Strongest War Emperor

Forging one’s body with the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire was something probably no one outside of the Vermilion Bird Race would even dare to imagine.

And yet, Shen Lang was preparing to do exactly that!

Not only did he want to use the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire for Body Forging, but Shen Lang also thought of the Black Crow Witchcraft within his Tai Chi Diagram, which had already been fully analyzed!

The Black Crow Witchcraft was a type of energy toxin. To put it simply, it was an energy formed from the fusion of an alien energy and the venom of the poisonous Black Crow.

When Shen Lang had previously dispelled the poison for Zhuge Xian’Er, he had discovered that her knees were as brilliant as jade, their bones far harder than any other part of her body!

This was a direct consequence of the Black Crow Witchcraft having gathered in her knees!

On the condition that his meridians could withstand both the Black Crow Witchcraft and the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, and with the Tai Chi Diagram as a failsafe to resolve any crisis…

’Using the Black Crow Witchcraft and the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire to stimulate my meridians and temper my cells… the results will be unimaginable!’

Shen Lang extended his left palm. With a WHOOSH, a ball of pitch-black flame erupted!

This black flame was his very own ”Black Crow Witchcraft,” reconstructed via the Tai Chi Diagram after analyzing the poison’s structure!

Black Crow Witchcraft in his left hand, Vermilion Bird Divine Fire in his right!

Two energies, nearly impossible for any ordinary expert to control, appeared on Shen Lang simultaneously!

These two energies, originally meant to be used as trump cards, were now about to be turned on himself…

Such madness was simply unprecedented!

Without hesitation, Shen Lang clenched his fists, retracting the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire and Black Crow Witchcraft from his palms.

’First, the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire!’

With a single thought, a stream of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire inside him instantly split into countless threads. Like a spark setting a prairie ablaze, it radiated from the Tai Chi Diagram, surging into his meridians in every direction!

”Ngh!”

A sensation like Hellfire refining his very soul swept through him. Shen Lang let out a muffled groan as his entire body began to tremble.

Compared to being roasted by the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, the tempering from Thunder Power seemed gentle by contrast.

While Body Forging with Thunder Power was painful, many could grit their teeth and endure it.

But Vermilion Bird Divine Fire Body Forging created the terrifying sensation that one’s meridians were actively burning, about to turn to ash at any moment!

This illusion could easily cause one to lose control, leading to a fatal crisis.

Shen Lang endured the soul-deep agony, focusing his mind to guide the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire through his meridians, washing away impurities and smoothing the pathways!

In that moment, it felt as though his soul were being devoured by a million ants, or as if he were trapped in an inferno, subjected to the endless torment of the flames.

An indescribable, searing pain spread from his meridians, cells, muscles, and bones.

The Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, capable of incinerating anything to nothingness, relentlessly released an unimaginable heat, as if determined to burn his very bones and soul to ash.

The meridians inside him began to crackle and rupture, unable to withstand the ridiculously tyrannical power of the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

’Just a single, tiny wisp of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire, split into countless threads, is still this tyrannical?’

Feeling the inhuman, unbearable pain, Shen Lang was both shocked and overjoyed.

He was shocked that the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire’s power had reached such a level.

He was overjoyed that now that he had mastered it, forgetting about its future use in attacks, just using it for Body Forging alone would bring endless benefits!

Before Shen Lang could even react, his body’s natural defenses kicked in against the threat of the divine fire, spontaneously activating the power of his Chaos Divine Body.

His meridians, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, instantly strengthened and stabilized!

The ruptured meridians began to repair themselves at an astonishing speed.

At the same time, countless pitch-black, lustrous scales, each emitting a faint, dark glow, erupted all over his body.

Even his face was completely covered by them.

Even more terrifying, a layer of crimson flames now coated every single scale!

The temperature in the room skyrocketed, and steam began to rise!

Not only that, but a torrent of heat also burst from his body, beginning to swirl around him.

The torrent of heat gathered without dispersing, spinning faster and faster, growing larger and larger!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The wooden tables and chairs all burst into flames!

’All things under heaven move. Motion creates Qi, thus all things are governed by Qi. But what is Qi? It is force. Force is ability; ability is action. The Five Elements symbolize the five forces. Wood, for example, is not the physical wood of a forest, but the *idea* of wood. Its roots penetrate the soil, shattering the earth. Its trunk acts as a pillar, able to support a thousand pounds. This is the Power of Wood…’

Shen Lang silently recited the Heart Method, calming his mind and sensing the changes brought by the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

He simultaneously drew upon the power of his Chaos Divine Body to balance the baptism of the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire…

...while also maintaining precise control over every last wisp of the divine fire.

Shen Lang remained motionless, like wood or stone, as if he had merged with the heavens and the earth.

The raging flames on his body began to recede, eventually vanishing completely!

Not only did the flames recede and disappear, but the scales also slowly faded away as if they had never been there at all.

「More than six hours later...」

A tyrannical power suddenly erupted from Shen Lang’s body, blasting outwards in every direction.

With a cacophony of CRASHING and BANGING, the entire room was thrown into disarray by the powerful shockwave.

Shen Lang’s eyes snapped open, and he rose to his feet!

He checked his internal condition again. His originally golden bones had been tempered by the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire into a dark, golden hue, their hardness reaching an unbelievable level.

