328: Taking on apprentices

Qingyang Prefecture, Qingyang Peak.

Zhou Dingyang and the other person appeared.

The two did not rest but went directly to the Zhou Family main hall to report.

Inside the main hall.

Zhou Leyi already knew of their return.

"Family Head."

"These are the items we bid on this time."

Zhou Dingyang handed over the two Storage Pouches in his hand.

One contained the remaining unused Spirit Stones.

The other contained several treasures that had been bid on.

The Legacy precious bead of the Wind Spirit Treasure Codex was among them.

Zhou Leyi took them.

His Divine Sense swept over them.

"It's actually a wind-attribute Legacy."

Zhou Leyi raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

"It fills a gap in the Clan."

Zhou Leyi said with a chuckle.

Currently, the Zhou Family possesses many Cultivation Technique Legacies of various attributes.

However, for the three special attributes—wind, lightning, and ice—only lightning and ice had Fourth-tier Legacies.

Among them, the Xuanqing Thunder Induction Canon came from the Xuanqing Sect.

The Frigid Ice Profound Canon came from Li Shuwu.

Now that they had obtained this Wind Spirit Treasure Codex, the Family's foundation had deepened somewhat.

Zhou Dingyang and the other person each spoke, recounting what had happened on their return journey.

Zhou Leyi nodded frequently.

Finally, the two left.

Zhou Leyi made a trip to the Cultivation Manual Tower.

He placed the Legacy of the Wind Spirit Treasure Codex on the fifth floor.

Zhou Dingyang and the other person left the main hall.

Zhou Dingze then bid farewell and departed, heading towards the back mountain.

Zhou Dingyang shook his head, not bothering with him.

Outside Linya Pavilion.

Zhou Dingze appeared in the distance.

He took out the white jade spirit flute he had acquired at the auction.

He carefully placed it in front of Linya Pavilion, without making a sound.

Having done this, Zhou Dingze sighed inwardly and turned to leave.

Several days later.

In front of Zhou Dingze's Immortal Cave, a Storage Pouch appeared.

"He really doesn't want to owe you anything."

Zhou Dingyang shook his head.

Zhou Dingze said nothing, silently putting it away.

Every time Zhou Dingze sent something, a return gift would arrive within a few days.

The value was often similar, or even slightly exceeded.

So many years had passed, and it was still the same...

Several months later.

Great Buddha Domain.

Songbai Peak, Kushan Temple.

Jiang Ningchan arrived outside the Kushan Temple.

She took in a neatly arranged and fresh green wild vegetable from the ground.

She looked around, but still saw no other figures.

Inside Kushan Temple.

"Today, we're in for another treat."

Looking at the wild vegetables Jiang Ningchan brought in, Zhou Xiangyu smiled faintly.

"Yes."

"But I wonder how he himself is doing?"

Jiang Ningchan thought of that small figure.

During this period, some wild mountain produce would occasionally appear outside Kushan Temple.

They were all sent by the child named Xiaohu.

"Don't worry, he's not a pedant."

"He naturally understands the principle that he must first take care of himself before he can repay kindness."

Zhou Xiangyu nodded.

After performing a Buddhist rite for Xiaohu's mother that day, more people began to come up the mountain to seek him, this Kushan Temple practitioner who cultivated with his hair, to perform Buddhist rites.

Zhou Xiangyu occasionally agreed and collected appropriate remuneration based on their respective situations.

Now, in Kushan Temple, there were quite a few living creatures.

Wild rabbits, wild chickens, and many medicinal herbs and other items that had been brought were all raised by Zhou Xiangyu and the other person in Kushan Temple.

Here, they were experiencing many things.

Zhou Xiangyu's Buddhist cultivation had greatly increased.

His understanding of the Cultivation Technique he practiced had deepened, and his strength had improved again.

"How is the selection going?"

Jiang Ningchan then asked another question.

She naturally knew Zhou Xiangyu's purpose in rebuilding Kushan Temple here.

But Zhou Xiangyu had not yet sent out word, intending to choose a Disciple for the Legacy.

Bitter Heart was not in a hurry either, allowing Zhou Xiangyu to decide for himself.

