The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The enormous snake head pierced the black water, its cold, vertical pupils locking onto the two figures on the boulder. The oppressive aura, comparable to that of a Dao Venerable, nearly shattered Han Mu's already severely injured body. The woman in green was even paler, her hand holding the broken flute trembling slightly; clearly, she was in worse condition than Han Mu.

"Blackwater Serpent..." Her voice was weak, but it carried a hint of understanding. "No wonder the space here is so chaotic; it turns out to be its lair."

"Do you know this beast?" Han Mu gritted his teeth, struggling to stay upright, his mind racing. A direct confrontation would be certain death, but escape? In their current state, they were no match for this giant snake. The surrounding area was filled with raging, shattered air currents; the only "safe spot" was the boulder beneath their feet and a few nearby floating rocks.

"I wouldn't say I know it, but I've seen it mentioned in ancient books," the woman in green said quickly, her breathing somewhat unsteady. "This snake dwells in the depths of the Chaos Sea, feeds on spatial fragments, and can traverse the void. An adult... possesses the combat power of a Dao Venerable. Judging from its size and aura, the one we encountered has lived for at least a million years."

"That's truly...an honor." Han Mu twitched the corner of his mouth. His luck was unparalleled. He had just shaken off two Dao Venerable pursuers when he stumbled upon the lair of a Dao Venerable-level ferocious beast.

hiss--!

The Blackwater Serpent clearly had no interest in their conversation, its scarlet tongue flickering, carrying a foul stench. More of its massive body slowly emerged from the black water, its black scales gleaming coldly in the dim light; each scale was the size of a door panel. It seemed curious about the two "little insects" who had intruded into its territory, not immediately attacking, but instead scrutinizing them with its vertical pupils, a playful, cat-and-mouse expression on its face.

"It's toying with us," the woman in green whispered, attempting to mobilize her spiritual energy. A faint glow appeared on the cinnabar between her brows, but she immediately let out a muffled groan, black blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. The black aura surrounding her wounds seemed to intensify. "I've been struck by 'Soul-Devouring Fiend,' my spiritual energy circulation is disrupted..."

Han Mu quickly glanced at the system panel:

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Late Golden Immortal (severely injured and fell to the early True Immortal stage; realm unstable)]

[Surface Realm: Early True Immortal (Disguise Failed)]

[Time Rule: Minor Success Rate 2% (Can be Slightly Adjusted)]

[Celestial Aura: 102 points]

[Status: Depleted essence and blood, severely damaged meridians, damaged origin, and suffering backlash from the disintegration of the Heavenly Demon]

[WARNING: Your realm may be permanently reduced at any time. You need to heal as soon as possible!]

102 points of immortal spiritual energy; even the cheapest healing pills in the shop start at 500 points. It's truly a case of "a skilled cook can't cook without rice." The Time Law is still somewhat usable, but its power has been greatly reduced; dealing with this Xuan Snake is like tickling it.

"What can you do?" Han Mu looked at the woman in green. Although she was seriously injured, the fact that she was here meant she might have some way to save her life.

The woman in green paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Han Mu's equally wretched state. She shook her head slightly: "I originally had a 'Void-Breaking Talisman,' which could randomly teleport me 100,000 miles, but I used it when I encountered a powerful enemy. Now... only this half of the 'Soul-Stabilizing Flute' still has some power. Perhaps it can immobilize him for a moment, but in my current state, it will only last three breaths at most, and it will worsen his injuries."

Three breaths? Han Mu looked around. In three breaths, at their current speed, how far could they escape? They probably wouldn't even be able to escape the attack range of the Xuan Snake.

"Three breaths aren't enough to escape." Han Mu shook his head, his gaze fixed on the Xuan Snake's gaping maw, revealing a deep, dark depth. A crazy idea suddenly popped into his head, "But perhaps... it's enough to do something else."

"What do you want to do?" the woman in blue asked, puzzled.

"Look at its mouth," Han Mu whispered. "Legend has it that the Xuan Snake has its own space inside its belly, capable of digesting everything. But everything has its counterpart, and since it has been devouring space fragments for years, there must be a large amount of undigested spatial power accumulating inside its body, which may even form treasures like 'Void Stones.' More importantly, its inside might be safer than the outside. At least, those two Dao Venerables probably wouldn't expect us to dare to crawl into its belly."

