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

The roar of the Beast of Time shook the distorted spacetime, and the invisible wave of accelerated time swept in, causing Lin Xuan's projection to fade at a visible speed. It was not the dissipation of energy, but rather the divine consciousness and laws that constituted the projection that were being accelerated to "age," as if they were about to complete their long lifespan in an instant.

If it were an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, facing this bizarre creature that devours time, their projection would probably collapse in an instant, and even their physical soul would be affected, resulting in a loss of lifespan.

But Lin Xuan is no ordinary person.

Having endured countless battles, his Dao heart was as firm as ancient ice. At the end of the fourth volume, he even directly confronted the Immortal Venerable's Dharma Form, carving a bloody path out of the impossible. At this moment, though startled, he remained calm. Instead, a flame of predatory delight ignited in his deep, star-like black eyes.

"You beast! How dare you be so insolent!"

Lin Xuan spoke in a Daoist voice, not in the language of the main world, but as a rebuke issued through the vibration of the laws of divine thought. The reincarnation runes and the nascent understanding of the laws of time on his raised fingertips suddenly lit up, no longer simply resisting, but forming a miniature, reverse-rotating vortex.

"The cycle of reincarnation—a fleeting moment of eternity!"

hum!

A completely different rhythm of time emanated from him. The sweeping wave of accelerated time, upon touching this miniature vortex, was forcibly twisted and absorbed, transforming into the vortex's own rotational power, as if a mud ox had entered the sea. Within the vortex, the passage of time was infinitely stretched, as if a moment had been frozen into eternity.

This is precisely the method that Lin Xuan temporarily created by using the true meaning of reincarnation and combining it with his observation of the temporal realm. By encompassing time through reincarnation, he forcibly transforms the "acceleration" of the outside world into "stagnation" within.

The blurry figure of the Time Beast visibly froze. For the first time, its perception based on the passage of time encountered an incomprehensible phenomenon. It instinctively felt that time around the "food" before it had become viscous and strange, making it impossible for it to take a bite.

"Roar!" It let out an even more furious roar, and fragments of time flew around its body, condensing into gray-white blades of time that tore through the void and slashed toward Lin Xuan.

These blades of time are not physical attacks, but pure time corruption. Once struck, they will directly deprive the victim of a large amount of "time".

Lin Xuan's eyes turned slightly cold as his figure flickered amidst the chaotic moments of time. His movements were mysterious, and he dodged the strikes of the Blade of Time at the last possible second.

He did not choose to fight head-on. The flow of time here was strange, and the Time Beast was like a fish in water. If he continued to fight, even if he could win, his projection would probably be exhausted.

His gaze fell upon the core of the ruins, where the flow of time was most chaotic.

"This place is not safe to linger. With your help, I will investigate further!"

In a flash, Lin Xuan suddenly twisted his body, not retreating, but instead charging towards the most ferocious blade of time.

Just as he was about to be struck, the spacetime runes around him flashed, and the projection became illusory, creating a strange "resonance" with the blade of time.

call out!

The Blade of Time grazed past his "illusion" without causing any real damage, but the immense power of time contained within it acted like a huge thrust, carrying Lin Xuan's projection and slamming it into the absolutely chaotic spacetime region deep within the ruins at a speed exceeding his own limits!

"Waaah—"

The beast of time let out a resentful howl, hovering anxiously at the edge of the chaotic spacetime, yet seemingly wary and unwilling to venture deeper.

……

It felt as if I had passed through a layer of cold, viscous water, or as if I had fallen into a kaleidoscope-like vortex.

When Lin Xuan regained his footing (if you can even call it "gaining his footing" in this kind of place), he found himself in an extremely bizarre and surreal environment.

There is no up, down, left, or right here; no sky or earth. There are only countless fragmented images, distorted light and shadow, and intermittent sounds, like shattered mirrors, mixed in with the colorful and varied flow of time, spinning, colliding, and annihilating madly.

He saw a magnificent palace built in an instant, only to collapse and turn to dust in the next breath; he saw a dense forest go through countless cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter before his eyes, at a speed that was dazzling to the eye; he heard the deafening shouts of battle and cheers of victory intertwined on the battlefield, only to be replaced in an instant by the mournful cries of death.

This is a dumping ground for time, a graveyard piled high with fragments of history.

"Such chaotic spacetime turbulence..." Lin Xuan focused his mind and became vigilant, spreading the power of reincarnation around the projection to form a layer of faint light, struggling to resist the tearing of different time flow rates.

Fortunately, he had a preliminary understanding of the laws of time; otherwise, upon entering this place, he would probably have been torn into countless pieces and scattered to different points in time.

He carefully navigated through these fragmented pieces of time and space, as if treading on driftwood in a raging torrent. It was precisely in this extreme environment that his understanding of the laws of time improved at an unprecedented rate.

The spacetime runes flickered between his brows, greedily absorbing and analyzing all the information about "time" around him.

Suddenly, a relatively stable but unusually large flow of time caught his attention.

It was like a turbid yet ceaselessly flowing main river, standing out starkly against the fragmented landscape of time and space. More importantly, he sensed from that flow of time a profound sense of civilization.

After a moment's thought, Lin Xuan activated the projection, resisting the surrounding tearing forces, and slowly approached the edge of the "River of Time".

He did not rush in rashly, but instead carefully probed a wisp of his divine sense into the river.

boom!

As if a flood had burst its banks, a massive amount of information instantly flooded into his consciousness.

It's no longer about watching fragmented images, but rather... an immersive experience!

