176: Divine Casting Stone? Divine Casting Stone? Ye Xiao's guess

“Young man, you look a bit unfamiliar. Are you from another stronghold?”

Inside Xingluo City, outside an ordinary blacksmith shop, a robust old man, whose face was dark and red from prolonged exposure to molten fire, stood bare-chested. He was hammering an unknown material in front of him, all while sizing up Ye Xiao.

At this moment, Ye Xiao looked at the blacksmith in front of him, who had the title “Boxi, Senior Forging Master of Liyue City” above his head.

Of course, Ye Xiao would not be foolish enough to expose himself at this time.

Seeing Boxi ask this, he nodded in agreement, “Yes, I came with a friend, but he had an accident in the underground cave. Luckily, he told me the coordinates beforehand, otherwise I really wouldn't have found this place.”

Boxi heard this and didn't suspect anything. Instead, he sighed with a hint of regret, “I witnessed the dangers of the underground caves firsthand in my younger years. Looking at your age, you must be a new generation of Meiya People. To have survived and made it here, you are truly lucky.”

Ye Xiao nodded in understanding.

Just half an hour ago, after he killed Boxi outside the city and unexpectedly obtained a godforged ore, he quietly entered the city.

Initially, he dared not interact with the NPCs here, fearing his identity would be exposed.

Although he had learned a lot about Xingluo City and the Meiya People from Boxi, he couldn't be sure if Boxi had lied to him.

This was also why he had unhesitatingly killed Boxi. After all, if he had brought Boxi into the city, he could not have foreseen what tricks the guy might pull in secret.

As for the godforged ore that dropped from him, Ye Xiao was startled when he first obtained it.

This was because as soon as the godforged ore was in his hand, its effect immediately appeared before Ye Xiao.

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【godforged ore: Adding it to the refinement of an item can activate unexpected additional effects for Professionals.】

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The effect description didn't specify the exact use of this godforged ore, but Ye Xiao keenly caught the keyword within it—Professionals.

In other words, this godforged ore was only useful for Professionals.

Thus, looking at the name of this godforged ore, Ye Xiao couldn't help but associate it with an item, an item he had just sold a few days ago—the godforged stone!

After Professionals use it, an additional Skill Slot can be added.

Ye Xiao knew very well that the godforged stone had no effect on NPCs, because NPCs had no restrictions on Skill Slots. Their behavior in Eternal World was more realistic than Human Job Holders. All skills were acquired through inheritance and cultivation, unlike Human Job Holders who could instantly learn skills using Skill Stone.

Of course, this was not the main point.

What truly gave Ye Xiao goosebumps was that the godforged stone and godforged ore differed by only one word, and their effects seemed somewhat similar.

Ye Xiao would not believe it if there was no connection between them.

According to Human Job Holders' records, during the 20 years when Human Job Holders first entered Eternal World and coexisted with NPCs, godforged stones were extremely rare.

Aside from the occasional lucky person who could obtain one or two from an NPC, there were no other acquisition channels.

As a result, in those initial twenty years, eighty to ninety percent of Human Job Holders didn't even know of the godforged stone's existence.

But this situation changed dramatically after the outbreak of the Extinguish Yuan Battle.

During that great war, godforged stones suddenly became more numerous for some unknown reason.

And shortly after the Extinguish Yuan Battle ended, godforged stones mysteriously became scarce again.

As for the reason, historical records did not mention it.

Even regarding that war, which concerned the life and death of Human Job Holders, most historical records were very brief, so much so that later newcomers, including Ye Xiao, had almost no concept of that period of history or that war.

But at this moment, combining it with the godforged ore in front of him, Ye Xiao couldn't help but speculate about the true reason for that unprecedented war.

However, Ye Xiao was also somewhat uncertain.

After all, he had killed NPCs before.

Earlier, in the Miasma Hidden Forest, he had personally killed an NPC who came to poison Remi, and Remi had also died in front of him, yet neither of them dropped a godforged ore.

Later, he also killed Village Chief of Linhai Village in Linhai Village, and similarly, no godforged ore dropped.

Was it an accident?

Ye Xiao had no immediate answer and could only see if he could find an opportunity to verify it again.

Recalling his thoughts, Ye Xiao looked at Boxi and tentatively asked, “Master, I have a material here. I wonder if you can forge it?”

Boxi stopped hammering, looked up at Ye Xiao, and then smiled, “So you've come to forge equipment. I was wondering why you would risk unnecessarily passing through the underground cave and traveling thousands of miles to Starfire City. Now I understand. As far as I know, many blacksmiths in other main cities died or were injured back then, and only a few managed to escape into Xingluo City. Your forging skills there must have been lost, right?”

