Chapter 377: Chapter 364: A Man Should Wield His Sword and Slay All Before Him
Shen Lang felt something wasn’t quite right and immediately shook his head. "I don’t know. The War God Hall is shrouded in mystery. Legend says it roams the rifts of time and space, not existing in this plane at all."
He was telling the truth.
The last thing in the War Emperor’s memory was his own self-detonation. Everything after that was a blank.
Whether the War God Hall had been utterly destroyed in that battle was a secret likely known only to its own members, if any were left.
However, there was one person who had never appeared in the War Emperor’s memories who might know the truth.
It was the old fortune-teller who had tapped Shen Lang’s forehead on the mountain behind Tayun Academy.
That single tap had awakened the War Emperor’s soul, allowing it to merge with Shen Lang’s. The old man clearly knew the secrets behind it all.
But the man had never appeared in the War Emperor’s memories, and he came and went without a trace. How could Shen Lang ever find him?
At this moment, Xue Shiyin suddenly turned around, stared fixedly at Shen Lang, and said, "Kid, do you like Dingdang?"
"Yes," Shen Lang said without the slightest hesitation.
Xue Shiyin nodded, taking out an ancient zither and placing it across her lap.
"If you love, then love deeply. Don’t be afraid of any obstacles..."
"They say everything in this world follows the path of destiny. And yet, I’ve always felt that human will can sometimes override fate, transcend it, and change the outcome."
"Life in this world isn’t easy for anyone. Don’t carry everything on your own shoulders. There are people who have always been under your protection, but one day, they will no longer be willing to hide behind you or sit on your shoulders. Instead, they will want to stand beside you, to bear what you bear, and feel what you feel..."
Xue Shiyin murmured, her words seeming to be for Shen Lang, but also for someone else far away.
She untied the gourd from Shen Lang’s waist, threw her head back, and took long, deep gulps of the potent liquor inside.
Around her, the swirling flower petals grew ever more numerous.
Drunk in spirit before the wine touched her lips; a broken heart among the falling blossoms...
"You shall wield your sword and slaughter all in your path; I shall play my zither, rising and falling with you. I will laugh with you through three thousand drunken revelries, and sing wildly in my stupor by your side."
Xue Shiyin’s voice, ethereal and dreamlike, etched itself into the depths of Shen Lang’s heart.
Before Shen Lang could speak, she gave a gentle wave of her right hand. A single flower petal lifted him into the air, carrying him down the mountain.
Amid the clear notes of the zither, a mournful song drifted toward him on the wind...
It was the song Shen Lang had once taught Xue Dangdang.
"Though I know the bitterness of longing, my heart still aches for you. After thinking it over and over, I would rather endure this pain."
"Before you, I was lost and alone; after you, my love is a sickness beyond cure. I thought you were just a fleeting interlude, never dreaming you’d become an immortal legend."
"Countless men and women meet and part; meeting you was a one-in-a-million chance. Let time and space pull us apart, I don’t care. I just want to be with you..."
"With every breath, it’s over, it’s over... Where can I find the sweet laughter of yesterday? If I’d known it would end like this, would we have simply gone our separate ways..."
Standing on the petal, Shen Lang looked up at Xue Shiyin on the peak. For a fleeting instant, their eyes met.
That single glance sent a tremor through Shen Lang’s heart, as if something inside him had just shattered. The pain was indescribable.
Then, Shen Lang drifted farther and farther away.
And yet, Xue Shiyin’s voice seemed to be singing right beside his ear. Every word, every line, was painfully clear, piercing straight to his soul.
’She’s already guessed that I’m the War Emperor, hasn’t she? But why...’
Shen Lang felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart. An inexpressible feeling swept over him, making him want to scream like a madman to release the overwhelming emotions.
The image of Xue Shiyin’s tear-stained face was burned into his mind; he couldn’t shake it no matter how hard he tried.
And deep in his heart, a melancholy lingered that he just couldn’t shake.
An irrepressible sorrow...
Walking silently along the ancient path, Shen Lang felt like a zombie.
Through his mental link with the Bone Demons, Shen Lang felt their presence and followed the connection back to where Shu Lan and the others were hiding.
By now it was evening, yet Shu Lan, Zhan Wuji, and the others were all still waiting where he had left them.
Shen Lang’s gaze swept over the Concealing Array and the large crowd of people emerging from it. He was shocked to see it packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people—all of them were Profound Dao Sect disciples who had come to Wuling Creek for training!
Counting Zhan Wuji’s group, there were at least forty people in total...
However, inside the Concealing Array, far more people were lying on the ground than were standing.
A good number of them were seriously injured. Even more, despite their ruddy complexions, were weak and sore all over—the exact side effects of taking a Giant Potion.
These were essentially all the survivors from the Profound Dao Sect in Wuling Creek.
The moment the crowd saw Shen Lang, they erupted in cheers and surged forward, surrounding him like he was a hero.
"Junior Brother, what happened? You were gone so long. Did you run into any trouble?" Jie Fengqing asked, his face etched with worry.
Shen Lang shook his head. "No... So many people took the Giant Potion? Why weren’t the injured sent back first?"
