The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Outside Han City, dark clouds loomed overhead. Tens of thousands of vengeful spirits swirled around the city, emitting mournful howls that shrouded the entire city in a sinister aura. The Ghostly Elder, wielding the Banner of Ten Thousand Ghosts, hovered above the dark clouds, unleashing his late-stage Nascent Soul power with undisguised force, causing the lower-level cultivators within the city to tremble in fear.

Behind him stood three Void Refinement cultivators: Blood Celestial Venerable, Shadow Assassin Palace Master, and Samsara Palace Master. Further back were over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators and hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators—a truly formidable lineup. The three major powers had mobilized their entire forces, determined to raze Han City to the ground in one fell swoop.

"Han Mu, come out and face your death!" Blood Celestial Venerable roared, his voice echoing throughout the city. "Hand over the Underworld King's Seal and offer up all the treasures of Han City, and I may spare the Han family's bloodline. Otherwise, today is the day your Han family is exterminated!"

The cultivators in the city wore solemn expressions, but no one panicked. During this time, Han Mu's prestige had deeply penetrated their hearts, especially the power of the Zhou Tian Star Array, which gave them full confidence.

Inside the city lord's mansion, Han Mu stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. Han Li, Han Yunge, Han Jinglei, Han Ling'er, and Han Tianfeng stood behind him, each of them brimming with fighting spirit.

"They've finally arrived," Han Mu said with a faint smile. "Perfect for practicing against them. Han Li, you take Jing Lei and Tian Feng to guard the east gate; Yun Ge and Ling'er to guard the west gate; Chang Qing and Doctor Mo to guard the south gate; I will guard the north gate. Remember, your safety is paramount. If you are overwhelmed, you can retreat back into the city, where a powerful formation protects you."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Han Mu then looked at Han Li: "You've just entered the Nascent Soul stage, so this battle is a good opportunity to solidify your realm. Leave the Ghost Elder to me, and you can fight the rest of you without hesitation."

Han Li nodded, a cold glint in his eyes. He was never one to be merciful, and after following Han Mu for years, he had come to understand the cruelty of the cultivation world. To be merciful to one's enemies is to be cruel to oneself.

Soon, everyone took their positions. Han Li, along with Han Jinglei and Han Tianfeng, arrived at the East Gate. They saw a dark, eerie mass outside the city. The Blood Demon Sect cultivators, led by Blood Heavenly Venerable, were fiercely attacking the East Gate.

"Activate the first layer of the grand formation." Han Mu's voice came from the city lord's mansion.

hum-

The Zhou Tian Star Array was activated, and a pale blue light shield rose, enveloping the entire city. The vengeful spirits and ghosts crashed into the shield, hissing and dissipating into wisps of smoke. This was the array's first layer of defense, the "Starlight Shield," capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a Void Refinement cultivator.

"Hmph, a mere trick." The old ghost sneered, shaking the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner in his hand, causing more ghosts to surge out and charge towards the light barrier. At the same time, the three Void Refinement cultivators behind him also made their move.

Blood Celestial Venerable unleashed a crimson longsword, its crimson blade stretching a hundred feet, striking the light barrier fiercely. Shadow Assassin Palace Master's figure blurred, transforming into seven black shadows that attacked the same spot from different angles. Samsara Palace Master, on the other hand, summoned an ancient mirror; its light shone on the light barrier, causing it to show signs of dissolving.

The combined power of the three Void Refinement cultivators was astonishing. The Starlight Shield trembled violently, and cracks appeared everywhere.

"Open the second level, the stars shift and the constellations turn." Han Mu's voice remained calm.

As the grand formation shifted, the reflection of the starry sky appeared, with countless illusory stars swirling on the light barrier. The attacks from Blood Celestial Venerable and the others, striking the barrier, were actually deflected by the power of the stars, with most of their power being neutralized, leaving only a small portion truly impacting the grand formation.

"What a powerful formation!" Blood Celestial Venerable's face darkened. The power of this formation exceeded his expectations.

"Continue the attack! I want to see how long this formation can hold out!" the old ghost shouted coldly, taking action himself. He opened his mouth and spewed out a cloud of black gas, which transformed into a hundred-foot-long ghostly hand, fiercely grabbing at the light barrier.

A strike at the late stage of the combined form is no small matter. Wherever the ghostly hand passed, space itself distorted. The Star Shifting and Dipper Reversing Array operated wildly, the illusory images of stars flickering erratically, and a noticeable dent appeared on the light shield.

The cultivators in the city turned pale; if this attack landed, the great formation would likely break.

Han Mu stood atop the North Gate, watching the old ghost's attack, and shook his head slightly: "Late-stage Integration Realm cultivator, nothing special."

With a thought, he activated the third transformation of the great formation—"Stars Falling from the Nine Heavens".

