Chapter 334: Twin Peak Mountain

Chapter 334: Twin Peak Mountain

In the night sky, a figure dressed in blue floated by, ghostly and fleeting.

The blue figure tore through the sky and slowly landed on a large tree next to Jiang Ning's residence.

This person was none other than Yu Manyun.

"Darkness and no sign of life? Could it be that everyone is asleep?" Yu Manyun looked at the pitch-black residence ahead, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.

After a day of extensive inquiries, she had finally located Jiang Ning's residence.

Out of caution, she chose to come late at night to test Jiang Ning.

She was well aware of Xiao Emei's capabilities.

Xiao Emei's failure to complete her mission was enough to prove that Jiang Ning wasn't as simple as he seemed.

But for the position of Palace Master, she had to compete for it.

However, she hadn't expected that when she arrived under the cover of darkness, the entire residence would be pitch-black and eerily quiet! Standing on the tree branch, Yu Manyun gazed into the distance for a moment, then lightly tapped her toes and gracefully entered Jiang Ning's residence.

After half a teacup's time of careful investigation, Yu Manyun opened the residence's main door and stepped out.

"It seems they've already left!"

"Could it be that he knew I was coming? Did he leave with his family before me?"

As Yu Manyun stepped over the threshold, she muttered to herself.

After her thorough investigation and feeling the residual warmth from the stove, she knew that Jiang Ning's family had left today.

"I heard he has a Martial Arts Master. I'll go ask him tomorrow!" Yu Manyun turned back to look at the pitch-black house behind her, and her heart immediately made a decision.

On the other side...

A spark crackled, and the campfire illuminated Jiang Ning and the others, their faces flushed red.

"Uncle, it's a bit cold!" Xiao Doubao snuggled into Jiang Ning's embrace.

"Wait a bit, I'll get you some food!" Jiang Ning gently patted her back.

At this time of year, the temperature difference between day and night was significant.

The clearer the day, the colder the night.

He could feel that the temperature was approaching freezing.

Even with the campfire burning, releasing light and heat, it still felt cold.

Feeling the slight shivering of Xiao Doubao in his embrace, Jiang Ning immediately placed his palm on her back and circulated his Inner Breath to warm her.

The Inner Core Nourishing Art was a method of Inner Strengthening from the Daoist school, with a balanced and peaceful attribute.

As the Inner Breath warmed her, Xiao Doubao's face gradually turned rosy.

"So warm!" Xiao Doubao rubbed against Jiang Ning's chest, a sweet smile on her face.

On the side, Liu Wanwan witnessed this scene, and a smile also appeared on her face.

She already knew the capabilities of her little brother-in-law.

With such abilities, Xiao Doubao being close to him would naturally bring her peace of mind in the future.

Just like Jiang Yiming, she and her husband hadn't made plans for their son, but Jiang Ning had already arranged everything for him.

At fifteen years old, he would enter the Martial Arts Academy.

In the future, entering the Martial Arts Academy and stepping into the Daoist Palace would be a natural progression.

At this moment, Jiang Li's voice was heard.

"Dinner's ready!"

"I want to drink!" Xiao Doubao exclaimed, raising her head.

"You'll get your share!" Liu Wanwan said, glancing at her daughter.

A moment later.

"Uncle!" Jiang Yiming brought over a bowl of fish soup with plenty of fish meat.

This was their dinner for the night.

Being outdoors and camping in the wild, it was naturally quite inconvenient.

The fish meat, with two hundred years of cultivation, could provide the body with a substantial amount of heat.

Just a small bowl was enough to withstand the cold of the night.

Jiang Ning took the large bowl passed to him by Jiang Yiming.

"Ning, let me hold Xiao Doubao!" Liu Wanwan stood up and walked over.

"Uncle, I'll feed Xiao Doubao!" At this, Xiao Doubao, who was nestled in Jiang Ning's embrace, tightly grabbed onto his clothes.

"Be good, listen to me!" Liu Wanwan coaxed Xiao Doubao.

"Doubao likes being in Uncle's embrace, it's so warm!" Xiao Doubao still held onto Jiang Ning's clothes tightly.

"It's fine, Sister-in-law. I'll just feed Xiao Doubao!" Jiang Ning smiled.

