Strongest War Emperor

"My apologies. I just happen to know a little," Shen Lang said casually.

"The Blood Race Saintess, hmm? Legend says she’s the reincarnation of a mighty expert from the Desolate Ancient Era, blessed by the Blood Ancestor, making her status incredibly noble. In reality, though, a story circulates among the Blood Race: the Saintess is actually nothing more than a sacrifice, meant to open the Blood Ancestor Tomb in the years to come..."

"To put it nicely, her status is revered. To put it bluntly, she’s a sacrifice for the Blood Race. The fact that you consider yourself an ill-omened person suggests you’ve already figured out your final end, haven’t you?"

"Wh-why do you know all this so clearly? Could it be that everyone on the continent... now knows these things about the Blood Race in such detail?"

The silver-haired girl gave a pained smile, her voice incredibly bitter.

Shen Lang fell silent, not even offering a single word of comfort.

’I can’t even say for sure if I can control my own destiny, so how could I possibly think of helping someone else change theirs?’

’A titan of the Evil Dao like the Blood Ancestor was someone that even the previous generation’s War Emperor could only face by relying on the power of the War God Hall. And even then, he had to ally with the Thousand Soul Hall, the Myriad Beasts Mansion, the Buddhist Sect, and other powerful forces just to do that.’

’Even though I have the War Emperor’s memories now, I haven’t had time to fully absorb and integrate them. The disparity in our cultivation is simply immeasurable. Why would I want to get mixed up in anything related to the Blood Ancestor?’

’Besides, the Blood Race is far more troublesome than other races. For their Saintess to have traveled thousands of miles alone to a place like this, something major must have happened.’

’Trying to change the Saintess’s destiny would be the same as declaring war on the entire Blood Race.’

’A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Facing the entire Blood Race is no joke.’

The silver-haired girl sat down, hugging her knees and shivering as she spoke, "Yes. When I was little, I also thought I was the incomparably noble Saintess, a woman of transcendent status within the Blood Race... Later, I found I was like a Golden Bird kept in a cage. And then..."

"I accidentally overheard a few Elders talking, and that’s when I discovered that I’m not even as good as a Golden Bird. Because the only reason for my existence is to open the Blood Ancestor Tomb. The moment the Blood Ancestor Tomb is opened will be the moment my body dies and my soul is extinguished... Heh, sometimes I feel like my life is just a joke..."

"No one’s existence is a joke," Shen Lang said, cutting her off.

He pondered for a moment before continuing, "I don’t know what others think, but everyone has their own way of living, their own reason for being. Even if there is such a thing as destiny in this world, the Blood Ancestor is not Heaven. The curse he placed on you might not be impossible to remove."

The silver-haired girl looked up, her eyes like pure gems, sparkling with a brilliant light. "Sir, do you have a way? You know all this, so you must have a way to help me, right?"

Shen Lang couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. "You overestimate me. I can’t even sort out my own problems. How could I possibly help you?"

"Sir... are you angry that I lied to you before...?" the silver-haired girl said, her voice barely a whisper.

That pitiful, melancholic expression of hers could drive any man wild, make any man go through fire and water for her.

"We’re complete strangers. There was nothing wrong with what you said before," Shen Lang said, shaking his head. "Alright, stop talking. That old man should be coming back."

Not long after Shen Lang spoke, sure enough, a flash of light appeared in the air outside the stone cave. The Elder from the Imperial Dragon Sect who had left earlier had returned.

"That old coot, he’s so cunning! He was deliberately hiding!" the silver-haired girl said, grinding her teeth in anger.

She was angry, but the old man outside was clearly not in high spirits either. Standing in mid-air, he swept the area for dozens of li with his Divine Thought once more. Finding nothing, he finally gave up in dejection.

"This makes no sense. Within a thirty-li radius, this is the only place with her aura. In such a short amount of time, there’s no way she could have traveled this far without being able to fly..."

The old man muttered to himself, his hands suddenly flashing. He shot several Spells downwards, and with a final flick of his finger, a strange Blood Pearl vanished into the darkness. Only then did he depart again, still unwilling to give up.

"Sir, what do we do?" the silver-haired girl asked timidly.

Shen Lang rolled his eyes. "What else can we do? We stay here until dawn. Those old guys have incredibly powerful Divine Thought; they can detect us from dozens of li away. If they don’t leave the area, you’ll be caught the moment you step outside."

"Oh..."

Shen Lang took a piece of jerky from his ring and tossed it to her. "Eat your fill, then get some sleep."

"Huh? I’m sleeping with you, Sir?" The silver-haired girl’s eyes went wide.

"COUGH, COUGH!" Shen Lang, who had just taken a bite of jerky, choked and turned bright red. "The hell? You sleep over there, I’ll sleep over here! I don’t care if you’re from the Blood Race or not, just stay away from me. Don’t think you can tempt me just because you have an impressive figure. I’ve seen the world!"

"Oh..."

The night passed without a word.

The next day, faint, warm sunlight spilled down from the horizon. As the sun slowly rose in the east, the Phoenix Mountain Range, which had been quiet all night, finally became vibrant with life once more.

