[{"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-219":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},2292182,4481,"Chapter 219: Sacrifice","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-219",219,"\u003Cp>Lu Fang’s eyelids twitched violently—he understood everything now. The so-called reward of one hundred thousand mid-grade Wanda stones was merely an excuse by Pan and Zheng Xu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An excuse to send their underlings, the yao-man, to their deaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If his guess was correct, they had long anticipated that any yao-man attempting to push open the golden gate would be swallowed by the mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps forcing the yao-man to die was the true key to strengthening the mist and opening the golden gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan’s face remained expressionless. “The golden gate will be opened—only whose fortune is greater will decide it.” It turned to a nearby snake demon. “You choose who pushes the gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake demon was a fourth-rank female yao with serpentine hair and a human form; her relationship with Pan was clearly intimate—they had come together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake-headed female cooed, “Yes,” and extended a finger toward Jiang Yuan. “She’ll do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang narrowed his eyes—he saw malice in the female’s gaze. Clearly, the Bai Yuying demon and she were enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake-headed female laughed merrily. “What? Didn’t you hear me, Xie? She’s just a human woman. If you’re upset, I’ll give you a few more when we return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I disagree!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake-headed female offered Pan a helpless smile. “It seems Xie doesn’t like me. I’ll just…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan shot Lu Fang an irritated glance. “Pathetic! Ni, don’t pick his human servant. Choose someone else. Don’t waste time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake-headed female named Ni nodded dejectedly, then randomly pointed at a yao. Her expression turned cold and sharp. “You. Go into the mist and push open the golden gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Lu Fang heard the snake-headed female’s mental whisper: “You’re acting strangely. Didn’t you used to hate humans?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang ignored her. He didn’t know the relationship between the snake-headed female and the Bai Yuying demon. The more he spoke, the more he’d risk saying something wrong. Better to say nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought the two demons were mortal enemies. Now, he suspected they might be lovers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, how would she know so much about Bai Yuying?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t dwell on it. He had no curiosity about the love and hatred between these three eagle demons. All he wanted now was to delay the sealing’s release.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just considered whether to have Mo Xin create a barrier now—under its help, he might kill Pan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he quickly dismissed the idea. Even if he killed Pan, he couldn’t stop the yao-man’s plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A second yao-man was forced into the mist. The moment he touched the golden gate, he was killed and swallowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under military intimidation, one by one, the chosen yao-man walked into the mist to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this life-or-death situation, one man-beast dared to speak up, trying to unite the yao-man against this method of sending individuals to their deaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This chosen man-beast actually had some courage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, not a single yao-man supported his idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was the one chosen. The others all believed themselves lucky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How dare you speak so boldly here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hooded man-beast lunged forward, seized the man-beast’s head, and hurled him toward the golden gate in the mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ahh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man-beast screamed as the mist swallowed him whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this incident, only those chosen dared to speak of uniting against it—and the outcome was always the same. No yao-man paid attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deaths progressed rapidly. Almost as soon as one was swallowed, the next was already being pushed forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By midday, nearly a hundred yao-man had perished in the mist—and the slaughter continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang felt no emotion. The more yao-man died, the better for him. No matter how they chose, he’d never be picked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was convenient—doing nothing, he’d eliminated so many enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Xin, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke: “The mist has grown much stronger—likely from consuming all that flesh. If I’m not mistaken, they’re using this method—similar to sacrifice—to strengthen the mist and open the golden gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, then offered advice: “Wait until you enter the sealed area before acting. That way, your move will seem natural. When you kill Pan, you can impersonate it—perhaps you can truly sabotage their plan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang gave a barely perceptible nod. He’d thought the same. But one concern lingered: “If we enter the sealed area, will we release the ancient races trapped there?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Xin chuckled. “There’s a chance—perhaps even a high one. But you have no other choice. A few ancient races? What’s there to fear?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we’re counting ancient races, I’m half one myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think I have the power to influence today’s Great Zhou Dynasty? And even if they’re released, they’ll take ages to regain their strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang sighed inwardly—he accepted Mo Xin’s reasoning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mo Xin continued: “You have the Bookish Qi. Take some. The air’s toxins have grown stronger again. When the sealed area opens, the toxins may intensify further.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded, walked over to Jiang Yuan and the other two, and handed them a vial of pills. “Here’s your antidote for the next few days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he gave wasn’t an antidote—it was a high-grade detoxifying elixir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, he mentally whispered to Jiang Yuan and the others: take one pill at regular intervals, and warned them the air’s toxins might grow stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After over a hundred yao-man had been sent into the mist…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Creak! A sound pierced the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden gate finally opened—though only halfway, it was enough to pass through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s finally open!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan stepped forward eagerly, then suddenly halted, remembering the many yao-man who had died in the mist. It chose one of its own demons and ordered it to enter the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The demon was an eagle yao. It received the command, hesitated, then shuddered at Pan’s icy gaze and reluctantly stepped into the mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the eagle yao touched the golden gate, the mist did not kill it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the eagle yao eagerly glanced inside—the golden gate glowed with blinding light; nothing within could be seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Summoning courage, it tried to step through the half-open gate—but something like a barrier blocked its path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu stepped forward, urging: “Push harder! Force the gate fully open! How can you not get in?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1046,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f1cbbf6b648e846202617ec37665a6c273cba8322cf2814b4d5426f14ddeb4ef","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-220","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-218",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]