"So Junior Brother Shen Lang really is that incredible! He knew they’d taken the Giant Potion with just a single glance!"
"That’s right! Otherwise, how could he command the four Lord Bone Demons!"
"If it wasn’t for Junior Brother Shen Lang, we’d all have been goners... When those people from the Beast Emperor Palace just up and left us, I was wondering what was going on. I never imagined he’d lured them away himself."
The surrounding Profound Dao Sect disciples were filled with a mixture of shock and admiration.
Jie Fengqing immediately pulled Shen Lang aside, reporting like a subordinate. "Most of the people on the ground are suffering the aftereffects of the Giant Potion. A few months ago, a sect elder got their hands on the recipe, so now disciples can buy it for half the market price or with Contribution Points."
"It’s an excellent tool for turning the tide of battle, so most of our brothers carry a bottle or two. We may not have enough Spirit Stones, but thankfully we can use Contribution Points to trade for them... When we ran into the Beast Emperor Palace group earlier, a lot of people survived by relying on these potions. They even managed to kill quite a few of them!"
"As for the seriously injured, Junior Sister Shu Lan already pleaded with Lord Bone One to take them back to the Profound Dao Sect on the Fiery Demon Wolves. The others aren’t badly hurt, so we all decided to wait here for you."
"Also, I had all the brothers who witnessed what really happened swear a blood oath not to speak a word of it without your permission... So, as it stands, most of the disciples here believe it was you who brought the great Bone Demons to save them."
Hearing Jie Fengqing’s smooth and detailed explanation, Shen Lang gave him an appreciative look. The man had handled things quite capably.
’Wait, something’s not right.’ "Shu Lan pleaded with Bone One, and he actually listened?"
Jie Fengqing lowered his voice. "Yes. The honorable Bone Demons don’t listen to us, but Junior Sister Shu Lan... she seems to know them quite well."
...Shen Lang was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that at all.
’Familiar my ass. This is the first time Shu Lan has ever seen a Bone Demon.’
"Never mind. We can talk about it when we get back." Shen Lang was in a foul mood and had no patience for any of this.
Seeing the dark expression on Shen Lang’s face, Jie Fengqing had a dozen questions he wanted to ask, but he forced himself to swallow them.
He immediately waved to the crowd. "Everyone, summon your riding Spirit Beasts, like the Fiery Demon Wolves! Get the injured and those who took the Giant Potion mounted first. The rest of you can share. Let’s head back."
And just like that, the large procession, escorted by the three Bone Demons, began the journey back to the Profound Dao Sect.
A stifling frustration churned in Shen Lang’s chest with no outlet. His mind was filled with the unshakable image of Xue Shiyin.
Noticing his dark expression, the people around him didn’t dare speak to him. They simply kept their distance, whispering amongst themselves.
Just as the group had traveled thirty li from Wuling Creek, figures flickered in the distance. Zhang Tianyue, the Peak Master of Luoyan Peak, had arrived with five Thunder Guards.
A pair of wings made of pure flame sprouted from Zhang Tianyue’s back. With a gentle flap, a wave of heat washed over them.
The longsword in her hand, wreathed in roaring flames, made her look all the more imposing.
The five Thunder Guards behind her all wore terrifying masks, and each sported a pair of wings that crackled with lightning.
These were the Wind-Thunder Wings, which could only be manifested after cultivating a Thunder Element Technique to a high level. They granted incredible flight speed and were integrated for both offense and defense, making them exceptionally powerful.
"Are you all alright?"
Zhang Tianyue landed, her gaze sweeping over the three Bone Demons and Shen Lang, her eyes filled with astonishment.
"Greetings, Master Zhang. I am Jie Fengqing, a disciple of Heaven-Reaching Peak," he said respectfully. "With Junior Brother Shen Lang’s help, we’ve escaped the crisis. A few of our brothers were lost to the Beast Emperor Palace members... but the rest of us are safe and sound."
Zhang Tianyue glanced at the crowd, then back at Shen Lang. Gritting her teeth, she said, "The Bone Demons already sent the heavily wounded back to the sect. I brought five Thunder Guards as an advance party. More experts are on their way. Now, let me, Zhang Tianyue, see for myself just how tough these Beast Emperor Palace bastards really are!"
"..." Jie Fengqing stared, stunned. "Er, Master Zhang, didn’t the brothers who returned explain the situation? Other than three Xuanwu Realm Fifth Heaven experts who escaped, everyone else from the Beast Emperor Palace has already been killed."
"Those three are dead now, too," Shen Lang added flatly.
Everyone present gasped!
Many of those who had joined the group later believed they had only managed to repel the Beast Emperor Palace forces with the Bone Demons’ help.
But according to Jie Fengqing, Shen Lang had left alone, without the Bone Demons. And those three experts had been chasing *him*...
Everyone had been worried sick about him, and now he was calmly saying that those three were dead, too?
’Does that mean... he was the one who killed them?’
’Even if he wasn’t the one to strike the final blow, it proved he had other ways to kill Xuanwu Realm powerhouses!’
