But the available skill manuals were always very popular and dependable, but the true highest quality genuine goods could only be found and inherited in the sects.
This method of inheritance was strictly controlled by the sects. If they were to discover even a hint that a disciple had revealed the secrets of their skill manuals, then a light punishment would be the destruction of their cultivation. A heavy punishment would result in instant execution.
It was very difficult to inherit skill manuals. They were inconceivably hard to transcribe and duplicate. The martial arts path way profound and esoteric. The flow of essence and the feelings that followed; the route of cultivation. These true essence gathering skills were unable to be described with words; therefor the true rare skill manuals were not recorded in books and were unable to be transcribed paper.
Skill manuals were usually recorded on jade slips. In a each small jade slip contained a wealth of mysterious and arcane information. Even a manual could only contain a general idea of what can be explained inside. If one wanted to engrave the mysteries onto a jade slip, one must have complete understanding of the skill manual. This was truly difficult to achieve even then, and moreover had to spend a great deal of time and energy.