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

Under the cover of night, the Qinglan Mountains resembled an ancient behemoth crouching on the earth, silent and dangerous. The branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees rustled in the wind, sounding like the deep breaths of the beast. In the distance, the occasional mournful howl of wolves or the roar of unknown monsters added to the ferocity of this primeval forest.

Lin Xuan's figure darted swiftly through the trees. With the aid of his Wind Control Technique, his steps were as light as a cat's, landing silently. After breaking through to the second level of Qi Refining, his five senses became increasingly acute, and the range of his divine sense expanded to about ten feet around him. This allowed him to perceive potential dangers in advance, and also to more clearly detect subtle changes in the spiritual energy in the air.

He was like a calm hunter, searching for his prey.

He had been in the mountains for over an hour, avoiding several areas with noticeably strong auras, where the demonic beasts were far beyond his current capabilities. His target was the lone demonic beasts with strength at the early stage of the first rank (equivalent to the early stage of Qi Refining).

"Hiss—"

A faint friction sound reached my ears, accompanied by a faint fishy smell.

Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed, and he instantly froze, hiding behind a thick tree trunk and concealing his aura. His divine sense, like invisible tentacles, spread forward.

Not far ahead, from the bushes, a giant python, as thick as a bucket and covered in dark brown scales, slowly emerged. Its triangular head had a pair of cold, vertical pupils that gleamed eerily in the moonlight, and its scarlet forked tongue flickered in and out. Judging from the demonic energy it emitted, it was roughly at the peak of the early stage of the first rank, equivalent to a third-level Qi Refining cultivator.

"Brown-scaled Python..." Lin Xuan quickly recalled the scattered information about this kind of monster from the original owner's memories: it was incredibly strong, had a powerful strangulation ability, and its scales provided excellent defense, but it was relatively slow and afraid of fire.

A perfect opponent!

Without the slightest hesitation, he launched his attack before the brown-scaled python could even spot him!

With his hands forming a hand seal, the stellar spiritual energy within his body surged forth!

"Fire Spell!"

call!

A crimson tongue of fire, about a foot long, was more concentrated and scorching than during previous practice. Like an arrow released from a bow, it shot precisely at the seven-inch spot of the brown-scaled python!

The brown-scaled python reacted with lightning speed, twisting its body sharply. The flames grazed its scales, leaving a charred mark but not causing serious injury. The python hissed angrily in pain, its cold, vertical pupils instantly locking onto the tree where Lin Xuan was hiding, and its thick tail swept down like a steel whip!

boom!

The tree trunk, as thick as a thigh, snapped in two, sending wood chips flying everywhere!

Lin Xuan had already used his Wind Control Technique to reposition himself the instant he made his move. His expression was cold, and his mind raced. His Flame Technique was insufficient to break through the defense! Close combat? The Brown Scale Python's constricting power was far beyond what his current physique could withstand.

As the brown-scaled python opened its blood-red maw again, rushing towards him with a foul stench, a cold glint flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes.

He no longer used fire magic, but instead poured all his stellar spiritual energy into his legs, pushing his wind manipulation technique to its limit. His figure moved like a ghost, weaving and dodging amidst the brown-scaled python's storm of attacks and tail sweeps. At the same time, he swung his hands rapidly!

"Object manipulation!"

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

The sharp stones and broken branches scattered on the ground, under the control of his divine sense and spiritual power, were as if grasped by an invisible hand and transformed into sharp arrows, shooting wildly from all sorts of tricky angles at the relatively vulnerable parts of the brown-scaled python, such as its eyes and mouth!

This demonstrates his skillful use of object manipulation! He has transformed this auxiliary spell into a powerful offensive technique!

Although the brown-scaled python has thick skin and flesh, its eyes and mouth are weak points. Faced with this dense, rain-like, and vicious attack, it had to dodge repeatedly, close its eyes and turn its head, and its offensive was immediately thwarted, emitting increasingly anxious hisses.

Lin Xuan calmly observed, searching for an opportunity to strike decisively. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he simultaneously manipulated multiple objects to launch high-precision attacks, which greatly depleted his spiritual sense and energy.

Finally, in the instant that the brown-scaled python once again raised its head and closed its eyes to avoid a stone aimed at them—

Lin Xuan made a move!

His figure was like a cheetah that had been poised for a long time. He suddenly rushed forward, concentrating all his spiritual power in the index and middle fingers of his right hand!

At the fingertip, a dazzling silver star suddenly shone, like the coldest star in the night sky! The surrounding air seemed to freeze!

"Star Finger!"

call out!

A highly refined silver finger beam, seemingly capable of piercing through everything, tore through the air, carrying an unstoppable sharpness, and shot with unparalleled precision into the depths of the brown-scaled python's slightly open mouth due to its hiss, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye!

puff!

A muffled thud!

The silver finger pierced straight through the back of the brown-scaled python's head, bringing with it a spray of blood mixed with brain matter!

The brown-scaled python's massive body stiffened abruptly, its cold, vertical pupils instantly losing all their luster. It then collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitched a few times, and fell silent.

Lin Xuan stood there, slightly out of breath, his face pale. That "Star Finger" had almost drained half of the spiritual power remaining in his body, but the effect was obvious! This finger strike, infused with the characteristics of his own stellar spiritual power, far surpassed ordinary Qi Refining stage spells in terms of penetrating power!

