[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin":3,"chapter-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-360":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The First Iron Rice Bowl of Great Jin",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},152046,261,"Chapter 360: Domineering Way","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-360",360,"\u003Cp>Crimson flames steamed like clouds, a sea of fire churning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two fire qilins condensed from Earth Mother Qi showed no trace of aggression; they seemed ready to lie there until the end of time as long as Hua Changxi made no move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting had said that the key to opening the Fire Qilin Pavilion was inside the two fire qilins' bellies. To obtain the key, either they would hand it over willingly, or it would have to be forced out by thunderous means.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if thunderous means were required, Hua Changxi thought that chance would not fall to her; Xuanwu's Five Generals would have done it long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adding to that what Qin Feng said—that the fire qilins formed from Earth Mother Qi could neither be scattered nor destroyed—then the only way to get the key seemed to be finding a way to make them hand it over willingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making the fire qilins willingly hand over the key...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi narrowed her eyes in thought. Could the fire qilins, born of Earth Mother Qi, be tamed? If both fire qilins submitted to her, would they then hand over the key?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Hua Changxi thought about it, the more feasible this approach seemed. But how could she make the fire qilins submit to her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fire qilins...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fire...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi thought of the divine ability \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage.\" When she performed this art, any flame existing between heaven and earth could become her \"nourishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi stared intently at the two fire qilins. Earth Mother Qi sounded like something extraordinary. If she used \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" to absorb these two fire qilins, she imagined she would certainly gain great benefit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it happened, ever since inheriting the \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" divine ability, she had never truly used it in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She might as well practice on these two fire qilins!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi immediately began to execute \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage.\" The first step of the divine art was to construct a flame gravitational field centered on herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the art started, a flame vortex appeared at the location of her dantian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the flame vortex appeared, the two fire qilins, which had been lying motionless, both raised their heads to look, then stood up restlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The devouring force of \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" was a flame-source siphon that accepted all fire without exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anything touched by \"flame\" would be siphoned into the flame vortex. Once within the gravitational range, it would be forcibly stripped from its original form, turning into fire threads, fire motes, or fire streams, flowing toward Hua Changxi like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, ignoring spatial barriers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the flames and fire spiritual energy within the fire domain all converged toward Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two fire qilins, feeling a powerful pulling force acting on their bodies, repeatedly retreated to the very edge of the fire domain space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second step of \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" was the purification and conversion of energy—discarding the dross and retaining the essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the flames in the fire domain surged into the dantian vortex, Hua Changxi sensed the impurity of the fire spiritual energy. If she absorbed these impure fire energies without purification, at worst they would pollute her dantian, and at worst damage her foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But under the effect of the divine art, these impure fire energies underwent a process of \"disassembly-purification-reconstruction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impurities, violent qi, or alien energy contained in the flame would be thoroughly stripped away, leaving only the purest fire-attribute energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the flames in the fire domain were continuously devoured, converted, and absorbed, Hua Changxi discovered that the fire spiritual root inside her body was like a river of molten metal; in every drop of blood, it seemed tens of thousands of flamelets were burning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more fire she absorbed, the broader the upper limit of spiritual power that the fire spiritual root could contain, and even the devouring range and conversion efficiency of \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" itself would increase accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, she seemed to have become a walking flame furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What excited Hua Changxi the most was that the cultivation bottleneck that had stubbornly refused to break was beginning to loosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this major discovery, she immediately pushed the \"Myriad Flames Paying Homage\" divine ability to its limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the fire domain, Xuanwu's Five Generals watched this scene intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting looked at Qin Feng: \"Is Hua Changxi absorbing the fire spiritual energy in the fire domain?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Feng was uncertain: \"It seems so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not all fire spiritual energy could be absorbed, refined, and used.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire qilin was formed from Earth Mother Qi; the fire domain space created by the fire qilin was linked to the Earth Qi. Earth Qi was extremely impure. Hua Changxi should have detected this, so how could she dare to absorb it so recklessly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting also noticed some issues: \"The fire domain space is connected to the Earth Qi. Unless the fire qilin voluntarily releases it, it remains indestructible and inextinguishable. Let's see how long Hua Changxi can hold out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time slipped away bit by bit. Half an hour later, Xuanwu's Five Generals grew somewhat unsettled, and even the two fire qilins within the fire domain began pawing the ground restlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the manes of the two fire qilins were all leaning toward Hua Changxi's direction. Not only had the flames on their fur scattered, but the fiery luster on their scales had also dimmed considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two fire qilins had lost their earlier laziness, replaced instead by a surging battle spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Feng was tongue-tied: \"How strong is Hua Changxi's physical body, to be able to absorb so much impure fire spiritual energy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting frowned deeply: \"This is definitely not simple absorption; Hua Changxi must have used some method we don't know about.