66: Chapter 66 Cao Kun, he must be ours!

After Xie Wuwang left,

Nangong Wan finally snapped back from the overwhelming pressure she had felt just moments ago.

The scorching heat radiating from her waist...

...easily penetrated the thin Disciple's robes, making her heart flutter with a burning sensation.

"Junior Brother Cao," Nangong Wan murmured, her voice trembling violently.

"Peak Master Xie... is he dissatisfied with me in some way?"

Cao Kun withdrew his gaze and looked down at the curvaceous, mature body in his arms, letting out a cold sneer.

"Dissatisfied? How could he be dissatisfied with you? He's more than satisfied—he's practically salivating over you."

"He'd love nothing more than to take you back to Yunyu Peak right now, lock you in a secret room, and 'instruct' you twenty-four hours a day without pause."

Cao Kun emphasized the word 'instruct' with deliberate weight.

But he didn't elaborate on the Samsara Holy Body.

It was too rare; mentioning it would only increase her psychological burden.

A few words of warning were enough to keep her on guard.

"Senior Sister Nangong, you've spent over a decade in the Outer Sect's Scripture Pavilion. You must have seen plenty of the Sect's dark and dirty secrets in those records."

"Xie Wuwang has been stuck at the Early Nascent Soul Stage for centuries. His bones are decaying, and his Qi and blood are drying up. With normal cultivation, he's reached his limit for this lifetime."

Nangong Wan was stunned.

Xie Wuwang's earlier eagerness, combined with Cao Kun's warning...

...caused a fine layer of cold sweat to break out on her back.

"He... he wants to use me as a Cauldron?"

"Then... should I still go to Yunyu Peak?"

Nangong Wan was completely at a loss.

Xie Wuwang was, after all, a Peak Master, and she was already his Personal Disciple in name.

"Go, of course. Why wouldn't you?" Cao Kun raised an eyebrow.

"A high-grade Immortal Cave delivered to your doorstep and free cultivation resources—it would be a waste not to take them."

"But..." Nangong Wan's heart tightened. "What if he tries to force..."

"Don't worry. You've just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and your Realm is still unstable."

"That old dog shouldn't move against you in the short term."

Though he said that, Cao Kun wouldn't leave the initiative in the hands of an enemy.

Nangong Wan's current cultivation was too low; she needed an absolute means of survival.

With a thought, Cao Kun's consciousness sank into the System.

[Host's current task points balance: 16,100]

Searching for space-type life-saving items.

A long list of glittering gold items appeared.

Cao Kun's gaze quickly locked onto one of them.

[Special Grade Space Shift Talisman: Price 2,000 task points.]

[Can bypass any Formation blockade.]

[Automatically triggers when the holder is in danger, instantly teleporting them within a one-meter radius of the host.]

[Note: Single-use consumable.]

Seeing the price, the corner of Cao Kun's mouth twitched.

The damn System is a total ripoff; two thousand points for a single-use Talisman.

Complaints aside, Cao Kun didn't hesitate for a second.

task points were meant to be spent.

Compared to Nangong Wan's safety, this investment was nothing!

[Ding! 2,000 task points consumed. Exchange successful.]

[Remaining task points: 14,100.]

With a flick of his wrist, a dark gold Talisman appeared in Cao Kun's palm.

The material of the Talisman seemed ordinary, but it was engraved with multiple precise, miniature Formation patterns.

The spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from it even caused the air between them to distort slightly.

Although Nangong Wan's cultivation wasn't high, her experience from over a decade in the Scripture Pavilion was extraordinary.

She was already intimately familiar with all kinds of Talisman records.

With just a glance, she could tell that the grade of this item was terrifyingly high.

It was at least a top-grade space-type Talisman of the fifth grade or higher!

Furthermore, the flow of the Formation patterns was extremely strange, a unique style she had never seen in any ancient texts.

"Take this."

Cao Kun shoved the dark gold Talisman directly into Nangong Wan's hand.

"This is a Special Grade Space Shift Talisman."

"You don't need to use your spiritual energy to activate it; it will trigger automatically if you're in danger."

"Even if Xie Wuwang completely seals off the space of Yunyu Peak, this Talisman can instantly teleport you directly to my side."

Nangong Wan looked down at the dark gold Talisman in her palm, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

She had wasted twenty years in the Outer Sect, with a damaged Divine Soul and a haggard appearance.

Everyone looked at her with either pity or disgust; she didn't even have a single close friend to talk to.

Except for the man before her.

When he was at his lowest, she had only given him a few bags of worthless tonic herbs and offered a few words of comfort.

But what about him?

First, he unhesitatingly produced a grade 5 spirit concentrating pill, healing her twenty-year-old injuries and helping her break through to Foundation Establishment.

Now, for her sake, he had publicly defied and even threatened a Nascent Soul powerhouse.

He had even arranged such a foolproof escape route for her after sensing danger.

Nangong Wan pressed the Talisman tightly against her chest and nodded vigorously, her voice choked with emotion.

"I'll remember."

Having settled the safety issue, Cao Kun turned his head toward the few people peeking in from outside the hall.

"Get in here, all of you."

Manager Zhang shuddered and quickly led the other four managers as they scrambled into the hall, lining up neatly.

Cao Kun pointed to Nangong Wan beside him.

