Chapter 196: The Art of Runes
Snap.
The slender [Greenwood Needle] broke in two. The spiritual light shimmering on its surface flickered once and extinguished, leaving behind a dull, lifeless piece of wood.
Jiang Chen tossed the debris into the waste bin and frowned. “Another failure.”
This was his third attempt.
He wiped his hands, acknowledging a harsh truth: there was a chasm of difference between mortal forging and true artifact refining.
Forging was physical. As long as he controlled the temperature, the materials, and the timing, the molds did the heavy lifting.
But artifact refining? Even for something as basic as a [Greenwood Needle]—the absolute lowest tier of Wood-attribute Spirit Artifacts—the variables were overwhelming.
Attempt one: The Crimson Flame was too intense. The materials incinerated instantly. Attempt two: He suppressed the fire but lost patience with the fusion process. The structure collapsed.
And now, attempt three. He had dialed in the temperature and timing, learning from his mistakes. But at the critical moment—the engraving of the runes—his force with the Green Jade Knife had been a hair too heavy.