He "saw":

On the endless wilderness, a group of primitive people dressed in simple animal skins and wielding stone spears are hunting a huge, saber-toothed tiger-like beast. They shout rough battle cries, their eyes filled with a thirst for survival and awe of nature.

Around the campfire, they offered sacrifices to the vague spirits of nature, dancing a vibrant dance. This was the budding of civilization, but in the long river of time, it was but a tiny ripple.

The scene changed rapidly.

Stone houses were transformed into earthen and wooden structures, and tribes gathered together to form city-states.

They learned to smelt metals and forge sharp bronze weapons.

Wars and annexations began between city-states, and a brilliant monarch standardized language and weights and measures, establishing the first vast empire.

Magnificent temples were built, and the objects of worship shifted from spirits of nature to personified deities. Civilization entered a phase of rapid development.

However, the rise and fall of an empire seems to be an eternal law.

The empire's territory had expanded to its limit, and corruption and hedonism began to fester within. The gap between rich and poor widened, and class conflict intensified. Foreign tribes on the borders loomed menacingly. Finally, in a natural disaster that swept the continent and a series of internal and external wars, the vast empire collapsed, leaving behind a trail of flames and carnage. Magnificent buildings were burned, exquisite works of art were smashed, and knowledge was lost in the flames of war. Civilization plunged into a long period of darkness and regression.

But life's resilience is beyond imagination.

Amidst the ruins, a new order begins to be re-established.

This time, they learned from their mistakes, improved their systems, and their technology is slowly recovering.

They discovered new energy sources, created sophisticated machines, and even began to explore the stars above.

The city flourished once again, even surpassing the previous empire.

Shuttle-like vehicles traverse the sky, transmitting information across vast distances in an instant.

Civilization seems to have embarked on a completely new and more glorious path.

Lin Xuan, like an absolute bystander, observed everything about this unfamiliar civilization from a godlike perspective. He witnessed the joys and sorrows of countless individuals, the rise and fall of heroes, the cruelty and incompetence of tyrants, the wisdom and perseverance of scholars, the suffering and struggles of ordinary people... All of this together wove together to form the magnificent tapestry of civilization.

His mind was greatly shaken.

This is not simply "seeing", but rather personally "experiencing" this condensed epic of civilization spanning hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years with one's divine consciousness!

He could feel the vibrant energy of the early days of civilization, the confident brilliance of its peak, the helplessness and sorrow of its decline, and the hope and reflection after its rebirth.

However, this river of time did not lead to eternal glory.

When this civilization reached the pinnacle of technological development, almost touching upon the essence of the world, irreconcilable contradictions once again arose within it.

Greed for resources, lust for power, and intolerance of different ideologies ultimately escalated into a devastating war that swept the globe.

A war more terrible than any before.

He saw weapons powerful enough to evaporate the oceans being dropped, continental plates shifting in the explosions, the sky shrouded in eternal dust, and a vibrant planet reduced to a desolate wasteland in a short time.

There was no rebirth of civilization.

Only the broken planet, slowly rotating in deathly silence, awaits the birth of a new miracle of life, perhaps billions of years from now.

Finally, the entire scene culminated in a broken children's toy, half-buried by sand and dust. The toy's smile stood out starkly against the deathly silence.

boom!

The information flow came to an abrupt halt.

Lin Xuan's wisp of divine consciousness returned, and the projection stood still in place, speechless for a long time.

He closed his eyes, his handsome face calm and composed, but deep inside, a raging storm was brewing.

"A hundred years in an instant... no, it's more than a hundred years..." he murmured, his voice carrying a hint of vicissitude that he himself was unaware of.

Witnessing firsthand the complete cycle of a glorious civilization, from its birth to its peak, from its decline to its utter demise, is an experience that shakes one's resolve far more than any arduous cultivation or any battle.

His understanding of "time" was no longer merely about its speed or the application of magic. He came to perceive its ruthlessness and fairness on a deeper level.

In the face of time, an individual's life is like a mayfly, born in the morning and dying at dusk; even the most glorious civilization is nothing more than a large wave in a long river, which will eventually splash down and disappear.

No matter how great your heroism, how profound your wisdom, or how immortal your empire, under the erosion of time, you will ultimately be reduced to dust in history.

This realization carries a suffocating heaviness and despair.

If one cannot transcend this state, everything will eventually return to nothingness.

His Daoist heart was subjected to an unprecedented test in the face of this ultimate scene of "passing away".

However, Lin Xuan's Dao heart was forged in the midst of insignificance and in desperate circumstances, making it indestructible!

That slight wavering caused by the demise of civilization lasted only a moment before being crushed by the stronger will deep within him.

"No! It is precisely because time is merciless and civilization is fleeting that I must move forward!"

His gaze suddenly became incredibly sharp, like lightning piercing the darkness.

"Transcendence! Only by transcending the river of time and space, and taking control of one's own destiny, can one avoid being swayed by its relentless passage!"

"Reincarnation is not only the destination of the dead, but also the spark of civilization! If I could completely control time and reincarnation, perhaps... perhaps I could break this fateful cycle!"

At this moment, his pursuit of "transformation into a god" was no longer just about increasing power and extending lifespan, but also about a heavy and firm responsibility, and a resolute determination to fight against "the end"!

He looked at the still chaotic and fragmented flow of time around him, his gaze now completely different.

They are no longer dangerous traps, but a treasure trove containing the ultimate mysteries of time and space.

"This is the perfect place for me to attain enlightenment and transform into a divine being!"