Family Cultivation: My Ancestral Home Gets Infinite Upgrades

The tremors continued until sunset before finally subsiding completely.

As night fell and everyone in the house fell asleep, Jiang Fu'an finally had some free time to test the effects of the Qingling Fruit on his cultivation.

He took out two plump, green fruits from his pocket, handed one to the stone beside him, and whispered:

"This is a spiritual fruit; eating it will greatly speed up your cultivation. After you finish eating, immediately begin cultivating; don't delay."

Upon hearing this, Shi Tou's eyes lit up immediately. He hurriedly took it and examined it closely, turning it over and over in his hands.

He looked up and asked curiously:

"Dad, where did you pick this treasure?"

Jiang Fu'an could tell from the look in his eyes that the boy had also considered finding the place himself later, so he immediately gave him some instructions:

"That place is extremely dangerous; you mustn't even entertain the thought. Stay home obediently and cultivate diligently."

Stone couldn't resist taking a bite, so he could only chew while nodding vigorously.

Jiang Fu'an picked up the remaining one and ate it in a few bites.

As soon as the fruit entered my stomach, a warm current slowly spread out.

About an hour later.

Jiang Fu'an circulated his cultivation technique for one full cycle, carefully sensing the newly formed wisp of magical power in his dantian, comparing it to the feeling after taking Qi-Nourishing Pills in the past—

They're almost identical!

He was overjoyed and immediately made up his mind:

The remaining Green Spirit Fruits were all eaten raw.

He knew that if this fruit were refined into elixirs, its effects would likely be even better.

However, given my current low level of cultivation, rashly taking it out for trading would be like a child carrying gold in the market—the risk is too great.

This time he picked a total of eighty-one fruits. The stone has four elemental roots, so its cultivation speed is much faster than his five elemental roots.

You don't need to eat too many; I estimate thirty will be enough.

If the remaining fifty-one pills are used for personal cultivation, it will take only a little over a year to break through to the first level of Qi Refining.

At that time, I can finally start trying to draw talismans...

Thinking of this, Jiang Fu'an felt a surge of excitement.

He didn't linger any longer, closed his eyes again, and focused on circulating his internal energy.

The spiritual energy of that Green Spirit Fruit hasn't been fully converted yet; we need to hurry.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, bright red silk was hung inside and outside the Jiang family mansion, and large red "囍" characters were pasted on.

Under the eaves, a pair of red lanterns swayed gently in the breeze.

Today is Miao Ruolan's wedding day.

Logically speaking, taking a concubine doesn't need to be a grand affair, and Jiang Fu'an has always disliked ostentation, so he didn't invite any outside guests. He only slaughtered a half-grown spirit pig and set up two tables of food in the courtyard.

The people sitting around were about twenty people from their own house.

As darkness fell, the wedding banquet came to an end.

With a slightly flushed face, Jiang Fu'an stepped into the newly decorated bridal chamber.

Inside, red candles burned brightly, casting a warm glow over everything.

Miao Ruolan was sitting upright on the edge of the bed, her head covered with a bright red veil, and the bright red cross-collar and wide-sleeved shirt she was wearing made her figure look even more slender.

This scene was not unfamiliar to Jiang Fu'an.

After all, this was his third time entering the bridal chamber.

But when he walked to the bedside, he was surprised to find that the sitting figure was trembling very slightly.

Is she nervous?

Jiang Fu'an was quite surprised.

Where has that boldness she had before, that courage to seduce me while wearing an almost transparent gauze dress gone?

He reached out, his fingertips touching the smooth tassels under the veil, and gently lifted it up.

The veil slipped off, revealing Miao Ruolan's meticulously made-up face.

The pearl strings of the phoenix crown swayed gently in front of her forehead, making her skin appear as white as snow.

She lightly brushed rouge on her cheeks and applied a touch of pale vermilion lipstick to her lips.

On her snow-white neck, an exquisite silver celestial lock rose and fell slightly with her somewhat rapid breathing.

In the candlelight, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Miao Ruolan only glanced at him briefly before hurriedly lowering her eyes, her ears turning blush.

Jiang Fu'an found it amusing, so he extended his index finger and gently lifted her small chin, forcing her to raise her face.

Looking into her shimmering, yet evasive eyes, a playful smile curled at the corner of his lips:

Why have you become so timid today?

