Chapter 279

"Mei'er naturally knows the power of Jin Lao's divine ability. This time, it was all thanks to Jin Lao's help, otherwise I really would have let Wang Shidi down," Ximen Mei nodded repeatedly.

"Mei girl, you haven't developed feelings for this kid, have you?

Helping you this time is just a small matter. With me stepping forward, giving Wang Yu the status of a registered disciple is nothing; the Master will say a few words at most and won't really blame me for anything. But if you want to break the engagement and ruin the alliance between the two sects, the Master will never agree, and he might even get this kid involved.

You must know that a mere Qi Refinement disciple is like an ant in front of the Master. Making him disappear from the sect forever would not take any effort at all," the golden toad suddenly said in this earnest manner.

"Jin Lao, what nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever developed feelings for Wang Shidi? I am just repaying his kindness for helping me twice. How could I take a fancy to a disciple with four spirit roots?" Upon hearing this, Ximen Mei's heart skipped a beat, and two blushes flew onto her cheeks, but she denied it flatly.

"Girl, as long as you know the gravity of the situation yourself.

If you want the Master to change his mind, at the very least this kid must show greater value than Yuan Huatian, for example, being able to reach Foundation Establishment within a few years, possessing the potential to condense a Golden Core, and so on," the golden toad said solemnly.

"Of course I know these things. Didn't Grandfather already discuss it with the Yuan family long ago? The day Yuan Huatian reaches Foundation Establishment is the day I get married. But if I can become an official formation master before then, Grandfather should be somewhat shaken, right?" Ximen Mei nodded unwillingly, then bit her red lip with her white teeth and said.

"An official formation master, that would naturally be different.

The status of a formation master in our sect is even higher than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. If you truly have this status and then strongly oppose it, the Master might really hesitate a bit," the golden toad hesitated for a moment before replying uncertainly.

"Alright, with Jin Lao's words, I know what to do from now on," Ximen Mei stopped her hands on the golden toad's back and said decisively.

"Among the hundred arts of cultivation, the formation master is the most difficult to improve in.

Mei girl, are you really sure you want to do this? This might delay your own cultivation. You must know that in the cultivation world, magical artifacts and techniques are secondary; only the realm is the most important, as it can greatly increase one's lifespan," the golden toad seemed to hear the meaning in Ximen Mei's words and persuaded her with great concern.

"Jin Lao, don't worry. My talent in formations was praised repeatedly by the two formation masters in the sect back then. They said that as long as I truly concentrate on studying formations, it is very possible for me to become an official formation master within ten years, and it won't delay my cultivation time much," Ximen Mei seemed to have made up her mind and replied with a light laugh, her hands once again pounding lightly on the giant toad's back.

"If you have really made up your mind, I will say no more."

After the giant golden toad sighed, it closed its emerald green eyes and said nothing more.

Wang Yu excitedly flew away from the Dharma ship and returned to his temporary wooden house, taking out all the rewards he had just received and placing them on the table.

A token from Ancestor Tianchan, a copy of the *Mysterious Armor Scripture*, and three bottles of Mysterious Bone Pills.

The token was easy to describe; it was just a pitch-black metal token, with a toad pattern raising its head to swallow the moon printed on one side, and a golden character "Toad" printed on the other.

This token was extremely cold in his hand. With his eyes as an official artifact refiner, he could only see that it didn't seem to be refined from ordinary iron essence material, but rather mixed with some special spiritual materials, making it very difficult to forge—it was worthy of being a Golden Core Ancestor's token.

He picked up a medicine bottle again and carefully opened the lid.

Immediately, a pungent scent flew out from it, causing him to sneeze three times in succession before he was caught off guard, and he was surprised to pour out a black-green pill the size of a soybean from the bottle.

Wang Yu looked at this mini pill in the palm of his hand and couldn't help but feel a bit confused.

Ancestor Tianchan had given this pill so solemnly, but it was too inconspicuous, and this smell was really quite pungent. Was the method of use to take it directly?

Wang Yu brought the bottle in front of his eyes and looked inside.

There were about thirty such mini pills in the bottle, and the three bottles added up to over a hundred.

Wang Yu put the mini pill back into the bottle, and with a trace of doubt, he picked up the *Mysterious Armor Scripture* again. Silently chanting "Overclock" in his heart, his five senses were rapidly magnified, and after his thinking entered a super state, he began to flip through it page by page.

This was the first second-rank body-refining technique he had come into contact with, so naturally, he had to do his best to comprehend its mysteries.

As the name suggests, this *Mysterious Armor Scripture* is a technique specifically for strengthening the body's defensive capabilities.

After a full incense stick of time, he finally closed the last page, the crystal light in his eyes began to disappear, and he pondered to himself.

It was worthy of being a second-rank body-refining technique. The beginning of this book clearly stated that one must have practiced a certain breathing method to Great Completion and have already used evil energy to temper the internal organs, having a first-rank body-refining foundation, before one could practice this technique.

According to the book, this technique has a total of seven levels.

Cultivating to the first level only counts as entry, which can strengthen the skin and membranes.

Cultivating to the third level counts as small success, which can significantly improve the body's resistance to attacks.

Cultivating to the fifth level counts as Great Completion, allowing the body to be like being covered in a layer of thick, heavy armor, making it impervious to swords and spears, and resistant to water and fire.

Cultivating to the seventh level is the Great Perfection, at which point the body has been strengthened to the point where it can easily withstand attacks from first-rank magical artifacts, and can even offset most of the power of second-rank magical artifacts.

Can offset the power of second-rank magical artifacts!

Wang Yu was somewhat surprised by this.

Perhaps ordinary Qi Refinement disciples might not know how big the gap is between first-rank and second-rank magical artifacts, but as an artifact refiner, he knew it better than anyone.

Not to mention anything else, just the set of Mother-Child Floating Mirrors on his body, although their power is astonishing and the turret form has already reached the limit of a first-rank magical artifact, theoretically being very close to the threshold of a second-rank magical artifact, in reality, there is still a qualitative and fundamental difference from a second-rank magical artifact.

According to what he knew from some books and Old Sun, magical artifacts above the second rank involve more than just the simple superposition of Dharma patterns and compound spells. The true power of a second-rank magical artifact actually depends on the compatibility and rarity of the materials used.

After all, second-rank materials and first-rank materials are already completely different.

If, among first-rank artifact-refining materials, things like iron essence can still appear in the mortal world, then among second-rank artifact-refining materials, even common materials like "Iron Mother" belong to the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, usually only found in large iron mines, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot easily get their hands on them.

Therefore, second-rank magical artifacts are not only difficult to refine, but the required second-rank materials are even harder to find.

Even in the hands of Foundation Establishment elders of sects like the Four Symbols Sect, they have at most one or two second-rank magical artifacts for self-protection.

As for the Foundation Establishment cultivators among the rogue cultivators outside the sects, there are many who do not have second-rank magical artifacts at all, and they usually can only find a few of the best first-rank magical artifacts to use, which appears even more awkward.

As for some cultivation families, it is even more common for them to treat a second-rank magical artifact as a clan-protecting treasure, passing it down from generation to generation.