Strongest War Emperor

"Miss, we shouldn’t linger here. As for that young man, we can ask around about him later. Since he appeared here, he’s likely from Celestial Phoenix City, so you’ll have another chance to see him."

Uncle Zhou’s eye twitched uncontrollably as he looked at the bloody footprints.

Although he hadn’t seen Shen Lang’s face, he could tell from his voice that he wasn’t very old. He was probably around the same age as the young lady, perhaps even a bit younger.

To have such a high cultivation at his age was already terrifying, and on top of that, he was an incredibly skilled Alchemist!

What was even more frightening was the young man’s mind...

Not only had he calculated everything, but he had also controlled the entire battle.

If Deng Jianchen hadn’t foolishly interfered and upset the balance, he probably wouldn’t have been so severely injured.

’If I hadn’t taken that Barbaric Strength Pill a few months ago, he might not have been forced into such a desperate fight.’

But even in that desperate fight, the situation remained under his control, which is why everyone managed to survive in the end.

And after using that Secret Technique—one that causes great harm to the body—multiple times, the injuries he must have sustained were likely...

Even so, he never once made a sound of pain.

Suddenly, as if he’d remembered something, a look of delight appeared in Uncle Zhou’s eyes. "Miss, I remember now! That young man used the Thunder Control Divine Technique. That’s an exclusive secret technique of the Profound Iron Level Sect, the Profound Dao Sect! He must be a disciple of the Profound Dao Sect. If we can’t find him in Celestial Phoenix City, we can go to the Profound Dao Sect to look for him!"

"Mm, I understand." A smile finally appeared on Shui Qingwu’s lips. "Uncle Zhou, this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s take Jianchen and leave first. Judging by the time, the people from Celestial Phoenix City should be arriving soon."

"Alright!"

A Beast Escape Chapter in their hands flashed with light, and two Fiery Demon Wolves were released.

These were extremely fast Spirit Beasts used for transportation, and they were very precious.

The two of them mounted the Fiery Demon Wolves, and Uncle Zhou, carrying Deng Jianchen, galloped toward Celestial Phoenix City.

Atop her Fiery Demon Wolf, Shui Qingwu glanced back, her eyes misty.

’’If you’re going to leave, then just leave. But why not even glance back? Am I that ugly...’’

Far away in the depths of the jungle, at the edge of her line of sight, Shen Lang sealed the entrance to the pit with a large boulder. Then he sat down cross-legged and began cultivating to heal his wounds.

He was extremely weak. His muscles were stiff, blood was still trickling down his body, and his head was starting to feel groggy.

To his pleasant surprise, he discovered a faint stream of green energy coursing through his meridians, repairing the damage. The horrifying wounds all over his body were healing at a rapid pace...

’’It’s the energy from that mysterious green liquid. I used up so much of it last time. I can’t believe the little that was left is still so effective!’’

Shen Lang calmed his mind and began to circulate the Spiritual Power within his body... Even if the mysterious energy was heaven-defying, there wasn’t much left inside him. He had to conserve what he could; this was life-saving stuff.

Meanwhile, Shui Qingwu’s group met up with the rescue party from Celestial Phoenix City, and they all finally entered the city safely.

When the various powers in Celestial Phoenix City heard that a Demon Corpse had appeared outside the city, they all reacted as if facing a great enemy. Each sent out their elites to investigate, and the once-peaceful city was thrown into a state of tense activity overnight.

What Shen Lang didn’t know was that a few dozen miles from his current location, a very familiar figure was standing leisurely, admiring the scenery.

The young man in the white robe had an exceptionally handsome, sharply-defined face. His dark, deep eyes shone with a captivating light. His thick brows, high-bridged nose, and perfectly shaped lips all spoke of nobility and elegance. At this moment, with his hands behind his back, he was looking up at the sky.

However, the sky was filled with dark clouds, threatening a downpour at any moment. It was hard to say what he found so interesting to look at.

"I believe I just heard you say... that you were going to slaughter my brother’s entire family?" he said softly, slowly turning around.

Following his gaze, one could see a pair of green, lantern-like eyes in the pitch-black night, staring at him in terror. It was none other than the Gu Corpse that had escaped the battle with Uncle Zhou!

But what did the young man’s words mean?

A Gu Corpse could only make strange noises or sharp shrieks, so how could it talk?

The Gu Corpse’s eyes were filled with fear. It subconsciously took a step back, and a human voice emanated from its chest, "How dare a mere junior like you block my path? Do you have a death wish?"

"That... I really don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?" the white-robed youth chuckled. "But since you’ve offended my brother, I do know that your death is imminent. Although you are merely a wisp of Divine Thought inhabiting this Gu Corpse, it won’t be too difficult to find your true self in Celestial Phoenix City."

"You’re courting death!" the Gu Corpse roared, lunging forward like a whirlwind.

Before its body even arrived, its thorn-covered tail was already sweeping over, carrying powerful momentum and a piercing whistle.

The white-robed youth, who had been smiling all along, stood rooted to the spot. A sharp sword suffused with a clear aura suddenly appeared in the depths of his eyes. Then, he casually extended his right hand, joined two fingers, and swiped through the air...

A flash of lightning split the Azure Vault, vanishing in an instant.

