Bamboo Mound

Having no further questions, Ning Chang got up and left the Resource Hall, heading towards his residence. Along the way, he would use the Azure Cloud Step every time his leg energy recovered.

Before long, Ning Chang pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the door, Ning Chang called out to Xiao Li.

When Xiao Li walked up to him, Ning Chang released all the items he had just exchanged.

Upon inventory, the oil was in an earthenware jar, about a liter; the salt was also in the same earthenware jar, a full jar; the scallions were in a bundle, which Ning Chang did not check in detail; the garlic and ginger were each in a full square cloth bag, each the size of an earthenware jar; the stone bowls were in a small bucket, a stack of at least a dozen; the bamboo chopsticks were also in a bundle, and he could not find out how many pairs; as for the Huoling pork, it was a whole piece of lean meat, without a trace of fat.

He took out the spiritual energy fire-starting device and examined it from top to bottom. It was a platform-shaped object with a device resembling a flame nozzle on top, and a button and a round hole on the other side.

He pressed the button but found no response. He then tried to input a wisp of spiritual energy into the round hole.

Pressing the button again nearly burned Ning Chang's eyebrows when a sudden burst of flame appeared.

After shutting down the device, he instructed Xiao Li to find some long-handled weapons from the training room to make a support for the pot.

Xiao Li quickly brought over several spears and iron bars, fixed them to the ground, and placed the pot on top of them.

Ning Changbian placed the spiritual energy living device under the pot and became a hands-off manager.

Watching Xiao Li lift a basket of bamboo shoots he had picked the night before from the well, they were still as fresh as when they were just picked, thanks to the cool well water.

Ning counted them; there were five in total, each one large and plump.

He took out two stone slabs from somewhere, rinsed them with water, placed them on the ground, turned on the fire, boiled water in a pot, and then poured the bamboo shoots onto one of the stone slabs.

Li skillfully picked up a bamboo shoot, gently peeled off the outer skin with a knife, revealing the white flesh inside.

After slicing all the bamboo shoots into thin slices, he boiled the water, put the bamboo shoot slices into the boiling water to blanch them and remove the bitterness, then took them out and placed them on a stone slab.

Next, he sliced ​​the scallions and ginger and threw them into the pot. Then he lifted the Huoling pork, cut off a quarter of it, placed it on a stone slab and cut it into large pieces. He then put the unused three-quarters into a basket and lowered it into the well.

After waiting a short while, put all the pork into the pot.

Once the surface of the pork changed color, I took it out and set it aside. After it cooled slightly, I sliced ​​the meat.

Drain the water from the pot, leaving the scallions and ginger. Once the water in the pot has evaporated, pour in the oil.

When the oil is boiling, put the scallions and ginger that you just took out into the oil and fry them until they are fragrant. Once the scallions and ginger are fryed until they are black, take them out and discard them.

Pour the sliced ​​meat into the pot and stir-fry quickly. After a short while, add the blanched bamboo shoot slices into the pot and stir-fry together for a few seconds.

Finally, add an appropriate amount of salt, stir-fry a few times, pour in some water, cover the pot and simmer.

After a short while, Xiao Li lifted the lid of the pot, saw that the soup had almost evaporated, turned off the fire, and signaled to Ning Chang that it was done.

Take out a stone bowl, rinse it with well water, and scoop out a bowlful.

Just as he pulled out a pair of bamboo chopsticks and was about to eat, he noticed that Xiao Li was just standing to the side, not making any move.

Ning Chang sighed and had no choice but to say, "What are you standing there for? You should eat too."

Xiao Li pointed to himself in disbelief, about to speak, when Ning Chang nodded again.

After receiving Ning Chang's affirmation once again, Xiao Li took out a bowl to serve himself some food.

Ning Chang then picked up the stone bowl in his hand. The bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat smelled delicious and made his mouth water.

The bamboo shoots are tender and crisp, and when combined with the tender slices of meat, they create a unique aroma.

Pick up a bamboo shoot, put it in your mouth and chew gently. You will immediately feel the sweetness and crispness of the bamboo shoot, while the Huoling pork is tender and juicy, with a fragrant aroma, and even contains a trace of spiritual energy!

Every bite is bursting with rich umami flavor, making it an intoxicating experience!

It was clearly a very delicious dish.

"But...why does it taste like chewing wax...?"

After only a few bites, Ning Chang couldn't eat anymore.

The bamboo shoots and pork I was chewing seemed to have lost their flavor.

Unbeknownst to him, a tear rolled down Ning Chang's cheek and fell silently before he even noticed it.

An unnamed fire surged in his heart, but Ning Chang habitually suppressed it before any restlessness could arise.

But it was precisely because of this that Ning Changcai was able to emerge from his brief state of unconsciousness.

He frowned. "Why are you getting angry all of a sudden?"

He hadn't felt this way since he came into this world.

He used to have this feeling whenever he encountered a series of unpleasant things, and then he would calmly wait for it to dissipate on its own or actively suppress it.

That kind of mentality of always wanting to smash something doesn't do him any good.

Over time it became a habit, and he did it this way for six years.

Knowing he couldn't eat any more of the bamboo shoot and pork stir-fry, he placed the bowl on the stone slab and said to Xiao Li:

“It’s very well done. I’ll just taste it and that’s it. You can decide the rest yourself. As for the kitchen utensils, you can put them in the practice room.”

There were no weapons he was comfortable with in the training room, so Ning often used it as a storage room.

Back in his room, he planned to first advance to the Spirit Fusion Realm, then go to the Scripture Pavilion to select an offensive martial art, and then study the Heavenly Origin Spirit Body.

After swallowing a Spirit Gathering Pill, Ning Chang took out a new spirit stone and placed it in his hand before beginning his cultivation.

As the Azure Cloud Technique was activated, the spiritual energy within Ning Chang's veins actually decreased, with each wisp of spiritual energy beginning to coalesce and compress...

Finally, all the spiritual energy was compressed and flowed through the veins like liquid. At the same time, all the meridians became stronger and widened slightly.

At this point, spiritual energy occupied only one-fifth of the meridians, and it could be officially called spiritual energy.

After absorbing spiritual energy for a while, Ning Chang opened his eyes once the effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill wore off.

I opened the door and looked at the sky; it was already afternoon.

He tried the Azure Cloud Step. Although the speed of condensation was not much faster, the endurance was greatly increased. He found that the efficiency of using spiritual power was much higher than that of spiritual energy, and the distance he could move was more than doubled!

Although he has advanced from the ninth level of Spirit Gathering to the Spirit Fusion Realm, his total spiritual power has not changed much because he has not continued to cultivate.

Originally, he would need to use up 70-80% of the spiritual energy in his legs to take one step; but now, without mobilizing spiritual energy from other parts of his body to replenish it, he can take ten steps!

The efficiency has increased more than tenfold!

Once Ning Chang has filled his meridians, he can walk fifty steps in a row, and even mobilize the spiritual energy of other parts of his body to replenish it during this time, so as to keep using the Azure Cloud Step to travel!

Ning Chang was secretly delighted. In this way, his Azure Cloud Step was not far from the minor completion stage. His only flaw was that he needed two or three breaths of guidance time before he could run it.

When he can execute the Azure Cloud Step instantly without any interval, he will have achieved minor mastery.