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

Witnessing the complete cycle of a civilization has an immense impact on the soul. The weighty passage of time, composed of countless lives, joys and sorrows, rises and falls, weighs heavily on Lin Xuan's heart, giving him a profound understanding of the meaning of "passage."

His Dao heart had become even more solidified after undergoing the baptism, but he also knew that this was not the time to indulge in enlightenment. This region of spatial turbulence was fraught with danger. He had only risked entering it to escape the pursuit of that strange creature, and he had to find a way out as soon as possible, or perhaps a deeper opportunity.

He focused his mind, the spacetime runes between his brows flickering as he intently analyzed the chaotic flow of time around him, trying to find a pattern. The faint protective shield formed by the power of reincarnation rippled under the tearing of different time flows, appearing precarious yet stubbornly holding on.

Just as he was cautiously moving toward an area where the flow of time was relatively flat, something unexpected happened!

Ahead, the turbid and vast river of time, which carries the epic history of vanished civilizations, suddenly began to boil and twist violently in a certain section of its lower reaches! It was as if something was churning wildly at the bottom of the river, devouring those traces of civilization that had not yet completely disappeared.

An aura, more ancient, more violent, and more hungry than the Beast of Time they had encountered before, erupted like an ancient god awakening from a slumber!

slam-la-

The illusory sound of flowing water rang out, and the river of time in that area suddenly exploded, with a massive shadow slowly rising from the riverbed.

Its form remained indistinct, composed of countless distorted and flowing fragments of time, but its size was more than ten times larger than the one Lin Xuan had encountered before! It had no specific facial features, but in the center of that distorted light and shadow, two enormous, black hole-like vortexes slowly rotated—its "mouthparts" for greedily devouring time. The decaying and rotten aura emanating from its body caused the surrounding chaotic flow of time to freeze and give way.

This beast of time clearly feeds on the "past" in that river of time, and is a more powerful predator entrenched here! Lin Xuan's intrusion, as well as the pure divine sense and fluctuations of the laws of time contained in his projection, were like lighting a torch in a dark forest, instantly attracting the attention of this behemoth.

The two black hole-like mouths turned towards Lin Xuan, and a cold, deathly intent locked onto them.

It wasn't a sound, but a roar that directly impacted the spacetime dimension, shaking Lin Xuan's soul!

"Hungry……"

Pure, a thirst for time, a greed for existence!

Lin Xuan's pupils constricted sharply, and his heart sank to the bottom. Judging from the pressure emanating from this Time Beast, its strength far exceeded the Nascent Soul realm, and might even be comparable to a cultivator in the mid-to-late stage of the Deity Transformation realm, especially in its most proficient domain of time and space!

escape!

The thought instantly arose. Faced with such an insurmountable force, temporarily avoiding confrontation was the wisest choice.

However, the moment he moved, the enormous beast of time launched its attack. It didn't pounce; instead, one of its dark, gaping maws suddenly expanded, sucking fiercely in the direction Lin Xuan was!

It doesn't devour matter, but rather—time!

hum!

Lin Xuan felt the flow of time around him suddenly become incredibly strange. It wasn't a simple acceleration, but a feeling of being forcibly "stripped away"! The "time" occupied by his projection itself was being forcibly pulled away by that terrifying suction force!

The protective aura of reincarnation within him dimmed at a visible speed, not because its energy was depleted, but because its "time" of existence was being taken away, rapidly approaching the end of its "aging." What alarmed him even more was that he clearly felt the "lifespan" of his projection rapidly slipping away!

If the previous attack from the Time Beast was an "acceleration," making the target quickly complete their life cycle, then this behemoth's attack is a more fundamental "stripping," directly stealing your "time" and causing you to instantly perish!

"not good!"

Alarm bells rang in Lin Xuan's mind. This was the first time since he began cultivating that he had so vividly felt the crisis of his own "existence" being shaken! This attack was not only aimed at the projection, but also, through the mysterious connection between the projection and his main body, it was subtly shaking the foundation of his main body's lifespan!

"Certainly!"

He activated his divine power, which manifested in the sound of the Dao and whose words became law, and combined it with his initial understanding of the laws of time to try to stabilize the disrupted flow of time around him.

However, before this powerful beast of time, his still-developing mastery of spacetime appeared so weak. His power to make words law only momentarily halted the separation of time before being forcibly broken apart by the black hole-like suction!

hiss hiss hiss—

The edges of the projection began to blur, fading and disintegrating like an old photograph. A sense of weakness, stemming from a primal instinct, began to erode his consciousness.

We can't just sit here and wait to die!

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes, his decisive and ruthless nature fully unleashed. If there's no escape, then let's fight!

"The Cycle of Reincarnation - Against the Current!"

