[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl":3,"chapter-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-384":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Great Jin's Most Iron Rice Bowl",{"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},1897158,2531,"Chapter 384: The Well Keeper","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-384",384,"\u003Cp>Following the Zhu Que Army's suspected attack by ghost and demon clans, Nanxiang County has become noticeably livelier; during her patrol, Hua Changxi saw an increasing number of cultivators flooding in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more people gathered, the more turbulent the situation became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, the Zhu Que Army's strength was insufficient to suppress all unrest, and she herself was not yet mentally prepared to lead tens of thousands of Zhu Que soldiers in defending Xiangcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was accustomed to fighting alone, but now, no matter what she did, she had to consider Xiangcheng and the Zhu Que Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Lord of Xiangcheng absent and all the blessed grotto-heavens still sealed, she, as the Hall Master of Lingguang Hall, was the highest authority in Xiangcheng, making it impossible for her to ignore the events unfolding there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, this left her with an intense feeling of being bound hand and foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking inward, she faced a host of urgent problems: her cultivation realm remained stuck, her pill-refining techniques had stagnated, and she could find no suitable place for body refinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking outward, Xiangcheng was in chaos; demon clans and the imperial house lurked in the shadows, eyeing them greedily, while the Zhu Que Army lacked both strength and adequate equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly, it was a case of internal troubles and external threats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi, who had always believed in minding only her own affairs, suddenly faced this crushing pressure and found herself at a loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bitter smile crossed Hua Changxi's face; she had dodged the burden of reviving the Dan Sheng Hall, yet could not escape the responsibility of defending Xiangcheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It seems I truly am the chosen one!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi laughed self-mockingly; to wear the crown was to bear its weight. Being the chosen one was no easy task—the burden was heavy. In truth, she would rather be an ordinary cultivator, free as a cloud or wild crane, but ordinary cultivators did not possess such fortuitous encounters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, no matter which path one took, advantages and disadvantages coexisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppressing her troubled thoughts, Hua Changxi visited Li Huo Cliff and obtained another batch of Zhu Que tokens. On her way back to Lingguang Hall, noticing that Li Huo Cliff was not far from the Ghost Fire Well, she once again stepped into the mortuary where the boy with the nether eyes resided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first time she came, the boy with the nether eyes was grinding rice in the courtyard; this time, he was in the mortuary's backyard, kneeling motionless before a stone stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As always, he showed no reaction to Hua Changxi's arrival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi approached, but when she was five meters from the stele, she felt an invisible force blocking her path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the fact that the boy with the nether eyes was still alive meant he possessed some means of self-preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, Hua Changxi's pupils trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sensed that the Karma Fire Platform Seal, the Nine Heavens Fire Spring Token, and the Li Huo Cliff Token within her sea of consciousness simultaneously emitted light; immediately after, the invisible blocking force vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deeply shaken, Hua Changxi looked at the boy with the nether eyes, then at the stele, unsure who had generated that invisible power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Hua Changxi silently walked up behind the boy with the nether eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the boy faced the stele, preventing her from seeing his expression, the slight turn of his head revealed his shock and surprise at her approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi noticed the stele was completely blank, devoid of any markings, and asked, \"Why is there no inscription?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the boy with the nether eyes frowned, tilting his head to glance at her 'unhappily'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi suddenly realized; the boy with the nether eyes was blind, so normal inscriptions were useless to him. \"Must the inscription be viewed with divine sense?