Strongest War Emperor

Naturally, Shen Lang hadn’t expected Bone One and Bone Two to be so direct and cringeworthy with their flattery. Just as he was about to scold them, he heard them all call Nalan Ziyun "Boss Lady" in unison. ’This is bad...’ he thought.

To his surprise, the ’enraged tigress’ he’d been expecting never materialized...

Nalan Ziyun merely snorted, walked over to the Ghost King, and slapped him on the back. "Old ghost, you’ve delayed us long enough. It’s time to stop messing around, right? Now send us on our way... Ugh, I mean, take us to Sorrow Swamp!"

The Ghost King, a bit overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, said, "Yes, yes! Someone, bring up my precious treasure! I am going to Sorrow Swamp with the Boss!"

In the distance, a group of minor ghosts, still recovering from their shock, immediately cheered and carried an object over.

The object was bronze, mottled with rust, and engraved with many strange characters. It was the lid of the very same Ancient Bronze Coffin that Shen Lang had previously split open.

Nalan Ziyun’s pretty face immediately darkened, and she nearly flew into a rage.

Her face flushed red as she held back her anger. She asked in a cold voice, "Old ghost, this thing is the ’treasure’ you were talking about? You plan on using this coffin lid to carry us?"

The Ghost King was startled by her expression but couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong.

"Um... Boss Lady, the treasure I mentioned is indeed this coffin lid. I found it deep within the Dark Forest. Its Defense Power is astonishing! You see, even when the Boss was so powerful and split the Ancient Bronze Coffin with one strike, this lid didn’t break. It’s a real treasure. And besides, it’s so noble and elegant..."

BANG!

Nalan Ziyun, nearly driven mad, kicked the coffin lid into the air. With a WHOOSH, it flew directly toward the Yinfeng Cave and fell inside.

The Ghost King froze for a second. The next moment, he let out a dry wail and zipped off, trying to retrieve his coffin lid.

Unfortunately, he was a step too slow and was blasted back out by the Profound Yin Qi from within the Yinfeng Cave. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Waaaaah... my coffin lid... my lovely coffin lid!"

All the grievances the Ghost King had suffered recently finally erupted. He cried with such earth-shaking sorrow that even Meng Jiangnu would have felt ashamed of her own efforts.

"Enough!" Shen Lang finally couldn’t take it anymore. "Your coffin lid is, at best, a Third or Fourth Grade Spirit Level Spiritual Artifact. Is it really worth crying like this? Damn it, you wanted to carry me on a coffin lid. She was being nice to you. I was just thinking about cutting you in half."

The Ghost King’s crying came to an abrupt halt.

"You’ve already advanced to the Xuanwu Realm. What could possibly compare to that? Besides, I’m an Artifact Refiner. What’s a mere Third or Fourth Grade Spiritual Artifact? I’ll forge a complete set of equipment for you all another day and arm you to the teeth!"

"I... I understand. Thank you, Boss. I won’t dare do it again."

Thinking about his advancement to the Xuanwu Realm, the old ghost felt much better. He still couldn’t forget his coffin lid, but he didn’t dare say another word about it.

Shen Lang suddenly stared at Bone One, not looking away until the Bone Demon felt a chill run down his spine. "Old ghost," Shen Lang said, "what did you use to temper the Bone Demons’ bones to this degree?"

"Jie jie jie!" The Ghost King immediately let out a triumphant laugh. "Come, my minions! Prepare a sedan chair for the Boss. I’m taking him somewhere."

...

Within the Dark Forest, a group of ghosts carried a sedan chair woven from vines, running at high speed.

Everywhere they passed, oppressive Yin Qi billowed out, and dust swirled into the air.

The various Demon Beasts and venomous insects of the forest saw them and immediately fled, not daring to get close.

Shen Lang was currently lying in the sedan chair, resting with his eyes closed.

He had used his Burst Secret Technique and Silver Eyes of Truth multiple times, and on top of that, had acted as a conduit to transfer Profound Yin Qi for the Ghost King’s advancement. He was utterly exhausted.

Right now, not only was his body extremely weak, but his Spiritual Power was also depleted, and his Sea of Consciousness was drained...

Thankfully, he now had the Ghost King and the four Bone Demons as support, so he was taking this opportunity to get some much-needed rest.

