[{"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-284":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},2292247,4481,"Chapter 284","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-284",284,"\u003Cp>“Press down again!” Lu Fang swallowed a large gulp of scholarly qi and intensified the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, causing the earth to collapse with a rumbling roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s not dead yet!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang sneered, unleashing the Extraordinary Power—Sea-Stabilizing Needle—to its maximum weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nine consecutive presses—that was the limit of what Lu Fang could sustain. Fortunately, Song Ce was already dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A semi-transparent aura and a massive, ownerless destiny surged upward, the size of a grinding stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Lu Fang heard the Devil Heart’s frantic pounding once more; the semi-transparent aura, as if pulled by an invisible force, surged en masse into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart’s pounding continued for the duration of half a cup of tea before gradually fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was that the Punishment aura? Did you absorb it all?” Lu Fang asked, walking toward Song Ce’s crushed remains, absorbing the ownerless destiny, then retrieving a storage bag from the corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had Song Ce not faced Lu Fang, an anomaly among cultivators, he would surely have escaped. But no matter how many divine arts he possessed, he never had the chance to use them against Lu Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was crushed outright by the Sea-Stabilizing Needle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given more time, Song Ce’s achievements would have placed him among the elite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart’s voice sounded pleased: “That Punishment aura was quite substantial. Absorbing it took me considerable effort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What benefits did you gain?” Lu Fang pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart could restore its awakened abilities by absorbing others’ cultivation roots; absorbing Punishment aura should yield even greater rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart fell silent for a moment, then spoke: “I can now leave your body—but you must find me a suitable vessel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do I gain from this?” Lu Fang asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart: “If you help me find a body, I will grant you an Extraordinary Power—Instantaneous Movement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Instantaneous Movement? Explain it.” Lu Fang was intrigued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he gained this Extraordinary Power, his strength would leap a full tier—and more importantly, his escape capability would vastly improve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart: “You’ve seen this power before—didn’t Song Ce just use it right before your eyes? With this ability, you can teleport instantly to any place you envision. The only drawback is distance and usage limits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned. Distance limits he could accept—but what did “usage limits” mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart paused, then continued: “You can use it only three times per day. Based on your current realm, the number of uses will increase as your cultivation advances.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang hesitated, then nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gaining the Extraordinary Power—Instantaneous Movement was secondary; the main advantage was freeing himself from the Devil Heart. Both sides would benefit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What requirements do you have for the body?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart nodded: “If possible, find me a body lacking one or more of the Seven Souls and Six Spirits. That way, my entry into the vessel will be safer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A body lacking one or more of the Seven Souls and Six Spirits?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang raised an eyebrow. “You mean someone mentally impaired? Must it be human? What about other races—like demonic beasts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart replied: “Other races are acceptable too. It doesn’t have to be mentally impaired—if a suitable vessel presents itself, a little risk is worth taking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.” Lu Fang agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He examined Song Ce’s storage bag. It was cluttered with numerous other storage bags—clearly not his own. He must have killed many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His bag was even poorer than Lu Fang expected—mostly raw materials, with only a few cultivation manuals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Fang paid them no mind; his ancient divine arts and Extraordinary Powers were already more than sufficient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart: “Rest for a while. We can seek another Punishment aura. If we work together, we stand a real chance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Agreed,” Lu Fang said. “Is this Small Upper Realm connected to Punishment? Earlier, outside, you said you sensed multiple Punishment auras.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart hesitated: “I’m not certain. But I did sense Punishment auras before—there must be some connection. How exactly, I don’t know. Perhaps Punishment once came to this Small Upper Realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or perhaps the Punishment aura entered here through some method. All possibilities remain open...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded, understanding. Regardless, this Small Upper Realm restricted all beings above Ninth Rank. Even if Punishment truly resided here, he wouldn’t fear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he still had the sword forged from Solid Stone—he hadn’t used it against Song Ce. If Punishment truly appeared, he wouldn’t mind testing its power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief rest, Lu Fang headed eastward; the Devil Heart sensed another Punishment aura in that direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this Punishment aura was far stronger than Song Ce’s, and the Devil Heart’s perception of it was limited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang suddenly halted mid-flight. Before him in the east, a brilliant aurora shot skyward, lingering without fading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang frowned. He disliked unexpected changes—and this one lay directly on his path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart’s voice grew excited: “The anomaly ahead—that’s a Special Place of the Small Upper Realm! Such an omen means a rare treasure is about to emerge. Given this realm’s entry threshold, the treasure must be extraordinary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang considered it, then decided to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To pass up such a great opportunity out of fear? That wasn’t his style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without further hesitation, he flew toward the anomaly. As he neared, he was startled to find a crowd gathered—not just humans, but various demonic races as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leaders were exceptionally powerful—likely beings above Ninth Rank—each wearing masks or disguised, their identities hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet humans still vastly outnumbered the others. They clustered together, wary of one another, none daring to fight, all staring intently at a mountain ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain itself was ordinary, nothing remarkable—except for a brilliant, sky-piercing light blazing from its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Be careful,” the Devil Heart warned. “The Punishment aura is here somewhere—I can’t pinpoint it. And there are many Half-Saint-level beings present.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Devil Heart reminded him.\u003C\u002Fp>",989,"2026-06-20T03:56:22.339Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a9f756febba012bb3b6958d2e3901e9c3973c04c53366c63bd3258b5989b1cff","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-285","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-283",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]