Strongest War Emperor

Shen Lang trusted his intuition completely.

While this batch of Fifth Level Zombies was powerful—enough to unleash a devastating storm out in the world—they weren’t all that impressive to him.

If Xue Dangdang hadn’t struck him, leaving him injured, he would have charged into the horde of zombies and started a massacre long ago.

The real crisis wasn’t these Fifth Level Zombies...

That was why the moment Shen Lang saw Xue Ming and his group arrive, he immediately told them to lead everyone out of the Twin Towers Hall.

"Alright, I know what to do!" Xue Ming shouted.

At this point, Xue Ming was ready to risk it all.

If Shen Lang said he could handle these thirty zombies, he must have a way to do it. Xue Ming was absolutely certain of that.

Setting aside his Cultivation, Shen Lang had plenty of trump cards at his disposal.

From what he knew alone, Shen Lang had the Immortal Celestial Saber, the Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads, and the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars from the Artifact Origin Sect!

The Immortal Celestial Saber was the signature Imperial Artifact of Shark’s Kiss, the Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse and Elder Ancestor of the Li Hen Sect.

The Star Moon Bodhi Prayer Beads came from the Dark Gold Level Sect, the Ruyi Buddha Sect. In a sense, its power surpassed even the Immortal Celestial Saber. It was just that Shen Lang had never practiced any Buddhist Skills, and his current Cultivation was insufficient to fully unleash its power.

As for the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars from the Artifact Origin Sect, their true power was unknown, but they had previously trapped two Peak Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses in an instant.

’With him here, he can hold back these zombies. Everyone else needs to run, now!’

Xue Ming waved, and the three people who came with him, along with the three Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses already here, all flew toward the Twin Towers Hall.

Meanwhile, Shen Lang held his long saber low, its tip scraping across the ground.

He stood firm, as steady as a mountain.

One man, one saber. He stood before the zombies like an impassable chasm.

A boundless Battle Intent surged from him, and an immeasurable, roiling Sword Intent filled the entire Earth Palace.

The horde of zombies seemed stunned by Shen Lang’s soaring Battle Intent. They stood frozen in place, only letting out low, muffled groans...

This image was seared deep into the minds of everyone in the Twin Towers Hall.

SCRAPE... CLATTER...

The Immortal Celestial Saber scraped across the floor, scattering loose stones and making a continuous, grating sound.

’What in the world are these zombies trying to do?’

Staring at the zombies ahead, Shen Lang felt a flicker of unease.

Everything he knew about the Hidden Moon Tomb began to reassemble in his mind, like countless shards of a puzzle snapping into place.

’With their power, these zombies could have effortlessly slaughtered everyone here before I arrived. So why did these Fifth Level Zombies just hide to the side instead of attacking?’

’Could it be just as I suspected? Are they trying to crush these people with the pressure of despair, drive them mad to generate Vengeful Qi, and then force them all into the Twin Towers Hall?’

The thought had barely formed in Shen Lang’s mind when a loud, grinding rumble erupted behind him!

The massive rumble was accompanied by the screams of hundreds and the furious shouts of Xue Ming and his men!

’This is bad!’

Like a bolt of lightning, realization struck Shen Lang, and he instantly understood everything!

His earlier warning not to enter the Twin Towers Hall, his suspicion that something was wrong with it... it had all come true!

’Damn these zombies!’

Without a second thought, Shen Lang slammed his right foot into the ground and shot backward!

Still in mid-air, Shen Lang spun around. His ink-black Ghost King’s Wings unfurled, and he shot toward the Twin Towers Hall like a bolt of black lightning!

Directly ahead, the massive Stone Gate of the Twin Towers Hall was slowly grinding shut!

"Damn it! I told them not to go into the Twin Towers Hall, but they just had to run in! Ghost King, give it everything you’ve got!"

Shen Lang shouted, trying to dash into the Twin Towers Hall before the massive Stone Gate sealed shut.

But at the Ghost King’s current speed, he wasn’t going to make it.

Just as Shen Lang was about to release Yuan Bupu...

An arm adorned with many bells suddenly shot out from within the Twin Towers Hall.

The hand moved with incredible speed. The instant it appeared, it was right in front of Shen Lang!

Shen Lang, still charging forward at full speed, had no time to react before the hand snatched him up!

The arm then retracted with incredible speed, yanking Shen Lang into the Twin Towers Hall.

GRIND! CRUNCH!

The instant Shen Lang was pulled into the Twin Towers Hall, the Stone Gate slammed shut, leaving not even the slightest gap.

"This time, let’s see you try and run!"

Clad in a red dress, Xue Dangdang stood with her hands behind her back, eyeing Shen Lang smugly.

The Twin Towers Hall was in utter chaos, a cacophony of cries and curses so deafening it felt like one’s head would explode.

Shen Lang gave a wry smile. "Dingdang, I wasn’t running, was I? But now you’re trapped in here too. How about we settle our business after we get out of this Earth Palace? For now, we should be thinking of a way to leave... You already have a King Martial Realm Cultivation. Can you open this Stone Gate?"

Xue Dangdang pouted and grinned. "A stone gate like this might be able to trap all of you, but how could it possibly trap me?"

