The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Thick fog churned as Han Mu pushed his speed to the limit, desperately fleeing through the dark and eerie spatial maze. The icy aura of a peak Golden Immortal behind him clung to him like a leech, relentlessly pursuing him, and the distance between them was slowly closing.

As Han Mu fled, he quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to find any terrain or anomalies that he could use. The spacetime here was extremely chaotic. In some areas, the flow of time was obviously accelerated, and the withering and flourishing of plants happened in an instant; in other areas, time was almost frozen, and dust particles were suspended in mid-air without moving; and in still other places, space was folded and distorted, and cliffs that seemed close at hand were actually separated by endless void.

"You can't escape, you bug." The gray-clad man's cold voice echoed through the thick fog, carrying a mocking tone reminiscent of a cat playing with a mouse. He didn't give chase with all his might, seemingly wanting to see how long Han Mu could struggle, or perhaps observing the environment of this spatial labyrinth.

Han Mu ignored them, his gaze fixed on a particularly turbulent area of ​​spacetime anomaly ahead—the ground was cracked, and grayish-white turbulent currents of time flowed continuously from the cracks, forming a distorted zone resembling a swamp. Some spacetime fragments of varying sizes floated in the air, slowly rotating and emitting dangerous fluctuations.

"Let's take a gamble!" Han Mu gritted his teeth, slightly adjusted his direction, and rushed straight towards that turbulent swamp of time and space.

"Trying to use the environment to escape? Naive." The man in gray saw through his intention, suddenly increased his speed, and at the same time raised his hand to shake hands from afar.

The space around Han Mu instantly froze, like a flying insect trapped in amber, its forward momentum abruptly halted. The control of space by a peak Golden Immortal was on full display.

"Time Slowdown!" Han Mu roared, ignoring his worsening injuries, forcefully activating the last remaining power of the Time Law within his body to act on his surroundings and resist the solidification of space. At the same time, the gray-white ancient coffin fragment in his arms trembled slightly, emitting a barely perceptible gray-white aura that merged into his Time Power.

Click... The solidified space loosened slightly. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Mu struggled forward. Although he couldn't completely break free, he was able to move slowly. He used all his strength to inching his way toward the edge of the temporal turbulence swamp.

A hint of surprise flashed in the gray-robed man's eyes, clearly not expecting Han Mu to be able to briefly resist his spatial solidification even in his severely injured state. He stopped toying with him, his figure blurring as he instantly traversed hundreds of feet, a large hand covered in gray time runes reaching directly for Han Mu's back. This grab sealed off all escape routes, and the decaying power of time contained within it even made Han Mu's skin sting.

Just as he was about to be captured, a fierce glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes. Instead of dodging or avoiding, he used his last bit of strength to throw the storage ring he had obtained from the middle-aged cultivator of the Tianyan Sect at the gray-robed man's face, detonating the last bit of self-destruction restriction remaining on the ring!

Boom! The storage ring exploded, scattering all sorts of materials, pills, and fragments of low-level magic weapons inside. Although it didn't harm the gray-robed man in the slightest, it successfully disrupted his vision and divine sense for a moment.

In that instant! Using the force of the explosion, Han Mu's body finally broke free from the solidified space and, like a kite with a broken string, stumbled and crashed into that swamp of temporal turbulence!

Upon entering the swamp, the raging, chaotic forces of spacetime instantly engulfed him. His body felt as if countless hands were tearing at him from different directions; the flow of time fluctuated wildly, making him dizzy and further aggravating his already severe injuries, causing blood to spill from his mouth and nose. Even more dangerous, the floating fragments of spacetime were like sharp blades, threatening to slice him at the slightest misstep.

"Seeking your own death." The gray-clad man stopped at the edge of the swamp, his brows furrowed slightly. Even he was unwilling to venture too far into this area of ​​spatial turbulence. He coldly watched Han Mu struggling in the turbulence, raised his hand and cast a gray mark, attempting to pinpoint Han Mu's location, then wait outside, until Han Mu was torn apart by the turbulence or couldn't hold on any longer and escaped.

However, just as Han Mu was about to be sliced ​​apart by a large fragment of spacetime, the gray-white ancient coffin fragment in his arms suddenly erupted with unprecedented heat! At the same time, the immortal coffin inside his body also vibrated on its own, emitting waves of desire.

Under the resonance of the two, Han Mu had a sudden inspiration. He endured the excruciating pain and rushed towards the direction where the ancient coffin fragments resonated most strongly—deep in the swamp, towards a seemingly ordinary gray-black boulder!

