Blood Exchange Bead, One Blood Exchange!

Dead.

Gao Yucheng had died just like that.

And his eyes were still wide open, unable to rest in peace.

He seemed unable to accept that, after all his calculations, he had still died in the end.

Gao Zhanhu had opened his eyes as well. He had witnessed Gao Yucheng being killed by the mysterious man.

He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. In an instant, he understood everything.

After all their calculations, who could have imagined that an "oriole" had been hiding behind them?

The newcomer was naturally Lu Changsheng.

He had followed the five martial artists all the way to the underground secret chamber.

Yet the five martial artists had been completely unaware.

Lu Changsheng had personally witnessed this tragedy of a younger brother killing his elder brother, a son killing his father.

Lu Changsheng bent down and picked up the Blood Exchange Bead from Gao Yucheng's hand. From its appearance, there was nothing particularly miraculous about it.

However, the reason he had acted was precisely because of this Blood Exchange Bead!

This Blood Exchange Bead seemed capable of helping martial artists reach the Divine Strength Realm. Such a Treasure was something one could encounter only by chance, never seek out, so naturally Lu Changsheng was tempted.

Besides, the Gao Family were no good people either. Like those five martial artists, they were all birds of a feather.

Lu Changsheng put away the Blood Exchange Bead, then gripped his Dagger and turned his gaze toward the five martial artists sprawled on the ground.

The five martial artists shuddered, a vague sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.

"Since you have already obtained the Blood Exchange Bead, sir, please show mercy. We are..."

The five of them had just been about to announce their identities.

Whoosh.

Lu Changsheng's figure vanished in an instant, followed by a flash of white light.

The five martial artists convulsed all over. Blood spilled across the ground, and they slowly lost their breath.

Dead.

Before the five martial artists could even reveal their "identities," Lu Changsheng had killed them.

Lu Changsheng had no interest in hearing their identities.

Some people, once killed, were simply dead. Hearing who they were would only bring trouble instead.

Lu Changsheng crouched down again and carefully searched the bodies.

He could not abandon this good habit.

Unfortunately, the five men had brought nothing with them.

Lu Changsheng slowly rose to his feet and turned to look at Gao Zhanhu. Now, only Gao Zhanhu remained.

"How is the Blood Exchange Bead used?"

Lu Changsheng suddenly asked.

"Your voice..."

Hearing Lu Changsheng's voice, Gao Zhanhu's eyes flew wide open. He seemed to have realized something, and even his voice trembled. "It's you..."

Clearly, Gao Zhanhu had guessed Lu Changsheng's identity.

"Hahaha, I never thought I would be the one to invite the wolf into my house."

"You came for the Blood Exchange Bead, didn't you?"

"So be it. It is good that you killed those five. You will only take the Blood Exchange Bead, not seize Gao Family Fortress. That is at least a blessing amid misfortune."

"I'll tell you how to use the Blood Exchange Bead. Just cut open a wound on your body and stuff the Blood Exchange Bead into it. It will naturally melt away and fuse with your blood."

"I still have a young son and daughter. I hope you will spare them. They know nothing."

There was a trace of pleading in Gao Zhanhu's eyes.

"I only want the Blood Exchange Bead!"

After a long while, Lu Changsheng spoke.

Whoosh.

The next moment, Lu Changsheng's Dagger lightly sliced across Gao Zhanhu's throat.

Lu Changsheng could not possibly spare Gao Zhanhu, because Gao Zhanhu had already guessed his identity.

But Gao Zhanhu's young son and daughter were people he had never even met, so naturally he would not do anything to them.

Gao Zhanhu clutched his throat and quickly went still.

Lu Changsheng searched Gao Zhanhu's body, but found nothing there either.

So he proceeded to open the secret chambers one by one.

The chambers were piled with vast amounts of supplies: grain, ironware, armor, weapons, and so on.

Lu Changsheng had no interest in any of those. He wanted to find martial arts manuals and Martial Skills.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no martial arts manuals or Martial Skills in the secret chambers.

