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

The magma churned, the scorching heat distorted the air, and the pungent smell of sulfur was almost suffocating. Just as Lin Xuan was about to pick the three "Vermilion Fruit Grasses" that resembled carved red jade and emitted an alluring spiritual light, a sudden change occurred!

"Boom—!"

The tranquil magma pool suddenly exploded, and a massive, dark red figure, enveloped in a sky full of lava, soared into the heavens like a demon god crawling out of hell! The deafening roar, mixed with scorching heat, crashed into Lin Xuan's divine sense, shaking him to his core!

It was a giant python over ten zhang long! Its entire body was covered with thick, dark red scales like armor, each scale seemingly formed from cooled magma, its edges shimmering with a metallic luster, and between the scales, crimson light pulsed like blood vessels, radiating a heart-palpitating heat.

Its ferocious triangular head, with a pair of vertical pupils burning with tangible flames, instantly locked onto the tiny Lin Xuan below. Its tyrannical, ferocious, and offended aura swept through the entire valley like a storm!

A Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast—the Lava Fire Python! The demonic energy emanating from its body pressed down on Lin Xuan's heart like an invisible mountain, far exceeding any opponent he had encountered before! This was a difference in the level of life!

"roar!"

The lava fire python clearly regarded Lin Xuan as a mortal enemy who coveted the treasure it was guarding. Without any probing, it opened its huge mouth, and crimson light gathered wildly deep in its throat!

The next moment, a pillar of dark red lava fire, as thick as a bucket and as solid as a volcano, shot out like a volcanic eruption!

Wherever the pillar of fire passed, the air was instantly sucked out and ignited, producing crackling and popping sounds. The hard rocks on the ground melted and vaporized like butter, leaving behind a shocking scorched ravine!

Swift! Ruthless! Accurate! The furious attack of the Foundation Establishment demon beast was terrifyingly powerful!

Lin Xuan's hair stood on end. The deadly sense of crisis made him push "Star Step" to an unprecedented extreme! It was as if starlight exploded beneath his feet, and his figure transformed into a twisted and blurry blue shadow. He almost hugged the edge of the destructive pillar of fire, retreating and dodging with the utmost danger!

"BOOM!!!"

The pillar of fire slammed into the mountain wall where he had been standing, accompanied by a deafening roar. A huge crater several meters in diameter was blasted into the hard rock wall, and the rocks at the edges instantly turned into scorching magma, which splashed everywhere! A scorching wave of air rolled down like a solid wall. Even with Lin Xuan's body, which had been tempered by the power of the stars, he felt a sharp burning pain on his skin, and the hem of his green robe was instantly charred and curled up!

Missing its first attack, the Lava Fire Python let out an even more furious hiss. Its massive body displayed an agility disproportionate to its size. Its huge tail, as thick as a palace pillar and covered with hard scales, tore through the air like a giant burning steel whip, accompanied by a piercing shriek, and lashed out at Lin Xuan's waist with the force of a sweeping army!

This attack covered an extremely wide area, blocking most of his space to dodge left and right, and was so fast that it left only a blur!

There's no way to avoid it!

Lin Xuan's eyes flashed with fierce light, knowing that retreating now would only lead to a more dangerous situation! The star vortex in his dantian spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, and the pure star spiritual power surged into his right arm like a flood, gathering entirely on his fist!

On the surface of the fist, an incredibly solid layer of silver starlight emerged and compressed, faintly forming a rapidly rotating miniature star vortex, radiating a sharp aura that could tear everything apart!

"Starfall Break!"

He let out a low roar, the sound like the clash of metal, and instead of retreating, he advanced, twisting his waist and throwing a punch head-on, directly colliding with the terrifying python tail that was sweeping across!

This is a close-combat killing move that he developed through countless real battles by combining the spiritual power circulation of the "Star River Qi Refining Technique" with his own powerful physique, concentrating the penetration and explosive power of stellar spiritual power into one point!

"Boom!!!!!"

The fists collided violently without any fancy moves, but instead of a crisp metallic clang, it produced a deep, muffled roar like thunder from the heavens! It was as if two mountains had crashed together!

