Projection of the Heavens: I prove my immortality through slaughter.

Consciousness surged forth like a tide, completely taking control of the body named "Lin Xuan." The fatal palm wound on his chest, nourished by the wisp of primordial star power, had miraculously healed by more than half. Although he could still feel a faint pain with each breath, at least his movements were no longer significantly impaired. He tried to move his fingers, and a faint sense of control came through him; this body was being forcibly pulled back from the brink of death.

He struggled to get off the bed, his feet landing unsteadily, nearly causing him to fall. The original owner of this body had lived a life of luxury, his muscles and bones untrained, and coupled with his recent recovery from severe injuries, he was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind. The newly formed stellar internal energy in his dantian was as faint as a firefly in the dark night, barely enough to sustain his life force, and even mobilizing a little energy was his limit.

He steadied himself, his gaze calmly sweeping across the bedroom, a space filled with the remnants of death and luxury. The air was thick with the mingled scents of medicine and sandalwood, yet this couldn't mask the far stronger stench of blood seeping in through the cracks in the doors and windows. Fragments of Lin Xuan's memories of this world, like paintings violently torn apart, swirled and pieced together in his mind, gradually sketching the outline of this realm called "Tianyuan Realm."

This is a world where martial arts reign supreme. Internal strength is the sole measure of strength and determines rank. From the "Body Tempering Realm," which tempers muscles and bones and unleashes potential, to the "Meridian Opening Realm," where internal strength is generated spontaneously and flows through the meridians, to the "Innate Realm," where internal strength is released externally and can injure people from a distance, and even to the legendary "Void Breaking Realm," which allows one to transcend the mortal realm and achieve divine power through martial arts, each step is like an insurmountable chasm.

The "Great Qian Dynasty" he currently inhabits is merely a kingdom in the eastern corner of this vast continent. Once upon a time, the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion was an indispensable pillar supporting the northern frontier of the dynasty, and the name of the military god Lin Tianhao could silence children's night cries. Now, the pillar has collapsed, glory has turned to ashes, and only he, a lonely ghost who should have been "dead," remains, quietly resurrected in these ruins.

The faces of the enemies in memory are blurred by blood and chaos, but the injustice that cannot be washed away even by pouring out the waters of the five lakes and four seas, and the heart-wrenching hatred of the massacre of the family, are like a brand, clear enough to suffocate.

"Internal energy..." Lin Xuan (the projected form) murmured to himself, his voice hoarse and dry. He carefully sensed the rules of this world, which were completely different from those of the cultivation world. The energy of this world was extremely inert, almost impossible to be directly absorbed and refined into spiritual power. Instead, it relied more on the refinement of the body's own essence, qi, and spirit to generate "internal energy." The cultivation methods were mostly to temper the muscles and bones with external techniques, combined with specific mental cultivation methods to stimulate one's own potential, which was generated from within.

In the eyes of this "traveler" from the world of cultivation, this was more like a... superficial method of energy utilization, limited to his own small space, failing to touch the essence of the laws of heaven and earth.

"However, now that I've entered this realm, I must follow its laws." His eyes were calm and unwavering. From the perspective of a cultivator, he looked down upon mortal martial arts from a high vantage point. Many obstacles that seemed incredibly profound to the local martial artists were crystal clear to him.

The most urgent task is to regain some mobility as soon as possible and leave this dangerous place immediately. The Marquis's residence has been ransacked, and the assassins have just left. No one can guarantee that someone won't return, or that the court's henchmen won't come to search again to confirm whether he is truly dead.

He forced his weakened body to search the chaotic room with difficulty. Overturned tables and chairs, shattered vases, torn curtains... the former prosperity was now just a memory. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, or perhaps the original owner's fate had not yet run out, but as he moved a wardrobe that had been split open by a sharp blade, revealing its inner layers, his fingertips touched a cold, hard object.

It was a flat jade box, about the size of a palm, with a warm, smooth texture. It was made of superior material and was clearly not an ordinary item. He carefully opened the lid. Inside, instead of the expected gold, silver, and jewels, were three seemingly ordinary items that subtly revealed their extraordinary nature: a thread-bound book with yellowed pages and a blank cover; a dark red pill, about the size of a longan, perfectly round, and emitting a faint, invigorating medicinal fragrance; and a heavy, cold iron token with the character "Lin" engraved on its front, exuding an aura of battlefield ruthlessness.

