Strongest War Emperor

’I seem to have overcomplicated things. Since Li Su was willing to say all this to my face, she probably doesn’t mean me any harm. At least, from the moment I came in until now, I haven’t felt even a sliver of Killing Intent from her.’

’As long as Li Su keeps her mouth shut, no one else will ever find out about the Chaos Divine Body. If I’m going to worry, I should worry about it after I ascend to the Upper Realm. And speaking of ascension, who knows when that will be? It’s unrealistic to think about it now. The Reverse Passage is closed, so the Upper Realm Divine Demons can’t come down to the Lower Realm. What the hell do I have to be afraid of!’

’The only thing I really should be worried about is the Life Spiritual Liquid. Li Su’s parents had powerful Cultivation, and they had just a single drop of Life Spiritual Liquid, yet it was still detected by that Divine Demon they mentioned. It seems I’m not as safe as I thought. I need to find a way to conceal this aura.’

’As for Li Su, I can’t beat her in a fight. But if Zuo Wentian were to act, she wouldn’t have a chance to escape. Yet, she told me everything without hiding a thing, as if she wasn’t worried at all about what I might do to her.’

’If she really coveted my Life Spiritual Liquid or my Chaos Divine Body, she wouldn’t have needed to say so much. She could have just killed me with overwhelming force, searched my soul for my memories, and then swallowed me like a Great Replenishing Pill... Who would chat with a Great Replenishing Pill for half a day before eating it?’

In just a fraction of a second, countless thoughts flashed through Shen Lang’s mind.

After revealing only a flicker of panic, Shen Lang’s eyes instantly returned to their usual calm, as tranquil as an old well.

Seeing all this, Li Su couldn’t help but raise her estimation of Shen Lang even higher.

Shen Lang sighed softly and said, ”What’s coming will come. There’s no escaping it. But I won’t just sit here and wait for death. Little Sister, since you already know so many of my secrets, is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Li Su gave Shen Lang an appreciative look and smiled. ”Brother, you truly are no mortal. If it were anyone else, their first thought would probably be to erase me from this world completely... After you arrived, I felt a chill run through my body a few times. I can sense that you have something on you capable of killing me. Of that, I have no doubt.”

”But your eyes, Brother, have always been pure when you look at me, without the slightest hint of malice or Killing Intent...”

At this, Li Su’s expression suddenly turned incredibly solemn. ”I, Li Su of the Celestial Crocodile Race, swear on my Heart Demon that I will never reveal Brother’s secrets to anyone, not even my own parents. If I break this vow, may Thunder Tribulation strike me down, and may I be doomed for all eternity...”

”Little Sister, you...!”

Shen Lang hadn’t expected Li Su to be so decisive and resolute, to suddenly make a Heart Demon Blood Oath.

Her action, however, only made Shen Lang more confused.

’Even if I have the Chaos Divine Body, that doesn’t necessarily prove I’m the Emperor Star. And if I can’t be proven to be the Emperor Star, why would someone from the Celestial Crocodile Race go to such lengths?’

Li Su’s next words shocked Shen Lang to the core. ”Brother, I can’t leave the Sorrow Swamp before I reach the King Martial Realm in this world’s ranking system, so I can’t help you with much. But I can help you awaken the bloodline of your Chaos Divine Body.”

”Little Sister, since you can’t even be sure if I have any connection to the Emperor Star, why are you helping me like this?” Shen Lang asked after a moment of silence.

Li Su shook her head and said softly, ”I don’t know. I truly can’t be sure what connection you have to the Emperor Star. I don’t even know what the Emperor Star really is... But the first time I saw you, Brother, I felt a strong affinity for you, as if you were my real older brother. I was born in this world. This may sound heretical, but I don’t feel a strong sense of duty to the Celestial Crocodile Race’s mission. I simply want to help you, Brother, to help you become stronger. That’s all.”

