Subjugation!

Ning Chen did not even glance at the dying Snake King.

His primary target had always been the Nether Poison Fire!

Strike while the iron is hot!

Without the slightest pause, Ning Chen flipped his palm once more.

A strange jade slip, crystal clear and seemingly sealing a wisp of flickering silver flame within, appeared between his fingers.

[Soul Ascension Experience Card (One Minute)]!

This item could significantly boost the user's soul power and sensory precision for a short period!

This was the true trump card Ning Chen had prepared!

To subdue an Exotic Flame in a short time, the simplest, most direct, and effective method was a direct soul attack to conquer its origin!

"Crack!"

The jade slip was crushed.

A cool yet majestic formless power instantly surged into the center of Ning Chen's brow, into his sea of consciousness.

His soul power climbed crazily in an instant, and the world in his vision seemed to become clearer; the trajectories of energy flow, and even the subtle fluctuations of the origin at the core of the Nether Poison Fire, were faintly reflected in his mind.

"Now is the time!"

A silver glint flashed in Ning Chen's eyes, and his massive soul power condensed into a needle that was nearly invisible and intangible, yet incredibly tough.

Taking advantage of the perfect moment when the Nether Poison Fire had just been injured and its aura was unstable, the needle crossed space with lightning speed, fiercely piercing toward the core origin flame of that dark green fire!

"Sss--!"

As if cold water had been dripped into boiling oil, the origin of the Nether Poison Fire shook violently, emitting a sharp, soul-piercing resistance and an angry hiss!

It instinctively mobilized all its power, the dark green flames burning wildly in an attempt to resist and dissolve the intrusion of this foreign soul power.

However, Ning Chen was far too well-prepared!

The Wu Wu Kai System was responsible for defense, the [Heavenly Net Spirit-Restricting Array] prevented escape, and the Dou Qi of a seven-star Dou Huang provided a powerful assault.

And at this moment, this soul shock, which far exceeded the current strength of its intelligence and precisely seized its most vulnerable moment, became the final straw that broke the camel's back!

The soul needle advanced like a hot knife through butter, forcibly breaking through the layers of defense the Nether Poison Fire had instinctively constructed, and finally pierced with absolute precision into that flickering dark green origin!

"Imprint, condense!"

Ning Chen whispered in his heart, concentrating all his spirit to carve a soul imprint that belonged solely to him at the core of the origin.

"Hum..."

The struggle and resistance of the Nether Poison Fire came to an abrupt halt, and the dark green flame suddenly froze.

Immediately, like a docile pet, it slowly retracted all its violent and poisonous aura.

It hovered quietly in mid-air, with only a tiny, imperceptible silver glint flickering at the heart of the flame—the light of the soul imprint.

Success!

Ning Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling the clear and close soul connection established with the dark green flame, and a smile of relief finally appeared on the corners of his mouth.

Nether Poison Fire, subdued!

"Although it only ranks twentieth on the Exotic Flame Ranking, it is still a wonder nurtured by heaven and earth, a true Exotic Flame."

Ning Chen looked at the dark green flame that had flown into his palm of its own accord, jumping lightly like a well-behaved sprite, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

After admiring and playing with it for a moment, he took out a specially prepared cold jade bottle and carefully sealed the Nether Poison Fire, which had retracted most of its power, inside.

Only then did Ning Chen turn his gaze toward the two dead and one injured Black Scale Snake Kings by the black pool below.

Three Tier 6 Magic Beasts equivalent to five-star Dou Huangs would be enough to dominate a region and establish a sect in this Northwest Continent, yet they had ended up in such a miserable state, which could not help but make one sigh.

The law of the jungle, nothing more than this.

"Since you are already dead, let your remains serve one last purpose."

Ning Chen took out a sharp, custom-made short blade, and as his figure flickered, he began to dissect them skillfully.

Scales, magic cores, essence blood, poison glands, snake gall... all valuable materials were categorized by him and stored in his storage ring one by one.

A Tier 6 Magic Beast was a treasure from head to toe, especially such a rare poison-attribute king beast; the value of its materials was immense.

After processing the two snake corpses, Ning Chen carried the short blade and walked toward the Black Scale Snake King that was lying in the mud, hanging on by a single breath with unfocused snake eyes.

The blade's edge glinted coldly, and just as he was about to end its life, Ning Chen's heart suddenly stirred, and his movements stopped.

Wait... a living, critically injured Tier 6 Magic Beast... and the point is, it's a snake-type Magic Beast...

A thought flashed through his mind.

He remembered that there seemed to be something in the system store...