He first picked up the blank book, and with a slight thought, tried to probe it with an extremely weak wisp of divine sense—in the cultivation world, many high-level cultivation manuals are read using this method.

Sure enough, the moment his divine sense gently touched the book like a tentacle, a strange change occurred! On the previously empty pages, densely packed, shimmering silver characters slowly emerged like ripples on water, along with intricate and exquisite diagrams of the human body marked with star nodes and energy circulation routes!

The Starry Sky Qi Induction Chapter!

This is no ordinary martial arts manual; rather, it's more like a foundation-building and guiding technique tailored for mortals! Its core essence teaches practitioners how to use a unique breathing frequency, specific body postures, and mental visualization to draw upon the power of the stars, tempering the physical body, cleansing impurities, and strengthening the foundation! While its sophistication and profundity cannot compare to the true cultivation method, the "Star River Qi Refining Technique," its fundamental concept is remarkably similar to guiding qi into the body! This is clearly an alternative path to physical refinement, forcibly opened for mortals who cannot perceive the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, pointing towards the evolution of life!

"The Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion actually harbors such a transcendent inheritance?" Lin Xuan was astonished. This "Star Qi Guiding Chapter" might be insignificant in the cultivation world, but in this world where martial arts reign supreme, it is absolutely a supreme secret technique capable of causing bloodshed! No wonder in the original owner's memories, his father, Lin Tianhao, was able to climb step by step to the peak of martial arts and become a renowned master of the Innate Realm who shook the northern border, relying on the rudimentary hard skills widely circulated in the army. It was probably inseparable from his secret practice of this secret technique.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and turned his gaze to the dark red pill. Relying on the original owner's fragmented memories and his keen perception of energy, he immediately judged that this should be a healing elixir of quite high quality—the "Blood Jade Muscle Regeneration Pill," which has excellent effects on severe internal injuries and damaged meridians.

This is exactly what he needs right now!

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed the pill. It melted instantly upon entering his mouth, transforming into a gentle yet powerful torrent of medicinal energy, surging like a river bursting its banks and rushing towards his entire body. The meridians and internal organs, which had been barely repaired by the power of the stars, healed at a speed several times faster under the nourishment of this pure and potent medicinal energy! A visibly rapid return of color to his pale cheeks also dispelled much of his weakness.

He immediately sat down cross-legged, his palms facing the sky. But he wasn't using any internal energy cultivation method from this world; instead, he activated the visualization method of the "Star River Qi Refining Technique" again! Using his powerful divine sense as a guide, he meticulously guided the immense medicinal power of the "Blood Jade Muscle Regeneration Pill" to more efficiently and evenly integrate into every wound in his body. At the same time, the imperceptible power of the stars was also activated once more, like the most precise carving knife, assisting in refining the medicinal power and repairing the most minute damage.

The two-pronged approach, combining internal and external measures, has yielded astonishing results!

About an hour later, Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of foul-smelling air. The dimness in his eyes was replaced by a restrained divine light. Although he was still far from his peak condition and his internal injuries had not fully healed, at least his movements were no longer a problem, his strength had recovered considerably, and the wisp of star energy in his dantian was noticeably thicker and more solid than before.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and heard a series of soft crackling sounds from within his body—a sign that his blood and energy were flowing smoothly and his muscles were relaxed. Feeling the renewed surge of power within him, his gaze finally settled on the dark, black iron token.

The token was heavy and icy cold in my hand. The character "Lin," seemingly forged in blood and war, silently spoke of the past glory and heavy burden of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion. This token appeared to represent the identity of a core member of the Marquis's mansion, and perhaps one day in the future, it would play an unexpected role.

He firmly imprinted the contents of the "Starry Sky Qi Induction Chapter" deep in his mind, and then carefully put away the empty jade box and the black iron token, hiding them close to his body.

At this moment, the setting sun outside the window had completely sunk below the horizon, and the last rays of light were swallowed up by the heavy twilight. Darkness, like a huge curtain, enveloped the entire capital.

We can't stay any longer! Every moment we linger increases the danger.

He quickly found an inconspicuous dark-colored, narrow-sleeved cloth robe that the original owner used to wear when riding horses and shooting arrows among the wreckage of the wardrobe and put it on. He deliberately messed up his originally neatly combed hair, making it look somewhat disheveled. He also picked up some dust from the ground and rubbed it haphazardly on his face, neck, and clothes to make himself look more like a lowly servant who had narrowly escaped a catastrophe and was in a panic.