Suddenly, the illusory stars on the light shield shone brightly, and countless starlight converged, transforming into streaks of meteors that fell towards the city. Each meteor was equivalent to a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the simultaneous fall of thousands upon thousands of meteors created a spectacular scene.

"Not good!" Blood Celestial Venerable and the others were shocked and quickly used their respective methods to defend themselves.

The meteor shower lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, creating countless deep craters outside the city. The low-level cultivators of the three major forces suffered heavy casualties, and even several Nascent Soul cultivators were injured. Only the three Void Refinement cultivators and the Ghostly Elder were unharmed, but they were also covered in dust and dirt.

"Damn it!" Blood Celestial Venerable roared in fury, he hadn't expected Han City's formation to be so powerful.

The old ghost's face was grim. He stared at the great formation for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "I see. This formation is powerful, but it also consumes a lot of resources. Han Mu, how many times can your city's spirit stone reserves support an attack of this scale? Ten times? Twenty times?"

He realized that while the Zhou Tian Star Array was incredibly powerful, it also consumed an astronomical amount of spirit stones. Han City, being a relatively young city, couldn't possibly have a large reserve.

"Attack with all your might, exhaust their spirit stones!" the old ghost ordered.

Upon hearing this, the cultivators from the three major forces perked up and launched another fierce attack. This time, they no longer sought to break the formation in one blow, but rather to wear it down continuously.

Sure enough, the array's protective barrier began to dim, and the illusory starlight became blurred. A cultivator from the city reported that the consumption rate of spirit stones was a hundred times faster than usual, and 30% of the stored spirit stones had already been used up.

"Lord of the city, at this rate, the great formation can only last for three hours at most," Han Changqing said anxiously.

Han Mu smiled and said, "Three hours is enough."

He looked at Han Li: "Go, go out of the city and fight. Remember, fight to sustain your strength, break through in battle."

Han Li understood, nodded to Han Jinglei and Han Tianfeng, and the three of them flew out of the city.

"Early Nascent Soul stage dares to come out and die?" A late Nascent Soul stage elder from the Blood Demon Sect sneered as he approached. Behind him were two mid-Nascent Soul stage elders, forming a triangular formation around Han Li and his companions.

Han Li remained expressionless and said to Han Jinglei and Han Tianfeng, "One of them each, finish this quickly."

"Good!" Han Jinglei's fighting spirit was boiling. He cultivated thunder magic, which was inherently domineering. He had not yet truly fought since breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

The three attacked simultaneously.

Han Li made a hand seal, and the temperature within a hundred-foot radius plummeted, countless ice crystals condensed, transforming into a sky full of ice swords. He pointed at the late-stage Nascent Soul elder: "Freeze."

The elder's expression changed drastically. He tried to dodge, but found that the surrounding space seemed to be frozen, making his movements sluggish. He quickly summoned a defensive magic weapon, a blood-red shield, to block in front of him.

But Han Li's ice swords were no ordinary weapons; each strike contained extreme chill. Hundreds of ice swords were unleashed simultaneously, and the blood-red shield shattered in just three breaths. The elder screamed in agony as he was pierced by an ice sword, frozen into an ice sculpture, and plummeted from the sky.

One move, and the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator perished!

On the other side, Han Jinglei, his body crackling with lightning, transformed into a purple bolt of lightning and clashed with another elder in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He cultivated the "Nine Heavens Thunder Control True Technique," and his attacks were incredibly ferocious. The elder was completely suppressed and forced to retreat steadily.

Han Tianfeng moved swiftly, like the wind and a shadow, maneuvering against his opponent. He cultivated the "Formless Wind Spirit Technique," which made him extremely fast and unpredictable in his attacks. The elder could not hit him and was instead repeatedly ambushed, leaving him with several wounds.

"So powerful!" On the city wall, the Han family cultivators were thrilled. Their five newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivators actually possessed such combat power, killing enemies of higher levels as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Han Yunge and Han Ling'er also left the city. The two women, one using fire and the other ice, worked together seamlessly and quickly killed their opponent.

In just a quarter of an hour, six Nascent Soul cultivators from the three major forces perished, while Han Li and his four companions remained unharmed.

"Useless trash!" Blood Celestial Venerable roared in fury and was about to take action himself.

But just then, Han Mu's voice came from the city: "Blood Celestial Venerable, your opponent is me."

He took a single step and arrived outside the city. His aura appeared to be at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, but under the enhancement of the grand formation, he faintly possessed the power of the Void Refinement realm.

"Playing tricks!" Blood Celestial Venerable sneered, unleashing a slash. The crimson blade light tore through the sky, heading straight for Han Mu.

Han Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but unfolded his white jade folding fan and gently fanned it. An invisible force rippled outwards, deflecting the crimson blade's light and causing it to strike a distant mountain peak, shearing off a section of it.

"Interesting." A look of seriousness flashed in Blood Celestial's eyes. This Han Mu is indeed no simple man.

The great war has truly begun.