A visible circular shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading outwards like a tsunami, blasting up and pulverizing the rocks and dust on the valley floor! Several huge rocks near the point of impact were instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks!

"Well!"

Lin Xuan felt an overwhelming, irresistible, terrifying force slamming into his fist and arm. His entire right arm instantly lost sensation, his bones creaked under the strain, and his internal organs felt as if they had been punched hard, causing his blood and qi to surge wildly!

He felt a sweet taste in his throat, a metallic sweetness that surged up, which he forced down. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string for more than ten feet, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground before he barely managed to steady himself, his face flushed.

The lava fire python clearly didn't fare any better. On its tail, which was harder than refined iron, where the "Star Whirlwind Slash" struck head-on, several dark red scales shattered, revealing the blurred flesh beneath. A clear fist-shaped indentation dented in, from which trickles of dark red blood seeped! Although it was merely a superficial wound for its massive body, the pain completely ignited its ferocity!

"Hiss—Roar!!!"

The excruciating pain drove the Lava Fire Python into a frenzy. Its burning vertical pupils locked onto Lin Xuan, filled with a murderous intent! Its massive body suddenly stood upright, nearly dominating half the sky above the valley. Its scales stood up with a clanging sound, and crimson light flashed wildly between the gaps with unprecedented brightness. The dense fire-attribute spiritual energy in the valley, as if summoned by a king, frantically converged towards it, forming a dark red energy cloud above its head that was constantly expanding and exuding an aura of destruction!

Alarm bells rang in Lin Xuan's mind, and he was terrified! This beast was enraged and was about to unleash its true innate divine power! He absolutely could not let it succeed!

Without hesitation, his divine sense swept across the storage bag like an invisible hand, and his hands transformed into afterimages as he rapidly formed hand seals!

"Diamond Talisman! Protect!" "Swiftness Talisman! Speed!" "Frost Talisman! Mystic Ice Imprisonment! Go!"

Buzz! A thick, solid golden light shield, shimmering with Sanskrit-like runes, instantly enveloped his body. It was the Vajra Talisman, a top-grade low-level defensive talisman! At the same time, the power of the Swiftness Talisman enhanced his body, making him feel as light as a feather, and his speed and reaction time reached a new level!

Finally, he generously threw out three top-tier frost talismans that emanated a chilling, bone-chilling aura! The talismans transformed into three dazzling blue streaks in the air, not as an attack, but as an instant explosion, turning into countless chains of icy ice that emitted extreme cold. As if they were alive, they coiled around the massive body of the lava fire python, attempting to freeze its movements and interrupt its magical spellcasting!

"roar!"

The dark red energy cloud condensing around the Lava Fire Python had reached its critical point. It let out a deafening roar, its massive maw opening wide, but instead of a single pillar of fire, it spewed out dozens of dark red fireballs, each the size of a human head, with bright white cores, resembling concentrated lava cores! These fireballs seemed to possess sentience, emitting buzzing vibrations, tracing eerie arcs from all directions, carrying an aura of incinerating and destroying everything, as they swept towards Lin Xuan, who was shrouded in the Vajra Talisman!

Innate Divine Power - Lava Burst Bullet!

Each fireball contains enough energy to instantly severely injure or even annihilate a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!

Dozens of bullets were fired simultaneously, creating a massive net that blocked all escape routes!

Lin Xuan's eyes were icy cold as he pushed the speed of his Swiftness Talisman to its limit. His figure blurred into countless indistinguishable cyan afterimages within the confined space of the valley, like dancing on a knife's edge, narrowly avoiding direct impact from most of the fireballs. However, these lava explosives detonated with a deafening roar once they approached within a certain range of him!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!"

The continuous explosions were deafening! The scorching flames and violent shockwaves, mixed with splashing magma strong enough to melt metal, relentlessly bombarded the golden light shield formed by the Vajra Talisman like a storm!

"Click...click click..."

Under such a dense and ferocious attack, the Vajra Talisman's protective shield emitted a teeth-grinding groan. Its light dimmed and flickered rapidly at a visible speed, the runes on its surface twisting violently and fading unpredictably! It only lasted for less than three breaths—

"Bang!!!"

