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

Time lost its meaning amidst the despairing ruins; perhaps several days had passed, or perhaps only a few hours. Inside the shelter, besides the steady orange flame burning at Lin Xuan's (Elwin's) fingertip, a fainter, yet chillingly dark flame had appeared.

The boy, whom Lin Xuan had named "Shadow," was huddled in a corner, his eyes tightly closed, his body trembling involuntarily from the pain. Under Lin Xuan's guidance, he was laboriously practicing the most basic path of the "Dark Devouring Technique." Strands of dark currents, invisible to the naked eye, were forcibly drawn into his body with an almost self-destructive will. On the verge of collapse, they were tempered and tamed, transforming into a pure stream of dark energy that settled down.

The process was extremely dangerous, each step like dancing on a knife's edge. Black sweat seeped from "Shadow's" body, the impurities of the oozing water being peeled away. But he gritted his teeth, not uttering a single groan. In his occasionally opened eyes, there was only a beastly determination and a thirst for power.

Lin Xuan observed silently. The boy's willpower was stronger than he had expected; he was a promising candidate for cultivating the *Dark Devouring Technique*. However, relying solely on such slow accumulation was like a drop in the ocean compared to the vast, dark currents outside. They needed a more powerful source of strength, they needed… an opportunity!

Just then—

"Thump!!!"

A deep, muffled roar, as if striking directly at the soul, suddenly came from the outside world! The entire ruins shook violently, with rubble and dust falling from above, and even the crumbling protective array groaned under the strain!

Lin Xuan suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through thick rocks as he looked outwards. He felt an indescribable, terrifying pressure, filled with extreme chaos, destruction, and evil, descending from the far distance like an invisible tsunami, sweeping across the entire Absolute Magic Domain!

This oppressive aura was far more terrifying than any abyss lord I had ever seen before, carrying an arrogant and indifferent disregard for all living beings!

"It's it... the Abyss Lord... Sargeras..." The deepest fears lurking in Elwin's dormant consciousness were stirred, transmitting fragmented pieces of information. This was one of the culprits that destroyed magical civilization, the embodiment of the Abyss's will in this world! It wasn't completely isolated during the final sealing, but left behind a wisp of its essence, like a malignant tumor, now fully awakened, determined to eradicate everything that remained within this sealed world!

"Shadow" was also awakened by this terrifying pressure, and suddenly opened its eyes, which were filled with trembling and fear that came from the instinct of its soul.

Lin Xuan's eyes sharpened at that moment, like a deadly sword drawn from its sheath! Crisis often brings the greatest opportunity! This wisp of the Abyss Demon Emperor's essence was an immense temptation for him, who was currently comprehending the true meaning of destruction! If he could devour and refine it, his Dao of Destruction would undergo a qualitative leap!

"Stay here, calm your mind, and circulate your magic!" Lin Xuan shouted to "Shadow," his voice carrying an undeniable authority.

Without hesitation, he completely took control of Alvin's body and took a step forward, breaking through the protective array that was already on the verge of collapse!

"boom!"

The moment the magic circle shattered, an even denser and more violent dark tide surged forth like a cold flood, mixed with the terrifying pressure brought by the Demon Emperor's descent, almost tearing Elwin's fragile body to shreds!

Lin Xuan grunted and began to fully circulate the crude "Dark Devouring Technique." The wisp of pure dark energy in his dantian (approximately) spun wildly, like a tiny black hole, forcibly absorbing the surging dark tide and tempering himself. At the same time, the wisp of orange-red flame at his fingertips suddenly expanded, transforming into a thin shield of firelight, barely resisting the erosion from the outside world.

He looked up and saw that on the distant horizon (if that leaden, solidified void could still be called the sky), a colossal vortex, composed of pure darkness and twisted laws, was slowly taking shape. At the center of the vortex, a throne, constructed of lava, bones, and countless tormented souls, was faintly visible. A blurry figure, exuding an aura of world destruction, sat upon it, coldly "watching" this desolate world.

The mere aura it emitted made the dark currents within a hundred miles even more violent. Countless monsters hidden in the ruins, corrupted and twisted by the dark currents, let out frantic howls and surged toward the vortex as if on a pilgrimage.

Even if the Demon Emperor Sargeras is only a wisp of his original essence, his power far surpasses Lin Xuan's current level!

"Ants...their last struggle..." A mental wave containing endless chaos and destructive will pierced Lin Xuan's consciousness like billions of steel needles.

Lin Xuan's body trembled violently, and even traces of blood seeped from his seven orifices (Elwin's body). But the light in his eyes burned even brighter, a thirst for power and a pursuit of a higher realm!

"Destruction... is not merely chaos and devouring..." Lin Xuan murmured to himself, as if resisting the Demon Emperor's will, or perhaps confirming his own Dao. "True destruction is the end, the beginning of reincarnation, the... reshaping of order!"