He walked to the corpse of the brown-scaled python, took out an ordinary dagger he had found in Scarface's storage bag, and painstakingly broke open the python's skull, retrieving a round bead the size of a pigeon egg, emitting a faint earthy-yellow halo—a first-tier demon core. At the same time, he cut off some intact scales and a large piece of python meat containing essence blood, storing them in his storage bag.

This was his first time hunting a demonic beast independently. Although the process was thrilling and extremely taxing, the rewards were equally impressive. The demonic core and materials from the beast could be exchanged for spirit stones at the market.

More importantly, after this life-or-death struggle, he felt that his use of spiritual power and his grasp of the timing of battle had significantly improved. After the exhaustion caused by the depletion of spiritual power, the restored spiritual power seemed to be even more condensed.

"Fighting is indeed one of the fastest ways to improve one's strength."

After finding a secluded tree hollow and resting briefly to recover his spiritual power, Lin Xuan once again embarked on his hunting journey.

For the next few days, he wandered around the outer areas of the Qinglan Mountains like a tireless cultivator and hunter.

He outpaced the cunning "Wind Shadow Wolf," using his Wind Control Technique and improved "Stone Arrow Manipulation" to wear it down; when encountering a swarm of early-stage Tier 1 "Poison Fang Bees," he relied on precise fire spells to burn the hive from a distance, fighting and retreating; he even narrowly escaped death once while fleeing from a mid-stage Tier 1 monster, managing to escape only by cleverly utilizing the terrain and using his Star Finger to ambush it.

Every day was a cycle of fighting, recovering, and fighting again. His combat experience grew at an astonishing rate, and his mastery of several basic spells became increasingly refined. In the repeated cycles of consumption and replenishment, his stellar spiritual energy became more condensed and powerful. The herbs he gathered and the materials he obtained from demonic beasts gradually filled his depleted storage bag.

The edge of life and death is where potential is most unleashed.

Five days later, in a valley shrouded in a light mist, Lin Xuan encountered his strongest opponent since entering the mountains—a "Crimson Flame Tiger" whose strength was comparable to the peak of the third level of Qi Refining!

This ferocious tiger was nearly three meters long, its fur like burning flames, with a white stripe on its forehead, radiating a chilling ferocity. It spotted Lin Xuan, who was gathering a "Crimson Sun Ginseng," and launched a brutal attack.

Fireballs spewed forth, and sharp claws tore through the wind!

Lin Xuan pushed his Wind Control Technique to its limit, his figure struggling to dodge between the tiger's claws and the fireballs, constantly facing peril. He repeatedly unleashed his Star Finger technique, but it could only leave shallow bloody holes in the Crimson Flame Tiger's thick fur and hard bones, failing to inflict fatal damage.

A war of attrition is extremely disadvantageous to him!

He couldn't dodge in time, and the Crimson Tiger's giant claw grazed his ribs, leaving a trail of blood, causing excruciating pain!

Lin Xuan grunted, his eyes growing colder and more focused. He knew he couldn't hold back any longer!

He leaped backward a short distance, his hands rapidly forming hand seals—a small technique he had learned from "Detailed Explanation of Basic Spells," allowing him to mobilize spiritual energy at a faster pace. Within his dantian, all the stellar spiritual energy converged frantically towards his fingertips at an unprecedented speed!

That glimmer of starlight was no longer faint, but dazzling! It was as if what he held in his fingertips was not spiritual power, but a miniature star!

The Crimson Tiger seemed to sense the threat as well, letting out a deafening roar as flames surged around it, and it pounced again!

"Star Finger, Piercing the Stars!"

Lin Xuan roared and fiercely pointed out a finger that had gathered all his strength!

A condensed, almost tangible silver beam tore through the air, carrying an unwavering determination, instantly traversing several meters, and precisely piercing the back of the Crimson Flame Tiger's gaping maw!

"Awooo—!"

The Crimson Tiger's roar abruptly ceased, turning into a desperate wail. Its massive body lurched forward a few more steps due to inertia before crashing to the ground, the ferocity in its eyes quickly fading.

Lin Xuan staggered a few steps, bracing himself with his hands. His face was as pale as paper, and his spiritual energy in his dantian was almost completely depleted. This "Star Piercing" finger strike had almost drained all his strength, and its power far exceeded that of ordinary strikes.

He panted as he swallowed the last "Spirit Restoration Grass," which could quickly restore his spiritual power, and then tended to the wounds on his ribs before beginning to collect his spoils. The Crimson Flame Tiger was far more valuable than the Wind Wolf; its skin, bones, and penis were all treasures, especially the crimson demon core, which contained abundant fire-attribute spiritual energy.

Just as he held the demon core in his hand, preparing to absorb its spiritual energy to replenish his energy, a sudden change occurred!

The black token he kept close to his body once again emitted that familiar, faint throbbing! This time, however, the throbbing did not come from the corpse of the Crimson Flame Tiger, but rather pointed towards the depths of the valley, into that even denser, almost impenetrable white mist!

Lin Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly looked up at that unknown area.

Could it be that this token has sensed something again?