"Let's wait and see."

Zhou Xiangyu replied with a smile.

Jiang Ningchan was helpless.

However, she only asked because Zhou Xiangyu had not made any moves.

For her, the time spent on Songbai Peak, far from the hustle and bustle, was the most relaxed and happy period since her birth.

No need for strife, no one forcing her.

It was a good place to cultivate one's Heart-Nature.

Jiang Ningchan's aura also became increasingly peaceful, unlike the icy coldness she had before.

The two spoke a few more words.

Zhou Xiangyu personally cooked the wild vegetables.

These wild vegetables had been picked and washed clean, and could not be replanted.

In order not to disappoint the good intentions of others, the two simply tasted them for novelty.

Zhou Xiangyu stayed here, experiencing the path of cultivation that Bitter Heart had walked back then.

Another few months passed.

It had been exactly one year since Zhou Xiangyu came here to re-establish Kushan Temple.

This day, at dawn.

On Songbai Peak, a child of about seven or eight years old walked through the mountains with ease.

He skillfully avoided difficult terrain and smoothly arrived in front of an ancient temple in the mountains.

Above the temple, a plaque hung with the three characters "Kushan Temple."

The child gently stepped forward, placed the wild fruits he had gathered from the mountain, and, as usual, bowed three times to Kushan Temple.

Only then did he turn to leave.

"Xiaohu."

Just as Xiaohu turned around, a voice sounded from behind him.

Xiaohu was startled and quickly turned around.

A young man of about twenty, with a gentle face and long hair tied back, stood by the door, looking at him.

"Abbot Master!"

Xiaohu quickly bowed.

"No need for such formality."

Zhou Xiangyu waved his hand.

To Xiaohu's surprise, his body involuntarily straightened.

"Xiaohu, are you willing to cultivate with me?"

Zhou Xiangyu's expression turned serious, and he asked in a grave tone.

"Cultivate?"

Seeing Zhou Xiangyu's demeanor, Xiaohu felt a sudden increase in pressure.

But he didn't know what cultivation meant.

He figured no one in Da Niu Village would know either.

"Cultivation means learning knowledge with me."

Seeing Xiaohu's confusion, Zhou Xiangyu explained.

"This..."

There were no scholars in Da Niu Village, but that didn't prevent everyone from respecting them.

And scholars were people who learned knowledge.

Xiaohu was dizzy and dazed by this huge surprise.

But after a moment of thought, Xiaohu shook his head with difficulty.

The uncles and elders in the village had taken good care of him.

He had not yet repaid their kindness and could not just stay on the mountain like this.

"How do you think my abilities are?"

Zhou Xiangyu seemed to have guessed Xiaohu's thoughts.

"Abbot Master's abilities are as vast as the sky."

Xiaohu nodded quickly.

Since the re-establishment of Kushan Temple, miracles had occasionally occurred in the mountains.

Some people fell off cliffs and did not die.

Some escaped from the jaws of tigers.

When someone in the village was seriously ill or injured and sent to Kushan Temple, they all received treatment.

The villagers all said that the Abbot Master and the white-robed fairy in Kushan Temple were immortals descended from heaven.

All of this indicated that the Abbot Master was a truly capable person.

"Then do you want to learn these abilities to better help the uncles and elders who have taken care of you?"

Zhou Xiangyu continued to ask.

Xiaohu's eyes struggled.

After a long time, he finally nodded solemnly.

"Yes!"

This was for both the village and himself.

"Sharpening the axe does not delay chopping wood."

Xiaohu remembered a saying his father often repeated.

He had heard it once by chance from a scholar and his father had remembered it for a lifetime.

Now it was Xiaohu's turn to remember it.

Xiaohu's gaze was firm.

Then, mimicking the scene in the stories, he respectfully knelt down and bowed.

"Greetings, Master!"

"From now on, you are the Fiftieth-generation Legacy of my Kushan Temple."

"I bestow upon you the Buddhist name Kong Bai."

"May your Heart-Nature be like the void, embracing the world, and like the cypress, standing firm on a cliff."

"Yes, Master, Disciple has noted it."