Ye Xiao chuckled inwardly. This old man was truly kind, having thought of all the reasons for him. He naturally couldn't let down the other party's “good intentions” and responded, “That's right! Before I came, I asked around, and no one in our area knew what this material was for. It just so happened that my friend was doing something in our area, and after he heard about it, he brought me along.”

As for Starfire City, which Boxi mentioned, it was not a slip of the tongue.

It seemed Boxi hadn't lied to him about this.

Xingluo City was actually a general term, because the primary area had eight main cities, and each main city had an NPC with the highest authority over an irregular secret realm.

This meant that there were eight identical irregular secret realms at that time.

These eight irregular secret realms have evolved into the eight strongholds of the Meiya People today.

The reason they were collectively called Xingluo City was mainly due to the initial group of Meiya People who advocated for it. At first, most of them still fantasized about counterattacking Human Job Holders.

It wasn't until later, as the number of Meiya People born in Xingluo City grew, that they each re-named their strongholds for better distinction.

Starfire City was the new name for the Xingluo City before him.

At this moment, Boxi heard Ye Xiao say this and immediately became interested, “Oh? What material is it? Let me see.”

Ye Xiao didn't think much of it. He pulled out the unknown equipment blank he had purchased for 100 million points in the Endless Trial from his backpack and handed it to Boxi.

To Ye Xiao's surprise, when he took out the unknown equipment blank, Boxi's calm demeanor changed. He suddenly moved around to Ye Xiao's front, grabbed the blank, and examined it carefully.

Ye Xiao looked at Boxi, whose expression had suddenly become excited, feeling a mix of confusion and worry.

After all, he didn't know the purpose of this item, and he was concerned that Boxi might notice something amiss and expose his identity.

Although he could quickly return to the underground cave using the star compass stone, his purpose in coming here was to find a blacksmith who could forge this unknown equipment blank.

Because before entering the Forest of Curses, Ye Xiao had also asked Zhou Yi to find several Human Job Holders' blacksmiths.

Unfortunately, due to the loss of promotion channels, the skill level of these Human Job Holders' blacksmiths was truly unsatisfactory. They couldn't discern the purpose of the blank, and their skills couldn't even support refining this equipment blank.

Furthermore, according to these people, even if they found a blacksmith supported by the Eight Great Families, the result would be the same.

The reason was still the loss of NPCs and promotion channels. The difference among Human Job Holders' blacksmiths was merely experience, not a difference in advanced skills.

It was precisely because of this that Ye Xiao eagerly came here after learning about the existence of Xingluo City from Boxi.

At this moment, Boxi finally recovered from his previous excitement and asked with an incredibly serious expression, “Young man, where did you get this thing?”

Ye Xiao already had a draft in his mind, “An accident. I killed a Human Job Holders, and it dropped from him.”

Boxi fell silent, his gaze constantly scrutinizing Ye Xiao.

This action made Ye Xiao somewhat wary.

Fortunately, after a moment, Boxi finally spoke.

“You're really lucky.”

While Ye Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, he also asked curiously, “Master, why do you say that?”

Boxi had now recovered his composure and said with a chuckle, “Do you know what this blank is?”

Ye Xiao couldn't help but complain inwardly that this old man was just spouting nonsense. If he knew, would he still need to ask?

However, on someone else's territory, it was better to be low-key. So, Ye Xiao first casually put away the unknown equipment blank, then cooperatively said, “I don't know. Please enlighten me, Master.”

Boxi looked at Ye Xiao's actions, with a look of unfulfilled desire, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded, with an expression of “as expected,” “I don't need to guess to know you don't know. There are no more than ten people in this world who still know the use of this thing, assuming those other old guys aren't dead.”

This demeanor and tone made Ye Xiao's eyelids twitch involuntarily twice.

Fortunately, after a bout of showing off, Boxi was satisfied and didn't continue with any more nonsense.

“This thing is called a Mythical Crystal.”

“Mythical Crystal?”

This was the first time Ye Xiao had heard this name, but he also knew that some items had different names among NPCs, so he wasn't surprised.

At this moment, Boxi continued, “Mythical Crystal is a naturally formed magical ore. No one knows the origin of this ore; it seems to be innate, appearing in the public eye periodically.”

“Oh? So, what is the effect of this Mythical Crystal?” Ye Xiao asked curiously.

Boxi's eyes brightened even more upon hearing Ye Xiao's question, and then he mysteriously said, “Effect? I can only tell you that equipment forged with this Mythical Crystal will be at least Mythical Grade quality.”

