[{"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-540":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},1897314,2531,"Chapter 540: Trapping a Soul Turtle","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-540",540,"\u003Cp>After Hua Changxi began exploring the Soul Realm, she discovered that the distribution of soul force within it was uneven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In some places, the soul force was so dense it had turned to mist; being amidst it caused one's soul body to automatically fill with soul force, while in other areas, the soul force was slightly thinner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, even in these soul-force-poor regions, the concentration of soul force was far greater than in the outside world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoosh~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she continued traversing the Soul Realm, Hua Changxi occasionally heard the faint, elusive sound of surging waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the Soul Realm existed by virtue of the Soul River, she assumed this was merely the noise stirred up by the river's ceaseless flow and paid it no special heed, focusing solely on continuing her exploration underfoot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Soul Realm, not only was soul force abundant, but soul plants and soul fruits covered the ground everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi discovered with delight that numerous soul plants recorded in the Shennong Cauldron inheritance, the \"Annotations on the Hundred Herbs: Chapter on Divine Plants\"—whether soul fruits that enhanced and consolidated the primordial spirit, or soul plants that repaired and replenished soul force—could all be found here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the journey thereafter, she investigated while harvesting, and before long, her Sumeru Bead was filled with a large batch of soul plants and soul fruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoosh~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was immersed in the joy of her harvest, a sudden gust of fierce wind attacked!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi instinctively dodged sideways with speed, barely avoiding it. Focusing her gaze, she saw that what had attacked her was actually a small snake, grayish-white from head to tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soul beast!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course; in a Soul Realm filled with soul plants and soul fruits, how could soul beasts be absent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soul beasts were creatures without flesh-and-blood bodies, formed entirely from condensed soul force; ordinary physical attacks were completely ineffective against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After its first strike missed, the small snake flicked its tongue, once again transforming into a lingering shadow as it pounced to kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's eyes narrowed sharply, and a cold glint suddenly appeared at her fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Swoosh,\" a soul needle shot through the air, accurately pinning the small snake at its vital spot, instantly nailing it firmly to the ground so it could no longer move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She efficiently collected the soul snake's corpse, preparing to take it back to refine into soul pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To refine soul pills, besides requiring large quantities of soul plants and soul fruits, soul beasts could also serve as the main ingredient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the subsequent exploration, dangers lurking in the shadows seemed to have been awakened; attacks came wave after wave, immediately allowing Hua Changxi to witness the perilous nature of the Soul Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, a group of soul spiders wove webs that blocked Hua Changxi's path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These webs were woven from soul threads; touching them would imprison the divine soul and drain a living being's soul force until it was completely exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the soul spiders were not particularly powerful, their numbers were vast; despite Hua Changxi's great speed, she still became entangled in soul threads, and only by unleashing thunder-fire was she finally able to incinerate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soul spiders excelled at ambushes, spinning their silk silently and achieving an extremely high hunting success rate, making them a very insidious type of soul beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, Hua Changxi discovered a soul plant in the Soul Realm named Netherbone Rotten Fungus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Netherbone Rotten Fungus grew upon withered bones; its cap was dark purple and covered with black spots, while its stalk was slender and fragile. It emitted a deadly soul poison; once contaminated, one's divine soul would face the danger of scattering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hope the Zhu Que Army and A-Niu and the others can find a good place to cultivate diligently and are not running around recklessly within the Soul Realm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having encountered two crises in succession made Hua Changxi somewhat worried about the others; however, though she was worried, she had no intention of intervening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For no other reason than that entering the Soul Realm to cultivate counted as tempering; she could neither deprive others of the opportunity to gain experience from crises, nor did she have the power to single-handedly bear the safety of everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The varieties of soul beasts within the Soul Realm were far more complex than she had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the soul snake and soul spiders, Hua Changxi also encountered soul leopards, fast as lightning and difficult to pursue, as well as soul oxen with extraordinary defensive capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how she volleyed her soul needles, they could only raise layers of ripples upon the thick soul-force carapace of the soul oxen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides these soul beasts that confronted directly, threats from the shadows were even more unpredictable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nearly fell victim to a group of soul butterflies, pure as snow and dancing gracefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When those soul butterflies flapped their wings, they scattered soul dust invisible to the naked eye; once inhaled, the victim would fall into an unending oblivion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting with forgetting external things, gradually losing self-awareness, and finally becoming an empty shell left with only breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the soul force was greedily drained by the soul butterflies, that corpse-like flesh would wither silently, eventually turning into nourishment for this land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, her eyes were sharp; she spotted the bleached bones hidden within the soul butterfly region ahead of time and decisively detoured around that gathering place of soul