The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Before my eyes lay a chaotic darkness, and in my ears came the sharp howling of turbulent time and space. It was an indescribable feeling, as if I had been stripped from existence itself and was falling into an abyss of the end of all things.

The moment Han Mu burst out of the vortex passage, he immediately steadied himself. At the same time, the immortal coffin glowed with ash light, forcibly creating a relatively stable domain to protect Liu Ruyan, Zhou Meng, Luo Feng, and the others who had followed him out in a similar sorry state.

They landed on what could be considered "ground"—if it could be. It was a fragment of a broken continent floating in the endless dark void, roughly a hundred miles in circumference. The ground was a grayish-black, scorched earth, as if burned to a crisp, barren and lifeless. A thick, chilling aura of desolation and impending doom permeated the air, seemingly capable of eroding the life force and lifespan of all living things. Even more bizarrely, the spacetime structure here was extremely fragile and chaotic. As far as the eye could see, countless spatial rifts of varying sizes opened and closed silently in the distant void, and the flow of time was erratic, fluctuating wildly.

"This is... the outer perimeter of the Eye of the Ruins?" Liu Ruyan's face turned pale. Even with Han Mu protecting her, she still felt waves of palpitations, and the flow of immortal energy within her body became sluggish.

"Goodness, this place feels like it could slowly 'die of old age' or 'drain' a person..." Luo Feng gasped for breath, looking around with lingering fear.

Han Mu did not answer immediately. He quickly scanned the surroundings and brought up the system panel at the same time.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Mid-stage Golden Immortal (Under Consolidation)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-stage True Immortal]

[Time Rule: 15% of the Beginner Level]

[Status: Minor injury, 50% of immortal power depleted, slowly being eroded by the "Breath of the End" (resisting from the Immortal Coffin and the Laws of Time).]

[Celestial Aura: -15000 points]

[System Notification: Entering the special map "Eye of the Ruins (Outer Periphery)". Extremely high concentration of Termination and Annihilation Daoist aura detected, extremely dangerous. Faint resonance fluctuations from fragments of the "Coffin of Origin" detected, direction: Northeast. Residual traces of energy from multiple "Reverse Time Alliance" members detected, relatively fresh.]

[Temporary Mission: Survive on the outskirts of the Eye of the Ruins and explore at least one "Land of the End" or "Traces of Origin". Reward: Depends on exploration progress.]

Sure enough, the fragments of the "Coffin of Origin" resonated even more strongly here! Moreover, the members of the "Reverse Time Alliance" were indeed active here, and their traces were still very fresh! Han Mu's heart tightened, and he immediately said to everyone, "Conceal your aura, try to use your immortal power as little as possible, and move using your physical strength and movement techniques. The 'Breath of the End' here can erode life force and immortal power, and spacetime is extremely unstable. Stay close to me and don't wander off."

He identified the direction, which was the northeast indicated by the system, the same direction that the ancient coffin fragment in his arms and the mark between Zhou Meng's eyebrows both pointed to.

"Senior Han, I feel... there seems to be something calling out from over there, not just fragments, but also... a very sad and weary feeling." Zhou Meng pointed in the same direction, the mark between his eyebrows flickering slightly. He was much more composed at this moment, and his eyes occasionally flashed with a sense of vicissitude that did not match his age.

"Old Zhou, are you alright? Why do you sound different?" Luo Feng looked at him suspiciously.

Zhou Meng scratched his head, regaining his憨厚 (honest and simple) demeanor: "I don't know either. My mind is filled with a jumble of images and fragmented memories, like my ancestors... have some connection to this place. I'll tell you when I've sorted things out."

Without another word, led by Han Mu, they concealed their presence and moved swiftly across the scorched earth like ordinary mortals, heading northeast. Along the way, they saw some enormous, dull metal wrecks, ancient in style; they also saw some severely weathered stone tablets, inscribed with undecipherable prayers of despair; and they even glimpsed a vast basin in the distance, filled with the pale skeletons of various creatures—human, animal, and many more indescribable shapes—all shrouded in a thin, grayish-white mist, exuding a nauseating stillness.

"What...what exactly happened here?" Lin Xue's voice trembled.

"This is probably one of the final destinations for the remains after countless eras ended and civilizations perished," Han Mu said in a deep voice, recalling the fragmented scenes he had seen in the shards of the "Coffin of Origin." This place might be the "graveyard" for those shattered spaces and fallen worlds.

Suddenly, Han Mu stopped and gestured for everyone to take cover. Several hundred feet ahead, on a relatively flat patch of scorched earth, a faint array of light flickered, forming a simple concealment and protective barrier. Within the barrier, three figures, all dressed in gray, were meditating cross-legged. Their auras were obscure, but they were definitely members of the "Reverse Time Alliance"—two late-stage True Immortals and one early-stage Golden Immortal!

"They're scouts from the 'Reverse Time Alliance'!" Liu Ruyan transmitted her voice.

