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

Beyond the Xuan Tian Star Domain, in the endless depths of the void.

There are no stars, no light, only eternal stillness and cosmic gales capable of freezing even the souls of ordinary Golden Core cultivators. If an ordinary cultivator were to arrive here, their true essence would be exhausted in no time, torn to shreds by the gales, and reduced to cosmic dust.

However, in this absolute forbidden zone of life, a figure was silently suspended.

He was dressed in a black robe, his figure as upright as a pine tree, his black hair flowing like a waterfall, held up only by a simple jade hairpin. His face was handsome, his features seemingly sculpted by nature itself, so perfect as to be otherworldly. Most striking were his deep eyes, as black as ink, within which seemed to hold the birth and death of nebulae and the rotation of the universe. Simply gazing calmly ahead, they gave one a sense of having seen through eternity and surveyed the vicissitudes of reincarnation.

It was Lin Xuan.

He has just left the Xuan Tian Star Region, which nurtured him and witnessed his rise.

Looking back, that once vast and boundless star field, where battles raged for years, now appears to me as nothing more than a relatively bright halo. Beyond the star field's barrier lies a far wider, more mysterious, and more dangerous unknown universe.

"The cause and effect of the Xuan Tian Star Domain have been settled." Lin Xuan murmured to himself, his voice calm and undisturbed, yet clearly audible in the deathly silent void.

He slew all his enemies here, ascended to the summit, and perfected the Nine Revolutions of the Golden Core. The path ahead within the Xuan Tian Star Domain had come to an end. To remain there would be like sitting in a well and looking at the sky. His path lay in a wider world, beyond the sea of ​​stars.

Before him, in the previously empty space, lay an indescribable "path".

It is neither paved with bricks nor a bridge of light formed from condensed energy, but rather resembles a "passage" forcibly carved out. To the naked eye, space there is distorted, bizarre and fantastical, with countless tiny fragments of space flowing, colliding, and annihilating like silt in a river. Occasionally, one can see the remains of enormous stars, the skeletons of ancient creatures, and even broken magical weapons, floating and sinking at the edge of this "path," telling tales of endless vicissitudes and dangers.

This is the "Ancient Star Road" leading to an older and more powerful star field.

A path to strength that has buried countless geniuses and also created countless legends.

At the entrance to the ancient road, the space was extremely unstable, forming a massive vortex that emitted a terrifying suction force capable of devouring everything. The fierce cosmic winds became even more violent here, like billions of invisible celestial blades, frantically slicing through everything.

Lin Xuan's eyes remained unwavering; he had anticipated this danger.

He took a step forward, his figure transforming into a faint, ethereal stream of light. He didn't directly confront the attack, but rather, with a mysterious trajectory, merged into the raging spatial turbulence. A faint, clear light emanated from his body—a protective aura naturally formed by his magical power. It appeared weak, yet it was incredibly resilient. Spatial fragments, powerful enough to tear apart low-grade spiritual treasures, struck it, only causing minor ripples before silently sliding away, unable to harm him in the slightest.

His movements were effortless, as if he were not traversing a perilous place that could shatter the souls of even a Golden Core cultivator, but rather strolling leisurely in his own courtyard.

However, just as he was about to officially step onto the main road of the ancient road, a sudden change occurred!

"Buzz—"

A deep, soul-piercing hum resounded, and from the distorted light and shadow ahead, three enormous shadows slowly emerged, blocking the way.

They were three ancient warships with unique shapes, forged entirely from some kind of dark golden metal, covered with mottled marks, clearly having withstood the test of countless years and the ravages of battle. The bows of the warships were carved with the heads of ferocious beasts, their eye sockets flickering with eerie green soul fire, exuding a cold and deathly aura.

They are not static, but form a simple triangular battle formation, which is positioned precisely at the throat of the ancient road entrance, like venomous snakes lurking in the undercurrent, waiting for their prey to come to them.

Dozens of figures stood atop the warship. They were not human; they were tall, with stone-gray skin covered in strange natural patterns, bald heads, no noses, and only a single, enormous eye occupying most of their faces, their mouths filled with jagged, menacing teeth.

They exuded a unified and powerful aura, all of them being at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. The one in the lead, who was exceptionally tall, had even reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, just one step away from condensing his Nascent Soul.

"Hey kid, stop right there!"

The lead stone-skinned cyclope emitted a wave of divine thought, like the friction of cold metal, directly entering Lin Xuan's sea of ​​consciousness. In its single eye, greed, cruelty, and a hint of excitement at spotting prey flickered.

