The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The chilling mental fluctuations acted like three chains, firmly locking Han Mu and Yun Li in place from three directions. The rustling sound of time flowing by grew closer, carrying a cold indifference that seemed to obliterate everything.

Three figures in grey robes slowly "emerged" from three directions of the meteorite crevice, as if they had always been there, merely emerging from a rift in time. Their forms were more solid than "Hui," who had been annihilated by the ancient coffin. Fine time runes flowed across their grey robes, their faces indistinct, except for two constantly shifting grey vortexes around their eyes, seemingly reflecting the long river of time. Each of them exuded a profound and mysterious aura, exerting pressure on Han Mu no less than that of "Hui," perhaps even stronger! Each of them was at least at the late-stage Golden Immortal level, and their control over the laws of time far surpassed his!

"Hand over the fragments of the Source Coffin, and leave your body intact," the gray-clad man in the middle repeated, his voice cold, stiff, and unquestionable. He didn't even glance at Yun Li, as if she were merely an insignificant speck of dust. The gazes of all three (if the gray vortex could be considered a gaze) were focused on Han Mu, or more precisely, on the location of the gray-white ancient coffin in his arms.

Cold sweat beaded on Han Mu's forehead, not from fear, but from the combined effects of his injuries and immense pressure. Three powerful figures, no weaker than the previous "Hidden" one, were clearly working in perfect harmony, blocking all escape routes. A direct confrontation? In his current state of severe injury and unstable cultivation, he would struggle against any one of them; three at once would be certain death. Escape? His opponents were clearly proficient in spacetime manipulation, incredibly fast, and their tracking abilities were uncanny.

"A fragment of the Origin Coffin?" Han Mu's face showed just the right amount of bewilderment and a hint of fear, like an ordinary True Immortal frightened by the pressure of a powerful figure. "Seniors, have you mistaken me for someone else? This junior only has some ordinary belongings and has no fragments of the Origin Coffin."

"Thief of time, lies are meaningless." The gray-clad man on the left spoke, his voice equally cold. "You bear the mark of 'Darkness's' remnants of time-reversing power, and the aura of fragments from the Source Coffin. Hand it over, or we'll take it ourselves."

Han Mu's heart skipped a beat. It was indeed the mark left by "Hui" before his death, along with the leakage of the ancient coffin's aura. His mind raced as he communicated with the "Immortal Coffin" within his body, attempting to stimulate its aura and mimic the slight fluctuation of the "Source Coffin" from the gray-white ancient coffin, while simultaneously trying his best to suppress most of the fluctuations.

"Senior, you are wise. I was indeed..." he said, while secretly activating the "Burning Blood Escape" technique. This was a life-saving escape technique he had obtained from the system. It burned his essence blood and part of his lifespan to gain an escape speed far exceeding his own realm for a short period of time. The price was huge, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

"Stubborn fool." The gray-clad man in the middle lost his patience, raised his right hand, and made a fist at Han Mu in the air.

The space around Han Mu instantly froze, the flow of time slowed to an extreme degree, and an invisible force, seemingly trying to tear him away from the river of time, enveloped him. This was absolute time control and suppression!

At this critical moment, the gray-white ancient coffin in Han Mu's arms seemed to be stimulated by this time power of the same origin but with the attribute of "reversal," and it trembled slightly again. Although it was far less powerful than the last time it voluntarily awakened and counterattacked, it still emitted a very weak fluctuation, but with an ancient "source" aura.

The three gray-clad men stopped simultaneously, their gray vortex eyes gleaming brightly, revealing undisguised greed and a hint of... fear?

"It really is a fragment of the Origin Coffin! And its spiritual essence is still intact!" the gray-clad man on the right exclaimed.

"Now!" Han Mu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood containing his life essence, the blood mist instantly igniting and transforming into a stream of crimson light that enveloped him and Yun Li. At the same time, without hesitation, he crushed the last valuable "Minor Teleportation Talisman" he had exchanged from the system, his target—the deeper part of the asteroid belt, the edge of the legendary "Chaotic Vortex," a place even Grand Luo Golden Immortals were unwilling to easily venture into!

With the combined bursts of "Burning Blood Escape" and "Minor Teleportation Talisman," Han Mu and Yun Li's figures blurred instantly, about to break free from the frozen space-time and undergo a random teleportation over an extremely long distance!

