[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou":3,"chapter-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-136":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ink Saint of Great Zhou",{"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},2292099,4481,"Chapter 136","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-136",136,"\u003Cp>Li Yu tilted her head, thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I’ll go with you. After all, I’ve already reached the fourth rank—if we run into danger, it’ll give us more security.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re coming with me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang raised an eyebrow with a sly grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu huffed. “I’d rather not go with you, but what can I do? Your Highness is just too weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blame me?” Lu Fang hesitated, then finally shook his head. “I need to do this alone. Don’t worry—I may be low in realm, but if I face a strong enemy, I can’t win, but I can still run.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underground palace he sought might contain some unknown presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no doubt it would be extremely dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did want to go with Li Yu, but if it was too dangerous, he’d rather not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu frowned. “Just pretend I’m not here. Do what you need to do—I won’t interfere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang shook his head. “I want to go with you, but that place can only be entered by one person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu nodded. “Alright then, go, Little Master. I’ll stay here and cultivate for a while longer. If you finish your task early, come find me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Lu Fang replied, bid farewell, and walked toward the temple’s exit. He sensed carefully, then frowned slightly—he felt no movement from the Bloodline Bai Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be because this place is too far from the underground palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though every corner of the trial ground was dangerous, he still had to try his best to reach them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trial ground was vast. Lu Fang searched in a circular pattern, rapidly scanning for the underground palace. After two days, he found nothing—though he did encounter several hostile monks. Fortunately, their strength was weak, and he easily evaded them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he lacked the power to fight—he simply didn’t want to waste energy here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the trial ground was desert; only a small portion consisted of oases and mountain ranges. Places like abandoned, ruined temples were extremely rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, during his two days of wandering, he hadn’t encountered a single one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this Bloodline Bai Yu even useful?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang tossed the Bloodline Bai Yu irritably, wondering if Fourth Sister had tampered with it—after all, she’d never wanted him to take risks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone with Fourth Sister’s character wouldn’t do something like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a while, Lu Fang chose to trust her. After brief contact, he didn’t believe someone so heartless would do such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had been together the whole time—she knew his determination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let fate take its course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang sighed and headed east. At dusk, he rested at the foot of a mountain. After eating something to fill his stomach, he sat in meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of cultivation couldn’t fully replace sleep, but over a month, he could use it instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to the chirping birds, Lu Fang fell asleep without realizing it—an almost impossible occurrence, yet it happened here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half-asleep, Lu Fang suddenly opened his eyes. To his shock, he now stood on a grassland, surrounded by utter darkness. Not far away loomed a pitch-black ancient castle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bad premonition stirred in Lu Fang’s heart. He clearly remembered he had been meditating—how had he suddenly fallen asleep?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon he understood. He stared in delight at the castle before him—if he wasn’t mistaken, this was exactly the place he sought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the environment twisted. Lu Fang felt as if he were trapped in darkness, the blackness closing in around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beam of light descended, revealing a woman within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon seeing her face, Lu Fang blurted: “Ling’er.” But after closer inspection, he noticed subtle differences between her and Lu Ling—only their resemblance made him mistake her at first glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized suddenly: “Rita?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman looked surprised, then her eyes lit up with joy. “You know me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang laughed. He’d finally found someone. He remembered the ascetic monk had said he met Rita in a dream—and that was how he found the underground palace’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately told her about Lu Ling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita covered her face and wept. She tried to speak several times, but each time choked on sobs—clearly, her emotions were overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang felt uneasy. “How should I address you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rita composed herself, thought for a moment, then said: “I have another name—Zhao Qingzhu. You may call me whichever you like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded and pressed: “The ascetic monk I met said you’re trapped in an underground palace. Do you know where its entrance is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Lu Fang’s surprise, Zhao Qingzhu shook her head. “I didn’t realize how dangerous it was before. Now I do. I can’t tell you where the entrance is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang grew anxious. “Why? Don’t you want to get out and see Ling’er? She truly longs to meet you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu burst into tears but still shook her head. “I only want you to leave safely. You must not come—otherwise, I’ll doom you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell Ling’er for me—I didn’t abandon her on purpose. I have my reasons. I’m trapped here, unable to go anywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you leave, take care of her well. In my next life, I’ll serve you as a beast of burden!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No way,” Lu Fang shook his head. “Just tell me where the entrance is. I came here to find you—I’m confident I can rescue you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu still shook her head. “You have no idea how terrifying that place is. Leave now. Go tell Ling’er—I miss her so much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang was about to speak again when the space twisted once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu’s voice was urgent: “Time is running out. Don’t stay here. Go and take care of Ling’er for me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she finished speaking, everything vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang snapped his eyes open. He was still seated at the foot of the mountain. The chirping birds now sounded irritating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was that a dream? Did I dream it because I thought about it too much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t sure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the ascetic monk, who had learned the entrance’s location from Zhao Qingzhu, Lu Fang now knew nothing. He couldn’t prove whether it was a dream or a real encounter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t feel like a dream at all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang thought for a while, leaning toward the belief that he had truly met Rita. After all, the name Zhao Qingzhu couldn’t have come from his own dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he was surprised—Shen family’s intelligence had never recorded the name “Zhao Qingzhu.” Was it because she was too remote?\u003C\u002Fp>",1098,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6200d6187c928f73334d8a0f11cbd81d6ccf7c90bed52f91a0e1e7bc0dedd258","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-137","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-135",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]