Before anyone could see what had happened, the lunging Gu Corpse was suddenly split in two. Its upper half even took two more steps forward before crashing to the ground. The moment it hit the dirt, it instantly disintegrated into ash, leaving not a single trace behind!

"Tsk. I’m always the one stuck doing this stuff. Do I look like someone who’s bored out of his mind? Heh, it’s a lonely life." The white-robed youth shook his head helplessly, his expression surprisingly similar to Shen Lang’s.

He patted the Beast Escape Chapter at his waist, and an ordinary little donkey appeared.

"Xiaofei, we haven’t seen Xiaolang in months. You must miss him, right? Come on, let’s go home first—whoa! Who told you to run up the mountain? I said let’s go home first..." The white-robed youth tried to drag the little donkey back, finally managing to climb on top of it.

As he rode the little donkey toward Celestial Phoenix City, he turned his head slightly and glanced casually toward the sky, his lips curling into a grin that revealed a row of perfectly white teeth.

The forest fell silent once more. The heavy rain seemed imminent.

After a long moment, a figure flickered into existence right where the white-robed youth had been looking. A middle-aged man with blue hair appeared.

’’How strange. What did that glance of his mean? Could he have seen through my cover? How is that possible?’’ the blue-haired man muttered to himself uncertainly. ’’This little Celestial Phoenix City is really full of hidden experts. I’ve already seen two juniors of astonishing talent, and now a creature of the Demon Dao like a Gu Corpse has appeared. Oh well, what does any of this have to do with me? I just need to protect my young lady.’’

His body twisted and he vanished bizarrely into thin air.

A moment later, a vortex materialized in the sky. Hong Yu slowly walked out of it, cast a faint glance at the spot where the blue-haired man had disappeared, then turned her gaze toward the lofty, perilous mountain peak.

That was the exact location where Shen Lang was healing his wounds...

While this part of the Phoenix Mountain Range returned to calm, a storm was brewing in the basement of the City Lord’s Mansion in Celestial Phoenix City.

A figure seated imposingly on a Golden Chair let out a beast-like roar.

The person wore a cloak, most of their face hidden. Not only that, but a strange black mist swirled around their body, making them look Gloomy and Terrifying.

He let out an exceptionally furious shriek. The sound was sometimes like a wild beast’s, chilling one to the bone, and at other times like the grating of metal on metal, an unbearable pain to the eardrums.

WHOOSH! The figure extended two hands like beast claws. With the force of a whirlwind, the two Maids trembling on either side were instantly seized by an immense force and dragged over.

"My lord, spare me... urk..."

The two Maids barely managed a cry before they went silent, their eyes wide with terror—they had died with their eyes wide open.

Blood shot out like arrows from the holes the cloaked figure’s fingers had punched into their necks. Then, as if controlled by some force, the streams of blood all curved in mid-air and flowed into the cloaked figure’s mouth.

RUMBLE...

Amidst a great rumbling, the Stone Gate of the basement slid to one side, and a middle-aged man in a brocade robe walked in. He had a dignified bearing, but his eyes were cold and sinister.

Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man’s eyes grew even colder.

He flicked his brocade robe, sat down, and asked lightly, "What has angered you so? Has there been an unexpected turn of events?"

The cloaked figure tossed the two corpses aside and said in a hoarse voice, "The Demon Corpse I worked so hard to refine and my most powerful Gu Corpse have both been killed... In a little while, I expect someone will deliver the news to you."

"Such a thing happened?!" The previously composed middle-aged man turned pale with shock. He shot to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He paced back and forth in the basement, his hands clasped behind his back, his voice rising. "I told you to be more discreet! I told you not to let your Demon Corpses go around killing people, lest you attract unwanted attention! And now look where it’s gotten us! Tell me, what do we do now? We haven’t found the Nine Immortals Lingzhi, and your Demon Corpses have been completely wiped out! How are we supposed to find the Nine Immortals Lingzhi now?"

Before the cloaked figure could speak, he continued furiously, "We may have locked the position of the Nine Immortals Lingzhi to a hundred-li radius, but it’s extremely sensitive to the aura of humans and beasts. The moment it detects one, it immediately burrows underground and flees far away! That’s why I had you send out all your lifeless Demon Corpses to quickly narrow down the search area, and now... You and I have known each other for years. I’ve always known you to be very cautious. How could you be so careless this time?"

The cloaked figure snorted coldly. "You make it sound so easy. Do you think sending the Demon Corpses to search for the Nine Immortals Lingzhi doesn’t take effort? If they don’t consume human blood daily, even I can’t control them after a while! How was I supposed to know that experts would appear in a place like the Phoenix Mountain Range?"

"Experts? In Celestial Phoenix City, besides me, the City Lord, with my Late Stage Spirit Martial Realm cultivation, there are only a few old-timers from Tayun Academy and the Celestial God Academy. Don’t tell me your Demon Corpses ran into those old-timers?" the middle-aged man said, startled.

This middle-aged man was none other than the City Lord of Celestial Phoenix City, known as the most powerful person in the city, the Spirit Martial Realm Eighth Heaven expert, Ye Xiao Zheng!

"It wasn’t them. I have no reason to provoke them right now! The ones who killed my Demon Corpse and Gu Corpse were two young men!"

"Two young men? How is that possible?" Ye Xiao Zheng said in disbelief.