Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

After listening to Zhao Ting's explanation, Xia Dong suddenly realized the truth, feeling both amused and exasperated.

It turns out that this "Madam Xu" is surnamed Xu and given name Madam.

He was an old man with gray hair and a strange temper, not the beautiful woman one might subconsciously imagine.

"Brother, don't underestimate them just because of their name." After explaining, Zhao Ting said solemnly, "The Heavenly Craft Academy is a special institution in our Great You Dynasty that specifically recruits talented people in all kinds of cultivation arts from all over the world. It not only has weapon refiners, but also alchemists, array masters..."

Cultivating immortality through various arts has always been a bottomless pit.

For the vast majority of cultivators, the mere act of meditating, cultivating their qi, and improving their cultivation level has already exhausted their entire lives. Where would they find the extra time to delve into these other things?

More importantly, learning the various arts of cultivation requires accumulating massive amounts of resources and constantly trying and failing before any reward can be obtained.

In this respect, ordinary cultivation sects simply cannot afford it.

In particular, with the continuous decline of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the last hundred years, the major immortal sects are too busy to take care of themselves and their investment in various arts and crafts is even more stretched.

On the contrary, the Great You Dynasty's advantage lies in its massive organization and vast territory. Relying on its enormous secular regime as a lifeblood, the Great You Dynasty can mobilize a huge amount of mortal resources and basic spiritual materials, giving it a unique advantage in this respect.

"People die for wealth, birds die for food. With the sects offering less tribute, many weapon refiners and alchemists from immortal sects have turned to join our Great You Chaotian Craft Academy." Zhao Ting lowered his voice. "Madam Xu's branch of the family switched from a prestigious sect in their early years. The Xu family has been blacksmithing for generations, and they can definitely be called a family of weapon refiners. I had to ask him to personally help me this time, which was a huge favor."

Upon hearing this, Xia Dong naturally retrieved the snake molt that she had prepared beforehand from her bedroom and handed it to Zhao Ting:

"Then I'll have to trouble you, brother and Master Xu."

Even though Xia Dong had previously said that the beast skin was of "very good quality," Zhao Ting still couldn't help but gasp and his eyelids twitched when he actually saw the snake skin that shimmered with a dark, watery light and was exceptionally tough.

The patterns on those snakeskin scales... they look so familiar!

"Could it be... the one from Tiger Hill?" Zhao Ting's heart was filled with shock.

He encountered that serpent a few years ago and narrowly escaped death.

According to the Eagle Wolf Guard's latest intelligence, the giant snake has advanced again, and its strength is probably no less than that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. It is extremely ferocious.

Zhao Ting had absolutely no intention of seeking revenge or slaying the demon when it came to that giant snake.

Anyway, that giant snake has been entrenched in the deep pool for years and doesn't come out to cause harm to the area much. We all keep to ourselves, so why bother provoking it?

Once a demon beast cultivates to that level, it can be considered a sentient being, and it wouldn't be inappropriate for it to address you as "fellow Daoist" upon meeting you.

Moreover, the territory of the Great You Dynasty is full of deep mountains and marshes, places rarely visited by humans. If you really push these great demons to the edge, they will run into the deep mountains and forests if they can't beat them. Where can you find them then?

Therefore, when Zhao Ting saw the almost complete demon snake skin, he was secretly alarmed by the power behind Xia Dong.

This is something that Xia Dong, a mere Inner Strength Realm martial artist, could never obtain.

Could it be that Xia Dong has a powerful cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage standing behind him?

Or was it the mysterious Taoist family behind him that made the move?

A sudden thought flashed through Zhao Ting's mind. Connecting the unusual relationship between Xia Dong and the Qixia Immortal Sect, a name instantly came to mind—Master Guyue!

It is said that the lofty and aloof Master Guyue was born into a prestigious family in his early years, but for some reason he later fell out with his family and thus joined the Qixia Immortal Sect.

Could it be that Xia Dong's family has a deep-rooted relationship with Master Gu Yue from the previous generation?

In an instant, Zhao Ting conjured up countless dramatic stories of love, hate, and revenge in his mind.

In any case, Brother Xia's profound knowledge and abilities have become increasingly unfathomable.

As for why Xia Dong didn't ask the forces behind him to forge the inner armor, but instead sought his help, Zhao Ting felt that there must be some "inconvenient to expose" concerns involved.

The more Zhao Ting thought about it, the more he felt that things were getting complicated.

He kept his eyes down and his mind at ease, wisely choosing to remain silent. He dared not utter a word of inquiry or ask any more questions, for fear of getting into trouble if he knew too much.

He then quickly put the snake skin away. He was just a gofer; he didn't know anything else.

……

half a month later.

Travel-worn Zhao Ting arrived at Xia Dong's residence once again. This time, he not only brought the finished product, but his face was also beaming with undisguised joy.

"Brother Xia, I have successfully completed my mission!"

Zhao Ting took out the items and placed them on the stone table; they were several pieces of close-fitting protective gear that emitted a faint, watery glow.

"Brother, Madam Xu originally set a very high price for this snakeskin. But the quality of this snakeskin was simply too good, and the area was unusually large. Madam Xu was overjoyed and added some rare refined gold and mithril as auxiliary materials. After refining the snakeskin, she forged two sets of inner armor, one large and one small!"