"Thank you, Ning!" Liu Wanwan expressed her gratitude.

Jiang Ning smiled and shook his head again.

Then, Jiang Ning looked at Xiao Doubao in his embrace.

"Open up, be careful, it's hot!"

"Uncle, I'll do it myself, I'm already grown up, I can feed myself!"

"Good girl!" Jiang Ning burst into laughter, "Xiao Doubao has grown up!"

"That's right, she has!" With these words, Xiao Doubao seemed to gain a lot of motivation.

She immediately wriggled out of Jiang Ning's embrace.

"Drink slowly, be careful, it's hot!" Seeing Xiao Doubao pick up a bowl as big as her face and about to bury her head in it, Jiang Ning immediately instructed her.

A moment later.

Everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, and their bodies felt warm.

"Little brother, I'll take the night shift!" Jiang Li spoke up.

"There's no need for big brother to do it himself!" Jiang Ning shook his head and continued, "Let's let the others take turns."

"Okay!"

"Over there, Old Turtle, what's the matter?" Jiang Ning asked, noticing the turtle raising its head.

"Yes!" Jiang Ning nodded, looking at it, "Is there a problem?"

"No!" Old Turtle quickly shook its head, "No problem! After all these years, I've had enough sleep. I can go two nights without sleep, no problem!"

"Then let's do it like this!" Jiang Ning said.

"Yes, Master!" Old Turtle replied.

Jiang Li, standing nearby, also had no objections after witnessing this.

"Since it's like this, I'll take Xiao Dou Bao back to sleep!"

Hearing this, Xiao Dou Bao, who was only as tall as Jiang Ning's waist, immediately hugged Jiang Ning's thigh tightly.

"Dad, I don't want to! I want to sleep with Uncle tonight."

"Little brother, look..."

Jiang Ning gently patted Xiao Dou Bao's head, "Big brother, I'll sleep with Xiao Dou Bao. It's just right, the carriage space is big enough."

"Alright!" Jiang Li nodded.

Indeed, the situation was just as Jiang Ning had described.

At this time, the only place to sleep was the carriage, and the space inside was not that large.

After returning to the carriage.

Lu Yi immediately lit the charcoal stove.

The small carriage was instantly filled with warmth.

In the candlelight, Xiao Dou Bao lay in Jiang Ning's embrace.

Jiang Ning gently patted Xiao Dou Bao with one hand while holding a book and continuing to read with the other.

In his previous life, he had also developed the habit of staying up late to read.

Calculating the time, it was currently between the hours of midnight and 1 a.m.

In his past life, this was the time he would just be getting off work!

He had no idea who he was waiting for.

[Scholarly Knowledge Experience +1]



[Scholarly Knowledge Experience +1]



[Scholarly Knowledge Experience +1]



.

As time passed, his Scholarly Knowledge experience slowly increased.

Soon enough.

Jiang Ning heard Xiao Dou Bao's loud snoring.

At this moment, he also heard Lu Yi's yawning.

Looking up, he saw Lu Yi's mouth wide open, her right hand gently patting her own mouth, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, clearly a sign of extreme exhaustion.

"If you're tired, go to sleep!" Jiang Ning said.

"Master, I'm not tired!" Lu Yi shook her head.

"Don't force yourself!" Jiang Ning smiled.

"I'll keep Master company for a while longer!" Lu Yi said.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning didn't insist further and continued reading by candlelight.

One hour later.

He reached the last page and finished reading the book in his hand.

When he looked up, he saw that Lu Yi had already leaned against the carriage wall and fallen into a deep sleep.

He shook his head helplessly.

First, he placed Xiao Dou Bao on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then, he got up and went to Lu Yi's side.

After picking her up, it only took two breaths before Jiang Ning felt Lu Yi's body tense up.

He smiled and placed Lu Yi next to Xiao Dou Bao, covering them both with a wool blanket.

Then, he continued to sit in the carriage and read.

That night, whether he slept or not, he didn't care.

Outside, only Old Turtle was keeping watch, and Jiang Ning's heart wasn't entirely at ease, so he decided to stay awake and continue reading, allowing his Scholarly Knowledge skill to improve.

In the blink of an eye.

A few days had passed.

Along the way.

Because they were traveling with their family, their journey wasn't particularly fast.

