Turning back, he saw Ning Ruxue collapsed on the ground, clutching her bare, delicate jade feet, trembling violently, while a crimson thread snake was already coiling and slithering toward the nearby grass.

At the sight, Ye Wen instantly understood the situation; after all, he himself had suffered from this creature’s bite and knew this hidden valley was the snake's lair. Given the presence of the giant serpent, eradication was impossible in a short time, so he had always been cautious whenever they visited. Later, when Ning Ruxue and Xu Xian’s cultivation advanced, he had warned both of them.

Since then, whenever they encountered this type of snake, the unlucky ones were never them; instead, these creatures, which Ye Wen considered highly nourishing, were always skinned, tendon-pulled, and had their gall bladders extracted—dying as tragically as possible.

This time, eight times out of ten, Ning Ruxue had been caught off guard due to a moment of panic. Ye Wen moved with incredible speed, drawing a copper coin from his robe almost instantly. Channeling his Zixia Gong, he struck directly at the snake’s head.

With Zixia Gong fully mobilized, the force of Ye Wen’s throw was immeasurably enhanced. The copper coin, thrown using the Qiankun Yizhi technique, was as swift as lightning. In the blink of an eye, the snake’s head was shattered, rendering it irrevocably dead.

However, Ye Wen had no time to concern himself with the snake now. He immediately rushed to Ning Ruxue’s side to check her injury, commanding while his eyes constantly scanned the area as if searching for something: “Immediately circulate your inner energy to protect your vital organs!”

Soon, Ye Wen found what he was looking for near a clump of grass: the Little Cold Fruit, which could counteract the snake venom. Having consumed it many times, Ye Wen had a good grasp of its effects. He immediately stuffed it into Ning Ruxue’s mouth, instructing, “Bite it and hold it under your tongue, don’t swallow it.”

Besides containing cold energy to dispel heat, the greatest benefit of the Little Cold Fruit was its ability to preserve a clear line of spiritual awareness in the mind, preventing the fire poison from damaging the brain, allowing the poisoned person to think normally and avoid succumbing to madness and accelerating death.

Having done all this, Ye Wen looked at Ning Ruxue, now held in his embrace. His junior sister was gazing at him with wide eyes, seemingly wanting to speak but unable to utter a sound.

Seeing this, Ye Wen’s heart clenched, and he inwardly cursed, Not good. He had experienced the power of that snake venom himself; if he hadn't happened to take a Little Cold Fruit at that moment, he might have died instantly. Ning Ruxue this time was not as fortunate as he was; her emergency measures and reaction speed had been slightly slower. The current situation clearly indicated the poison had already spread.

He gently moved the hand Ning Ruxue had placed on her foot. That small foot, normally like white jade, was now blackened, especially where the snake had bitten, which was pitch black and faintly tinged with scarlet, appearing eerily uncanny. Furthermore, the bite site was severely swollen. Ye Wen realized the gravity of the situation with just one glance.

“Circulate your mind technique to guard your heart and lungs; I will channel my power to help expel the poison.”

At this moment, perhaps due to the Little Cold Fruit taking some effect, Ning Ruxue suddenly managed to speak, though her voice was faint and unclear. If Ye Wen hadn't been close, he probably wouldn't have understood a word.

“Senior… Brother, I was just out of the Cold Pool when I was bitten. My inner energy went into chaos from the shock, and the cold energy took the opportunity to enter my body. Now I can’t circulate my internal arts…” She only said this much before stopping. She trusted that these words conveyed just how dire the situation was.

Simply put, Ning Ruxue had been in the Cold Pool, using her internal arts to resist the intense cold. When she left the water, the pervasive chill had not yet fully dissipated, so her cultivation remained active. However, she was preparing to cease her power circulation when the crimson snake ambushed her. In her fright, her internal energy went astray, allowing not only the fire poison to invade but also the lingering cold energy to stream into Ning Ruxue’s meridians.

Although fire poison and cold energy counteract each other, both are strictly fatal toxins to the human body. While using these substances for cultivation allowed for rapid progress, it carried immense danger; a momentary lapse could result in severe internal injury at best, and at worst, allow the toxins to saturate the body beyond any hope of remedy.

The moment Ye Wen understood the situation, his head began to pound. Yet, this was no time for prolonged deliberation. He immediately channeled his Zixia Divine Skill, prioritizing the protection of Ning Ruxue’s vital organs. As for the meridians, he could only address those gradually.

It could be said that Ning Ruxue was not fated to die. She encountered this disaster only after Ye Wen had achieved a breakthrough in his Zixia Gong. Had this happened a few months earlier, when his Zixia Gong was incomplete or nonexistent, he could only have watched helplessly as his junior sister endured the agony of heat and cold, fading away before his very eyes.

Now, with his accomplishments in the Zixia Gong, Ye Wen relied on the miraculous nature of his profound skill to shield Ning Ruxue’s heart, lungs, and major channels, preventing the fire poison from attacking her heart and causing immediate death.

Simultaneously, he channeled the true essence of his divine skill, slowly eroding the cold energy within the major channels, either expelling it from the body or trapping it to confront the aggressively advancing fire poison from the crimson snake.