butterflies, which appeared peaceful but was actually perilous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suffering successive attacks from soul beasts not only severely slowed her pace of exploring the Soul Realm but also prevented her from peacefully collecting rare soul plants and soul fruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst her irritation, Hua Changxi suddenly had a flash of inspiration; she took out the soul bead she had obtained earlier in the Nine Netherworlds and embedded it into the formation slot of the \"Follows-Heart\" mask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soul force circulated, she transformed in an instant, becoming a member of the Soul Race with pure soul force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After transforming into a Soul Race member, the journey ahead indeed became much more peaceful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense nerves relaxed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, a thought arose in her mind: since disguising as a Soul Race member could evade the attention of soul beasts, could the Soul Race's Soul Ballad also soothe soul beasts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Soul Ballad was liked even by Nine Netherworld creatures; soul beasts would likely not reject it either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She decided immediately, took out a soul bamboo leaf, and tentatively began playing the Soul Ballad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, a melodious tune slowly flowed forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, after this, even when encountering soul beasts, none launched attacks against her anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Crash~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The familiar sound of surging waves entered her ears again, only this time, the momentum was far greater than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's heart stirred, lost in thought—perhaps, by following this sound, she could locate traces of the Soul River?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if she could not find the main stem of the Soul River, finding a winding tributary, or even a trickling stream leaking from a spatial rift, would be good enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relying on her Soul Race disguise and the Soul Ballad played from her mouth, soul beasts no longer viewed her as prey or an anomaly; Hua Changxi hesitated no longer and decisively sped off in the direction from which the sound of water came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not know how long she traversed before the scenery before her eyes suddenly opened up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A patch of strange soul plants, milky white and semi-transparent throughout, came into view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their stems were slender, topped with fluffy soul catkins that swayed gently in the wind, resembling countless giant dandelions rising and falling within the soul mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Soul-Converging Cattail!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's eyes brightened; the \"Annotations on the Hundred Herbs: Chapter on Divine Plants\" recorded: Soul-Converging Cattails grow only in clusters where the Soul River flows, capable of absorbing scattered soul force and purifying turbid qi within the Soul River; their ground powder is moreover a main ingredient for refining high-grade soul pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where there are Soul-Converging Cattails, the Soul River must surely flow through!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi walked quickly toward the endless expanse of Soul-Converging Cattails, daring not to be careless; even while playing the Soul Ballad, her vigilance over her surroundings never relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Splash~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of surging water was now close at hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing through the thicket of Soul-Converging Cattails, Hua Changxi finally saw the source—a spatial rift spanning across the void, over ten meters long and several meters high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turbulent Soul River water gushed continuously from the rift, nourishing this vast expanse of Soul-Converging Cattails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing at the rift's edge, Hua Changxi maintained the melody of the Soul Ballad while cautiously extending her divine sense, attempting to peer at the scene on the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alas, apart from the surging, bottomless waters of the Soul River, she discovered nothing else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she prepared to withdraw her divine sense, a massive creature slowly rose from the river on the other side of the rift, revealing a head several meters in size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that... a Soul Turtle?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Soul Turtle bobbed up and down with the waves; seemingly attracted by the Soul Ballad, it lingered at the rift's mouth without departing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi stared at the Soul Turtle, and a bold yet mad thought suddenly surged into her heart—since the Soul Turtle grew within the Soul River, if she could subdue it, could she not use it to explore the Soul River?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought had barely arisen when her body had already made the choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vast soul power instantly gathered wildly in her palm; in the blink of an eye, a solid \"Soul-Locking Hoop\" took shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoosh~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Soul-Locking Hoop turned into a streak of light, shooting out like lightning with a sound that tore the air, and plunged straight into the Soul Turtle's head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi held her breath, watching tensely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not know the depth of this Soul Turtle's strength; if its power far exceeded hers, the Soul-Locking Hoop would likely shatter instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One second, two seconds...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing no sign of resistance from the Soul Turtle, just as Hua Changxi thought the locking had failed, a strange connection suddenly arose in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She clearly perceived that the Soul-Locking Hoop had firmly embedded itself in the Soul Turtle's head; with a mere thought, she could command the hoop to shrink, causing the turtle excruciating pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, a shriek like that of a young child rang in her ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who is secretly attacking Little Turtle!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come out! See if Little Turtle doesn't crush you to death!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1775,"2026-06-12T02:51:24.126Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","5fd2e4757e8ae2c1f1a3c7314a55f3841683fda71b7ff6d6ea09c802d9d71ed3","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-541","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-539",558,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]