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

An indescribable feeling of weightlessness and the tearing force of space enveloped my entire body.

Lin Xuan felt as if his consciousness and body had been thrown into a rapidly spinning kaleidoscope, surrounded by bizarre, distorted, and fragmented lines of color—a spectacle formed by the forced twisting and folding of the laws of space. Had he not successfully established his foundation, and his body and soul not undergone a thorough baptism of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making them far stronger than ordinary cultivators, he would likely have been reduced to dust in an instant under such terrifying spatial pressure.

Even now, he must fully circulate his Foundation Establishment True Essence to form a solid protective aura on his body in order to resist the all-pervasive spatial erosion. In his deep, star-like black eyes, he reflects the rapidly passing, colorful light outside, calmly analyzing the various subtle changes during the teleportation process.

"This stargate is incredibly ancient. Although the laws governing its spatial passages are exquisite, it has fallen into disrepair over the years, and its energy supply is far from what it was in its prime." He realized in his heart, "This teleportation will not be smooth sailing."

It's unclear how much time passed—perhaps a fleeting moment, or perhaps a long year. In this kind of spatial jump over such vast distances, the concept of time becomes blurred.

Suddenly, at the end of the colorful passage ahead, a spot of light appeared that kept expanding.

A desolate, deathly aura, distinct from the Azure Netherworld, carrying a rich scent of stardust and sand, faintly wafted through the still-unstable spatial passage.

"arrive!"

Lin Xuan's mind sharpened, and he pushed his true essence to its limit, making his protective aura thicker by three points.

"boom!!!"

A violent tremor shook the space, as if the entire spatial passage was collapsing. The light before him suddenly magnified, completely engulfing him. The intense tearing sensation reached its peak, then abruptly vanished.

The feeling of being grounded came over me.

Lin Xuan steadied himself, and the brief glare in his eyes caused by the bright light quickly faded. He immediately looked around warily.

What came into view was a world of crimson desolation.

The sky was a hazy yellow, as if shrouded in a perpetual veil of dust, obscuring the familiar sun, moon, and stars. Only a few exceptionally bright, yet strangely cold, points of light flickered faintly behind the dust. The earth was an endless expanse of dark red gravel and rock, the sand whipped up by the gale into crimson tornadoes that stretched from heaven to earth, moving slowly in the distance and emitting mournful howls.

The air was so thin it was almost negligible, and the spiritual energy it contained was shockingly scarce, even worse than the mortal realms of the Azure Netherworld. Moreover, it was filled with a kind of restless, scorching star radiation. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators would probably have difficulty even maintaining their own mana here, let alone cultivating.

The gravity there is about 1.5 times that of the Azure Netherworld, but for Lin Xuan, who is in the Foundation Establishment stage, it is almost negligible.

His divine sense spread out like mercury spilling onto the ground, instantly covering an area of ​​a thousand miles.

Within a thousand miles, there were only red sandstone, jagged rocks, and the remains of enormous mountain ranges that seemed to have been pierced or torn apart by some terrifying force. There were no plants, no water sources, and not a single sign of life.

This is a star that has completely died.

"The ancient star of Mars..." Lin Xuan murmured the name that naturally came to mind, the name accompanying the information transmitted by the star coordinates. He frowned slightly, "The coordinates don't point to a prosperous star region, but to an abandoned ancient star? Is it a misalignment of the star gate, or is this place just a transit point, or... does it hold another secret?"

He looked up at the dim, yellow sky, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the dust and see the true location of this ancient star in the universe. At the same time, he also felt the faint but real connection between himself and the Azure Netherworld, stretched to an unimaginable distance. If it weren't for his special soul and the star gate coordinate imprint, he would have been almost unable to perceive it.

Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Lin Xuan's Dao heart was as firm as a rock, and it did not waver in the slightest due to the harsh environment and the failure of his expectations. He needed to figure out the situation here and find clues for the next step.

With a swift movement, he transformed into a faint streak of light, flying low close to the ground, his divine sense acting like the most precise scanner, meticulously examining every inch of the land beneath his feet.

After flying for only a hundred miles, Lin Xuan's speed suddenly slowed down, and he finally stopped at the edge of a huge crater.

This crater, over a hundred miles in diameter, with steep edges and unfathomable depths, was clearly formed by a giant meteorite impact. What caught Lin Xuan's attention was not the crater itself, but a faint, yet incongruous, energy fluctuation emanating from somewhere on the inner cliff face of the crater.

The waves were vast and ancient, carrying a sense of sacrificial piety and the weight of time.

There's something there.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Xuan glided silently into the crater like a falling leaf, descending towards the direction from which the fluctuations originated.

The closer one gets, the clearer the fluctuations become. At the same time, an invisible pressure begins to spread, not hostile towards any living being, but a solemn and dignified remnant of ancient Daoist principles, as if warning those who come after that this place is sacred and should not be desecrated.

After landing at about halfway down the crater, Lin Xuan stopped in front of a relatively flat, inwardly recessed rock wall.

The rock face was covered with a thick layer of reddish-brown gravel and weathered material. Lin Xuan gently waved his sleeve, and a soft spiritual energy swept over it, removing the accumulated dust from the surface.

As the dust settled, the true face hidden behind it was revealed.

那是一座祭坛。

It is not the kind of star gate altar used for teleportation at the bottom of the Azure Netherworld Abyss, but more like an ancient ritual site used for sacrifices and prayers.

