After transmigrating, I made a name for myself through my culinary skills.

After obtaining the jade marrow, Jiang Ning did not rush to find the next treasure. Although there were many treasures in the Cloud Cave, apart from this jade marrow, the other rare treasures either had harsh living conditions or were guarded by demonic beasts. With his current cultivation level, it would be suicide for him to rashly take action alone.

After disguising himself, Jiang Ning went to find a place to cultivate. He planned to advance to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm before searching for treasures, so that he wouldn't have to slink away like this time when he encountered others vying for treasures again.

It took Jiang Ning nearly half a month to find a place for secluded cultivation; the place was at the foot of a cliff.

For the past two weeks, Jiang Ning had been traveling constantly, searching for a safe place to cultivate in seclusion. He was extremely cautious along the way, wary of ferocious beasts lurking in the shadows and carefully avoiding other people. He would only stop to dig for medicinal herbs when he encountered ones that were very easy to find.

The cliff was led to him by the Dragon Slayer Blade. At the foot of the cliff were caves of all sizes, and wildflowers grew all around. Upon closer inspection, there were several white-bellied giant rats, about the size of a kitten, collecting flower seeds among the flowers. When they saw someone arrive, they immediately ran into the cave.

A wave of heat emanated from the cave, bringing with it a rich spiritual energy. The large cave was two meters wide and high enough for one person to walk through. It was indeed an excellent cultivation ground for him, with his dual fire and wood spiritual roots, if not for countless eyes watching him from inside the cave.

The cave was filled with giant white-bellied rats with human-like faces. Their bright eyes stared at Jiang Ning, making his scalp tingle.

"Isn't there any other place more suitable for me to cultivate besides here? I don't want to live in a rat hole." He tried to suggest to Zhanlongren that they find another place.

"There is lava beneath this cliff, and the white-bellied giant rat's burrow leads directly to the earth's core, which is best for your fire spirit root cultivation," the Dragon Slayer Blade indirectly rejected.

"I have both fire and wood spiritual roots, and wood spiritual roots can also be cultivated."

“Cultivating with a fire elemental root will be faster, allowing you to advance to the Nascent Soul stage more quickly.” The Dragon Slayer Blade rejected the idea again. “These creatures have no offensive capabilities. With your cultivation level, killing them will be effortless. Just clear them out and then occupy their caves.” The Dragon Slayer Blade’s ruthless voice echoed in Jiang Ning’s mind, telling him the solution.

"This is where they live. If I were to kill them all just to help me cultivate, I would feel guilty." Jiang Ning did not want to indiscriminately kill innocent people just to quickly improve his cultivation.

If the Dragon Slayer Blade were in human form, it would have sighed upon hearing those words. This human is too kind-hearted. Killing is a very common thing in the cultivation world. Just like that old man who killed the Holy Dragon for the sake of his cultivation, otherwise it wouldn't have been refined.

“Look up, the crevice in the middle of the cliff leads to the center of the cliff, where you can also cultivate. However, the spiritual energy is not as concentrated as at the bottom of the cliff, and the heat is not as intense. If you cultivate at the bottom of the cliff, you will achieve twice the results with half the effort.” Zhanlongren did not argue with him and found another place for him.

Jiang Ning ultimately chose the location at the cliff crevice. He rode his sword into the air, reached the crevice, jumped off the sword, and looked around. Although the temperature here was not as high as below, it was still higher than usual, and the spiritual energy was also more concentrated. Cultivation here would not be much slower than below. In addition, this location was more spacious and clean, so he chose it without hesitation.

Jiang Ning found a flat spot in the crevice of the cliff, formed a defensive array for himself, and began to cultivate cross-legged. He had already abstained from grains, so there would be no problem for him to advance to the Nascent Soul stage here.

The Dragon Slayer Blade stood guard beside him. Although it had gained sentience, it had been spending all its time with the corpse, so being with Jiang Ning now was no different for it. Bored, it watched as day turned to night, and the snow-covered landscape transformed into bright spring sunshine. A silver-ringed snake even came in to make its nest, but it was frightened away by the sharp sword aura emanating from the blade.

