Strongest War Emperor

Meanwhile, at the edge of the fissure, Shen Lang’s actions grew more and more terrifying.

First, he began frantically absorbing the Supreme Yin Qi—a force that terrified even King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven Powerhouses. A short while later, he actually began to cultivate right there by the fissure, condensing eight Natural Element Elements Mansions!

WHOOSH! Just like that, he reached the Great Perfection of Eight Elements Mansions, leaving Zu Wei, Nanfeng Yao, and the others outside completely dumbfounded!

In reality, the eight Elements Mansions and the Supreme Yin Qi were not necessarily connected.

While the Supreme Yin Qi was an endless source of energy, even if Shen Lang could absorb it, it should have only helped him advance his cultivation, not open Elements Mansions.

Opening an Elements Mansion required more than just a vast amount of Spiritual Power; it demanded a deep comprehension of the various elemental powers—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—and a thorough mastery of the Xuanwu Realm itself.

But Shen Lang had broken through to the Xuanwu Realm and opened eight Elements Mansions in the blink of an eye!

Something like this was simply inconceivable, utterly unheard of!

In this day and age, geniuses were a dime a dozen, but who had ever heard of a freak like this?

It was completely normal for a Xuanwu Realm powerhouse to spend eight or ten years opening a single Elements Mansion.

Some might only have one or two Elements Mansions even after more than a century.

But for eight Elements Mansions to emerge, one after another, within a minute or two? No one would believe it, even if you told them!

Zu Wei and the others stared at each other, their eyes filled with terror and utter disbelief.

Just as the eight Elements Mansions began to stabilize around Shen Lang,

his aura started shifting, and the light around him pulsed erratically.

Xuanwu Realm Second Heaven...

Xuanwu Realm Third Heaven...

Xuanwu Realm Fourth Heaven...

Finally, it stabilized at Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven, showing no signs of further change.

Nanfeng Yao’s mouth hung wide open, drool trickling from the corner, yet he remained completely oblivious...

Still, advancing from the Spirit Martial Realm to the Xuanwu Realm, and then rocketing from the Xuanwu Realm First Heaven to the Sixth Heaven in such a short time, while terrifying, was at least somewhat acceptable.

In any case, it couldn’t compare to the shock of seeing those eight Elements Mansions.

As the men outside the Seal stood watching, frozen like statues...

Shen Lang, however, stopped advancing his cultivation.

’The Mystic Pill just finished condensing, and it still needs to be solidified. If I keep pushing upward, the drawbacks will outweigh the benefits... Forget it. This is good for now. There’s no need to rush.’

If Shen Lang had wanted to, he could have easily pushed straight through to the Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven.

However, while the drawbacks of such a frantic rise in cultivation might not be apparent in the short term, they would surely cause numerous problems in his future training.

Shen Lang understood this perfectly. That was why, after leaving Celestial Phoenix City, he had focused on Body Forging, activating the power of his Chaos Divine Body and practicing his control over it, rather than intentionally trying to raise his cultivation level.

Of course, even reaching just the Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven was enough to frighten most people to death.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the Elements Mansions he had just opened.

By now, the minds of Zu Wei, Nanfeng Yao, and the others outside the Seal had gone completely blank.

No words could possibly describe the complex swirl of emotions they felt after witnessing all this.

Even as King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouses, Zu Wei and the others felt dizzy and disoriented.

They wanted to scream, but no sound would come out.

They wanted to speak, but they didn’t even know what to say...

"Damn it... Damn it, what did I just see? In just a few moments, he went from the Spirit Martial Realm straight to the Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven? And opened eight Elements Mansions?"

After a long moment, Zu Wei finally stammered, his expression utterly bizarre.

If the others next to him hadn’t been in the exact same state, he would have suspected that he’d been near the Supreme Yin Qi for too long and its corruption was making him hallucinate!

Nanfeng Yao and the others were just about to reply...

POP! POP!

The Yin Element Mansion and the Yang Element Mansion also appeared among the slowly rotating Elements Mansions...

Zu Wei and the others, who had only just started to regain their composure, were once again petrified.

This was no longer a question of difficulty. The Yin and Yang Element Mansions were things that only appeared in legends!

Yet Shen Lang had just opened them, and he’d made it look as simple and casual as when he’d opened the Wind-Fire Elements Mansion!

As for whether they were truly the Yin and Yang Element Mansions, anyone could tell. Even through the Seal, they could feel the surging Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang Spiritual Power contained within. Even a fool would know what they were!

Everyone’s jaws nearly hit the floor...

It was only then that they understood why Shen Lang had wanted to activate the outer Seal and cut himself off from the outside world.

Because... this was just too damn frightening...

Even for these worldly-wise King Martial Realm powerhouses, it would take a long time to process what they had just witnessed in the span of a few minutes.

If the crowd outside had seen this, they would have immediately erupted into chaos.

The fissure that had shaken the entire Purple Chu Country, the one that had the Imperial Dragon Sect and the other two major Spirit Copper Level Sects frantically gathering to discuss countermeasures, had been resolved... just like that.

That roiling, black sea of Supreme Yin Qi was just... swallowed by the guy they had written off as a spoiled Second Lord?

The question was, could something like that even *be* swallowed?

And where did it go?

Contact with that much Supreme Yin Qi would drive thousands upon thousands of Demon Beasts into a maddened frenzy.

Yet not only was Shen Lang completely fine, his cultivation had skyrocketed?

On top of that, he had opened ten whole Elements Mansions!