The altar is not large, only about ten zhang in size. It is made entirely of a dark blue-green boulder. The surface of the boulder is covered with traces of wind and sand erosion, but the ancient patterns carved on it can still be recognized.

These patterns do not depict humans, but rather strange creatures: some are covered in scales and have a single horn on their heads; some have wings on their backs and eyes like flames; and some seem to be made of rock or energy, not flesh and blood. Without exception, they are all kneeling and praying towards the center of the altar.

At the center of the altar stood a diamond-shaped stone pillar, three zhang tall. The pillar was made of an unknown material, with a dull bronze color and a smooth surface without any carvings. However, at the top of the pillar were seven crystals the size of pigeon eggs.

Of these seven crystals, six have now completely lost their luster, their surfaces covered with cracks, resembling ordinary, unyielding rocks. Only the one in the very center retains an extremely faint, almost imperceptible milky-white halo; the vast Daoist aura and energy fluctuations emanate from this remaining crystal.

In the void surrounding the altar, there permeated an indescribable "meaning." It was the spiritual remnant formed by countless beings who had devoutly prayed and offered their faith here over countless years; it was a kind of awe and exploration of the starry sky, the Great Dao, and the unknown.

Lin Xuan stood before the altar, his deep black eyes fixed on the stone pillar and the remaining crystal. He did not rashly step onto the altar, but slowly closed his eyes, opened his mind, and carefully sensed the remaining Daoist charm in this area.

In an instant, his consciousness seemed to traverse an endless river of time and space.

In a daze, he "saw" that this ancient star was not as lifeless as it is today. Back then, the sky was a clear, deep blue, with two suns, one large and one small. The earth had mountains and rivers, strange vegetation, and the strange creatures carved on it thrived and built a magnificent civilization.

He "saw" countless strange beings gathering from all directions before the altar within this crater, where, led by the most powerful priest of their tribe, they were performing a grand and ancient ceremony. They lit bonfires, chanted obscure syllables, and offered their purest spiritual power to the stone pillar at the center of the altar, and to the seven still-shining crystals atop the pillar.

Those crystals seemed to be a bridge for them to communicate with some higher being, a source of power, knowledge, and even protection.

He sensed their joy, their awe, their anticipation, and also... their ultimate despair and silence.

The scene abruptly shattered, replaced by a cataclysmic spectacle that swept across the heavens and earth. Stars crumbled, and colossal fireballs streaked across the sky, crashing into the earth and unleashing a cataclysmic explosion and flames. The sky was shrouded in dust, rivers dried up, vegetation withered, and even the vital energy upon which life depended seemed to have been drained by some force, becoming violent and thin.

Those powerful, strange creatures struggled and wailed in the disaster, eventually collapsing one by one. Their civilization, like a candle flickering in the wind, was quickly extinguished.

The prayers before the altar became mournful and powerless; faith crumbled in the face of despair. One by one, the crystals on the pillars dimmed and shattered. In the end, only the last one remained, stubbornly retaining a wisp of ember, witnessing the death of the entire world to this day.

Lin Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, a fleeting look of shock deep in his pupils. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, which lingered in the thin air, as if carrying the weight of time.

"The last trace of a vanished civilization..." he murmured to himself.

He turned his gaze back to the stone pillar at the center of the altar, especially to the last remaining crystal that emitted a faint glow.

This is neither a magic weapon nor an energy core, but rather more like a... "crystallization of faith" or "ember of civilization." It embodies the last spiritual power and informational imprint of this vanished civilization, containing their unique principles and reasoning.

For ordinary cultivators, this thing may be useless, and may even pollute their Dao heart because of the despair and annihilation it carries.

However, for Lin Xuan, who possesses the ability of "projection of all heavens" and needs to comprehend the laws of all worlds and absorb the wisdom of civilizations, this is a rare "treasure"!

He could sense that if he could refine this remaining ember of civilization, he would not only gain a deeper understanding of the history and power system of this vanished civilization and broaden his knowledge, but he might also be able to draw upon its pure power of faith and spiritual essence to strengthen his own soul, and even benefit his mysterious projection ability.

More importantly, this altar and this ancient star, as a link in the ancient star path, may hold clues pointing to the next destination.

Without further hesitation, Lin Xuan took a step forward and appeared in the center of the altar, in front of the diamond-shaped stone pillar.

He stretched out his right hand and gently touched the last remaining milky-white crystal, which emitted a faint glow, with his index finger.

The instant your fingertips touch the crystal—

"Buzz!"

The remaining crystal suddenly lit up as if in a final burst of light! A torrent of spirit, far more powerful and pure than before, yet carrying endless desolation and sorrow, surged into his sea of ​​consciousness from his fingertips!

At the same time, the entire altar trembled slightly, and the eyes of the strange creatures carved on the giant stones seemed to glow faintly, as if they were watching the outsiders from countless years later, watching the last embers of their civilization, and their final destiny.

Lin Xuan let out a muffled groan, as if a raging storm had been raging in his sea of ​​consciousness. But his eyes remained calm, the light of the crystal reflected in his deep pupils, like the starry sky swallowing nebulae.

He sat cross-legged on this ancient altar, witnessed by this desolate ancient star, and began to refine this wisp of remnant civilization from the distant past...