The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The boulder shattered, sending up clouds of smoke and dust.

Han Mu wielded a longsword formed from the power of time, its blade shimmering with a grayish-white light. Within a three-zhang radius around him, the flow of time was noticeably abnormal, sometimes accelerating and sometimes decelerating. His injuries had healed by seventy or eighty percent, and his mastery of the laws of time had improved considerably. Although he still appeared to be at the mid-stage of True Immortal, his true combat strength had returned to the peak of the early-stage Golden Immortal, just one step away from the mid-stage.

"Interesting." The gray-robed man's gaze fell on the Time Sword, a hint of surprise flashing across his face, but it quickly turned cold. "It seems you gained something inside, but unfortunately, it only extended your life a little longer."

Without another word, he blurred, leaving an afterimage in his wake, and his true form appeared to Han Mu's left, pointing a finger. Gray light condensed at his fingertip, causing ripples in the space around him, as if time itself was decaying faster under that single touch.

Han Mu's pupils constricted slightly; he dared not take the blow head-on, and retreated hastily while simultaneously slashing his sword to parry. The Time Sword clashed with the gray finger, producing a piercing friction sound. Han Mu felt a cold, decaying power surge through the sword, his arm instantly going numb, and even the immortal power he had just recovered showed signs of dissipating. He used the force of the impact to fly backward, simultaneously activating the laws of time to create layers of time-slowing zones in front of him.

"Your application of the laws of time is decent, but unfortunately too superficial," the gray-clad man commented. His figure moved like a shadow, and he pointed out again, this time with even greater speed and power. Layers of time-deceleration zones were pierced through as if they were made of paper, and the gray finger aimed straight for Han Mu's brow.

A fierce glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, and the Time Sword suddenly shattered, transforming into countless tiny fragments of time that swept towards the gray-robed man like a storm. At the same time, he formed a hand seal with his left hand and uttered a low shout: "Time Reversal!"

This was the first time he had used Time Reversal against an opponent of equal or higher level in actual combat. The gray-clad man's forward momentum faltered slightly, as if he were momentarily disoriented, as if trying to return to his position half a breath ago. But it was only for a moment. The gray-clad man's body shone brightly with gray light, forcibly breaking free from the effects of Time Reversal, though his movements were a beat slower.

Just that perfect half-beat! Han Mu's right hand had somehow already grasped the cracked, gray ancient mirror, frantically pouring the remaining power of the Time Heart fragments within him into it. The mirror's previously dim surface suddenly lit up, emitting a hazy gray-white light.

"This is..." The gray-robed man's expression changed for the first time. He sensed a chilling aura from the ancient mirror, not because of its strength, but because of its inherent restraint.

"Time and space reversed!" Han Mu pointed the ancient mirror at the gray-clothed man, and the mirror surface burst with gray-white light.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any blinding light. The space around the gray-clad man suddenly twisted and folded, and the flow of time became completely disordered, accelerating a hundredfold one moment and almost stopping the next. Even more bizarrely, the gray-clad man's own time seemed to be being extracted and reversed; his aura weakened at a visible rate, and his face seemed to age slightly.

"A treasure of time and space? No, it's a broken beacon of time and space!" The gray-robed man was both shocked and furious. He formed hand seals, and gray light surged out like a tide, resisting the chaotic spacetime around him. However, he was clearly suppressed; his movements became sluggish, and his aura fluctuated.

Han Mu was also in a bad state. Activating this mysterious ancient mirror consumed a huge amount of energy, almost draining his recently recovered immortal power, and even depleting a significant portion of the power of the Time Heart fragment. But he knew this was his only chance, so he forced himself to maintain the mirror's illumination while quickly checking the system:

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Peak Early Stage Golden Immortal (85% Injury Recovery)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal]

[Time Rule: 11% of the Beginner Level]

[Status: Excessive consumption of immortal power; 30% power consumed from the Time Heart Fragment]

[Celestial Aura: -15000 points (continuously deducting)]

[System notification: "Mirror of Time and Space Beacon (Damaged)" has been activated. It can be initially repaired by consuming 10000 Immortal Spirit Energy. Repair now?]

"Repair it!" Han Mu didn't hesitate. This ancient mirror could actually suppress a peak Golden Immortal; it was definitely a life-saving weapon.

With 10000 points of immortal spiritual energy deducted, the cracks on the ancient mirror were repaired at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although it was still full of cracks, the gray-white light it emitted was more solid and had a stronger suppression on the gray-clothed man.

The gray-robed man grunted, gray blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with a murderous intent that almost materialized: "A mere True Immortal, relying on external aids, dares to be so arrogant! Space-Time Imprisonment!"

He let out a low roar, disregarding his own exhaustion, and unleashed an even stronger gray light around him, forcibly creating a stable gray domain that temporarily froze the chaotic spacetime. Although the domain was only three zhang in size, it was enough for him to regain his mobility. He took a step forward, ignoring the spatial turbulence, and charged at Han Mu again, this time faster and with even greater killing intent.

Han Mu's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and continue activating the ancient mirror, the communication jade slip in his arms suddenly began to vibrate violently, emitting a subtle fluctuation unique to Han Li. He glanced at it and saw it was Han Li's urgent message: "There is a spacetime tide erupting deep within the Time-Space Maze. Retreat immediately! Also, the Netherworld Abyss node seems to be connected to the core of the maze. I have discovered the mark of the 'Reverse Time Alliance.' They are planning something big here, and it is suspected to be related to the 'Eye of Return to the Void.' I have temporarily gone into hiding. Do not reply."

