The tunnel beneath the toad’s back was clearly freshly excavated.
The chisel marks on it were still new.
It seemed the Liu Family had indeed just recently developed this Exotic Beast formula.
Lu Changfeng’s gaze probed the tunnel, and he felt a stir of excitement.
If he could get his hands on the Exotic Beast formula, his cultivation speed would increase dramatically once more.
’I hope what I’m looking for is really down there...’
After descending more than ten meters, a foul stench drifted up to them.
An underground chamber, several dozen square meters in size, appeared before Lu Changfeng’s eyes.
"Who are you? This is a restricted area! Only the Patriarch is allowed to enter!"
Two old servants were in the chamber, and they challenged Lu Changfeng and his companion upon seeing them.
Zhou Feng didn’t waste any words, stepping forward and killing one of the old men with a single palm strike.
After Zhou Feng killed one of them with a single blow, the remaining old servant no longer dared to speak out of turn, obediently answering every question put to him.
Lu Changfeng, meanwhile, turned his attention to three writhing masses in the center of the chamber.
Lu Changfeng walked closer.
Inside a stone alcove, three snow-white, writhing creatures were devouring some kind of medicinal herb.
Every so often, a clutch of eggs would emerge from their rear ends.
"Those are the eggs of the Celestial Silkworm Seed. After incubating for fifteen days, they’ll mature into adult worms, which can be made into dried Exotic Beast Meat."
"We call this type of Exotic Beast Meat, Celestial Silkworm Meat."
The old man at his side collected the eggs and placed them into a ceramic basin filled with a medicinal solution.
A thought struck Lu Changfeng. "How does the efficacy of Celestial Silkworm Meat compare to Earth Dragon Meat?"
"The Wang Family’s Earth Dragon Meat, you mean? Its efficacy is about seventy percent of that, but of course, that’s when compared to a High-Grade Earth Dragon head."
"The Earth Dragon Meat the Wang Family sells to the public is of the lowest grade. It can’t compare to our Celestial Silkworm Meat."
"Furthermore, the eggs laid by the Celestial Silkworm Seed are extremely consistent. The quality of every batch is basically the same."
The old man explained with a hint of pride.
"How on earth did you find such a treasure?" Lu Changfeng asked, pointing at the three half-meter-tall Celestial Silkworm Seeds.
The old man replied, "These are the three our Liu Family was fortunate enough to cultivate after spending hundreds of thousands of silver. As for the origin of the ancient formula, only the Patriarch knows."
Lu Changfeng held out his hand. "The ancient formula. Let me see it."
The old man was decisive, directly retrieving a booklet from the side wall and handing it to Lu Changfeng.
Lu Changfeng opened it and saw that the book was likely from the era of Near Antiquity.
The history of this world was divided into the early Ancient Times, the late Ancient Times, and Near Antiquity.
Near Antiquity generally referred to the era around ten thousand years ago.
The book recorded how to cultivate Celestial Silkworms with medicinal herbs, and then how to use a ’Gu-rearing’ method to produce a Celestial Silkworm Seed.
The success rate was only about three percent.
What the old man said about the Liu Family spending hundreds of thousands of silver to cultivate three Celestial Silkworm Seeds was likely true, and they had been extremely lucky to succeed at all.
Lu Changfeng tossed the cultivation formula to the old man. "Make a copy of this for me immediately. How are we two supposed to split this?"
Without a word, the old man picked up a brush and a blank booklet and began to copy it.
As Lu Changfeng turned back to the Celestial Silkworm Seeds, Zhou Feng spoke up. "Junior Brother, your Root Bone is much better than mine, so you need more Exotic Beast Meat. Of these three Celestial Silkworm Seeds, you take two, and I’ll take one."
"This..." Lu Changfeng frowned slightly.
’According to the ancient booklet, one Celestial Silkworm Seed should be enough to support my cultivation through the Blood Forging Fourth and Fifth Layers.’
’But I don’t plan on advancing to the Tendon Transformation Realm as soon as I reach the Blood Forging Sixth Layer.’
’I’m still young. I want to see how high I can climb within the nine layers of Blood Forging.’
"Alright, it’s settled," Zhou Feng said. "Besides, we couldn’t have killed Liu Hong without you. You deserve this."