These words made Miao Ruolan's face turn even redder, and her neck even flushed pink.

Her eyes darted around, and her voice was barely audible.

"I...I'm just scared. Scared that you'll touch me, scared that we'll sleep in the same bed."

Jiang Fu'an raised an eyebrow and pressed on:

"Didn't you want me to help you get pregnant?"

"If I don't touch you, if we don't sleep together, is this child going to fall from the sky?"

Miao Ruolan bit her lower lip, hesitated for a long while, and finally managed to squeeze out a voice barely audible:

"Then how about we postpone having the baby..."

This answer greatly surprised Jiang Fu'an.

He almost suspected that the shy bride in front of him might be Miao Ruolan's twin sister, who had never shown herself before.

However, the thought only flashed through my mind for a moment.

The person in front of him, with her eyebrows, eyes, and the subtle gestures she made while speaking, was clearly the same Miao Ruolan he knew.

These past few days, she's been the one taking the initiative to get close to me, teasing me so much that I can't avoid her.

Why are you getting stage fright when it comes to the real test?

Is the balance of power about to be reversed tonight?

However, before "enjoying" this delicious meal, there is something important to do.

He turned and walked to the table.

A vermilion gourd and a dagger were already prepared on the table.

He steadily lifted the gourd with his left hand, and with a "clang," drew his dagger with his right.

With a flash of cold light and a slight flick of the wrist, the gourd was split in two with a soft "snap" sound.

His left hand, which was holding the gourd, was completely unharmed.

Jiang Fu'an nodded in satisfaction.

After days of diligent practice, I have finally achieved a minor level of mastery in the Wind and Thunder Blade Technique.

He placed the two halves of the gourd side by side on the table, picked up the wine pot, and slowly poured the clear wine into the two ladles.

Then, he picked up half of it and handed it to Miao Ruolan, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed.

He then picked up the other half and took a sip of wine.

A moment later, he turned his head and vomited into the basin next to the bed.

The nuptial ceremony here is slightly different from the cupped wine ceremony he knew in his previous life.

There's no need to cross arms to drink together, and the wine isn't meant to be swallowed; it's merely a symbolic rinsing of the mouth, signifying "sharing joys and sorrows, a pure beginning."

When Jiang Fu'an got married for the first time, he made a fool of himself by actually drinking the wine.

Fortunately, the bride, Wang Lanhua, was also so nervous that she made even more mistakes.

Neither of them laughed at the other; the awkwardness actually lessened their initial nervousness.

After Miao Ruolan rinsed her mouth in the same way, Jiang Fu'an took the half of the gourd from her hand, put it together with his own half, picked up a red rope that had been prepared beforehand, and wrapped it tightly around the gourd.

Then, it was hung high on the carved wooden frame above the bed.

The ceremony is now complete.

He turned around and his gaze fell on Miao Ruolan.

"Alright, the formalities are complete, we should rest now. My lady, would you mind helping me undress?"

Miao Ruolan, who was staring at her fingertips, shrank back in fright upon hearing this and blurted out:

"Oh! You're resting so early?"

Seeing that she looked like a frightened rabbit, Jiang Fu'an decided it was better to do it himself.

Without saying much, he squatted down and gently grasped Miao Ruolan's slender ankle with his hand.

"Eh!"

Miao Ruolan let out a soft cry and instinctively tried to pull her feet back.

But the shameful things that her mother and aunts had taught her during the day suddenly rushed into her mind.

Those instructions froze her foot, which she had only halfway back.

Yes, these are things that are supposed to be done on the wedding night...

It seems there's no reason to refuse.

She bit her lip, remaining still, letting those warm, large hands remove the embroidered shoes with twin lotus blossoms from her feet.

Her shoes came off, revealing a pair of fair and delicate feet, with ten small toenails meticulously dyed a bright red that echoed her wedding dress.

Jiang Fu'an couldn't take his eyes off it...

Miao Ruolan was burned by his gaze and hurriedly pulled her legs back, hiding under the quilt.

Jiang Fu'an wasn't in a hurry. He just smiled slightly, stood up, and began to loosen his belt.

The night was still long, and he had plenty of patience.

That night, the candles in the bridal chamber burned all night long.

Faint, intermittent sounds drifted out of the window, like sobs or sighs, repeating themselves until dawn.