Strangely enough, as he approached the boulder, the turbulent spatial currents around him automatically parted to create a narrow passage. Han Mu gritted his teeth and rushed in. In a flash, he found himself inside the boulder—a small space only three zhang in diameter, where spacetime was relatively stable.

In the center of the space, a fist-sized, crystal-clear object floated, its interior seemingly filled with the ebb and flow of countless starlight. The crystal emanated a pure, gentle, yet boundless aura of the primordial essence of time. The ancient coffin fragments and the immortal coffin on Han Mu's body both emitted joyful humming sounds.

"This is... a fragment of the Heart of Time?!" Han Mu gasped, both surprised and delighted. The Heart of Time is a legendary artifact formed from the very essence of the River of Time. Even a fragment contains unparalleled Daoist principles of time, making it an invaluable treasure for those who cultivate the laws of time, and it can even repair injuries to the Dao of Time!

Without a second thought, he rushed forward and grabbed the fragment of the Heart of Time. The fragment felt warm and smooth to the touch, and the vast and pure power of the source of time instantly surged into his body, automatically repairing his damaged foundation and meridians, smoothing out the backlash of time, and even slowly replenishing his depleted essence and lifespan!

Han Mu immediately sat down cross-legged and focused all his energy on guiding and absorbing this power. He summoned the system panel:

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Early Stage Golden Immortal (Under Repair, Rapid Improvement Required)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal]

[Time Rule: From 6% to 9% (continuously improving)]

[Status: Foundation repair in progress (60%), Meridian repair in progress (70%), Essence and Blood recovery in progress (40%), Lifespan replenishment in progress. Absorbing "Heart of Time (Fragment)".]

[Celestial Aura: -12000 points]

[System notification: High-purity Time Essence has been detected. Absorption can be accelerated. Do you wish to exchange for the "Time Synchronization" aid? Prepayment of the next three months' worth of Immortal Spirit Energy is required.]

"Exchange!" Han Mu said without hesitation.

A strange fluctuation emanated from the system, helping him absorb the power of the Time Heart fragments faster and more efficiently. His aura recovered and strengthened at a visible speed, his injuries healed rapidly, and his understanding of the laws of time also improved at a rapid pace.

However, the good fortune didn't last long. The gray-clad figure outside clearly sensed something amiss, especially the slight fluctuation of pure time essence leaked out when the fragment of the Heart of Time was activated.

"The aura of the origin of time? There's something good inside!" A glint flashed in the gray-robed man's eyes. Without further hesitation, he moved and plunged into the temporal turbulence swamp. Gray light swirled around him, preventing the violent currents and fragments from getting close. He forcefully carved out a passage, approaching Han Mu's location.

Inside the giant stone space, Han Mu suddenly opened his eyes, silver light swirling within them. His aura had recovered to the peak of the early Golden Immortal stage, and there were even signs of a breakthrough. The fragment of the Heart of Time had shrunk slightly, but was still the size of a pigeon's egg, which he carefully put away.

"They're here!" He sensed the terrifying aura rapidly approaching from outside, and his eyes turned cold. His injuries had mostly healed, his mastery of the Law of Time had improved, and he possessed the fragment of the Heart of Time. Although he was still no match for a peak Golden Immortal, he now had the strength to fight, or at least... the means to maneuver and escape!

With a thought, he connected the Immortal Coffin and the fragment of the ancient coffin in his arms, attempting to draw upon the power of the fragment of the Heart of Time. Three forces of time, originating from the same source yet each with its own emphasis, converged within his body, and a strange enlightenment welled up in his mind.

At the same time, the gray-clad man broke through the turbulent currents and arrived outside the boulder, slamming his palm down on it!

Boom! The boulder exploded, sending up clouds of smoke and dust.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Han Mu stood upright, a longsword formed from gray-white time energy appearing in his hand, its tip pointing directly at the gray-clad man. His voice was icy: "After chasing for so long, it's my turn."

The gray-robed man looked at Han Mu, whose aura had drastically changed, especially sensing the much purer fluctuations of the laws of time and the faint aura of the origin of time emanating from him. For the first time, a look of solemnity appeared in his eyes, but it quickly turned into a deeper greed: "A time-origin artifact? Hand over it and the fragment of the Origin Coffin, and I'll spare your life!"

"Enough with the nonsense." Han Mu's figure flickered, and he took the initiative to attack! The Time Sword drew a mysterious trajectory, and the flow of time around him suddenly changed. The sword light seemed slow but was actually fast, and it pierced straight into the heart of the gray-robed man!

A fierce battle erupted suddenly amidst the turbulent flow of time and space! At this moment, the communication jade slip in Han Mu's arms also vibrated slightly, as if new messages were being transmitted, but he had no time to check them.