"Trying to leave?" The middle gray-clad man sneered, pressing his hands forward abruptly. An even more terrifying power of time-freezing erupted, and Han Mu felt the crimson light and teleportation power become viscous and slow, as if he were sinking into a swamp of time. The other two gray-clad men also attacked simultaneously, three gray chains of time wrapping around him from different directions, trying to completely lock him up and drag him out.

On the brink of life and death! A fierce glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes. Without hesitation, he bit his tongue hard, spraying even purer blood essence onto the teleportation talisman light that had not yet been fully activated. At the same time, despite the risk of aggravating his injuries, he forcibly reversed the time power that had just recovered in his body. It was not an attack, but rather an application to himself—"Local Time Acceleration"!

The local time flow rate of himself and the teleportation rune light was instantly increased to its limit! Although it could only be maintained for a moment and would have a severe backlash, it was enough!

Buzz! Crimson light and runic light shone brightly. In the last instant before the three chains of time closed, Han Mu and Yun Li's figures completely blurred and disappeared from the spot.

The three chains missed their target, collided with each other, and produced a dull thud, completely pulverizing the meteorite.

"Burning his life essence and lifespan, using superimposed teleportation, and even employing a rudimentary form of time acceleration?" The gray-clad man in the middle lowered his hand, his gray vortex eyes fixed on the direction Han Mu had disappeared. His voice was icy. "Chase him. He can't escape far. He can't bear the cost of the Blood Burning Escape for long. Besides, the mark on his body can't be ignored."

"Yes, Lord Yi." The two gray-clad figures on either side bowed. The three of them flickered and merged into the void, following the faint mark and spatial fluctuations.

……

Amidst the chaotic meteor shower, Han Mu and Yun Li stumbled out in a disheveled state. Han Mu's face was deathly pale, his aura plummeted, and his injuries, which had just begun to heal, had completely deteriorated, even becoming more severe than before. The Blood Burning Escape combined with the forced time acceleration had further depleted his already exhausted essence and lifespan, causing multiple meridians to rupture and his immortal power to become disordered.

"Senior!" Yun Li quickly helped him up, her face full of anxiety.

Han Mu waved his hand and coughed up a mouthful of black blood, which even contained fragments of internal organs. He summoned the system panel, and the situation was worse than he had expected.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Late Golden Immortal (Severely injured and on the verge of death, his realm has slipped to the early Golden Immortal stage, with the risk of further decline)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal (Aura extremely unstable, on the verge of collapse)]

[Time Law: 8% Entry Level (Forced use caused backlash, impaired understanding, temporarily unusable)]

[Status: Dao foundation severely damaged, essence and blood depleted by 90%, lifespan shortened by 3,000 years, most meridians broken, immortal infant weakened, and divine soul further damaged. Backlash from "Blood Burning Escape" and "Time Acceleration".]

[Celestial Spiritual Energy: -5000 points (Severely depleted; needs to be replenished as soon as possible, otherwise the cultivation level will continue to decline)]

[Warning: Three residual "Reverse Time Markers" have been detected in the body. They are faint but continuously emit fluctuations and can be tracked using specific methods.]

[Urgent Mission: Remove the marker, escape pursuit, and find a safe location to stabilize your injuries. Time Limit: Twelve hours. Penalty for Failure: Your cultivation level will drop to True Immortal, and your Dao foundation will be permanently damaged.]

Han Mu's heart sank. The three marks meant that the three gray-clad men could keep track of him. In twelve hours, given his current condition, he couldn't possibly escape very far, let alone find a completely safe place to heal.

"System, exchange for the best concealment plan, shield or confuse the marker, time limit of twelve hours, with the lowest cost as the priority," Han Mu said urgently in his mind.

[Searching... Recommended Exchange: Rank 6 Talisman "Deceive the Heavens and Cross the Sea Talisman (Fake)", which can simulate the life force of any being below the Golden Immortal level within a radius of 10,000 miles, covering one's own aura and marking fluctuations for twelve hours. Exchange requires 3000 Immortal Spirit Qi and will incur a "Weakness Curse" (all attributes reduced by 50%) for three days. Exchange now?]

"Change!" Han Mu said without hesitation. He could slowly earn immortal spiritual energy, and he could endure the weakness curse, but being caught up meant certain death.

An ancient, gray talisman exuding a chaotic aura appeared in his hand. Han Mu immediately activated it, the talisman transforming into a gray current that enveloped his entire body. Instantly, the aura emanating from his body rapidly changed and faded, ultimately mimicking the aura of a floating "Star Marrow Rock" with faint life fluctuations not far away. The fluctuations of the three "Reverse Time Marks" were also enveloped and obscured by this gray current, becoming extremely weak and difficult to discern.

