Strongest War Emperor

Shu Lan said softly, "If we were in an open area, with Senior Brother Kou here, it wouldn’t be too hard for us to team up and kill a Fourth Level Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon. But inside a cave..."

Kou Xiaotian waved his hand and said, "That’s why we can’t drag this out. We have to make it a quick fight and not give the Demon Beast a chance to escape. I’ve prepared something for this, something we can all use."

As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized bottle.

The bottle was filled with a deep purple liquid, which shimmered with a dazzling, mesmerizing color under the sunlight.

"What is this?" Xia Xiaoting asked, puzzled.

"This is a specially made poison, refined from the legendary Sea of Hatred Stone and dozens of other materials. It’s not extremely potent and isn’t particularly harmful to humans, but it’s the bane of all serpentine Demon Beasts. Within minutes, it can paralyze a massive serpentine Demon Beast, rendering it completely immobile."

Kou Xiaotian explained eloquently.

"The Sea of Hatred Stone is a very peculiar item. Legend has it that when a Demon Beast called the Red Dragon Snake reached the Tenth Level, it failed its Transformation. To vent its resentment, it spat its breath onto a rock. For over a hundred years, it spat unceasingly, shaping the rock into a mushroom and imbuing it with venom, making it incredibly toxic. This is how the Sea of Hatred Stone was formed."

"The poison refined from this stone is the bane of all serpentine Demon Beasts. I happened to acquire a bottle of it, and now we can put it to good use, haha! Come on, everyone, take out your weapons. We’ll coat them with this poison first. The effect will last for three hours!"

"When we face the Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon, we’ll start from a distance. We’ll have Junior Sister Shu Lan attack with her Phoenix Feather Bow to poison it first. Afterward, the beast will go berserk and surely charge straight at us!"

"We’ll fight while retreating, luring it to a more open area. By then, the poison will have taken effect, and the Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon will basically be ours for the taking!"

With that, Kou Xiaotian urged everyone to take out their weapons and apply the poison.

"Shen Lang, your saber!"

Xia Xiaoting saw that everyone else had taken out their weapons, but Shen Lang was still distractedly sipping his wine. She immediately fumed with anger.

"Huh?" Shen Lang, who had been talking with Zuo Wentian in his mind, was taken aback. "Oh, my saber won’t need it."

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere immediately turned a little strange.

’What did he mean, it won’t need it? This is a team that’s going to hunt a Demon Beast. Everyone is a part of it. How could he just say it’s not needed? Is he really planning to just stand back and watch the show instead of joining the fight?’

Xia Xiaoting’s face turned pale with anger.

How could she know of Shen Lang’s predicament...

Although the Immortal Celestial Saber now had the Howling Moon Celestial Wolf Soul as its Artifact Spirit, the Wolf Soul had not yet fully merged with the blade. If he drew it without the special scabbard to shield its aura, the Immortal Celestial Saber’s incomparably berserk presence would be revealed instantly.

It wasn’t that Shen Lang absolutely had to hide it.

It was just that from the very beginning, he felt the Immortal Celestial Saber was far more than a simple Imperial Artifact.

He had long known how powerful and strange the saber was. The main reason he was unwilling to draw it was that he feared the others wouldn’t be able to withstand its berserk aura.

"Junior... Junior Brother... Th-this is... this is... n-not... right!" Even the good-natured Chen Shiyuan couldn’t stand it anymore.

Chen Shiyuan’s face flushed red as he said, "W-we... are... a... team..."

"We are a team. Every single person has a responsibility to the others. Junior Brother Shen Lang, as your senior brother, I have to call you out on this." Kou Xiaotian continued where Chen Shiyuan left off. "Even though you’re not the main fighter, you’re still a member of the team! If you’re going to be this uncooperative, we won’t be able to team up with you again."

For Kou Xiaotian, who always focused on the big picture and maintaining harmony, to speak so bluntly meant Shen Lang’s actions had truly crossed a line.

"Senior Brother..." Shu Lan immediately grew anxious, looking at Kou Xiaotian with a pleading gaze.

Shen Lang was silent for a moment before saying softly, "My saber... cannot be drawn lightly. I... I really don’t know how to explain it. I’m sorry, everyone."

"You!" Xia Xiaoting exploded with rage.

’What kind of excuse is that? Cannot be drawn lightly? If you can’t draw it lightly, why are you even carrying it on your back?’

Kou Xiaotian raised a hand to stop the furious Xia Xiaoting and sighed. "Forget it. I wasn’t counting on Junior Brother Shen Lang to be the main force in hunting the Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon anyway. The role he can play will be very limited. Let’s just leave it at that."

Kou Xiaotian stopped Xia Xiaoting, who was on the verge of exploding, and cut the topic short.

However, his voice had already grown a little cold. Even a fool could see that getting them to team up with Shen Lang again in the future would be next to impossible.

Carrying dead weight was one thing, but no one wanted to bring along someone so tactless.

A person’s tactlessness could bring unpredictable danger to others, to the entire team.

Kou Xiaotian snorted lightly and continued, "The Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon is covered in scales. These scales are harder than Profound Iron, so normal physical attacks are largely ineffective."

