The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

A blue light enveloped Han Mu and his eight companions, carrying them away through the hazy, gray world. Han Mu felt as if he had been stuffed into a rapidly spinning drum, his internal organs churning inside. Fortunately, it only lasted for a dozen breaths before the blue light dissipated, and the group fell into a valley.

The valley wasn't large, but it was covered with a type of silvery grass that emitted a faint glow. Steep cliffs surrounded the valley, completely enclosing it with only a narrow entrance. A faint, refreshing fragrance filled the air, invigorating the senses.

"This is..." Han Mu propped himself up, feeling as if all the bones in his body had fallen apart. Summoning the projection of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor had consumed too much energy, and now his immortal power was almost exhausted, and the Time-Space Dao Seed was also dim and lifeless.

"Silver Moon Valley, a rare safe zone on the ancient road of reincarnation," the old man Qingmu's voice rang out. He sat on a blue stone, holding a tattered palm-leaf fan in his hand, leisurely fanning himself, as if rescuing the person from the Dao Venerable's hands was just a casual act.

"Thank you for saving my life, senior." Han Mu clasped his hands in thanks. Regardless of the old man's motives, the life-saving grace was genuine.

"Don't thank me yet." Old Man Aoki waved his hand. "I saved you, but there are conditions."

As expected. Han Mu's heart sank. There's no such thing as a free lunch, especially when it comes to rescuing someone from the Dao Venerable's clutches.

"Please speak, senior." Han Mu sat up straight, and Liu Ruyan and the others gathered around, watching the old man Qingmu warily. Han Li was sitting cross-legged, regulating his breathing. His face was pale, but his eyes were clear, indicating that his injuries had stabilized.

"First, you are not allowed to tell anyone about the Time-Space Dao Seed, including your clansmen." Old Man Qingmu held up one finger. "Second, you are not allowed to leave the Chaos Sea for three years. Third, do one thing for me."

Han Mu frowned. The first two points were manageable; the Time-Space Dao Seed was a secret, and he had no intention of publicizing it. Having stayed in the Chaos Sea for three years, it would be difficult for him to leave in his current state. But the third point…

"What is it?"

"Kill one person," the old man Qingmu said calmly, "Black Fiend Dao Venerable, a disciple of the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor."

Han Mu nearly choked. Kill a Dao Venerable? He couldn't even defeat a Great Luo Immortal now, and you want him to kill a Dao Venerable?

"Senior, are you joking?" Luo Feng couldn't help but interject. "Dao Venerable, that's a Dao Venerable! All of us combined wouldn't be enough for one slap from him."

"That's why you're not allowed to leave the Chaos Sea for three years." Old Man Qingmu grinned. "Three years is enough time for you to grow to the point where you can kill a Dao Venerable. The potential of the Spacetime Dao Seed is far more than what you've seen yet."

Han Mu remained silent. The Time-Space Dao Seed was indeed powerful; just now, summoning the projection of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor had directly and severely injured the peak Dao Venerable, the Samsara Dao Ancestor. But he couldn't withstand that kind of consumption a second time. Moreover, there were differences between Dao Venerables; the Black Fiend Dao Venerable, being able to sit under the Samsara Dao Ancestor, was certainly not weak.

"Why did you insist on killing Black Fiend Daoist, Senior?" Han Li suddenly asked. He had finished regulating his breathing and his complexion had improved.

"Personal grudge." Old Man Aoki's eyes turned cold. "He killed my disciple. It's inconvenient for me to take action myself, so I asked you to do it for me."

"Why us?" Han Mu asked.

"Because you have the Seed of Time and Space, because you are the successor of the Ancestor of Time and Space." Old Man Qingmu stared at Han Mu. "The Ancestor of Time and Space and the Ancestor of Reincarnation are mortal enemies. You will have to face the Ancestor of Reincarnation sooner or later. Killing one of his Dao Venerable subordinates is like collecting some interest in advance."

Han Mu took a deep breath; it seemed this matter couldn't be avoided. However, three years was enough time for him to make many preparations. Moreover, with the Daoist Master Qingmu as his backer, he was at least safe for the time being.

"Okay, I agree." Han Mu nodded, "But I need time and resources."

"Resources are easy to discuss." The old man Qingmu took out a cyan jade pendant from his pocket and tossed it to Han Mu. "There's a map to a secret realm inside, containing the legacy left by the Time-Space Dao Ancestor. Go there, and you should be able to break through to the Great Luo realm within three years. As for the timing, after three years, regardless of whether you've broken through or not, you must go find the Black Fiend Dao Venerable. If you don't go, I will personally take action and clean house."

Clean house? Han Mu was taken aback. When did he become an apprentice of Old Man Qingmu?

"Don't misunderstand, I'm talking about him." Old Man Aoki pointed at Han Li.

Han Li's expression changed: "Senior, do you know my master?"

"More than just acquaintances." Old Man Qingmu snorted. "That old bastard from the Time-Space Era owes me three lives. You are his disciple, so naturally you must repay this debt. Helping me kill Black Fiend Daoist Venerable counts as repaying one."

Han Li remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay, I agree."

