[{"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-214":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},2292177,4481,"Chapter 214","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-214",214,"\u003Cp>What met Lu Fang’s eyes was no mist barrier; ahead lay an endless wasteland, where clusters of ownerless qi-destinies rose from the corpses of dead barbarian beasts crushed by collapsing mountains—just a moment ago everything was normal, and the next, this place had become a Lesser Upper Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst marveling at its wonder, he also grew curious about this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of existence was this Lesser Upper Realm, sealed by two treasure mountains—was it man-made?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The work of ancient sages?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could there be some terrifying entity within this Lesser Upper Realm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Lu Fang thought, the more plausible it seemed; the Demon Heart and Song Ce must have sensed something, which is why they were so desperate to find the true Lesser Upper Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two troublemakers who thrive on chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How much do you know about this kind of Lesser Upper Realm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang silently asked the Demon Heart, trying to extract some clues—but it was largely useless; it kept insisting it didn’t know, yet was certain this place was no ordinary one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It said nothing at all; he didn’t know when the Demon Heart had become so adept at empty rhetoric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t tell if it truly didn’t know, or was hiding something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Pan shot forward like a streak of light, bold and fearless, rushing toward the collapsed mountains to collect the clusters of ownerless qi-destinies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect! We’ve finally found the Lesser Upper Realm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan shouted excitedly, about to launch into another speech, when it frowned toward the entrance—nearly a hundred elite barbarians were swiftly flying toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barbarian elite army had arrived late, but they had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leading barbarian commander was also a fourth-rank Barbarian Brave, towering like a small giant at twelve chi tall, standing out conspicuously; most striking was his third arm, growing from his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a limb of iron-black hue; perhaps an illusion, but one glance made it seem to radiate terrifying power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu strode forward squarely before Song Ce, scanning the collapsed mountains, his third finger clenched: “What happened here? Earlier, when I was outside, I couldn’t communicate with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce nodded slightly: “We could communicate before; it must be because this place suddenly became a Lesser Upper Realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then told Zheng Xu everything about this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu’s eyes betrayed unmistakable delight; he bellowed in a deep voice toward Pan ahead: “Since we’ve found the Lesser Upper Realm, let’s split up. Whoever finds the sealing site first, send a communication talisman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan clearly knew Zheng Xu—and disliked him; its face remained cold: “Better yet. Let each find the sealing site by their own merit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu said no more, grinned, and led Song Ce and his men away, vanishing quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sealing site?” Lu Fang watched Zheng Xu and Song Ce depart, frowning. The term “sealing site” fit this place too well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lesser Upper Realm itself was sealed—could there be another sealing site within it? Was that the reason the barbarian beasts had gone to such lengths?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Pan walked over, expressionless, Lu Fang Shitan : “They’re gone. What do we do now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan sneered: “Even if they hadn’t left on their own, I’d have found an excuse to part ways. Your task—finding the Lesser Upper Realm—is done. Now my task is to find that sealing site.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang had been struggling to ask; now Pan had handed him the opening. He feigned casual curiosity: “Sealing site?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan transmitted to Lu Fang: “The great demons above are all searching for a chance—a chance to destroy the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was from that time our demon clans secretly allied with the barbarians.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A chance?” Lu Fang pressed. “Is the sealing site that chance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan nodded firmly: “Yes. A thousand years ago, the strongest of our two clans found this chance. But because the Great Zhou’s national fortune was flourishing, even our united forces held no advantage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The recent joint barbarian-demon assault on Zhou’s northern and southern borders proved it—total defeat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So we had to seek another way to counter Zhou’s rise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The sealing site is that chance. In ancient times, many alien races grew too powerful and were sealed in special places.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For the past thousand years, our demon and barbarian clans have searched for such places, hoping to release these powerful aliens to aid us against Zhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We never succeeded. Sealing sites are exceedingly rare, and entering them to break the seals is extremely difficult.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Until recently, we discovered this Lesser Upper Realm. Both our demon and barbarian seers sensed abnormal energy fluctuations from its sealing site. Do you know what that means?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan grew more excited as he spoke, his eyes fixed eagerly on Lu Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang paused, then hesitated: “Is it because the seal here is weakening? Could we possibly break it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had heard of such abnormal energy fluctuations before—in the Buddha Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, it was precisely because the Buddha Realm’s trial ground emitted abnormal energy that the special site had opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly!” Pan laughed loudly. “If our Bai Yuying clan can break this sealing site, it will be a great achievement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know how much the Demon Emperor values this? Had this place not barred entry to anyone above fourth-rank, Demon Kings and quasi-Demon Lords would have come here themselves.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang’s eyelid twitched; his heart churned uneasily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had unwittingly learned a major secret of the demon-barbarian alliance: an ancient, powerful alien sealed here—if released, it could truly topple Zhou’s northern and southern borders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not want that to happen. He felt both anxiety and relief—he was glad he’d decided to impersonate a Bai Yuying demon; otherwise, he’d have been powerless to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Lu Fang curled his lips slightly and probed: “You seem to have a way to find that sealing site. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have just said you wanted to split from those barbarians.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan smiled confidently, pulling from his storage pouch a blood-red sphere the size of a fist. As Lu Fang frowned in confusion, he watched the sphere pulse—then gasped: “What is this? It feels alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sense it,” Pan said with a sly grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Heart interrupted: “Powerful demonic aura. This is a drop of blood—a drop, perhaps, of a Demon Lord’s blood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang’s eyes sharpened; he sensed the fist-sized blood sphere. Though his perception wasn’t as strong as the Demon Heart’s, he still felt what it had said.\u003C\u002Fp>",1078,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","92f1e7b162863cd4a09f30068660216298148124e147bb0e949e529cbc7a4d39","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-215","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-213",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]