Strongest War Emperor

"Damn it, are you even trying to be reasonable? You won’t tell us who you are or what you want, but you expect us to open the Grand Array with a single sentence? Do you take us for idiots?!"

One of the men beside Jiang Haitian finally couldn’t take it anymore and started shouting hysterically, frightening the other two into immediately clamping a hand over his mouth.

Instead of getting angry, Xue Shiyin laughed and sized up the man.

He was tall and thin, dressed in a brocade robe, with a sleazy look on his face.

"You’re that scumbag, Dongfang Jian?" Xue Shiyin asked with a smirk.

Dongfang Jian was so furious he was hopping mad. "Who are you calling a scumbag?! You’re the— Hmph! That’s right, I’m Dongfang Jian! What are you going to do about it?"

Xue Shiyin sneered. "The young lady of the Duanmu Family was head over heels for you, yet for the sake of power within the Profound Dao Sect, you made her wait for decades only to abandon her. Dongfang Jian, your scummy reputation is famous even in the Piaomiao Domain. You have the audacity to say you’re not a scumbag?"

"You’re a scumbag of a man, the absolute worst of your kind... Open the gate. If you don’t, I’ll smash it open myself!"

Hearing the name "Duanmu," Dongfang Jian’s expression changed drastically. Like a deflated ball, he lowered his head and fell silent.

At the side, Jiang Haitian heard the words "Piaomiao Domain." Seeing Xue Shiyin in her green gauze dress, a name suddenly surfaced in his mind, and he was utterly astonished!

’Elder Ancestor of the Xue Family, Xue Shiyin? An unparalleled powerhouse of the Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm... What is she doing here at our Profound Dao Sect?’

Although Jiang Haitian was anxious, he also heaved a huge sigh of relief.

His expression grew even more respectful. He bowed to Xue Shiyin and said, "This junior was blind and failed to recognize Elder Xue’s arrival. I beg your forgiveness! Your presence brings glory to our humble Profound Dao Sect! I will open the Grand Array at once to let you in, Elder!"

The other two men were startled, but aside from a slight change in their expressions, they said nothing.

Jiang Haitian was the eldest senior brother, and he was in charge here. Since he had recognized her, there surely wouldn’t be a problem.

Xue Shiyin said nothing, merely giving a slight nod.

Below, the four Elder Ancestors of the Profound Dao Sect all formed Hand Seals to cast a spell, and in a moment, the Sect Protection Array was deactivated.

But Xue Shiyin was clearly not here for a friendly visit. She remained motionless in the air as her incomparably powerful Divine Thought suddenly swept downwards, blanketing all of the Profound Dao Sect’s Nine-Nine Eighty-One Peaks.

’That’s strange. I got a lock of Shen Lang’s hair from Dingdang, so there’s no way I’d mistake his aura. The people in Celestial Phoenix City said he’d already come to the Profound Dao Sect, so why can’t I sense his presence here at all?’

Xue Shiyin frowned slightly and radiated her Divine Thought out, expanding her search to the area surrounding the Profound Dao Sect.

Just then, a faint, almost imperceptible gleam of a blade appeared in the sky to her right.

’The aura of the Immortal Celestial Saber? So it really is here!’

’Heh, to think that kid Shark’s Kiss was actually willing to give away his Lifebound Emperor Artifact!’

With a soft laugh, Xue Shiyin’s figure blurred and vanished on the spot.

Below, Jiang Haitian and the other three stared at each other in confusion.

"Damn it, are all these old monsters with high cultivation crazy? She raised hell to get us to open the Grand Array, and the moment we did, she just took off. Don’t tell me she just came here to admire the scenery of the Profound Dao Sect?" Dongfang Jian said indignantly.

"Senior Brother, you called her ’Elder Xue,’ and she mentioned the Piaomiao Domain... Could she be..." one of the men said, his brow deeply furrowed.

Jiang Haitian nodded lightly. "The very one... It’s truly strange. Members of the Xue Family rarely venture out. Why on earth would she travel all the way from the Piaomiao Domain to the Snow Domain? And to our Profound Dao Sect, of all places."

Dongfang Jian said nonchalantly, "Looking for someone, obviously. She said it herself. She was looking for someone. She probably realized they weren’t in the Profound Dao Sect and took off."

Jiang Haitian shot him a look and shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. How could we possibly understand the minds of such lofty experts? Let’s just focus on reactivating the Grand Array for now."

...

Meanwhile, Shen Lang tilted his head back and stared coldly at the sky.

The three Xuanwu Realm powerhouses from the Beast Emperor Palace were furious yet helpless, hovering in the sky and cursing incessantly.

As powerhouses from the great Beast Emperor Palace, they had led a group of disciples and brazenly crept to the very foot of the Profound Dao Sect’s mountains, never imagining they would face any real danger.

Who would have thought some kid would pop out of nowhere and, in a flash, slaughter their entire group, leaving just the three of them to drift alone in the wind...

"Despicable brat, who the hell are you?! You dare touch the people of my Beast Emperor Palace? I swear I will flay you, rip out your tendons, and grind your bones to dust!"

The man in the center of the trio, holding a pair of Judge’s Pens, thrust twice toward Shen Lang.

Unfortunately, because they were wary of Shen Lang’s Immortal Celestial Saber, they kept a great distance between them. As a result, the seemingly powerful attack posed no threat to him whatsoever.

Shen Lang casually swung his long saber. With a CLANG, he easily shattered the attack.

