[{"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-223":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},2292186,4481,"Chapter 223","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-223",223,"\u003Cp>If the strongest ancient barbarian race is truly released.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only is there a very high chance it will release all the ancient barbarians here, but even he himself could be in danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After much hesitation, Lu Fang still placed that drop of demonic lord blood in front of his chest, letting it float there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart did indeed sway him; to better handle the released ancient barbarians, upgrading a rank was extremely important to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it’s the strongest ancient barbarian, so what? This is the Lesser Heaven Realm—when that ancient barbarian emerges, its power cannot fully recover, and there are still the realm restrictions of the Lesser Heaven. If he were currently at Fifth Rank, Third Stage, it wouldn’t be impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he couldn’t kill that ancient barbarian, he could still do something within his power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart: “That’s right. We are one and the same. When I grow stronger, so do you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying this, it began absorbing the demonic energy within the demonic lord blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This process lasted about fifteen minutes, during which the demonic energy within the demonic lord blood continuously seeped into Lu Fang’s chest and abdomen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That powerful, rhythmic heartbeat sound returned once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Devil Heart had said, when it began absorbing the demonic energy, the speed was astonishing—within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the demonic lord blood had shriveled into a dry, deflated blood pouch lying on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang was about to speak when he felt a tremendous force surge into his body; because the force was so overwhelming, his pores began oozing blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Agony filled his entire body—he needed to ingest the Book Fragrance Qi to alleviate this condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, he even felt a hint of regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps letting Devil Heart absorb the demonic lord blood was a mistake. He could feel the immense power surging into his body coming from Devil Heart, but he couldn’t be certain whether it was elevating his realm—or seizing control of his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, this agony vanished quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a short time, Lu Fang was drenched in sweat, as if he’d just emerged from water, his clothes soaked through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he came to his senses, he realized he had reached Fifth Rank, Third Stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart’s tone was frustrated: “What’s going on? Why is your realm so hard to raise? Is it restricted by Heaven’s Dao? I thought I could easily boost you one rank—I had to exert myself so much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang probed: “You absorbed so much demonic energy—did you awaken any new abilities?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart: “No, I only regained some of my strength. I could have recovered more, but I sacrificed greatly to elevate your rank.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing he wouldn’t get any more answers, Lu Fang stopped asking. After growing accustomed to the power of Fifth Rank, Third Stage, he said: “Lower the barrier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart replied, but didn’t immediately dismiss the barrier. Instead, it whispered seductively: “Your realm has now reached Fifth Rank, Third Stage. With my help, you can easily kill that barbarian named Zheng Xu. Interested?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, if you agree and succeed, give me that White Jade Skull Hand to absorb—I’ll grant you powerful perception-based transcendent power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perception-based transcendent power?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang couldn’t help but be tempted. His perception, strengthened by his potent Momentum, far surpassed that of cultivators at his own stage—but it was still far weaker than true perception-based transcendent power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strength of perception played a massive role in combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What specific abilities does this perception-based transcendent power have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After much hesitation, Lu Fang finally couldn’t help but ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart: “I can’t say for sure. Because we are one, I can use part of my cultivation source to let you grasp the perception-based transcendent power I possess—but how much you can master depends entirely on your destiny.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But one thing I can guarantee: if you master this perception-based transcendent power, you can gradually enhance it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A perception-based transcendent power that can be improved!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang swallowed hard. To kill just one barbarian and gain a transcendent power? No matter how he looked at it, he was winning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ll see how things go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave a cautious answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart: “I’m waiting for your good news.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the words ended, the barrier began to fade. Lu Fang once again saw the demonic barbarians nearby. Apparently startled by the sudden barrier, Zheng Xu had stopped using the White Jade Skull Hand to absorb the golden light and now watched the barrier warily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pan, why are you alone? Xie wasn’t trapped with you inside the barrier?” Zheng Xu glanced at a drop of blood on the ground and asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang was now disguised as Pan. Though he had never read any similar diary entries, after brief interaction, he had a general sense of what kind of demon Pan was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zheng Xu’s question, Lu Fang wore a cold expression and spoke in Pan’s voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I accidentally triggered the seal’s barrier. Just now, Xie and I were both trapped inside. It went mad and attacked me—I had no choice but to kill it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This excuse had been prepared in advance; his tone and expression had been rehearsed countless times in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging from Zheng Xu’s and the surrounding demonic barbarians’ expressions, Lu Fang had successfully deceived them—and why wouldn’t he? He disguised himself so flawlessly; they wouldn’t even consider the possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu fell silent for a moment, then nodded: “We’ve come this far—we have no other choice. While you were trapped in the barrier, I carefully observed: there is no exit here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Either we work together to release the ancient barbarians here—perhaps they know how to escape.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or we die trapped here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned. He hadn’t noticed before, but now, hearing Zheng Xu’s words, he carefully observed—and closed his eyes to sense—indeed, apart from the hundred grand halls sealed by golden light, there was no exit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart: “Don’t worry about that. I can sense where the exit is. You can’t perceive it because your perception is too weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you master perception-based transcendent power, you’ll be able to sense it too. All you need to do is choose to obtain it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Devil Heart used the excuse of the exit to persuade Lu Fang to kill Zheng Xu and seize the White Jade Skull Hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang only needed to know there was an exit—he had no immediate desire to kill Zheng Xu. Instead, he rose swiftly into the air and gazed toward the massive palace at the far end: “Are you certain Song Ce is in there?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1109,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b673289fc0a11abe3f923cdeb6e0e046e764dba57456506d46705a4c17f1102a","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-224","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-222",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]