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes did not respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi added, \"May I use my divine sense to 'take a look'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes lowered his eyes hesitantly; after waiting a moment and seeing that Hua Changxi had not yet released her divine sense, he finally reacted, nodding once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi immediately released her divine sense, probing it into the stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the stele lay a surging sea of blood, assaulting her with pure and dense qi of blood and vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Hua Changxi felt as though she had become a single drop of blood within that sea, experiencing both the warmth of being enveloped by it and the loss of control from being swept up in its waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation of losing control was so intense it made her heart panic; just as she intended to withdraw her divine sense, her right hand turned cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes had grabbed Hua Changxi with his icy hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, a guiding technique appeared in Hua Changxi's mind—the Zhurong Meridian-Expanding Technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was greatly surprised by the boy's actions; recalling how the tokens of the three blessed grotto-heaven masters had vibrated simultaneously after she approached the stele, she hesitated briefly before attempting to cultivate the Zhurong Meridian-Expanding Technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon trying it, she discovered with delight that this technique used divine sense to draw out the qi of blood and vitality from the stele, nourishing the physical body and aiding in widening the meridians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the Zhurong Meridian-Expanding Technique circulated smoothly, a faint blood-red glow appeared around Hua Changxi's body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The human body has eighty-one meridian nodes; after the technique completed nine cycles, Hua Changxi sensed that the first node had been illuminated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An unhappy snort sounded beside her ear, prompting Hua Changxi to reluctantly withdraw her divine sense from the stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opening her eyes, she saw the boy with the nether eyes wearing a foul expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes was not looking at Hua Changxi but was 'staring' at the stele, upon which a crack now ran from top to bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hua Changxi swallowed hard. \"This wasn't caused by me, was it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes finally 'looked' at Hua Changxi, his expression exceedingly aggrieved. \"Grandfather specifically left this for my cultivation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having damaged someone else's property, Hua Changxi felt extremely guilty. \"I'm sorry; I didn't expect this to happen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes puffed up in anger. \"If I had known you required so much qi of blood and vitality, I wouldn't have told you about the Zhurong Meridian-Expanding Technique.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi smiled awkwardly and asked with concern, \"Now that it's cracked, can you still use the stele?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relieved to hear it was still usable, Hua Changxi looked at the boy and asked, \"Why did you tell me about the Zhurong Meridian-Expanding Technique?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes replied, \"Grandfather said that anyone who can pass through the grotto-heaven barrier is one of us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Hua Changxi fell into thoughtful silence, then asked, \"Who is your grandfather?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes answered, \"The Well Keeper.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's eyes flashed. \"Then are you also a Well Keeper?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes nodded first, then displayed a look of sorrow. \"Unfortunately, the Ghost Fire Well was seized by bad people, and Grandfather was killed by them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Hua Changxi roughly understood the boy's identity; seeing his low spirits, she patted his shoulder, and, unsure how to comfort him, could only change the subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of stele is this? Where did your grandfather get it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boy with the nether eyes replied, \"Grandfather said this is Zhurong Stone, which can help strengthen my physique and divine soul. As for where he got it, I do not know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi activated her Eye of Shattering Illusions once again, and indeed she \"saw\" that the bloodline power within the Nether-Eyed Boy seemed stronger than during their first encounter, while those crimson chains appeared thicker as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhurong Stone...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhurong...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This reminded Hua Changxi of the Zhurong Tomb; in that instant, she knew which blessed grotto-heaven she ought to explore next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi smiled at the Nether-Eyed Boy: \"Perhaps I can restore a new stone stele for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nether-Eyed Boy shook his head: \"I do not want a stone stele. Can you help me reclaim the Ghost Fire Well?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's expression turned solemn: \"I will drive away those currently occupying the Ghost Fire Well, but I cannot guarantee that the well will belong to you.\" She had found no token of the Ghost Fire Well's master on the boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nether-Eyed Boy tilted his head, appearing somewhat perplexed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi knew little about the Ghost Fire Well and did not know how to explain matters to the boy, so she said nothing more: \"I must be going. By the way, what is your name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nether-Eyed Boy replied: \"Jing Sheng.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing how emaciated the Nether-Eyed Boy was, Hua Changxi left him some Blood Spirit Ganoderma to nourish and stabilize his physical form before departing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after leaving the mortuary did she realize she had remained inside for three days.\u003C\u002Fp>",1522,"2026-06-12T02:51:23.636Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","6c332e14aa363295bb99184971b11cffc9127368ed28398ef1d0bdadad1eea39","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-385","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-383",558,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]