Li Ming pulled away from the Black Crystal Ball as she looked at it with horrified eyes.

The words of the Valkyrie kept ringing in her ears as she felt her soul mark burning. Her skin around the mark had turn angry red and the tendril of the ivy, which was supposed to be her connection with the Second Demon Prince, was starting to bleed.

She could feel their bond weakening and once again the evil words of the Valkyrie ranged in her ears.

Li Ming did not waste any more time as she immediately started chanting a spell to return her spiritual essence to her body that was still present on the bridge.

It took her barely a minute before she was back in her own body which was trembling. Her wrist was covered in blood while her entire body was burning in a fire that was ready to consume her.

"Ming'er...!"

She heard Zhang Yong shouting her name in panic as he pulled her in his embrace. Somehow, his touch was cold against her burning skin and it provided her with much-needed comfort. The physical touch immediately made her calm down a little.

"We n-need to g-go.....we h-have....to find him!"

She succeeded in whispering out those words to the Shadow Lord who did not waste a single second as he nodded his head and picked her up in his arms.

He did not need her to spell out exactly whom she was talking about. He knew pretty well that something was wrong with the Second Demon Prince. He could feel the wrongness in the moment and he knew that the rest of his brothers would also be able to feel it.

The world around them shifted and the dark abyss took over their surroundings but it was merely for a few seconds because soon they were standing in front of the huge black obsidian gates of the Palace of the Second Demon Prince.

No-one stopped them since as far as Li Ming could see through the haze that had taken over her, there was no one present in the Palace.

There was not even a single demon present as far as one could see.

Zhang Yong did not need someone to lead the way, he knew very well where to find the Second Demon Prince.

Since he was not only connected with Li Ming through their bond but because he was also connected with Hei Long and the Supreme Immortal.

They walked through long and empty hallways, descended several staircases that led them downstairs under the ground, and entered the secret passage that eventually led them to their destination.

Finally, they stood in front of a huge door made of some kind of red and black colored metal. It was surrounded by a powerful ward that stopped anyone from entering the room where the Second Demon Prince was currently present.

"Put me down. I'm much better than before." Li Ming softly whispered in his ear and it was not until Zhang Yong was completely sure that she was not going to pass out as soon as he would place her down, he did exactly what he was told.

However, one of his hands was still safely wrapped around her waist as he kept her by his side.

"I'll handle this. Don't use your powers." He told her and Li Ming immediately nodded her head, not trying to argue or negotiate.

She was fully aware that she would need her powers after passing through the door and she needed to conserve as much of her energy as she could.

Her soul and body were still filled with pain but because of Zhang Yong's presence around her, she was no longer on the verge of collapsing.

The Shadow Lord called out his spiritual energy. His dragon spirit appeared behind him, filled with immense power that threatened to crumble the entire Palace in just a few minutes.

He moved his hand towards the door in a sharp blow and a huge beam of spiritual energy flew out of his hand, landing against the big doors that flew open immediately.

And all that their eyes could see was the black mist that was surrounding the entrance, creating a barrier to stop them from entering the room.

A sudden pain shot through her mark, making Li Ming whimper as she tried her very best to not cry out from the intense pain that had returned to torture her.

"Ming'er....."

She heard Zhang Yong calling her out but the arms that surrounded her and stopped her from falling on the cold hard floor belonged to the Moon Immortal.

His entire body was filled with an icy essence, providing comfort to her burning body. She could feel the pain increasing and with that, she felt her bond with Hei Long dying.

She knew that she needed to move, she needed to stop whatever was happening with her mate but the pain was too much for her to do anything other than crying against Lord Yueliang's chest.

She felt someone taking her injured hand in their own and immediately a cry left her lips as she felt the pain intensify but the very next second it calmed down a little as her soul recognized the person who was holding her hand - Wen Guiying.

She could hear cries in the background and from the sound of it, the Valkyrie was the one who was shrieking in agony as one of her mates battled with her.

"Take her out of here. I'll take care of everything."

Someone was saying these words, probably shouting but she was no longer in a state to recognize the voices.

Her soul was crying because it knew that they were going to lose him. The tendril that was the symbol of her connection with the Second Demon Prince had turned completely black and it was just a matter of minutes before she would lose him forever.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt her body finally giving in under the pain and suffering. She was crying because of the pain, she was crying for the loss that she was suffering.

She wanted to be with him, to save him, to touch him, to feel that he was still there but neither her body was complying nor her mouth permitted her to utter a single word to Lord Yueliang who was carrying her in his arms.

She felt another surge of pain that made an ear-piercing scream leave her lips. This time the blow was far too powerful and painful for her already weak body.

And before her consciousness dumped her in the abyss of misery and agony, she felt the link finally breaking between the two of them.

It was too late! In the end, she still failed to protect her mate.