The woman in green widened her eyes slightly, staring at Han Mu as if he were a madman. "Entering the belly of the Xuan Snake? What's the difference between that and suicide? You'll be instantly killed by its gastric juices and spatial turbulence!"

"Normally, yes." Han Mu's speech quickened, as the Xuan Snake seemed to be losing patience and began to slowly approach, its terrifying pressure growing heavier. "But if we can find a relatively stable place within its body where spatial power is deposited before it's completely digested, or... find near its 'inner core' and use spatial power to temporarily isolate it from the gastric juices, we might be able to hold out for a while. Once we've recovered some strength, we can give it a good beating from the inside!"

The plan was so audacious it bordered on absurd. But for now, there seemed to be no better option. Staying outside meant certain death. Entering the snake's belly meant a slim chance of survival. A life against zero—the choice wasn't difficult.

The woman in green stared intently into Han Mu's eyes, trying to discern a hint of jest or hesitation, but she saw only a chilling resolve and madness. She suddenly laughed, a smile with a breathtaking beauty despite the blood still lingering at the corner of her mouth. "You're quite interesting. Fine, I'll trust you this once. Three breaths, I'll try to stall for four! The rest is up to you!"

"Deal!" Han Mu nodded, quietly mobilizing all the remaining power within his body. The Law of Time condensed at his fingertips, weak but pure. He had to use this last bit of power at the most crucial moment.

The Blackwater Serpent seemed to have had enough fun. Its huge mouth suddenly opened, like a bottomless black hole, and a terrifying suction force came instantly, threatening to swallow the two people along with the boulder beneath their feet!

"Now!" the woman in green shouted, gathering her last bit of spiritual power and bringing the broken flute in her hand to her lips. No sound came out, but a visible ripple of azure sound waves spread out, not attacking the black serpent, but enveloping its huge head.

The black serpent's forward charge abruptly halted, a fleeting look of bewilderment appearing in its cold, vertical pupils. The Soul-Stabilizing Flute stuns the soul! Even though its opponent was a Dao Venerable-level ferocious beast with a powerful soul, this sudden attack on the soul still caused it to momentarily lose its focus.

"One breath!" The woman in green swayed, blood seeping from all seven orifices, clearly indicating that activating this incomplete magic weapon was a great burden on her.

Han Mu moved. Instead of running away, he charged towards the terrifying suction force, heading straight for the gaping maw of the Xuan Serpent! With the slight enhancement of the Time Law, his speed reached its limit, transforming him into a blurry shadow.

"Time...accelerates!" It didn't accelerate itself, but rather accelerated the flow of time around the woman in green! What would have been a three-breath ordeal for her soul was extended to nearly four breaths, according to the Xuan Snake's perception and actual effect!

"Two breaths!" Han Mu rushed into the snake's mouth, a foul stench assaulting his senses, thick saliva dripping down, highly corrosive. He held his breath, his protective aura flickering faintly.

"Three breaths!" The black serpent's throat was close at hand, a bottomless passage surrounded by writhing, barbed flesh, and below it churned a lake of dark green gastric juices that emitted a pungent, acidic odor. Deeper still, turbulent spatial currents could be vaguely seen surging within.

Han Mu's gaze was sharp as an eagle's, and he activated the Law of Time at full power, sensing the subtle fluctuations in the surrounding spatial energy. He'd found it! To his left front, near the inner wall of the snake's body, the spatial fluctuations were relatively stable, and there was a faint silver light flickering there—it seemed to be… an undigested spatial crystal?

"That's it!" Han Mu turned and rushed towards the faint silver light. Behind him, the woman in green followed, her face ashen, but her eyes remained resolute.

"Four breaths!" The effect of the soul impact had reached its limit. The Xuan Snake suddenly came to its senses, letting out an angry hiss. Its throat muscles contracted violently, and terrifying squeezing and suction forces came at the same time. The gastric fluid lake below also stirred up huge waves, surging towards the two of them! Even more terrifying, the spatial turbulence that was originally relatively calm also became violent due to the Xuan Snake's rage, like countless sharp blades cutting towards them.