"You’ve said that at least a hundred times now. Don’t you get tired of it? Got any new material? You just keep chirping away from a distance, not daring to come any closer. The Beast Emperor Palace really is full of cowards like you. Each generation is worse than the last."

Shaking his head, Shen Lang began rummaging through the corpses on the ground, collecting all of their Sumeru Rings, Storage Pouches, and other belongings.

This made the three in the air so furious they were practically spewing smoke, and they began to howl with rage.

The scene was utterly bizarre.

By now, the four Bone Demons had slaughtered every last person from the Beast Emperor Palace on the ground and were beginning to clean up the battlefield.

The three in the air were wild with rage, but they were powerless against Shen Lang.

But to retreat just like that... they were clearly not resigned to it.

To stay or to go—they were caught in a dilemma.

Down below, although Shen Lang appeared relaxed and casual, deep down, he was starting to feel a little anxious.

In this situation, he didn’t dare let the people in hiding reveal themselves, nor did he know how many other Profound Dao Sect disciples were still in Wuling Creek.

All he could do was stall for time, hoping these guys would eventually give up and leave.

If they found out he was from the Profound Dao Sect, they might just come down and slaughter the other disciples in Wuling Creek, and he would likely be forced to watch helplessly, unable to do a thing.

The Ghost King wasn’t with him, so he couldn’t fly, giving his opponents a considerable advantage in speed.

Just at that moment, Shen Lang suddenly sensed something.

He turned and looked toward the sky behind him.

His Silver Eyes of Truth immediately activated...

At the far edge of the Azure Vault, countless rays of divine light surged forth, piercing the void and tearing the heavens asunder!

"Holy shit!"

Shen Lang’s expression changed drastically. The man who had always been so carefree and composed finally showed a flicker of panic!

’A Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse... Why would someone like that appear in a place like this? And it seems like they’re heading right for me?’

’This is trouble. Could it really be Xue Shiyin? Has she found me?’

’Should I tell her the War Emperor is dead? Or tell her that I *am* the War Emperor... Either way, I’m courting death.’

’In fact, I was already courting death the moment I used her name to intimidate Xue Hongluan...’

An urgent expression on his face, Shen Lang paced back and forth on the grass.

Running was definitely not an option.

Never mind that the Ghost King wasn’t here; even if he were, how could his speed possibly compare to a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse who could teleport?

There was nowhere to hide, either—except for the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron.

But since she had already locked onto his aura, hiding in the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron wasn’t the best strategy. After all, once he entered it, moving the cauldron was incredibly difficult.

The moment she realized his aura had vanished, she could just play the waiting game and eventually force him out.

And if she discovered the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, that would be even more catastrophic.

Shen Lang transmitted the message to the four Bone Demons, "You four, stay here and protect them. I’ll be right back!" then took off running.

’Even if I can’t escape her, I should at least get away from all these onlookers. Otherwise, it’ll just create a ton of unnecessary trouble.’

The group hiding nearby had just been marveling at Shen Lang’s power and his unflappable composure in the face of any danger...

Then they suddenly saw him frowning and pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot griddle, and their expressions all turned strange.

’He didn’t even bat an eye at over a dozen powerful Xuanwu Realm powerhouses. What in the world could make him act like this?’

Jie Fengqing made a shushing gesture, signaling for everyone to remain calm and stay put.

As Shen Lang bolted deep into the forest, the three from the Beast Emperor Palace immediately gave chase, grinding their teeth and refusing to let him go.

He had run less than three hundred meters when a slightly hoarse, yet very pleasant, voice sounded from behind him.

"Finally caught you, little guy. You’re far too slow."

The voice had barely faded when Shen Lang felt a cold sensation on his neck. Someone had grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him into the air!

"You’re a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse racing against a Spirit Martial Realm cultivator like me, and you have the nerve to call me slow... Hey, I protest!"

"You can’t beat me. Protest denied!"

"If I could beat you, would I even need to protest?"

"That’s true. But the protest is still denied."

"..."

"By the way, what were you protesting?"

"I’m protesting the way you’re carrying me! It’s like you’re hauling a dead dog. Can’t you hold me some other way? This is so humiliating!" Shen Lang said helplessly, craning his head to look at Xue Shiyin.

Xue Shiyin chuckled. "If not like this, were you expecting me to carry you in my arms?"

"Huh?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she caught sight of Shen Lang’s face and was taken aback.

An image immediately surfaced in her mind: that peerless, white-robed figure.

The man who haunted her dreams... looked remarkably similar to Shen Lang!

Even their dispositions were nearly identical!

Shen Lang, however, didn’t notice the strange look in Xue Shiyin’s eyes. He imagined being held in her arms, shivered, and hurriedly said, "On second thought, just carry me like this is fine... By the way, those three guys over there—can you kill them for me? They’re bad news and have been tailing me for a while."

Xue Shiyin raised an eyebrow and glanced at the three distant figures, who were staring back in terror.

All three had the characteristics of Demon Beasts. One had two snake heads growing from his shoulders, another had the head of a human and the body of an eagle, and the last had two horns on his head and a thick crocodile tail sprouting from his back.

"The people from the Beast Emperor Palace are getting crazier and crazier. Instead of focusing on their cultivation, they turn themselves into these freaks that are neither human nor ghost. It’s a pity they don’t realize they’re nothing more than test subjects for the Celestial Star Pavilion."