"Not only is the Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon extremely fast, but it’s also immensely powerful. If you get hit by its tail, even a Martial Artist at the Third or Fourth Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm would suffer broken bones and torn tendons."

"At the same time, the venom it spits is incredibly potent and highly corrosive. If even a single drop touches your skin, it will quickly spread throughout your entire body. It also covers a very wide area. Therefore, we must use ranged attacks. Do not let it get close. If it targets you, retreat immediately and find cover behind rocks or in crevices."

"Its weakest point is about three feet behind its lower jaw. The scales in that area are relatively thin. When we get the chance, we’ll focus our ranged attacks there."

"Understood." Xia Xiaoting and the others’ hearts tightened. They nodded with grave expressions.

Seeing their expressions, Kou Xiaotian couldn’t help but smile. "Just perform as you normally would. Don’t worry so much. No matter what, it’s just a Fourth Level Demon Beast. We can definitely handle it."

"Besides, this Demon Beast’s body is huge. There’ll be enough for each of us to make a set of Scale Armor and Inner Armor! With that armor, we’ll be able to get better results in the year-end grand competition three months from now!"

Kou Xiaotian’s last sentence finally seemed to lift their spirits, and the mood wasn’t quite as heavy anymore.

"Alright, since everyone is ready, let’s move out! After we deal with this Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon, we’ll move on to the next target!" Kou Xiaotian waved his arm and stood up.

...

「Shuiyun Stream, before Xuanying Cave.」

Shen Lang’s group of five stood at the entrance to Xuanying Cave, all of them silent.

The entrance to Xuanying Cave was enormous, over forty meters in diameter. From a distance, it looked like the gaping, blood-red maw of a giant beast, giving off a Gloomy and Terrifying feeling.

Up close, it was like standing before the mouth of a behemoth. A chilling Yin Qi emanated from within, making one hesitant to take another step forward.

The stone walls inside Xuanying Cave were dotted with numerous glowing Xuanying stones, shimmering with dream-like light. These stones, with their kaleidoscopic and fantastical colors, helped to diminish the gloomy atmosphere quite a bit.

Kou Xiaotian walked at the very front, holding a small Moonlight Stone in his left hand and carrying a Giant Sword in his right.

Behind him, Xia Xiaoting held a water-blue Small Shield in her left hand. The shield released a soft barrier of light that enveloped everyone.

Shu Lan and Chen Shiyuan followed behind her.

And Shen Lang brought up the rear.

Just as the group began to venture cautiously inside, Shen Lang fell back a couple of steps and silently released Bone One and Bone Two.

"Guard the entrance. If those caterpillars behind us dare to cause any trouble, kill them," Shen Lang commanded via Divine Thought.

It turned out Shen Lang had long since known that Xiao Tong, Senior Brother Zhao, and their group were tailing them...

The Ghost Fire in Bone One’s and Bone Two’s eyes flickered a few times, as if they were very excited. They moved in unison toward the side walls of the cave and vanished into the darkness.

In the darkness, the color of the two skeletons immediately began to change, turning into the color of the cave’s rock walls.

Even if one were to walk right up to them, an ordinary person wouldn’t notice anything unusual without shining a bright light on them.

As he walked, Shen Lang asked Zuo Wentian in his mind, ’Wentian, since you know so much about Elemental Power Fragments, if one appeared within a hundred *li*, would you be able to sense it?’

Zuo Wentian’s voice echoed in Shen Lang’s mind, "After these past few months of recovery, I am much stronger than I was back in Celestial Phoenix City. This is all thanks to the Spiritual Liquid the master gave me. Now, my Soul Power is growing stronger day by day, even without consuming more Spiritual Liquid."

"But a hundred *li*... I’m afraid I can’t manage that in my current state..."

"My current limit is a Divine Thought coverage of about sixty *li*. If there really is an Elemental Power Fragment, as long as it’s within sixty *li*, I should be able to sense it even without actively searching."

"However, if the item is sealed away by an Array Restriction, then it’s hard to say."

A flicker of light crossed Shen Lang’s eyes, but he said no more.

’In a place as vast as the Profound Dao Sect, I can only rely on Zuo Wentian to help me find Elemental Power Fragments for now. If I had to search on my own, going through mountain after mountain, who knows how long it would take.’

Just then, Kou Xiaotian, who was at the front, slowed his pace.

"According to the map, we’re not far from the Silver Moon Bull Flood Dragon’s lair. Everyone, be extra careful," Kou Xiaotian said in a low voice.

"Besides this Demon Beast, there are no other powerful Demon Beasts in Xuanying Cave. However, there are plenty of small venomous insects, so remember to activate your Magical Treasures to protect yourselves!"

Xia Xiaoting twitched her nose and said, "The stench is getting stronger, and there’s a lot of slime on the ground now. Looks like we’re almost there. Everyone, stay alert!"

Inside Xuanying Cave, strange rock formations jutted out everywhere, and the ground was uneven, but it was extremely spacious, which was a convenience for the group.

After following Kou Xiaotian cautiously for more than ten minutes, Kou Xiaotian, still at the front, suddenly stopped.

Kou Xiaotian brandished his Giant Sword slightly. The others instinctively looked forward, and their hair immediately stood on end!