chu Nian's eyes widened as realization struck. She shoved Ye Lanshan away, only to be captured herself as bugs slowly crawled across her face. "Swish." Ye Lanshan pulled out her Devourer blade, its malevolent aura slicing the bugs in half. But instead of dying, each bug split into two. "Fireball." When the Red Lotus Flame appeared, nothing could rival it. Even the prisoners were forced to let go. The fireball grazed Ling Chu Nian's cheek, instantly incinerating the bugs into ash, but it also accidentally burned her face. Still, that wasn't Ye Lanshan's fault. The Red Lotus Flame was an overwhelmingly霸道 flame, difficult to control, especially when trying to eliminate bugs clinging to skin. Fortunately, the burn wasn't severe. Ye Lanshan pulled out a highly modern-looking box containing Jade Skin Burn Ointment, originally used to treat injuries from Samadhi True Fire. It was perfect for healing burns caused by the Red Lotus Flame. "You want to hurt her?" Ye Yu Tian instantly grabbed one man by the neck and twisted with a single, sharp crack. The man's head drooped limply. If Ling Chu Nian hadn't pushed Ye Lanshan away, and those bugs had been thrown onto her face, Ye Yu Tian couldn't guarantee his rage wouldn't level the place. "Since you won't say anything, then die." This time, even Ye Lanshan was furious. If they wanted death, she'd grant it. With a swift motion of her blade, several figures crumpled to the ground. But from their bodies surged countless bugs, identical to the ones that had been on Ling Chu Nian's face. Ye Lanshan unleashed a massive wave of Red Lotus Flame, burning for nearly half an hour before the bugs were completely eradicated. What kind of species was this? How could it parasitize human bodies? It seemed that mad faction was not to be underestimated. Ye Lanshan fell silent. If even these minor pawns harbored such terrifying creatures within them, what about the core members? If that was the case, Xia Ri might have already fallen victim. "I should have realized it sooner. Yes, I should have." Ling Chu Nian's face twisted into a pale smile, despair flickering in her eyes. Ye Lanshan turned to look at the gruesome wound on her face and, ignoring her struggles, forcefully applied the ointment. "Ye Lanshan, leave now. Forget about all this." Ling Chu Nian's gaze hardened. This was her mistake, and she had to bear the consequences. "I've already decided to go up against this faction. I'm not backing out." From Ling Chu Nian's expression, Ye Lanshan seemed to guess something, but so what? This was aimed at her from the start. If they dared to touch her people, they'd better be ready to face her wrath. Ling Chu Nian's face turned pale as she spoke slowly, "Since that's the case, I won't hide it from you anymore. They plan to fuse the phoenix and its contractor into a stronger creature..." "So what?" Ye Lanshan wasn't afraid. She had already anticipated the worst-case scenario from provoking these madmen and had a countermeasure ready in her mind. "If you don't leave now, they might use the phoenix to control you." Ling Chu Nian laughed bitterly, knowing she could never defeat those madmen. Why drag the clan leader down with her? The Ling Clan still needed her to revive it. "No one can control me. When it comes to playing mind games, we'll see who outwits whom." Playing tricks with her? Hah, let's see who comes out on top. "You can't escape. No one can. Once you've fallen into this trap, the outcome is already sealed." Qing Dai smiled eerily, her pupils turning white, a sight both chilling and unsettling.