Strongest War Emperor

"Watch out, everyone!" Uncle Zhong shouted.

Seeing they couldn’t get near Shen Lang, many of the Double-headed Ducks and Gray-headed Vultures cunningly bypassed him, chasing after the group ahead.

In an instant, a brutal scene unfolded. Below, Shen Lang gave chase with incredible speed, continuously slaughtering swarms of Flying Demon Beasts.

Ahead of him, Shui Qingwu and the others unleashed various Cultivation Techniques and Talismans, fighting as they fled. The scene was horrifically brutal.

Down below, Spiritual Power surged within Shen Lang’s body. With the Tai Chi Diagram as a constant source, he had no fear of running out. However, even his frenzied attacks felt like a drop in the ocean against the enormous swarm of Demon Beasts. This was the plight of a Martial Arts expert trapped within an army of thousands.

Up above, seeing that the members of the Twin Dragon Sect could barely produce another Talisman, Shui Qingwu took out a thick stack of attack and Defense Talismans from her Sumeru Ring, which finally managed to stabilize the situation.

Ever since being cornered by the Demon Corpse last time, Shui Qingwu had taken to keeping a large number of High Level Talismans and Magical Treasures in her ring.

She threw out an Ice Arrow Talisman, and with a great WHOOSH, a whole batch of Demon Beasts came tumbling down.

The Flying Bone-Eating Ants at the forefront became like raindrops, falling incessantly. The scene was utterly spectacular!

However, no matter how spectacular it was, it couldn’t compare to the sight of the dense swarm of Flying Demon Beasts that filled the sky.

The Demon Beasts had practically formed a giant black cloud, obscuring the sky in a truly terrifying sight.

"Xiaolang, Uncle Zhong and the others are already injured! I’m afraid they won’t last until we reach Celestial Pillar Peak!"

Shui Qingwu’s hands danced like butterflies as she threw out one Group Attack Talisman after another, helping the Twin Dragon Sect members continue their forward charge.

Meanwhile, after a series of fierce battles, Shen Lang’s breathing had started to grow heavy, despite his endless supply of Spiritual Power.

Holding the rear, the pressure on him was far greater than on anyone else.

As the saying goes, enough ants can kill an elephant. These Demon Beasts had tough bodies and astonishing Attack Power, but even being swarmed by ten thousand sparrows would be unbearable...

"Damn it, how did the Tala Prairie end up with so many Flying Demon Beasts?" Shen Lang cursed, his gaze sharp as he stared at the dense swarm in the sky.

Glancing at the endlessly diving waves of Double-headed Ducks, Scavenging Vultures, and Flying Bone-Eating Ants, Shen Lang pointed his long saber forward and carved a bloody path, breaking into the group ahead.

Moving with incredible speed, he circled through the group, slapping a Gold Defense Talisman on all six of them.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Lightning bolts unleashed by numerous Lightning Birds in the sky immediately struck their Protective Shields, causing the barriers of light to ripple.

Meanwhile, countless Flying Bone-Eating Ants, each no longer than a finger joint, took advantage of the opening to swarm onto the protective shields and begin gnawing wildly!

The Lightning Birds were one thing; though their lightning was powerful, there weren’t that many of them.

But the Flying Bone-Eating Ants were not only incredibly fast; more importantly, they had sharp, powerful mandibles capable of chewing through any metal in a short amount of time.

They also liked to burrow into the bodies of humans or Demon Beasts, drilling into the bones to devour the marrow.

Once one burrowed inside, unless a Martial Artist’s Cultivation was exceptionally powerful, the only option was a drastic sacrifice: immediately cutting out the affected piece of bone...

Otherwise, the Flying Bone-Eating Ant would keep chewing, and soon, every bone in their body would be devoured. Death would be certain.

Such a death... was beyond what words like "brutal" could even describe.

ZZZZZT!

