46: Chapter 46 Taking advantage of someone's misfortune

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

After five days, the two of them had recovered to their peak state and had adapted to living in the Poison Refining Sect.

During these five days, Ning Yuan planted Demon Seeds in all the remaining Golden Core Cultivators of the Poison Refining Sect.

With this, the Poison Refining Sect fell completely under Ning Yuan's control.

On the surface, the Poison Refining Old Ancestor remained the Sect Leader, but in the shadows, Ning Yuan was the one in charge.

Furthermore, Ning Yuan maintained his identity as a Disciple of the Poison Refining Old Ancestor, while Nangong Xi acted as an Elder on the surface.

During this time, Tang Qian, who had been in a coma, finally regained consciousness, though she still needed time to recuperate.

One day, in a room within the main hall.

"How is Elder Tang's recovery progressing?"

Ning Yuan asked as he sat across from Nangong Xi at a table; she seemed somewhat distracted at the moment.

Startled by his voice, Nangong Xi looked up at Ning Yuan and asked, "Ah! What did you just say?"

Ning Yuan shook his head helplessly, unsure of what she was thinking about so intently, and asked again:

"I asked how Elder Tang's body is doing. If you need any help, I have many Medicinal Pills here. Just say the word; there's no need to be polite with me!"

Upon hearing this, a look of sorrow appeared on Nangong Xi's face, and her spirit visibly sagged.

Seeing this, Ning Yuan frowned slightly. Hadn't Elder Tang woken up? Why did she look like that? He asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? Elder Tang has woken up; shouldn't that be a cause for celebration?"

After a moment of silence, Nangong Xi's emotions became uncontrollable. Her eyes reddened, and she spoke with a sob:

"Aunt Tang... her Foundation is damaged. Not only will she lose all her cultivation, but also..."

Ning Yuan was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected Elder Tang's condition to be so severe—not just losing her cultivation, but potentially being unable to even keep her life.

Suddenly, Ning Yuan thought of Bei Liyue. If Elder Tang was in such a state, then wouldn't she... but after thinking for a moment, Ning Yuan felt relieved. Bei Liyue was the Young Miss of the Tianbao Pavilion; with her noble status, she naturally wouldn't suffer such a tragic fate as Elder Tang.

With the strength of the Tianbao Pavilion, obtaining some rare Heaven And Earth Treasures would be effortless.

Therefore, there was no need to worry about Bei Liyue's situation at all, but as for Elder Tang... At that moment, Mu Qingyao's voice rang out, filled with self-blame and guilt:

"I'm sorry! This was all caused by my father! I... I..."

Mu Qingyao felt extremely distressed. Having lost family members herself, she naturally empathized with Nangong Xi.

But even she didn't know how to make amends; after all, her father could no longer compensate them, and her current situation made it impossible for her to do anything.

Seeing Nangong Xi's state now, her heart was in turmoil, and she couldn't even bring herself to offer words of comfort.

It would have been better if Mu Qingyao hadn't spoken; her words caused Nangong Xi to completely break down. All her emotions erupted, and tears fell like broken strings of pearls.

Sob sob sob!

She covered her cheeks with her hands, her shoulders trembling as she tried her best to suppress her cries, but how could she hold it in?

Looking at the heartbroken Nangong Xi, Ning Yuan couldn't help but stand up, go to her side, and pull her into his embrace.

As if she had found someone to lean on, Nangong Xi hugged Ning Yuan tightly, buried her face in his chest, and wailed loudly:

"What should I do? What should I do?"

"It's alright, I'll find a way!"

"What way could you have? You're just trying to comfort me!"

"Trust me! I will definitely find a way!"

Tears kept falling from Nangong Xi's face as she cried heart-wrenchingly, her tears flowing like rain.

Ning Yuan's eyes also reddened. Perhaps when he died in his previous life, his parents had been the same way.

Mu Qingyao also bit her lip hard, trying not to make a sound, but her own tears wouldn't stop falling.

After crying for a while, Nangong Xi gradually stopped. She said in a raspy voice, "Alright, I'm okay now. You don't have to hold me so tightly!"

"Are you sure you're okay? If you need it, we can stay like this a bit longer!" Ning Yuan said with a smile.

"Haven't you taken enough advantage of me yet?" Nangong Xi quickly broke free from Ning Yuan's embrace and snapped at him.

Nangong Xi's face was slightly flushed, with faint tear stains still visible. Her pitiful appearance made one's heart ache with a desire to protect her.

"Don't move!"

He reached out toward her. Seeing this, Nangong Xi couldn't help but shy away slightly, and Ning Yuan quickly spoke up.

Nangong Xi froze. Ning Yuan stroked her jade-like face, wiping away the tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, and whispered:

"Don't cry anymore! I'll find a way together with you!"

"Mm."

Looking at the face so close to hers and the intimate gesture, Nangong Xi quickly grabbed Ning Yuan's hand, moved it away from her face, and lowered her head as she responded.

Ning Yuan looked at her with burning eyes. Looking at the jade-like face before him, a stir of emotion rose in his heart, his breathing became slightly unsteady, and he couldn't help but slowly lean toward her.

Nangong Xi seemed to realize what he was about to do. She quickly drew back and pressed her hand against Ning Yuan's chest, her eyes filled with wariness:

"What are you doing?"

"Uh... I saw your hair was messy, I was helping you tidy it!"

Seeing this, Ning Yuan snapped back to his senses and quickly spoke, even pretending to reach out and smooth her hair to prove he wasn't lying.

"Hmph! I'll take your word for it!"

After saying that, Nangong Xi quickly stood up and walked out, though her cheeks seemed redder than before, like a ripe apple.

She knew perfectly well whether Ning Yuan was telling the truth or not, which was why she didn't dare stay any longer; she couldn't even imagine what might have happened next.

Watching Nangong Xi's retreating back, Ning Yuan couldn't help but feel a bit of regret. He was just that close... hmm!

She wasn't angry, so there was still a chance!

Ning Yuan felt a secret joy in his heart. Perhaps next time... "Hmph! Ning Yuan, I misjudged you. I didn't expect you to take advantage of someone's vulnerability!" Mu Qingyao scolded him mercilessly; she had seen exactly what had just happened.

"Don't talk nonsense, I did no such thing!" Ning Yuan naturally wouldn't admit it and retorted.

"I saw it clearly, you did!"

"Which eye saw it?"

"Both of my eyes saw it!"

"You need to show evidence, otherwise you're just talking nonsense!"

"You..."

"Alright, stop talking. I'm going to Cultivate now; I don't have time to listen to your nonsense!"

"I..."

Mu Qingyao nearly ground her silver teeth to pieces as she cursed Ning Yuan. She hadn't expected Ning Yuan to be so shameless, lying through his teeth.

But now she could only offer a few words of condemnation; she could do nothing to him, leaving her frustrated enough to spit blood.

Meanwhile, Ning Yuan sat cross-legged on a Prayer Mat, ignoring her insults and focusing on circulating his Cultivation Technique to Cultivate.

As time passed, Mu Qingyao stopped her cursing, likely because she was tired or realized it was pointless since Ning Yuan wasn't reacting.

Just then, a voice filled with panic and terror came from afar.

"Ning Yuan, save me!"