Zhang Yu looked at Azure Sand Level 1 (0/10) displayed on the Yushu and couldn’t help but sigh at the long road ahead for artifact forging.

However, the next moment, a chill from the ritualistic power welled up within him, reminding him to persevere and cutting short his reflections.

Zhang Yu immediately suppressed his distracting thoughts and began forging Azure Sand for the second time.

“Buying the blueprint, renting the lab and equipment, it all cost me nearly one spirit coin. One forging session isn’t enough to justify that.”

Zhang Yu checked the time. The first forging of Azure Sand had taken about 20 minutes, and he had rented the lab and equipment for a total of six hours.

“Continue forging!”

Zhang Yu immediately channeled his aura, sweeping it towards the materials beside him.

This time, Zhang Yu’s movements were much more practiced. Streams of aura surged out, simultaneously manipulating the materials and tools.

Zhang Yu felt that the process of forging Azure Sand was quite similar to his usual cultivation of techniques.

It was as if the raw materials before him were his own physical body, which he was transforming using various Immortal Dao techniques to achieve the desired Immortal Dao effect.

The process of improvement was akin to how the more proficient one became with a cultivation technique, the stronger its effects. Similarly, the higher the level of Azure Sand forging, the better the quality of the finished product.

Night Xingli, watching Zhang Yu begin forging Azure Sand for the second time, initially paid it no mind. Suddenly, she frowned slightly and asked, “Isn’t the amount of ore a bit less?”

Zhang Yu smiled and explained, “I want to save on material costs, so I can forge more times.”

Night Xingli dissuaded him, “If the ore quantity is different, then the subsequent operational steps, including the manipulation of aura and mana, and the temperature of the Lihuo Furnace, will all change.”

“As a beginner, you should stick to the standard proportions. Once you’ve improved your skill, then you can consider adjusting the quantities yourself.”

Zhang Yu, of course, did not accept Night Xingli’s suggestion.

Seeing Zhang Yu ignore her advice, Night Xingli shook her head and did not press further. She thought to herself, “This guy… his artifact forging talent is average, but he’s quite stubborn.”

However, Night Xingli wasn’t surprised; beginners were often like this.

Especially novices who had already achieved considerable success in other fields; they were always full of confidence and often needed to stumble multiple times in artifact forging before learning to be grounded.

Night Xingli watched as Zhang Yu continued to forge the smaller portion of Azure Sand. Ultimately, only about half of the material was successfully refined, with the other half rendered useless.

Night Xingli shook her head vigorously, thinking Zhang Yu should understand now.

Zhang Yu, however, looked at Azure Sand Level 1 (1/10) on the Yushu and secretly nodded, “As expected, even with a change in quantity, it still counts as one attempt.”

Zhang Yu decided to continue reducing the quantity in subsequent attempts, to see how little material he could use while still having the Yushu register the progress.

“This way, I can further reduce the cost of my artifact forging cultivation.”

As he thought this, Zhang Yu looked at Night Xingli beside him and asked, “Senior, since I’m only forging Azure Sand and won’t be using most of the other equipment in this lab, do you need to use any of it?”

Night Xingli was indeed tempted by the offer.

It wasn’t because she wanted to save money or a lab rental fee; a few spirit coins meant nothing to her.

Rather, she was standing idly by, watching Zhang Yu, and thought she might as well use the time to do something of her own.

A small amount of spirit coins was insignificant to her, but an extra few hours for study and cultivation time was very important.

Night Xingli nodded, “Coincidentally, I’ve been adjusting my Dharma Skeleton recently, and I could certainly use the equipment here.”

“I won’t take advantage of you with the lab’s rent; we can just split it.”

“Regarding artifact forging, you can always ask me if you have any questions.”

Zhang Yu watched as Night Xingli detached her right arm, manipulated the Dharma Skeleton arm with her aura, then placed it onto an instrument, observing data while infusing it with specialized mana streams.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The things I’m currently forging are too simple; it’s a waste to use the lab alone.”

“In the future, if I can rent a lab with someone and split the rent, I can save another batch of spirit coins.”

Ever since successfully completing his first Azure Sand forging, Zhang Yu had been contemplating how to spend fewer spirit coins to advance his artifact forging path.

“If I could also sell the Azure Sand, maybe I could even make some money?”

But Zhang Yu quickly dismissed the idea: “No, I probably won’t make money; at best, I might just recover some costs.”

Zhang Yu knew that basic materials like Azure Sand were already mass-produced on assembly lines by many companies and factories.

Not only were their costs lower than his, but their average quality was also superior.

If he wanted to sell Azure Sand, he would likely have to sell at a loss just to recuperate some money.

“And mass production is impossible with my current conditions.”

Zhang Yu knew that personally forging artifacts or Dharma Skeletons one by one was entirely different from mass production on an assembly line.

“To set up a mass production line, you either buy one or build one yourself.”

“The former requires significant capital, while the latter requires much less capital but demands very high artifact forging skills.”

Clearly, Zhang Yu currently met neither of these conditions.

“For now, I should focus on building a strong foundation and improving my artifact forging skill.”