A dense circle of lightning instantly erupted from Shen Lang, sweeping across the area and turning all the terrifying Flying Bone-Eating Ants to charcoal.

The situation was perilous in the extreme!

"Focus on defense and charge straight ahead! Don’t get tied down fighting! Go!" Shen Lang roared, blasting another two slashes toward the sky.

Shui Qingwu cried out in alarm, "But what about you?"

"I’ll clear a path from the rear! You all just charge ahead and ignore the Demon Beasts in the sky. Leave them all to me!" As Shen Lang spoke, his Celestial Water Blade erupted with a terrifyingly bright light. He blasted out two slashes, instantly killing a diving swarm of Demon Beasts.

A rain of blood showered down from the sky in an incredibly gruesome and terrifying scene.

"You... take care of yourself!" Xu Lianyou’s eyes grew misty. Biting her lip hard, she led the others as they pushed their speed to the absolute limit, charging toward Celestial Pillar Peak.

"Xiaolang! I’m staying with you!"

Shui Qingwu waved her hands, and two roaring Water Dragons charged into the aerial swarm, instantly scattering a group of diving Demon Beasts.

"Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as you think! This is the perfect opportunity for me to push my power to its limits and gain insight into my Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique. I’m just using these Demon Beasts as sparring partners! Now go! HAHAHAHA!"

Shen Lang laughed manically, the Single Saber in his hand becoming a blur...

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The light from his saber swept out like a hurricane, covering a radius of over a hundred feet. Its peerless edge sliced through the swarm of Demon Beasts as if cutting through water.

Protected by this human-shaped demon, the five members of the Twin Dragon Sect ahead were barely harassed by the Demon Beasts any longer. They pushed their speed to the extreme, and in less than an hour, just as everyone was about to collapse from exhaustion, they finally arrived at Celestial Pillar Peak.

Celestial Pillar Peak was just as its name suggested: a giant, isolated pillar of rock. Its top was sparse, with only a few large boulders and several dozen large trees. A single natural stone bridge was its only connection to the mountain they had come from.

The stone bridge was no more than three meters wide, but it stretched for over a hundred meters—a true marvel of nature.

"Boohoo... Damn it all, we finally made it to Celestial Pillar Peak, but I’m not the least bit happy!" Xia Yu wailed. "Can anyone tell me what difference it makes being on this side of the bridge versus being on that peak? Where are we supposed to hide once we cross? All these Flying Demon Beasts will just converge over Celestial Pillar Peak! Where can we possibly escape?!"

Everyone looked over at Celestial Pillar Peak and saw only a few giant boulders, a patch of grass, and a sparse scattering of small trees...

Even Uncle Zhong, the most level-headed of the group, was now in disarray. With blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face pale, his eyes were filled with panic.

Among the members of the Twin Dragon Sect, only Xu Lianyou still believed Shen Lang’s words, trusting that he could help them all escape this desperate situation.

Still, none of them could understand why he had chosen a deathtrap like Celestial Pillar Peak.

’Even finding a cave to hide in on Qixia Mountain would be a hundred times better than this...’

Once on Celestial Pillar Peak, there was no escape. They would be completely trapped and helpless. Forget about the other Demon Beasts pursuing them from the ground; the endless swarm of Flying Demon Beasts in the sky alone was enough to overwhelm and kill them all!

SKREEE!

The scent of blood seemed to drive the various Flying Demon Beasts in the sky into an even greater frenzy, and they began to dive with reckless abandon.

Amidst the chaotic screeches and the sound of Shen Lang swinging his saber, the group could hear their own heartbeats with unnerving clarity.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Each beat was perfectly clear, like a heavy mallet striking a great drum.

"Cross the bridge! What are you all standing around for!" From behind, while continuously swinging his saber, Shen Lang caught sight of the group hesitating at the head of the bridge and flew into a rage.

But then again, only a monster like him had the Tai Chi Diagram to provide an inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Power. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi he had previously absorbed and stored was enough for him to squander for days.