They were practically comparable to a Divine Weapon!

His meridians had widened by nearly a quarter, all impurities had been incinerated, and his Spiritual Power flowed without obstruction. Its circulation speed had once again increased by a huge margin!

His organs were flawless and pure, shimmering with an unusual light.

’Six hours, 3,578 Divine Beast Particles! The power of my Chaos Divine Body has more than doubled!’

’My entire body has undergone an earth-shattering transformation!’

’In my current state, with the recovery ability of my Chaos Divine Body combined with the circulation of my Life Spiritual Power, I could probably stand still and take a full-powered palm strike from a King Martial Realm First Heaven expert without suffering much damage!’

Although he had been mentally prepared, Shen Lang was still ecstatic when he saw the results of his cultivation!

To achieve so much in just six hours.

The agony of being burned by the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire had been worth it!

Shen Lang extended his arms and clenched his fists, his muscles tightening abruptly.

A continuous series of pops, like roasting soybeans, echoed from his joints!

Pure Spiritual Power surged from the Tai Chi Diagram. Some of it rushed into his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, nourishing his meridians and Mystic Gates…

...while the rest poured into his nearly depleted Mystic Pill, replenishing its massive expenditure of energy.

Shen Lang, who had been exhausted with bloodshot eyes, suddenly shuddered. His eyes began to shine brilliantly as his vitality was restored once more!

He had returned to his peak state in an instant without even needing to take any Elixir Pills. If anyone had witnessed this, it would have been utterly shocking.

Then, with a mere thought, crimson flames erupted from his body again, incinerating all the filth on his skin—along with his clothes!

When the flames subsided, Shen Lang glanced down, and his face immediately flushed red…

Below, an ”angry dragon” was raising its head, quivering provocatively!

”Damn…” Shen Lang was rendered speechless by this particular side effect of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire Body Forging.

’Calm heart, peaceful mind!’

Gently closing his eyes, Shen Lang began to silently recite those four words.

To his utter dismay, however, this time was different. Not only did the ”angry dragon” refuse to subside, but a wicked fire also began to stir in his lower abdomen!

The moment that wicked fire flared, the thing became as hard as steel, jutting up high and quivering defiantly, on and on…

And in his mind, POP, an image of Nalan Ziyun’s seductive figure appeared!

He couldn’t get it out of his head!

An irrepressible urge to pull Nalan Ziyun into his arms for a passionate embrace welled up inside him.

This wicked flame felt as if it would burn through everything!

For someone as strong-willed as Shen Lang, this was an almost unprecedented experience!

’Holy crap, this is even more potent than an aphrodisiac… I’ve never heard of Vermilion Bird Divine Fire Body Forging causing this kind of problem!’

Shen Lang circulated his Spiritual Power, trying to douse himself with it like cold water.

However, this was a matter of human emotion, a primal instinct. It wasn’t like a toxin such as the Black Crow Witchcraft, which could be suppressed or expelled.

An urge like this either didn’t appear at all, or it erupted like a volcano, impossible to resist!

Shen Lang’s breathing grew heavy. He knew he was in trouble.

He was probably the only person in the entire Human Realm, aside from the Vermilion Bird Race, to ever attempt Body Forging with the Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

Not only were there no records of such an embarrassing side effect in any classics, but even the War Emperor had never heard of it!

’Heart as clear as ice, unshaken though the heavens fall!’

Reciting the Ice Heart Technique, Shen Lang gathered Spiritual Power in his palm, twisted his waist, and blasted a punch toward the wall!

With no other choice, he could only hope that doing *something* would distract him.

SHIIING!

A sharp sound of air being torn apart rang out. It was as if the very air had been ripped open, and a fist-sized hole was instantly blasted through the thick stone wall!

The hole perfectly matched the size of Shen Lang’s fist, yet the rest of the wall was eerily undamaged!

It wasn’t like before, when a single punch would have brought the whole wall crashing down.

Peering through the hole, Shen Lang narrowed his eyes…

He saw that on a decorative rockery outside the stone house, an identical fist-sized hole had appeared.

Farther still, on the other side of the rockery, a massive tree so thick it would take three people to encircle its trunk bore the very same hole!

The power of that single punch was terrifying!

The concentration and control of power was something Shen Lang had been constantly cultivating, so he had a crystal-clear understanding of his own strength.

As he gauged the force of that punch, he realized he had only used thirty percent of his strength and had barely drawn on the power of his Chaos Divine Body.

Yet it was already no weaker than the King Martial Realm expert, Dugu Zhange!

’In that case, if I unleash my full power, draw upon the full strength of my Chaos Divine Body, and augment it with a Strongest Technique like the Five Emperors Dragon Fist… I could instantly kill a King Martial Realm expert with a single punch!’

’And once I raise my Cultivation to the Xuanwu Realm Ninth Heaven, or even break through to the King Martial Realm, I’ll be able to crush ordinary King Martial Realm experts in minutes!’

”Hahahaha!”

Shen Lang roared with laughter.

This was the result of just half a day of Body Forging. Even for Shen Lang, this rocket-like speed of progress was incredibly exhilarating and made him feel immensely proud.

CRASH!

The door was kicked open.

”I heard your voice and figured you were done with your Cultivation. I’ve already prepared some hot water for you, go take a bath…” Nalan Ziyun said, walking in with a yawn.