Strongest War Emperor

Instantly, tyrannical ripples of energy fanned out from the point of contact. Stone chips flew from the ground, swept up by a gale and sent blasting in every direction.

"BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!"

The sounds of the four strikes hitting the four Bone Demons rang out almost simultaneously.

The majestic and domineering Sword Qi sent the Bone Demons’ bodies into a violent tremor.

The incomparably ferocious Thunder Power instantly surged into the four Bone Demons, annihilating the Demonic Qi inside them as if it were nothing.

The unstoppable Sword Intent pierced through their tough skeletons and slammed into their Soul Fires, causing the flames within them to dim significantly.

Finally, the four Demons could no longer withstand the tyrannical force. They all spewed out a mouthful of black qi as their bodies were sent flying back like leaves in an autumn gale.

They slammed heavily onto the ground, shattering the rocks beneath them into dust.

However, it wasn’t over yet. As the four Bone Demons were sent flying, Shen Lang’s figure followed close behind. In a single, ghost-like flicker, he appeared before the one in the center.

"Hm?"

The Bone Demon clearly hadn’t expected Shen Lang to be so fast. It subconsciously raised an arm, about to swing its Bone Scythe.

But Shen Lang just gave it a slight smile. With a flash of his blade, the longsword wreathed in electricity struck the Bone Demon’s wrist as quick as lightning.

"CRACK!"

Instantly, the sharp Sword Qi made a clean cut. With a crisp cracking sound, the Bone Demon’s wrist, still gripping the Bone Scythe, snapped off.

"CLANG!"

Before the Bone Demon could react, Shen Lang’s second strike was upon it. A slash imbued with raging thunder instantly landed on the creature’s forehead.

The Soul Fire of a Ghost or a Bone Demon is located in its head. Unless the Soul Fire is extinguished, it’s impossible to truly kill one.

Shen Lang knew this well, so this strike carried the full force of his Thunder Power and ferocious Sword Intent, intended to kill it in a single blow.

However, the hardness of the Bone Demon’s skeleton was unimaginable, a cut above even the Rakshasa Ghosts outside.

Shen Lang’s full-powered strike sent the Bone Demon flying back from the immense force. Its body carved a long trench in the ground before it slammed into a large bluestone, shattering it on impact.

Yet, the Bone Demon’s skull only had a thin crack; it hadn’t been split in two!

In fact, the strike hadn’t even truly broken through its skull’s defense.

’Not bad. Those are some tough bones,’ Shen Lang muttered to himself, feeling his hand go numb and his wrist ache.

The Soul Fire in the Bone Demon’s eyes had dimmed considerably, but its ferocity remained. It struggled on the ground, trying to climb back to its feet.

At that moment, the other three Bone Demons seized the opportunity to lunge at Shen Lang from three different directions.

The Bone Scythes and Giant Hammers in their hands tore through the air like lightning, reaching Shen Lang in the blink of an eye.

A powerful gust washed over him. ’They’re fast! Only a fraction slower than the Rakshasa Ghosts.’

Instead of retreating, Shen Lang advanced, swinging his blade to attack.

Sword Qi surged from the Celestial Water Blade, and the sound of thunder erupted from it in waves.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Instantly, Powerful Qi erupted like a volcano, flooding more than half the valley. The ferocious energies collided, forming violent gales that sent sand and stone flying as a storm raged.

Roars, the clash of weapons, and the boom of exploding energy rang out one after another, as incessant and chaotic as a string of firecrackers.

Around the Ancient Bronze Coffin, violent energy explosions continuously erupted between Shen Lang and the four Bone Demons. The five figures were locked in a chaotic melee, a whirlwind of Powerful Qi.

In this exchange, Shen Lang held a clear advantage. He was faster than the four Bone Demons, and his attacks were far more powerful.

But the four Bone Demons seemed to have been refined by the Ghost King for centuries using some Secret Technique. Their bones were as tough as Spiritual Artifacts. Even against Shen Lang’s formidable Sword Intent, they were covered in countless slash marks but remained fundamentally unharmed.

And their Soul Fires still burned brightly!

Shen Lang, on the other hand, was beginning to feel the strain.

With every strike that landed on the four Bone Demons, Shen Lang’s arms grew number, and his muscles began to tremble faintly.

While Shen Lang was locked in fierce combat, things were just as chaotic outside the barrier.

Under the command of the Ghost King’s Divine Split, five Rakshasa Ghosts led an army of thousands of ghosts in a furious assault on the massive barrier, trying to break through and charge inside.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

After another head-on clash with the four Bone Demons, Shen Lang retreated more than ten meters. Panting slightly, he rolled his shoulders.

"Heh heh heh... Boy, I thought you were so capable. You can’t even defeat my four Bone Demons, yet you dare try to ruin my plans?"

The Ghost King’s triumphant laughter echoed from within the Ancient Bronze Coffin. "Soon, the Rakshasa Ghosts will break the barrier and charge inside. Let’s see you try to escape then!"

Shen Lang snorted. "Your Bone Demons are impressive, I’ll give you that. It looks like you’ve invested a fortune into tempering their bones. But if you really think I can’t handle them, you’re dead wrong. The only reason I haven’t delivered the killing blow is because I don’t want to damage what’s mine. And these four Bone Demons of yours? I’m claiming them!"

"Shameless boasting!" the Ghost King laughed, his voice dripping with rage. "You couldn’t even handle five Rakshasa Ghosts, yet you dare claim you ’haven’t delivered the killing blow’? Your Profound Artifact may be powerful, but with your current Cultivation, you can only unleash half of its true power at most! It’s not nearly enough to break through the Bone Demons’ defenses!"

