The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The group crashed onto the dark red, gravelly, and bone-strewn ground, quickly scrambling to their feet and forming a defensive formation. The air was thick with the stench of blood, sulfur, and an indescribable, decaying odor of time, making everyone nauseous. The intertwined rays of three crescent moons cast an ominous glow over everything.

"This... is the 'Burial Land'?" Han Li looked up at the three strange moons, his expression solemn. "The forbidden land of legend, where spacetime is disordered and all living beings are annihilated, I didn't expect it to actually exist, and it's located deep in the Netherworld Abyss."

"Senior Han, roughly in which direction did you sense the resonance of the fragments?" Liu Ruyan asked, while warily scanning her surroundings. The surroundings were eerily quiet, save for the howling wind, as if countless souls were weeping.

Han Mu closed his eyes and focused all his energy on activating the "Source Coffin Mark" between his brows, while simultaneously triggering the resonance of the fragment of the "Seed of Reincarnation" within his body. After a moment, he pointed to the massive mountain range of skeletons in the distance: "Over there, deep within the mountains, there are more than one place, very scattered, and... the resonance is very weak, as if it has been suppressed or interfered with by some kind of force."

"Let's go check that out!" Luo Feng gripped his battle axe tightly. "Forget about this Burial Ground, let's find the fragments and get out of this hellhole as soon as possible!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Han Mu said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding land. Sensing the "Source Coffin Mark" and the "Seed of Reincarnation," he "saw" countless distorted and chaotic remnants of time energy permeating this land, forming invisible "spacetime traps." In some areas, time flowed extremely rapidly; stepping into one could instantly age one. In others, time was almost frozen, making escape difficult once trapped. Still others had fragile spacetime structures, riddled with tiny cracks, ready to collapse at any moment. In the distance, he could vaguely see some blurry, eerie figures, seemingly condensed from fragments of time, wandering about, emanating a dangerous aura.

"The spacetime here is extremely chaotic, fraught with danger at every turn. Fellow Daoist Han Li, please scout ahead and try to avoid areas with obvious spacetime anomalies. Liu Ruyan, you and your men keep an eye on the sides and rear. Zhou Meng, use your mark to sense the changes in the Netherworld Death Qi. The Death Qi here is intertwined with the power of time, which may give rise to something even more troublesome." Han Mu quickly gave the instructions.

The group obeyed, with Han Li cautiously leading the way, constantly casting detection runes to avoid the points of spatial distortion. Han Mu, meanwhile, held the "Netherworld Guardian Token," ready to respond to any emergencies. The token seemed to be suppressed here, its light slightly dimmed, but it still emitted a stable sealing fluctuation, capable of slightly smoothing out the spatial ripples within a small area.

The group slowly advanced towards the Bone Mountains. Along the way, they avoided several areas with abnormal time flow and killed a few "Time-Binding Spirits" that suddenly emerged from spacetime rifts and seemed to be composed of chaotic fragments of time. These spirits were not strong, around True Immortal to early Golden Immortal level, but their attacks had a time-eroding effect, making them quite troublesome. Han Mu easily killed them with his "Time Stripping" divine power and collected several "Time Crystals" containing the power of chaotic time.

After traveling for about half an hour, a relatively flat area appeared ahead, with the bones of many more enormous, unidentified creatures scattered on the ground, along with fragments of broken weapons. Han Li suddenly stopped and signaled for everyone to take cover.

"There are signs of battle ahead, very recent, no more than three days ago. And... there are remnants of the 'Rebellion' aura," Han Li said in a low voice.

The group immediately took cover behind a massive, half-buried beast bone. Han Mu extended his divine sense, using it in conjunction with the "Source Coffin Mark" to sense the surroundings. Sure enough, several hundred feet ahead, there were obvious traces of magical bombardment and energy explosions in an area. Faint gray energy fluctuations belonging to the "Reverse Time Alliance" lingered in the air, along with another, more violent and chaotic force of temporal resentment that seemed to originate from the place itself.

"It seems the 'Reverse Time Alliance' encountered trouble here, and suffered considerable losses." Han Mu observed the traces. "They are also heading towards the Bone Mountain Range, and their target is likely also the fragments of the 'Coffin of Origin'."

"Then we..." Luo Feng looked at Han Mu.

"Follow them, but keep your distance and act according to the situation," Han Mu decided. Since they shared the same goal, they might as well let the "Reverse Time Alliance" scout ahead and trigger dangers, so they could reap the benefits.

