The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The dilapidated ancient temple stood deep in the gray mist, constructed entirely of a dark gray stone, its surface covered with traces of time's erosion and fine cracks. Half of the temple's doors had collapsed, revealing the deep darkness within. Only on a broken plaque above the lintel could one vaguely see the two ancient characters "Shi Shou" (meaning "Time Guardian"), emanating a faint but pure aura of time.

"Time Guardians?" Han Mu's gaze sharpened. This seemed to be related to what he knew, and also to the "Time Guardians" Han Li had mentioned. The mark between Zhou Meng's brows was now burning intensely, its light flickering. He himself appeared dazed, his eyes sometimes clear, sometimes confused, unconsciously muttering, "This place... I've been here before... no, I dreamt about it..."

"No time, go in!" Han Mu made a decisive decision. He could feel the violent aura behind him rapidly approaching. The gray-robed man at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm had obviously escaped the entanglement of the ancient mirror's self-destruction and was chasing after them! Moreover, the spatial-temporal turbulence in the air seemed to be intensifying, and faint tidal-like sobs came from all directions. Han Li's warning was definitely not unfounded.

The group quickly passed through the collapsed hall doors and entered the ancient hall. Unexpectedly, the interior was not completely dark, but rather shrouded in a soft, seemingly solidified gray-white light. The light originated from a miniature version of the "Coffin of Origin" fragment in Han Mu's arms, suspended in the center of the hall. This gray stone coffin was seven-tenths similar in style, but more refined, and its surface was engraved with countless mysterious spacetime runes. The phantom was no more than three feet long, silently floating, radiating a tranquil, protective aura of time.

Beneath the illusory stone coffin sat three long-decayed skeletons. The skeletons stood in a triangular formation, seemingly guarding the central illusory stone coffin in life. Their clothes had long since decayed, but their bones possessed a strange gray-jade luster, remaining intact despite the endless ages. Clearly, they had attained extremely high cultivation levels in life and had practiced some special body-refining or time-traveling secret technique.

"These three... could they be 'Time Guardians'?" Liu Ruyan whispered, her eyes filled with awe.

"Guardian...inheritance...trial..." Zhou Meng's eyes became completely empty, and the mark between his eyebrows shone brightly. As if sleepwalking, he walked uncontrollably toward the illusory stone coffin in the center.

"Old Zhou!" Luo Feng tried to grab him, but was pushed away by a gentle yet resilient force.

Han Mu raised his hand to stop Luo Feng, his sharp gaze observing Zhou Meng and the illusory stone coffin. He could sense a strong resonance between the mark between Zhou Meng's brows and the illusory stone coffin; there was no malice, but rather it seemed like a kind of... connection of inheritance?

"Let him go. This may be his opportunity, or it may be part of the test here," Han Mu said in a deep voice, while signaling everyone to be on guard around. He quickly scanned the main hall. Apart from the wonder in the center, the surrounding walls were covered with blurry murals and ancient characters, recording some fragments about the river of time, protection and sacrifice, but most of them were incomplete and difficult to decipher.

Just then, faint gray-white flames suddenly lit up in the empty eye sockets of the three gray jade skeletons! Immediately afterwards, the three skeletons slowly stood up, their bones making soft cracking sounds, and a powerful aura revived. Although it was far less powerful than when they were alive, each of them still possessed at least the pressure of a peak True Immortal! Their empty "gazes" locked onto the intruders, especially Zhou Meng who was walking towards the illusory stone coffin.

"Trespassing on forbidden grounds and disturbing the slumbering ones, death." A dry, bone-grinding voice emanated simultaneously from the mouths of the three skeletons, carrying an ancient chill.

Before the words were even finished, the three skeletons moved simultaneously! They moved with ghostly speed, rushing towards Han Mu, Liu Ruyan, and Luo Feng respectively! They seemed to possess simple intelligence, able to distinguish the most threatening targets.

"Protect yourself!" Han Mu shouted, advancing instead of retreating, actively facing the skeleton lunging at him. He didn't use the Time Sword, but instead pointed his fingers like a halberd, gathering gray-white light at his fingertips, and pointed out, hitting the skeleton's bone claws that were slamming down.

"Time flies!"

Without a deafening collision, the skeleton's forward momentum abruptly halted, the grayish-white light swirling around its claws rapidly dimmed and decayed, and even the jade-like bones developed fine cracks. Han Mu's finger strike contained the power of time's decay, specifically designed to counter such immortal beings that relied on the power of time to maintain their existence.

The skeleton let out a silent roar, and its other bone claw swept across. Han Mu swayed slightly, easily dodging the attack, and then flicked his finger again, striking the skeleton's chest. Crack! The skeleton's sternum shattered, the gray-white flames in its eyes flickered violently, and its aura rapidly weakened.

On the other side, Liu Ruyan's sword light cascaded like a waterfall as she fought against a skeleton. Although she was slightly at a disadvantage, she was able to barely hold her own thanks to her exquisite swordsmanship and some rudimentary time-manipulation techniques taught by Han Mu. Luo Feng, Bai Ling, Li Qingzhu, Lin Fan, and Lin Xue formed a battle formation and joined forces to fight against the third skeleton. Although they were in a sorry state, they were not in immediate danger.

The battle among the others did not affect Zhou Meng. He had already walked to the foot of the stone coffin phantom, looked up at it, and a gray light shot out from the mark between his eyebrows, merging into the phantom.

The illusory stone coffin trembled slightly, its surface runes lighting up one after another, projecting a soft beam of light that enveloped Zhou Meng. Within the beam, countless tiny time runes swam like tadpoles, flowing into the mark between Zhou Meng's brows and merging into his body. Zhou Meng's body shuddered, his face displaying a complex expression of pain and enlightenment. His aura began to rise and transform at a slow but firm pace, and the shape of the mark between his brows subtly changed, becoming more complex and ancient.

