If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Zhou Ming flew west for about half an hour and found a hidden cave at the foot of a snow-capped mountain, then went inside.

The cave entrance was mostly obscured by a slope of gravel eroded by half a section of glacial meltwater, but the interior was quite spacious, dry, and cool, with a thin layer of frost on the stone walls.

With a wave of his sleeve, Zhou Ming's magic created a gentle breeze that swept away the dust, pebbles, and dried animal dung from the cave, cleaning it spotless in a short time.

Zhou Ming took out Liu Jun's futon from his storage ring.

He placed his feet on the flattest stone slab in the cave and sat down cross-legged.

The futon was woven from some kind of spiritual herb, and it felt slightly cool to the touch. The moment he sat on it, a very faint, refreshing energy seeped into his meridians, instantly clearing his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Ming probed Liu Jun's storage ring with his divine sense and began to examine the rows of jade slips on the bookshelf one by one.

He had already figured out how to use the jade slip when he used his divine sense to observe Liu Jun.

Place the jade slip on your forehead and probe it with your divine sense; the information sealed within will be directly reflected in your sea of ​​consciousness.

He picked up the first jade slip and placed it on his forehead. The moment his consciousness entered it, a flood of information rushed in like a tide.

The more Zhou Ming looked, the brighter his eyes became.

Disciples from major sects are indeed different.

Inside Liu Jun's storage ring, these jade slips were practically a portable library for cultivating immortality.

Cultivation techniques, spells and sword techniques, the way of formations, introduction to weapon crafting, basic alchemy, and initial understanding of talismans.

It contains a complete set of cultivation information, covering everything from the Qi Refining stage to the Golden Core stage, categorized and systematically presented.

The formations, sword techniques, and spells all involve content related to the Golden Core stage or even higher.

As for weapon crafting, alchemy, and talisman making, he only had basic knowledge, probably because Liu Jun himself was not very knowledgeable in these areas.

He simply prepared an introductory jade slip according to the sect's rules, just in case.

What particularly captivated Zhou Ming was the art of formations.

Liu Jun's storage ring contained as many as seventeen or eighteen array jade slips.

From the most basic array pattern outlining and array eye arrangement to the superposition and nesting of intermediate arrays and the crafting of array flags.

Then comes the borrowing of the power of heaven and earth in advanced formations and the cultivation of formation spirits, progressing step by step.

The content was so profound that even Liu Jun himself made numerous annotations that left him puzzled.

Zhou Ming glanced at the highest-grade array jade slip.

According to his estimation, even a Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to fully comprehend the several major formations recorded inside.

Liu Jun was able to set up the Blood Pool Array in the valley to extract blood and qi because of a niche array called the "Blood Spirit Array" recorded in the array jade slips.

As for sword techniques and spells, those should be standard equipment for inner disciples of the Qingyun Sect.

The Azure Cloud Sword Manual contains detailed records of sword techniques from the Qi Refining stage to the sword control techniques of the Foundation Establishment stage, and all the way to the Splitting Light and Transforming Shadow Sword Technique of the Golden Core stage.

The Jade Slip of Techniques contains complete cultivation methods for the Five Elements Techniques (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) and the Three Elements of Variable Techniques (wind, thunder, ice).

The only pity is that no information about the cultivation world was found; there wasn't a single word about it.

However, even so, for Zhou Ming, who had almost no knowledge of cultivation techniques, this was still a challenge.

These jade slips were incredibly valuable, a true godsend.

He was like a traveler who had been trekking through the desert for countless days and suddenly discovered a spring of sweet water, greedily and thirstily absorbing every bit of information from the jade slip.

He completely forgot about the Gangfeng District, the Empress's ascension to the throne, and the Marquis of Yongning's resurrection.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, holding a jade slip in each hand, reading one and then moving on to the next.

Sometimes he would frown in deep thought, and sometimes he would suddenly realize something and trace a few array patterns on his knee with his fingers.

He would occasionally take out the cyan longsword from his storage ring and hold it in his hand, trying to circulate his magic power according to the sword control method recorded in the jade slip.

While Zhou Ming was immersed in his studies, things were not so peaceful for the Blood Refining Realm experts who had just regained their freedom in the valley.

The crowd watched as the figure hidden in the mist above the sky did not reappear.

The oppressive aura that made it hard to breathe completely dissipated.

They began to turn their attention to the golden scripture on the stone wall.

They were all martial artists at the Blood Refining Realm or above. None of them were fools or illiterate, having reached this level.

They witnessed the mysterious man kill the "immortal" who had imprisoned them for who knows how many years with a single palm strike.

He also personally carved this scripture on the stone wall, the meaning of which is self-evident.

Some people looked up and recited silently, some copied it onto the soil with their fingers, and some read it repeatedly before closing their eyes and sitting cross-legged.

He tried to find the Qi sensation in his Dantian by following the eight characters at the beginning of the scripture: "Read the book a hundred times, and divine skills will appear naturally."

But scriptures cannot be eaten.

Having been imprisoned for countless years, the body was already deficient in both qi and blood, and the empty stomach felt like a clenched fist twisting repeatedly in the abdominal cavity.

Someone rushed into the kitchen in the valley, lifted the pot lid, and grabbed anything on the stove that they could put in their mouth.

Half a pot of cooled meat soup, a few pieces of charred, unidentified animal legs, and a basket of raw meat that hadn't been cooked yet.

Whether raw or cooked, they picked it up and began to feast.

Later arrivals flooded into the kitchen and found the pots empty, the stove empty, and even the half-eaten piece of raw meat on the cutting board being stuffed into the mouths of those in front.

Hunger and anger ignited the conflict instantly, and several tall martial artists grappled together, their fists and feet striking flesh with dull thuds.

Fortunately, these people were all extremely weak and their fists were weak and powerless when they threw them. They rolled on the ground a few times and were panting more heavily than when they were fighting, but no one was killed.

After the conflict, everyone began to restrain themselves.

Some people continued to explore the valley and found several stone houses, which contained dried meat and medicinal herbs that had not been taken away by the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators earlier.

Many more people returned to the stone wall, sat down cross-legged in silence, and began to recite the scriptures over and over again.

They all knew very well that the little food in the kitchen would only last for a day or two at most.

The endless forest outside the valley is teeming with powerful beasts.

With their empty shells that have been drained of blood for countless years, going out into the world would mean certain death.

The only way to survive is carved on this stone wall in front of us.

Su Yongning leaned against a chopped-up iron cage, arms crossed, coldly watching everything unfold before him.

He recognized the scriptures; of course he recognized the *Sūtra of Salvation*.

He knew the details of this scripture better than anyone else present. It was precisely because he knew that he remained seated.

But he watched as more and more people sat cross-legged in front of the stone wall and began to recite scriptures.

Having witnessed firsthand the scene of a fight breaking out in the kitchen over a few pieces of raw meat, Su Yongning's expression grew increasingly grim.

These men were all powerful figures from various regions, and none of them were easy to deal with.

Anyone who's been locked up here and is still alive must be ruthless.

If all these people regain their strength, while Su Yongning remains a mere shell drained of his life force...

Let alone getting out of the valley, whether we'll even live to see tomorrow's sun is another matter entirely.

He gritted his teeth, remained silent for a long time, and finally stood up from the ground, strode to the stone wall, and looked up at the golden scripture.

He took a deep breath, then slowly sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to recite.