[{"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-402":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},2320334,4537,"Chapter 402","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-402",402,"\u003Cp>Wang Yu walked to the center of the garden, pulled out a white box from his person—the unnamed bone box he had obtained from the bar’s safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had possessed this object for some time, but had been too busy fleeing and handling affairs back home to deal with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, finally free, and having found a relatively open residence, he prepared to cast a spell to open the bone box and see what treasure lay inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very thing that had caused the “White Wolf” and his backers to pursue it relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu held the bone box in his palm, extending his spiritual sense to scan its surface, checking for any subtle changes since last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he exhaled slowly and retracted his spiritual sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy fluctuations within the box remained astonishing, yet the box’s exterior remained unchanged, showing no anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the object inside was well-preserved—not something prone to violent transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, he could safely proceed with the Water Refining Technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking this, Wang Yu no longer hesitated; he placed the bone box on the ground before him, formed hand seals, murmured incantations, and quietly linked his spiritual intent to the silver talisman within his spiritual sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Threads of black qi drifted out from the talisman, swiftly sinking into his meridians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Puff.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blue, water-like sphere the size of a human head materialized in midair before him; urged by his hand seals, it shot straight toward the white bone box on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a flash, the sphere enveloped the bone box, slowly rising and hovering in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu stared at the sphere, expression unchanged, yet his ten fingers continuously flicked out multicolored hand seals toward it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, the water sphere enclosing the box began to rotate slowly, then faster and faster; within it, faint blue threads of light appeared, dense as countless thread-like blades, swirling within the water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reel in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu muttered under his breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light threads within the water tightened sharply toward the bone box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sssss.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Violent scraping sounds emanated from the box’s surface, occasionally spewing forth clouds of white mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu’s expression remained calm, but his hand seals grew even steadier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As more white mist rose from within the water sphere, the bone box shrank visibly under the relentless abrasion of the countless light threads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though many disciples of the Four Symbols Sect learned the Water Refining Technique, few mastered its essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This technique hinges on “stability”; the practitioner must never be restless or impatient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a second-rank Artificer, Wang Yu understood this deeply; now, he calmly guided the seals, showing not a trace of haste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a full teacup’s time, the bone box had shrunk to only one-third its original size, yet the unknown energy fluctuations within had intensified several-fold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, the box could no longer contain or conceal its contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did he slow his incantation and retract his hand seals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spinning water sphere gradually came to a halt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The swirling light threads within dissolved one by one, vanishing swiftly; the bone box, now reduced to a thin shell, reappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu fixed his gaze on the object within the water, then tapped his forehead with one finger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoosh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A streak of silver light shot out from his brow; after a flash, a white bone demon clad in thick bone armor appeared on the ground beside him, hands empty, standing motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu glanced at the bone demon once; a thread of spiritual intent drifted silently into its skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next instant, green flames flickered in the demon’s hollow eye sockets; it stepped forward twice, raised a bony arm, plunged its five fingers directly into the water sphere, and seized the shrunken bone box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Splash.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instant the box was removed, the large water sphere collapsed into a puddle of clear water on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu silently stepped back two paces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bone demon tightened its fingers slightly; the paper-thin bone box shattered instantly, revealing a dark object falling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bone demon’s hand shot out, snatching the object, then opened its palm toward Wang Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silver ring lay clearly in its bony palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu, seeing the object, narrowed his eyes slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, the bone demon stepped forward twice and offered the ring closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu examined the object closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ring was crudely made, as if hand-forged; atop it was set a black crystal the size of a bean, emitting a faint, eerie black glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ring’s astonishing energy fluctuations came from this crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wang Yu sensed the strength of its energy with his spiritual sense, his expression subtly changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If converted into cultivation power, this energy approached the level of a Golden Core cultivator’s strike—akin to third-rank power in the cultivation world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this terrifying energy were to erupt, everything within a radius of several li would be obliterated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet seeing the bone demon hold the ring without incident, he exhaled in relief—though his spiritual intent, upon touching the ring, was repelled entirely, unable to penetrate even a fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu frowned, then reached out with one hand toward the ring in the bone demon’s grasp; but to be safe, before his fingers touched it, a stream of black yin qi surged from his arm, swiftly enveloping his entire hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With two fingers wrapped in black qi, he delicately plucked up the ring and held it before his eyes for close inspection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The band was flat and circular, seemingly ordinary silver, not of high purity, its surface pitted and uneven, as if poorly polished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small black crystal atop the ring had an irregular surface, yet its color was so deep it seemed to suck in the gaze, refusing to let it look away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The origin of this crystal must be extraordinary!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he pondered this, he tilted the ring slightly and saw, etched inside the band, several hasty Chinese characters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beloved, Jenny.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu fell silent for a moment, his gaze returning to the black crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, he felt the crystal’s energy fluctuations bore a faint resemblance to yin qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking it over, he gently activated the yin qi in his hand; a thin thread of black qi drifted slowly from one finger, cautiously approaching the black crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something unexpected happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instant the yin qi touched the crystal’s surface—“Sssss”—it vanished inside, swallowed whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not swallowed—it was being pulled in by some force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell is this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yu instantly jerked his wrist, flinging the ring away, then stepped back in a swift slide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bone demon snatched the ring midair and clamped it tightly between both palms.\u003C\u002Fp>",1115,"2026-06-20T15:44:32.565Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d6b021a04367632d336e535a2d1fed84c6c5476506b7bdd2be900b5512ec041c","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-403","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-401",530,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-immortal-path-among-the-stars-cover.jpg"]