While he lay on the sedan chair, recuperating with his eyes closed, the Ghost King transformed into a small black orb and attached himself to Shen Lang’s shoulder, acting as his guard.

As for Nalan Ziyun and the four Bone Demons, they were having a much better time. They were currently inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, playing drinking games.

The small pocket of space inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron had taken on a completely new look.

A small wooden cabin had been built, surrounded by a thick layer of soil where various flowers and grasses were planted.

This was all the result of Nalan Ziyun ordering the four Bone Demons and the Ghost King around.

The Ghost King had originally cut down a large tree to build himself an exquisite new coffin. He’d even placed it just outside Nalan Ziyun’s new yard. But when she saw it, she stomped it into splinters with a few kicks. After that, he never dared to build another coffin.

On the grassy lawn of the small courtyard, several jars of strong liquor and a large pile of Spirit Stones were laid out. Nalan Ziyun and the four Bone Demons sat in a circle.

This liquor was brewed from special Spirit Medicines, strong enough to make even a ghost drunk silly.

As for the Spirit Stones, Shen Lang had given them to the four Bone Demons for their short-term Cultivation—one thousand stones per demon.

Nalan Ziyun posed a question to Bone Four: "How many suns are in the sky?" Bone Four answered, "One."

She asked Bone Three, "How many moons are in the sky?" Bone Three answered, "One."

She asked Bone Two, "Which is bigger, the sun or the moon?" Bone Two answered, "The sun."

When it was Bone One’s turn, Nalan Ziyun asked, "How many stars are in the sky?"

Bone One hemmed and hawed for a long time but couldn’t get a single word out.

Nalan Ziyun pushed a jar of liquor toward him. "Drink!"

As she said this, she casually swept a portion of the Spirit Stones in front of Bone One over to her own pile.

Nalan Ziyun continued with her questions. To Bone Four: "How many heads does a Seven-winged Centipede have?" He answered, "One."

To Bone Three: "How many eyes does a Seven-winged Centipede have?" He answered, "Two."

To Bone Two: "How many antennae does a Seven-winged Centipede have?" He answered, "Two."

Bone One suddenly caught on and hurriedly said, "Wait! You can’t ask me how many legs a Seven-winged Centipede has..."

Nalan Ziyun snorted coldly. "Then what else am I not allowed to ask?"

Bone One tilted his head and thought for a moment. "You can’t ask about numbers."

Nalan Ziyun sneered and asked, "A Seven-winged Centipede has fifty-six legs. When it walks, which leg moves first?"

...Bone One wordlessly sucked down another jar of strong liquor as another pile of his Spirit Stones vanished from in front of him.

Nalan Ziyun continued her questioning. To Bone Four: "How tall am I?"

Bone Four glanced at Nalan Ziyun and calmly replied, "Five-foot-nine."

To Bone Three: "How long is my hair?"

Bone Three answered, "A little over two feet long."

...

Nalan Ziyun looked at Bone One, sneering. "So, what else is off-limits?"

Bone One tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, "You can’t ask how many hairs are on your head. Anyway, no questions with numbers, and no questions about which leg moves first."

Nalan Ziyun nodded, then asked, "Of all the hairs on my head, which one is the thickest?"

...Yet another pile of Spirit Stones vanished from in front of Bone One.

The Spirit Stones had barely warmed his pockets before more than half were gone in a flash. Bone One wanted to cry, but had no tears.

At this point, even Shen Lang, who was resting with his eyes closed, couldn’t bear to watch any longer. His voice echoed inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, "Hey, I gave them those Spirit Stones for their Cultivation. Don’t you think you’re going a bit too far, bullying them like this?"

The corners of Nalan Ziyun’s mouth curled into a smile. "I just saw that they weren’t too sharp, so I’m helping you train their minds. Besides, I’m being perfectly fair. Didn’t you notice? The others have barely lost any Spirit Stones. It’s only this one—the one who tried the hardest when he was hunting you—who’s losing a little... Relax, relax. You’ve struck it rich anyway. You have plenty of Spirit Stones, so you won’t miss a few."

...Shen Lang was at a loss for words.

Whether one was a man or a ghost, being on a woman’s bad side was a terrifying thing indeed.

Bone One looked at the paltry few Spirit Stones left before him and started to cry, "Boss Lady, the guy who tried the hardest was already turned to dust by the Boss’s Magical Treasure! That wasn’t me..."