Han Mu breathed a sigh of relief. With Han Li's help, the pressure was much less. Han Li was at the late stage of the Great Luo realm, and with the inheritance of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor, he might really be able to kill the Dao Venerable in three years.

"Alright, now that we've finished with the important matters, let's chat a bit." Old Man Aoki put away his serious expression and reverted to his usual jovial demeanor. "You youngsters are quite bold, daring to activate a teleportation array right under the nose of the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor. If I hadn't happened to be nearby, you would all be his collectibles by now."

"Senior, was the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor really severely injured by the projection of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor?" Han Mu asked, voicing his doubts. For a Dao Venerable at the peak to be severely injured by a projection was rather absurd.

"Nonsense, that was a projection of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor. Although it only lasted three breaths, it contained a trace of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor's original power. The Reincarnation Old Ghost was caught off guard and suffered a great loss. It won't take him a hundred or two hundred years to recover." Old Man Qingmu gloated. "But don't be too happy yet. The Reincarnation Dao Ancestor was injured, but his subordinate Dao Venerables were not. Those two guys, Hei Tian and Bai Yuan, are probably already here."

Han Mu's heart tightened. Neither Black Heaven Dao Venerable nor White Abyss Dao Venerable were people he could handle.

"Don't worry, this is Silver Moon Valley. With the restrictions I've set up, they won't be able to find it for a while." The old man Qingmu pointed to the surrounding mountain walls. "These mountain walls can block divine sense detection, and with the interference of Silver Moon Grass, they won't be able to find it unless they come in to search themselves."

"What if they come in and search?" Zhou Meng couldn't help but ask.

"Then let's fight." Old Man Qingmu picked at his ear. "Although I can't defeat two Dao Venerables working together, I can still hold them off. While they're occupied, you all hurry to the secret realm. The entrance is deep in the valley; you can enter with the jade pendant."

Han Mu gripped the jade pendant tightly, feeling its weight. This jade pendant was not only a map but also a talisman. With it, he was at least temporarily safe.

"Senior, I have another question." Han Mu hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Has the Ancestor of Time and Space truly perished?"

Old Man Aoki was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know. The Time-Space Old Ghost has many tricks up his sleeve, and his ability to protect himself is first-rate. In that battle back then, everyone thought he was dead, but I think he might still be alive, just trapped somewhere. Otherwise, the Time-Space Dao Seed in your body wouldn't be so active."

Han Mu looked down at his chest, and the Time-Space Dao Seed was indeed glowing faintly, as if responding to Old Man Qingmu's words.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. You two hurry up and heal your wounds, then head to the secret realm." Old Man Qingmu stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "I'll go keep watch at the valley entrance. Those two should be here soon."

After saying that, the old man Aoki flashed and disappeared at the entrance of the valley.

Han Mu looked at Han Li, and Han Li was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and both saw doubt and wariness in each other's eyes. How much of Old Man Qingmu's words were true and how much were false, no one knew. But right now, they had no other choice.

"Let's heal our wounds first." Han Mu sat down cross-legged and took out pills to distribute to everyone. Liu Ruyan and the others also sat down to regulate their breathing; the escape had taken a toll on them all.

Han Mu brought up the system panel to check the status:

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Late Golden Immortal (Weakened State)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal]

[Time Rule: 8% of the Beginner Level]

[Celestial Aura: 5210 points]

[Time-Space Path Seed: 10% depleted, recovering]

[Special Ability: Time-Space Reincarnation (Currently on cooldown, 30 days)]

[Current Mission: Escape from the Chaos Sea (In Progress)]

The Time-Space Dao Seed has been damaged by 10%, and only a little over 5,000 points of Immortal Spiritual Energy remain. The Time-Space Reincarnation has a one-month cooldown, so it won't be usable for a while. Fortunately, there's a secret realm inherited from the Time-Space Dao Ancestor, which should allow for a quick recovery.

"Han Li, you just said that the Time-Space Dao Ancestor is not dead, but just sealed away. Is that true?" Han Mu asked Han Li.

Han Li nodded: "My master, who is also the Dao Ancestor of Time and Space, was indeed seriously injured back then, but he didn't die. The Dao Ancestor of Reincarnation wanted to refine him and seize his Dao of Time and Space, but my master used his last strength to seal himself and hide in the turbulent flow of time and space. In recent years, the Dao Ancestor of Reincarnation has been looking for the location of the seal, but he hasn't found it."

"Then why have you been hiding your strength all this time?" Han Mu asked again. Han Li was a late-stage Great Luo Immortal, but he had been pretending to be a peak Golden Immortal; there must be a reason.

"To evade the pursuit of the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor," Han Li said with a wry smile. "The Reincarnation Dao Ancestor knew that my master had a successor and had been sending people to find me. I hid my strength in the Chaos Sea to find a way to break the seal. The Spacetime Dao Seed was a contingency plan left by my master, and only the successor of the Dao Seed can break the seal."

Han Mu understood. The Dao Seed of Time and Space was the key. The Reincarnation Dao Ancestor wanted the Dao Seed to refine the Law of Time. Han Li wanted the Dao Seed to save his master. And he, inexplicably, became the successor of the Dao Seed, drawn into this battle at the Dao Venerable level.