Mythical Grade?

Ye Xiao was stunned. At least Mythical Grade?

One must know that Mythical Grade itself was the highest quality for equipment. Could there be something even higher?

As if seeing what Ye Xiao was thinking, Boxi grinned and said, “Young man, just by looking at you, I can tell you don't know, right?”

This time, Boxi didn't wait for Ye Xiao to ask and answered very directly.

“Everyone believes that Mythical Grade equipment is the highest quality equipment. However, only us senior blacksmiths know that there is another, higher quality above Mythical Grade. Our predecessors in this profession call it—Transcendental Mythical Grade!”

Whoosh!

A wave of shock surged through Ye Xiao's heart.

Transcendental Mythical Grade?

Wasn't that the same grade as his Talent?

Was this a coincidence? Or… Ye Xiao’s thoughts raced, and the expression on his face grew more silent.

Boxi just assumed he was startled and didn't think much of it. Instead, he continued to speak to himself, “Transcendental Mythical Grade isn't actually a name for a grade. As the name suggests, it's merely a designation used to differentiate those qualities that surpass Mythical Grade. Forging Mythical Grade equipment has always been the standard for judging a God-tier blacksmith, but Transcendental Mythical Grade is the lifelong goal every blacksmith pursues.”

At this point, Boxi stared at Ye Xiao with burning eyes, “Young man, give it to me. I won't charge you, and I will use all my treasured collections and my lifelong skill to forge an unparalleled divine weapon for you. How about it?”

Ye Xiao was somewhat surprised by Boxi's attitude. Originally, he had only come to Xingluo City with the intention of trying his luck and inquiring about it.

Although he didn't know the true purpose of this unknown equipment blank before, the 100 million points it cost were there, so how bad could it be?

But he hadn't expected this item to be so precious.

Looking at Boxi's stance, Ye Xiao felt a bit hesitant.

However, he felt somewhat fortunate inwardly. Although Boxi looked a bit old, his thoughts seemed rather simple.

He had revealed the preciousness of this Mythical Crystal without holding back, and even offered to forge equipment for him at his own expense.

If anyone else had known how precious this Mythical Crystal was, they would probably have had malicious intentions.

Aside from anything else, just by spreading the news, Ye Xiao wouldn't be able to stay peacefully in Starfire City.

However, regarding Boxi in front of him, besides the title above his head, he knew nothing else.

Although Ye Xiao thought the other party was simple, he didn't dare to hand over this item easily.

Seeming to notice Ye Xiao's wariness, Boxi grew anxious and hurriedly spoke.

“Young man, I'm not the kind of person you think I am.”

Ye Xiao blinked, “I didn't say anything.”

“I've lived for a long time and seen all kinds of people. I can tell from your expression that you're guarding against me.”

Ye Xiao didn't answer. Boxi continued, “Don't worry, I'm already half-buried in the ground, and I have no attachments. I've dedicated my entire life to forging. What good would it do me to covet your item? Can I take it into the grave with me?”

“That's not necessarily true. Many people like burial items,” Ye Xiao suddenly blurted out, almost choking Boxi to death.

However, Ye Xiao wasn't teasing the other party.

After all, Human Job Holders had excavated many ruins in the past, all of which were tombs of deceased NPC powerhouses, and Human Job Holders often dug up many good treasures from them.

Boxi became anxious, “Young man, you are defiling me, a God-tier blacksmith! If you don't believe me, go ask around. I, Boxi, am a well-known figure in Starfire City. Even the City Lord treats me with courtesy. I have no need to deceive you.”

Unfortunately, no matter how Boxi tried to persuade him, Ye Xiao remained silent.

The main reason was that Ye Xiao could not guarantee the other party's trustworthiness.

However, after scratching his head for a while, Boxi suddenly said, “Young man, aren't you just worried that I'll swallow your Mythical Crystal? How about this, we make a contract in the name of the Father God. Then you'll be at ease, right?”

However, Ye Xiao became even more silent upon hearing this.

Normally, after forming a contract, both parties indeed could not go back on their word, but this involved a very serious problem.

That was, during the process of forming the contract, both parties would display their respective information.

Thus, his identity as a Human Job Holders would certainly not be able to be concealed.

Therefore, this method was even less feasible.

However, just at this moment, Boxi suddenly spoke:

“I know what you're worried about, but don't worry, I'm not interested in your identity. I just want to fulfill my dream before I die, and I hope you can help me achieve it.”

Boxi's sudden words made Ye Xiao's hair stand on end, and he immediately prepared to strike.

He had been discovered?