Anyone else in his position would have long since run dry, able only to watch helplessly as the aerial Demon Beasts overwhelmed them.

’To think I’m fighting for my life back here, and these guys are just standing around dazed at the bridge!’

"Hurry and go!" Shui Qingwu urged them as well.

The members of the Twin Dragon Sect finally snapped out of it. Gritting their teeth, they charged across the stone bridge to the other side.

’There’s no turning back now, anyway. Even if it really is a dead end, we have no choice but to push on!’

In truth, the mysterious and invincible youth behind them was unlikely to lead them to a tragic end. ’So... there must be a glimmer of hope!’

After crossing the bridge and standing on Celestial Pillar Peak, the group looked around with bitter expressions. ’This time, we’ve really hit a dead end. There’s nowhere left to run!’

In the sky above, the Flying Demon Beasts still blotted out the sun, their numbers showing no sign of decreasing. Behind them, clouds of dust billowed up—the land-based Demon Beasts were catching up, following the trail of blood!

They already couldn’t handle the ones in the air. With tens of thousands more Demon Beasts on the ground, forget about their small group—even if all the experts from Celestial Phoenix City, the city nearest the Phoenix Mountain Range, came out to fight, they wouldn’t be able to hold them off!

Xu Lianyou took one last deep look at Shen Lang, still fighting fiercely on the bridge, then let out a sharp cry, "Everyone, take your positions! Attack!"

The five members of the Twin Dragon Sect immediately formed a defensive formation and began launching attacks toward the sky.

At the head of the bridge, Shen Lang leaped into the air. Sword Intent surged around him as he instantly unleashed seven or eight slashes, annihilating the closest diving Demon Beasts.

"HAHAHAHA!" Shen Lang laughed wildly as he dropped from the air to land in front of the group.

A small pagoda in Shui Qingwu’s hand immediately released an endless, brilliant light, enveloping the group and blocking the descending Demon Beasts.

"Young Brother, what do we do now?" Uncle Zhong asked, gasping for breath.

He knew that even with the defense from Shui Qingwu’s powerful Magical Treasure, they likely couldn’t hold out for long.

But as for what method this mysterious youth could possibly have to so confidently ensure their escape, he simply couldn’t fathom it.

Shen Lang didn’t answer. He simply glanced at the approaching cloud of dust in the distance and smiled faintly.

Then, under the dumbfounded gazes of the others, he suddenly rushed forward and leaped into the air!

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Shen Lang flung his hands into the air. Two Talismans emitted a ray of Divine Radiance, and then, in a brilliant flash of light, two enormous logs came crashing down toward the weakest point of the stone bridge!

"He... he... he’s destroying the bridge!" a young woman from the Twin Dragon Sect cried out, so frightened she fell right onto her bottom.

The only connection between Celestial Pillar Peak and Qixia Mountain was this single, narrow stone bridge!

And below Celestial Pillar Peak was a bottomless Abyss shrouded in poisonous mist! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Once this bridge was broken, they wouldn’t even need the Demon Beasts to attack; the entire group would be trapped here to die!

But by the time Xia Yu and another person moved to stop Shen Lang, it was already too late.

Just as the two giant logs were about to smash onto the stone bridge, the airborne Shen Lang synchronized his movements with them. At almost the exact same instant, with lightning coiling around him, he threw a vicious punch backed by all his Power, striking the bridge at the same time as the two logs!

Amid a tremendous ROAR, that section of the bridge—barely two meters wide and its weakest point—finally gave way under the immense force and crumbled!

With a great RUMBLE, the entire stone bridge began to disintegrate, its pieces plunging into the Abyss below.

At that moment, with nothing to support him in mid-air, Shen Lang began to fall along with the collapsing bridge.

The massive swarm of Demon Beasts on the other side let out frustrated, sky-shaking roars.

"Xiaolang!" Shui Qingwu shrieked.