Jiang Ning's cultivation speed was faster than Zhanlongren had imagined. During his second winter, Jiang Ning underwent the tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage.

The creatures at the bottom of the cliff are able to sense danger. When the lightning clouds gather, they all flee out of the cave to escape before the lightning strikes.

The lightning bolt struck the cliff crevice without hindrance, and Jiang Ning calmly received the tribulation. As bolts of lightning struck, the cliff began to shake, and lava gushed from the cave below. At the foot of the cliff was a small volcano that erupted every three years, and only two years had passed since the last eruption. Jiang Ning's tribulation had triggered it to erupt earlier than expected.

The lava burned all the plants near the cliff to ashes, which is why Jiang Ning didn't see any large trees at the foot of the cliff when he first arrived; the saplings were burned to death by the lava eruptions every three years.

Jiang Ning's advancement this time was even more spectacular, and the tribulation lightning came even more swiftly. The effects of drinking the jade marrow were also evident in this tribulation lightning, as the wounds from the lightning strikes healed on their own without him needing to activate his spiritual power.

After the nine tribulations ended, Jiang Ning opened his eyes. Having gone through the Nascent Soul stage, Jiang Ning's appearance had not changed much after this advancement. However, due to his long period of seclusion and cultivation, his eyes had become somewhat cold, and his aura had also cooled down.

The strength of the Out-of-Body stage is ten times that of the Nascent Soul stage, and he can now manifest a primordial spirit with attack power no less than that of the original body.

Reaching the Astral Projection stage means that his lifespan will increase and his aging rate will become very slow. After reaching the Spirit Distraction stage, he will stop aging.

"Hey, hey, hey, run for your lives! This cliff is going to collapse!" The Dragon Slayer Blade suddenly cried out. Jiang Ning heard the sound, picked up the Dragon Slayer Blade, and flew out of the cliff crevice. After he came out, he stood in mid-air and looked at the cliff. Lava was still flowing out from the bottom of the cliff. After the heat dissipated in the distance, it formed volcanic mud.

The cliff shook violently, and a few seconds later it collapsed, with large amounts of rocks and soil falling down, blocking the cave that was constantly spewing lava. No new lava flowed out, and the previous lava slowly cooled and formed volcanic mud.

"These burrows are blocked, so do they have nowhere to live?" Jiang Ning asked, referring to the white-bellied giant rats.

"No, they can find cliffs everywhere to make caves. This isn't the first time cliffs have collapsed. It happens every three years. This tribulation just brought it forward by a year." The Dragon Slayer Blade was still emotionless, but it was right. Every time the earth's core suddenly erupts, cliffs collapse, and occasionally white-bellied giant rats are injured or killed. This time, Jiang Ning's tribulation even allowed them to foresee the danger and escape.

"There is a Fire Spirit Pearl at the bottom of the cliff. It is the reason for the lava in the earth's core. That spirit pearl is an invaluable treasure for those with fire spirit roots. If you have the cultivation of the Nascent Soul stage, you can give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning's calm expression cracked. His father hadn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage yet!

After confirming that the white-bellied giant rats were alright, Jiang Ning turned around and left with the Dragon Slayer Blade. There was still a year and a half before he left the Cloud Cave. He was now capable of searching for treasures guarded by demonic beasts, so he had to hurry.

Moreover, he also needed to find Ye Lan and the others. He didn't know if the others were safe during the past year and a half. Caring about his fellow disciples was something he, as the young master, should do. He would never admit that he wanted to eat Ye Lan's cooking.

Meanwhile, Ye Lan, whom Jiang Ning was talking about, was raiding a beehive with the little Devouring Demon Lion. In the past year and a half, he had become very close to the two Devouring Demon Lions. When he advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, the big Devouring Demon Lion even took him to a safe place to undergo his tribulation. What he didn't know was that the big Devouring Demon Lion was just afraid that Ye Lan's tribulation would cause his cave to collapse.