The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The warship flew through the void for a full month before finally reaching the edge of the desolate battlefield.

Han Mu stood at the ship's railing, gazing at the distant scene, his heart filled with awe. Countless shattered continents floated in the void, some ablaze with flames, some covered in ice, and others crackling with lightning. Between these shattered continents, enormous black shadows occasionally darted about, emitting deafening roars.

"That's a wild beast." A voice rang out beside Han Mu.

Han Mu turned his head and saw that the speaker was a scholar in green robes, who looked to be in his thirties, with the cultivation level of a True Immortal in the early stage, and had a refined and scholarly demeanor.

"I am Qingyang, from the Qingyang Realm," the scholar said with a cupped hand and a smile.

"Han Mu, Spirit Realm." Han Mu returned the greeting.

"So you're a fellow Daoist who ascended from the Spirit Realm." Qingyang nodded. "Is this your first time in the Wilderness Battlefield, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"Indeed," Han Mu said. "I would appreciate your guidance, Fellow Daoist Qingyang."

"I wouldn't presume to offer guidance," Qingyang waved his hand. "However, I've been to the Savage Battlefield three times, so I have some experience. This battlefield is incredibly dangerous; it's not only home to wild beasts, but also ancient demons, alien races, and even..."

He lowered his voice: "There are even cultivators from other immortal realms who might try to sabotage you in secret. Fellow Daoist Han is new here, so it would be best if you joined a team to look after each other."

"Thank you for the reminder." Han Mu nodded. He did need to understand the battlefield situation, and Qingyang's initiative to make friends with him was just right.

"The warships will arrive at 'Ironblood Pass' in three days. That's our frontline fortress in the Wilderness Battlefield," Qingyang continued. "Once there, we'll be assigned to different defense zones. If Fellow Daoist Han is willing, you can team up with me. I have a small team; including you and me, there will be five of us, all at the True Immortal cultivation level, and our strength is quite considerable."

Han Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, then I'll trouble Fellow Daoist Qingyang."

"No trouble at all," Qingyang said with a smile. "One more person means one more force. Besides, although Fellow Daoist Han appears to be at the peak of the Mahayana stage, his demeanor is extraordinary. He must be suppressing his cultivation, right?"

Han Mu's heart stirred slightly; Qingyang's insight was indeed sharp. He had indeed used the Heaven-Concealing Divine Technique to suppress his cultivation to the peak of the Mahayana stage, but the change in temperament brought about by the peak of the True Immortal realm had still been noticed by the other party.

"I've just been hiding something a little." Han Mu neither denied nor admitted it.

Qingyang smiled knowingly and didn't ask any further questions. In the Immortal Realm, concealing one's cultivation level was commonplace, and no one would delve into it.

Three days later, the warship arrived at Ironblood Pass. It was a colossal city suspended in the void, with walls thousands of feet high, cast entirely from black metal, covered with sword marks and dried blood, clearly having witnessed countless battles.

The warship landed in the square outside the city. The group disembarked and, guided by the celestial soldiers, entered the city.

Inside Ironblood Pass, people came and went, mostly soldiers, their cultivation levels ranging from Mahayana to True Immortal, with the occasional Golden Immortal general hurrying by. A chilling atmosphere permeated the air, and everyone wore a solemn expression.

"Newcomer, come and register!" a general in golden armor shouted.

Han Mu and the others lined up to register. Registration was simple: they just had to state their names, cultivation levels, and which lower realm they came from, and then receive their identity tokens and defense zone assignments.

"Han Mu, peak Mahayana stage, Spirit Realm. Assigned to the Seventh Defense Zone, Third Squad." The registrar recorded the information expressionlessly, then tossed Han Mu a black token.

"The Seventh Defense Zone..." Qingyang frowned. "That's the front line within the front line, frequently attacked by wild beasts. Fellow Daoist Han, you must be careful."

"It's alright," Han Mu said calmly. He was actually looking forward to killing more wild beasts to gain military merits and immortal spiritual energy.

After registration, everyone was led to their respective posts. The Seventh Defense Zone was located on the outermost edge of Ironblood Pass, a stretch of city wall extending for a hundred miles. The city wall was covered with defensive formations, with an arrow tower every ten miles, each tower equipped with a heavy crossbow whose bolts gleamed coldly, clearly not ordinary.

Han Mu arrived at the third squad's encampment, a simple stone house, where four people were already inside. Among them was Qingyang, and the other three were a swordsman in black, a woman in a red dress, and a burly man.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you've arrived." Qingyang greeted him and introduced, "This is Jian Wushuang, a mid-stage True Immortal, a sword cultivator. This is Hongluan, an early-stage True Immortal, a fire-based cultivator. This is Shishan, an early-stage True Immortal, a body cultivator. With you and me, our team is complete."