Even in winter, in this mountain range that wasn’t particularly cold, the various Demon Beasts were still as active as they were in summer.

Shen Lang awoke from his slumber, and when he opened his eyes, he was immediately stunned.

The silver-haired girl was leaning against the stone wall, fast asleep, but a trail of drool had soaked a patch of her clothes on her chest!

’This... This is the Blood Race Saintess? A Saintess is a Saintess, I guess. She drools way more than an ordinary person.’

Shen Lang chuckled in amusement, shrugged, and stood up. He then looked out beyond the Array.

He watched for a moment, then, without turning his head, Shen Lang suddenly said, "Alright, if you’re awake, you’re awake. Why pretend to be asleep?"

The silver-haired girl, her face flushed red, opened her eyes and scrambled up.

She didn’t quite dare to look at Shen Lang, and she subconsciously placed a hand in front of the drool-soaked patch on her clothes.

’This is so embarrassing! I can’t believe I was so relaxed last night that I drooled all night... I think I must have been dreaming about delicious food.’

"I... I haven’t slept so soundly in a long time. I’m sorry." Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.

Shen Lang stretched, stood up, and then put out a hand to stop the silver-haired girl.

"Sir, can’t we leave yet?" the silver-haired girl asked, looking puzzled.

"You’re the Blood Race Saintess, for crying out loud. Why are you so reckless?" Shen Lang said in dissatisfaction. He stepped out of the Concealing Array, then brought his palms together, rotated them twice, formed a few Hand Seals, and slowly pushed both palms forward.

A soft, bright blue Spirit Light immediately spread out, covering an area of more than two hundred meters in a moment.

As the light flickered, the silver-haired girl standing behind him immediately covered her mouth in shock.

Before them, centered on the cave, strange threads had appeared in the area over a hundred meters around. The threads formed a giant net that enveloped the entire vicinity.

From the sky to the ground, these faint, almost invisible threads were everywhere, with streaks of bloody light flashing across them.

It was just like a Heaven and Earth Net.

And Shen Lang and she were right in the middle of one of the grids of this net!

Each grid of the net was no more than ten meters long, five meters wide, and about seven or eight meters high.

Like a series of rectangular prisms.

It would be fine as long as they didn’t move, but if they did, they would definitely touch one of these bizarre threads!

"That old ghost, so insidious! Not a single one of the Human Race is a good person!" the silver-haired girl said angrily, clenching her small fists.

The moment she said it, she realized her mistake and stammered, "I misspoke again, I’m sorry! Actually, Sir, you’re a good... thing... No, no, you’re not a thing... That’s not what I meant... Waaaah!"

"Would it kill you to be quiet for a minute? I’m starting to think you’d be best friends with Old Chu. The two of you could just stand there chattering nonstop, without eating or sleeping, until the end of time," Shen Lang said, rubbing his temples with a headache.

The silver-haired girl shifted uncomfortably and asked timidly, "Sir, is this an Array? Are we trapped here?"

Shen Lang pursed his lips. "When it comes to Arrays, there aren’t many in this world that can trap me."

"These threads aren’t physical; they’re just Spiritual Lines. The bloody light flowing on them comes from your own blood, added specifically to target your Blood Race. Ordinary people, Demon Beasts, birds, or insects won’t be affected by it at all. But the moment you walk through and touch a single Spiritual Line, the entire Array will collapse. Of course, the moment it collapses, the person who set it up will know instantly."

"Th-then what do we do...?" the silver-haired girl said, her lips trembling.

"There’s nothing to be done," Shen Lang said, shaking his head. "This kind of Array isn’t an attack Array, nor is it a Defensive Array. It can’t trap any living creature. It’s just a highly specific alarm Array. You just have to stay here for seven or eight days. When the Array’s Spiritual Qi dissipates, it will naturally deactivate."

As he spoke, he formed a Hand Seal with his left hand and pointed at a large boulder to his left with his right. A beam of Spirit Light shot out, immediately forming a bubble on the boulder.

The bubble attached itself to one of the Spiritual Lines, hanging there like a lantern, looking quite pretty.

Then, he tossed a Storage Pouch behind him and said, "There are some clothes and jerky in here. You just stay here obediently for a few days. These Spiritual Lines will become invisible in a moment, but you’ll be able to see the Spirit Ball I hung on that line."

"After seven or eight days, the Array will dissipate, and the Spirit Ball will naturally break. When you see the Spirit Ball break, you can leave."

"Sir... are... are you abandoning me?" the silver-haired girl looked weakly at Shen Lang, her expression utterly pitiful.

"I don’t even know you, how am I supposed to ’take care’ of you? Besides, you’re the Saintess of the Blood Race. I’m in no position to get involved."

"You don’t want me anymore...?"

"I never ’wanted’ you in the first place!" Shen Lang retorted, rolling his eyes as he started walking away.

His body passed directly through the fine threads, causing no reaction at all.

But Shen Lang had only taken two steps before he turned and walked back, his face dark.

"I said, why are you so clingy? Just stay here obediently for a few days, and once the Array breaks, you can leave. Is there really a need to cry like this?"