"So, you want me to help you save the Time-Space Dao Ancestor?" Han Mu looked at Han Li.

"Yes, but not entirely." Han Li shook his head. "Saving Master is my business, but you are the successor of the Dao Seed, and it is your responsibility. The Dao Seed chose you, which means you are destined for the Great Dao of Time and Space. Once you break through to the Great Luo realm, I will tell you everything."

Han Mu didn't press further. Knowing too much about some things isn't necessarily a good thing. Right now, the most important thing is to recover his strength, then go to the secret realm and obtain the inheritance of the Time-Space Dao Ancestor.

An hour later, everyone finished their meditation, and their injuries had mostly healed. Han Mu stood up and looked into the depths of the valley. There stood a stone gate, its surface engraved with intricate runes and emitting faint spatial fluctuations.

"That's the entrance to the secret realm." Han Mu took out a jade pendant, which flew towards the stone door and embedded itself in the groove in the center of the door. The stone door trembled and slowly opened, revealing a pitch-black passage.

"Let's go." Han Mu led the way into the passage, with Liu Ruyan and the others following closely behind. Han Li walked at the back, glancing back at the valley entrance. Old Man Qingmu was still standing there, his back to them, like a statue.

"Senior, take care," Han Li said in a low voice, then turned and walked into the passage.

The stone gate slowly closed, and the valley returned to silence. Old Man Qingmu turned around, looked at the closed stone gate, and sighed, "Old Ghost of Time and Space, your successor has been found. Whether he survives depends on his fate."

A whooshing sound came from outside the valley, and the figures of Black Heaven Dao Venerable and White Abyss Dao Venerable appeared at the valley entrance. Their faces were grim; they had clearly lost track of Han Mu and the others.

"Aoki, where did you hide them?" Black Heaven Daoist asked coldly.

"Hide? Do I need to hide?" Old Man Aoki grinned. "They ran away on their own; I couldn't stop them. Why don't you go in and search them?"

Daoist Baiyuan scanned the valley with his divine sense but found nothing amiss. He frowned and said, "Qingmu, do you really want to get involved in this?"

"There's no way around it, I owe them a favor, I have to repay it." Old Man Aoki spread his hands. "How about this, you wait here until they come out, then you can make your move. I promise I won't interfere, how about that?"

Black Heaven Daoist and White Abyss Daoist exchanged a glance, both seeing the suspicion in each other's eyes. Was Old Man Green Wood being so kind? There was definitely a trap. But since they couldn't find Han Mu and the others, this was the only option.

"Alright, we'll wait here." Black Heaven Dao Venerable sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. White Abyss Dao Venerable also sat down, but his divine sense remained locked on Old Man Green Wood to prevent him from playing any tricks.

Old Man Aoki shrugged, sat down, took out his wine jug, took a sip, and hummed a little tune.

Meanwhile, in the secret passage, Han Mu and his eight companions were cautiously advancing. The passage was long, with smooth stone walls on both sides, covered with ancient murals that seemed to depict scenes of an ancient war.

In the murals, countless powerful figures clashed, causing the heavens and earth to collapse and the sun and moon to lose their light. One mural in particular caught Han Mu's attention: it depicted an old man in a white robe, wielding a silver longsword, facing three equally powerful enemies alone. Behind the white-robed old man was a massive spatial rift.

"That was the Time-Space Dao Ancestor." Han Li walked to Han Mu's side and whispered, "In the ancient war, the Time-Space Dao Ancestor fought three Dao Venerables alone. In the end, he was no match for them and was seriously injured, so he escaped into the spacetime turbulence. Those three Dao Venerables were the Samsara Dao Ancestor, the Black Heaven Dao Venerable, and the White Abyss Dao Venerable."

Han Mu's heart trembled. The Time-Space Dao Ancestor fought three Dao Venerables alone, and although he was defeated, his strength was enough to make him stand out throughout history. And he, now the successor of the Time-Space Dao Seed, would have to face those three Dao Venerables sooner or later.

Tremendous stress.

"There's light ahead," Liu Ruyan suddenly said.

Han Mu looked up and saw a faint light shining through the end of the passage. He quickened his pace, stepped out of the passage, and suddenly the view opened up before him.

It was a huge cave, with a high platform in the center, and a silver sphere of light floating on the platform. Within the sphere, a figure could be vaguely seen, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed.

"That's... the Ancestor of Time and Space?" Han Mu's pupils shrank.

"No, that's a wisp of an avatar left behind by the Dao Ancestor, or rather, the spirit of his inheritance." Han Li stepped forward, bowed to the sphere of light, and said, "Disciple Han Li greets Master."

The figure inside the sphere of light slowly opened its eyes, its gaze falling on Han Li, then on Han Mu, a hint of surprise flashing in its eyes.

"The Seed of Time and Space... I've finally waited for you." The figure spoke, his voice ancient and weathered, as if it had traversed countless ages.

Han Mu took a deep breath, knowing that the real test was just beginning.