"I meant that besides the one who died, you were the one who tried the hardest. Do you dare deny it?" Nalan Ziyun’s face was full of Killing Intent.

With a THUD, Bone One fell to the ground and didn’t get up. It was impossible to tell if he had fainted from anger, fear, or drunkenness.

...

"Boss, we’re here." The Ghost King’s gloomy voice suddenly rang out.

Shen Lang, who had been mentally practicing the Nine Revolutions of Life and Death Mysterious Technique with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. In the dark of the night, flashes of lightning seemed to arc within his pupils.

The group of ghosts carrying Shen Lang had traveled like the wind for the better part of a day, journeying from noon until nightfall to reach this place.

They were at the edge of a cliff on a great mountain.

Looking up, about a hundred meters away, a waterfall hundreds of meters high cascaded down from the peak. It thundered into the river below the cliff, its roar like rolling thunder. A misty spray filled the air in all directions, shrouding the area in a formless, ethereal haze.

The river at the foot of the cliff surged eastward, like a thrashing Evil Dragon baring its fangs and claws, roaring ferociously.

Shen Lang’s gaze didn’t linger on the waterfall to his right for long; instead, it shifted to the Heaven’s Edge in the distance to his left.

This "Heaven’s Edge" was a long, narrow stone passage squeezed between two high cliff faces. It was no more than two meters wide, narrowing to only half a meter in some places, allowing just one person to pass through at a time.

"The Cold Pool you mentioned, is it on the other side of this Heaven’s Edge?"

Shen Lang’s expression grew serious as he felt the cold air emanating from within Heaven’s Edge.

It was the middle of winter, but the Dark Forest was not particularly cold. Moreover, having reached the Spirit Martial Realm, Shen Lang was virtually immune to the extremes of heat and cold. Yet, standing before this Heaven’s Edge, he felt as if he were a child again, walking bare-chested into the snow.

It was bone-chillingly cold!

The Ghost King floated in the air and said respectfully, "Yes. The Cold Pool is on the other side of Heaven’s Edge. The cold inside is overwhelming and strangely unpredictable. Even I can only stay inside for three hours at most. These minor ghosts can’t even get within several hundred feet of Heaven’s Edge."

Shen Lang vaulted off the sedan chair. "Dismiss them," he said, walking toward Heaven’s Edge. "You’re the only one who needs to come with me."

This Heaven’s Edge was truly a masterpiece of nature’s uncanny workmanship. Walking within it and looking up, the sky was reduced to a single, narrow line.

The stone walls on either side of Heaven’s Edge were known as the Yin Yang Walls. The Yin Wall, the western cliff face, was exposed rock where not a single blade of grass grew.

The Yang Wall, the eastern cliff face, was lush with vegetation and teeming with life.

Shen Lang circulated his energy to resist the biting cold as he walked through Heaven’s Edge, arriving at the edge of a small, cold pool.

The Cold Pool was no more than fifty yards square. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the area around it was barren, with nothing but smooth, bluish stones.

An intimidatingly cold aura surged from the water’s surface, a chill that struck fear deep into one’s heart.

According to the Ghost King, he had placed the four Bone Demons in this Cold Pool for over three hundred years, tempering their skeletons to the point where even Shen Lang’s Prison Guardian Blade Technique could barely damage them.

Shen Lang stared intently at the Cold Pool, then suddenly crouched down and touched his palm to the placid surface of the water.

HSSS...

Amid the rising vapor, a thick layer of ice crystals instantly formed on Shen Lang’s palm!

A feeling of extraordinary, bone-deep cold instantly swept through his entire body. Shen Lang couldn’t help but shiver as he immediately snatched his hand back.

It was a cold that felt like it could freeze even the soul!

The chill even penetrated past his wrist, attempting to invade his Sea of Consciousness. It was bizarre to the extreme.

Shen Lang gave his wrist a slight shake. With a flicker of Spirit Light, the thick layer of ice immediately shattered into several pieces and fell to the ground.

’Such an incredible cold is almost unimaginable. Even at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven, I find it this difficult to resist! And despite this intense cold, the Cold Pool itself isn’t frozen, nor is there any ice around it... There’s an Icy Intent of an Ice Soul in the water. This isn’t natural. It seems there must be something at the bottom.’

A flicker in Shen Lang’s eyes, and his Silver Eyes of Truth activated, peering down into the depths of the Cold Pool...