But Jiang Ning wasn't in a hurry.

Arriving in Dongling City a few days earlier or later made no difference to him.

Moreover, even while traveling, he didn't neglect his cultivation practice.

Whenever the sun was out and the weather was clear, he would fly to the top of the carriage and absorb the sun's essence.

For him, traveling didn't interfere with his cultivation at all.

Thanks to the Water and Fire Immortal Clothes' attributes, absorbing the sun's essence no longer burdened his internal organs.

He also didn't need to be as cautious as Master Wang Jin, who had to be careful and focused each time he refined the sun's essence, needing an undisturbed environment.

Absorbing the sun's essence was just a routine part of cultivation practice.

As for the rest of the time, he used it to read and improve his Scholarly Knowledge skill.

Therefore, during these traveling days, his progress in cultivation didn't fall behind at all.

In the middle of the journey, they even took a day's break in a county town along the way, enjoying a good meal and allowing the whole family to take a hot bath.

[Essence Energy]: 3384.67

"The Dragon Fish Meat from a two-hundred-year-old carp provides quite a lot of Essence Energy points!"

Looking at the Essence Energy column on his panel, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

These past few days, he, his big brother, and his sister-in-law had been eating mostly the Dragon Fish Meat from a two-hundred-year-old carp.

Because this fish meat provided such abundant energy that for ordinary people, eating a meal of it would make their bodies warm, unafraid of the wind and cold.

Otherwise, with the current day and night temperature difference, it would be easy to catch a cold and have a fever.

Also, because of the monotony of their diet these past few days, he could tell that the energy contained in this fish meat was truly extraordinary.

If the entire electric eel were to enter his stomach, he felt that increasing his source points by a few hundred wouldn't be a problem.

Then, his gaze shifted downward.

【Skill】: Calligraphy and Reading (Six times Limit Break 2356/7000) (Characteristics: Photographic Memory, Extraordinary Senses, Quick Thinking, Exceptional Comprehension, Heavenly Eye, Sixth Sense Transcendence)



Inner Elixir Longevity Technique (Minor Accomplishment 4588/5000)



After these days of accumulation, both skills have shown significant progress.

The experience points for Calligraphy and Reading have exceeded two thousand points.

The experience points for Inner Elixir Longevity Technique have also surpassed four thousand five hundred points, and it is only less than five hundred points away from achieving Minor Accomplishment.

With his efficiency, as long as things continue to go smoothly, it will take at most four to five days.

At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"Younger Brother!"

"Big Brother, what's wrong?" Jiang Ning stepped out of the carriage and saw Jiang Li looking at him with a solemn expression.

At this time, the caravan in front also came to a halt.

Yesterday, after resting in Baisha County, they set off early in the morning and traveled with a merchant group for several tens of li. Along the way, they chatted and gradually became familiar with each other.

The merchant group knew that they were going to Dongling City to visit relatives, so they invited them to travel together.

Jiang Ning immediately understood the meaning behind Liu Guangqi's words.

"Jiang Scholar, you don't have to worry. I will make sure you arrive in Dongling City on time and won't delay your pursuit of fame and glory!"

"Furthermore, that bandit leader is very principled. He has always followed the rule of taking money and letting people go, never breaking the rules! We are just being cautious, just in case!"

"With these words from you, I am reassured."

Jiang Ning hadn't known about Shuangyang Mountain before and hadn't investigated any related information.

With his current strength, he didn't need to pay attention to ordinary bandits who occupied mountains as their base.

True experts would rarely resort to becoming bandits and occupying mountains.

After Liu Guangqi left, Jiang Li said, "Younger Brother, from what I know, the bandit leader in Shuangyang Mountain is an outer disciple of Vajra Temple. He has exceptional martial skills and is a Seventh Rank Sinew Refiner. He is not someone to be underestimated."

"He's a formidable figure!" Jiang Ning nodded in praise, and he also understood why this large merchant group was being cautious before entering the mountain.

Such people have many choices, and the fact that he chose to become a bandit shows that he acts according to his own will and doesn't care about worldly opinions.

Then, Jiang Ning continued, "But Big Brother, don't worry. Even if a conflict arises, it won't be a big problem."

"In that case, I am reassured." Seeing Jiang Ning's calm expression, Jiang Li also felt relieved.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end