”If you become powerful, Brother, maybe you can help me find my parents and my clansmen, help us return to the Demon Realm, and perhaps even truly protect my Celestial Crocodile Race in the future. I’m not asking you to do these things, or to make me any promises. I only hope that after you become strong, you’ll remember my words and help me if it’s within your power... That’s all.”

”That, I can promise you. If I can truly help you or your clan, I won’t refuse,” Shen Lang said, his tone a little serious.

”Right, how do I awaken the Chaos Divine Body’s bloodline? And how powerful will it be if I do?”

Li Su grinned, revealing a set of straight, white teeth. ”No one knows just how powerful the Chaos Divine Body truly is. The information the Celestial Crocodile Race has is also very limited. Some say this Divine Body allows one to completely break free from the shackles of heaven and earth, to become a ’god’ in the truest sense. Others say that a person with the Chaos Divine Body can devour endless stars, refine all things in existence, and control the entire universe... But these are all just legends.”

”No matter which legend you believe, the Chaos Divine Body is a Physique that can shake the heavens and melt the earth. In the Upper Realm, it’s a taboo. Few people even dare to speak its name.”

Li Su spoke with ease, ”I can’t fully activate your Divine Body, Brother, but I can start the process of waking it from its dormant state. Once the Chaos Divine Body awakens, you will need to find the Essence Blood of all Ten Divine Beasts, devour and refine them one by one. Only then can you truly and completely activate the Divine Body and allow it to begin growing stronger.”

Shen Lang’s happy expression immediately darkened. ”The Ten Divine Beasts... Little Sister, you don’t mean the Ten Divine Beasts that were shown on that Blood Ball, do you?”

”That’s right, those are the Ten Divine Beasts: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Xuanwu, Qilin, Taotie, Kui Ox, Bi Fang, Qiongqi, and Phoenix. Only by finding the Essence Blood of these ten Divine Beasts, then refining and fusing with it, can you truly unlock the Chaos Divine Body,” Li Su said in all seriousness.

Shen Lang’s face fell. ”Essence Blood... To get Essence Blood, the Divine Beast would either have to give it willingly, or I’d have to kill it... Besides, with something like the blood of the Dragon Race, isn’t it impossible for any person or race to fuse with it? If I really swallowed Dragon Blood, wouldn’t I just explode and die? And from what I know, something happened to the Dragon Race ten thousand years ago, and they were sealed away. Where am I supposed to find an Azure Dragon now? As for the Taotie and Kui Ox, they only appeared back in the Ancient Era. They’re even harder to find than the dragons—and even if I found them, I couldn’t beat them...”

Li Su covered her mouth and chuckled. ”The difficulty is immense, of course, but it’s not impossible. A lot of it will depend on fortuitous encounters. But since you have the Chaos Divine Body, Brother, and you’ve even obtained Life Spiritual Liquid, you must be someone blessed with immense luck and destiny. There’s no need to rush. Others may not be able to fuse with the blood of the Dragon Race, but you can. Please don’t worry about that. For now, Little Sister will help you awaken this bloodline. It might be extremely painful, so you’ll need to endure it, Brother.”

”Then I’ll be troubling you, Little Sister. Don’t worry, I’m prepared,” Shen Lang said, immediately sitting up straight.

Li Su took a deep breath. Her lips parted slightly, and a single, crystal-clear drop of blood floated out.

Within that drop of blood, Shen Lang could clearly see a tiny, miniature crocodile swimming around cheerfully.

An ancient, vicissitudinous aura, mingled with the uniquely ferocious and baleful air of a Divine Beast, emanated from the drop of blood, causing Shen Lang’s expression to change drastically.

Staring at that drop of Essence Blood, Shen Lang suddenly felt as if he were locking eyes with a primordial beast. His heart began to race, and his palms grew sweaty.

”Little Sister, is that your Essence Blood? Using your Essence Blood will cause your Cultivation to drop drastically!”

