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

The arrival of the Wu tribe's envoy and the initial establishment of the alliance were like a slight easing of the taut bowstring, giving the Pan Shi tribe a precious respite.

After handing over the bone fragments and finalizing the details of the alliance, Zhan Wushan hurriedly left with two tribesmen. They needed to quickly bring the news back to the Houtu tribe and begin arranging for the first batch of young men to come for protection and "observation." Outside the tribe, the prying eyes were still there, but they clearly carried a more complex meaning from different forces, with fear and observation becoming the mainstream.

Lin Xuan's projected avatar once again disappeared above the altar, leaving the tribe's daily management and defense to the old priest Cang and the few Foundation Establishment cultivators. He needed to concentrate on digesting the rich rewards brought by this war of slaying gods.

The harvest mainly came from two aspects:

First, there was the fist-sized, liquid amethyst-like source of thunder essence obtained from Lei Yi, and the even more precious essence of divine and demonic bloodline that exuded innate Dao charm.

Secondly, there is the surging, almost unending, immense power of faith. This faith not only originates from the Rock Tribe itself (having experienced despair to hope, and then witnessing the horrific miracle, their faith is unbreakable and pure), but also begins to emanate sporadically from oppressed races in distant lands who have heard the legends and whose hearts have been ignited with a faint spark. Although the faith of distant individuals is extremely weak, when gathered together, it forms a stream that should not be underestimated.

It is time to transform these resources into real power.

At the core of his divine sense, the illusory image representing the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir Dao began to vibrate at a profound frequency. The first to be activated was the ball of Thunder Dao Origin.

This primordial energy contains Lei Yi's complete understanding of the laws of thunder, as well as a portion of the true essence of thunder inherited from the Lei Ze clan in his bloodline. The mysteries of rage, destruction, speed, and even the potential for life (lightning striking wood to create fire, turning adversity into opportunity) are all compressed within it.

"Analyze, peel away, integrate."

Lin Xuan's divine sense, like the most precise scalpel, penetrated the very essence of the Thunder Dao. He did not intend to accept Lei Yi's Thunder Dao entirely, as that would be incompatible with his own Dao. What he wanted to do was analyze its composition, understand its underlying rules of operation, and extract the parts that were relevant to the Daos of "annihilation" (thunder also possesses the stillness of destruction), "power" (the eruption of thunder is also an ultimate form of power), and "life" (extremes meet, and life arises from the extreme of death), transforming them into nourishment for his own Dao patterns.

The purple-gold Dao patterns of power lit up, drawing upon the explosive power within the origin of thunder; the Dao patterns of annihilation flowed, devouring the true meaning of destruction within; even the relatively dim Dao patterns of "life" flickered slightly, capturing that faint rhythm of life born from destruction...

The origin of thunder shrank at a visible speed, its essence being divided, absorbed, and fused by Lin Xuan's eight Dao patterns. His understanding of thunder improved rapidly. Although he did not specialize in this path, he would be able to resolve thunder attacks more easily in the future, and might even be able to simulate its intent to enhance the power of his own supernatural abilities.

Next came that trace of divine and demonic blood essence.

This thing was even more precious and more unruly. It seemed to possess its own will to live, and when Lin Xuan's divine sense came into contact with it, it emitted a subtle, angry, and arrogant thunderous roar, attempting to resist and even eroding Lin Xuan's divine sense in return.

"You dare to act so arrogantly with blood of no origin?"

With a thought, Lin Xuan unleashed a vast torrent of faith, like a golden furnace, enveloping this essence of his bloodline. The concepts of "absolute trust," "order," and "protection" contained within the power of faith clashed sharply with the innate will of "chaos," "dominance," and "self-centeredness" inherent in the bloodline of gods and demons.

However, Lin Xuan's will was an indestructible Dao heart, tempered by the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir! With the aid of the power of faith, his will was like a divine hammer, forging this essence of bloodline time and time again, grinding away the remaining imprints of will, and refining out the most essential mysteries about the leap of life and the imprints of innate rules.