He no longer passively defended, but actively extended his divine sense, not to attack, but to perceive and analyze the "destruction" law contained in the Demon Emperor's origin!

This is an extremely dangerous act, like sticking your hand into a boiling pot of oil! The Demon Emperor's Law of Destruction is full of savagery and chaos, and while it is similar to the Dao of Destruction that Lin Xuan comprehended, which carries a hint of coldness and the essence of ending, it is also fundamentally different.

Two destructive intentions, though of the same origin but different in nature, collided and merged violently in the void!

"roar!"

The Demon Emperor seemed enraged by the "provocation" of this insignificant ant. At the center of the vortex, a gigantic hand made of pure dark energy condensed, blotting out the sky and carrying an aura of annihilation, and slowly pressed down towards Lin Xuan's location! Wherever the gigantic hand passed, space seemed to groan and collapse!

The aura of death was stronger than ever before!

"Now!"

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes! He knew that a direct confrontation would only lead to death! The only chance of survival lay in seeking victory amidst danger! In… devouring!

He abandoned all defenses, condensing the pure dark energy refined from the "Dark Devouring Technique" within Elwin's body, along with all the destructive Daoist rhymes carried by his own projected consciousness, into a single point of extreme, gray-black light. Like a shooting star against the current, it advanced instead of retreating, actively shooting towards the descending dark giant hand, towards the source of the giant hand—the Demon Emperor's core essence!

"puff!"

Like a moth drawn to a flame, that tiny gray-black light instantly disappeared into the vast darkness.

The Demon Emperor roared in shock and rage, sensing a strange yet primordial will that was frantically devouring and assimilating its original power!

The moment Lin Xuan's consciousness rushed into the core of the Demon Emperor's origin, it was as if he had fallen into an ocean of destruction! Countless chaotic, violent, and destructive thoughts filled with endless evil were like billions of steel blades scraping his bones, frantically tearing and eroding his consciousness!

Pain! Indescribable pain!

His consciousness seemed to be assimilated and disintegrated by this pure chaos and destruction!

"I say...only I!"

At this critical juncture between life and death, Lin Xuan's Dao heart erupted with the most brilliant light! He desperately guarded the last bit of clarity in his spiritual platform, transforming his understanding of destruction—the meaning of "end" and "rebirth" that originated from the extinction of stars, the end of civilization, and the destruction and rebirth—into the most solid fortress, while simultaneously activating the profound "Projection of All Heavens" ability!

The projection ability now seemed to transform into the most greedy glutton, no longer merely mapping, but beginning... plundering! It forcibly extracted and devoured the pure destructive power from the Demon Emperor's origin, filtering out the chaotic will within, transforming it into the most primal fragments of the rules of destruction, and merging them into Lin Xuan's Dao of Destruction!

This is a crazy process! On one side is a wisp of the Abyss Demon Emperor's origin, with profound foundation; on the other side is Lin Xuan's indestructible Dao heart and mysterious projection ability, with extremely high essence.

The two engaged in the most dangerous and fundamental battle within Lin Xuan's battlefield of consciousness!

The Demon Emperor's chaotic destruction attempted to corrupt and devour Lin Xuan's orderly destruction. Lin Xuan's orderly destruction, in turn, plundered, analyzed, and absorbed the Demon Emperor's chaotic destruction, refining it to replenish itself!

"No!!! What kind of power is this?!" The Demon Emperor's will emitted a horrified fluctuation, as it felt its very essence being rapidly stripped away and devoured in a way it could not comprehend!

Lin Xuan's consciousness oscillated between pain and sublimation. His understanding of "destruction" deepened and became more complete at an unprecedented speed. He saw the brutality of destruction, and also its coldness; he saw the end of destruction, and also the possibility of new life that destruction brought!

I don't know how much time passed; it felt like a moment, yet also like eternity.

The massive dark hand that was pressing down from the outside collapsed with a bang when it was only a hundred feet away from the ruins. It turned into pure dark energy and was swallowed up by a slowly rotating gray-black vortex that spontaneously formed around Lin Xuan!

The enormous dark vortex in the sky also began to become unstable. The phantom of the Demon Emperor Sargeras let out an unwilling roar before finally dissipating completely. A wisp of its core essence had been forcibly devoured and refined by Lin Xuan!

"boom!"

Lin Xuan (Elwin) hovered in mid-air, his eyes closed, radiating a chilling gray-black light. A destructive aura, far purer, more refined, and deeper than before, spread out from him like a tide, temporarily forcing back the surging dark currents around him!

He slowly opened his eyes, and his pupils, no longer simply deep, transformed into two slowly rotating miniature black holes that seemed capable of swallowing all light! They contained a terrifying sense of the end of the universe and the return of all things to nothingness!

The true meaning of destruction, in this battle, devoured the Demon Emperor's origin, taking another step forward—minor success!