Han Mu's eyes were icy. Perfect; he needed intelligence, and he also needed to eliminate any potential threats. He moved silently closer, and when he was thirty feet from the barrier, he suddenly activated his attack!

There was no earth-shattering display, only an extremely fast gray-white sword light, as if transcending time, instantly pierced the weak point of the simple barrier. In the instant the three gray-clad men opened their eyes in shock, the sword light split into three, precisely piercing into their brows!

puff!puff!puff!

The three corpses collapsed, their primordial spirits rapidly annihilated by the decaying power of time contained within the sword light. Han Mu's figure appeared within the barrier like a ghost, waving his hand to collect the three people's storage bags and identity tokens, while simultaneously searching for fragments of their memories (soul searching was somewhat of a burden for him in his current poor state, only yielding fragmented information).

"They are the 'C' squad, monitoring the entrance to the 'Abyss of Annihilation' in the northeast, waiting for the two deacons, 'Xuan' and 'Huang,' to lead a large group to join them. It seems they are going to enter the depths of the 'Abyss of Annihilation' to search for clues about some 'Source Coffin Core'... Both deacons 'Xuan' and 'Huang' are at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, and they are carrying heavy treasures..." The fragmented information made Han Mu frown.

Two peak Golden Immortals! They're carrying powerful treasures! Their target is the core of the "Coffin of Origin"! This is a huge problem.

"My lord, we've made a discovery!" Lin Fan waved from under a scorched rock not far away. The group went over and found a small, man-made groove at the bottom of the rock, which was very well hidden. Inside was a special communication jade talisman, which was shimmering with a faint light, as if it had just received or sent a message.

Han Mu picked up the jade talisman and probed it with his divine sense. Inside was an encrypted message, but the encryption method seemed similar to one Han Li had used before. He tried to decipher it using the techniques Han Li had taught him, and surprisingly, he succeeded!

The message was brief: "We have reached the outer perimeter of the Abyss of Annihilation, the Black Stone Forest, and discovered traces of a large force from the Reverse Time Alliance. They appear to be setting up a large-scale formation, targeting the Heart of the Abyss. This area is dangerous; do not enter lightly. If you receive this message, immediately proceed to the Broken Stele Valley, three thousand miles southeast of the Black Stone Forest, to rendezvous. Han Li."

It's Han Li! He's here too, and he's discovered the "Reverse Time Alliance's" big move!

"Let's go! Let's meet up with Han Li at Broken Stele Valley!" Han Mu made a decisive decision. Han Li's understanding and caution regarding the Dao of Time and Space was a huge help, and he clearly had more information.

The group immediately changed direction and sped southeast. They were even more careful along the way, avoiding several areas with particularly intense spacetime turbulence and a few scattered groups of "Reverse Time Alliance" patrols.

About half an hour later, they arrived at a valley composed of countless broken, towering black stone tablets—the Valley of Broken Tablets. The valley was deathly silent, with only the whistling of the gray winds formed by the Breath of the End.

"Fellow Daoist Han Li, Han Mu has come at your invitation." Han Mu stood at the entrance of the valley and announced loudly. His voice was not loud, but it carried with a specific frequency.

After a moment of silence, the space behind the largest broken stele in the valley slightly distorted, and a figure in a green robe slowly emerged—it was Han Li. He looked travel-worn, his aura restrained, but his eyes remained sharp and steady. When he saw Han Mu and his group, especially sensing the obvious mid-stage Golden Immortal aura and the more profound fluctuations of the laws of time emanating from Han Mu, as well as the "Time Guardian Mark" between Zhou Meng's brows, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Brother Han, how have you been? It seems you've had an extraordinary experience this time." Han Li cupped his hands, then his expression turned grave. "To make a long story short, the situation is dire. The 'Reverse Time Alliance' has dispatched at least two peak Golden Immortal deacons, leading over twenty Golden Immortals and hundreds of True Immortals, to set up the 'Reverse Time and Space Array' here, their target being the 'Abyss Heart' deep within the 'Abyss of Annihilation.' According to my investigation, the 'Abyss Heart' is likely related to the core of the 'Coffin of Origin,' or even the legendary 'Eye of Return to Nothingness.' They seem to be trying to forcibly open or refine something, and if they succeed, the consequences will be unimaginable. We must stop them, or at least... find out what they're up to and prepare accordingly."

Han Mu's heart sank; it was indeed a major operation. He was about to ask for details when suddenly, the communication jade slip in his robes vibrated slightly. The surveillance measures left by Liu Ruyan had been triggered—a large force was heading towards "Broken Stele Valley"! They were moving extremely fast, their auras undisguised, carrying a chilling killing intent!

It's the "Anti-Time Alliance"! They discovered the scout's disappearance and tracked him down! And judging from the commotion, there are quite a few of them, with at least two auras that are obscure and profound, making one's heart tremble—they are very likely one of the so-called "Mysterious" and "Yellow" stewards, or... both of them have come!