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

Deep within the Black Annihilation Star Belt, time flowed silently amidst deathly silence and chaos. Lin Xuan, like a rock blending into the shadows, perfectly synchronized his aura with the surrounding violent energy fluctuations, while his virtual godhood acted like the most sophisticated detector, continuously scanning the distant void.

About half a day later, the target appeared.

First came an overwhelming spiritual pressure, scorching and sharp, like an invisible storm that brutally tore through the energy turbulence at the edge of the star belt. Immediately afterward, a small warship, about thirty feet long, entirely dark gold, and shaped like a soaring eagle, entered this chaotic starfield with an almost defiant air.

On the warship, five figures could be vaguely seen. The leader, clad in crimson-gold armor, had a dignified face and was surrounded by faint golden flames. His aura was as deep and vast as the sea, clearly indicating that he was a powerful expert at the early stage of the Golden Core realm! Behind him were four others, three men and one woman, all dressed in standard silver spirit armor. Their auras were sharp and their eyes were as keen as eagles. Their cultivation levels were all at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage!

It was the hunting squad of the Sky-Splitting God Clan! That Golden Core cultivator was undoubtedly Elder Jin Yan!

"Is this it? The ancient ruins that little bastard discovered?" Elder Jin Yan's divine sense swept roughly across the false coordinates provided by Lin Xuan, like scorching sunlight, his brows furrowing slightly. Apart from some broken star debris and chaotic energy, there was nothing unusual there.

"Reporting to the elder, according to the last message from the Shadow Tower, it does indeed point to this place. Perhaps the ruins are extremely well hidden, or... have we been tricked?" A Divine Race elite at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment said in a deep voice. His name was Silverwing, and he was the team's second-in-command.

Golden flames flickered in Jin Yan's eyes, and he snorted coldly: "Hmph, I doubt those trash from the Shadow Pavilion would dare to mock my Sky-Splitting God Clan! Search carefully, don't let any clue slip by! Lin Xuan possesses a strange inheritance, it's not impossible for him to discover some hidden relics."

He did not suspect that the Shadow Tower stronghold had been completely wiped out, but simply assumed that Lin Xuan was cunning and had hidden himself after discovering the ruins.

The warship slowed down and began to carefully explore the vicinity of the false coordinates, with beams of probe light sweeping across the stellar debris like a comb.

In the distance, Lin Xuan, hidden in the crack, curled a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

The fish has taken the bait.

He didn't act immediately. The hunting team was on high alert and protected by the warship, so a direct assault wasn't the best option. He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity when the enemy relaxed their guard, or... dispersed.

The virtual divine essence silently recorded the warship's detection mode, energy fluctuations, and the aura characteristics of the five people, constantly deducing the optimal attack plan.

The opportunity will come soon.

After repeated fruitless searches, Elder Jin Yan seemed somewhat impatient and ordered, "Silverwing, take two people and go check out that dense asteroid belt to the southeast. Youyue and Tieshan, stay here with me and continue the search. Maintain contact!"

"Yes!" Silverwing accepted the order, selected two companions who had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, and rode away from the warship in a streak of light, flying towards the southeast.

On the warship, only Elder Jin Yan and two Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivators named You Yue (female) and Tie Shan remained.

"Now!"

Lin Xuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light! He had been waiting for this moment when the opponent's power would be dispersed!

Instead of dealing with the Silverwing trio first, he focused his primary attention on the warship and Elder Jin Yan aboard it! As long as he swiftly eliminated the strongest Golden Core cultivator and the warship, the remaining three would be nothing more than fish in a barrel!

"Buzz!"

Lin Xuan moved, no longer concealing himself. The effect of the "Gathering Stars Technique" was released, and the powerful aura of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment mixed with the Lesser Completion Destruction True Meaning, like a sleeping ferocious beast suddenly awakening, transformed into a streak of azure lightning that tore through the void, rushing straight towards the dark gold warship!

Instead of attacking the main body of the warship directly, he first rushed towards the outer perimeter of the warship, where the eighteen layers of interconnected defensive arrays, like an eggshell, enveloped it!

These eighteen layers of formations are a secret technique passed down by the Sky-Splitting God Clan. They are a combination of offense and defense, with each layer interlocking with the next, and are sufficient to withstand continuous attacks from a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. They are the most important barrier for this "Golden Feather Warship"!

"Enemy attack!!" Youyue and Tieshan spotted Lin Xuan rushing towards them immediately. Their expressions changed drastically, and while issuing a stern warning, they activated the defensive formation of their warships with all their might!

Elder Jin Yan also turned his head sharply, his gaze like two golden torches, instantly locking onto Lin Xuan. A hint of surprise flashed across his face, then turned into icy killing intent: "Lin Xuan?! You actually dare to deliver yourself to my doorstep! Activate the 'Golden Feather Burning Heaven Formation' and blast him to pieces!"

In an instant, the eighteen-layered defensive array shone brightly! The outermost layers of light shields instantly transformed into a crimson gold, and countless fiery arrows, like golden feathers, condensed and, like a raging storm, carried the intense heat and penetrating power to scorch mountains and boil seas, covering Lin Xuan! The sheer power of the attack distorted the surrounding void!

However, facing this array attack that would have made even ordinary Golden Core cultivators flustered, Lin Xuan's eyes remained frighteningly calm.