Next, Zhang Yu continued to adjust the material quantities repeatedly, constantly experimenting with Azure Sand forging.

He eventually discovered that as long as the material usage was at least one-tenth of the standard, each completed forging would increase the completion count on the Yushu by one.

He rejoiced inwardly, “Excellent! This way, I can reduce the material cost for practice to merely ten percent.”

After experimenting with quantity adjustments, Zhang Yu decided to also adjust his movements and timing, to see if he could further reduce the time spent on each Azure Sand forging session.

After all, Zhang Yu understood that cultivating using the Yushu’s specialization ability was logically different from other daily cultivation methods.

It was like his previous cultivation of techniques: as long as he completed one full cycle, the count would increase by one, gradually raising the technique’s level step by step.

Regarding the process of technique execution, his movements and quality could be somewhat modified and reduced, as long as they remained within a certain range.

Zhang Yu had always used this method to accelerate his cultivation speed.

Of course, this function of the Yushu was not without its drawbacks.

For example, any cultivation technique, once switched to the Yushu’s specialization, had to start from Level 1 and be continuously improved through practice counts.

Thus… even if Zhang Yu had already cultivated numerous similar martial arts, such as various body tempering techniques and defensive methods, when he cultivated a new, similar technique, there would be no effect of understanding one leading to understanding all. He would still need to start from Level 0 and accumulate practice counts one by one to level up.

To him, artifact forging skills were no different.

“It also requires repeated practice counts to advance levels.”

“But the quality and time during the practice process should be compressible.”

“My cultivation logic is completely different from how ordinary people cultivate techniques or practice artifact forging.”

While Zhang Yu repeatedly adjusted the Azure Sand forging process, Night Xingli would occasionally observe him, growing increasingly speechless with each glance.

“This Zhang Yu… why is he making such a mess?”

“Not only is he saving materials, but he’s also haphazardly adjusting his movements and timing?”

Night Xingli knew that ever since the Immortal Dao cultivation was summarized and integrated by the Ten Great Sects, everything had been diligently standardized and digitized. Nowadays, every aspect of Immortal Dao technology had a systematic design.

Artifact forging was naturally no exception.

Unlike the past, where each sect felt like a small workshop, and even the forged artifacts only had broad categorical divisions without detailed level distinctions.

Today’s artifact evaluation system and forging processes were already incredibly refined.

Therefore, if cultivators wished to improve their artifact forging skills and create higher-level artifacts, they needed to constantly learn and then engage in high-quality practice.

“Zhang Yu, practicing so haphazardly won’t work.”

Night Xingli couldn’t help but remind him, “If you want to save on practice costs, there are more formal, complete methods; you don’t need to do it this way.”

“For instance, the Azure Sand you forge can be sold to recoup some of your investment.”

“After all, Azure Sand is a basic material required in the forging of many artifacts, and many teachers and students in the Artifact Forging department will buy it.”

“You can also use the simulated labs in the Spirit Realm for practice; it’s much cheaper than physical practice.”

Zhang Yu, of course, was aware of these cost-saving methods Night Xingli mentioned.

However, considering his current cost-reduction efficiency, he felt he could keep his expenses even lower than in a simulated lab, while also obtaining some finished Azure Sand.

Night Xingli naturally didn’t know Zhang Yu’s thoughts; she simply continued to introduce other ways to reduce costs.

“It’s not just relatively simple products like Azure Sand that can be practiced with reduced costs.”

“The same goes for more advanced artifacts; besides simulated labs, you can also substitute with cheaper materials and practice by producing lower-quality versions.”

“For even more high-end artifacts, after the first successful forging, their forging skill level can also be improved through repeated maintenance, adjustments, and enhancements, which also costs significantly less.”

“For example, my master’s Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda was refined from Level 31 all the way to Level 40 through continuous tempering, repairs, and enhancements.”

“During this process, my master’s artifact forging skills also greatly improved, with the manufacturing technique for the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda reaching Level 40.”

Zhang Yu knew that the manufacturing technique for the Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda reaching Level 40 meant that, with complete materials and production environment, True Monarch Magnetic Pole could directly forge a Nine Heavens Primordial Yang Pagoda of Level 40.

“However, just hearing its name suggests this thing is expensive and surely time-consuming,” Zhang Yu thought. “Unless someone offers a high price, True Monarch Magnetic Pole probably wouldn’t easily forge a second one.”

Night Xingli actually had one more important cost-saving method she didn’t mention: participating in the school’s artifact forging projects. By using project funds to purchase materials, rent venues, and acquire equipment, one could advance their artifact forging cultivation.

After all, artifact forging was extremely costly. Even though Night Xingli was already very wealthy, she always felt she didn’t have enough money, and her artifact forging budget constantly ran over.

Therefore, almost every top student in the Artifact Forging department like her participated in various artifact forging projects.

To her, securing funding was an essential skill for becoming a strong artifact forger, one that must be learned.

However, Zhang Yu was a civil engineering student and still a beginner, far removed from such opportunities, so she simply didn’t mention it.

Just as Night Xingli was advising Zhang Yu, he finally completed another forging of Azure Sand.

Azure Sand Level 2 (0/20)