The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Countless gray chains, like living things, tore through the void and wrapped around Han Mu and his companions from all directions. Each chain contained an evil power that reversed and extracted time, and was the manifestation of the core power of the "Reversed Time and Space Array".

The "Origin Coffin Mark" between Han Mu's brows shone brightly, transforming into a gray-white halo that spread outwards. Wherever it passed, the chains that had been binding him seemed to have encountered their nemesis, their speed decreasing drastically, and the evil runes on their surfaces flickering and emitting a hissing, corrosive sound. However, there were too many chains, and their power was inexhaustible; the passive defense provided by the mark alone could not last long.

"Fellow Daoist Han Li!" Han Mu shouted, while simultaneously forming hand seals to actively guide the power of the "Source Coffin Mark," transforming it into countless fine, hair-like gray-white rays of light that wound back towards the chains, directly consuming and eroding the very essence of time.

"Space-Time Distortion!" Han Li, already prepared, immediately threw out a handful of silver-gray talismans upon hearing the sound. The talismans exploded, not to attack, but to create large areas of space-time folds and disordered zones in the area where Han Mu was fighting the chains. The chains rushed into these zones, immediately losing their direction, entangled with each other, and even attacked each other, greatly reducing the pressure on Han Mu.

"Zhou Meng!" Han Mu shouted again.

"I know!" Zhou Meng had already closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on the "Time Guardian Mark" between his brows. A pure, gentle, and protective gray-white wave rippled out like water, precisely avoiding the chaotic battlefield and surging towards the huge ancient coffin phantom that was entangled by countless evil chains and constantly wailing.

"Ancient guardians... don't be afraid... we're here to help you..." Zhou Meng communicated with his mind, conveying the inherited spirit and goodwill contained in the "Time Guardian Mark".

The enormous phantom of the ancient coffin trembled violently, its mournful cries diminishing as if it had sensed a power of the same origin but even more ancient and orthodox. A faint, almost familiar, response emanated from the cracks on its surface. The evil chains binding it suddenly encountered even stronger resistance from the coffin's own power, causing its refining speed to slow down.

"Insignificant tricks." The indifferent voice of the "Time Lord" avatar rang out, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. He raised an arm made of fragments of time and gently touched the spacetime distortion area created by Han Li.

"Time and space... return to order."

An even more powerful force, seemingly capable of forcibly regulating the order of spacetime, descended, and the chaotic spacetime zone that Han Li had created was smoothed out as if by an invisible hand, quickly returning to normal. The chaotic chains were also straightened out again, and the offensive resumed!

"Fellow Daoist Han Li, hold him off and don't let him interfere with the overall situation! Give me ten breaths!" A fierce glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes as he transmitted his voice to Han Li. At the same time, he no longer held back, and the immortal power of the late-stage Golden Immortal in his body surged wildly into the "Origin Coffin Mark." The mark's light shone brightly, and a miniature, even more ancient "Origin Coffin" phantom faintly appeared behind him!

"Zhenyuan!"

The ancient coffin phantom behind Han Mu opened slightly, releasing an indescribable, grayish-white aura that seemed capable of returning all things to their "origin" state. Wherever this aura passed, the evil chains melted and disintegrated like ice and snow under the sun, dissipating into the most primordial particles of time! Even the violent suction and aura of the "Eye of Return to Nothingness" around them were briefly forced back by this "origin" power.

"The power of origin?! You can actually wield it to such an extent?!" The eternally indifferent voice of the "Time Lord" avatar finally showed a very subtle fluctuation, seemingly mixed with a hint of surprise, but more so with a coldness of being offended. "It seems that I cannot let you live."

He ignored Han Li, and his body, composed of fragments of time, suddenly expanded, transforming into a massive gray vortex. At the center of the vortex, a gray arrow condensed from pure "Reversal" Dao principles slowly took shape, locking onto Han Mu and emitting a destructive wave that shook the entire core space! This attack far surpassed the Golden Immortal level, having already touched the threshold of a higher realm!

"Brother Han, be careful!" Han Li's expression changed drastically, and without hesitation, he summoned his most treasured possession—an ancient bronze mirror covered in cracks. The mirror flashed, shooting out a hazy beam of light, attempting to illuminate the gray arrow and slow its formation.

However, the power level of the "Time Lord" incarnation was too high. The light from the ancient mirror shone on the arrow, only delaying it for a negligible moment.

"Ten breaths have passed!" Han Mu suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze devoid of fear, filled only with a desperate madness and resolve. He ignored the terrifying arrow that was about to take shape, instead channeling all the "Origin" power emanating from the ancient coffin phantom behind him, along with most of his own immortal power and even a trace of his own essence, into the "Origin Coffin Mark" between his brows. Then, he pointed fiercely at the enormous ancient coffin phantom that Zhou Meng had temporarily calmed down, and... at the evil array core below it that was connected to the "Eye of Return to Nothingness"!

"With my seal, I call your true name! Coffin of Origin, fragments—return to their rightful place! All laws—return to their source!"

boom!!!

The enormous phantom of the ancient coffin suddenly erupted with unprecedented light, pure gray-white radiance shooting out from the cracks on its surface. A vast, ancient will, seemingly dormant for countless years, was completely awakened by Han Mu's "Source Coffin Mark" and call! It emitted a buzzing sound that seemed both liberated and angry, and suddenly trembled!