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Fire Domain, the two Fire Qilins felt the fire spiritual energy on their bodies continuously surging toward Hua Changxi, and their forms even showed signs of fading. Unable to stay still any longer, they launched a fierce attack on Hua Changxi from front and back simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Fire Qilins charged, every step they took caused the Fire Domain to hum and tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the attacking Fire Qilins, Hua Changxi showed no fear; instead, she was eager to try, as she had been worrying that she couldn't perform the third step of 'All Fire Returns to the Ancestor,' and now the opportunity had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third step of the divine ability: strengthen and repair, supporting continuous operation with endless vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire energy, after being transformed and purified, could repair damaged flesh and spiritual power, as well as compensate for battle consumption. Even severed meridians and depleted spiritual power could be rapidly restored under the nourishment of pure energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi summoned the Floating Light Sword and launched the first attack before the Fire Qilins charged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, a colossal battle erupted within the Fire Domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Five Generals of Xuan Yuan saw the battle break out, their expressions all stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Fire Qilins were incredibly powerful!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither the Earth Qilin battling Chu Junyi nor the Wood Qilin battling the brothers Dongfang Hao and Dongfang Xu displayed combat prowess as fierce as the Fire Qilins before them now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting: \"The strength of the Qilin beasts is determined by the challenger's strength. It seems Hua Changxi's power surpasses that of Chu Junyi and the Dongfang brothers!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clang~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Fire Domain, Hua Changxi slashed her sword onto a Fire Qilin, and the scales on its body instantly cracked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, in the next moment, the scales visibly regenerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Fire Qilin kicked Hua Changxi away with its hoof. As she steadied herself, the other Fire Qilin closed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the siege of the two Fire Qilins, her spiritual power was depleting rapidly, but with the aid of the 'All Fire Returns to the Ancestor' divine ability, her dantian remained full, and her combat power stayed at its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the Fire Domain, the Five Generals of Xuan Yuan had been silent for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi had been fiercely battling under the siege of the two Fire Qilins for several hours, and not only did she show no signs of weakness, she grew braver as the fight went on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five of them were all thinking: if they entered the Fire Domain, how long could they last under the attack of two Fire Qilins?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a day and night of battle, Hua Changxi's eyes sparkled. Wielding the 'All Fire Returns to the Ancestor' divine ability, she truly felt as if she were the sovereign of flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Domain was originally the Fire Qilins' home ground, but she felt it was her territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the replenishment of the Earth Mother Qi, the Fire Qilins could not be dispersed or destroyed, but being suppressed by Hua Changxi, the two Fire Qilins grew more lethargic the longer they fought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being knocked back once more by Hua Changxi's Floating Light Sword, the two Fire Qilins stopped attacking and reverted to their previous posture of lying flat and slacking off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi, though unsatisfied with the fight, was mindful of the Earth Mother Qi and quickly pushed the 'All Fire Returns to the Ancestor' divine ability to its limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Qilins no longer resisted, and the fire spiritual energy on their bodies was continuously drawn into Hua Changxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire spiritual energy on the Fire Qilins, compared to what she had absorbed before, now contained more mixed earthy-yellow gas. It resembled Xuan Huang Qi but was heavier than Xuan Huang Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this the Earth Mother Qi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Earth Mother Qi surged into her body, Hua Changxi clearly felt the foundation of her flesh being reshaped and reinforced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To put it this way: if Hua Changxi's flesh before was like a small clay figurine, after absorbing the Earth Mother Qi, she had turned into a small iron figurine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevation of her foundation raised her physical limits significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This delighted Hua Changxi immensely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the Fire Domain, the Five Generals of Xuan Yuan did not relax because of the truce between Hua Changxi and the Fire Qilins; instead, they became even more serious than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The true test is beginning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Fire Domain, although the fire spiritual energy on the Fire Qilins was continuously being devoured and absorbed by Hua Changxi, and the Qilin forms were fading, the fire spiritual energy never seemed to be exhausted, and there was no sign that the Fire Qilins could be subdued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi frowned slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this continued, would she never be able to obtain the key?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another day and night passed, and Hua Changxi ended the execution of 'All Fire Returns to the Ancestor.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For one simple reason: her cultivation bottleneck had not been breached, and her physical body had reached its capacity limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trapped in the fire domain, Hua Changxi couldn't just stay idle and do nothing; she could only launch another attack against the Fire Qilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having gained some understanding of the Fire Qilin's strength, this time she did not use the Floating Light Sword but instead prepared to rely on her own power for a true spar with the Fire Qilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Qilin was born from Earth Mother Qi—that is, the fire of the earth. She cultivated the Fire Dao, and she wanted to see what a fire-versus-fire duel would look like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this renewed battle, Hua Changxi and the Fire Qilin were both covered in flames. To the Five Generals of Xuan Yuan, it looked like two balls of fire violently colliding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two fireballs crashed apart, crashed again, and separated again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the fierce battle, Hua Changxi suddenly leaped onto the back of one Fire Qilin, straddling it, and continued fighting with the other Fire Qilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the intense combat, Hua Changxi noticed something unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames on her body and those on the Fire Qilin she was riding actually showed signs of merging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the merging flames, she actually \"saw\" the key inside the Fire Qilin's belly!