"From today onward, Senior Sister Nangong is the Head Manager of the Alchemy Pavilion."

"Accounts, Spiritual Plant inventory, personnel assignments, and even the hiring or firing of Outer Sect laborers—everything is to be reported to her."

Cao Kun's gaze swept over the five of them, his voice turning cold.

"If anyone dares to feign compliance while secretly defying her, or plays any tricks with the ledgers..."

He paused and pointed to the pool of blood Fatty Li had spat out earlier.

"...that fat guy just now will be your fate. Do I make myself clear?"

Manager Zhang, drenched in cold sweat, fell to his knees and led the shout, "Understood! We shall follow Elder Cao's orders! We will follow Manager Nangong's every command!"

The other four also hurriedly knelt to pledge their allegiance, fearing that being a second late would result in Cao Kun slapping them into meat paste.

Cao Kun withdrew his gaze and looked at Nangong Wan.

"Senior Sister, I'm leaving this mess of accounts in the Alchemy Pavilion to you."

"You've managed records in the Scripture Pavilion, so you're more familiar with inventory and audits than I am."

"Settle what needs to be settled, and replace whoever needs replacing. If there are any troublemakers, just give me their names, and I'll handle them."

"Rest assured, leave it to me."

Nangong Wan set aside her earlier weakness and helplessness, nodding slightly.

She knew Cao Kun was establishing authority for her.

After finishing his instructions...

...Cao Kun dusted himself off and prepared to leave.

He had emptied the Grade A Core Warehouse; all that remained was tedious inventory work.

His heart was itching right now, thinking about heading over to Baihua Peak immediately.

To find his little maid, Liu Rumeng, and relax a bit.

Thinking about her frustrated expression—wanting to kill him but unable to control her own body...

...Cao Kun felt in high spirits.

Standing in the center of the Main Hall, Nangong Wan watched Cao Kun's departing figure and opened her mouth.

She seemed to want to call him back to say a few more words, but she didn't know from what position she should speak.

Ultimately, she could only sigh helplessly and swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Just then...

...deep within Nangong Wan's consciousness, a voice rang out without warning.

The voice sounded exactly like her own, but it lacked any of her usual gentleness.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch him leave like that?"

Nangong Wan was slightly taken aback.

This voice was not unfamiliar to her.

Over the past twenty years, whenever her Divine Soul's pain became unbearable, or when her mood hit rock bottom and her will was at its weakest...

...this voice would occasionally emerge.

She had originally thought that after taking the grade 5 spirit concentrating pill and fully healing her Divine Soul's trauma, this hallucination would disappear.

To her surprise, not only did it not vanish, but it had become countless times clearer than before.

It was as if it had fully awakened, speaking directly beside her.

"You... don't talk nonsense. Junior Brother Cao has important matters to attend to," Nangong Wan retorted softly in her mind.

"Important matters?"

The voice let out a wanton sneer in her Sea of Consciousness, cutting her off directly.

"What matter could be more important than you?"

"With that weak, grateful, and spineless look of yours, who could you possibly keep by your side?"

"Can a man's heart be filled with gratitude?"

Nangong Wan clenched her fists in her mind:

"Junior Brother Cao has shown me immense kindness. As long as I can help him manage the Alchemy Pavilion and watch him from a distance, I'll be satisfied. I shouldn't have any improper thoughts—"

"Fool!"

The voice cursed coldly.

"Kindness is kindness, and a man is a man. Do you think that by hiding in the background as a supportive assistant, he'll spare you an extra glance?"

"For someone as domineering and outstanding as him, do you think he'll lack beautiful confidantes by his side?"

"That Late Golden Core Stage Elder from Lianxiang Peak, and that girl with the Top-grade Ice Spirit Body—aren't they all revolving around him all day long?"

"What makes you think you're any different from them?"

Nangong Wan's face turned pale and then flushed at these words; her rebuttal was stuck in her throat, unable to be voiced.

She indeed had no way to refute it.

Compared to Yu Linglong and Leng Qingyue, her background as an Outer Sect manager made her cultivation and status seem utterly insignificant.

"Nangong Wan, wake up."

"Men are like that; if you don't take the initiative to bite and hold on, he'll eventually treat you like a roadside weed. He'll never move you into a flowerpot to care for you meticulously."

"He is ours. Don't let him leave!"

As those spell-like words fell...

...a captivating, eerie light suddenly flashed in Nangong Wan's originally clear and gentle eyes.

Immediately afterward, her entire temperament underwent a world-shaking transformation.

Her delicate and gentle face remained the same.

But the slight lift of her chin and the indelible trace of seductiveness and flamboyance between her brows...

...made it seem as if her entire Soul had been replaced.

By now, Cao Kun's figure was about to step through the final archway of the Alchemy Pavilion's courtyard.

"Junior Brother Cao, wait!"

Nangong Wan called out to him.

The voice was still hers.

But the tone was completely devoid of its former politeness, restraint, and weakness.

Cao Kun frowned slightly, stopped in his tracks, and turned around suspiciously.

In the center of the hall...

...Nangong Wan stood with one hand on her hip, staring at him with a faint, inscrutable smile.

Somehow, Cao Kun felt that the person standing there now...

...was no longer the gentle and elegant Senior Sister Nangong.

Nangong Wan