The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Han Mu's eyes narrowed, and he didn't hesitate for a moment. His teammates outside were in critical condition; they couldn't let this "guardian statue" hold them back. They had to finish this quickly!

The statue's eyes blazed with crimson light. It raised the remains of a giant stone sword and, carrying a heavy, venomous, and chilling aura that seemed to sever all life, slashed down at Han Mu! The sword's momentum wasn't fast, but it locked down all of Han Mu's space to dodge. Wherever the sword's edge passed, even the air hissed and corroded.

If an ordinary peak Golden Immortal were to face this sword strike, they would certainly have to be careful. But Han Mu is a Taiyi Jade Immortal, and even though he is severely injured and only has 30% of his strength left, his essence is already different.

Instead of retreating, Han Mu advanced, meeting the oncoming stone sword fragments with his fingers like a sword, the tips of his fingers shimmering with gray-white light. He did not directly confront the stone sword, but rather, just as it was about to strike, he used his fingers as a guide to gently touch a seemingly ordinary crack on the side of the stone sword.

"Time—decay."

Buzz! An extremely pure, grayish-white stream of energy, seemingly capable of reducing all things to dust of time, entered the crack in the stone sword through Han Mu's fingertip and instantly spread to the entire statue! The fierce, murderous sword aura suddenly froze, and the statue's sword-wielding movements seemed to be slowed down a thousand times. Grayish-white decaying patterns crawled across its surface at a visible speed, and the scarlet light in its eye sockets also dimmed rapidly.

"No...it...can't..." The statue emitted a hoarse, unwilling mental fluctuation before completely freezing, transforming into an ordinary stone statue riddled with cracks, still in a sword-wielding pose, before collapsing with a crash and shattering into several pieces on the ground. A dark red crystal, roughly the size of a fist, rolled out from the fragments, radiating pure Yin energy and resentment, with a vague, illusory image of a warrior's remnant soul struggling and roaring within.

"A Golden Immortal-level 'Netherworld Guardian Soul Crystal'? It's somewhat useful." Han Mu waved his hand and put away the Soul Crystal. After purification, this thing could be used to refine special magic weapons or replenish certain losses. Destroying the statue consumed almost no power. The suppression of the Taiyi Jade Immortal's realm and the "Time Corruption" divine power were too strong against this kind of creation that relied on Netherworld death energy and remnant souls.

Without pausing, Han Mu immediately rushed out of the stone chamber and sped towards the direction from which Luo Feng's roar had come. At the same time, he separated a wisp of his divine sense to activate the emergency communication talisman with Han Li, Liu Ruyan, and the others.

"Fellow Daoist Han Li, Liu Ruyan, where are you? What's the situation? Move towards my location immediately!"

"Brother Han! That's great, you're alright! I'm with Zhou Meng and Lin Xue. We just dealt with a group of Bone Generals and are heading towards Luo Feng's direction. He's making the biggest commotion there!" Han Li replied immediately, his voice carrying a hint of fatigue but clear logic.

"My lord! I have met up with Bai Ling, Li Qingzhu, and Lin Fan. We are clearing the passage and will be there soon!" Liu Ruyan's voice followed immediately.

Everyone was moving, and they all seemed to have temporarily regained their footing. Han Mu felt slightly relieved and sped up.

In the blink of an eye, Han Mu arrived at the battlefield where Luo Feng was. There, the portly cultivator Luo Feng was wielding a battle axe, locked in combat with over a dozen "Soul-Devouring Bone Generals" and two even more powerful "Yin Fiend Beasts," seemingly formed from the deathly aura of the underworld. Luo Feng had several wounds, but his fighting spirit remained high, cursing under his breath: "Damn it, is this never going to end! If you've got the guts, send someone who can fight, I, the fat old man..."

Before he could finish speaking, Han Mu's figure appeared in the center of the battlefield like a ghost. Without making any extra movements, he simply raised his hand and gently pressed down on the surrounding void.

"Time and space—frozen!"

Buzz! An invisible force of time spread out, and the movements of the dozen or so skeletons and the two Yin Sha beasts instantly became as if they were stuck in a quagmire, slowing down more than tenfold, and the ghost fire in their eye sockets flickered in terror.

"What are you standing there for? Clear the area!" Han Mu shouted at the dumbfounded Luo Feng.

"Alright!" Luo Feng reacted, his spirits lifted, and his battle axe transformed into a flash of cold light, cleaving the sluggish Netherworld creatures to dust as easily as chopping vegetables. Han Mu flicked his fingers, sending out several gray-white sword energies that precisely destroyed the cores of those Yin Sha beasts.

The battle ended in a matter of breaths.

"Senior Han! You've finally arrived! These skeletons..." Luo Feng wiped the blood off his face and grinned.