"Go, we can't stop!" Han Mu said to Yun Li, taking a deep breath. Although the markers were temporarily obscured, the other side would definitely search the surrounding area, so they had to get away as soon as possible.

The two chose a direction different from both the "Chaotic Vortex" and their origin. Han Mu barely managed to activate his escape light, which slowed him down considerably, but it gave him an advantage in stealth. Yun Li also assisted with all her might, using her musical arts to help smooth out the chaotic fluctuations in their aura.

After flying for half a day, as they passed through a relatively calm meteorite field, the communication jade slip in Han Mu's arms suddenly vibrated slightly. It was Liu Ruyan.

Han Mu spared a sliver of his attention to probe, and Liu Ruyan's voice, tinged with seriousness, came through: "My lord, are you alright? Ever since that idiot Zhou Meng had that strange feeling on the outskirts of Shattered Star Gorge, he's been restless these past few days, always saying he feels uneasy, as if something bad is about to happen. Moreover, he accidentally found a strange gray stone fragment deep in an abandoned mine on the back mountain of our Green Bamboo Peak. That fragment… after Lin Xue identified it, she said it has extremely faint but highly essential traces of the laws of time, somewhat similar to those you occasionally revealed during your cultivation, and those leaked at Shattered Star Gorge. We have sealed it away. In addition, Senior Han Li just sent an encrypted message, containing only four words: 'Be careful, Gray Robe.' My lord, do you need us to provide backup?"

Han Mu's heart skipped a beat. The gray stone fragment Zhou Meng picked up? It contained remnants of the laws of time? And it was similar to his own aura and the leaked energy from the Shattered Star Gorge? Han Li's message even directly mentioned "gray-clad"! Could it be that Han Li was also being tracked by the "Reverse Time Alliance"? Or had he discovered something?

He immediately replied: "I'm fine and on my way back, but I'm being pursued by a powerful enemy and need to take a detour. Strengthen the concealment of Qingzhu Peak and no one is allowed to go out. Keep the items Zhou Meng found safe and secure, and no one is allowed to approach or study them. Keep Han Li's message confidential. If I do not return within twelve hours, or send back a specific code, Liu Ruyan, immediately activate the 'B3' contingency plan, lead everyone through the backup teleportation array to the 'Listening to the Waves Cottage' deep within the 'Cloud Dream Great Swamp' for temporary refuge, and wait for my follow-up contact."

After ending the message, Han Mu's expression grew even more grim. Han Li's warning and the fragments Zhou Meng had found both pointed to the "gray-clad figure" and something possibly related to the "Coffin of Origin." The "Reverse Time Alliance" seemed to have a very long reach. He had to shake off the pursuit as soon as possible and go back to find out the truth.

However, misfortune never comes singly. Shortly after he finished sending the message, three familiar gray figures, like ghosts, slowly reappeared in the void ahead, forming a triangular shape and blocking his path.

"Quite adept at escaping." The gray-clad figure in the middle, "B," spoke coldly, his gray vortex eyes sweeping over Han Mu, seemingly trying to discern something. "Simulated aura? Child's play. Under the 'Eye of Reversal,' you have nowhere to hide. The mark isn't just on you."

He pointed at Yun Li: "She also bears the traces of time left by 'Hui' before his death. Although faint, they are enough."

Yun Li's face paled. Han Mu cursed himself for being careless. In the urgency of the situation, he only had time to deal with the marks on his own body, but forgot that Yun Li might also be affected.

"Hand over the fragments of the Source Coffin. This is the final ultimatum." The gray-clad man "B" slowly raised his hand. In his palm, a deep gray vortex, seemingly capable of devouring time, slowly rotated, emitting a chilling aura. The other two gray-clad men also raised their hands simultaneously, three terrifying strands of time power locking onto Han Mu and Yun Li from afar. This time, they clearly had no intention of giving them any more chances.

Han Mu clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. A desperate situation, a true desperate situation. His injuries were severe, he had used all his trump cards, yet his opponent still had reserves and had seen through his concealment. Did he really have to resort to that last, and most costly, method? Or should he pin his hopes on the ancient coffin in his arms awakening on its own once more?

Seemingly sensing his desperate situation and intense resolve, the greyish-white ancient coffin in his arms trembled slightly once more, more noticeably than the previous two times. A faint but clear thought entered Han Mu's mind, carrying with it an ancient vicissitude and a hint of... urging?

"Blood...sacrifice...can...open...the...coffin...for...a...moment..."