The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The disguised, damaged star shuttle silently traversed the dark "Eternal Night Galaxy." Han Li controlled the shuttle, maintaining a speed neither too fast nor too slow—suitable for a "damaged patrol"—as it advanced along a planned, secluded route. Han Mu, meanwhile, sat cross-legged in the control room, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing and continue healing his injuries. At the same time, he extended his divine sense, coordinating with Zhou Meng's "Time Guardian Mark" to remain vigilant about his surroundings.

Along the way, they encountered several other patrol teams' star shuttles. Some passed by at a distance, while others used standard communication runes for brief, routine identification and area verification. Relying on information gleaned from the memories of prisoners and seized items, as well as his understanding of the "Reverse Time Alliance's" communication patterns, and with the cover provided by the time fluctuations simulated by Han Mu and imbued with the aura of "reversal," Han Li narrowly escaped each encounter.

"Ahead is the checkpoint on the outer perimeter of the 'Seventh Resource Transfer Station,' with fixed sentry posts and scanning arrays. It's the first official checkpoint for entering the inner ring of 'Eternal Night,'" Han Li said in a deep voice, staring at the information displayed on the star map. "In Kui Mu's memory, the checks here are much stricter than on the outer perimeter. They require verification of complete team codes, personnel soul imprints, and mission instructions. Our forged codes and tokens can fool the patrol team, but the soul imprints and mission instructions are fatal flaws."

"Can we go around it?" Liu Ruyan asked.

"Taking the detour will add three days to our journey, and we'll pass through another, even more dangerous 'spacetime turbulence zone.'" Han Li shook his head. "Forcing our way through is even worse; it will immediately trigger an alarm."

Han Mu opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the approaching checkpoint outside the star shuttle's porthole—a checkpoint comprised of several artificially modified miniature stars and numerous floating platforms. Gray light flickered there, and the figures of cultivators clad in standard gray armor could be vaguely seen.

"Zhou Meng, use your mark to fully sense and check the weakest point of the array, or the area most affected by the residual 'Time Guardian' Daoist aura," Han Mu said quickly. "Fellow Daoist Han Li, prepare to create a small-scale, short-lived 'space-time signal interference' at the location Zhou Meng indicated, simulating natural space-time fluctuations. Liu Ruyan, you control the Star Shuttle, and the moment the interference appears, pass through that weak point at the fastest speed and with the least disturbance. Luo Feng, get ready. If any guards approach to intercept, you and Bai Ling are responsible for subduing them instantly, preventing them from sounding the alarm."

"yes!"

Everyone immediately sprang into action. Zhou Meng closed his eyes, the mark between his brows glowing faintly. After a moment, he pointed to an inconspicuous, shadowy area behind the checkpoint, a platform connecting several massive energy pipes: "There! The array's fluctuations are slightly uncoordinated, as if something ancient is buried beneath, causing the 'Reversal' array to malfunction a bit...stuttered?"

"That's it! Get ready!" Han Mu shouted in a low voice.

The star shuttle slowly approached, assuming a posture ready to be inspected. Just a hundred feet away from the shadowy area of ​​the platform, Han Li formed hand seals and silently launched several talismans containing chaotic spacetime power, which he had prepared beforehand, precisely embedding them into the foundation of the shadowy area.

hum!

A faint but precisely targeted ripple of spacetime spread out, causing the scanning array at the checkpoint to momentarily malfunction, and several monitoring runes to temporarily fail. Almost simultaneously, Liu Ruyan pushed the Star Shuttle's power to its limit. Like a nimble fish, in the instant the array malfunctioned, the Star Shuttle clung to the platform's shadow, narrowly missing the checkpoint's protective light barrier, and disappeared into the inner ring of the "Eternal Night" star field without triggering any alarms.

"It's done!" Luo Feng excitedly pumped his fist.

"Don't be too happy yet, we've only passed the first hurdle." Han Mu's expression remained solemn. He could feel that after entering the inner ring, the surrounding "reversed" spacetime aura was even more intense, and the invisible surveillance and oppressive feeling were also stronger. The Star Shuttle had to be even more careful.

The journey ahead was even more arduous. They avoided several obvious outposts and resource points, navigating numerous dangerous natural treacherous terrains (raging starstorms, the edge of a black hole accretion disk that devours everything, and unstable spacetime bubble regions). Twice they nearly collided with a large-scale "Reverse Time Alliance" transport fleet, and once they almost stumbled into a hidden early warning array, only escaping danger thanks to Zhou Meng's advance warning and Han Li's superb control.

