Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang had merely "touched" the heads of the Bone Demons, yet he had incapacitated all four of the meticulously forged creatures.

This move not only stunned the myriad ghosts outside, but the Ghost King inside the Ancient Bronze Coffin was clearly startled as well.

No one could figure out what had just happened.

Shen Lang obviously hadn’t used any Heaven-defying Magical Treasure. And while his attacks were powerful, his cultivation was clearly only at the First or Second Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm...

And yet, he had somehow managed to pull off the impossible!

This was the Ghost King’s trump card. The Bone Demons’ cultivation surpassed the Eighth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm; even the five Rakshasa Ghosts outside would have been no match for them. Yet, they had been incapacitated with such ease.

The Ancient Bronze Coffin fell silent, and outside, the myriad ghosts forgot to attack the barrier.

...

In truth, this was the first time Shen Lang had ever used the Tai Chi Diagram to absorb a soul.

Although the Tai Chi Diagram was powerful and possessed a devouring ability, when Shen Lang hunted Demon Beasts, he always started with their flesh and blood. He had almost never directly devoured a Demon Beast’s soul.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t, but that he couldn’t. Or rather, it was extremely difficult.

In any living creature or Demon Beast, the soul is inextricably bound to the physical body. Even for something as heaven-defying as the Tai Chi Diagram, directly extracting a soul was nearly impossible—at least, Shen Lang was completely incapable of it at his current stage.

But the Bone Demons were an exception.

The entirety of a Bone Demon’s power resided in the Soul Fire within its skull.

This Soul Fire was, in fact, the Bone Demon’s soul. The skull and the rest of the skeleton were merely a vessel for it. Unlike in other living beings, the soul was not tightly bound to its physical form.

It was very likely that the Ghost King had simply captured some lesser ghosts and forced their Soul Fires into these skeletons. They could leave their "shells" at any time to inhabit other bodies.

This was the Bone Demon’s greatest weakness!

Of course, this weakness only mattered when facing Shen Lang or an expert skilled in soul-based techniques.

That was why, when Shen Lang gave it a try, he had managed to directly suck out the Soul Fires of all four Bone Demons.

And with that one move, a flash of inspiration struck Shen Lang. ’The Tai Chi Diagram’s speed at absorbing Soul Bodies or Primordial Power is far greater than its speed at devouring physical matter!’

’In other words, against powerful Demon Beasts, the Tai Chi Diagram can only be used as a finishing move, finding the right opportunity to devour their flesh and blood to inflict heavy damage. But against this horde of ghosts, I can just brazenly and crazily devour them!’

’The Tai Chi Diagram is the bane of all Soul Bodies and Spirit Bodies!’

’After I get back, I have to study this. Using the Tai Chi Diagram, I can definitely create an unpredictable and earth-shattering new technique!’

...

After this unexpected discovery, Shen Lang no longer hesitated. He soared into the air and swung his blade at the Ancient Bronze Coffin with all his might!

This was his ultimate goal for barging in here!

This one slash concentrated all of Shen Lang’s strength, Sword Intent, and Thunder Power.

It was incomparably tyrannical!

He intended to force the Ghost King out of the Ancient Bronze Coffin with a single strike!

As expected!

Just as Shen Lang’s heaven-shaking blade light was about to strike the Ancient Bronze Coffin, a pitch-black ghost claw, as large as a giant’s hand, shot out from the coffin and grabbed the blade light that was several yards long.

The ghosts outside were about to cheer when a wretched scream echoed from within the Ancient Bronze Coffin. Then, they watched as the giant ghost claw erupted in eerie black smoke amid flashes of lightning before vanishing into nothing.

The light from Shen Lang’s blade dimmed slightly, but it continued its descent, hacking viciously into the Ancient Bronze Coffin!

With a deafening BOOM, the Ancient Bronze Coffin was split in two. A horrifying corpse, which had been sitting cross-legged, appeared on the ground before instantly transforming into a black shadow that shot out in a flustered rage.

"You despicable brat! I will devour your flesh, flay your skin, and break your bones! Only by subjecting you to endless years of Soul Extraction and Refining will the hatred in my heart be sated!"

The Ghost King roared in fury, and with a flicker, his figure vanished into thin air.

The Ghost King had gravely underestimated Shen Lang. On one hand, he was certain that Shen Lang’s cultivation was only around the Second Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm. On the other, Shen Lang had been holding back his true strength the entire time, from the moment he was besieged by the Rakshasa Ghosts to when he cut down the Bone Demons.

Moreover, he had barely used his Burst Secret Technique when attacking...

To say nothing of the incomparably tyrannical and indestructible Sword Intent contained within his Sword Qi, the overwhelming Thunder Power he’d gained from refining the Thunder Dragon was not something the Ghost King could handle!

After all, this Thunder Power was a force of Supreme Yang and Firmness—the natural bane of all ghosts and evil creatures!

Due to his carelessness, he had been utterly humiliated by Shen Lang’s strike!

The Ghost King was furious and flustered, but Shen Lang wasn’t feeling much better himself.

He had unleashed that strike with his full power in a burst state, yet in a direct clash with the Ghost King, it had only inflicted a minor injury. He couldn’t help but be inwardly horrified!

Shen Lang had guessed that the Ghost King should be extremely weak on the eve of his breakthrough, but now, something seemed off.

Dragging his long blade, Shen Lang radiated his Divine Thought outwards and cautiously took a few steps.

’To the left!’

Sensing a tremor in the air, Shen Lang abruptly spun around and slashed horizontally!

PFFT!

The blade struck the pouncing black mist, but Shen Lang felt as if he had sliced into a ball of cotton, unable to exert any force at all!