He formed hand seals, and the Samsara Mark within his body shone brightly. He forcefully drew upon the chaotic flow of time around him, no longer resisting it, but guiding and gathering it into a turbid pillar of light containing countless fragments of time. Against the suction force, he blasted towards the black hole mouth of the Time Beast!

You want to inhale? Then I'll let you inhale to your heart's content! I'll pour all the chaotic and disordered time of this space-time into you!

This move is a risky one!

Boom!

The chaotic flow of time collided violently with the devouring power of the Time Beast, erupting in a silent roar. The surrounding space shattered inch by inch like a mirror, revealing an even deeper and darker void behind it.

The Time Beast let out a howl mixed with pain and anger. Lin Xuan's counterattack, which contained multiple chaotic time powers, clearly made it uncomfortable, as if it had been fed food laced with poison.

The suction force that was devouring them paused for a moment.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Xuan retreated rapidly, while the illusory image of the Xuan Tian Demon-Slaying Sword condensed in front of him. Although it was only a projection and he could not use the original magic weapon, he could still exert some of its power by simulating its form and intent with his divine sense and laws.

"cut!"

The sword shadow swept across the sky, not slashing at matter, but at the invisible "temporal connection"! He wanted to sever the behemoth's power to strip away the time from his projection!

The dazzling sword light contained Lin Xuan's unbreakable will and the nascent spacetime Dao patterns, and it precisely struck the invisible devouring channel.

Stab it!

A sound like tearing cloth was heard, and the powerful suction was temporarily severed.

However, before Lin Xuan could catch his breath, the enraged Time Beast went completely berserk. Its other, unused mouthpart suddenly opened, and this time, instead of suction, it spewed out a hazy, dust-like mist of light.

The light mist appeared to move slowly, but it ignored the distance in space and instantly enveloped the area where Lin Xuan was located.

"This is... time dust..." Lin Xuan's heart skipped a beat, recognizing that this thing was far more terrifying than mere time acceleration. Like the accumulated dust of time, it could adhere to everything, accelerating its decay and causing it to undergo thousands of years of weathering in an instant.

The protective divine light emitted a hissing sound the moment it came into contact with the dust of time, its radiance rapidly dimming and its structure beginning to crumble. Lin Xuan's projected arm, accidentally touched by a trace of it, instantly became visibly dry and wrinkled, as if it had undergone countless ages in an instant, before turning to ashes!

Intense pain originating from the dimension of time emanated from Lin Xuan, causing his very soul to tremble.

He gritted his teeth and made a decisive move, using his divine sense to transform into a sword and sever the corroded arm projection! The cut was smooth as a mirror, but there was no blood, only scattered specks of divine sense light.

Amputation to survive!

But the crisis was far from over. The misty haze of time dust still lingered, and the enormous body of the Time Beast stirred the river of time, stirring up towering waves—an attack composed of condensed, chaotic "past time"—that was crushing down on him.

All sides were blocked.

Lin Xuan's projection was already shattered, and his aura had weakened considerably. His face was pale, but his eyes remained frighteningly calm. He rapidly analyzed the situation; all avenues of retreat seemed to be blocked. If he continued to fight head-on, the projection would undoubtedly dissipate, and it might even damage his physical foundation.

"This is the only way..."

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes. His gaze fell upon the River of Time itself, which had become even more turbulent and chaotic due to the stirring up of the Beast of Time!

Rather than be devoured by this beast, it's better to throw ourselves into the unknown, chaotic torrent of time and space! Although it's a matter of life and death, there might still be a glimmer of hope, and we might even be able to escape our current predicament by borrowing the power of this river of civilization!

This is a true case of being put in a do-or-die situation and then surviving!

Seeing that the giant wave composed of "past time" and the dust of time was about to completely engulf him, Lin Xuan no longer hesitated. His remaining projection body burst out with its last strength, turning into a stream of light. Instead of retreating or fighting back, he resolutely rushed into the surging river of time that had buried a civilization!

"You wretch! The favor you bestow upon me today will one day be used to atone for my sins in the cycle of reincarnation!"

The cold divine thought, like a vow, echoed in this chaotic spacetime. The next moment, his figure was completely swallowed up by the turbid river water, which contained endless information of civilization and the power of chaotic time.

The enormous beast of time let out an angry and unwilling roar by the river. Its black hole-like mouth sucked fiercely at the river water, but it could only stir up some fragments of time bubbles, and could no longer catch the existence that it found "delicious" but also troublesome.

The river flowed on, still carrying the sorrow and weight of that vanished civilization, rushing towards an unknown and chaotic end. Lin Xuan's projection, too, followed the river, plunging into a deeper and more unpredictable temporal labyrinth.