Lin Xuan stopped, hovering in the void, his black robe fluttering slightly in the invisible energy flow. He raised his eyes, calmly looking at the other person, his deep eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, as if he were looking at a few pebbles by the roadside.

"What is it?" He responded with divine thought, concise and indifferent.

Seeing Lin Xuan's composure, the cyclops leader was surprised, but sensing that Lin Xuan's aura was only at the Golden Core stage (which Lin Xuan deliberately concealed), greed immediately overwhelmed his caution.

"This road is under the jurisdiction of my 'Stone Spirit Clan'!" The leader's divine sense carried an air of arrogance. "Those who wish to pass through this road must pay a 'toll'!"

"Toll?" Lin Xuan's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.

"Not bad!" another Stone Spirit Clan cultivator sneered, his divine sense sweeping over Lin Xuan. "Seeing you're all alone, you must be some bumpkin from some remote star region, ignorant of the rules! Hand over all your storage treasures, elixirs, and cultivation techniques, and I might spare your life and allow you to become my servant, exploring ancient and dangerous paths for our clan!"

They've been entrenched here for years, specifically targeting seemingly weak cultivators from downstream star regions. Those who manage to get this far usually possess some wealth; they're easy prey. As for resistance? The Stone Spirit Clan possesses formidable physical strength. When they join forces, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have to temporarily retreat, let alone a human youth at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan gently shook his head.

He had expected some serious trouble, but it turned out to be nothing more than bandits in the starry sky.

"Get out of the way." He said calmly, his voice still composed, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority.

"You're courting death!" The Stone Spirit Clan leader glared with his one eye, his gaze fierce. "Kill him! Split the treasure equally!"

boom!

The three ancient warships simultaneously emitted a ghostly light, and beams of light imbued with the aura of death and decay instantly coalesced, locking onto Lin Xuan. At the same time, dozens of Stone Spirit Clan cultivators roared and leaped from the warships. The patterns on their stone-gray skin shimmered, and their bodies instantly swelled, wielding enormous stone axes and bone clubs, carrying the immense power to shatter stars, as they pounced towards Lin Xuan.

In an instant, beams of energy tore through the void, and the savage physical body crushed everything. The attack was like a storm, completely sealing off all of Lin Xuan's space to dodge.

Faced with this siege that could drive even cultivators of the same level to despair, Lin Xuan's eyes remained calm and unwavering.

He didn't even make any defensive or evasive movements.

But just as the attack was about to strike, he spoke again.

This time, he didn't use his divine sense, but instead uttered two clear characters. His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to contain some supreme law or will, resounding throughout the void:

"still."

Words spoken become law!

There was no earth-shattering energy burst, nor any dazzling supernatural power.

But the instant those two words fell, the void within a thousand miles centered on Lin Xuan seemed to be suddenly paused by an invisible hand.

Time stood still.

Space was frozen.

The dozens of beams of death that shot towards them were as if they were embedded in transparent amber, maintaining their shooting form, but their energy fluctuations were completely silent.

The Stone Spirit cultivators who had charged forward, each still in a ferocious roaring, weapon-wielding stance, stood frozen in mid-air. The bloodthirsty excitement and cruelty that lingered in their eyes had now transformed into boundless terror and disbelief. Their minds were still functioning, yet they could clearly feel that their bodies, their magical power, and even the surrounding space were completely beyond their control, utterly imprisoned by an incomprehensible and irresistible force.

Even the eerie light and energy fluctuations emanating from those three enormous ancient warships all came to a standstill.

The vast emptiness was utterly silent.

Only the figure in the black robe remained suspended there quietly, his black hair slightly swaying, his eyes as deep as ever, as if he had just done something insignificant.

His gaze swept over the frozen stone spirits, like a god looking down on ants.

"The Ancient Starry Sky Road..." Lin Xuan murmured softly, stepping forward and calmly passing through the solidified attacks and the Stone Spirit Clan cultivators. "Indeed, this is quite interesting."

His figure disappeared into the bizarre and distorted light and shadow deep within the ancient road.

It wasn't until his figure had completely disappeared that the seemingly eternal "stillness" effect suddenly vanished.

Puff puff puff puff—!

Those frozen beams of death lost their momentum and vanished silently.

The Stone Spirit Clan cultivators who remained in a fighting stance, as well as all the clansmen on the warship, instantly lost all their vitality the moment they regained their mobility. Their eyes dimmed instantly, and countless fine cracks appeared on their massive bodies. Then, with a "bang," they all turned into dust and scattered in the cold cosmic winds.

Along with those three ancient warships, they also disintegrated and turned into the dust of history.

A single word can determine life or death; the law can lead to the extermination of an entire clan.