"Stop talking nonsense, follow me, let's meet up with Han Li and the others." Han Mu interrupted Luo Feng's nagging and led Luo Feng in the direction Han Li had given him.

Soon, in a relatively spacious intersection, the group successfully reunited. Han Li, Liu Ruyan, and the others were all injured and their breathing was somewhat disordered, but they were all fine. Zhou Meng was still carrying Yun Ya Zi's increasingly ethereal remnant soul.

"Brother Han, your aura..." Han Li's eyes flashed with shock when he saw Han Mu. He was proficient in the Dao of Time and Space and had keen senses. He vaguely sensed a vast aura on Han Mu's body that was completely different from before. It seemed to be able to draw upon the flow of time and space. Although it was weak, its essence was extremely high.

"I managed to break through by sheer luck, but my injuries are quite severe, and I don't have much strength left." Han Mu briefly explained, then quickly scanned the group. "Let's leave here first and find a safe place to rest. This underground palace is no ordinary place. The 'guardian statue' mentioned 'underground palace' earlier, so this might be the remains or stronghold of some ancient 'Netherworld Guardian'."

Everyone nodded and, led by Han Mu, returned towards the stone chamber they had previously visited. That stone chamber was, for the time being, the safest base.

Back in the stone chamber, Han Li immediately set up stronger concealment and defensive formations at the entrance and around it. Everyone took pills, treated their wounds, and regulated their breathing to recover. Han Mu also seized the time to guide the primal power of the "Coffin of Origin" to accelerate the healing of his injuries.

An hour later, Han Mu's injuries stabilized, and his strength recovered to about 40%. The others also basically regained their fighting ability.

"Brother Han, I've checked it. The staircase leading down from this stone chamber should lead to the core area of ​​this 'Netherworld Guardian' underground palace," Han Li said, pointing to the downward staircase. "There are faint remnants of protective restrictions on the staircase, but they are ancient and their power is less than one-tenth of what it used to be. Moreover, I can sense some kind of... spacetime-related fluctuation deep below. It's very subtle, but very peculiar."

"Space-time fluctuations?" Han Mu's heart stirred. He arrived at the top of the stairs, and the "Origin Coffin Mark" between his brows felt slightly warm, as if it were also sensing something below.

"Senior Yun Ya Zi, do you know anything about this 'Netherworld Guardian'?" Han Mu looked at Yun Ya Zi, who had been placed aside by Zhou Meng and was slowly absorbing the power of the soul crystal to maintain his remnant soul.

Yun Ya Zi's remnant soul flickered, emitting a faint thought: "'Netherworld Guardian'... was established by the ancient Heavenly Court to guard the boundary between the Netherworld and the mortal world, preventing the erosion of Netherworld death energy and certain ancient beings... Its inheritance mainly involves the Netherworld, death, and the Way of sealing, but occasionally it also involves spacetime, used to stabilize the boundary and banish evil spirits... This place may be the place where an ancient 'Guardian' passed away or perished... If there are any inheritances or treasures left behind, they may be useful to you..."

The Netherworld Guardian of the Ancient Heavenly Court? A legacy involving time and space? A glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes. This might be an unexpected surprise.

"Let's go down and take a look. Fellow Daoist Han Li, you go first and be careful of the restrictions. The rest of you follow and stay alert." Han Mu decided to explore. If he could obtain some inheritance or treasures related to spacetime stability and sealing, it might help him solidify his Taiyi Jade Immortal realm and fight against the "Time Venerable".

The group regrouped, with Han Li leading the way, Han Mu providing support in the middle, and Liu Ruyan and the others bringing up the rear, carefully exploring downwards along the steps.

The staircase was long and winding, and more and clearer murals and ancient runes began to appear on the rock walls on both sides, recording the scenes of this "Guardian of the Underworld" fighting, guarding, and sealing various underworld evils during his lifetime. The underworld death aura in the air grew thicker, but at the same time, a righteous and majestic sealing aura appeared, offsetting some of the erosion of the death aura.

After descending about two or three hundred feet, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a massive underground palace. The palace was ancient and rugged in style, constructed from unknown black boulders. In the center stood a high platform, upon which sat a coffin, entirely black and covered with silver sealing runes! Around the coffin floated nine ancient bronze lamps, their flames a ghostly blue, burning silently and emanating a power that stabilized the space and suppressed the netherworld.

Above the stone coffin, in the void, floated a palm-sized, dark silver token that was neither gold nor jade and emitted gentle spatial fluctuations, along with a cyan jade slip floating beside it.

"The Netherworld Guardian Order? The Inheritance Jade Slip?" Han Li's breath hitched.

Han Mu's gaze was first drawn to the black stone coffin. Deep within that coffin, under the influence of the "Source Coffin Mark," there seemed to be a faint but extremely powerful and strange fluctuation related to both "origin" and "end," which flashed by in an instant.