To ensure Ning Ruxue’s safety to the greatest extent, Ye Wen expended his deepest reserves. He even mobilized those few wisps of authentic Zixia True Qi that he had never used since achieving mastery. Carefully, he first divided them into smaller strands to protect Ning Ruxue’s internal organs, then used the last remaining wisp of Zixia True Qi to slowly clear the invading cold energy in circles. All the rest of his true energy was poured into obstructing the advance of the fire poison.

Under this full exertion, Ye Wen, by the edge of the Cold Pool, was wreathed in an aura. Not only had his complexion turned purple, but his hands, strained to their limit, had also become purple. The aura surrounding his body, reflecting his internal state, seemed to take on a faint violet hue. From a distance, enveloped in purple energy as if shielded by purple mist clouds, he was truly worthy of the name Zixia Gong.

Lying in Ye Wen’s arms, Ning Ruxue saw the surrounding purple energy and initially thought she had died and this was an extraordinary phenomenon witnessed after death. However, after some time, she felt her body gradually warming up, and the chaotic surging of her internal energy had ceased. Aside from the bitten leg, sensation was slowly returning to the rest of her body.

This situation made her realize she was still alive, and the purple light encircling her was no celestial vision reserved for the deceased. Turning her head slightly, she saw Ye Wen’s face, utterly purple from exertion, etched with anxiety, his forehead beaded with sweat like falling rain. The surging energy flowing from his hands, pressed tightly against her back and lower abdomen, finally brought her senses back.

“Senior Brother saved me?”

In her previous state—internal energy in disarray, cold attacking the heart, and fire poison invading the body—she was certain of death. She never imagined there was a possibility of survival! She had been dragged back from the gates of hell by her Senior Brother. A chaotic torrent of thoughts flooded her mind; she didn't know what she was thinking.

Ye Wen was unaware that Ning Ruxue had regained some clarity. At this moment, he was frantically dealing with the dreadful condition within her body, nearly all his internal power dedicated to her. He ceaselessly circulated the Zixia Gong, desperately trying to squeeze out more internal force from within himself—the fire poison that struck Ning Ruxue was far more virulent than what he had suffered, and its rate of invasion in her body was incomparable to his own experience.

After all, he had only been bitten once, and the poison might not have been fully injected before he pulled her away. Ning Ruxue, however, had clearly received a solid bite, meaning the entire dose of venom had entered her system, hence its brutal strength.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Ning Ruxue felt her body gradually regaining mobility. The cold energy within her was mostly gone, and with the Little Cold Fruit in her mouth keeping her mind clear, she could see everything perfectly. Had she not initially believed herself doomed, she wouldn't have mistaken Ye Wen’s exertion-induced state for post-mortem visions.

But being too clear-headed was not entirely a blessing, especially since one of Ye Wen’s hands was invariably resting upon her lower abdomen—the private domain of a woman, not meant to be touched by others! Yet, he was doing it to save her. This filled her with mortified shame, but she found herself unable to speak: “Senior Brother is so reckless, why are you touching that area?”

She didn't realize that Ye Wen had no other choice. His right hand held her back to protect her heart and lungs, while his left hand rested on Ning Ruxue’s Dantian—pressing here was also to help gather her scattered inner energy. It wasn’t that he couldn't use other methods, but this location was the quickest.

As her injuries stabilized, Ning Ruxue’s thoughts inevitably began to drift aimlessly, and her gaze toward Ye Wen grew increasingly complex.

However, Ye Wen currently had no time for such matters. Having managed to clear almost all the cold energy in Ning Ruxue’s body and guide her own internal energy back onto the proper course, the greatest challenge now was that accursed fire poison.

Glancing at Ning Ruxue’s foot—swollen high, turning black and purple, and even faintly luminous from the bite—Ye Wen hardened his resolve and declared, “Circulate your power to resist the fire poison; I will suck out the poisoned blood first.”

Ning Ruxue hadn't fully processed his words before she instinctively channeled her inner arts to fight the fire poison internally. It wasn't until Ye Wen released her and brought her bitten foot up to his mouth that she realized what her Senior Brother had said. Shame and urgency flared up instantly, and she immediately cried out, “Don’t…”

Unfortunately, her cry was a moment too late. Before the word left her lips, Ye Wen had already brought his mouth close. The jade foot, which should have been numb and senseless, suddenly seemed to regain sensation, sending a faint tingling rush through it, causing Ning Ruxue’s face to flush crimson, like a perfectly ripe peach, ready to yield juice at the slightest squeeze.

Of course, if Ye Wen could see her now, he would likely mistake it for a symptom of fire poison attacking her heart, leading to another bout of anxiety. But at this moment, he was busy sucking out the poisonous blood. With every gulp, he spat out a mouthful of thick, inky black fluid. Even looking at it was sickening, let alone drawing it into his mouth. Ning Ruxue, seeing this, didn't know what to say and could only watch blankly as her Senior Brother busied himself.

Little did she know that Ye Wen, while occupied, was thinking to himself: Why does this scene feel so familiar? It seems incredibly cliché.