The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The interior of the shattered star was hollow, dark, and deathly silent, with only the occasional flickering light from Yun Li checking the array.

Han Mu lay on the cold rock, his breath as faint as a candle flickering in the wind. The wisp of life force flowing from the Immortal Coffin was like sweet rain dripping onto parched earth, slowly but steadily nourishing his almost shattered Dao Foundation and meridians. But it was too slow, so slow that it might not be able to complete even the most basic repairs before his injuries worsened.

Just as Han Mu's consciousness was about to completely sink, a piece of encrypted information forcibly imprinted in the ring during Han Li's last message was finally "read" by his weak divine sense. It was not a complete cultivation technique or secret art, but an extremely obscure fragment of insight into the essence of "spacetime imprints," as well as a simple idea for temporarily shielding imprints similar to those tracked by the "Reverse Time Alliance"—using the power of one's own time laws to construct a miniature barrier of a "time loop," temporarily "isolating" the imprint outside of one's own time flow.

This line of thinking was almost impossible for Han Mu at this moment; he couldn't even manipulate the laws of time. However, Han Li's fragments of enlightenment mentioned a strange object called "Sands of Time," which could stabilize and amplify the power of time in a short period of time. Han Mu did not have "Sands of Time," but he had the "Immortal Coffin," and the Immortal Coffin seemed to share the same origin as the "Coffin of Origin," both containing the essence of time.

In his desperate situation, a crazy thought flashed through Han Mu's dying consciousness. With his last bit of divine sense, he actively communicated with the dormant Immortal Coffin within his body, not to demand power, but to transmit an intention—to imitate, resonate, and borrow power! He imitated the vast and ancient primordial aura of time from the fragments of the "Coffin of Origin," to reverse-infect, or rather, to assimilate, the tracking mark from the "Reverse Time Alliance," and then, using the shielding method provided by Han Li, temporarily sealed the "assimilated" mark within the Immortal Coffin's own time loop!

This was undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble. Although the Immortal Coffin was mysterious, it was, after all, merely a natal magic weapon he had refined, vastly different from the true fragments of the "Coffin of Origin." If the imitation failed, or if the "assimilation" process triggered a backlash from the mark, he could be instantly annihilated, soul and body destroyed.

But he had no other choice. Han Mu mobilized the last bit of power in his soul, coordinating it with the wisp of life force flowing spontaneously from the Immortal Coffin, carefully guiding it as he tried to touch and imitate the extremely faint trace of primordial energy remaining in the gray-white ancient coffin in his arms. At the same time, he was also trying to communicate with the gray-white ancient coffin itself, even though it had already fallen silent.

Perhaps a subtle connection was formed after the blood sacrifice, or perhaps Han Mu's strong will to survive in his near-death state touched something. From the depths of the cracks in the gray-white ancient coffin, a wisp of gray-white aura, thinner than a hair, actually flowed out again, actively merging into the power of imitation guided by Han Mu.

In an instant, Han Mu felt his power of imitation suddenly surge, though still weak, it now possessed a genuine, ancient charm originating from the "Origin." This power quickly enveloped the remaining fluctuations of the few "Reverse Time Marks" within his body, beginning a slow and laborious process of "assimilation." The marks' resistance was weak; seemingly devoid of their master's control, they became like water without a source, gradually being "dyed" by the same grayish-white color under the suppression of that true "Origin" aura.

It's done! Han Mu didn't dare to relax. Immediately following the plan provided by Han Li, using the Immortal Coffin as a foundation, he forcibly constructed an extremely rudimentary and fragile "time loop" miniature barrier within his body, targeting the few "assimilated" marks. The moment the barrier formed, Han Mu felt a lightness in his soul, as if some invisible shackles had been temporarily removed. Although the effect of the "Deceive the Heavens Talisman" was still present, the risk of being tracked was minimized under the double protection.

Having done all this, Han Mu was completely exhausted and fell into a deep coma. The Immortal Coffin continued to slowly circulate life force to repair his body, but the process was still very slow. At this rate, without external intervention, he might remain in a coma for decades or even centuries, and whether his foundation could be fully restored was still unknown.

Yun Li stood by anxiously. She could sense that Han Mu's aura was slowly stabilizing and no longer deteriorating, but the recovery was far too slow. Moreover, although this place was secluded, it was definitely not a place to stay for long. The commotion caused by the ancient coffin's eruption was too great; who knew what it might attract?

Just as she was filled with worry, a very faint but strangely regular tremor suddenly came from the ground beneath her feet, where the shattered stars lay. This tremor did not come from an external impact, but rather seemed to emanate from deep within the star fragments, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

Yun Li's expression hardened, and she immediately concealed her aura, carefully sensing the vibrations. The vibrations were very slight and intermittent, but the intervals and intensities of each vibration were almost perfectly consistent, as if... some kind of ancient restriction or formation, after a long period of time, had been reactivated for some reason (perhaps the fluctuations from the ancient coffin's previous outburst?), producing a faint resonance?