Five days later, the star shuttle arrived at an exceptionally vast and desolate star field. Stars were scarce, and the light was dim, but in the distance, an indescribable, slowly rotating, colossal nebula composed of dark gray gas and distorted light occupied a significant portion of the field of vision. At the center of the nebula, a bottomless vortex of darkness was vaguely visible, seemingly capable of devouring everything. Even from this great distance, everyone could feel a terrifying, chilling aura emanating from the direction of the nebula, a mixture of apocalyptic, chaotic, and somewhat malevolent ritualistic energy.

"The Abyss of Silence..." Han Li's voice was hoarse.

"Here...so many...painful cries...and...evil ritual fluctuations..." Zhou Meng's face turned pale, the mark between his eyebrows throbbed violently, filled with disgust and sorrow.

The fragment of the "Coffin of Origin" in Han Mu's arms also heated slightly at this moment, pointing towards the depths of the nebula, conveying a complex emotion of longing and anger.

"We can't go any further. There's a high-intensity stealth surveillance network and patrols ahead; getting any closer will expose us." Han Li maneuvered the star shuttle, taking cover in the shadow of a giant, floating meteorite. "We need a closer observation point."

Han Mu nodded, his gaze sweeping across the area before finally settling on a dim, lifeless planet tens of thousands of miles away on the flank of the "Abyss of Silence" nebula. "Go there. Using the planet's shadow and its own terrain for cover, we should be able to establish a temporary observation point."

The star shuttle silently landed in a deep canyon on the desolate planet. After everyone disembarked, Han Li immediately set up layers of concealment formations. Han Mu, along with Han Li and Zhou Meng, quietly made their way to a high vantage point at the edge of the canyon, gazing towards the "Abyss of Silence."

When their gaze pierced through the thin nebula and saw the scene at the edge of the "Abyss of Silence," even Han Mu, with his composure, couldn't help but gasp.

Around the enormous dark vortex of the "Abyss of Silence," countless transparent crystalline cages floated, densely packed together! Each cage imprisoned a living being! There were humans, demons, various strange races, and even some indescribable void creatures! Some had long since turned to dust, others were still struggling weakly, but without exception, their life essence and lifespan were being drained, transformed into wisps of grayish-white energy that converged towards the center of the abyss and disappeared into the dark vortex! Above the vortex, an enormous, dark golden "Hourglass of Time," its surface covered in evil runes, slowly rotated, carrying out a terrifying transformation and purification of the massive amount of energy that had gathered!

Further away, surrounding the abyss, countless massive, menacing dark gold and gray buildings stood, resembling an evil interstellar fortress. Numerous "Reverse Time Alliance" cultivators busied themselves within, manipulating various complex array instruments. Deep within the complex, several terrifying figures could be vaguely seen hovering, at least at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, or even stronger! Those must be the powerful members of the "Heaven" team, or the guards of the "Time Venerable."

"They are using the lives and time of countless beings to perform a blood sacrifice! To nourish that 'Hourglass of Time' and some kind of being in the abyss!" Han Li's voice trembled, filled with unbelievable anger.

"Not only..." Han Mu's gaze was fixed on the center of the abyss, deep within the dark vortex. Through the sensing of his "Source Coffin Mark" and the resonance of the fragments of the "Coffin of Origin," he "saw" an even larger, more broken, but pure "origin" aura of a grayish-white ancient coffin, which was being entangled, eroded, and refined by countless dark golden chains! The other end of those chains was connected to the dark golden "Hourglass of Time" and the entire evil sacrificial system!

Another piece of the "Coffin of Origin," possibly an even more important core fragment, is right there! It is being forcibly refined by the power of the "Time Lord" as a key offering and bridge for its "sacrifice" and for opening the "Source of Time" channel!

"We must stop them! We must rescue those people and retrieve the fragments of the ancient coffin!" Zhou Meng's eyes were bloodshot, his grief and anger at their peak.

"How can we rescue them? How can we seize them?" Han Li smiled bitterly. "The place is heavily guarded, filled with powerful experts, and there's this terrifying sacrificial array. If we go in, it's just suicide."

Han Mu remained silent, his mind racing, calculating every possibility. A direct assault was a dead end. A clever strategy? The chances were slim, but not impossible. He needed more information, a starting point.

Just then, the communication jade slip in his arms suddenly received an extremely weak, intermittent cry for help, seemingly coming from the direction of the "Abyss of Silence" prison: "...Time Guardians...Inheritors...Are you...Save me...I know...the coordinates of...a...backup energy node...of the 'Reverse Time Alliance' sacrificial array...and...the method to close it...Save..."