Strongest War Emperor

”Give them an offer they can’t refuse.”

In Shen Lang’s view, whether they were human or ghost, aside from a few with unbreakable wills, most had their price.

Revealing his vast stores of Spirit Stones and Demon Crystals, as well as rare items like the Profound Celestial Clear Spirit Pills, was, of course, a way to entice the four Rakshasa Ghosts.

Helping the Ghost King advance to the Xuanwu Realm was naturally based on the same principle.

On one hand, doing so would make the Ghost King eternally grateful and utterly loyal.

On the other hand, by revealing such methods and showing himself to be both capable and generous, he could also break the will of the Rakshasa Ghosts.

Besides, the Ghost King had already submitted. As an ally, the higher the Ghost King’s Cultivation was, the better.

After all, he had offended Yuwen Huaji of the Imperial Dragon Sect. That old monster was at the Peak of the Xuanwu Realm. Although he had been severely injured by the Wolf Soul’s will, if Shen Lang were to run into him again, he wasn’t confident he could escape a second time.

The Peak of the Xuanwu Realm was no joke. A large part of his initial escape had been due to pure luck.

If that old fiend was still on the Tala Prairie, or worse, if he was hunting Shen Lang down directly for killing several of his disciples... things would be disastrous.

That was why Shen Lang had sent Nalan Ziyun away and set up a Spirit Gathering Array to help the Ghost King advance to the Xuanwu Realm.

Despite his grand declaration, neither the Rakshasa Ghosts nor the Ghost King seemed to believe him.

No matter how impressive Shen Lang’s methods were or how cunning he was, the fact remained that he was only at the Spirit Martial Realm Basic Level Cultivation.

How could someone at the First or Second Heaven of the Spirit Martial Realm possibly help the utterly weakened Ghost King break through to the Xuanwu Realm?

The four Rakshasa Ghosts exchanged glances and sneered inwardly.

’If this kid really has a way to raise the Ghost King’s Cultivation to the Xuanwu Realm, I’ll throw in my lot with him! But how is that possible? That’s the Xuanwu Realm we’re talking about. You can’t just advance by piling up a bunch of Spirit Stones!’

’Yeah, he makes it sound so easy! Does he think breaking through to the Xuanwu Realm is a walk in the park? How long did Lord Ghost King prepare for this? He spent forty-nine days on this Barrier alone! And he even chose the Yinfeng Cave to make his attempt, but still failed in the end...’

’I, on the other hand, think he might actually be capable of it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do it right in front of us. This young man is shrouded in too many secrets. It’s almost unbelievable!’

The one who said this was the fourth brother. Of the five Rakshasa Ghosts, the most foolish fifth brother had already been reduced to ashes, and the fourth had always been the cleverest of the lot.

’The fourth brother has a point. We probably can’t judge him by normal standards... Hah! Wait a minute! If he can help Lord Ghost King advance to the Xuanwu Realm, doesn’t that mean he can raise our Cultivation too?’ The eldest brother’s words were a sudden wake-up call for the other Rakshasa Ghosts.

That was right! That was the most important part!

’This kid is probably doing this just to make that exact point!’

’Say no more! If he pulls this off, I’ll offer my Soul Blood immediately! A boss like that is worth following! I’m not running away!’

The eldest brother really had a way with words. He had no chance to escape, but he framed it as a choice not to run.

Nearby, the Ghost King watched Shen Lang bustling about, his eyes wide with anticipation. He was trembling with excitement.

Just then, Shen Lang took out another pile of Spirit Stones and placed them in front of him.

The Spiritual Qi within the Spirit Gathering Array grew even richer, so much so that the Rakshasa Ghosts felt an urge to sit down and start cultivating immediately.

”Old ghost, are you ready?” Shen Lang asked, glancing at the Ghost King.

The Ghost King nodded like a pecking chicken. ”I... I’m ready. You can begin, Master.”