Click!Click!

The countless evil chains binding it broke inch by inch! The array core below, composed of time crystals, also developed countless cracks on its surface, and the "Hourglass of Time" projection suspended within flickered violently, becoming illusory.

Almost simultaneously, the gray, chaotic arrow condensed by the "Time Lord" avatar finally took full shape, carrying a destructive aura, and shot towards Han Mu! Wherever the arrow passed, spacetime itself wailed and collapsed.

"Now!" Han Mu neither dodged nor avoided the arrows. Instead, he faced the arrows head-on and forcibly pulled together the power of the giant ancient coffin phantom that had just been awakened and broken free of its restraints, the core fragment he had fused with, and the "Source Coffin Mark"!

"melt!"

Om-!

The enormous phantom of the ancient coffin shrank rapidly, transforming into a stream of light that collided and merged with the "Origin Coffin Mark" between Han Mu's brows and the fragmented power within his body! An indescribable, vast power exploded within Han Mu's body, his aura soared wildly, and his understanding of the laws of time skyrocketed like a rocket. The bottleneck of the late-stage Golden Immortal realm was instantly broken, propelling him towards an even higher level!

At this critical juncture of fusion and breakthrough, the terrifying chaotic arrow also shot towards Han Mu!

The destructive power contained in the arrow was enough to instantly cripple or even kill any peak Golden Immortal. However, when the arrow touched the chaotic yet highly essential "Origin" force field that had naturally formed around Han Mu's body due to fusion, it was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, its speed suddenly decreasing. The "rebellious" Dao principles on the surface clashed violently with and eroded the "Origin" force field.

With each inch the arrow advanced, its power diminished, while Han Mu's aura grew stronger!

"No—! This is impossible! How could a mere ant from the lower realm bear the core of the Source Coffin?!" The avatar of "Time Lord" roared in disbelief, and the gray vortex fluctuated violently, clearly indicating that this arrow had consumed a lot of the power of his avatar.

Finally, the chaotic arrow exhausted its power when it was only three inches away from Han Mu's brow, exploding into nothingness. At that moment, Han Mu suddenly opened his eyes.

Within his eyes, a greyish-white phantom of a river of time flowed slowly, seemingly reflecting the vicissitudes of eternity. His aura had firmly established him at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm! His comprehension of the laws of time had reached an astonishing level!

He slowly raised his hand and gently grasped the illusory and unstable avatar of "Time Lord" caused by the broken arrow and the backlash of power.

"Time and space...return to nothingness."

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a vast and desolate power of annihilation originating from the "Eye of Return to Nothingness," which Han Mu slightly stirred with the newly fused and more powerful power of the "Coffin of Origin," transforming into an invisible wave that swept over the "Time Venerable" avatar.

Before the "Time Lord" avatar could even unleash its final roar, its body, composed of fragments of time, rapidly weathered and dissipated like a sand sculpture in the wind, ultimately annihilating completely, leaving only a dim, cracked gray crystal (the core of the "Hourglass of Time" projection) suspended in place.

Meanwhile, the central structure of the formation below also collapsed in a massive crash as the avatar dissipated, leaving only a few remnants.

Han Mu swayed slightly. The immense burden of fusion and breakthrough, coupled with forcibly activating the power of "Return to Nothingness," left him feeling weak. But he persevered, waving his hand to collect the gray crystal and the valuable parts from the remnants of the array's core.

"Brother Han!" Han Li stepped forward, his eyes filled with shock and concern.

"I...I did it! That big coffin has accepted me!" Zhou Meng shouted excitedly, his communication with the ancient coffin was obviously very smooth.

Han Mu nodded and quickly checked the system panel:

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Peak Golden Immortal (Newcomer, Needs Consolidation)]

[Surface Realm: Mid-True Immortal (Adjustable)]

[Time Rule: From 45% to 60% for beginners]

[Status: Minor injuries, significant power depletion, successfully fused with the second core fragment of the "Coffin of Origin," enhanced fundamental essence, upgraded "Coffin of Origin Mark," and gained some deeper access and information from the "Coffin of Origin."]

[Celestial Aura: -12000 points]

[System Notification: Successfully destroyed one of the core components of the "Reversed Time-Space Array," severely damaging the avatar of the "Time Sovereign." Obtained the "Hourglass of Time (Projection Core, Damaged)." Triggered the ultimate quest clue—"Gather the fragments of the Coffin of Origin to restore the order of time and space." Warning: The true "Time Sovereign" has sensed the upheaval here, and his anger and attention will greatly increase.]

"Time Lord" in his true form... Han Mu's eyes narrowed. He knew that the real crisis had only just begun. But at this moment, they had gained a precious respite and even greater power.

"Let's go, let's leave here first and meet up with Liu Ruyan and the others." Han Mu made a quick decision. "We can't stay here any longer. The true form of 'Time Venerable' may descend at any time, or send an even more terrifying being."

The three didn't linger. With Zhou Meng pointing in a relatively safe direction, Han Li led the way, and Han Mu brought up the rear, quickly retreating back the way they had come. Behind them, the enormous "Eye of the Ruins" seemed to have slightly accelerated its rotation due to the recent events, emitting even more unsettling fluctuations.