"Han Mu, peak Mahayana stage, please give me your guidance." Han Mu cupped his hands in greeting.

"Peak of the Mahayana stage?" Jian Wushuang frowned. "Qingyang, why did you bring in such a drag on?"

"Brother Sword, don't underestimate Fellow Daoist Han." Qingyang laughed. "Although Fellow Daoist Han appears to be at the peak of the Mahayana stage, his strength is probably no weaker than that of an early True Immortal."

"Oh?" Jian Wushuang sized up Han Mu, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. "Since that's the case, then stay. But on the battlefield, swords have no eyes. If you drag us down, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Of course," Han Mu nodded.

"Alright, now that we're in a team, we should look out for each other," Hongluan said, smoothing things over. "Fellow Daoist Han, this is your bed. Our third team is responsible for guarding the third section of the seventh defense zone's city wall. We'll patrol three times a day and immediately alert the authorities if we spot any wild beasts. You can cultivate at the base, but don't leave the defense zone."

"Understood," Han Mu replied.

Over the next few days, Han Mu adapted to battlefield life. He patrolled during the day and cultivated at night. The spiritual energy in the desolate battlefield was even denser than in Ascension City, and it was also mixed with a trace of ancient aura, which was very beneficial for cultivation.

"System, check the progress of collecting immortal energy."

Side Quest: Collect Celestial Energy

[Task Requirements: Collect countless strands of celestial energy to construct the "Celestial Reincarnation Pool (Celestial Realm Version)"]

Current progress: 127/10000

"Only a little over a hundred strands, too slow." Han Mu frowned. He had absorbed some immortal spiritual energy during his cultivation these past few days, but it was still far from ten thousand strands.

"It seems I have no choice but to hunt wild beasts," Han Mu resolved. Wild beasts contain a large amount of immortal spiritual energy, and hunting them is the fastest way to obtain it.

On the seventh day, an accident occurred.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire Seventh Defense Zone.

Han Mu rushed out of the stone house and saw a dark mass of wild beasts surging in like a tide outside the city walls. These wild beasts were of various shapes and sizes, some like giant wolves, some like tigers, and some like giant pythons, but they were all huge. The smallest was at least ten zhang long, and the largest was a hundred zhang long. The weakest of them were comparable to the Mahayana stage, and the strongest even reached the peak of the True Immortal stage.

"It's a beast tide!" Qingyang's expression turned grave. "At least a thousand of them, including three beast leaders at the peak of True Immortal level. This is troublesome."

"Everyone, to the city walls!" A golden-armored general soared into the sky, shouting sternly, "Hold the line! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

Han Mu and the others flew onto the city wall. They saw that the wild beasts outside the city had already rushed to the foot of the wall, frantically attacking the defensive array. The array's light barrier trembled violently, on the verge of shattering.

"Fire!" the golden-armored general ordered.

"Whoosh whoosh-"

Countless crossbow bolts were fired, each imbued with immortal power, its force comparable to a strike from a true immortal. The beasts at the forefront were riddled with bullets, but those behind remained fearless and continued their charge.

"This won't do. The defensive formation won't last long," Jian Wushuang said in a deep voice. "We must go out of the city and kill the beast leader, otherwise, once the formation breaks, we will all die."

"But those three beast leaders all have the strength of a peak True Immortal. How can we kill them?" Shi Shan frowned.

"I'll go," Han Mu suddenly said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you..." Qingyang hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. Han Mu was only at the peak of the Mahayana stage; to go and fight a beast commander at the peak of the True Immortal stage—wasn't that just suicide?

"I'm confident," Han Mu said calmly. He was just about to try his hand at it, and the immortal spiritual energy he would obtain from hunting down a peak True Immortal beast would surely be considerable.

"No, it's too dangerous." Hongluan shook her head. "Going alone is suicide."

"Let him go," Jian Wushuang suddenly said. "Since he says he's confident, he must have some trump cards. We'll stay here to provide support, and if things don't go well, we'll retreat immediately."

"This..." Qingyang hesitated.

"Don't worry." After saying that, Han Mu leaped off the city wall. In the instant he jumped, he raised his cultivation to the early stage of True Immortal, which was neither too revealing nor too dangerous.

"Early stage of True Immortal?" Everyone on the city wall was stunned. So Han Mu had been hiding his cultivation level; no wonder he dared to leave the city alone.

Han Mu landed in the midst of the wild beasts and was immediately surrounded by dozens of them. Most of these wild beasts were at the Void Immortal level (equivalent to Mahayana), with only a few at the early True Immortal level.

