Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

After quietly leaving the "Soldier's Tomb," the three traveled a long way and arrived at the foot of a large tree.

This tree is enormous; it is estimated that even if forty or fifty people joined forces, they would have difficulty encircling it.

The large trees growing next to it, requiring ten people to encircle, appear like small saplings in comparison.

Even the roots that are half-exposed on the ground are taller than a person.

"This tree used to be my home. Although I no longer live here, I've kept all the things inside so I can rest whenever I come back. Come on, let's go inside and sit for a while!"

After saying that, Shi Potian was the first to leap onto a huge horizontal branch more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) above the ground.

"What are you dawdling for? Get up here!"

Shi Potian stood on the giant branch, frowning as he called out to the two people who were standing there dumbfounded.

"It's so high! We...we can't get up there!"

Mo Yuming answered somewhat timidly. His fear of heights, inherited from his previous life, was now fully on display.

It was more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) above the ground, and with the diameter of the giant branch being about four or five zhang (approximately 10-15 meters) high, it would have been equivalent to at least four stories in the previous life.

It's unimaginable to jump to that height.

"Don't tell me you don't even know the most basic leaping technique? Kid, you're a mid-stage Earth Rank expert now."

Even if someone is just a second-level human warrior, they can jump a few feet high with all their might.

With your Earth Rank Level 4 strength, jumping seven or eight zhang high shouldn't be a problem, right? Don't tell me you're afraid of heights..."

“I…I’ve never jumped this high before…”

After more than a year of intense training by the old men, Mo Yuming had already achieved an astonishing level of profound skill. However, this was all acquired through daily meditation and random fighting to absorb spiritual energy. Even after nearly half a year of intensive training, he had only engaged in rock climbing and weightlifting.

It's like a supercomputer with all the most powerful hardware, but it can't run because it doesn't have an operating system installed.

Mo Yuming was in this situation at the moment. Although he felt that he had plenty of energy and much more strength, he just couldn't use it and didn't know how to use it.

"Alright, alright, you two listen carefully and do as I say."

First, concentrate your mind and gather your energy, then use your intention to mobilize the profound spiritual power within your body, allowing it to circulate under your will.

First, try channeling a small amount of spiritual energy into your heels. Then, as you bend your knees and jump upwards, subconsciously guide the gathered spiritual energy outwards quickly, and use your mind to control your jump towards your destination. Come on, try it first…”

"what……"

"I've never seen anyone as stupid as you. You think you're so great, trying to jump to the sky in one go!"

If I hadn't been watching you today, that fall you just made would have either killed you or broken your leg! Didn't I tell you to use less force?

Look, Xinlan has mastered it quite well! If you're worried about not being able to control the force well when you first try it, you should try jumping a little lower with less force.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. With a few more tries, you'll reach your desired level, and your control over spiritual power will become natural and effortless, requiring no further conscious effort.

Shi Potian caught Mo Yuming as he fell from above and scolded him irritably.

"I……"

Mo Yuming opened his mouth, his face flushed, wanting to retort but unable to say anything, while inwardly he kept muttering to himself, feeling wronged:

"I didn't use much spiritual energy, just a tiny bit of each of the five elemental spiritual energies in my body. Who knew it would have such power? I jumped eight or nine zhang high, flying through the air like a bird. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I even bumped my head so hard I almost fainted. It's so unfair!..."

"Given your current skill level, that jump just now used at least half of your spiritual power. Luckily, you're an earth element cultivator. Among the five elements, metal, fire, and water element cultivators are superior to wood and earth element cultivators in terms of speed and agility. If you were a metal or fire element cultivator, you might have smashed your head to pieces with that jump!"

"I……"

Mo Yuming almost fainted, thinking to himself:

"Where did I use 30% of my power! The five spiritual energies combined only amount to half a percent at most! The five spiritual energies in my dantian are intertwined, and it's easier to use all five elements together than to use one at a time. So I used them naturally."

Even a fool would know to test it first. How could I have used so much spiritual power at the very beginning? Really…

"Huh!? Could it be that using all five elements together would have a synergistic effect?"

Mo Yuming suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if he realized something, but he wasn't sure.

The three of them stood on a giant branch that would take more than a dozen people to encircle, yet they were as stable as if they were standing on flat ground.

The branches, pruned by Shi Potian, have become a natural solid wood platform.

Mo Yuming secretly estimated that if protective nets were installed on both sides, at least a pool table could be placed on them to play pool.

At the end of the giant branch, in the groove of the main trunk, there is a doorway with a somewhat damaged wooden door.

Because the tree trunk was extremely large and the opening was located in a relatively hidden place, about five or six zhang (approximately 10-15 meters) above the ground, the tree hole could not be found by anyone standing under the tree, thanks to the cover of the branches and leaves.

Although the tree trunk was enormous, the living space that Shi Potian carved out within it was very small, only about ten feet in diameter.

Inside the tree hollow were two thick, soft animal hides, which was where Shi Potian usually slept. Some simple household items hung on the surrounding walls.

Apart from that, the only thing that could be considered furniture in this space was the small square table placed in the very center.

The square table was actually a square wooden stump that was intentionally left when the tree hole was dug. It was about a foot high and two feet in diameter, and there were two gourd ladles on it for drinking...