With a soft laugh, Xue Dangdang casually slapped her palm against the massive Stone Gate.

It was a casual strike, but an attack from a King Martial Realm powerhouse was anything but ordinary.

The Stone Gate was only about thirty feet high and looked completely ordinary; it shouldn’t have been able to withstand the power of a King Martial Realm powerhouse.

However, to everyone’s astonishment, a brilliant light suddenly flared across the Stone Gate. It swirled over the surface and instantly dissolved the full force of Xue Dangdang’s attack!

The palm strike from a King Martial Realm powerhouse had vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea!

Xue Dangdang’s face fell. "Damn it, how is this possible? I clearly checked before; there was nothing special about this Stone Gate!"

The surrounding din finally died down. Everyone’s face turned ashen as they stared at Shen Lang and Xue Dangdang.

If even someone at the King Martial Realm was trapped, what hope did anyone else have of getting out?

Xue Ming waved a hand, dispatching several Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses to get the situation under control before walking to Shen Lang’s side.

At that moment, Shen Lang’s fingers were gently touching the massive Stone Gate, tracing the patterns carved across its surface.

The once deathly still Twin Towers Hall had now completely transformed.

Not only the Stone Gate, but even the walls and pillars now had a layer of brilliant light flowing across them.

Through the shimmering light, one could faintly make out countless runes swimming about like tiny tadpoles, an exceptionally profound sight.

"This has become a bit troublesome..."

Shen Lang sighed softly.

Xue Dangdang looked startled. "How so? Are we really going to be trapped here until we die? I refuse to believe that!"

Shen Lang spoke with a grave expression, "This massive Stone Gate, and indeed the entire structure of the Twin Towers Hall, was forged from a material from the Northern Wilderness called Hanfeng Jade, smelted with Tenebrous Iron."

"These materials are incredibly sturdy on their own, and over the years, the Tenebrous Iron has absorbed the baleful wind and Evil Qi of this place, becoming indestructible."

"Its internal structure is also highly unusual, specially crafted by an Artifact Refining Master over several years to be like a honeycomb... Any energy blasted into it has trouble taking hold. The vast majority of the energy simply flows through the internal cavities and dissipates outside."

"Furthermore, every brick and stone here has been inscribed with ancient runes and powerful Restrictions, which were fully activated the moment the Stone Gate closed."

"Unless one is a powerhouse at the Emperor Martial Realm or above, breaking through will be next to impossible."

Xue Dangdang grew furious. "Damn it! How can these zombies be so clever? Don’t tell me they built this hall all those years ago just to lure people in and trap them like rats in a cage?"

The moment she said it, she realized her mistake. Her face flushed red as she added, "Pah! You’re the rat, I’m not..."

The onlookers nearly burst out laughing.

But whether they knew who she was or not, faced with her terrifying King Martial Realm Cultivation, who would dare mock her?

Just then, Xue Ming leaned in and whispered, "We have a number of people here who are familiar with Array Restrictions. Could we find a way to work together and break this Restriction? Once the Restriction is broken, if we have Miss Dingdang attack again, we should have a chance of breaking down this Stone Gate."

Everyone immediately pricked up their ears.

Xue Dangdang turned her head with a strange look, thinking, ’What’s going on? I haven’t been in the Purple Chu Country for very long, and everything here is strange to me. How does everyone seem to recognize me?’

’Especially the people from the Imperial Dragon Sect. It seems even their ordinary disciples recognize me... Could it be that what that kid said was actually true?’

’But Father told me I’ve never been to the Purple Chu Country before, though.’

’Could there be another Xue Dangdang who looks just like me? Father would have no reason to lie to me about something like this...’

Hearing Xue Ming’s words, Shen Lang shook his head and said, "I could break this Restriction, but whoever set it up was far too powerful. Their strength probably reached the Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm or higher."

"Even if the Restriction they laid has plenty of flaws, the power fused into it isn’t something an ordinary person can touch."

"If I were to break this Restriction, it would take me several days at least... But do you really think these zombies herded us into the Twin Towers Hall to let us rest? Are they going to give us that much time to slowly study it?"

The words had barely left Shen Lang’s mouth when a black mist suddenly filled the hall, accompanied by the wailing of ten thousand ghosts!

Countless Ghosts materialized in the distance and surged toward the crowd!

"Everyone, backs to the wall! Form a Battle Array! Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses to the front, the rest fall in behind! The injured and exhausted, get to the very back and recuperate!"

Xue Ming let out a sharp command and began to organize their defense.

Though panicked, the crowd reacted swiftly.

In any case, while the situation was uncertain, it wasn’t as hopeless as before.

Besides the three Peak Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses like Tian Mou who were here before, Xue Ming’s group had added to their numbers, bringing the total to six Xuanwu Realm Powerhouses.

On top of that, Xue Dangdang herself had reached the terrifying King Martial Realm, and with her were five powerhouses at the Peak of Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven. Whatever her identity, she was now trapped with them and sharing their fate...

And most importantly, they had the mysterious young powerhouse in the mask... a formidable figure who could single-handedly hold off an entire horde of zombies!

And so, the several hundred people immediately formed fighting squads.

They began to systematically contend with the thousands of Ghosts swarming toward them from the distance.