Zhao Ting pointed to the exquisite inner armor that fit Xia Dong's body perfectly, as well as a matching pair of arm guards and leg wraps.

"Furthermore, Madam Xu also added an extra 'water-repelling spirit pattern' to the inner armor," Zhao Ting explained, pointing to several extremely subtle and mysterious patterns on the chest area of ​​the inner armor. "This snakeskin naturally possesses unique water attributes, so adding a water-repelling effect is only natural. However, I must remind you, once this spirit pattern is activated, you will need to replenish your spiritual energy with spirit stones after each use of the water-repelling effect, or have a cultivator nurture it with their magic power for a period of time before you can use it again."

"As for the smaller inner armor..." Zhao Ting paused slightly before continuing, "Madam Xu kept it, saying it was payment for the work done this time."

Xia Dong took the inner armor and found it to be cool and soft to the touch, yet its toughness far exceeded that of ordinary steel, which greatly satisfied him.

He naturally had no objection to Madam Xu's decision to leave behind the smaller inner armor as payment for labor.

He got a weapon refiner's full support without using spirit stones, and even received water-repelling spirit patterns and arm and leg guards as a bonus. He definitely made a great deal.

"Brother Zhao, thank you so much for your help this time."

Xia Dong had a sudden thought. She took out a small jade bottle from her sleeve and stuffed it into Zhao Ting's hand without saying a word.

It was indeed a Qi-gathering pill.

"Oh, brother, you... I'm just running an errand, how can I take something so valuable from you!" Zhao Ting repeatedly declined, but his hand unconsciously gripped the jade bottle tightly.

"Brother, what are you saying? Even close brothers keep clear accounts. You've run around doing so much for me, and you've done so many favors. What's a little bit of medicine compared to this? If you don't accept it, I won't dare ask you for help again in the future." Xia Dong pretended to be displeased and held Zhao Ting's hand.

Seeing this, Zhao Ting sighed and went along with it, "Well, since you've put it that way, Brother Xia, then I'll shamelessly accept it."

...

...

Xia Dong personally saw Zhao Ting out the door, then locked the courtyard gate again and quickly returned to her quiet room.

After dismissing Xiao Hong, who was about to serve him, Xia Dong sat alone on the futon, spreading the newly acquired black snake inner armor on the table, his eyes full of scrutiny and anticipation.

The inner armor felt cool to the touch, as smooth as the finest silk, yet possessed an incredible suppleness. Xia Dong first drew a fine steel dagger from his boot for self-defense, then used a portion of the inner strength martial artist's qi and blood to fiercely slash across the surface of the inner armor.

Zheng.

With a muffled thud, the dagger slid away without leaving a mark on the scales, instead causing Xia Dong's hand to go slightly numb.

Xia Dong was quite satisfied with the physical defense of the inner armor; Madam Xu's craftsmanship truly lived up to her reputation.

But this is only a method of testing martial arts.

Xia Dong took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and silently circulated the Xuan Yin magic power within his body. A wisp of dark and cold magic power slowly probed into the Xuan Serpent's inner armor through his fingertips.

A sudden change has occurred!

The originally dull and unassuming inner armor seemed to come "alive" the moment it came into contact with the Xuan Yin magic power, emitting a soft and joyful hum.

The giant serpent possesses the bloodline of the Black Water Serpent, and its shed skin is inherently imbued with water-based and yin-cold attributes. At this moment, when it comes into contact with Xia Dong's yin-cold magic power, it is as if they are from the same source and a match made in heaven.

As magic power continued to flow in, Xia Dong took off his outer garment and put on the inner armor that exuded a faint chill.

The moment she put it on, Xia Dong couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly.

Without the tightness, stuffiness, or cumbersome feeling of ordinary leather armor, this inner armor, nourished by the Xuan Yin magic power, produced a strange illusion of being connected by blood.

It seemed to transform into a second layer of Xia Dong's skin, rising and falling with his breath, perfectly matching his blood and even magical power fluctuations, achieving a true fusion!

Immediately afterwards, a layer of hazy, clear light emerged from the scales on the surface of the inner armor, weaving together in fine strands, enveloping Xia Dong in a faint, ethereal glow.

Xia Dong looked down at the layer of clear, shimmering water that seemed almost tangible, and tried to clench his fists, carefully feeling the impenetrable sense of protection emanating from his body.

His intuition told him with absolute clarity that the Xuan Snake Inner Armor, now activated by the Xuan Yin magic power, was several times more resilient than when it was simply used to block the dagger.

Even the spells of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators in the mid-to-late stages, or the full-force attack of a Transcendent Realm martial arts expert, would likely be futile against this layer of clear light, which flows with magical power and is constantly regenerating, and would be unable to harm its core.

"Unexpectedly, the Xuan Yin magic power, combined with the Xuan Snake Inner Armor of the same origin, could produce such an unforeseen and profound resonance!"

Xia Dong slowly withdrew his magic power, and the hazy light, like rivers flowing into the sea, disappeared into the depths of his inner armor, becoming a divine object that remained hidden once more. Even when worn under his outer garment, it was impossible to discern its true nature.

He touched his chest, and a barely suppressed joy crept onto his lips.

"With this kind of trump card, I can go to some risky places."

Xia Dong immediately thought of the Yinling Mine, which was now guarded by Qin Wan.

He should wait a little longer until Qin Wan has settled down before he can go.