[{"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-233":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},2292196,4481,"Chapter 233","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-233",233,"\u003Cp>On the bustling street, stalls of all kinds lined the way; near the city gate, most were food vendors, inns, taverns, and entertainment houses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether in attire or architecture… this place leaned between the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Luo Sha Kingdom, as if entering a foreign city that blended both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Five Precepts monk he’d heard before, Ghost Market City was not the same as the Ghost Market; to enter the Ghost Market, one needed to buy an admission ticket, which was cheap enough for most to afford.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After asking for directions, Lu Fang arrived before the central governor’s mansion of Ghost Market City, purchased his admission ticket, and was guided into a teleportation array.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The array transported him to a tiny empty room—such rooms were countless within the Ghost Market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were meant for buyers and sellers to disguise and alter their appearances; after purchasing or selling celestial treasures, one could simply find any empty room to remove the disguise, then use the admission ticket to teleport back to a special empty room within Ghost Market City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These teleports were random, making trade within the Ghost Market extremely safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knew who had bought or sold what inside the Ghost Market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang did not use his Supernatural Power—Conceal Heaven and Deceive Earth—to disguise himself; instead, he casually pulled a Luo Sha mask from his storage pouch, slipped on a white long robe, then stepped out of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking only a few steps, he saw others emerging from empty rooms, most covering their faces with masks, hurrying in and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The area of empty rooms shifted constantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This prevented schemers from waiting outside them to track a person’s entry or exit by time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some, as a precaution, deliberately waited a while inside before leaving, making it even harder to tell who was who.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking for a full quarter-hour, Lu Fang finally exited the empty room zone and stepped onto the street, where vendors shouted everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike other places, there were no large trading halls or auctions here; everything was sold in shops and stalls lining the roads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Goods here were wildly varied—anyone who paid the stall fee could get a small space to sell celestial treasures acquired from the Scorched Lands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang had no trinkets to sell; things he didn’t need he’d already given to the Invincible Army. Still, renting a stall here to trade seemed quite appealing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he walked and looked around, he noticed several rows of shops bearing the Shen family seal—it seemed Shen Squad Leader had extended his business here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With advertising on the Great Zhou Daily’s commercial section, Shen Squad Leader’s business was now extremely well-known throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was household knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang smiled and shook his head, then entered the largest Shen family general store nearby. When the shop assistant came forward, he whispered a secret phrase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assistant smiled warmly and said, “Esteemed guest, this way, please—to the private chamber.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leading Lu Fang into an elegant room, the assistant whispered, “Please wait here a moment—I’ll go fetch the shopkeeper.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded, keeping his mask on; when Shen Squad Leader gave him the phrase, he’d warned him that no one knew the phrase belonged to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d also told him the phrase carried great authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang had only used it for intelligence before; today, he intended to test just how far that authority extended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t wait long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wealthy-looking female ghost cultivator in her thirties approached gracefully, bowed to Lu Fang, and said, “Esteemed one, I apologize for the wait. I am Shen Yue, head of the Shen family here in Ghost Market City. How may I assist you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shen Yue?” Lu Fang raised an eyebrow. “You’re from the Shen family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yue nodded and explained, “I’m a distant collateral branch of the Shen family. By chance, I became a ghost cultivator, so my superiors assigned me to manage business here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She paused, then suddenly asked, “Does your name contain the character ‘Hou’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Hou’?” Lu Fang frowned, studying Shen Yue, his expression darkening. Shen Squad Leader was unreliable—hadn’t he promised that no one would know his identity unless he revealed it himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hou’ wasn’t his name, but ‘Wenguan Hou’ did contain the character ‘Hou’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe this was coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If so, why did Shen family members keep updating his secret phrase every so often, claiming it protected his identity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Lu Fang’s expression, Shen Yue immediately understood his thoughts and quickly waved her hands. “I don’t know your identity. A while ago, a master and disciple came to the shop and said a masked guest wearing a Luo Sha mask might arrive soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They said if you came, I should notify that old Taoist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because the old Taoist’s secret phrase carried great prestige, I was troubled—so he told me to simply ask you if your name contains the character ‘Hou’ and whether you’d wish to meet him, leaving the choice entirely to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Taoist?” Lu Fang paused, then probed, “Does this old Taoist have a female disciple who cultivates martial arts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, yes!” Shen Yue nodded eagerly. “The old Taoist wore tattered robes, and his female disciple disguised herself as a man but dressed quite elegantly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It must be them,” Lu Fang smiled. “Later, tell me where they’re staying—I’ll go find them myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a pair could only be someone he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be the Heavenly Mechanism Taoist and Shen Xiaoxuan—the human prophet had come to the Ghost Market and deliberately sought him out. What could he want?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang shook off these thoughts and pulled the hard stone from his storage pouch. “Take a look at this ore—have you ever seen anything like it in the Ghost Market?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yue carefully took the stone, examined it closely, and said, “No. Items that come to me are usually high-grade celestial treasures; strange ores like this are rare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you wish, I can immediately mobilize all my people to inquire about this ore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang thought for a moment. “No need. I saw this ore mentioned in an ancient text as being used to forge supreme treasures with greater durability. I’ve heard rumors that someone sold this ore at a stall here—have your trusted people quietly investigate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, fabricate a reason to collect this ore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If possible, find out where it’s coming from. Remember—buy as much as you can. I need a great deal.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1087,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f8716507755b005643322f4c01aa530455153aee5f59cdae9fd9e438b1a88df6","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-234","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-232",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]