[{"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-502":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},1897276,2531,"Chapter 502: The Weak Are Meat, the Strong Eat","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-502",502,"\u003Cp>Hua Changxi leaped into the black sea of clouds and was instantly swallowed by the vortex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anticipated peril did not arrive; instead, there was only a weightless, rapid descent, as if an invisible force were dragging her down into an abyss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from the powerlessness and uncertainty of seeing no sky above and touching no ground below, there was nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chilling wind howled beside her ears, piercing through her clothes and stabbing straight into her marrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not know how long she had fallen in the darkness when a solid sensation suddenly came from beneath her feet—she had landed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi stood firm, yet all that met her eyes was an impenetrable gray gloom, as if even light itself had been devoured by this realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hoo~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi took out a bone lantern, and the next moment, ghost fire ignited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the eerie green ghost fire, the rough outlines of the surrounding scenery finally became visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jagged strange rocks lay like crouching behemoths, while in the distance, the twisted silhouettes of withered trees could vaguely be seen; the air was filled with an odor woven from decay and dampness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, the second layer of the Nine Netherworlds was even darker and more oppressive than the first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first layer, although vision was obstructed, there was still a hazy glimmer to distinguish direction, preventing total blindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here, without the illumination of this ghost fire, moving even a single step would be impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, she could also probe her surroundings with her divine sense, but doing so would consume too much of it; since she had not yet opened her spiritual platform, her divine sense was weaker than others', so while traveling through the Nine Netherworlds, it was best not to expend it if avoidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thud~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thud~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground rang out; Hua Changxi instantly became alert, guessing these must be other ghost clansmen falling into the second layer of the Nine Netherworlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, moments later, the figures of several ghost clansmen appeared in her line of sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the bone lantern held in Hua Changxi's hand, those ghost clansmen hesitated for a moment, did not approach, and instead ran toward the direction where other ghost clansmen had landed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weak ghost clansmen were directly killed and absorbed by the strong ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi watched expressionlessly, then turned and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, as long as the ghost clansmen did not provoke her, she simply ignored them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrying the bone lantern, Hua Changxi scanned everywhere; she still had those disciples of the Asura Gate in mind, but unfortunately, she found no trace of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nine Netherworlds differed from the mortal world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the mortal world, the land was divided by vast oceans into five great continents, whereas the territory of the Nine Netherworlds was a single, continuous expanse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this, the vastness of the Nine Netherworlds far exceeded imagination; even a single ghost domain was breathtakingly expansive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first layer of the Nine Netherworlds, Hua Changxi had already been unable to discern direction, let alone in the even darker second layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, she possessed the black broken blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no clear destination, Hua Changxi simply followed the guidance of the broken blade, heading in the direction where its vibration was most intense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After traveling through the gray gloom for an unknown duration, the vague outline of a mountain range gradually emerged in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain range stretched continuously, undulating like a sleeping giant dragon spanning between heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even more striking was that above the mountains hung rows of ghost lamps shaped like long dragons; their eerie green flames swayed gracefully in the darkness, signaling that this mountain range had an owner and that a powerful existence was stationed there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing light ahead that allowed her to see, Hua Changxi extinguished the bone lantern in her hand and, mimicking ordinary ghost clansmen, slowly approached the mountain range.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only upon drawing closer did she realize that the mountain range was actually a netherstone mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mineral vein was exposed, emitting a faint eerie glow, while the air was thick with dense nether energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below the mountains, ghostly shadows loomed; countless ghost clansmen gathered densely together, resembling a moving black tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some whispered in hoarse, unpleasant voices like sandpaper rubbing together, while others remained silent, staring fixedly at the mine with eyes either scarlet or eerie green, their gazes filled with greed and longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Hua Changxi thought these ghost clansmen had come to mine, since netherstone was the most crucial resource for all races in the Nine Netherworlds, indispensable for both cultivation and forging weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But very soon, she realized she was mistaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A suppressive atmosphere permeated the air, as if a storm were about to erupt at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These ghost clansmen were not here to mine; they were clearly here to seize the mine!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the territory of Ghost Marshal Hun Shou; scram immediately!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In midair, several ghost clansmen at the Ghost Lieutenant realm stood treading on emptiness, their bodies surging with ghostly qi; their voices thundered like explosions, carrying rolling pressure as they tried to shout down the crowd of ghosts gathered at the foot of the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the response they received was not retreat, but even more intense killing intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the ghost tide below the mountains, several figures likewise shot into the sky, their aura no weaker than the former group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two sides confronted each other in midair, their ghostly qi colliding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next second, battle erupted suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The experts at the Ghost Lieutenant realm clashed first; ghost claws tore through the void, ghostly qi churned, and every collision shook the mountains until stones shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they began fighting, the ghost crowd below completely lost control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High ranks fought high ranks, low ranks fought low ranks; countless ghost clansmen became entangled in combat, tearing and biting each other without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oily green ghost fires leaped in the darkness like the lamps of hell, illuminating every ferocious face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a time, the area beneath the mountains echoed with earth-shaking cries of slaughter, and ghostly qi overflowed everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weak were torn apart and devoured by the strong, while the victors' ghost bodies became more solid, their strength quietly increasing through plunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi stood in the distance, quietly watching this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Nine Netherworlds, seizing territory was far more direct than in the mortal world; as long as one had strength, even something owned by another could be taken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she had long known this was the law of survival in the Nine Netherworlds—the weak are meat, the strong eat; survival of the fittest—where there was no pity, no mercy, only endless slaughter and plunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet she still felt somewhat uncomfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of ghost clansmen ran past her, and Hua Changxi bent down to pick up a piece of netherstone they had dropped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a medium-grade netherstone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nine layers of the Nine Netherworlds, due to varying concentrations of nether qi, result in the first layer only being able to congeal lower-grade netherstone mines, while only upon reaching the second layer can medium-grade netherstone mines congeal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deeper one goes, the higher the grade of the congealed netherstone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, that mountain range in the distance was a medium-grade netherstone mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the distant netherstone mine, Hua Changxi suddenly remembered that Lady Chi Yan also had her own territory, spanning from the first layer to the fifth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had assigned her subordinates to manage the territories from the second to the fourth layers, personally holding ground only at Ghost Nightmare Village in the first layer and Soul Nightmare Valley in the fifth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of the soul-nourishing wood, soul-guiding worms, and soul-continuing flowers growing within Soul Nightmare Valley, Hua Changxi felt a stir of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only ghosts at the Ghost Marshal realm could set foot in the fifth layer of the Nine Netherworlds; any ghost below that realm who entered would meet an immediate, untimely death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her strength, she was capable of dealing with Ghost Marshal realm ghosts, and she should be able to withstand the nether qi of the fifth layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why not go down and take a look?\" Since she was already here!\u003C\u002Fp>",1386,"2026-06-12T02:51:24.126Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","63de13ea229034c9ca412c060eb973c42cb7fb0f2ba6a46f2a3d4011d7a7140d","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-503","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-501",558,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]