She hesitated for a moment, glancing at the unconscious Han Mu. Staying here would only mean waiting idly, and it wasn't safe either. If there really were any ruins or secret realms inside this star fragment, perhaps she could find healing elixirs or other turning points? But going in might also involve unknown risks.

After a moment, Yun Li gritted her teeth and made a decision. She carefully carried Han Mu on her back, protecting him with layers of protective barriers, and then followed the source of the faint tremor, groping her way deeper into the star fragment, towards a narrow crack covered by rubble. The crack meandered downwards, growing deeper and deeper, the surrounding rocks taking on an unnatural dark red hue, and the temperature gradually rising.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the space suddenly opened up before them, revealing a hollowed-out underground cavern. In the center of the cavern lay a pool that had dried up for countless millennia. At the bottom of the pool, faint, seemingly solidified, milky-white stone traces were visible. Beside the pool stood a broken stone tablet, inscribed with ancient characters that Yun Li could not decipher at all. Yet, the characters themselves emanated an extremely faint aura of time, similar to the occasional emanation from Han Mu and the greyish-white ancient coffin.

To Yun Li's even greater surprise, a single drop, just one drop, of milky-white liquid, radiating a rich vitality and a faint ripple of time, slowly seeped from a crack at the edge of the pool! This liquid fell onto the dry stone marks on the bottom of the pool, causing those marks to gleam slightly.

"This is... a rare and precious material of the Time Realm?" Yun Li was both surprised and delighted. Although she didn't recognize it, the pure vitality and power of time emanating from the liquid were undeniable, and it might have a miraculous effect on Han Mu's injuries! She immediately and carefully collected the drop of liquid with her jade bottle, while cautiously surveying her surroundings. This place was definitely not simple.

……

Meanwhile, far beyond countless star fields, at Green Bamboo Peak...

In the forbidden area behind the mountain, within a secret chamber sealed by layers of arrays, the gray stone fragment Zhou Meng had picked up was suspended in mid-air, emitting a flickering light. The frequency of this light's flashing was subtly synchronized with the faint glimmer of light occasionally flashing from the depths of the cracks in the gray-white ancient coffin in Han Mu's arms in the distant Chaos Sea!

Liu Ruyan, Lin Xue, Lin Fan, and other core members gathered outside the secret chamber, their expressions grave. Since Han Mu relayed the "B3" contingency plan instructions, they had heightened their vigilance, and this fragment had been under close monitoring. This sudden change cast a shadow over their hearts.

"Sister Liu, this thing seems to be... summoning something? Or responding to something?" Zhou Meng scratched his head, somewhat uneasy. "I'm getting more and more panicked, similar to the feeling I had in Shattered Star Gorge last time, but even more eerie."

Lin Xue stared at the fragment, her fingertips calculating, her brows furrowed: "It's releasing an extremely faint but highly sophisticated spacetime fluctuation. This fluctuation... seems to be spreading in a specific direction. Moreover, just a moment ago, I seemed to catch a very vague response... coming from a very, very distant place, the direction... seemed to be the depths of the Chaos Sea."

Liu Ruyan's expression changed. The depths of the Chaos Sea? That was the location where the Master last sent a message! Could this fragment be related to the danger the Master encountered? Or even… revealing the Master's location?

"Immediately reinforce all isolation formations! Notify everyone to activate the first phase of the 'B3' contingency plan and be prepared to evacuate at any time! Bai Ling, go check the backup teleportation array. Li Qingzhu, prepare all healing and recovery supplies. Luo Feng, you take the men..." Liu Ruyan issued the orders rapidly, her calmness tinged with urgency.

However, before she could finish speaking, the light from the gray fragment suddenly became dazzling, and a strange suction force erupted from it. The array light in the secret chamber flickered violently, showing signs of being forcibly drained of energy! At the same time, the air around the fragment began to distort, and an extremely small but real spatial vortex was slowly forming!

"Oh no! It's forcibly absorbing energy, trying to open something!" Lin Fan exclaimed.

"Quick! Reinforce the seal! We can't let it succeed!" Liu Ruyan acted decisively, taking the lead as vast immortal power surged into the formation, attempting to suppress the fragment's mutation. The others immediately followed suit.

But just as they were suppressing it with all their might, the gray fragment suddenly trembled, and a barely perceptible gray light, as if traversing endless space and ignoring the layers of array barriers, instantly shot into Zhou Meng's brow! Zhou Meng's body stiffened, his eyes instantly became empty, and then returned to clarity, but deep in his eyes, there was an indescribable, ancient confusion.

"Zhou Meng!" Liu Ruyan exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Meng shook his head, looked at the gray fragments, then touched his forehead, a strange expression appearing on his honest face: "I...I think I saw a lot of broken scenes...a lot of people in gray clothes...and a really, really big...coffin?"