Strongest War Emperor

Lan Mengling added, "Regarding Dingdang, I’m sorry, but she has nothing to do with your Xue Family. She has no desire to leave me and go anywhere."

"In fact, I’d advise you to stop pestering us. Otherwise, the Xue Family might just cease to exist in this world."

"Enough. I don’t have time to waste with you. Retreat three thousand li, or the boy in my hand will die..."

"You!" Xue Shiyin was furious.

At that moment, Shen Lang brought his palms together, chanted a Buddhist phrase, and turned his head. "Amitabha. Madam, could you please put this poor monk down before we talk? My cultivation has already been sealed by you, so why are you still holding me by the collar... like a dead dog? I have my dignity, you know."

The smile on Lan Mengling’s face froze. She hadn’t expected the man in her grasp to be so bizarre.

She subconsciously glanced at Shen Lang and was taken aback to see him scrutinizing her.

In all these years, no man had ever dared to get so close to her.

And no one had ever dared to look her over with such a bold gaze...

But then again, she was the one who had captured him, so she couldn’t really blame him.

But for him to stare at her so openly, looking her up and down, made Lan Mengling’s gaze turn cold!

Before she could react, Shen Lang turned his head away again.

With a look of worldly compassion, Shen Lang waved at the group over there. "Amitabha. Go on back, all of you. Don’t worry about me. The Buddha will protect me. I’ll be fine."

Chaos and the others nearly fainted.

’What time does he think this is, cracking jokes like that!’

’Before a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse, a single thought from her could turn him to ash...’

"Oh, right..." Shen Lang turned his gaze back to Xue Shiyin. "Stop worrying about Dingdang. There’s a saying: ’You can’t control a son, and you can’t watch over a daughter.’ Let her make her own choice. If she doesn’t want to go with you, don’t force her. Leave the rest to me... Take them and leave this place."

His voice was soft, but it held an undeniable, commanding tone.

And the way Shen Lang looked at Xue Shiyin was different from before. It was as if he had suddenly become another person, his gaze now holding a trace of a domineering Emperor’s Qi!

In that instant, Xue Shiyin vaguely saw him again—that peerlessly graceful man who haunted her dreams...

Xue Shiyin wanted to speak but hesitated, opening her mouth but saying nothing.

"Mm!"

After a long moment, Xue Shiyin nodded with difficulty.

She had absolute faith in Shen Lang and knew he must have his reasons for speaking this way at such a time. She immediately took a few slow steps back.

She gave Shen Lang one last deep look, then abruptly waved her right hand.

A powerful force, like a whirlwind scattering clouds, swept up the clamoring Yuan Bupu and the others. Before they could protest, they vanished from the spot.

"Lan Mengling, if you dare to harm him, I will hunt you to the highest heavens and the deepest Yellow Springs to kill you! I, Xue Shiyin, swear it on this sword!"

Xue Shiyin’s ice-cold voice rolled and reverberated through the sky.

*VMM!*

An azure longsword snapped in two, the pieces falling from the sky and embedding themselves in a bluestone rock on the ground.

Shen Lang lowered his gaze, silently watching the two halves of the broken sword below without another word.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The moment Xue Shiyin left, Lan Mengling’s body shuddered. She began to cough violently, her face turning deathly pale.

Xue Dangdang, who was beside them, was shocked. "Sister Lan, you’re injured! How did this happen?"

Still held by the collar, Shen Lang glanced up at Lan Mengling.

He saw black blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. A faint black dragon seemed to be coiling within each of her eyes, and something terrifying pulsed visibly beneath the skin of her exposed arms and legs, rising and falling in the veins.

She had suppressed all of this before, but now that Xue Shiyin was gone, Lan Mengling seemed unable to control it any longer. Her aura plummeted, and she looked ready to collapse.

’The Sword Qi of the Demon Sword, Light of a Thousand Years, and the Palm Force of the Undying Seal Technique... so her pursuer was Zi You from the War God Hall... Strange. The Vermilion Bird Race vanished without a trace ten thousand years ago, and before that, they were allies with the War God Hall. Why would this Lan Mengling be an enemy of the War God Hall?’

’And from the looks of it, Zi You clearly wants her dead, even using a forbidden move from the Undying Seal Technique...’

Shen Lang impassively lowered his head again.

Lan Mengling coughed violently and said, "Dingdang, my injuries are fine. Go to the Purple Chu Imperial Capital and wait for me..."

"Sister Lan, you... can you..." Xue Dangdang frowned and glanced at Shen Lang.

Lan Mengling said with a half-smile, "You seem very concerned about him?"

"I am not!" Xue Dangdang spun around, turning her back to them. "I just want him to die by my hand, that’s all."

The black dragons in Lan Mengling’s eyes grew fiercer, looking as if they would burst from her sockets.

Her fingers moved like lightning, tapping several points on her body to forcibly suppress her injuries.

"Is that so? Fine, I’ll save him for you."

With that, Lan Mengling wasted no time. Tugging Shen Lang along, she took a single step and instantly left the Desolate Land.

Behind them, Xue Dangdang bit her lip and stomped her foot hard in mid-air.

...

The night sky was full of faint stars, the moonlight as clear as water.