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment of distraction, Hua Changxi failed to pay attention and was knocked flying by the other Fire Qilin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi landed and slid a considerable distance across the sea of fire before she managed to steady herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, she ceased fighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi sat cross-legged between the two Fire Qilins and recalled the battle scene just now: merging the flames allowed her to see through the Fire Qilin and spot the key in its belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What principle was behind this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So I can't use brute force to take the key—the goal is to merge?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Merge?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi shook her head. It wasn't a complete fusion, but a merging of \"you in me and me in you, harmony without uniformity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What exactly is this trying to test?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi never once thought of the \"Fire Virtue.\" Although she couldn't figure it out, she still needed to obtain the key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her conjecture in mind, she once again performed \"All Flames Return to the Source.\" After the consumed spiritual energy was fully restored, she held both hands level, flames spouting from her palms like fire pillars, and wrapped them around both Fire Qilins simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flame pillars were not aggressive—they simply drew close, so the two Fire Qilins did not counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the flame pillars began to \"merge\" with the flames on the Fire Qilins, Hua Changxi saw through the flames and glimpsed a black key and a white key hidden inside each of the two Fire Qilins' bellies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joy spread across Hua Changxi's face. Could she infiltrate the flame pillars into the Fire Qilins' bodies and take the keys?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi tried to do so, but that act angered the Fire Qilins, provoking their retaliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, after many attempts, Hua Changxi understood: she could not force flames into the Fire Qilins' bodies to directly extract the keys, but she could \"massage\" the Fire Qilins' bodies and gradually \"press\" the keys out, bit by bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This discovery really…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi didn't know how to react. She couldn't understand why there would be such a trial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since she had found a method, Hua Changxi initially planned to just go along with it and give the Fire Qilins a good \"massage\" so they would spit out the keys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, as she continuously performed \"All Flames Return to the Source,\" she absorbed more and more Earth Mother Qi, causing some unusual changes in her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most noticeable change was in her dantian. Under her internal vision, she saw that her dantian Qi sea was pulsing rhythmically with \"inhalation and exhalation,\" as if something was about to break through the sea surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This immediately reminded her of her previous battle in Tang Valley against the \"Great Sun Divine Flame,\" when the Vermilion Bird spirit shadow had burst out from her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had absorbing Earth Mother Qi further strengthened her Vermilion Bird bloodline?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was a little worried—she feared the Five Generals of Xuan Yuan might learn that she possessed the Vermilion Bird bloodline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn't know whether Dongfang Hao had revealed his Azure Dragon bloodline when opening the Wood Qilin Pavilion, but she certainly did not want to expose her own Vermilion Bird bloodline inside Xuan Yuan Manor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the Vermilion Bird bloodline was exposed, her identity as the Lord of Lingguang Hall would very likely become impossible to conceal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just being the head of Danyuan Peak had already caused her plenty of trouble; she didn't want to pile on even more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the two Fire Qilins, Hua Changxi narrowed her eyes. The Seven-Colored Strange Fire in her dantian gathered with her spiritual power into her palm. When the seven-colored flames touched one of the Fire Qilins, they suddenly merged, giving birth to the Great Sun Divine Flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pillar of Great Sun Divine Blaze forcibly penetrated into the Fire Kirin's body, pierced through its defenses, and then, before the Fire Kirin could counterattack, snatched the key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Woo~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Kirin let out a pained roar. The Fire Kirin, which had originally been as vivid as a living creature, visibly faded, and finally turned into a mass of earthy yellow qi, sinking into the sea of fire and vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fire Domain space also began to shake and tremble violently, as if on the verge of collapsing at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene made Hua Changxi freeze for a moment, but the next moment she snapped back to reality and quickly launched an attack at the other Fire Kirin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, there was only one thought in her mind: to get the other key before the Fire Domain space collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Sun Divine Blaze pillar shot out once more. This time, because the other Fire Kirin was on alert, obtaining the key was extremely difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, Hua Changxi jumped onto the Fire Kirin's back again, forcibly suppressing it while using the Great Sun Divine Blaze to burn through its body, and only then did she manage to get the key with great effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the key fell into her hand, the Fire Kirin turned into earthy yellow Primordial Mother Qi and disappeared into the sea of fire. The next moment, the Fire Domain space collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Xuanyuan Generals: \"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of the five had expected Hua Changxi to use such violent means to obtain the key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhenting: \"Such methods are far too overbearing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the sake of obtaining what one desires, employing destructive means—what moral integrity can there be in that!\u003C\u002Fp>",2953,"2026-05-29T04:10:48.594Z","2026-06-01T04:29:08.487Z",1,"deepseek-v4-flash","22303f4c39270bfd6238e3ac6912702e7d8ac36238b0bcdfc70b4649d0cbf024","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-361","the-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-chapter-359",547,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-first-iron-rice-bowl-of-great-jin-cover.jpg"]