This process was much slower and more dangerous than refining the essence of thunder, and it was an extreme test of will. But with each bit of resistance he wore away and each bit of essence he absorbed, Lin Xuan could feel that his own life essence seemed to receive a very subtle boost, and his affinity for the laws of the ancient world was also slowly increasing.

Just as the refining of the essence of the divine and demonic bloodline reached a certain critical point, it seemed as if quantitative change had led to qualitative change!

The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir within his body, which had been slowly rotating and was already perfectly perfect, suddenly trembled!

"Buzz—!"

On the surface of the golden core, the eight purple-gold Dao patterns suddenly burst forth with unprecedented brilliance! They were no longer merely imprinted on the surface of the core, but seemed to come alive, like eight divine dragons, frantically swimming, intertwining, and colliding around the core of the golden core!

Each collision sparked fragments of the Great Dao and sparks of the Laws! The form of the Golden Core began to undergo subtle changes, from its original perfect roundness to slightly collapsing inward, as if it were about to evolve into a more complex internal structure, but the Dao charm it emitted became more profound, more deep, and closer to the origin of the universe!

Golden Core Second Stage!

Achieving the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir is already extremely rare, and each advancement is even more difficult, representing another fundamental leap in life level and comprehension of the Great Dao!

In an instant, Lin Xuan's projected divine sense was as if it had been infused with a primordial power that created the world, instantly solidifying several times over! Its strength, resilience, and control over the power all reached a completely new level! The consumption from the previous continuous battles and the use of the Starry Sky Annihilation Finger was not only fully recovered, but also far exceeded what it had been before!

He even felt that if he were to face Lei Yi again now, he would not need to use the blessing of faith; the projection power of this second-stage Golden Core alone would be enough to crush him!

But even more significant changes are happening in reality!

Xuantian Starfield, Kunwu Star, Xuanzun Palace.

Lin Xuan's true form suddenly opened his eyes, and a strange phenomenon as if the universe was being created and destroyed and the stars were being reversed flashed in his eyes!

The real Nine-Turn Golden Core within his body, synchronized with his projected phantom, completed its second transformation! The core became more refined, and the Dao patterns became more profound and mysterious.

At the same time, an incomparably powerful divine thought, like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, swept out uncontrollably from his body!

"boom!"

The divine sense easily broke through the array barrier of the Xuanzun Palace (not by destruction, but by natural penetration after the level was improved), like an invisible storm, sweeping across the entire Kunwu Star in an instant, and then continuing to expand outward without stopping!

Previously, his divine sense was in its initial stages, covering three star regions (Yuheng, Tianshu, and Yaoguang). Now, after completing the second transformation, the range of his divine sense has doubled!

Six vast star fields were clearly presented in his divine sense perception!

These three newly perceived star regions differed from the previous Xuan Tian Star Region. One was deathly silent, as if it had survived some great calamity, with stars shattered and life extinct; another was filled with chaotic void storms and distorted laws, a forbidden zone for life; and yet another faintly exuded an ancient and desolate aura, seemingly concealing unknown secrets.

He sensed even more powerful auras and more subtle fluctuations. He could even vaguely perceive several hidden presences deep within the distant starry sky, like sleeping behemoths, that still made his heart tremble!

The surge in strength brings with it an infinitely broadened perspective, and... a deeper understanding of one's own insignificance and the vastness of the universe.

Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his scattered divine sense, returning to a state of calm and stillness. However, in his deep black eyes, as dark as the ancient starry sky, an even more scorching and resolute Dao fire ignited.

The second stage of the Golden Core is a milestone, but also a new starting point.

The faith and resources of the ancient wilderness, and the foundation and expansion of the real world—these two paths complement each other, propelling him steadily toward that immortal and indestructible supreme realm at an unimaginable speed.

He closed his eyes again, consolidating his second-stage Golden Core realm, while a portion of his consciousness remained attached to the projection of the Ancient Wilderness Realm.

He knew that the storm in the Desolate Ancient Realm was only temporarily over, and the waves in the Real Starfield would inevitably surge due to his breakthrough.

The road ahead is still long.

Strength is the only thing we can rely on on this path.