The golden light shield shattered like fragile glass, turning into countless points of light that vanished into nothingness!

A scorching heat wave, far exceeding the previous one, mixed with the impact of the explosion, slammed into Lin Xuan's unprotected body!

"puff--!"

He could no longer suppress it, and a mouthful of blood gushed out. His body was violently thrown back like a tattered sack, crashing heavily into the rock wall behind him with a dull thud. He felt a darkness engulf him, as if all his bones were about to shatter, his internal organs shifted, and a burning pain shot through his meridians. His green robe was charred and torn in many places, leaving him in a wretched state.

"This can't go on!" Lin Xuan endured the excruciating pain and weakness that nearly made him faint, biting his tongue hard to stay awake. This Lava Fire Python possessed immense demonic power, thick hide, and incredibly powerful innate abilities. If he continued to passively defend and fight, he would surely die!

A glint of madness and determination flashed in his eyes! He took a deep breath, ignoring the tearing pain in his meridians, and forcefully squeezed the almost depleted Star Vortex in his dantian, frantically injecting all the remaining stellar spiritual power, along with that mouthful of life-giving essence blood, into his right index and middle fingers!

This time, the starlight gathered at his fingertips underwent a strange change! It was no longer pure silver, but had taken on a chaotic, deep color that seemed to devour the surrounding light, with tiny stars faintly visible inside, rapidly being born, dying, and collapsing!

This was the most powerful strike he could unleash after exhausting all his strength and touching the edge of the second level of "Starfall" in "Star Finger"—a strike that surpassed his own limits! Although it was not a true "Starfall," it already contained a destructive intent far exceeding that of the first level, "Finger Beam"!

At the same time, his powerful divine sense, comparable to that of the early Foundation Establishment stage, acted like the most precise probe, locking onto the Lava Fire Python's right vertical pupil, which was both a powerful attack organ and a relatively vulnerable vital point, burning with flames!

The Lava Fire Python seemed to clearly sense the terrifying aura emanating from that finger strike, a aura powerful enough to threaten its life. It let out a hiss tinged with fear, forcefully suppressing its injuries. The light shone brightly through the gaps in its scales as it tried to launch a preemptive attack to stop Lin Xuan!

"Now! The outcome hinges on this!"

Lin Xuan moved! He slammed his foot against the rock wall behind him, ignoring the excruciating pain that tore through his body. He concentrated the remaining power of the Divine Speed ​​Talisman and all his explosive power into one point. His figure was like a moth drawn to a flame, or a shooting star shooting backward, carrying a fierce and relentless momentum as he charged toward the giant head of the Lava Fire Serpent!

At the same time, the chaotic finger beam that embodied all his power, essence, spirit, and even a trace of Daoist charm suddenly broke through the constraints of space and time and was pointed out!

"Star Finger - Pseudo-Starfall!"

A chaotic finger beam, condensed to its extreme and seemingly containing a miniature universe in constant flux, silently tore through the scorching air. Wherever it passed, even light seemed to be swallowed up. Carrying an aura of ending and annihilation, it ignored the fan-shaped flames that the lava fire serpent hastily spewed from its mouth in an attempt to intercept it, and shot towards its right vertical pupil, which was burning with furious flames, with unparalleled precision and speed!

Fast! Faster than thought!

"Pfft!"

A soft yet chilling sound, like a ripe fruit being punctured, rang out.

The chaotic finger beam entered the lava fire python's lantern-sized right eye without any hindrance, piercing through the back of its head and bringing out a trail of fluid mixed with white brain matter and dark red blood!

Time seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

The massive body of the lava fire serpent suddenly froze in mid-air. The raging flames in its only remaining left eye were instantly extinguished, replaced by boundless pain, confusion, and disbelief!

Then, it let out a deafening roar in its final moments, filled with extreme pain and madness! Its massive body lost all strength and plummeted from mid-air, tumbling, thrashing, and struggling wildly in the valley!

"Boom!!!"

The earth trembled violently, the lava pool was turned upside down, and scorching lava splashed everywhere. The valley walls collapsed continuously under its dying, enormous force, and rubble rained down! Its shattered head slammed wildly against the ground, trying to alleviate the excruciating pain that came from the depths of its soul, but all in vain.

