[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars":3,"chapter-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-321":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Immortal Path Among the Stars",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320253,4537,"Chapter 321","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-321",321,"\u003Cp>\"So that's how it is. Master Sun, do you have any advice?\" Wang Yu asked thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long pause, Master Sun spoke slowly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you weren't a True Disciple, I would certainly advise you to sign a Spirit Pact with the sect and become a dedicated armorer, using the sect’s resources to practice forging and become familiar with second-rank materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our sect’s only second-rank armorer, Elder Bai, is nearing the end of his lifespan and hasn’t forged second-rank artifacts in years. The sect is now seeking to cultivate a new second-rank armorer and has already selected several first-rank armorers as candidates, providing them with abundant resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But you’re a True Disciple—your main focus will inevitably be on cultivation and breaking through realms, leaving no time to sacrifice your cultivation for the sect’s exclusive forging needs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, no matter how gifted you are at forging, the sect won’t truly invest resources in you. To become a second-rank armorer, you must gather materials yourself, bit by bit, and slowly attempt forging second-rank artifacts to break through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My advice: start by practicing with easily acquired second-rank materials like iron mother, and choose simple artifacts like knives or swords. The fewer the second-rank inscriptions, the better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once you truly master the forging method of a certain artifact, you can take on private forging contracts in the outer markets, using others’ materials to accumulate experience and buy second-rank materials. This process will surely be long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The standard for a second-rank armorer is mastering the forging methods of at least three different second-rank artifacts, one of which must have no fewer than thirty-six inscriptions. Whether you can meet this standard depends entirely on your future fortune.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you, Master Sun, for your guidance. I now know what to do. Second-rank materials—even iron mother—are not something you can simply buy with spirit stones at the General Affairs Hall; the contribution points required are staggering,\" Wang Yu said with a sigh after thanking Master Sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If second-rank armorers were easy to cultivate, our sect wouldn’t have only one. The resources needed to train even one are more than even the sect can easily bear,\" Master Sun said, sighing as if recalling something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At least Brother Wang has already become a formal armorer. I’ve studied for so many years and am still just an apprentice. I’ve even neglected my own cultivation because of forging—I don’t even know if I’ll ever have a chance to break through to Foundation Establishment,\" Xiao Wei said with a bitter smile after listening to their conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiao Wei, you do have some talent in forging, or else I wouldn’t have taken you in. The fact that you still haven’t forged a first-rank artifact merely means you’re just short of that final spark. When the timing comes, success will follow naturally,\" Master Sun said, glancing at Xiao Wei with indifference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Sun is right. I also believe Sister Xiao will become a formal armorer—it’s only a matter of time,\" Wang Yu added with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hope so,\" the short-haired woman replied with a long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One month later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the cave dwelling, in the earth-fire chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above the rolling flames, a small, black, palm-sized flying dagger hung motionless in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu’s eyes glinted faintly as he held a slender inscription needle between his fingers, etching a bean-sized sword-shaped inscription onto the dagger. Eight complete sword inscriptions had already been inscribed—he was now etching the ninth silver sword inscription.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His face showed no expression; his hands were as steady as Mount Tai—he had entered overdrive mode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft “puff.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ninth silver sword inscription was finally completed. The dagger began to hum softly, its surface glowing with a faint sheen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Success.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once, Wang Yu exited overdrive mode, a hint of joy appearing on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This dagger had taken him over a month and more than a dozen failures, consuming over twenty thousand spirit stones’ worth of iron mother, before finally succeeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to his previous versions, this dagger was identical in design and the nine-sword inscription pattern—the only difference was the material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, he had used ordinary iron essence; now he used iron mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But iron mother, as a second-rank material, had drastically increased the difficulty in both forging the artifact’s blank and inscribing the runes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, melting iron mother was no easy task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It required higher-temperature earth-fire, and the melting time was far harder to control—a moment’s misstep could turn the material into waste due to being overheated or underheated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, iron mother was several times tougher than iron essence, making it far harder to forge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even under high heat, it required immense force to pound it slowly into shape, yet any lapse in attention caused the deformed areas to spring back slightly. One spot often needed hundreds of repeated strikes before the shape truly changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was merely common iron mother. If he encountered other second-rank materials with more extreme properties, simply forging the artifact blank would be a nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the even more critical step of inscription, it became even harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inscription needle, which had flowed effortlessly over first-rank blanks like iron essence, now struggled to leave a mark on iron mother, demanding far greater precision in controlling his own power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, his overdrive assistance allowed him to adapt to iron mother’s hardness in such a short time, enabling him to inscribe smoothly upon it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although this dagger bore only nine inscriptions, it had a simple dual-layered inscription pattern and, with second-rank materials, barely qualified as a second-rank artifact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wondered just how powerful such a crude second-rank artifact might be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wang Yu pondered, he grasped the dagger in his hand, infused it with a slight amount of spiritual energy, and the dagger spun once in his palm, unleashing a swirl of black cold light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sharp “whoosh, whoosh” sounds filled the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, seven or eight deep knife marks appeared on the surrounding walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within two days, Wang Yu returned to the Scripture Hall and specifically selected a wind-attribute spell with twenty-four spirit inscriptions: “Wind Arrow Spell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two months later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the silver hall, within the forged armory chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu, bare-chested, stood beside a massive anvil next to roaring earth-fire, swinging a huge black hammer without pause, pounding a long, glowing-red metal bar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The metal flattened slightly under each blow, then recoiled slightly—but the hammer fell like a storm, never stopping. After hundreds of strikes, he used iron tongs to lift the darkened bar and toss it into a nearby furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the bar glowed red again, he clamped it back onto the anvil and pounded it once more, over and over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually, the metal grew flatter, faintly taking on the shape of a long blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two hours later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the earth-fire chamber of the silver hall, above the roaring flames, Wang Yu, with a thick long needle, meticulously inscribed a series of pale green inscriptions onto a black, long blade.\u003C\u002Fp>",1159,"2026-06-20T15:44:32.161Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","85d547aa30daad04f4753c209a31f303a0875b56ef989ab0c04be5c2accfaf00","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-322","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-320",530,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-immortal-path-among-the-stars-cover.jpg"]