Chapter 428: Han Zhou Transmitting the Scripture
The towering Jade Steel Mountain stood lofty and grand, its cliffs rugged and steep, with verdant hues so vivid they seed ready to drip.
The mountain soil, rich with Jade Tempered Mysterious Steel, glead in a deep jade color. From afar, it resembled a colossal giant clad in jade armor, magnificent and resplendent.
Streams flowed through the mountain, murmuring like the gentle strumming of an ancient zither, crisp and lodious.
The mountain stones were hard and crystalline, shimring with radiant brilliance.
Open-air mines layered the mountainside, the veins of ore crisscrossing in abundance. The tunnels ran deep and complex, sprawling through the mountain’s belly like a massive web. The flickering mine lamps resembled countless stars, and miners, like ants, toiled tirelessly in the dim light.
Halfway up the slope stood Yugang Mountain Town, its walls towering and watchtowers densely packed. Ever since ng Zizhong’s defeat at Mist-Hidden Mountain, the balance here had undergone a complete upheaval.
Now, many cultivators patrolled day and night, standing guard in shifts, and the defenses were far stricter than before.
At this mont, Han Zhou sat in a small courtyard within the mountain town, gazing toward the billowing smoke rising into the sky—smoke born from the furnaces that burned without pause day and night.
The fires roared, never ceasing, blazing endlessly.
“Daoist Friend Han Zhou, everyone has arrived.”
An elderly man pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard.
Han Zhou nodded. “Please, invite them in.”
A large group of Ning Family branch mbers poured into the courtyard.
Han Zhou swept his gaze around. There were twenty to thirty of them, all cultivators of the Qi Refining Stage. So were young, so aged, but regardless of age, there was a gleam in each of their eyes.
Han Zhou, who had endured hardship and seen many levels of cultivation, particularly liked that gleam.
Because he knew—it was the light of hope for the future, the yearning for happiness.
He sat cross-legged directly upon the grass.
The Ning clansn exchanged glances, then quickly followed his example, one by one sitting cross-legged as well.
Han Zhou said, “Next, I shall impart to you the Bitter Cold Sutra.”
He was straightforward—direct and unpretentious.
The Ning clansn imdiately perked up their ears, focusing all their attention.
When Han Zhou finished his transmission, silence filled the courtyard. So kept their eyes tightly shut, straining their minds to comprehend what they had heard.
At the side, Ning Youfu, who had watched the entire process, could not help but smile.
Han Zhou had generously passed down both the Qi Refining Chapter and the Foundation Establishnt Chapter—thorough and unreserved.
Though Ning Youfu himself had no intention to change his cultivation thod, from listening, he knew that this Bitter Cold Sutra was exquisite—no weaker than the Ice Heart Sutra, the top-tier cultivation art of the Ning Family’s main branch.
When the branch family mbers had lived under the main family, they would have had to devote half a lifeti to ritorious service just to be granted the right to study such a thod.
But here, in the branch family, they had easily received such a privilege.
“Ning Zhuo truly has ans,” he thought.
“This ti, he even sent such a powerful expert solely to teach cultivation scriptures to our Ning clansn.”
“Moreover, even Ancestor Ning Jiufan himself has co to Jade Steel Mountain, warmly received day and night by the town chief. With him lending his presence, our branch family’s reputation here will soar, and many matters will beco far simpler.”
Ning Youfu felt deeply invigorated.
Ning Zhuo’s actions had far exceeded his expectations.
In truth, ever since Ning Zhuo beca patriarch of the branch family, he had brought one surprise after another.
Originally, Ning Youfu had been worried when Ning Zhuo left Huoshi Immortal City to travel the world. But now, it was clear that true geniuses could never be judged by common reasoning.
“I was blind in my old age to have underestimated our patriarch,” Ning Youfu thought, gazing at the azure sky, letting his mind wander toward the future.
“With such a gifted and brilliant young patriarch, what worry can our family have about not prospering?”
“To think that even in my twilight years, I can follow such a man and witness such a life.”
Ning Youfu was content, and Han Zhou too felt satisfied.
“What Young Lord Ning Zhuo said to was indeed true,” he mused.
“Sotis, choice is far more important than effort.”
“This ti, I’ve easily taught more than twenty or thirty people.”
“As agreed, with Young Lord Ning Zhuo’s assistance, I’ll be teaching even more in the future.”
At the thought of Ning Zhuo, Han Zhou felt both admiration and a faint sense of guilt.
“No, that won’t do.”
“Young Lord Ning Zhuo’s magnanimity surpasses ordinary n—truly noble in both spirit and character. I cannot just think of myself.”
“In principle, the Bitter Cold Sutra should indeed aid miners in their labor. But to be certain, I must personally test it in the mines before I can truly rest easy.”
Thinking this, Han Zhou voiced his request to Ning Youfu.
In Ning Zhuo’s letter to Ning Youfu, he had already ntioned that Han Zhou, a Foundation Establishnt cultivator, had been sent to teach techniques and help stabilize the town.
Unexpectedly, Han Zhou himself was so proactive, eager to test the Bitter Cold Sutra’s application in mining.
Ning Youfu imdiately expressed his gratitude, suggesting that Han Zhou rest for the day—after all, teaching was taxing—and that they could visit the mine the next day. After all, Han Zhou would be staying in the area for quite so ti, and there was no rush.
Han Zhou shook his head decisively. “Elder Ning, I was born a peasant, and before entering the Dao, I was but a beggar.”
“Young Lord Ning Zhuo, though a noble, treated as a close friend, never once despising my origins. From our very first etings, he even lent the Comprehension Diagram to help study frost-based arts.”
“So, don’t be overly courteous. Teaching cultivation is no burden. If it’s convenient for you, Elder Ning, let’s go now!”
Han Zhou’s decisiveness made Ning Youfu beam with joy.
This man’s temperant and straightforwardness were truly to Ning Youfu’s liking.
Ning Youfu said, “Daoist Friend Han Zhou, before you, how can I still be called Elder Ning? Just call Daoist Friend instead. Since you are willing, let us go to the mine now.”
The mine was not far from the mountain town—or rather, nurous mines were encompassed within its surrounding area.
When the guarding cultivators saw Ning Youfu display his token, they imdiately let them pass.
Unlike the first ti when Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong entered the mine and had to pay a fee, now the Ning branch family had been granted partial mining rights—practically half-owners.
Han Zhou entered the mine tunnel and proceeded deeper.
Activating the Bitter Cold Sutra, he began to mine.
Soon, he discarded his tools and started digging bare-handed.
Under the empowernt of Suffering Body, the more exhausted and wounded he beca, the more his strength and stamina increased, his movents growing ever faster.
Watching from the side, Ning Youfu quickly grasped the principle and exclaid excitedly, “What a marvelous technique! Truly marvelous!”
“Our clansn generally lack magical tools and have ager mana, but with this cultivation art, they can mine and cultivate simultaneously—killing two birds with one stone! Simply brilliant!”
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