332: Chapter 332 The weapon-refining maniac Taihao was captivated by what Xu Ruyu was about to refine.

The Taihao Clan remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "I ask you, why must you refine artifacts yourself? With your status, wouldn't it be more convenient to have the clan's Artifact Refiners do it for you?"

Xu Ruyu looked up and said seriously, "Because the things I want to refine, others cannot."

"Oh?" The Taihao Clan raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest flashing in her eyes. "What could be so special?"

Xu Ruyu hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth. "A... completely new kind of weapon."

It doesn't require a high cultivation level to exert powerful force.

It will allow low-level Disciples to have the power to protect themselves."

A light flickered in the eyes of the Taihao Clan.

A weapon that exerts power without needing high cultivation?

She had been refining artifacts for a thousand years; what kind of Magical Artifact had she not seen? However, something that could allow low-level Disciples to cross Realms to face enemies was indeed rare.

"Are you sure others can't refine it?" she asked.

Xu Ruyu nodded. "My Formation patterns are designed completely differently from traditional ones."

The forging techniques also need to match the special requirements of those Formation patterns.

Ordinary Artifact Refiners wouldn't be able to understand them."

The Taihao Clan looked at him, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

This young man, although he had been frivolous toward her Master and only had a cultivation at the Qi Refinement Stage, did indeed have some genuine skill to be able to reach such heights in the Dao of Formations, complete a hundred saint tablets, and optimize Forbidden Arrays.

Furthermore, the determination and confidence in his eyes didn't seem faked.

"Show me your Formation patterns," the Taihao Clan suddenly said.

Xu Ruyu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He hurriedly pulled out that thick stack of beast-skin papers from his robes and handed them over with both hands.

The Taihao Clan took them and looked down to flip through.

At first, her expression was quite calm.

But soon, her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

As she flipped further, her pupils constricted slightly, and her breathing quickened a bit.

"This is..." she murmured, "Spiral acceleration patterns? Compression feedback loops? Layered layout of energy nodes? This... what kind of Formation philosophy is this?"

Xu Ruyu felt a secret joy in his heart.

It seemed that even this Saint Realm Artifact Refiner couldn't understand his 'scientific Formation patterns.'

"Senior," he explained, "these Formation patterns are designed based on a completely new energy concept.

This energy, I call it 'source energy.' It's different from traditional spiritual power; it can be extracted from the air, compressed, accelerated, and released in a directed manner..."

He began to talk incessantly, from the principles of the Haotian True Qi Chapter to the methods of kinetic energy conversion, and then to the design logic of those Formation patterns.

The Taihao Clan listened quietly, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

When Xu Ruyu reached the part about why those weapons exploded and his ideas for future improvements, the Taihao Clan suddenly raised her hand and interrupted him.

"I heard about what happened with you at the Fire Cloud Cave that day," she said slowly. "Everyone laughed at your failure, but you yourself said it wasn't a failure, but an experiment."

Xu Ruyu nodded. "Yes, Senior. Only through explosions can we get data, and only with data can we improve."

The Taihao Clan looked at him, and for the first time, an emotion other than hostility appeared in her eyes—it was admiration.

"You are quite interesting," she murmured.

Xu Ruyu was overwhelmed by the favor. "Senior overpraises me."

The Taihao Clan was silent for a moment, then suddenly stuffed the stack of beast-skin papers back into his hands and turned her back to him.

"The Artifact Refining Room is behind the thatched cottage, the innermost room.

The Formation has already been opened; you can just go straight in."

Xu Ruyu was stunned.

"Senior... you... you've agreed?"

The Taihao Clan did not turn around, saying coldly, "Don't be happy too soon. I'm letting you use it because your Formation patterns are indeed somewhat interesting. But—"

She paused, her voice growing a few degrees colder. "If you dare to run around inside the Illusory Moon Well, or dare to step even half a step near where my Master is sleeping, I will kill you immediately."

Xu Ruyu hurriedly guaranteed, "Senior, please rest assured! This Junior will only move within the Artifact Refining Room and would never dare to overstep the bounds!"

The Taihao Clan gave a cold snort and spoke no more, walking straight into the thatched cottage. The door closed with a 'thud.'

Xu Ruyu stood in place for a long time before he finally reacted.

He looked at the beast-skin papers in his hand, then at the small rooms faintly visible behind the cottage, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Although the process was thrilling and he was nearly 'minced,' in the end... he succeeded?

He put away the beast-skin papers and quickly walked around the cottage toward the back.

Behind him, a window of the cottage opened a tiny crack, and a pair of eyes stared at his back through the gap.

That gaze was extremely complex.

There was hatred, killing intent, curiosity, and also a hint of... a subtle light that even she herself hadn't noticed.

"Master..." the Taihao Clan murmured, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. "What should your Disciple do about this bastard who was frivolous toward you..."

The window crack gently closed.

The bamboo forest remained quiet, and the petals of the silk tree flowers drifted down gently in the breeze.

Xu Ruyu's journey of Artifact Refining officially began within the inner layer of the Illusory Moon Well.