”Don’t call me Master. Call me Boss,” Shen Lang said with a slight frown.

”Yes, yes, Boss!” The Ghost Fire in the Ghost King’s eyes flickered restlessly, revealing his inner turmoil.

Shen Lang gave a slight nod, raised one hand, and activated the Tai Chi Diagram.

In an instant, a massive vortex materialized out of thin air. The surrounding Spiritual Qi fluctuated violently as streams of it gathered toward the vortex. Outside the Spirit Gathering Array, the Dark Energy within the Barrier condensed, forming tangible, pitch-black masses of Energy that howled and circled above Shen Lang’s head.

”Oh my god...”

The moment the Ghost King saw the vortex, he was scared half to death and turned to flee.

”Damn it, I knew you’d try to run!” Shen Lang shot out his left hand and grabbed the Ghost King.

The old ghost was extremely weak right now, and had been thrashed half to death by Nalan Ziyun. In terms of strength, he was no longer a match for Shen Lang.

”Spare me, Boss! Spare me!”

The Ghost King, his Three Souls and Seven Spirits nearly scared out of him, could only beg frantically for mercy.

Shen Lang’s face darkened. ”Idiot, be quiet! If I wanted to kill you, would I go through all this trouble? I’m trying to help you raise your Cultivation!”

Hearing this, the Ghost King instantly quieted down.

’That’s right. He holds my Soul Blood. If he wanted to kill me, all it would take is a single thought. Why would he need to bring out that terrifying thing?’

Meanwhile, the four Rakshasa Ghosts huddled together in terror at the sight of the vortex.

They all had physical bodies, but the moment the vortex appeared, they felt as if their very souls were about to be ripped out. How could they not be horrified?

”Still not enough!”

Shen Lang let out a soft cry, pouring his Divine Thought into the Tai Chi Diagram and urging it to spin even faster.

The vortex formed by the Tai Chi Diagram was like a bottomless black hole. It not only devoured all the Spiritual Qi from the pile of Spirit Stones within the Spirit Gathering Array, but also continuously pulled in the Profound Yin Qi from the Yinfeng Cave outside the array.

Violent Energy fluctuations spread rapidly through the Spirit Gathering Array like ripples on the ocean, and the epicenter of these ripples was the vortex in Shen Lang’s right hand!

Like a bottomless pit emitting an infinite suction force, the vortex devoured every last bit of Dark Energy within the Barrier!

This terrifying rate of absorption left the four Rakshasa Ghosts and the Ghost King utterly dumbfounded.

Never mind the Rakshasa Ghosts; the Ghost King, at least, was at the Peak of the Spirit Martial Realm, with one foot already in the Xuanwu Realm. But even when he cultivated by sitting atop the Yinfeng Cave and absorbing Energy with all his might, the amount he took in was probably not even one-thousandth of this!

Outside the Spirit Gathering Array, Nalan Ziyun stared wide-eyed as the Energy churned where Shen Lang and the others were. Her eyes were filled with questions. ’What is that little bastard up to now? Why is it so terrifying?’

Inside the Barrier, the lesser ghosts scattered in a frenzy, their screams and roars echoing endlessly.

Fortunately, Shen Lang’s target wasn’t them. Otherwise, this whole swarm of lesser ghosts would have been sucked in as nourishment for the Ghost King.

”What are you standing around for? Start Cultivating and absorb the Energy!”

Shen Lang shouted, using his own body as a conduit to channel a continuous stream of Spiritual Qi and Dark Energy absorbed by the Tai Chi Diagram from his left hand into the Ghost King’s body.

The Ghost King shuddered, immediately sat cross-legged in the air, and began Cultivating, frantically absorbing the Purest Energy.

’I, this old ghost, have lived for over five hundred years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi like this! Heavens, what kind of monster have I run into...’

”Damn it, I told you to cultivate and absorb! What are you daydreaming about? If you fail to advance, I’ll destroy you myself!”