"The inheritance has begun!" Han Mu felt a little relieved upon seeing this. He no longer held back and shouted, "Time Acceleration!" He activated it on himself, his speed increasing dramatically. In an instant, he circled behind the skeleton he was fighting and struck it on the back of the head with a palm.

The skeleton's skull shattered, the gray-white flames in its eyes completely extinguished, and the remains scattered on the ground. Han Mu's figure didn't stop; he appeared like a ghost next to the skeleton that had fought Liu Ruyan, and with a single finger, he shattered its skull.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the last skeleton turned to escape, but Han Mu pinned it to the ground with a sword aura of time from afar. Then, Liu Ruyan finished it off with a sword strike.

The battle ended, and everyone's breathing was somewhat disordered. Han Mu waved his hand to collect the scattered gray jade fragments from the three skeletons and a few remaining broken ornaments imbued with the aura of time, and quickly said, "Hurry up and adjust your breathing; trouble outside is coming soon."

He walked closer to Zhou Meng, sensing the pure power of inheritance within the pillar of light, and then looked at the suspended phantom of the stone coffin. This phantom seemed to be merely a projection or a key; the true core of the inheritance was likely what Zhou Meng was receiving.

Han Mu did not disturb him, but sat down cross-legged, brought up the system panel, and checked his status and tasks.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Mid-stage Golden Immortal (On the verge of breakthrough; bottleneck loosened due to absorbing fragments of the Heart of Time and successive battles)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal]

[Time Rule: From 11% to 13% for beginners]

[Status: Minor injury, 40% of immortal power consumed.]

[Celestial Aura: -15000 points]

[System Quest "Exploring the Time-Space Labyrinth" Progress: "Time-Guardian Temple" discovered (Time-Space Node 1/3).]

[Note: High concentration of time-travel fluctuations detected. You may try to resonate with the "Immortal Coffin" and "Origin Coffin Fragment" for a chance to obtain partial inheritance information or permissions of the "Time Guardian" lineage.]

"Gain access?" Han Mu's heart skipped a beat. If he could control this ancient palace, he might be able to temporarily hold off powerful enemies outside, or even use this place for something else. He immediately tried to communicate with the immortal coffin within his body and the ancient coffin fragment in his arms, guiding their auras and carefully touching and resonating with the illusory stone coffin.

The illusory stone coffin seemed to sense a similar but higher-level aura (fragments of the Coffin of Origin), trembling slightly, its light shifting, and a faint but clear wisp of spiritual information flowed into Han Mu's mind. It wasn't a specific inherited cultivation technique, but rather simple information about this "Time-Guardian Ancient Palace" and its control methods, along with a warning: the ancient palace was one of the spacetime beacons leading to the outer perimeter of the "Eye of Return to Nothingness," and also the trial and inheritance ground for the "Time-Space Guardians." Only those who passed the "Echoes of Time" test could gain initial control and learn some of its secrets.

"The Trial of Time Echoes?" Just as Han Mu understood this information, a slightly dimmer gray-white light gate suddenly condensed beside the pillar of light that enveloped Zhou Meng, below the illusory stone coffin. The light and shadow flowed within the gate, as if leading to a fragment of time and space in the past.

"It seems this is a test for me." Han Mu stood up and said to Liu Ruyan and the others, "I'm going in. You all keep watch over Zhou Meng and be vigilant outside. If anything changes, your safety is paramount."

"My lord, be careful!" Liu Ruyan said solemnly.

Han Mu nodded and stepped into the gray-white light gate without hesitation.

The scene before him shifted, and he found himself on the banks of a vast, boundless river of time, flowing with a greyish-white light. Ahead, a blurry, imposing figure in a grey robe, with his back to the river, slowly turned around. His face was obscured, but a pair of eyes that seemed to hold the weight of countless ages calmly gazed at him.

"Those who come after, if you wish to gain the right to safeguard time, must understand the meaning of safeguarding and prove the heart of time. Answer my three questions and cross the echoes of time." The ancient and vicissitudes of the voice resounded directly in Han Mu's mind.

Han Mu took a deep breath and focused his mind. He could sense that this test didn't involve a contest of strength, but rather a question of understanding "time" and "protection." He had to pass it as soon as possible; the powerful enemies outside and the temporal tides wouldn't give him much time.

However, just as Han Mu was preparing to answer the first question, the violent aura of a peak Golden Immortal had already arrived outside the ancient hall! The gray-robed man was covered in blood, his aura somewhat disordered; clearly, the self-destruction of the ancient mirror had caused him considerable harm, but his killing intent was even more intense. He stared intently at the entrance of the ancient hall, especially sensing the pure fluctuations of time inheritance and Han Mu's aura within, his eyes brimming with greed and killing intent.

"You think you can escape by hiding here? Hmph, perfect, I'll take the inheritance and the fragments of the Origin Coffin at the same time!" The gray-robed man sneered, raising his hand to bombard the seemingly dilapidated gate of the ancient hall. However, the gate was filled with flowing gray light, seemingly fragile but exceptionally resilient, blocking all his attacks.

"There's a restriction? Watch me break it!" The gray-clad man formed hand seals, and even more powerful energy began to gather.

Inside the ancient hall, Liu Ruyan and the others' expressions changed. They gripped their weapons tightly and stood guard before the portal through which Zhou Meng and Han Mu had entered. A true crisis was imminent. The mournful sound of the spacetime tides in the air grew clearer, as if an invisible giant wave was slowly surging from the depths of the spacetime labyrinth towards this area…