The Ghost King continued, "You surely haven’t realized it yet. I chose this treasured land specifically for my advancement. The Yin Qi here is richer than anywhere else in the entire Phoenix Mountain Range! The longer you stay here, the more the Yin Qi will invade your body. Soon, your Spiritual Power will fall into chaos, and you could suffer cultivation deviation at any moment! My Bone Demons, however, have a limitless, inexhaustible supply of energy in this environment! They can even absorb it to repair their injuries! Junior, how do you expect to fight me?"

"Heh, you sure do love to hear yourself talk. Still trying to stall for time, even now? But I’m afraid I don’t have time to waste on you,"

Shen Lang said, cracking his neck. He then did something shocking: he sheathed his longsword, sliding it back into the scabbard on his back.

’Hm? What is this kid... What’s he playing at?’ The Ghost King’s Divine Split outside the barrier was utterly baffled.

The longsword was Shen Lang’s most powerful weapon. And he just put it away? ’Does he think he can kill the Bone Demons with his bare fists?’

’How ridiculous!’

Just then, a shrill cry came from the Ancient Bronze Coffin: "Kill him for me!"

The four Bone Demons shuddered and erupted with a startling aura once more. With a series of thuds, they charged toward Shen Lang. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Shen Lang watched coldly as the four Bone Demons closed in, cracking his knuckles.

The Bone Demons’ skeletons were incredibly hard, but after using his "Burst," his strength would increase enough to cleave their skulls.

At first, Shen Lang had even considered using his superior speed to chop off all their limbs, disabling them before extinguishing the Soul Fire in their heads.

However, after failing to break a Bone Demon’s skull even with his full strength—and without using his Burst Secret Technique—Shen Lang had a different idea.

When he’d fought the Rakshasa Ghosts earlier, Shen Lang hadn’t known if the Ghost King had other tricks up his sleeve, and he hadn’t wanted a prolonged battle, so he hadn’t used his full strength.

If he had gone all out and seized an opportunity, he could have sliced a Rakshasa Ghost in two.

But the durability of these Bone Demons’ skeletons far surpassed that of the Rakshasa Ghosts!

According to the War Emperor’s memories, it was impossible for Bone Demons of this Cultivation Realm to have skeletons this tough.

The only explanation was that the Ghost King had used a Secret Technique or some kind of Medicinal Liquid to temper these Bone Demons for centuries, making them so durable that not even a Profound Artifact imbued with sharp Sword Intent could easily pierce their defenses!

’Something like this is a truly rare find.’

’Since the Ghost King has spent centuries refining them for me, it would be a waste to just chop them to pieces.’

So, after clanging away at them for a while and confirming that these Bone Demons were indeed "uniquely gifted," he became even more reluctant to destroy them.

An brilliant idea quickly took shape in his mind.

’I’ll use the Tai Chi Diagram to devour the Bone Demons’ Soul Fire! Then I’ll defeat and subdue the Rakshasa Ghosts and give them these Bone Demon bodies to inhabit! With the indestructible skeletons of the Bone Demons and the uncanny speed of the Rakshasa Ghosts, these new creations could easily slay even an expert at the Peak of the Spirit Martial Realm!’

Having settled on this plan, Shen Lang watched the four Bone Demons draw near, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Hahaha!"

With a wild laugh, Shen Lang’s figure flickered like a phantom. He slipped under the Giant Hammer of one of the Bone Demons by a hair’s breadth and appeared behind it in an instant!

Before the Bone Demon could react, Shen Lang splayed his fingers and clamped his hand onto the back of its skull.

This was an extremely dangerous move. If he got this close and failed to disable the Bone Demon in one go, a single backswing of its weapon could send him flying.

Shen Lang’s current physical strength was nowhere near a Bone Demon’s—if it were, he wouldn’t be scheming to take their bodies in the first place.

The moment his palm covered the back of the Bone Demon’s head, the Black and White Qi of the Tai Chi Diagram formed a vortex in his palm. In the blink of an eye, it passed through the creature’s hard skull and sucked out its Soul Fire!

"THUMP!"

With its Soul Fire gone, the Bone Demon lost its source of power and immediately collapsed to the ground.

Outside, the Rakshasa Ghosts and other phantoms that had been frantically attacking the barrier were dumbfounded. They instinctively stopped, staring blankly at the scene.

It was too bizarre, too insane!

The kid had been fighting for ages without being able to defeat the Bone Demons. How could he put away his Magical Treasure and then, with a casual grab of his bare hand, bring one down?

It was simply impossible!

A strange gurgling sound, "g-g-g," came from within the Ancient Bronze Coffin, its meaning unclear.

The other three Bone Demons only hesitated for a second, their swinging Bone Scythes slowing for a fraction of an instant. That was all the time Shen Lang needed to deal with them in the same fashion, felling them with ease.

"Hahahaha! Ghost King, your death is at hand!" The Sumeru Ring flashed with white light as Shen Lang stored all four Bone Demons inside, then he let out a wild laugh.

Defeating the Bone Demons was gratifying enough, but discovering that his Tai Chi Diagram was so effective against Soul Bodies made him ecstatic.

"Burst!"

For the first time since entering the barrier, Shen Lang used his Burst Secret Technique!

His power surged wildly as he shot into the air. While airborne, he reached out with his right hand and drew the Celestial Water Blade.

He concentrated all his strength, fusing Sword Intent and Thunder Power into his strongest possible strike, and brought it down upon the Ancient Bronze Coffin!

"Ghost King, prepare to die!"

His furious roar echoed throughout the barrier, as deafening as thunder from the heavens.