Shi Potian walked to the end of the tree hole, unfolded a small animal skin and laid it on the wooden table, then asked the two to sit down.

"This is all that's left. Let's rest here and have something to eat before we go hunting."

As he spoke, he took out a large lotus leaf bag from the low-level interdimensional storage bag.

The irresistible aroma of meat instantly filled the small tree hollow.

Unfold the lotus leaf to reveal a huge braised pig's trotter weighing several dozen kilograms.

This is an elephant-pig hoof. Elephant-pigs are also common herbivorous low-level magical beasts in the valley.

They are enormous, with adults weighing several thousand kilograms. They are docile and, apart from their great strength, have very low magical attack power, making them easy to tame.

Because it is a low-level magical beast, the extreme magical energy contained in its flesh is weak, and its meat is tender and delicious, which is incomparable to ordinary wild beasts. It is one of the meats that people in the canyon often like to eat.

However, due to their enormous size, in the past, whenever the people in the valley hunted an elephant boar, they would call everyone together to cut it up according to their needs. They would usually eat it as soon as the meat was fresh, and if they couldn't finish it, they would dry it and store it.

I never thought of making it into braised meat.

Since the advent of refined salt, this fragrant, delicious, and easy-to-carry braised meat has naturally become an essential food for everyone when traveling.

Shi Potian used a short knife to cut the pig's trotters into small pieces and placed them on the wooden table for Mo Yuming and Xinlan to eat.

Now that Mo Yuming and Xinlan have both reached a certain level of cultivation, they no longer have many concerns when eating the meat of low-level magical beasts.

Even if you overeat, you only need to spend some time to burn off the energy contained in the meat.

"I really don't know what to say to you, kid. You can come up with all sorts of delicious and portable things like... braised... braised meat recipes that I've never even heard of before, and those smooth and tender tofu... etc."

Yet, he can't even control something as simple as adjusting his own power! Really... I don't know if he's too clever for his own good, or what..."

Shi Potian, while devouring the braised meat with his mouth full of grease, teased Mo Yuming. Xinlan, listening, could only secretly chuckle to herself.

"Actually, the preparation of braised meat and tofu is just a coincidence."

The spices used for the braised meat were all collected from my grandfather's herb garden. I put the spices into the pot of meat to imitate how my grandfather brewed tea. It was just a random mess, but who knew it would turn out like that.

It's also thanks to Grandma Huang's excellent skills that she improved upon the braised meat recipe I obtained by chance, and combined it with Taohuawu's secret sauce, which made the braised meat even more delicious and able to be stored for a long time.

The tofu was an unintentional creation. After eating boiled soybeans, I found them to be rough and unpalatable. So I thought, if I grind the soybeans before cooking them, they can be drunk like porridge.

However, I added a little too much water, and it didn't turn into a paste after boiling. After letting it sit for a while, the soybean pulp settled to the bottom. After removing the soybean pulp, it turned into soy milk that tasted just like milk.

Once, while drinking soy milk, I was playing by the stone mortar where we used to wash salt, and I accidentally spilled some brine in. As a result, the leftover soy milk coagulated into tofu pudding. Later, with Grandma Huang's help, it was turned into the tofu that everyone ate…”

Mo Yuming explained in a pretentious manner.

"In the end, it's the salt you made that's making the difference! Although these things seem ordinary and insignificant, you only realize their importance when you really lack them!"

If it weren't for your cleverness and willingness to use your brain and hands, we old folks might have really lived like savages until we died!

Shi Potian became increasingly moved. He was a rough and unrestrained man and did not doubt the truth of what Mo Yuming said.

Hunting days can be easy to pass, as wandering around in unfamiliar environments always provides a sense of excitement.

However, their luck seemed to be running out this time. The two had been hunting in the dense forest of Ruimu Valley with Shi Potian for several days.

Perhaps because they had two little kids with them, the three of them wandered around the nearby woods for the past few days. Apart from encountering a few wild rabbits, lynxes and other small wild animals, they didn't find even a single magical beast, let alone the brown-necked chicken that Shi Potian had been longing for.

"Wait! Be quiet, there seems to be some noise outside!..."

That day, the three of them wandered around the forest again, but returned to the tree hole to rest and eat after finding nothing. Suddenly, Shi Potian put down the braised meat in his hand and solemnly signaled to the other two not to make a sound.

“Strange! Where did such a strong spiritual energy fluctuation come from in this forest? There’s definitely something strange about this, I have to go and take a look…” Shi Potian frowned, looking surprised.

"You two stay here for a while and don't go anywhere! We'll talk when I get back."

Hmm... If I haven't returned in more than two hours, you two should hurry back and inform Boss Dugu.

"Something might have happened at the mangrove forest! Remember, make sure you get the message across, don't forget!"

Before leaving, Shi Potian turned back and solemnly gave the two of them some final instructions.

"Ok!"

They both nodded in agreement.

"Grandpa Shi, is there any danger?"

Mo Yuming suddenly felt his breathing become rapid and his heartbeat quicken.

A strange sense of tension welled up inside me. The little girl, Xinlan, standing beside me, also looked somewhat pale.

"It's nothing, there's no danger at all. I've been in this valley for at least sixty or seventy years and nothing dangerous has ever happened. Don't make the atmosphere so tense, everything will be fine! You all stay here and wait for me to come back, I'll be back soon!"