[{"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-152":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},2292115,4481,"Chapter 152","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-152",152,"\u003Cp>Liu Yifeng sighed and said, “More than ten years ago, I didn’t die—I was fed a poison that mimicked death by that man named Wan Juan. I could hear every word of his conversation with Qingzhu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When I heard Wan Juan planned to use Qingzhu’s blood for sacrifice, I collapsed from grief and sorrow. When I woke again, I had become the Horned Red-Eyed Demon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang pressed: “Then what of Wan Juan? How could he simply vanish? There was no trace of him at the Execution Ground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Yifeng shook his head: “I don’t know exactly what happened to Wan Juan, but when I first became the Horned Red-Eyed Demon, we had a brief exchange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He seemed to be in great pain, saying something about his consciousness fading away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His thoughts were chaotic then—his words were disjointed, and he spoke in Western tongue, so I didn’t fully understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the time I regained consciousness the second time, over a decade had passed—I never spoke to him again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu, sharp as she was, immediately understood Lu Fang’s suspicion about Liu Yifeng’s identity and declared firmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He is definitely Yifeng—if he were Wan Juan, he wouldn’t have let me kill him to escape the Execution Ground.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, at that moment, his tears fell on me—I knew then, without a doubt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded. After careful thought, everything did fit—he asked not merely to confirm Liu Yifeng, but to confirm his own suspicions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Liu Yifeng’s words, he felt a glimmer of certainty: the demonic heart inside him might be Wan Juan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sacrifice more than a decade ago had been initiated by Wan Juan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Liu Yifeng and Zhao Qingzhu were at the Execution Ground—he shouldn’t have vanished so completely. The only possibility left was that demonic heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you Wan Juan? The one who performed the sacrifice over a decade ago?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang asked inwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic heart chuckled: “He was merely a devotee. How could he possibly be me, the Great Demonic Heart? Thanks to his life, I came to this world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang pressed further, confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic heart fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: “I intended to wait until you grew stronger before revealing this. Since you’ve asked, and I don’t lie—I’ll tell you the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know ‘Fa’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve never heard of it, I assume. Let me tell you: Fa is immensely powerful—beyond your imagination. And I am its heart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When Wan Juan performed the ritual to summon Fa, the Great Fa decided to let me—this heart—enter this world through a crack in faith. But a small accident occurred: Wan Juan’s consciousness slipped into me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unfortunately, he was too weak to bear my energy. Slowly, his consciousness dissolved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I existed within Liu Yifeng’s body in the Execution Ground—you remember those chains, don’t you? They were the constraints imposed by this world’s Dao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was because of you that I escaped that state. I should thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded slightly and asked: “Who created the laws of the Execution Ground?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic heart: “Naturally, Liu Yifeng and Fa.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned: “Can Fa perceive you? Could it one day appear in this world to seek you out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demonic heart: “Highly unlikely. To escape that place is far harder than you imagine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang fell silent. If the demonic heart spoke truth, the unknown entity called Fa might one day enter this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he wasn’t overly concerned. Even the demonic heart was bound by this world’s Dao—how much more so would Fa be? Even if it came, it would be severely restrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After their conversation, Lu Fang felt a stirring within him: perhaps his past world, Lan Star, was also a minor higher realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps one day, he could return there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world was more complex than he had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After rescuing Liu Yifeng and Zhao Qingzhu from the Execution Ground, Lu Fang felt no further pressure. He visited the Lotus Pool’s special place again, but Li Yu was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Presumably, the special place no longer aided her cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Liu Yifeng and Zhao Qingzhu were at the Fourth Rank; though they made some progress in the Lotus Pool, its effect was not great.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang calculated: the trial ground’s time was running short.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the three of them stayed in the Lotus Pool, waiting quietly for the teleportation back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the forty-fifth day of entering the trial ground, all of them flashed with spiritual light and were teleported back. Lu Fang had anticipated this and obtained two temporary teleport talismans in advance—Zhao Qingzhu and Liu Yifeng were successfully teleported out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning of Zhao Qingzhu and Liu Yifeng’s story, the abbot of Foyou Temple personally received Lu Fang and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked no more than the details of Zhao Qingzhu’s imprisonment and Lu Fang’s connection with Wu Zhi Banfo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They left Foyou Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Congratulations, Young Master Lu—you truly rescued them. No one else could have done it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Chun smiled warmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang glanced at her and nodded. This woman sent by Wu Zhi Banfo was well-informed—she knew everything the moment he stepped out of the temple gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was indeed thorough in her duties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without him saying a word, she had already prepared two carriages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Qingzhu and Liu Yifeng rode in one; Lu Fang and Fang Chun rode in the other. Inside the carriage, Fang Chun recounted events in the Buddhist Capital over the past forty-five days—all concerning those he cared about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening, Lu Fang smiled: “I’m truly curious about your identity. When we first met, you said Wu Zhi Banfo sent you. What is your relationship with him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Chun paused, clearly unprepared for the question. After gathering her thoughts, she replied:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am merely a female official of the Buddhist Kingdom, primarily handling palace affairs. The Princess Jin Hong took notice of me, so when Wu Zhi Banfo needed someone to negotiate with Young Master Lu, she recommended me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By my station, I shouldn’t have been chosen to meet you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But since I’m originally from the Great Zhou, they assigned me. In truth, I’m merely a messenger—the decisions are all made by Princess Jin Hong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Princess Jin Hong?” Lu Fang nodded and smiled. “Would you be interested in going to the Great Zhou? Become my right-hand person? Your treatment will be far better than here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your high regard, Young Master, but I cannot decide for myself. As a palace official, I require special imperial permission to leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Chun replied with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>",1097,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9047d0d46c5d3e044d9e4a55811a73f14a656fe374d84fb26d701fde58e648fe","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-153","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-151",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]