After pointing out with his finger, Lin Xuan was completely exhausted. His spiritual energy was completely depleted, and his soul felt weak. He barely managed to use the last bit of his Wind Control Technique to stagger back to the very edge of the valley. He leaned against a relatively intact boulder, his face as pale as paper, completely bloodless. He was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, staring intently at the dying python, not daring to relax for a moment.

This fierce battle did not last long, but the danger and exhaustion involved far exceeded any of his previous battles.

After a long while, the lava fire python's frantic struggles gradually weakened. Finally, its massive body crashed heavily beside the scalding lava pool, twitched a few times, and then fell completely silent. Only its shattered head and still-heating body proved its former power.

A pure, vast, and scorching demonic power and life essence, imbued with a hint of primal rage, slowly emanated from its corpse, permeating the air.

Only now did Lin Xuan finally let out a long, trembling breath, a feeling of immense exhaustion and relief washing over him as he felt a sense of relief after surviving a calamity.

He dared not delay, and with trembling hands immediately took out the last few treasured high-grade Qi-restoring pills and healing pills from his storage bag, stuffed them into his mouth, sat down cross-legged, and fully activated the "Star River Qi Refining Technique" to guide the medicinal power to repair his almost riddled body and depleted dantian.

After meditating for more than half an hour, feeling a faint trace of spiritual energy return to his body and the intense pain subside slightly, Lin Xuan struggled to get up. He staggered to the side of the huge corpse of the Lava Fire Python, which was still radiating residual warmth.

Enduring the pungent stench and scorching heat, he took out a spare sharp short-bladed magic weapon and laboriously broke open the incredibly hard python's head, which even made his arm numb from the impact. From it, he extracted a crystal about the size of a fist, dark red in color, with natural flame patterns on its surface, radiating an astonishingly hot energy fluctuation—a Foundation Establishment stage fire attribute demon core! This item was priceless, an invaluable treasure whether used for cultivation, alchemy, or weapon forging!

He then carefully picked the three intact and spiritually vibrant "Vermilion Fruit Grasses" along with some magma soil around their roots, placed them in a specially made jade box, and sealed them away before he could finally relax.

Looking at the desolate valley before him, ravaged by a natural disaster, and the corpse of the once invincible Foundation Establishment demon beast, Lin Xuan felt lingering fear. But more than that, he felt exhilarated by the tempering of his soul after a life-or-death ordeal, and the joy of defeating a powerful enemy and reaping abundant rewards.

Although the direct battle with the Foundation Establishment stage demon beast was fierce, it gave him a clearer and deeper understanding of his own limits and allowed him to have a substantial grasp of the conception of the second level of "Starfall" in the Star Finger Technique. This experience and insight were far more valuable than any material gain.

He composed himself, not daring to linger. Such intense fighting and the bloody aura emanating from the death of the Foundation Establishment demon beast could very well attract other powerful beings or ill-intentioned cultivators.

He quickly cleaned up the obvious traces he had left behind, swallowed a pill to conceal his presence, then mustered his strength, used his Wind Control Technique, and, though somewhat unsteady, quietly left the valley filled with the stench of blood and sulfur.

About an incense stick's time after Lin Xuan left, several concealed figures cautiously appeared at the entrance of the valley. When they saw the hellish scene inside the valley, especially the enormous corpse of the lava fire python, they were all horrified and gasped in shock!

"Lava... Lava Fire Serpent! A Foundation Establishment stage Lava Fire Serpent... was actually killed?!"

"My God! Who did this? Senior Brother Leng Feng? Or Senior Brother Liu Bai?"

"Judging from these injuries... the skull was pierced, as if killed by an extremely concentrated force in a single blow... a finger technique!?"

"Could it be... that infamous 'Azure-Clad Demon Star' Lin Xuan?! He actually has the strength to kill a Foundation Establishment demon beast single-handedly?!"

A low murmur of disbelief and speculation arose among the group as they gazed at the ravaged battlefield deep within the valley, their eyes filled with even greater shock and apprehension. Lin Xuan's strength, in their assessment, had once again been elevated to a terrifying level.