[{"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-39":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},2292002,4481,"Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Nine: Harvest","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-39",39,"\u003Cp>\"Ownerless destiny!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang consumed the \"one finger\" of scholarly qi, his eyes fixed ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After slaying the wild boar spirit, a fist-sized destiny emerged from its corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Didn’t expect it to have so much destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out his destiny stone, absorbed the ownerless destiny, then began dissecting the wild boar spirit—every part of a demon beast is valuable; its tusks, for instance, make excellent material for writing brushes, inkstones, paper, and inksticks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High-grade treasures are typically forged from such rare materials; ordinary materials cannot withstand the refinement process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While dissecting, Lu Fang found a storage pouch inside its belly, containing first-grade rare herbs: Seven-Heart Flower, Starlight Grass…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also five or six porcelain vials of first-grade elixirs—Qi-Enhancing Pills and Minor Restoration Pills, totaling fifty to sixty pills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These rare herbs and elixirs could replenish demonic qi, righteous qi, and primordial qi, though at a slightly slower rate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang had studied a compendium of rare herbs and elixirs in the Li household during his house arrest, so he recognized them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the quality of rare herbs and elixirs is ranked from first to fifth grade, corresponding respectively to Confucian Scholar, Confucian Disciple, Master, Grand Master, and Semi-Sage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Confucian Scholar can fully metabolize the effects of first-grade herbs and elixirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under certain conditions, consuming matching herbs and elixirs will not be wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides these, the wild boar spirit’s storage pouch contained two low-grade Ten-Thousand-Path stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten-Thousand-Path stones are oval-shaped ores containing \"Ten-Thousand Path Qi\"; beings of all races absorb this qi to convert it into their own required energy, enhancing cultivation base and breaking through realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These are exceedingly rare, as precious as destiny stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The destiny stone referred to here is the one Master Wang Fu gave Lu Fang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a person absorbs destiny from a destiny stone into their body, they cannot fully extract it all; residual destiny condenses on the skin as a circular mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One circle equals first grade, up to five circles maximum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such graded destiny stones are luxury items in the Great Zhou Dynasty, favored by the powerful, as wearing them constantly allows absorption of residual destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Lu Fang’s destiny stone is even more precious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the wild boar spirit’s storage pouch was also a white jade bone, inscribed with dense demonic script and demonic runes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likely a demonic cultivation technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also some gold, silver, and jewels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing little of practical use, Lu Fang simply stuffed the wild boar spirit’s meat into the storage pouch too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby were dried thorn vines and wild boar meat; he released the Book Spirit Yan Chixia to guard, then began roasting the meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The piled thorn vines ignited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the wild boar leg skewered on a stick sizzled, oil dripping under the flame’s heat, releasing a rich aroma that made Lu Fang’s mouth water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without salt or cumin, one bite was savory and not greasy—far tastier than any roast shop from his past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancients did not deceive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the meat of these spirits is exceptionally delicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Burp!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang devoured the entire roasted boar leg, let out a satisfied burp, and stretched out luxuriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His entire body now burned with heat, limbs brimming with strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the records in books were true: eating spirit meat enhances the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing one wild boar spirit not only yielded abundant ownerless destiny, but also these other benefits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad his time in the Lesser Upper Realm lasted only one month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, the magical array branded onto his body would forcibly drag him away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang pondered for a moment, then sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been confident in his strength, yet even a random demon beast forced him to use the Dragon-Slaying Crescent Slash—the Soul-Striking technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His power was still lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time he won and seized the wild boar spirit’s destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what if the next one wasn’t a minor player, but a ruthless one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the wild boar spirit were alive and heard Lu Fang calling it a minor player, it would rage: \"I didn’t call you minor—you call me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a rising star with the bloodline of the Golden-Haired Wild Boar King; in terms of strength ranking, it could easily rank among the top ten of seventh-grade demons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a minor player?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, Lu Fang didn’t know any of this—he was now worrying about his own \"insufficient strength,\" showing clear signs of distress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I must use scholarly qi to elevate my realm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang declared firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the \"Mimicry Method\" appeared, no one in the Great Zhou Dynasty had yet gained transcendent power—but the number of those mimicking scholarly qi had surged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This caused his scholarly qi to skyrocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He now had seven strands of scholarly qi; if he didn’t use them now to elevate his realm and ended up killed for weakness, wouldn’t he die in vain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made up his mind!