What Lu Changsheng most wanted was a Divine Strength Realm martial arts manual.

Even if he could not yet reach the Divine Strength Realm, learning about it in advance would still be greatly beneficial to him.

Unfortunately, there was no Divine Strength Realm martial arts manual in the secret chambers. Or perhaps it had been stored somewhere even more hidden, somewhere Lu Changsheng could not find.

After searching for a while without success, Lu Changsheng gave up.

He left the underground secret chamber and shut its door.

The secret chamber was extremely well concealed. Only the successive Family Heads of Gao Family Fortress knew of it.

Even if the Gao Family discovered that Gao Zhanhu, Gao Yucheng, and Gao Yuzhi had vanished and launched a massive search, they probably would not find it anytime soon.

Afterward, Lu Changsheng returned to his room.

He could even hear the breathing of several Apprentices and Doctor Wu Jing in the room next door.

Their breathing was steady. They had clearly fallen into deep sleep.

Only then was Lu Changsheng at ease.

He was in no hurry to sleep. Instead, he took the Blood Exchange Bead from his robe.

The Blood Exchange Bead looked as though it had been made from some unknown material.

Holding it in his hand, he could faintly feel a cold chill.

The Blood Exchange Bead was a supreme Treasure. Lu Changsheng did not want to delay, lest the longer the night lasted, the more dreams it brought.

Lu Changsheng directly took out his Dagger and bared his arm.

With a light stroke—

Sst.

A cut opened on his arm, and blood immediately poured out.

Lu Changsheng promptly placed the Blood Exchange Bead over the wound.

A miraculous sight unfolded.

The Blood Exchange Bead, upon touching blood, rapidly "melted" at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It seemed to merge into his blood, flowing through his veins and spreading throughout his entire body.

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes and carefully sensed the effects of the Blood Exchange Bead.

He could vaguely feel an icy aura slowly attaching itself to the area around his heart.

Thump, thump, thump.

With every beat of his heart, that icy aura spread out and swiftly flowed through his entire body.

As that icy aura continued to spread, Lu Changsheng could clearly feel his body gradually expelling its impurities, bit by bit.

He even circulated his qi and blood slightly.

Boom.

His qi and blood actually began to rise again. It was simply unbelievable.

Lu Changsheng's qi and blood had already reached its limit. Logically, other than advancing to the Divine Strength Realm, it should have been impossible for it to improve further.

Yet the truth was right before his eyes.

After using the Blood Exchange Bead, even his qi and blood, which had reached its limit, could rise further.

However, Lu Changsheng vaguely understood the reason.

"To advance to the Divine Strength Realm, one must break through the Life and Death Profound Gate, undergo Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing, and be reborn, bones and flesh remade."

"But with the Blood Exchange Bead, one can directly 'change the blood.' It is equivalent to having completed half of Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing in advance."

"With the Blood Exchange Bead, it truly becomes much easier to advance to the Divine Strength Realm."

The Blood Exchange Bead within Lu Changsheng's body truly was a peerless Treasure. No wonder so many people fought over it.

At the current speed and efficiency of the blood changing, Lu Changsheng would need at least a month to complete it fully.

And during that month, Lu Changsheng's physical constitution would improve across the board along with the blood changing.

This was another kind of rebirth, bones and flesh remade.

Lu Changsheng tried cultivating the Ice Bone Forging Technique again.

He discovered that the efficiency of cultivating the Ice Bone Forging Technique had risen dramatically as well.

There was clearly no ice and no Medicinal Cuisine, yet the efficiency had truly increased.

"The most crucial point is that the Blood Exchange Bead seems not to affect my ability to continue Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing after I break through the Life and Death Profound Gate in the future."

"In other words, if I break through the Life and Death Profound Gate and undergo Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing in the future, it will effectively count as a second blood exchange."

"Each blood exchange brings a qualitative improvement in physical constitution. Once I reach the Divine Strength Realm, because of this second blood exchange, my strength will far surpass others at the same level!"

Lu Changsheng was very satisfied.

This trip to Gao Family Fortress had brought him tremendous gains!