Lu Changfeng no longer objected and simply nodded.
The two of them then found three cages in the room and loaded the Celestial Silkworm Seeds into them.
"We still have to keep these Celestial Silkworm Seeds a secret."
"We’ll tell the Liuu Family that we only got one."
"To the outside world, we can’t leak a single word. Remember, none of the other three Grand Martial Arts Halls in the Outer City have an Exotic Beast Meat formula," Lu Changfeng said.
Zhou Feng nodded. "You’re right. I’ll be careful."
Lu Changfeng picked up the cages. ’Looks like I’ll have to move back into my own little courtyard when I get back,’ he thought.
Meanwhile, the old man finished copying the formula for the Celestial Silkworm Seed.
Lu Changfeng took the copied booklet. Once he and Zhou Feng each had a copy, the old man did something completely unexpected.
While Lu Changfeng wasn’t looking, he snatched a nearby dagger and plunged it into his own chest, taking his own life.
The old man must have guessed the Liu Family’s fate and chosen to follow his masters in death.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng searched the secret chamber one last time, taking some of the prepared Celestial Silkworm Meat with them before leaving.
The back of the toad statue opened again, and Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng emerged.
Carrying the Celestial Silkworm Seeds, it would be inconvenient to run into anyone from the Liuu Family.
So they slipped over the courtyard wall, and then scaled the walls of the Inner City.
The Inner City walls were seven or eight meters high, enough to stop ordinary soldiers, but they were nothing to two men at the Blood Forging Fourth and Fifth Layers.
Back in the Outer City, Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng parted ways.
Lu Changfeng returned to the small courtyard he hadn’t lived in for a long time.
Even after more than a year, the courtyard was still fairly clean. The sentimental Chunzhu had been coming by to tidy up every so often.
It also helped prevent vagrants from breaking in.
Lu Changfeng put down the Celestial Silkworm Seeds and went to the kitchen off the main hall.
He took out a hoe and began to dig.
In half a day, Lu Changfeng had dug a small cellar, perfect for secretly raising the Celestial Silkworm Seeds.
’The stamina and strength of a Blood Forging Martial Artist are terrifying. They’d be perfect for farming...’
Once the cellar was finished, Lu Changfeng placed the Celestial Silkworm Seeds inside it.
Then, he went out to the street to buy medicinal herbs.
These herbs were food for the Celestial Silkworm Seeds, and the cost was well within Lu Changfeng’s means.
The leftover dregs could even be made into a solution for incubating the Celestial Silkworm Seed eggs.
’I don’t know about Earth Dragon Meat, but this Celestial Silkworm Meat is a gold mine. My previous estimate of a two- or three-fold profit was a failure of imagination.’
’Of course, when you factor in the Liu Family’s initial investment to cultivate them, it’s not something an ordinary person could afford either.’
After settling the Celestial Silkworm Seeds, Lu Changfeng returned to the Martial Arts Hall and told his master that he and Chunzhu would be moving out.
With so many people and prying eyes at the Martial Arts Hall, it was clearly no place to raise Celestial Silkworm Seeds.
Zhang Desheng didn’t mind, simply assuming Lu Changfeng wanted a more private space for himself and Chunzhu.
Lu Changfeng brought Chunzhu back to the small courtyard.
Chunzhu was delighted, assuming that Lu Changfeng’s desire to fix up the courtyard meant he had other things on his mind.
When Lu Changfeng led her down into the cellar, Chunzhu was stunned.
"When I’m busy in the future, you’ll have to help me take care of these two Celestial Silkworm Seeds."
"With these two, not only will I be able to break through to the Tendon Transformation Realm, but you will too!"
Once her shock subsided, Chunzhu nodded obediently. The thought that Lu Changfeng would share even this ultimate secret with her filled her with such tender affection that she immediately threw herself into his arms.
「The next day」
Lu Changfeng, Zhou Feng, and Liuu Ye met at the Martial Arts Hall, a silent understanding between them.
After a feast at a local restaurant, they each returned to their own affairs.
One went to consolidate their family’s assets.
The others went into seclusion to focus on their cultivation.
For a time, the three True Disciples of Changle Martial Arts Hall were rarely seen on the training grounds.
Changle Martial Arts Hall grew even more deserted.