Chapter 1045: Chapter 1044: The Secret of the Void Emperor’s Royal Decree

Ling Chen faced the same situation with three Puppet Generals charging at him, their swords blazing with intense heat, fiercely slashing over.

Seeing that there was no way to evade, Ling Chen had to stop, the Thunder Sound Sword beneath his feet flew up, grasped in his hand, and then he slashed out like lightning.

The sound of metal clashing echoed, a wild shockwave swept through, and all three Puppet Generals were forced back. However, Ling Chen was also pushed back several steps. The power of these Puppet Generals was not small; each of their strengths was likely no less than that of a Nine-fold Strong in the Sky Apex Realm. But they were far more terrifying than ordinary Nine-fold Strong, as their bodies were made of incomparable materials, almost unbreakable like Vajra.

It wasn’t difficult to repel them, but to destroy them, that was quite challenging.

"I can’t be entangled by these things."

Ling Chen’s expression grew serious. Expending great effort to deal with these Puppet Generals was a complete waste of time and True Qi. Moreover, there were more Puppet Generals below, not just one or two. If he were held here by them, it was unknown when he could break free.

Thinking this, Ling Chen’s eyes locked onto the location of the fire ring, then he increased his speed to the extreme, stepping on the Thunder Sound Sword, turning into a sword light and darting out.

"This kid actually wants to get ahead of us."

Huangfu Qi sneered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and then pointed in the air, stabbing towards Ling Chen’s back.

The sinister finger energy, like a small snake, rapidly approached Ling Chen’s back at an astounding speed.

Seeing this, Murong Qingcheng was somewhat disdainful of Huangfu Qi’s actions. Such a sneak attack was hardly honorable, something she disdained to do, naturally harboring a trace of contempt for Huangfu Qi’s actions.

However, just before the snake-like finger energy approached Ling Chen’s back, without even looking, he suddenly drew another Red Sky Sword to block behind him. With a "clang," the snake-like finger energy struck the sword, precisely deflected away.

Although the finger energy was blocked, the powerful impact suddenly exploded, sending Ling Chen flying. Yet using this force, Ling Chen instead accelerated, charging straight towards the fire ring.

"Brother Huangfu, thank you!"

Just before entering the fire ring, Ling Chen did not forget to laugh loudly towards the people of the Huangfu Clan, then, under the gloomy gaze of Huangfu Qi, he disappeared into the fire ring.

"Chase!"

Huangfu Qi’s face turned blue and white. He originally intended to entrap Ling Chen, but unexpectedly ended up helping Ling Chen instead, allowing him to take the lead and enter the treasure first. In a rage, he immediately shouted and hurriedly led the people of the Huangfu Clan into the fire ring.

Behind them, a dense mass of figures desperately broke free from the entanglement of the Puppet Army, then hurriedly followed.

In the moment Ling Chen rushed into the fire ring, he could clearly feel the space shift, as if he had arrived in an entirely new world. This world under the Array Formation seemed to have been sealed for too long, and as Ling Chen set foot in it, an ancient, suffocating aura surged into his nostrils, almost making it hard for him to breathe.

Once Ling Chen steadied himself, what appeared before him was a vast plain. On the plain, he could see some extraordinarily majestic ruins, and from the scale of these ruins, it was clear how magnificent and vast this Cave Mansion must have been in its heyday.

The entire land exuded an aura of desolation and decay, devoid of any vitality. Ling Chen was slightly taken aback by the scene before him, clearly not expecting that this Cave Mansion, seemingly full of spiritual grace and hidden wonders, would be so dilapidated. It looked less like a smoothly inherited legacy and more as if it had been destroyed by a great disaster...

The anticipated ground full of Spiritual Medicine and treasures did not appear, somewhat disappointing.

Were the illusory scenes seen outside merely illusions?

"Could the owner of this Cave Mansion not be the Void Emperor?" Ling Chen murmured to himself.

"There are only nine Void Emperor Orders in total, and this place only contains one of them. Naturally, it couldn’t be the Void Emperor’s Cave Mansion... The ancient times are so distant from now, figures like the Void Emperor, even I have never seen. His Cave Mansion wouldn’t appear in such a place. Indeed, the owner of this Cave Mansion merely chanced upon one Void Emperor Order, just like you." The voice of the Human Emperor slowly echoed in Ling Chen’s mind.

Ling Chen nodded slightly. The owner of this Cave Mansion, though surely a top expert of his time, still likely had a considerable gap compared to legendary supreme experts like the Void Emperor from ancient times.

"Judging from the environment here, the Void Emperor Order hidden in this Cave Mansion should be the Flame Emperor Order among the nine Void Emperor Orders."

The Human Emperor’s voice sounded once again.

"Flame Emperor Order? Do each of the Void Emperor Orders have different names?"

Ling Chen’s pupils slightly contracted, surprised.

"Though all nine Void Emperor Orders are called Void Emperor Orders, each one is actually fundamentally different."

The Human Emperor patiently explained to Ling Chen, "To distinguish them, later strong ones gave them easily discernible names based on the characteristics of the nine Void Emperor Orders."

"The Void Emperor Order here is likely the Flame Emperor Order, while the one you possess is the Thunder Emperor Order."

"The Thunder Emperor Order, huh."

Ling Chen mused, nodding. The Void Emperor Order he had indeed contained exceedingly profound thunder attribute power, from which he comprehended Thunder Cut. Moreover, Ling Chen had a premonition that the Void Emperor Order’s function went far beyond what he currently knew. He felt that it concealed a great secret beyond his current comprehension.

He only had too few Void Emperor Orders now, just one, hardly enough to discern anything.

Ceasing his idle thoughts, Ling Chen also controlled his sword, but his speed slowed considerably, his gaze constantly sweeping over the ruins below.

Where his eyes passed, he could see in the ruins many traces of intense battles, where ravines crisscrossed, with faint, bone-white skeletons not yet decomposed, all illustrating one fact: this place had once been the site of a brutal war.

"If this place was once a force, it surely would have been a colossal power dominating a region. Yet even such a behemoth would encounter such a cataclysm, suggesting the invading force was likely even more terrifying."

Ling Chen couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

"The appearance of the Void Emperor Order has been accompanied by contests from ancient times to the present; everyone harbors desires for it. All top experts aspire to collect all nine Void Emperor Orders and unearth the secret therein. But in the end, success comes at the cost of countless bones. Over the millennia, no one has yet succeeded."

The Human Emperor also sighed, his sigh tinged with a hint of regret.

"What is the ultimate secret of the Void Emperor Order?"

"You ask me, whom should I ask?"

The Human Emperor shook his head, "Only by gathering all nine Void Emperor Orders can one possibly know the secret within. Once, even I managed to gather eight Void Emperor Orders, but still couldn’t unveil the secret. It seems all nine must be collected to explore the mystery thoroughly."

As the peak supreme of this world, the Human Emperor’s greatest regret was not gathering all nine Void Emperor Orders to comprehend the heavenly secret within. Since him, over thousands of years, even gathering eight Void Emperor Orders hasn’t occurred again, let alone collecting all nine.