Having done all this, he took a deep breath of the cold air, which smelled of blood and burnt flesh, and quietly activated the most basic "Concealment Technique" in the cultivation world. Although there was no spiritual energy in this world, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the Concealment Technique and making it impossible to completely hide his figure, he could still move silently with his precise control over his muscles, breathing, and even heartbeat. His aura was almost indistinguishable from that of an ordinary mortal, making it difficult for martial artists to be alerted.

Like a true ghost, he crept along the shadows of the corner of the wall, relying on the map of the Marquis's mansion in his memory, and crept towards the more secluded back gate, far from the main gate.

The once bustling Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, teeming with carriages and guests, is now a desolate ruin. Broken walls and rubble are everywhere, charred pillars emitting wisps of smoke, and the once exquisite pavilions and towers are reduced to remains. On the ground, congealed dark red bloodstains intertwine with scattered, broken weapons, silently recounting the bloody massacre that occurred not long ago. The thick stench of blood and acrid burning in the air is almost nauseating.

Occasionally, one could see a group of people dressed in official robes or unfamiliar tight-fitting clothes, carrying torches, patrolling and searching among the ruins. Their conversations and the sounds of them rummaging through the debris were particularly clear in the deathly silent mansion.

Lin Xuan's heart was as calm as an ancient well. With his extraordinary senses and superb stealth skills, he could always sense the patrollers' movements one step ahead. As if he had foreseen the future, he would hide behind the ruins and in the shadows of the artificial hills and bushes, avoiding sight time and time again without any danger, and gradually approaching the relatively hidden back door leading out of the mansion.

However, just as he glimpsed through a crack in a moon gate, and could already see the half-open back door—a door symbolizing freedom and the unknown—

"Whoosh!"

A very faint yet extremely sharp sound of something cutting through the air came without warning from the shadows behind him!

A poisoned crossbow bolt, no more than three inches long, with an arrowhead gleaming with a ghostly blue light, moved with astonishing speed in the dim twilight, like a viper flicking its tongue, aiming straight for his vital heart!

As the crisis struck, Lin Xuan felt a slight chill, but he remained calm. His combat instincts, honed through years of life-or-death battles with ferocious beasts in the Qinglan Mountains, allowed his body to react with pinpoint accuracy before his mind could process it!

His steps seemed erratic as he stumbled forward, his body lurching as if drunk. The movement was small, yet it was so precise that the deadly crossbow bolt grazed his ribs by the slightest distance, finally embedding itself deeply into the door panel not far ahead with a muffled thud, the arrow still trembling violently!

At the same time, he suddenly turned his body, his eyes like two cold bolts of lightning, instantly locking onto the direction from which the crossbow bolts were fired.

Not far away, behind a jagged artificial hill, three men in tight-fitting clothes emerged, wielding gleaming steel knives and displaying fierce expressions, accompanied by several low, triumphant laughs. The leader, with a grotesque, centipede-like scar across his face, had a cruel yet mocking gaze. In his hand, he held a small crossbow, still emitting wisps of smoke; clearly, the arrow from earlier had been fired by him.

"Hey! I told you there were still some small fry left in this manor! We three brothers caught one!" Scarface spat, his gaze sweeping over Lin Xuan like he was sizing up prey, filled with undisguised greed and murderous intent. "Kid, if you know what's good for you, kneel down and kowtow, hand over your valuables. If we're in a good mood, we might give you a quick death! Otherwise… hmph!"

The other two also let out lewd grins, spreading out to the left and right, subtly forming a pincer movement, blocking all possible escape routes for Lin Xuan. They exuded considerable auras, roughly at the mid-to-late stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Dealing with a seemingly powerless youth who had just crawled back from the brink of death was, in their eyes, an easy task.

Lin Xuan quietly watched these three low-level thugs, who were clearly left behind by certain forces to "clean up" the battlefield and plunder for their own gain. His eyes were as cold as ice, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

His body, which had just recovered, needed some "activity" to adapt, and he also needed to verify whether the martial arts of this world or his "internal force" driven by the power of the stars was stronger or weaker!

Feeling the stellar internal energy within his dantian stirring with a slight warmth due to the sense of battle intent, he slowly raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together like a sword.

A faint, yet incredibly concentrated, silver starlight quietly gathered at his fingertips, like the first ray of dawn about to pierce the sky in the dark night.