Spacetime Tides? The Eye of Return to Nothingness? Han Mu's heart skipped a beat. At that moment, the gray-clad man had already reached him, striking out with his palm. A swirling gray vortex appeared in his palm, radiating a terrifying suction force, threatening to devour Han Mu along with the ancient mirror.

There's no way to avoid it!

A ruthless glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes. He deliberately poured all the remaining power of the Time Heart fragments into the ancient mirror, then hurled it at the gray-robed man while retreating rapidly, shouting, "Explode!"

He wanted to do what he had done before and detonate the ancient mirror! Although he was heartbroken, saving his life was the priority.

"You!" The man in gray was both shocked and furious. He realized that the ancient mirror was of extraordinary value and was unwilling to let it be destroyed. He quickly changed his patting motion to grabbing, trying to control the ancient mirror.

Just as he was distracted in controlling the ancient mirror, a sudden change occurred!

The ancient mirror didn't explode; instead, its surface shone brightly, shooting out a gray-white beam of light. This beam didn't target the gray-clad man, but rather an inconspicuous vortex of spatial turbulence nearby. Illuminated by the beam, the vortex instantly expanded, transforming into a rotating spatial tunnel. At the other end of the tunnel, a desolate gray landscape could be vaguely seen, along with… several familiar figures!

It's Liu Ruyan and Luo Feng! They seem to be in a fierce battle, surrounded by two men in gray, and their situation is critical.

"Hold on, Lao Zhou! Senior Han is coming to save us soon!" Luo Feng's shout could be faintly heard.

"Bullshit! Even Senior Han himself... Huh? A passage?" This was Zhou Meng's surprised and doubtful voice.

Han Mu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. This ancient mirror actually connected to the location where Liu Ruyan and the others were? No, that's not right. It should be that the ancient mirror itself is a spacetime beacon. After absorbing a large amount of power from the Heart of Time, it briefly opened a channel connecting to other spacetime nodes!

Without any hesitation, Han Mu transformed into a streak of light and rushed towards the time-space passage. The gray-robed man tried to stop him, but was restrained by the ancient mirror and was a fraction of a second too slow, so he could only watch helplessly as Han Mu rushed into the passage.

"Where do you think you're going!" the gray-clad man roared, slamming his palm into the closing passage.

Boom! The entrance to the passage shook violently, but it didn't collapse immediately. At the last moment before entering the passage, Han Mu glanced back at the gray-robed man, his eyes icy. Simultaneously, with a thought, the suspended ancient mirror abruptly changed direction, its surface aimed at the gray-robed man, and then… it exploded!

This time it's really outrageous!

A terrifying spatial turbulence, accompanied by countless shards of glass exploding, engulfed the gray-clad figure. A piercing roar erupted from the center of the explosion.

Han Mu rushed into the passage without looking back. The passage closed and disappeared quickly after he entered.

……

On the desolate gray earth, Liu Ruyan, Luo Feng, Zhou Meng, Bai Ling, Li Qingzhu, Lin Fan, and Lin Xue formed a battle formation back to back, struggling to hold on. Opposite them, two men in gray robes with chilling auras were launching a fierce attack—one a mid-stage Golden Immortal, the other an early-stage Golden Immortal. Although Liu Ruyan and the others coordinated well, the difference in their cultivation levels was too great, and they were already in grave danger. Blood trickled from the corner of Zhou Meng's mouth, and Luo Feng had a deep wound on his chest that exposed bone.

"How is Senior Han...?" Lin Xue's face was pale. She was only a True Immortal and could hardly help in this kind of battle.

"Shut up! Focus on the enemy!" Liu Ruyan deflected the attack of the gray-robed man in the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal realm with a single sword strike, but she herself was also shaken and her blood and qi surged.

Suddenly, the space around them distorted, and a gray-white spacetime vortex appeared out of thin air.

"Another one?" Luo Feng's expression changed.

But the next second, a familiar figure staggered out of the vortex—it was Han Mu!

"Senior Han!" Everyone was both surprised and delighted.

Han Mu landed, glanced at the battle, and without a word, raised his hand and unleashed a sword strike. The sword light, condensed from the power of time, seemed to transcend time, instantly appearing before the gray-robed man at the early stage of the Golden Immortal realm. The gray-robed man didn't even have time to react before the sword light pierced his brow, killing him instantly before even his primordial spirit could escape.

Sold out instantly!

The gray-robed man, a mid-stage Golden Immortal, changed his expression drastically and turned to flee without hesitation.

"Stay here." Han Mu's voice was icy, and his sword flashed again. The gray-clad man had only escaped a hundred feet when he was caught up by a faster and sharper sword light and cut in half at the waist! Blood sprayed out, and his primordial spirit was about to escape when it was eroded by the power of time that followed, quickly decaying and dissipating.

Two swords, two Golden Immortals, one dead and one escaped (or fled).

Liu Ruyan and the others were dumbfounded. Although they knew Han Mu was strong, this... this was too strong! A Golden Immortal, not something to be taken lightly!

"Senior Han, are you... are you healed?" Luo Feng swallowed.

Han Mu did not answer, but looked at the spacetime vortex that was slowly closing. At the other end of the vortex, he could vaguely see the spacetime turbulence area, as well as a gray figure covered in blood, with a violent aura, frantically tearing through space to chase after him.

The man in gray isn't dead, and he's caught up with us!

"Let's go!" Han Mu made a decisive decision, his gaze sweeping around and locking onto a direction—there, the mark between Zhou Meng's eyebrows was slightly burning, pointing into the depths of the mist, where the outline of a dilapidated ancient palace could be vaguely seen.