[{"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-501":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},1897275,2531,"Chapter 501: Nether Blade","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-501",501,"\u003Cp>Hua Changxi walked with unhurried grace, leisurely weaving through the winding, shadow-drenched alleys of Ghost Realm Fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, no ghostly flames swirled around her, yet she no longer feared exposure of her identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For no other reason than this: she had discovered another profound mystery of the 'Follow-Heart' mask and dharma robe—by embedding a nether-stone into the folded formation groove along the mask's edge, both mask and robe would activate, exuding nether-qi that perfectly concealed her human aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hum~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi wandered the market streets, pausing occasionally; since she had come, she might as well explore properly and gather some specialties of Ghost Realm Fortress, especially since she had recently acquired a batch of nether-stones and lacked for no coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, after strolling only a few streets, the moment she stepped onto the main thoroughfare leading to the center of Ghost Realm Fortress, the trembling of the black broken blade within the Shennong Cauldron immediately intensified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since entering Ghost Realm Fortress, the black broken blade had trembled incessantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near the North City Gate and within the Lady's Tower, the vibrations had not been too violent, but as she moved through the alleys, the blade's trembling seemed controlled by an invisible force, rising and falling unpredictably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After changing direction several times, she finally realized that whenever she advanced toward the central district of Ghost Realm Fortress, the blade's tremors grew stronger, as if something over there were calling to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling the black broken blade's eerie unpredictability, Hua Changxi forcibly suppressed the restless urge in her heart to 'investigate further'; instead of following that pulling force, she gathered her mind and continued to linger casually amidst the bustling market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being in a foreign realm and wary of the environment, Hua Changxi had secretly kept her Eye of Illusion-Breaking active.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, amidst the ceaseless flow of ghostly figures radiating deathly qi, several vibrant, surging figures of living blood and qi abruptly entered her sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To this, Hua Changxi was undoubtedly surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it not said that the Nine Nether Abyss's hinterlands were so dangerous that humans would rarely tread there?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier on the Yellow Spring Ancient Path, she had unexpectedly encountered five humans; never had she expected to see human figures again upon entering Ghost Realm Fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this mere coincidence?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi frowned slightly, lost in silent thought, her gaze instinctively turning once more toward those dozen or so human cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, at that single glance, her eyes narrowed sharply, a flash of astonishment and gravity sweeping across her pupils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Black Flame!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those human cultivators all burned with black flames within their bodies; moreover, the flames were vigorous and deep, completely enveloping their Nascent Soul hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi had always regarded the Black Flame with utmost vigilance; thus, upon seeing those cultivators ignited with black flames inside them, she immediately followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was astonished once again: the direction those cultivators were heading coincided exactly with the direction that intensified the black broken blade's tremors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who exactly were those people, and what were their origins?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For what purpose had they infiltrated Ghost Realm Fortress?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ghost Realm Fortress, the heart of the Ghost Domain and the largest, most prosperous gathering city of the ghost race—who could have imagined that at its center lay a black sea of clouds embedded into the ground?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cloud sea churned endlessly, as if breathing in and exhaling nether turbid qi with a life of its own; within it sprawled countless black whirlpools, each like a blood-filled maw, emitting an eerie aura that made one's scalp tingle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After following those cultivators ignited with black flames into the central district of Ghost Realm Fortress, Hua Changxi's vision was instantly captured by that black sea of clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The instant she saw the black cloud sea, memories of Lady Chi Yan immediately surfaced in her mind—the black cloud sea was precisely the entrance to the second layer of the Nine Nether Abyss!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, her heart opened wide with understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the black broken blade trembled more violently the closer it drew to this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Lady Chi Yan's memories, this broken blade was suspected to be a nether artifact named 'Nether Blade,' legendary as the Dao-proving weapon of the Nether Ancestor Luo Xiu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Luo Xiu's death and the dissolution of his Dao, the Nether Blade's whereabouts had remained unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During those long ages of antiquity, whether it was the Ghost Venerable, the Demon Venerable, or the overwhelmingly powerful Samsara Hall and Nether Capital City, all had spared no cost in searching for the Nether Blade, yet unfortunately, none had ever discovered its trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nether Blade was forged from Nether Marrow found in the ninth layer of the Nine Nether Abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Nether Marrow was the condensed essence of the Nine Nether's very core, containing boundless power sufficient to shake the entire Nine Nether Abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason Hua Changxi had been able to swiftly slay Lady Chi Yan back then was precisely because Lady Chi Yan had sensed the aura of the Nine Nether's source on the broken blade; that momentary shock and hesitation had given Hua Changxi her opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black broken blade had successively devoured Ghost Yin Wood, a clone of the Otherworld Flower, and Lady Chi Yan...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi reasoned that although these three belonged to different races, the blade accepted them all without refusal, consuming each completely; yet they did share one commonality—they all cultivated using nether-qi as their energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, it seemed the broken blade truly craved all existences imbued with the nether source.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Nine Nether lands, nether-qi increased in density with depth; the nether-qi of the second layer far exceeded that of the first. To the broken blade, that place was undoubtedly a more tempting 'feast.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder its tremors grew more violent the closer it approached the cloud sea—that was a longing born of source, a 'feast' calling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for those human cultivators...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi shifted her gaze to the human cultivators, only to see expressions of near-ecstasy on their faces, as if immersed in some supreme enjoyment; unconsciously, her brows furrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Nine Nether Abyss is truly a cultivation paradise for disciples of the Asura Sect.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi quietly drew nearer, just in time to catch the whisper of one among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Asura Sect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These three words exploded in Hua Changxi's mind like a thunderclap, her eyes suddenly turning sharp and icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black flame burning within her had been ignited by people of the Asura Sect; previously, to resolve the issue of the black flame, she had constantly sought the Asura Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, she had never managed to discover their traces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never had she expected to encounter them here in Ghost Realm Fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the entrance to the second layer of the Nine Nether Abyss, the area around the black cloud sea was even more crowded than the bustling market streets; countless ghosts continuously approached, all adventurers hoping to enter the second layer to enhance their strength and seek opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, lingering around the black cloud sea was not permitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Hua Changxi drew near those few Asura Sect disciples, they leaped into the black cloud sea, only to be swiftly swallowed by the whirlpools and vanish from sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you jumping or not? If not, move aside.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Hua Changxi was examining the black cloud sea and the whirlpools within, a ghost behind her began to urge impatiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi glanced at that ghost, paid him no heed, and continued her observation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black cloud sea was naturally formed from condensed ghost-qi, yet as it surged, it emitted turbid qi far denser than that of the first layer of the Nine Nether Abyss, carrying a chilling cold capable of corroding the divine soul, spewing forth from the whirlpools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hesitating for a moment, Hua Changxi finally leaped down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, she wanted to witness the second layer of the Nine Nether Regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, she intended to continue tracking those few Asura Gate disciples, feeling that their reason for coming to Ghost Realm Fortress was far from simple.\u003C\u002Fp>",1351,"2026-06-12T02:51:24.126Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","0a0ccea6b35275dbc7f0910b97b74345583ec7c33779f07989f1130ffd9e18de","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-502","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-500",558,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]