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang no longer hesitated; he took one strand of scholarly qi and chewed it slowly, sensing the changes in his realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After consuming half a strand,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a faint sound echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He successfully entered eighth grade, second stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His rapid breakthrough was partly due to prior accumulation, and partly because the Lesser Upper Realm’s heavenly dao was incomplete, imposing no restrictions on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A good start!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang did not stop—merely one stage up; in this Lesser Upper Realm, anyone he grabbed at random was seventh grade, third stage—he had no advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The advantage lay with the opponent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing one strand—no change!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing two strands—no change!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was halfway through the third strand, Lu Fang broke through again, successfully entering eighth grade, third stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not enough! Keep consuming scholarly qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished the third strand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished the fourth strand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished the fifth strand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So hard to advance?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang couldn’t help complaining—he’d felt since consuming the fourth strand that he was just a hair’s breadth from entering seventh grade, first stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet after finishing the fifth strand, he still hadn’t broken through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With only two strands left, Lu Fang couldn’t bear it—he’d settle for this for now. Though the Three Kingdoms Romance still released one chapter daily, providing endless scholarly qi,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he couldn’t use it so recklessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still needed to keep some scholarly qi to replenish stamina and momentum during combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yan Chixia also reached seventh grade, third stage—shouldn’t the gap with others be smaller now? If I can’t win, I can at least run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang comforted himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he’d been better informed—or asked one more question—he’d have known that He Zixuan, whom he defeated, wasn’t a second-generation heir, but a Confucian prodigy. He wouldn’t have thought this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Zixuan and the wild boar spirit were simply too deceptive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was defeated by Xiao Yunru in six strikes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was a wild boar spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither looked particularly impressive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Location talisman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lu Fang buried the fire with sand, he felt the location talisman in his sleeve grow hot; after pulling it out, one corner of the yellow talisman glowed with spiritual light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone with a location talisman was to the east!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief hesitation, Lu Fang headed east.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no current goal anyway; since someone was nearby, it wouldn’t hurt to check—though his main focus remained killing things in the Lesser Upper Realm that bore destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether this desert was remote or simply lacked many destiny-bearing entities,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang encountered no such entities while searching for people, leaving him displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should he go kill those alien races instead?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their destiny was quite substantial!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one had told Lu Fang that one primary source of destiny in the Lesser Upper Realm was slaughter between races—a twisted rule unique to this realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This aura feels familiar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang gazed at the righteous qi hovering in the distance, recalling He Zixuan’s figure—who was he fighting?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t linger; he summoned the Black Armor to cling to his body and glided like a phantom toward the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive sand pit, ten kilometers across, had been carved out by the combatants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One side was He Zixuan, stout yet incredibly agile; the other, two barbarians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One male, one female.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The male stood seven feet tall, wielding a massive spiked club taller than himself, his ferocious attacks tightly entangling He Zixuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time he swung his spiked club, the wind tore through space, emitting a piercing sonic boom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had He Zixuan not manifested a speed-based battle poem to dodge the spiked club repeatedly, one strike would have crushed him into pulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barbarian women had only one eye, located at the center of their brows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood at a distance, blowing a bone flute that emitted strange tones, making listeners feel deeply uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang felt no danger, but from He Zixuan’s persistent attempts to abandon the barbarian man and kill the barbarian woman, he deduced that she posed the greater threat to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Zixuan tried again to kill the barbarian woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barbarian man seized his chance, roared loudly, stamped his feet hard, and vanished like a ghost to appear above He Zixuan; his spiked club, wrapped in sonic booms, slammed down toward He Zixuan’s skull.\u003C\u002Fp>",1530,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","80b87619c4cd2cc6069747bb38234e7c3f38fdbaa31826c3ec983c59203f5b5b","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-40","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-38",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]