In a secluded courtyard, Li Hongzhuang and Lu Changsheng sat inside a room.
Lu Changsheng glanced around and appeared somewhat surprised.
"You're quite daring, living so close to the Zhao family," remarked Lu Changsheng, looking at Li Hongzhuang.
He was familiar with Nanyang City and naturally knew the location of this courtyard.
The Zhao family was nearby, only about a hundred steps away.
"It's called hiding in plain sight. While the Zhao family may be powerful, there's no issue with this place. They won't find it," Li Hongzhuang explained as she lay on the ground and opened a hidden passage from under the bed.
The passage was small and could only hide somewhat larger items.
Li Hongzhuang brought up a large chest from inside.
"Snap."
Li Hongzhuang opened the chest.
To their surprise, the chest was filled to the brim with ancient scrolls, one after another.
Moreover, upon seeing the names on the covers of the scrolls, Lu Changsheng's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Martial arts!
All the books in this large chest were various types of martial arts.
It appeared that there were at least a hundred martial arts and techniques.
It seemed that Li Hongzhuang's identity was not simple.
However, Lu Changsheng didn't inquire about Li Hongzhuang's identity. Everyone has their secrets, so why dig too deep?
He had followed Li Hongzhuang here solely for the purpose of trading for some martial arts.
Li Hongzhuang lifted her head and calmly said, "I copied all the martial skills and techniques you bought from me before."
"The original martial skills are right here in this chest."
"You can check for yourself and see which martial arts you still need."
Li Hongzhuang had brought Lu Changsheng to her secret hideout and even showed him the "original" martial skills, indicating a high level of trust.
Lu Changsheng carefully examined each one.
Most of the scrolls in the chest were martial techniques, and some of them he had practiced before.
However, there were many martial techniques he had never practiced.
Moreover, Lu Changsheng could tell that some of these martial techniques were very profound, possibly third or even fourth-tier martial techniques.
As he continued to look through them for half an hour, Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, and when he raised his head again, his gaze had become very solemn.
"Let's talk price."
Lu Changsheng wanted most of the martial arts and techniques from the chest, but he knew the price would not be low.
"If I slowly sell these martial arts and techniques in the black market, I can sell each one more than once, possibly many times," Li Hongzhuang explained. "But I need silver coins urgently now."
"However, since you saved my life this time, I won't ask for much. Let's make it a fixed price of three thousand taels of silver!"
Lu Changsheng considered it and thought the price was reasonable. Besides, he was not short on silver coins at the moment.
"Alright, three thousand taels of silver. Here are the silver bills."
Lu Changsheng directly handed over three thousand taels of silver bills.
"Deal."
Li Hongzhuang accepted the silver bills, even letting out a long sigh of relief.
Lu Changsheng tied the chest to his back and then asked, "You've offended the Zhao family. In Nanyang Prefecture, it might be difficult for you to find a place to stay."
"Yes, the Zhao family is a local powerhouse, and I can't compete with them," Li Hongzhuang replied. "Fortunately, I've saved up enough silver, and I plan to leave Nanyang soon."
Lu Changsheng nodded and then turned away without looking back, disappearing quickly into the night.
"Farewell in the martial world..."
Li Hongzhuang watched the direction in which Lu Changsheng disappeared, and a hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes.
Lu Changsheng returned safely to Miao Shou Garden.
He locked the doors and windows, then placed the chest behind him and took out one martial arts manual after another, organizing them briefly.
In total, there were eight Body Forging martial arts, three Organ Refining martial arts, eighty-six martial skills, and a total of ninety-seven manuals!
This was a huge haul!
These martial arts and techniques would be enough for Lu Changsheng to practice for a very long time.
Right now, Lu Changsheng was most interested in the Body Forging martial arts.
He carefully examined all eight Body Forging martial arts manuals.
Seven of them were ordinary Body Forging martial arts, but one of them was a superior Body Forging martial art called "Icy Bone Forging Technique."
Within the manual for this superior Body Forging martial art, there were even some annotations.
It wasn't clear whose annotations they were.
Some of the annotations mentioned hidden aspects of Body Forging, which opened Lu Changsheng's eyes.
It turned out that reaching the Body Forging Realm was not as simple as refining one's bones a few times.
Some people could achieve "Jade Bones" with just a few refinements, but for others, even dozens of refinements wouldn't result in "Jade Bones."
The reason was straightforward: human bones could be divided into three regions—surface, inner, and marrow.
Only by refining the marrow could one achieve "Jade Bones."
The surface bones could usually be refined with just a few attempts, but the inner bones were much more challenging.
To make the blood and qi penetrate deep into the inner bones, one needed superior Body Forging martial arts to gradually refine the inner bones in a special way.
Additionally, specialized bone-nourishing medicinal diets were required to repair any injuries or hidden dangers caused by the bone refining process.
As for refining the marrow, it would require the most top-notch Body Forging martial arts, which Lu Changsheng had never even heard of.
If there were no top-notch Body Forging martial arts, would it be impossible to achieve "Jade Bones"?
Lu Changsheng frowned.
Top-notch Body Forging martial arts were completely unfamiliar to him.
Without top-notch Body Forging martial arts, would it be impossible to achieve "Jade Bones"?
Lu Changsheng continued to read.
Surprisingly, the annotator of the "Icy Bone Forging Technique" left behind a method.
Without top-notch Body Forging martial arts, one could try the most straightforward method: repeatedly refining the bones with ordinary Body Forging martial arts.
With numerous refinements, there would eventually be some effect.
Over time, with the accumulation of quantity, there could be a qualitative change, and "Jade Bones" might be achieved.
However, this method was simply impractical for most people.
Each Body Forging martial art usually took several years to fully master.
To achieve "quantity leading to quality" through this method, how many Body Forging martial arts would one need to practice?
It would take several years, possibly even decades, and there was still no guarantee of truly achieving "Jade Bones."
However, for Lu Changsheng, this method was worth a try.
Furthermore, Lu Changsheng now understood why "Jade Bones" was so crucial.
Any martial artist with the opportunity aspired to achieve "Jade Bones" because only "Jade Bones" could withstand the immense pressure when breaking through to the Divine Power Realm.
The more robust one's bones were, the greater the force they could withstand.
Once they achieved the Divine Power Realm, martial artists with "Jade Bones" could practically dominate peers of the same level.
"Jade Bones must be achieved."
"I've practiced two Body Forging martial arts before, refining my bones eight times, but that was just equivalent to refining the surface of my bones."
"If I can practice this 'Icy Bone Forging Technique,' I should be able to refine the inner bones!"
Lu Changsheng began practicing the Icy Bone Forging Technique.
While it could be practiced regularly, it would be more effective in cold environments.
Lu Changsheng would either stay in a cold place or practice with ice blocks to achieve optimal results.
Winter had just begun, and the weather would get colder soon.
By then, ice blocks would be readily available.
Additionally, Bone Forging martial arts required specific bone-nourishing medicinal diets to enhance the efficiency of bone refinement.
"Bone Forging medicinal diets... I can inquire at the Eight Treasures Blood-Boosting Medicine Shop tomorrow."
Lu Changsheng practiced the Icy Bone Forging Technique a few times, although without ice blocks or bone-nourishing medicinal diets, the results were limited.
He decided to stop for now and get some rest.