Those so-called geniuses who had opened eight Elements Mansions and reached what was considered the Xuanwu Realm Great Perfection... they weren’t even in the same league as him!

Just then, Zu Wei suddenly snapped out of it. Wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, he slapped Nanfeng Yao hard on the shoulder.

It nearly sent him sprawling to the ground.

"Junior Brother, your Senior Brother is begging you for a favor. Later... can you help put in a good word for us with him? We’ll owe you one. You have to help us!"

Zu Wei said, his voice hoarse.

The others also came to their senses and nodded vigorously, their gazes fixed on Nanfeng Yao, full of supplication.

These men were all at the King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, and their status in the Imperial Dragon Sect far surpassed Nanfeng Yao’s.

Ordinarily, they would never have been so polite to him, let alone look at him with such pleading eyes.

But now, they had no choice but to beg Nanfeng Yao for help.

They were all remembering how they had offended Shen Lang earlier.

Previously, they had seen Shen Lang as just another arrogant, domineering, and self-important character who relied on a powerful backer or faction to win the Elder Ancestor’s favor.

That’s why they had been so openly displeased with him from the start.

In the end, they had forced Shen Lang to use the Elder Ancestor’s Token to compel them to open the Seal.

If Nanfeng Yao hadn’t stepped forward and vouched for him with his own life, the situation would have turned out even worse...

In any case, Zu Wei and the others knew they had thoroughly offended Shen Lang.

They had only heard rumors and speculation about the figure backing Shen Lang. Even if this backer was incredibly powerful, they probably wouldn’t step in to punish them over a trivial slight to Shen Lang’s pride.

A true powerhouse had their own dignity; they didn’t have time to deal with such petty matters.

But now, the situation was completely different.

Judging by the utterly terrifying methods Shen Lang had just displayed, give him a few more years to develop, and his future achievements would be absolutely limitless!

Besides, the man was holding the Ancestor Token...

For all they knew, the Elder Ancestor had known how terrifying he was from the very beginning!

Absorbing endless Supreme Yin Qi and opening ten entire Elements Mansions... Leaving aside how powerful ten Elements Mansions would make him, the methods he had displayed and his monstrous, breathtaking talent were enough to make even a Legendary Power go all out to recruit him.

So what would a mere Spirit Copper Level Influence like the Imperial Dragon Sect do?

Offending someone like that was practically a death wish...

From the looks of it, Nanfeng Yao understood Shen Lang much better and was on far better terms with him.

He had even been willing to stake his life on a guarantee... Seeing this, Zu Wei and the others had no other choice but to beg him for help.

They wouldn’t even have to wait for Shen Lang to grow stronger to deal with them. All he had to do was go to the Imperial Capital and say a few words to the Imperial Dragon Sect’s Elder Ancestors: ’I had a way to deal with the Supreme Yin Qi, but those bastards wouldn’t let me, and things almost went south...’

They couldn’t possibly bear those consequences!

In the end, Zu Wei and his companions would be in for a world of hurt!

"Senior Brothers, you’re overthinking it. Young Master Lang... he’s probably not that kind of person. So... just rest assured. Leave it to me!"

Nanfeng Yao nodded, rubbing his shoulder.

Having four of his Senior Brothers, all at the King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven, begging him for help was, frankly, a little flattering.

...

On the other side, as the Elements Mansions stabilized and the projections around him faded away one by one, Shen Lang finally opened his eyes.

The Elder Ape was still staring blankly, frozen like a statue.

Inside the Seal, the Supreme Yin Qi had thinned out considerably... No, it hadn’t just thinned out; it had been completely absorbed by Shen Lang!

The Supreme Yin Qi that had left countless experts and powers utterly helpless had become nothing more than nourishment for Shen Lang.

The Tai Chi Diagram’s speed at absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was already heaven-defyingly fast.

Now, with the Supreme Yin Qi suppressed and solidified by his Divine Demon Power, absorbing it was even easier for Shen Lang.

Thus, like a great whale drinking the ocean, he had absorbed the vast majority of it in a remarkably short time!

Previously, his greed and haste had caused him great trouble.

The refinement of the absorbed Supreme Yin Power should have taken a long time and an immense amount of effort.

But with the seed inside his Tai Chi Diagram absorbing it, the problem was solved with ease.

With such a massive infusion of energy, the seed would likely take root and sprout before long...

Shen Lang stared quietly at the fissure before him. Supreme Yin Qi was still seeping out, but it was far, far thinner now, and its flow had slowed to a crawl.

’How fortunate... Without that seed, even with the heaven-defying Tai Chi Diagram, how could I have dared to absorb the Supreme Yin Qi so recklessly?’

Shen Lang sighed to himself, then glanced over his shoulder. He saw Zu Wei and the others staring blankly at the fissure.

Shen Lang looked away, summoned his Seventh Grade Lotus Platform, and flew directly to the edge of the fissure.

As the others watched in a daze, he stretched out his left hand and took out the Eternal Tree.

The small, vibrant green tree radiated a tangible Life Energy. Before the stunned onlookers, it suddenly shot out countless roots that drilled directly into the ground!

Then, in a process almost visible to the naked eye, the surrounding Supreme Yin Qi began to slowly converge on the small tree.

The tree then began to absorb it...

In the blink of an eye, the small tree, which had been barely a foot tall, grew visibly thicker and taller!

THUMP!

One of the King Martial Realm powerhouses next to Zu Wei finally couldn’t take it anymore and passed out cold.