Essence Blood was not like ordinary blood. Every single drop was an exceptionally precious substance for a Martial Artist or a Demon Beast. Unless it was a last resort, no one would be willing to expend their Essence Blood.

Once expended, a Martial Artist’s Cultivation would plummet, and it would be impossible to recover in a short period.

Some Martial Artists, when facing a crisis, would use their Essence Blood to activate a Spiritual Artifact and dramatically boost its power. This was always an act of desperation, done only when their life was on the line.

Seeing Li Su produce a drop of precious Essence Blood, Shen Lang was naturally astonished.

However, Li Su didn’t answer him. Instead, she formed several Seal Techniques with her hands, directing them at the drop of Essence Blood. The miniature crocodile within the blood let out a heaven-shaking roar. The drop of blood became crystal clear and slowly solidified. Only then, with a pale face, did she flick her finger, sending the drop of blood into Shen Lang’s forehead.

The moment the Blood Crystal-like drop entered Shen Lang’s forehead, it spun rapidly, then shattered into countless specks of bloody light that merged into his bloodstream.

”GRAAAH!”

A sensation like ten thousand ants gnawing at his heart spread throughout Shen Lang’s entire body. At that moment, it felt as if his very soul was being devoured by some unknown power.

Shen Lang was completely paralyzed, the pain so intense that even his soul trembled. A beast-like roar escaped his lips, and he looked as if he had gone mad.

”Forget the self and hold the one; let the six senses be still. Unbind the heart and free the spirit; quiet the mind until the soul is null. Let the spirit purify and return to one; let qi harmonize as the mortal self dissolves...”

A look of pity appeared in Li Su’s eyes. She bit her lip and began to continuously chant the Spell. Her hands fluttered up and down like butterflies as streams of Divine Radiance shot into Shen Lang’s body.

’Brother, you have to hold on!’

Li Su murmured, her face pale as beads of sweat continuously trickled down her cheeks.

At first, Shen Lang felt as if his entire body, right down to his marrow and his soul, was being gnawed on by a strange power.

One by one, the meridians in his body burst apart, seemingly unable to withstand this freakishly tyrannical force.

Then, the Divine Radiance Li Su had sent into his body began to circulate, finally alleviating much of the agony.

Meanwhile, the residual Energy from the Life Spiritual Liquid also began to spontaneously accelerate its flow through Shen Lang’s meridians, repairing the ruptured pathways and lessening his suffering.

Only then did Shen Lang’s mind regain a moment of clarity.

He immediately straightened his body, sat cross-legged on the ground, and with supreme willpower, began to circulate the Spiritual Power within his Pill Sea.

The inhuman agony continued unabated. Shen Lang had no idea how much time had passed.

It felt as if millennia had gone by. Gradually, he felt his soul was no longer his own. His entire body had gone completely numb and was impossible to move.

But the pain, so intense it felt like it was tearing his soul apart, continued to flood his mind without interruption.

He was forced to experience this madness-inducing torment at every single moment.

He didn’t know that his body was currently undergoing a constant transformation.

All over his body, countless jet-black, glossy Scales shimmering with a faint light emerged, covering him from head to toe.

Even his face was completely covered by these Scales, leaving only his nose, mouth, and eyes exposed.

”This is great...”

Shen Lang seemed to hear Li Su’s delighted voice, as if it were coming from a distant, starry sky—faint and elusive.

At this point, the Spiritual Power in his body was circulating continuously, completing one Circulation after another, moving almost entirely on inertia.

Shen Lang’s consciousness, however, had become completely blurred, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

”Brother, wake up!”

Li Su’s voice, as if from another world, called out to him again and again.

”I... I’m in so much pain... Little Sister, let me sleep for a while...”

Waves of Shen Lang’s consciousness emanated intermittently from his mind and were received by Li Su.

Li Su’s face was filled with anxiety. ”No, Brother, you have to wake up! You absolutely cannot fall asleep!”

However, despite Li Su’s repeated calls, she received no further response from Shen Lang...