The Daily Life of a Cultivator

Aunt Gu called Jiang Ning to lunch at noon, but he refused. The mother and daughter were not well-off, and he ate a lot. He was worried he might eat them poor.

Jiang Ning looked at the meat he had bought that morning: three jin of beef and five jin of pork ribs.

Jiang Ning activated his Spiritual Energy and tapped the air several times with his fingertips. A mysterious white disc, like a starry celestial body, appeared on the tabletop.

He sent a strand of Spiritual Energy into it, and the disc began to turn gently as wisps of cold air poured out.

This was the most basic Formation, capable of keeping an area at a low temperature. Jiang Ning tossed the beef onto it. That way, it would not spoil, and its texture and flavor would be preserved. It worked even better than a refrigerator.

A casual strand of Spiritual Energy from him was enough to keep the miniature Formation running for a full day and night.

Jiang Ning then began preparing the ribs. With a wave of his hand, clear water rose out of the Water Bucket and washed over the ribs.

While cooking, he found the Electric Stove's heat too weak, so he used Spiritual Energy again and conjured a flame. The fire swirled through the pot from top to bottom, evenly scorching every part of the ribs.

Once the ribs had been fried and roasted, their fragrance filled the air. Jiang Ning sprinkled the pre-mixed spices over them, just like at a Barbecue Restaurant in later times.

It was a pity that the pig was an ordinary pig rather than a Spirit Beast, so it was not particularly helpful to cultivation. Once his cultivation improved, Jiang Ning would have to think of other methods.

He tossed several fruits into the air. Sword Qi flashed, slicing them into precise pieces like a fruit-cutting game. The cores were removed, while the flesh seemed to be held aloft by auspicious clouds as it slowly descended onto a plate.

With another wave of his hand, a fist-sized droplet gathered in the air, then the water transformed into a flat sheet.

Jiang Ning sent out a flame, and terrifying heat swept across it, instantly boiling the water. The boiling water gathered into a stream and flowed into a cup.

The only flaw was that it was not purified Purified Water. His current methods could not purify water, so they could not compare to an industrial water purifier.

After arranging the dishes simply, Jiang Ning's lunch was ready.

Just as he was about to eat, Xue Yuantong came over carrying a bowl. When she saw that huge plate of ribs, her eyes widened uncontrollably.

Xue Yuantong had come to deliver Steamed Buns. Her mother had steamed Big Steamed Buns yesterday and asked her to bring some to Jiang Ning. She could have delivered them much earlier, but she had spent a little more time browsing Tieba and only came now.

She had planned to see what Jiang Ning was eating for lunch. If he had not eaten, she would drag him over to her house. After all, she had eaten his snacks that morning, hadn't she? While cooking, she had even put a little thought into it and heated three extra Steamed Buns, so there would be enough even if Jiang Ning came over.

Yet when she saw Jiang Ning's meal, she found that he was eating quite well. Xue Yuantong thought about her own lunch, then looked at Jiang Ning's abundant ribs, and unbidden drool trickled from her mouth.

"Hm? Steamed Buns? I was just craving these." Jiang Ning was surprised.

He was not merely being polite. Yuzhou was located in the central part of the country, and its residents ate both rice and wheat-based foods. Jiang Ning had inherited the local eating habits, but compared to rice, he preferred Steamed Buns.

Steamed Buns were sold outside, but most had additives in them and did not taste as good as homemade ones. Seeing the Steamed Buns Xue Yuantong had brought him made him quite happy.

"Thank Aunt Gu for me." Jiang Ning filled a bowl with ribs and handed it to Xue Yuantong. "No refusing. This is how people deal with each other."

"Oh, please!" Xue Yuantong did not refuse. Recently, she felt that her relationship with Jiang Ning had grown better and better, which made her feel secure. With such a sensible little brother, she would definitely have to help him with his studies in the future and get him into a 211 University.

Thinking that, Xue Yuantong accepted them with a clear conscience.

That evening, Jiang Ning left with a bag on his back.

He ran along the dam at tremendous speed. After running for half an hour, he reached a secluded stretch with no streetlights nearby. Yet Jiang Ning's five senses were extraordinarily sharp, and under the moonlight, everything in his sight was crystal clear.

The Transformer Box emitted a buzzing sound, showing just how high the voltage inside was. An ordinary person would drop dead on the spot if they touched it.

Jiang Ning unzipped his bag, took out two cartons of Milk, and drank them both in one go.

He felt slightly melancholy. Back when he trained his body, swallowing two Pills had been enough. Who would have thought that now he actually had to rely on drinking Milk for replenishment?

Jiang Ning fully spread out his Spiritual Sense, taking in everything within a twenty-meter radius. His keen ears faintly detected something abnormal in a tributary channel below.

He walked toward the flow of water. This river was a branch channel about ten meters wide, running perpendicular to the Hui River. Blocked by a concrete dam, it was not connected to the Hui River.

This small river was responsible for irrigating the surrounding farmland, making its importance self-evident. Yet under Jiang Ning's Spiritual Sense, a pipe beneath thirty centimeters of water along the riverbank was continuously discharging water.

He activated his Spiritual Energy and formed it into a giant hand, grabbing a mass of water and dropping it onto the nearby farmland. Immediately, an unpleasant stench of chemical wastewater spread through the air.

"Secretly dumping wastewater, huh?" Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

He looked up, his gaze crossing several hundred meters of farmland before settling on a distant village.

In recent years, Yuzhou had caught companies illegally discharging sewage almost every year. Small enterprises privately dumping wastewater like this were even more widespread.

There was no other reason: profit.

But since Jiang Ning had caught them today, he had to deal with it.

Jiang Ning cast a Spell, and his figure slowly vanished.

This was the Aura Concealment Art, which could hide one's form and had much in common with invisibility.

Still, this was merely a minor trick. Jiang Ning also possessed a Secret Art that allowed him to enter the void. Combined with an Aura Concealment Magic Artifact, even the Spiritual Sense of someone at Nascent Soul Great Perfection would be unable to discover him.

He simply could not use it yet.

Jiang Ning used his Spiritual Sense to trace the pipe. After walking more than twenty steps away from the riverbank, he found that the sewage pipe was covered by only a thin layer of dirt.

Jiang Ning was glad the pipe had not been buried too deeply. Otherwise, even with his Spiritual Sense, he might truly have been helpless.

He locked onto the sewage pipe with his Spiritual Sense, then followed its direction toward the village.

The village was dilapidated. Once inside, he passed one abandoned house after another. The entire place resembled a deserted village from a horror movie.

If Xue Yuantong were brought here now, she would probably faint from fright.

Jiang Ning knew why. Yuzhou's industry was far less developed than that of coastal cities. The young and middle-aged villagers had gone elsewhere for work. Their families had either built houses beside the highway or bought homes in Yuzhou City Center.

After all, two people working in a coastal city could save tens of thousands a year if they lived frugally. Some people who had left their hometowns were even somewhat wealthier than salaried workers in Yuzhou City Center. Housing prices were not high now, and after working for a few years, they could buy an apartment downtown.

In the end, most people moved away from the village, leaving only the elderly behind. Once the old people passed away, the village naturally declined. In a few decades, it might cease to exist altogether.

The village before him was among the more severely abandoned ones.

Jiang Ning crossed more than half the village before seeing two occupied homes on its western side, both inhabited by elderly people.

After walking a little farther, Jiang Ning stopped in the village's northeast. Ahead stood a courtyard enclosed by high walls, and the noise of machinery came from within.