A moment later, Ning Chen put away the short blade and instead took out a healing pill that emitted a faint fragrance, flicking it into the ferocious mouth of the Black Scale Snake King, barely sustaining its final, fading vitality.

Immediately after, he quickly opened the system store and spent a sum of surprise points to redeem a one-time binding item called [Beast Restriction Ring].

It was a collar-like object with a dark gold metallic luster, its surface engraved with complex sealing runes.

Ning Chen activated it, and the dark gold collar flew out automatically, precisely locking onto the thick neck of the Black Scale Snake King.

A flash of runic light tightened the collar before it vanished into the skin.

The massive body of the Black Scale Snake King shuddered slightly, then went completely limp; its vitality was firmly locked away, plunging it into a deep, seal-induced state akin to suspended animation.

With a wave of his hand, Ning Chen stored it into a high-grade storage bag designed for living creatures, then spread his wings and flew back.

Several miles away, in a hidden spot shrouded by thick, poisonous miasma.

Little Fairy Doctor gripped the protective jade slip Ning Chen had given her, looking anxiously toward the direction where the terrifying energy explosions and roars had originated.

The earth-shattering commotion had long since subsided, yet Ning Chen had yet to return.

As time ticked by, her heart tightened with every passing second.

Could something have happened to him? Even though he was strong, he was facing Heavenly Flame and several Dou Huang Magic Beasts after all...

All sorts of grim thoughts churned in her mind.

Little Fairy Doctor bit her lip, a flash of resolve in her eyes, and was just about to risk activating the Wind Riding Boat to investigate when—

A slightly staggering figure flew out from the miasma, swaying unsteadily. It was Ning Chen!

However, his face was pale as paper, his aura was erratic, and his clothes were torn in many places. He looked utterly disheveled, as if he might plummet from the sky at any moment.

"Ning Chen!"

Little Fairy Doctor's face turned deathly pale. She cried out, no longer caring about anything else, and immediately activated the Wind Riding Boat's shield, flying out to catch the "weakened" Ning Chen in her arms.

She scrambled to help him land inside the boat, letting him lean against her. Her cold little hands fumbled over him in a panic, her voice thick with tears, "Where are you hurt? Is it serious? Pills... right, where are the pills..."

Little Fairy Doctor was so flustered she lost her composure, focused entirely on searching for the wounds she imagined he had, completely failing to notice that Ning Chen, leaning against her shoulder, had a faint, mischievous smirk curling the corner of his "pale" lips.

"Mm... it seems quite serious, I might need a thorough examination..."

Ning Chen deliberately spoke in a thread-thin voice, even coughing "weakly" twice.

Little Fairy Doctor grew even more anxious at these words. She looked up, eyes brimming with tears, about to say something, when she met Ning Chen's bright, playful eyes. Where was there any sign of weakness?

"You... you lied to me?!"

Little Fairy Doctor was stunned for a moment before the realization hit. In an instant, her worry turned into embarrassed anger, and her fair cheeks flushed a visible shade of red, the heat spreading all the way to her ears.

She shoved Ning Chen away, glaring at him with a mix of shame and fury, "Do you have any idea how worried I was just now! You... you jerk!"

Watching her look of mixed anger and embarrassment, her eyes still red-rimmed yet remarkably vivid, Ning Chen couldn't help but burst into laughter, the tension from the previous battle instantly swept away.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I'm fine, I didn't get hurt at all."

After laughing, he said seriously, "I got it. The Nether Poison Fire has been successfully subdued."

Upon hearing this, the anger in Little Fairy Doctor's heart was instantly replaced by immense surprise and disbelief, "Really?! You... you really subdued the Heavenly Flame?"

Although she had been mentally prepared, hearing the confirmation with her own ears was still a massive shock.

"Just luck."

Ning Chen nodded and briefly recounted the process, omitting details about the system and only mentioning that he had succeeded through arrays, soul techniques, and a few hidden trump cards.

"This is no place to linger. The commotion earlier was too great and might attract other trouble. Let's leave the Nether Swamp first and find a safe place to rest."

Ning Chen said solemnly, taking her hand to return to the Wind Riding Boat, "We will likely have to stay in the Chu Yun Empire for a while. You need to systematically study the poison arts here to better control and utilize your constitution, and to prepare for refining the Nether Poison Fire in the future."

Little Fairy Doctor suppressed the waves of emotion in her heart and nodded earnestly.

For her, having the opportunity to systematically study poison arts was undoubtedly the best way to master the Woeful Poison Body and increase her strength.