In the Hengduan Mountain Range, over three hundred li from the Desolate Land, ancient vines coiled like dragons and giant trees spread like canopies. Fierce beasts roared and birds of prey shrieked as the mountain wind howled ceaselessly.

High in the sky, Lan Mengling flew at an unimaginable speed, still carrying Shen Lang.

Shen Lang had his arms crossed over his chest, his head lowered, and his eyes shut tight, as if he had fallen asleep.

Lan Mengling kept glancing at Shen Lang out of the corner of her eye, finally unable to resist asking, "Why aren’t you talking?"

"Tired. Just resting." Shen Lang’s reply made Lan Mengling’s brow twitch.

"You don’t seem scared at all."

Shen Lang opened his eyes and shot Lan Mengling a sidelong glance. "What’s the use of being scared? Would you let me go if I were?"

"..." Lan Mengling was left speechless.

In all these years, no man had ever dared to speak to her like that.

For a moment, Lan Mengling was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

"Are you so sure I won’t kill you?"

As she spoke, the flames around them vanished, replaced by a bone-chillingly cold aura emanating from her.

Shen Lang rolled his eyes. "I was just a passerby minding my own business, why would you kill me? You used me as a hostage to drive Shiyin away. You achieved your goal, so what’s the point in killing me now?"

Lan Mengling let out a delicate laugh. "Does a strong person need a reason to kill a weak one? If I want to kill, a single thought from me can make rivers of blood flow, mountains collapse, and the earth split!"

"’Shiyin?’ You say her name so intimately. It seems your relationship isn’t so simple..."

Shen Lang rolled his eyes again. "I’ve just realized that what’s burning on you... isn’t Vermilion Bird Divine Fire."

"What do you mean?" Lan Mengling froze.

Shen Lang sneered, "What you have is clearly the fire of gossip... At a time like this, instead of worrying about your injuries or the powerful enemy behind you, you’re fixated on someone else’s private affairs. Wouldn’t you say you’re bored out of your mind, burning with the raging flames of gossip?"

Lan Mengling’s face reddened for no apparent reason, and she snapped harshly, "Stop spouting nonsense to change the subject! Do you think talking gibberish will stop me from killing you? Xue Shiyin took advantage of my injuries to press her attack, causing me to reveal my location to my enemies. Since you know her, isn’t it only natural that I kill you?"

Shen Lang was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "That’s a fair point, but you still can’t kill me."

"Confidence is a good thing, but too much confidence becomes arrogance. And arrogance... comes at a price. Your life is in my hands. If I want to kill you, no one can stop me," Lan Mengling said coldly.

Shen Lang sighed. "A woman’s mind is truly hard to fathom. You’re so heavily injured, yet instead of thinking about healing and avoiding your pursuers, you’re here bickering with me, constantly threatening to kill me. I’m speechless."

Lan Mengling was slightly taken aback, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes.

’With my cultivation and status, I normally wouldn’t even spare a glance for such a minor character.’

’Is it because I saw him stark naked back in the Barbaric Lands?’

’Or maybe it’s because no one who has ever fallen into my hands has remained so calm—so calm that it infuriates me?’

’Or perhaps it’s because his tone left me speechless earlier, and I’m still upset about it?’

’But these are all trivial matters. With my current state of mind, how could I possibly be affected by such things without even realizing it?’

’Could I be affected by the Undying Seal Technique? But I’ve never heard of this cultivation technique having such side effects...’

The moment that thought crossed Lan Mengling’s mind, the Palm Force of the Undying Seal Technique and the relentless Sword Qi inside her body burst forth at the same time!

An overwhelming energy surged out from within her!

*PTUI!*

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out. Lan Mengling and Shen Lang plummeted downward like a falling star!

Shen Lang’s cultivation was completely sealed, and even the Ghost King on his person was locked away. Seeing their predicament, he could only sigh to the heavens, "This poor monk is an Enlightened Monk, and you’re a Vermilion Bird Divine Bird. To fall to our deaths... this is absolutely intolerable."

*CRACK, CRACK...*

The two of them, tangled together, fell in a straight line, snapping countless branches on their way down.

With a loud THUD, they slammed into the grassy ground, creating a huge crater!

They lay motionless on the ground in an extremely suggestive position...

Shen Lang was splayed out on his back underneath.

And Lan Mengling was sprawled on top of him, their bodies pressed intimately together...

Although his cultivation was sealed, the defense power of his Xingtian Battle Armor was on full display.

Moreover, Shen Lang’s Chaos Divine Body was known as the strongest divine body in the Six Realms, and its ineffable power was also revealed by the impact.

Despite falling from such a great height and being dazed by the impact, he was completely unscathed!

Lan Mengling struggled to climb off of Shen Lang, kicking him a couple of times with her right foot. "Stop playing dead. Get up."

Shen Lang opened his eyes, a pained look on his face. "It’s broken... it’s broken..."

"What’s broken?" Lan Mengling paused, slightly taken aback.

’The armor on this boy releases a powerful protective force, capable of withstanding attacks from even a Third or Fourth Heaven King Martial Realm expert. How could he possibly have broken a few bones?’

Shen Lang grimaced. "My little brother... is broken..."

"You’re asking to die!" Lan Mengling flew into a rage. She raised her right foot, which surged with powerful Qi, and was about to kick Shen Lang.

If that kick landed squarely, Shen Lang would be dead or crippled!