"You're courting death." Han Mu pointed his fingers like a sword and slashed out.

"Sizzle—"

Sword energy crisscrossed, instantly cleaving dozens of wild beasts in two. Han Mu continued his charge towards the three peak True Immortal wild beast leaders.

The three wild beast leaders were a golden giant ape, a black giant python, and a blue giant eagle. Seeing Han Mu charging towards them, the golden giant ape roared and unleashed a punch. The force of the punch rippled through the space.

"Well done." Han Mu neither dodged nor evaded, and threw out a punch as well.

"boom!"

The two fists collided, and the golden giant ape staggered back three steps, but Han Mu remained unmoved.

"What?!" Everyone on the city wall was stunned. With only early-stage True Immortal cultivation, he actually gained the upper hand against a peak True Immortal beast? This Han Mu's strength was probably far beyond the early-stage True Immortal!

The golden giant ape was also stunned; it hadn't expected this tiny human to possess such power. But the wild beast was inherently ferocious, and with a roar, it pounced again.

At the same time, the black python and the blue eagle also moved. The black python opened its mouth and spewed out poisonous mist, while the blue eagle flapped its wings, sending countless wind blades slashing towards Han Mu.

"Three against one? Interesting." Han Mu's lips curled up slightly, and his figure suddenly disappeared, appearing on the back of the giant blue eagle the next moment.

"cut!"

A celestial sword appeared in Han Mu's hand; it was the low-grade celestial artifact he had received from the Ascension Camp. Although its grade was not high, its power surged under the infusion of his peak True Immortal power.

"Pfft—"

The giant azure eagle's head was severed, and blood gushed out. Han Mu grabbed the eagle's inner core and stored it in his storage ring.

"Ding! You have obtained the inner core of a peak True Immortal beast, containing three hundred strands of immortal spiritual energy."

A system notification sounded.

"Three hundred strands, not bad." Han Mu nodded in satisfaction and looked at the remaining two wild beasts.

The golden giant ape and the black python, both shocked and enraged, pounced simultaneously. Han Mu remained calm, his immortal sword flashing, each strike precisely hitting the beasts' weak points. In less than ten moves, the golden giant ape and the black python fell one after the other.

"Ding! You have obtained the inner core of a peak True Immortal beast, containing three hundred strands of immortal spiritual energy."

"Ding! You have obtained the inner core of a peak True Immortal beast, containing three hundred strands of immortal spiritual energy."

In a short time, all three peak True Immortal level beast leaders were annihilated. Everyone on the city wall was stunned.

"This...this is it?" Ishiyama was dumbfounded.

"Such formidable strength!" Jian Wu's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "This Han Mu is definitely hiding his cultivation level; he's at least a late-stage True Immortal, and might even be at the peak of True Immortal!"

"Anyway, he saved us." Qingyang breathed a sigh of relief.

With the beast leader killed, the remaining beasts were leaderless and quickly wiped out by the garrison. The crisis was averted.

Han Mu returned to the city wall and handed the three inner cores to the golden-armored general: "Commander, these are the inner cores of those three wild beasts."

The golden-armored general gave Han Mu a deep look: "What's your name?"

"Han Mu".

"Very good." The golden-armored general nodded. "Slaying three peak True Immortal level beast commanders is a major achievement, and you will be rewarded with three thousand military merits. In addition, these three inner cores are yours."

"Thank you, Commander." Han Mu cupped his hands in thanks. Three thousand military merits could be exchanged for quite a few good things at the supply depot.

After the battle, everyone returned to their base. This battle solidified Han Mu's position in the third squad. Jian Wushuang and the others' attitudes towards him changed drastically, from initial disdain to respect, and even subtly regarding him as their leader.

Han Mu didn't care about these things; he was more concerned with collecting immortal spiritual energy.

"System, check the current progress."

Side Quest: Collect Celestial Energy

Current progress: 1127/10000

"Nine hundred strands, still more than eight thousand strands short." Han Mu calculated, "At this rate, I only need to hunt thirty more peak True Immortal beasts. However, peak True Immortal beasts are rare, so I'll have to look for more opportunities."

In the days that followed, Han Mu volunteered to patrol outside the city, killing any wild beasts he encountered. His military merits accumulated rapidly, and his immortal spiritual energy also increased. Under his leadership, the Third Squad became the most outstanding squad in the Seventh Defense Zone, earning the admiration of even the golden-armored general.

Three months later, Han Mu was cultivating at his camp when he suddenly received a message.

"Han Mu, come quickly to take command of the main tent." It was the voice of the golden-armored general.

Han Mu's heart stirred, and he got up and went there.