Chapter 464: Exchanging for the Iron Bone Golden Body

Cheng Feng did not rush back to the Cheng Mansion, but instead went straight to the Rear Courtyard of the Suppression Office.

Passing through the shade of the old locust tree in the Rear Courtyard and pushing open the iron-clad wooden door of the Gongxunge, the interior was just as deserted as the last time he came.

The duty-bound warrior on the first floor was dozing on the table; hearing footsteps, he raised his head, recognized Cheng Feng, and yawned lazily: "Yo, Brother Cheng, here again? How much have you saved up this time?"

Cheng Feng placed his merit slip on the table.

The duty-bound warrior picked up the slip and took a look, his eyes nearly popping out: "Two hundred and sixty-five? Did you go and rob the merit vault, you bastard?"

"Can I go up to the second floor now?" Cheng Feng asked.

"Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely!" The duty-bound warrior scrambled to his feet, took an iron key from the wall, and led Cheng Feng to the staircase leading from the first floor to the second.

At the foot of the stairs was an iron gate with a large, rusted iron lock hanging on it. The duty-bound warrior chattered away while unlocking it,

"The second floor isn't like the first; every item up there starts at a hundred merit points. You'd better choose carefully and don't aim higher than your ability—though since you've saved up so much, it should be enough."

The iron lock fell, the gate creaked open, and a mixed scent of old paper and insect-repellent spices rushed toward him.

Cheng Feng took a deep breath and stepped onto the stairs.

The second floor was much smaller than the first, only the size of a single room.

The three walls were embedded with dense rows of sandalwood shelves; each compartment held a Secret Manual or a brocade box, with a label attached next to it noting the name and the required merit points.

In the center of the room was a square table and a grand armchair, with an oil lamp and a thick catalog book on the table.

Cheng Feng walked to the catalog and opened the first page.

The first page listed the most precious items on the second floor, the handwriting neat and the ink extremely dark—

"Mixed Origin Gang Qi Art" incomplete volume, can be cultivated to the minor success of the Gang Qi Realm, merit value one thousand two hundred.

"Heavenly Gang Thirty-Six Wind-Breaking Sabers" complete volume, merit value one thousand.

"Nine Turns Marrow-Cleansing Secret Technique," can improve a Martial Artist's Root Bone aptitude, merit value eight hundred.

Cheng Feng's gaze lingered on the six characters "improve Root Bone aptitude."

When Lao Zhou examined his body, he said that his bones and meridians were of inferior quality; if not for the Panmian bonus, he would never have reached this point today.

If he could improve his Root Bone, his future path of cultivation would be much smoother.

But eight hundred merit points were still too far off for him; he could only keep it in mind for now.

He flipped further back. There were about a dozen items he could exchange for with two hundred and sixty-five merit points, mainly concentrated on entry-level Gang Qi methods and some basic secret techniques.

When he flipped to a middle page, his gaze suddenly stopped.

On that page it was written—

"Iron Bone Golden Body" upper volume. Body Tempering cultivation method, uses Qi and Blood to temper tendons, bones, skin, and flesh, can be cultivated to the great success of the Gang Qi Realm Body Tempering. Note: This technique has extremely high requirements for Qi and Blood; those without abundant Qi and Blood must not cultivate it, otherwise there is a risk of backlash. Merit value two hundred and fifty.

Two hundred and fifty.

Cheng Feng looked at the merit slip in his hand that said two hundred and sixty-five, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Two hundred and fifty merit points were just enough to exchange for the upper volume; after the exchange, he would have fifteen points left, not even enough to buy a decent bottle of golden sore medicine.

He had originally wanted to see if there were any cheaper Lightness Skills or weapon manuals, but it seemed he had thought too much.

However, there was nothing to hesitate about.

The label for "Iron Bone Golden Body" stated clearly—only those with abundant Qi and Blood could cultivate it, and those with insufficient Qi and Blood who forced it would suffer a backlash.

But the thing he lacked the least was Qi and Blood.

With the Flood Dragon Body, the abundance of Qi and Blood in his body far exceeded that of Martial Artists at the same level, and could even support the full-power outburst of Wang Ji that was enough to shake the Gang Qi Realm.

This technique was practically tailor-made for him. By comparison, although the "Mixed Origin Gang Qi Art" could be cultivated to the minor success of the Gang Qi Realm, he still had to consider the price of one thousand two hundred points;

The "Nine Turns Marrow-Cleansing Secret Technique" could improve Root Bone, but it treated the symptoms rather than the root cause; no matter how much his Root Bone was improved, it could not change the fact that he already possessed the Flood Dragon Body.

On the contrary, this "Iron Bone Golden Body" could bring his Body Tempering advantage to the extreme, taking the foundation already laid by the Flood Dragon Body a step further.

He did not hesitate any longer, reached out, and took the brocade box of "Iron Bone Golden Body" from the wooden shelf.

The brocade box had considerable weight in his hand; after opening it, inside lay a yellowed leather book, with five large, iron-drawn and silver-hooked characters on the cover—Iron Bone Golden Body.

The book was not thick, only a dozen thin pages, and the edges of the paper were already frayed, clearly having some years on it.

Cheng Feng carefully opened the first page; the opening line consisted of eight clerical script characters that pierced through the paper: Qi and Blood as the furnace, tendons and bones as the iron.

He stood under the door and window of the second floor of the Gongxunge, quickly flipping through the introduction to the entry-level mental cultivation method on the first few pages.

The more he read, the more shocked he became—the cultivation logic of this "Iron Bone Golden Body" was extremely domineering, emphasizing the use of one's own Qi and Blood to nourish the tendons and bones, without relying on external objects or pills, relying entirely on the torrent of Qi and Blood within the body to wash and temper the bones and meridians of the whole body over and over again,

eventually reaching the realm of bones like refined steel and body like diamond.

The cost of this cultivation method was terrifyingly high; ordinary Martial Artists would need to recuperate for three to five days after practicing for one day, and forcing it would only lead to Qi and Blood depletion and the collapse of their foundation.

But for Cheng Feng, who possessed the Flood Dragon Body, this level of consumption was no different from eating and drinking.

"This is the one." Cheng Feng closed the book, tucked the brocade box under his arm, and turned to go downstairs.

The duty-bound warrior took the merit slip he handed over, glanced at it, registered the exchange record in the ledger, and then wrote a new slip for the remaining fifteen points after deducting two hundred and fifty merit points from the slip and returned it to him.

"'Iron Bone Golden Body'? Tsk, good eye." The duty-bound warrior smacked his lips while registering,

"But this technique has been on the second floor for many years; three or five people have exchanged for it one after another, but in the end, each one was so Qi and Blood depleted they couldn't get out of bed, and finally they had to slink back to the office. Brother Cheng, you'd better think it over; this thing is life-threatening to practice."

"I've thought it over." Cheng Feng answered crisply.

The duty-bound warrior shook his head, muttered "young people are just stubborn," then closed the ledger and waved him through.

When Cheng Feng walked out of the Gongxunge, the noon sun was just spilling onto the old locust tree in the courtyard, the tree shadows dancing, and a few sparrows were hopping on the branches, pecking at who knows what.

He stood on the steps for a while, feeling the weight of the thin book in his arms—exchanged for two hundred and fifty merit points,

this had cost him more than half a month of time.

How far this thing could take him and whether it was worth the price remained to be seen after practicing it.

Cheng Feng put the brocade box away and stepped out of the main gate of the Suppression Office.

Today's goal was achieved; in two days, he would come directly to exchange for the head of Liehuo Fawang~