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

Traveling through the cold and desolate star field, Lin Xuan was like a ghost without a physical form. He maximized the concealment ability of the "Star Concealing Technique" and the virtual godhood, avoiding busy star paths and possible detection arrays, and chose the most remote and dangerous route, detouring towards the ancient city of Chenxi.

His journey was not without its challenges. He encountered several probes from unknown forces, and on one occasion, a terrifying divine thought containing the aura of a Nascent Soul swept across his star field like a net, carrying a sense of scrutiny and exploration. This caused him to feel unprecedented pressure, and he barely managed to avoid it by completely concealing his aura as if he had turned into true cosmic dust.

He had also "seen" several groups of cultivators searching for him from afar. Some were vassals of the Rift God Clan, while others were desperate criminals drawn by the enormous bounty. But he avoided them all in advance, and no conflict ensued. At this moment, he was unwilling and unable to create any further complications before he could condense his Golden Core.

After nearly half a year of careful trekking, the familiar outline of Chenxi Ancient City, shrouded in a massive array, finally came into view.

However, Lin Xuan did not head directly to the ancient city. His target was not the ancient city itself, but a relatively remote and dangerous undeveloped star realm located on the edge of the ancient city's territory—the Dark Dust Star Vortex.

Based on the calculations of the Star Compass and the Virtual Godhood, as well as the scattered information obtained from the storage bags of the previous hunters, this "Dark Dust Vortex" is a special region formed after the collapse of an ancient star. It is filled with chaotic gravitational fields, violent streams of star fragments, and peculiar dust clouds capable of isolating divine sense. The environment is extremely harsh, and few cultivators dare to set foot here. Precisely because of this, this place is secluded and safe enough to be his secluded cultivation location for breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

He bypassed the main waterway of the ancient city, and like a slippery fish, silently slipped into the outer edge of the Dark Dust Star Vortex.

Upon entering, the pressure immediately intensified. Chaotic gravity tore everything apart, and fragments of stars of all sizes hurtled towards the ground like out-of-control projectiles. Dense dark dust formed a heavy curtain, restricting vision and consciousness to an extremely small area. Here, even basic orientation was difficult to discern, and danger lurked everywhere.

However, this was not insurmountable for Lin Xuan, who possessed the precise navigation of a virtual godhood and the protection of the Destruction Sword Domain. He carefully traversed through it, avoiding the obvious energy turbulence and areas of dense debris, and continued to advance deeper into the star vortex, into the core region where gravity and dust were most concentrated and the silence was greatest.

Several days later, he arrived at his destination.

This is a relatively "calm" void, located at the deepest part of the stellar vortex. Surrounding it is a thick, slowly rotating band of dust, like a star ring, isolating it from the outside world. In the central region, gravity has reached an eerie balance, appearing stable. Floating in the void are several enormous, island-like ancient stellar remains, devoid of any signs of life, only eternal cold and darkness.

"This is it."

Lin Xuan selected the largest piece of dark red star debris. This piece of star debris was extremely hard, its surface was covered with craters from meteorite impacts, and its internal structure was stable.

He landed on the surface of the stellar debris and first used his divine sense to carefully examine the entire structure, confirming that there were no hidden dangers or traces left by predecessors. Then, he began the complicated and meticulous preparations.

He first took out a large number of rare materials obtained from the Nine Tribulations Immortal Mansion—void crystals, soul-suppressing jade, five-element refined metals, and so on. Using these materials as a base, and combining them with the optimal array structure deduced by the virtual godhood, he began to set up one powerful restriction after another on this star debris with a diameter of about a hundred miles.

Concealment Array: Drawing upon the power of surrounding dark dust, it perfectly conceals all aura and energy fluctuations of the star remnant, making it appear indistinguishable from other star remnants from the outside, and even capable of interfering with celestial deductions to some extent. Defense Array: Layer upon layer, connecting the star remnant's earth veins (weak) with void energy, forming a powerful protective shield sufficient to withstand continuous attacks from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Spirit Gathering Array: Instead of gathering the sparse spiritual energy from the outside, it primarily relies on the vast amount of spirit stones and spiritual objects he possesses to create a cultivation environment within his secluded cultivation space where spiritual energy is so dense it's practically liquid. Warning Restriction: Spread throughout the outer perimeter of the star remnant; any outsider entering within a certain range will be immediately detected by him.

The process of setting up the array took him nearly a month and was extremely mentally taxing. The moment the last array pattern fell and all the arrays were activated at the same time, the entire dark red star remnant trembled slightly, and then its presence became extremely faint, as if it had completely merged into the surrounding darkness and dust, "disappearing" from the starry sky.

After doing all this, Lin Xuancai carved out a simple but absolutely safe stone chamber in the center of the star debris.

Inside the stone chamber, he sat cross-legged. He did not immediately begin his attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage, but instead made final adjustments.

He took out the nine-colored "Calamity Jade" but did not use it directly. Instead, he placed it in front of him and used the faint calamity power and transcendent Dao charm it emitted to cleanse and purify his mind and the true meaning of destruction, so that he could be in a mysterious state of harmony with the "calamity" and remain still.

At the same time, he activated the basic techniques of the Nine Revolutions Immortal Annihilation Scripture, adjusting his state to its most perfect peak. Within his dantian, the gray-black spiritual energy was like a silent ocean, calm and undisturbed, yet containing world-destroying power. The nascent form of the "Seed of Annihilation" floated quietly like a cosmic singularity, awaiting its final transformation.

The virtual divine essence hovered high in the sea of ​​consciousness, radiating a gentle and rational light, ensuring that every step in the impact process was precise and error-free.

A massive amount of top-grade spirit stones were piled up around the area, like small mountains. Various top-grade spiritual medicines that aided in condensing the core and stabilizing the mind were also prepared.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

Lin Xuan slowly closed his eyes, his mind completely sinking into his body, minimizing his connection with the outside world.

He knew that this seclusion would last anywhere from a few years to several decades or even a century. Once it began, there was no turning back. If he failed to achieve the Golden Core, his Dao foundation might be completely destroyed by that power of annihilation, leading to his death and the dissipation of his Dao!

But in his eyes, there was only determination and expectation.

His path began in humble beginnings, fraught with battles and life-or-death struggles, and his image was projected throughout the heavens. Now, he is finally about to experience his first truly significant qualitative leap!

"The Golden Core Path... I'm here."

With a silent vow in his mind, Lin Xuan no longer hesitated and officially began his seclusion to break through to the Golden Core stage!

The incantations of the Nine Revolutions Immortal Annihilation Scripture roared through his body, drawing in a massive amount of spiritual energy and injecting it into the nascent seed of annihilation. The true intent of destruction, like a core, governed all power, and began its assault on that final form!

Inside the stone chamber, a dark gray, extinguishing light gradually appeared, engulfing his figure.

The dark dust and star vortex returned to deathly silence. Only the invisible array silently operated, guarding this starry sky, where a legend was about to be born...