"Grab me!" Han Mu roared, grabbing the woman in green's wrist and pulling her towards him. At the same time, he used his other hand, fingers forming a sword shape, to concentrate the last bit of his power of time at his fingertips and fiercely point at the silver light!

"open!"

laugh!

The collision of the power of time with that relatively stable spatial node actually tore open a small, extremely unstable silver crack! Behind the crack, there seemed to be a relatively independent small space, filled with some messy things, including undigested ore, broken weapon fragments, and even the skeletons of several unknown creatures. However, the space was relatively stable, without gastric juices or violent turbulence.

Han Mu, pulling the woman in green, plunged into the crevice without hesitation!

Just as the two figures disappeared into the rift, the Xuan Snake's throat muscles snapped shut, a massive wave of gastric juices slammed against its fleshy walls, and spatial turbulence shattered the silver rift into pieces. But the rift had vanished, along with the two people inside.

The black serpent seemed stunned for a moment, then became even more enraged, rolling wildly at the edge of the shattered void, stirring up the space into even greater chaos. It couldn't understand how the two little insects it had almost caught had suddenly disappeared. Its massive body churned in the black water, its vertical pupils filled with confusion and fury.

……

Pfft!

Han Mu and the woman in green tumbled out of the silver crack and landed on a patch of "ground." This "ground" was actually a tough, fleshy membrane-like substance, somewhat soft but very elastic underfoot. All around were dark red, slightly writhing "walls," and the air was filled with a strange, sweet-smelling stench and intense spatial fluctuations. Above them was a writhing, fleshy dome, through which the shadows and turbulent light of the gastric fluid lake outside could be vaguely seen. This seemed to be a "small tumor" or "layer" within the Xuan Snake's body, formed by an abnormal accumulation of spatial power, temporarily avoiding the digestive system.

"Cough cough..." The woman in green coughed up several mouthfuls of black blood, her breath becoming even weaker, and she didn't even have the strength to sit up.

Han Mu wasn't in much better shape either. Forcibly activating his last bit of time power had worsened his injuries, and his vision was blurring. He leaned against a cold, silvery "stone," panting heavily.

Is it safe for now? At least it hasn't been digested immediately.

Han Mu summoned the system panel, hoping to see if there was any chance of a turnaround. The panel was still a sea of ​​red warnings, but suddenly, a new notification appeared:

High concentration and high purity of undigested, primordial spatial crystals were detected.

[Location: Next to the host]

[Can be absorbed and converted into celestial energy, with an estimated conversion rate of 1:100]

[Warning: The crystal contains the imprint of the Mystic Serpent and the power of the raging space. Direct absorption carries the risk of explosion. Purification is recommended before use. Purification requires 50 points of Immortal Spirit Energy.]

Han Mu turned his head and looked at the "stone" he was leaning against. This was no stone at all; it was clearly a crystal the size of a human head, an irregularly shaped polyhedron, with what appeared to be a silver galaxy flowing inside! A dense, almost liquefied spatial energy emanated from it. There were several similar crystals scattered among the bones and debris in this small interlayer space.

Immortal spiritual energy! And the conversion rate is as high as 1:100! If all the spatial power contained in this crystal were converted, it would probably contain tens of thousands or even more immortal spiritual energy! Although direct absorption is dangerous, the system prompts that it can be purified, requiring only 50 points of guidance! He currently has 102 points, which is enough!

This was truly a case of "when you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up!" A surge of hope welled up in Han Mu's heart. With the immortal spiritual energy, he could exchange it for pills to heal his injuries and restore his strength! Even…

His gaze swept over the other spatial crystals, then he looked at the things scattered on the ground. The skeletons had long since weathered and would crumble at the slightest touch, but on the finger of one of the skeletons was an ancient-looking ring, covered in cracks. There were also several fragments of broken weapons; although they had lost all their spiritual energy, their material seemed extraordinary.

"Looks like we're not the first unlucky ones to fall into the snake's belly," Han Mu grinned and said to the woman in green. He struggled, preparing to purify the smallest piece of spatial crystal first, in exchange for immortal spiritual energy to heal his injuries.

Upon hearing this, the woman in green turned her head with difficulty, her gaze falling on the ancient ring. A strange expression suddenly appeared on her pale face as she murmured, "...'The Void Ring'? Impossible... Master's ring, how could it be here..."