’This old ghost really is strange!’

Startled, Shen Lang willed it, and a torrent of berserk Thunder Power instantly surged out, blasting toward the black mist.

"JIE JIE JIE!"

The Ghost King cackled strangely, and the black mist flickered, vanishing without a trace once more.

’So fast!’

Shen Lang’s eyes narrowed. Electric light flashed on his long blade as he instantly unleashed more than ten slashes in all directions!

CH-CH-CH!

Shen Lang’s rampaging Sword Qi immediately carved deep gashes into the ground.

’This old ghost is so cunning. He’s at the Peak of the Spirit Martial Realm, yet after suffering one small setback, he’s resorting to guerrilla tactics against me!’

’I haven’t had time to properly study the Sword Intent I comprehended while fighting the Netherworld Wolf King; it’s probably not enough to deal with this old ghost. The Thunder Power in my vortex is more than enough to obliterate him, but he’s too cautious and cunning. The moment he sees lightning flash on my Celestial Water Blade, he flees, making it hard to find an opportunity!’

’My Silver Eyes of Truth can see through his movements, but my own actions can’t keep up with his speed. The Tai Chi Diagram is powerful, but I don’t know if it will work on a ghost of this level. If it fails on the first try, he’ll become wary, and it will be difficult to try the same trick again... Looks like this is going to be trouble.’

Shen Lang’s gaze swept slowly across the surroundings as his mind raced, several thoughts flashing through his head.

"Hahaha, I am without form or shadow! I was invincible from the start. What can you possibly do to me?" The Ghost King’s hoarse, ethereal voice drifted from the air. "How much Spiritual Power do you have left? How much Thunder Power? I’ll just wear you down until you die!"

"Every sip and every peck is a matter of fate! Heaven must have taken pity on my arduous cultivation. Though you’ve ruined my breakthrough, you’ve delivered such a perfect body to me—so young, so powerful! It’s as if it were tailor-made for me! Haha!"

"As long as I devour your delicious soul and seize this body, my cultivation will skyrocket! Before long, once I have fully integrated with this body, ascending to the Xuanwu Realm will be as easy as flipping my hand!"

Shen Lang remained silent as the Ghost King’s ethereal voice echoed continuously throughout the valley, its source impossible to pinpoint.

At the same time, the ghosts outside began to attack the barrier with even greater fervor, trying to charge in. The sound of their assault was unending.

"Jie jie jie! After I achieve Possession and reconstruct a physical body, the world will be my oyster... Ah, the body of a human woman... I haven’t touched one in so many years. After I take your body, I must enjoy myself thoroughly! Heaven has been good to me... Brat, don’t you understand yet? You are a gift sent to me by heaven! This is your destiny! It is preordained!"

The Ghost King unleashed his Soul-Hooking Ghost Sound, continuously trying to provoke Shen Lang and shatter his will, hoping to settle everything with a final, decisive blow.

"You want my body? We’ll see if you have what it takes. I’m standing right here. Why don’t you come and try to take it?"

Shen Lang snorted coldly. Countless arcs of electricity suddenly erupted from his body, and three thigh-thick Thunder Dragons coiled around him, roaring ceaselessly.

WHOOSH!

A sharp, piercing sound came from behind him.

Shen Lang moved, sidestepping a couple of paces and swinging his blade back in a swift counter.

CLANG!

The Celestial Water Blade struck a fist-sized, blue-green bead with unerring accuracy.

Energy erupted on impact. Shen Lang felt an immense force travel up the Celestial Water Blade, and he was sent stumbling backward, unable to control his momentum.

’Behind me!’

Before he could even regain his balance, Shen Lang instantly swung his blade twice behind him.

But there was nothing there; both slashes hit empty air.

’This old ghost is at least three times faster than the Netherworld Wolf King! If he keeps pestering me like this, I’ll be stuck on the defensive, taking hits...’

The moment that thought crossed Shen Lang’s mind, the green bead from before spun in mid-air and shot toward him again!

BANG!

This time, Shen Lang was forced back more than ten feet.

’This old ghost really has some tricks!’

A sweet taste rose in Shen Lang’s throat as a mouthful of blood welled up. He forced it back down.

He then circulated his Thunder Power, completely expelling the Dark Evil Power that had invaded his body.

The gap in their cultivation was indeed significant. Even though Shen Lang was powerful and his Celestial Water Blade was a Profound Artifact, he was still struggling against the Ghost King’s attacks.

In a direct confrontation, Shen Lang was confident the Ghost King couldn’t withstand a single all-out strike from him.

However, his "Burst" state couldn’t be maintained for long. Besides, the old ghost was insidious and cunning, refusing to face him head-on and instead using a Magical Treasure to continuously attack and wear him down.

If this entanglement continued, even if the Rakshasa Ghosts and other creatures outside didn’t break in, and even if his Spiritual Power was inexhaustible, his physical body probably wouldn’t be able to hold out.

"Be careful! I see the grass moving behind you! The old ghost might be there!" Seeing Shen Lang in a bind, Nalan Ziyun, from within the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, finally couldn’t resist calling out a warning.

Hearing Nalan Ziyun’s voice, Shen Lang suddenly felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the clear sky.

’Why didn’t I think of this before? I can give him a taste of his own medicine! If the Ghost King can wear me down, I can do the same to him!’

At this thought, Shen Lang burst into wild laughter. "Hahaha! Old ghost, you keep yourself busy. I’m getting tired, so I’m going to take a little break!"

"Jie jie jie, so you can get tired too? This is my domain! My turf, my rules! You think you can rest without my permission... Fuck! Where is he? Where’d he go?!"