[{"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-224":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},2292187,4481,"Chapter 224: Ancient Alien Race","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-224",224,"\u003Cp>Mo Xin said solemnly: “Although I can’t see his figure due to the distance, I’m certain he’s there—but you needn’t worry too much. He hasn’t been inside the seal for long and can’t possibly break the Jin Guang seal anytime soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang fell silent, having just convinced himself to believe Mo Xin’s words, when Mo Xin suddenly exclaimed: “No! Song Ce really did release the strongest ancient race!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, thick fog erupted from the grand hall at the very back, covered in Jin Guang, and in an instant, the fog swallowed the sealing light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A streak of light shot out from the hall; as a second streak tried to emerge, the fog vanished, replaced by the sealing Jin Guang, which blocked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This happened too quickly—the anomaly vanished in the blink of an eye. Had Lu Fang not been focusing intently on that spot, and had Mo Xin not warned him, he might have thought he’d imagined it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Song Ce released the ancient race from the very back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Song Ce is even more complex than I imagined,” Mo Xin corrected himself. “He released only one ancient race—I just sensed it: a single palace doesn’t hold just one ancient race.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, Zheng Xu saw Lu Fang rise into the air, staring motionless at the far end of the seal site, his face grim, as if turned to stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He urged impatiently: “How much longer are you going to stand there frozen? If you don’t release the ancient race and get out of here soon, the Luo Sha Kingdom’s army might arrive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By then, even if you release the ancient race, you and I will both die here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Zheng Xu finished than he glanced toward the stream on the far right—Song Ce was swiftly stepping across the water, flying toward them with a blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Song Ce, you—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu’s mind reeled; he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing coherent came out—this was too bizarre. How could Song Ce be flying from the back of the seal site?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d just sent someone to test the stream—only to be blocked by some kind of barrier. How had Song Ce done it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too many questions flooded his mind; he couldn’t decide which to ask first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang had also seen the strange sight. He watched Song Ce’s surroundings warily, searching for any difference—but found none.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancient race Song Ce released didn’t seem to have emerged with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought this, Lu Fang exhaled in relief—then saw that as Song Ce flew from the stream, the nearest barbarian beside him rapidly withered, his flesh drying up in plain sight until only a skeleton remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the barbarians gasped, startled, and retreated in alarm, keeping a safe distance from Song Ce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that brief moment, four barbarians around Song Ce had their flesh devoured by some invisible force, leaving only skeletons behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop right there!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu, seeing Song Ce approach him, shouted: “What have you done? Why are you devouring flesh like the fog outside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce’s expression twitched slightly, then twisted into madness: “You need flesh to restore your power? There’s plenty here—help yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he finished speaking,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a hoarse voice issued from Song Ce’s mouth: “Then I won’t be polite. I’ll borrow your body—for now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, Song Ce’s body stiffened—but quickly returned to normal. His realm remained Fifth Rank, First Stage, yet thick fog began pouring from his body, enveloping him entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, Song Ce now looked like a massive cloud of fog, emitting chilling, eerie laughter that sent shivers down spines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fog formed by Song Ce was intangible—attacks from everyone present struck it without effect, while barbarians caught in its grasp had their flesh devoured, leaving only skeletons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Lu Fang’s eyelid twitched. No wonder he hadn’t sensed the ancient race Song Ce had released—it had taken over the same body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then saw Zheng Xu, wielding the Bai Yu skull palm, trying to repel the fog—his arm already losing vast amounts of flesh. Lu Fang frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce had said the released ancient race hadn’t yet regained its strength. Yet even in this state, it held clear advantage over Zheng Xu, who wielded a supreme treasure. Imagine its power once fully restored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Zheng Xu slipped—suddenly entangled by the fog. He roared, surging massive Man Sha energy to resist the ancient race’s devouring force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the ancient race’s emergence had been so terrifying, everyone assumed it was intangible and unattackable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the battle, Zheng Xu was the first to realize: when the fog actively attacked, it could be struck with Man Sha energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect opportunity—they’re locked in stalemate. Go seize the Bai Yu skull palm!” Mo Xin warned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang, still hesitating which side to aid, instinctively charged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get out of my way!” A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared within the fog, coldly glancing at Lu Fang. Several tendrils of black mist shot toward him, aiming to block his advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the incoming black mist, Lu Fang roared—and the mist, even from afar, shattered instantly. Just as he’d suspected: not only Man Sha energy could harm the ancient race—any cultivation origin could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Including the power of Heaven and Earth’s momentum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also discovered: when using momentum to attack the fog formed by the ancient race, even if it wasn’t attacking him, he could still strike it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, before Lu Fang, the ancient race’s fog had no “intangible” state. Realizing this, he was overjoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry and help me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu shouted in delight: “This ancient race hasn’t fully regained its strength. If we join forces, we might still subdue it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet when Lu Fang reached Zheng Xu’s side, he didn’t help—he snatched the Bai Yu skull palm from Zheng Xu’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too sudden. Zheng Xu hadn’t anticipated it, and was still locked in combat with the fog—so he offered no resistance at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pan! What do you mean by this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Xu roared in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang ignored Zheng Xu’s furious expression. He stepped back ten feet, stowed the Bai Yu skull palm, and said: “This is your payment. I don’t help anyone for free.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1036,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","fd96a3a8b4a51af11796e5f1f05d711aa21cf27214bb83648f8363921f3fb84d","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-225","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-223",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]