Shen Lang had taken the Ghost King’s Soul Blood, so their minds were linked. He could naturally sense the fluctuations in the Ghost King’s thoughts.

”Yes, yes, I won’t dare do it again...”

The Ghost King hurriedly focused his mind, absorbing the Purest Energy with all his might to begin his assault on the Xuanwu Realm.

...

Outside the Spirit Gathering Array, Nalan Ziyun paced back and forth, her gaze never leaving the array.

Just as her patience reached its limit and she was about to charge in...

The Spirit Gathering Array suddenly burst like a soap bubble. A few CRACKING sounds followed, and the pile of Spirit Stones on the ground all turned into ordinary gray rocks, shattering to pieces.

The figures of Shen Lang and the Ghost King were finally revealed.

Shen Lang seemed extremely fatigued at this moment. He was listless, and his eyes were dim and dull.

The Ghost King, on the other hand, had lost his previous wretched appearance. Not only had his presence surged, but he was also brimming with vigor!

”What on earth happened? Are you all right?”

Nalan Ziyun’s heart tightened. With a tremor of her Silver Flood Dragon Chain, she was about to rush over.

Shen Lang waved a weak hand. ”It’s nothing. I just used up all my Divine Thought, so I’m a bit tired.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the four Bone Demons on the ground and said, ”Alright, you can leave your current bodies now. Each of you pick one and enter.”

”Yes, honored Boss!”

The four Rakshasa Ghosts replied respectfully. Then, four gusts of sinister wind kicked up a cloud of dust, swirled in the air, and burrowed into the heads of the four Bone Demons.

The Rakshasa Ghosts’ original bodies then collapsed with a THUD and were collected by Shen Lang into his Sumeru Ring.

Pained cries simultaneously emerged from the Bone Demons as the four of them staggered unsteadily to their feet.

”Very good. First, get accustomed to these bodies. In a while, I’ll find some Supreme Yin materials to help you fuse completely with the Bone Demons.”

Shen Lang watched all this with great satisfaction. ”I know you have your own rankings, but your awful names are hard to remember. Raosiduo, Muhanduo, something like that, and you all look the same... Just forget them from today onward. The moment I saw these four Bone Demons, I came up with names for you.”

”Ah? So... so early? No, I mean, so wonderful!” the four Bone Demons said, overjoyed.

The Ghost King exclaimed boisterously, ”You lot must have accumulated good karma in your past lives to be so lucky as to have the Boss name you! Any name the Boss gives you will definitely be imposing, domineering, and cool! Just think about who the Boss is... By the way, Boss, what names did you give them?”

Shen Lang flicked his wrist, took out the Celestial Water Blade, and with a few SWISHES, carved several horizontal lines on the foreheads of the four Bone Demons.

One had a single line, one had two, one had three, and the last one had four.

”Bone One, Bone Two, Bone Three, Bone Four... These are your names now. Follow me, and your names are destined to resound across the four seas and shake the entire continent!” Shen Lang said with utmost seriousness.

The four Bone Demons and the Ghost King were stunned for a good while before they burst into applause and cheers.

”What a great name, Boss! So imposing and domineering!”

”Simple and easy to remember! Second to none!”

”Concise and rarely seen in this world!”

”Truly extraordinary!”

The Ghost King was a step too slow. All the words he could think of had been taken, so he could only stammer, ”Good... good names!”

Nalan Ziyun stared blankly at this bunch of clowns. She couldn’t hold it in any longer and slapped her thigh, bursting into wild laughter. ”HAHAHA! Those names... Imposing and domineering? Simple and easy to remember? Truly extraordinary? HAHAHA...”

The four Bone Demons turned in unison, bowed respectfully to Nalan Ziyun, and said, ”Thank you for your praise, Boss Lady! Please look after us!”

”...”

Nalan Ziyun’s laughter was cut short as if by a pair of scissors. A blush instantly crept onto her stunning face.