The virtual godhead had already analyzed the structure, energy nodes, and operational rules of these eighteen layers of formations to a great extent! In his "eyes," this seemingly impregnable defensive system was actually full of loopholes!

He neither dodged nor evaded, facing the barrage of golden flames with undiminished speed. Just before the arrows struck him, he pointed his fingers like swords, seemingly casually tapping several times in the air ahead.

Each finger precisely struck a tiny energy node, barely visible to the naked eye, that maintained the array's operation! The destructive sword intent contained within the fingertips, like the most precise scalpel, instantly severed the flow of energy!

"Puff puff puff puff—!"

Like a chain reaction, the menacing golden flame arrows, when they were still several feet away from Lin Xuan, suddenly collapsed and dissipated as if they had lost their power source! The layers of crimson-gold light shields that had transformed into attack forms also dimmed rapidly, like punctured balloons!

Break through the first to third layers of the formation!

"What?!" Elder Jin Yan on the warship's pupils contracted, his face showing shock for the first time. This Golden Feather Burning Heaven Formation was a secret technique of the clan; how could this person have so easily seen through the key points and broken it?!

"Change formation! 'Mystic Turtle Suppresses the Sea'!" Elder Jin Yan reacted extremely quickly and immediately changed the command.

The array's light changed again, the crimson gold fading into a heavy earthy yellow light, layer upon layer, like a giant tortoise shell, radiating an incomparably heavy defensive power, attempting to block Lin Xuan out with absolute defense.

Lin Xuan smirked slightly, his body moving without stopping, and he crashed directly into the thick, earthen-yellow light barrier!

Just before contact, he clenched his right fist, gathering the true meaning of destruction, and threw a punch. Instead of striking the thickest part of the light shield, he struck a seemingly inconspicuous "gap" where energy flowed!

"Thump!!!"

A deafening, muffled roar! The seemingly indestructible Xuan Turtle-shaped light shield, centered on the point where Lin Xuan's fist struck, was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks before shattering with a deafening crash! The violent force of the fist even penetrated the shield, causing the warship to shake violently!

Break through the fourth to sixth layers of the formation!

"Impossible!" Youyue and Tieshan exclaimed in shock, their faces drained of color.

Elder Jin Yan's face was ashen, his eyes blazing with killing intent. He personally took action, his hands forming hand seals as he activated the warship's core energy: "Nine Netherworld Frost Prison! Geng Metal Sky-Splitting! Azure Wood Entangling God! Open for me!"

He activated the remaining formations simultaneously! The extreme cold transformed into a blue ice crystal storm, threatening to freeze everything; countless incomparably sharp golden sword energies tore through space, annihilating everything; and countless incredibly resilient cyan vine phantoms stretched out from the void, entwining Lin Xuan's soul!

The three formations, each with distinct attributes and astonishing power, erupted simultaneously, their combined might surpassing the scope of ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivators!

Faced with this complex attack that would be troublesome even for a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, Lin Xuan finally... drew his sword.

It is not a physical flying sword, but a finger that represents a sword. The true meaning of destruction is highly condensed and transformed into an invisible and intangible sword of destruction that seems to be able to sever the rules of cause and effect!

"Break! Break! Break!"

He uttered three cold words, and the sword of destruction in his hand swung out three extremely simple yet infinitely profound trajectories.

The first sword strike aimed at the Nine Netherworld Cold Prison. Where the sword intent passed, the ice crystal storm seemed to have met its nemesis; the chill reversed, the laws collapsed, and the blue ice crystals were annihilated! The second sword strike aimed at the Gengjin Sky-Splitting Technique. Those countless golden sword energies, before the destructive sword intent, were like clay chickens and earthenware dogs, severed at the root and dissipated into pure metal elemental energy! The third sword strike aimed at the Azure Wood Entangling God. The illusory azure vines that had been coiling around the divine being seemed to have encountered their natural enemy, emitting a silent wail as they snapped inch by inch; the divine soul attack was forcibly destroyed!

Seventh to fifteenth layers of formation, broken!

Unstoppable! Completely crushing everything in its path!

From the moment Lin Xuan launched his attack until now, only ten breaths have passed! The eighteen-layered defensive array that the Rift God Clan was so proud of has been broken through fifteen layers by him with absolute power and terrifying array mastery!

At this moment, only the last three layers of light shields, shimmering with chaotic colors and possessing the most obscure and powerful aura, remain around the warship—the final barrier protecting the warship's core and the cultivators!

Elder Jin Yan's face had turned incredibly grim, even showing a hint of fear. He couldn't comprehend how a Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess such terrifying strength and insight into formations! This was completely beyond his comprehension!

"Who...who exactly are you?!" Elder Jin Yan's voice was hoarse, devoid of his previous arrogance.

Lin Xuan hovered before the last three layers of light shields, his green robes fluttering, his black hair dancing, his eyes as cold as ancient ice. The invisible sword of destruction in his hand exuded an aura that made even the soul tremble.

"The one who killed you."

Before he finished speaking, he raised the Sword of Destruction in his hand and made a simple and direct slashing motion towards the last three layers of chaotic light shield.

"The universe...is silent."

A pure "annihilation" sword light, seemingly existing since the beginning of time, fell silently like the primordial light piercing through the eternal night.

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