Today, Aunt Wang was especially happy. Since the natural disaster, her home had been quiet and deserted. Thanks to the Jian family, such good neighbors, she could visit them and chat with them from time to time.

We haven't had any guests at home for a long time.

When she lived in the countryside, her neighbors were all longtime friends. They would sit at their doorsteps knitting and chatting when they had free time. She loved being around people.

With six or seven people coming to her house today, it felt like she was back in the village. The depression she'd felt due to the floods outside had lifted considerably. Her face was beaming with smiles.

They wished they could bring out all the good things in their house to entertain guests.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the hot pot meal.

The wind and rain outside the window did nothing to diminish the happy smiles of the people inside. It was as if the end of the world had not come; everything was so peaceful and serene.

Today, Jian Ning couldn't resist drinking some wine again.

Not much, just a small half-cup. Sure enough, this wine suited her perfectly. Not only was she not drunk at all, but she was also extremely excited, and the flow of spiritual energy in her body accelerated considerably.

After finishing my meal and returning home, I wasn't sleepy at all. Suddenly, I remembered I hadn't yet collected a jade carving from a jewelry store. I hope the weather doesn't change again; once the water freezes, it'll be difficult to get inside.

So he used a wall-penetrating technique to leave Jinmao Mansion, landed directly in the water outside, used a water-avoiding spell, and sped off in a motorboat towards the gold shop.

This time, the target was directly the jade ornaments on the second floor; every single one was stored in the space. But strangely, there was no upgrade this time. The space still functions normally.

Jian Ning pursed her lips, not expecting this space to be so picky. Either there were too few jade items, or the items needed for each upgrade were not exactly the same.

The first upgrade involved furniture made of some unknown type of wood; the second upgrade involved a large quantity of jade artifacts.

If we want to upgrade the space, we need to find something of higher quality. That's a bit difficult. We can't exactly go mining in the mountains, can we?

Well, this space is enough, especially since it hasn't been upgraded. The spiritual energy within the space has increased significantly, making it particularly suitable for her cultivation techniques. It's not like she absolutely had to find a way to upgrade it.

Since she was already out, she couldn't go back empty-handed. Jian Ning went to two more shopping malls and packed up anything usable.

He went straight into his spatial dimension upon returning home and began cultivating without disturbing anyone.

She woke up in the morning and felt the spiritual energy in her body. Through her continuous efforts, she had now reached the mid-stage of the fifth level of Qi Refining.

On a whim, he used an earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from the courtyard house and appear directly in the black soil on the other side of the space, with two fresh carrots on his head when he came out.

Jian Ning chuckled happily, grabbed the carrot, and left the space. This would be breakfast. Food that popped out of its own body couldn't go back.

I didn't expect to shiver from the cold air as soon as I stepped outside. Good heavens, it's so cold!

I quickly went back to my space and put on some thick clothes.

She wore a full set of thermal underwear, plus the longest down jacket, and even put on a woolen hat with cute pom-poms.

Fully armed, I stepped out of the space, drew back the curtains, and saw that everything outside was already a blanket of white. Large snowflakes were still falling from the sky.

"It's snowing!" Jian Ning jumped up happily. She rarely saw snow when she was in the cultivation world. She just thought the snowflakes falling all around were extremely beautiful.

I quickly opened the door and went up the stairs to the rooftop terrace. A thick layer of snow had already fallen there, a pristine white.

Now Aunt Li doesn't have to worry about running out of water.

Such clean snow could be melted into water and used directly for washing, laundry, or even drinking, as it's free of pollution and bacteria.

Suddenly hearing a noise behind him, he turned around and saw Xiao Lingfeng walking up. Despite the sub-zero temperatures of minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius, this man was only wearing a long black woolen coat.

The collar of his white collared sweater peeked out. The black and white contrast accentuated his red lips, white teeth, and deep-set eyes. His eyes, as he looked at her, seemed to hold a sky full of stars and a vast ocean.

In the vast expanse of white, he was the only splash of color. Jian Ning's heart skipped a beat; she was absolutely smitten with his looks—the most handsome man in the world. Just one glance was enough to make her unable to tear herself away.

"Aren't you cold?" Xiao Lingfeng frowned slightly and strode over.

"It's not cold, I'm dressed warmly. It's snowing, that's great! Let's build a snowman!"

"Tell Tian Tian to come up too. She's been cooped up inside all day, hasn't she? I'll also tell my brother and the others to come up so we can all play together."

Seeing Jian Ning's happy, radiant smile, Xiao Lingfeng couldn't bear to refuse. He turned and went downstairs to find Tian Tian.

Jian Ning also picked up the walkie-talkie and called Jian Anping: "Brother, you and sister-in-law take Dazhuang up to the rooftop, let's build a snowman, there's so much snow! Remember to wear more clothes."

"Okay," Jian Anping agreed. In less than five minutes, the whole family had come up to the rooftop. Even Aunt Wang was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, wrapping Tian Tian up like a little bear for the winter.

"It's snowing!" Tian Tian was the happiest of them all. What child doesn't love snow? Besides, this was the first time she had come out to enjoy the fresh air in so many days. She was so happy that her smile almost reached the sky.

He fell directly onto the snow and rolled around several times, unwilling to get up.

"You silly child, you're all covered in snow. Don't catch a cold later." Aunt Wang quickly caught up with her and helped her up.

Jian Ning and Li Mengyao had already started building a snowman. Jian Anping also came over with a small shovel to help. The carrots they had taken out earlier were now coming in handy.

It was perfect for a nose for the snowman. Jian Ning even put two lumps of coal on its head as eyes. And you know what? The snowman looked adorable and very festive.

"It's not even September yet, and it's already snowing. Heaven doesn't want the people to have an easy time!" Uncle Li stood there watching the children laughing happily, and looked worriedly at the snowflakes that were still falling. He sighed.

"Old man, let's try to think more positively and just live in the moment. With things like this, haven't you realized it's the end of the world? It's always shown in the movies..."

"Who knows what other disasters might happen in the future? Try to be optimistic. You have food and drink, and you won't freeze. You're already lucky enough." Aunt Li was a very sensible old lady.

"Mengyao, Xiaoning, let's go back for dinner. It's too cold outside." Aunt Li waited a while longer, and seeing that it was getting late, she quickly called them all downstairs for dinner.

As soon as Jian Ning entered room 1601, she felt the intense heat inside. The fire in the stove was burning brightly, making it impossible to wear a down jacket, so she quickly took off her coat.