Chapter 148: Puppet

Anything related to the Sacred Image of the Human Emperor naturally commanded Lin Fan's utmost attention. That was the starting point of his journey; otherwise, he would still be nothing more than a humble chore disciple.

"If not the Sacred Image of the Human Emperor, what else could it be?"

Lin Fan muttered to himself, looking toward the next mural.

It depicted a Three-legged Golden Crow with a colossal body and world-shaking divine might. Its feathers resembled the morning sun, surging out from the chaos, peerlessly magnificent; yet, at this moment, it appeared utterly battered.

A figure descended from the heavens—none other than that same man. He extended a single finger and directly pierced the skull of the Three-legged Golden Crow, causing a torrential rain of blood.

The third mural portrayed a member of the Demon race whose vital energy surged and demonic might was as oppressive as a prison. Beneath an ugly visage lay the tyrannical ambition to swallow the sun and the moon. However, a giant palm blotted out the sky, bringing a world within its grasp to crush all opposition. This powerhouse of the Demon race was refined alive, crying out in despair to the heavens, and that palm belonged to that same man.

"Who on earth is this person? Suppressing the giant python, slaying the Three-legged Golden Crow, and slaughtering the Demon race with peerless tyranny and invincible might—such a figure must surely be renowned."

Lin Fan sighed with emotion, feeling that the man in the mural was practically invincible, an unrivaled and tremendously powerful overlord even in ancient times.

"My ancestor was once a follower of this man, which is why these murals were left behind. However, ever since my ancestor fell in the ancient era, all contact with him was completely lost."

Yi Ming seemed to perceive Lin Fan's confusion and spoke up. Yet, the look he cast at the man lacked any profound reverence; he viewed him merely as an onlooker, unlike Lin Fan, who felt an immersive, firsthand presence.

"So that's how it is. It seems your esteemed ancestor was no ordinary figure in ancient times; being able to follow such a mighty powerhouse is a skill in its own right."

Lin Fan said sincerely. However, Yi Ming did not dwell on the matter, taking the lead to walk out of the mural-lined corridor and into the interior of the palace.

Upon entering, Lin Fan was met with another wave of shock. Before him stood nine sky-supporting pillars, carved with ferocious divine dragons that exuded a terrifying aura.

"Is this the true demeanor of an emperor? This place is not a mausoleum at all, but rather an imperial palace."

Lin Fan swept his gaze around, vaguely sensing a murderous intent, and felt that this grand hall was far from simple.

"Be careful. Powerful arrays guard the territory from this point onward. Neither Mo Liuguang nor I have ever penetrated deeper; we were blocked right here."

Yi Ming warned him. Before sighting any opportunities, the three of them were still bound together as grasshoppers on a single string, so they maintained a degree of unity. However, this small alliance was extremely fragile, held together solely by everyone's mutual restraint for the time being.

Lin Fan nodded with a solemn expression, secretly beginning to borrow the mysterious entity's energy. His Void-Breaking realm combat power reappeared.

Almost immediately, both Old Ancestor Mo and Yi Ming detected the change in Lin Fan. They exchanged a glance, a flicker of inscrutable emotion crossing both their eyes.

"Hmph."

Lin Fan let out a cold snort, taking in their reactions completely, but he did not care much. At the very least, none of them dared to make a move right now.

Advancing another several dozen zhang, the hidden murderous intent grew increasingly fierce. Divine light permeated the void, which finally parted to reveal a passage.

A chilling gust of wind blew through, and a massive figure stepped out from the void. Without a single word, it launched a direct attack. Seeming to know the exact number of intruders, a total of three figures emerged from the passage.

"These are puppets possessing Void-Breaking realm combat strength. This is merely the first test of the grand array—relatively simple, intended solely to verify whether the intruders possess sufficient qualifications."

Yi Ming spoke coldly, having already engaged his own opponent. It was a humanoid puppet standing several zhang tall, looking like a miniature hill.

Old Ancestor Mo had also joined the fray by this point. He was undeniably powerful, superior to Yi Ming by more than a margin. Every gesture of his carried immense might, and anyone could tell he was still holding back, having yet to unleash his full combat strength.

However, Lin Fan had no mind to spare for the other two, as he was also under targeted attack.

This was a wolf-headed, human-bodied puppet whose entire body shimmered with a silvery metallic luster, looking ferocious and formidable.

"Early stage of the Two Decays of Heaven and Man, talent occurring once every six millennia."

A cold voice echoed in Lin Fan's mind, leaving no time for thought as the wolf-headed puppet struck, its massive claws sweeping across the air to pounce directly upon him.

Yet Lin Fan's expression shifted, because he sensed that this puppet's combat power had not reached the Void-Breaking realm.

"Scram."

Lin Fan let out a cold snort and merely waved his hand violently. The wolf-headed puppet shattered into countless fragments and vanished instantly.

This outcome caused both Yi Ming and Old Ancestor Mo to change their expressions. They cast another solemn look at Lin Fan; neither of them had finished their battles yet, and Yi Ming even appeared somewhat disheveled.

"So that's how it is. The combat strength of the puppets in this grand array scales according to my own. My realm is only at the early stage of the Two Decays of Heaven and Man, so this puppet possesses only the combat power of the Heaven and Man realm. From the brief exchange just now, I even sensed its combat power was merely at the mid-stage of the Three Decays of Heaven and Man, inferior even to my true body."

In a split second, Lin Fan had thoroughly deduced the truth behind the array. The voice from earlier was likely a contingency left behind by the Yi family's ancestor.

At that moment, Old Ancestor Mo also concluded his battle, severing the head of the puppet before him with a single palm strike. Dozens of breaths later, Yi Ming resolved his opponent, violently slashing his long saber to hack the puppet into mud.

"Hmph."

Yi Ming's expression was less than pleasant, clearly vexed by being the last to finish off his opponent.

"The first trial is simple; what comes next will be terrifying. The strength of the puppets will grow stronger and stronger, and their power will rise accordingly."

Just as Old Ancestor Mo finished speaking, several more figures appeared in the passage—the puppets for the next trial. However, what concerned Lin Fan was not this, but rather a beam of light that enveloped him, immediately followed by the realization that he had been transported into an independent space, separated from the other two.

A total of two puppets appeared before Lin Fan, both of them wolf-headed and human-bodied.

"Late stage of the Three Decays of the Heaven and Man realm?"

Lin Fan frowned, finally grasping the meaning behind Old Ancestor Mo's words. Yet, he did not take this trial to heart, because after borrowing the mysterious entity's power, his combat strength had already reached the Void-Breaking realm tier, more than enough to clear these hurdles.

With that thought, Lin Fan stopped holding back. With ten fingers flicking in rapid succession, both puppets were shattered into fine powder within breaths.

However, he was not transported out of this small world. Several more figures materialized—this time, four puppets at the early stage of the Four Decays of the Heaven and Man realm.

Meanwhile, deep within the mausoleum, inside a small room, a withered figure sitting cross-legged opened its eyes. Two piercing gazes pierced through the void.

"A genius once every six millennia, and carrying an inexplicable aura very similar to the master's. Excellent, excellent..."