The group continued their stealthy advance, becoming even more cautious. After traveling for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they could faintly hear sounds of fighting and angry shouts ahead.

Han Mu gestured for everyone to stop, while he quietly crept behind some rocks on a high ground and looked down.

Below, in a sunken valley, about twenty cultivators from the "Reverse Time Alliance" were forming a battle formation, fiercely battling dozens of "Time-Binding Spirits" that were even more ferocious in appearance and possessed a stronger aura. These spirits were much larger, some resembling twisted giants, others like multi-headed monstrous birds, their bodies composed of chaotic fragments of time and dense deathly resentment. Their strength was generally between the mid and late stages of the Golden Immortal realm, with the three leading ones even reaching the peak of the Golden Immortal realm! They frantically attacked the "Reverse Time Alliance's" formation, each attack creating violent ripples in spacetime.

The "Reverse Time Alliance" was led by two peak Golden Immortal cultivators and was barely holding on, but the array's light barrier was already teetering on the brink of collapse, and there were seven or eight corpses lying on the ground.

"It's the remnants of the 'Heaven' team and the elite of the 'Human' team," Han Li whispered as he approached. "Judging from their appearance, they're guarding the entrance to that cave deep in the valley."

Following Han Li's gaze, Han Mu indeed saw a deep, dark cave entrance, half-hidden by boulders, deep within the valley, near the mountain wall. A faint grayish-white light emanated from the entrance, resonating clearly with the fragment of the "Coffin of Origin" within Han Mu's body! Furthermore, the ground around the cave entrance was engraved with ancient sealing runes similar to those in the "Guardian of the Nether Spring" inheritance, though many were already damaged.

"The fragment is in that cave!" Han Mu's eyes narrowed. It seemed that the "Reverse Time Alliance" had also discovered this fragment location and was trying to clear out the "Time Demons" guarding it in order to go in and retrieve the treasure.

"Brother Han, what should we do? Wait until they're both exhausted?" Han Li asked.

Han Mu quickly weighed his options. If he waited, the "Reverse Time Alliance" would likely be no match for these powerful "Time Fiends" and be completely wiped out. However, the fragments might be taken back into the depths of the cave by the fiends, or the battle might attract even more terrifying beings. If he acted now, he could seize the fragments amidst the chaos, but he would expose his location and have to fight both the "Time Fiends" and the "Reverse Time Alliance" simultaneously.

Just as Han Mu was pondering, a sudden change occurred!

Above the valley, the eerie gray moon, whose interior contained countless fragments of time, suddenly shone brightly! A thick, hazy beam of light descended from the sky, striking precisely the center of the valley! The chaotic temporal power contained within the beam of light erupted instantly, forming a massive spacetime vortex that frantically tore and distorted everything within its range!

"Oh no! It's 'Light of Burial'! Retreat!" a Golden Immortal peak cultivator from the "Reverse Time Alliance" cried out in terror.

But it was too late. The spacetime vortex expanded rapidly, instantly engulfing most of the "Reverse Time Alliance" cultivators and more than a dozen "Time-Binding Spirits"! Those swallowed figures let out mournful screams in the vortex, their bodies aging and weathering at a visible speed, or reversing their growth to become infants before disintegrating, ultimately turning into nothingness completely, leaving not even a remnant soul behind! Only two peak Golden Immortal cultivators and a few late-stage Golden Immortals fought their way out, but they were all injured and their auras were weak.

The spacetime vortex lasted for several breaths before slowly dissipating. A deep pit, hundreds of feet in diameter, appeared in the center of the valley, its spacetime structure in complete chaos. The opening containing the fragment, protected by the surrounding sealing runes, trembled violently but was barely unaffected.

The remaining "Time-Binding Spirits" and "Reverse Time Alliance" cultivators were still in shock and temporarily ceased their fighting.

"Now!" A fierce glint flashed in Han Mu's eyes, and he no longer hesitated. His figure transformed into a streak of gray-white light, plunging straight down from the high ground, his target the cave entrance! At the same time, he transmitted his voice to Han Li and the others: "You stay here to provide support and create chaos. I'm going to retrieve the fragment!"

"Senior Han, watch out!"

Han Mu moved with incredible speed, instantly reaching the edge of the valley. His appearance immediately attracted the attention of the remaining "Time-Binding Spirits" and the "Reverse Time Alliance" cultivators.

"Someone's there!"

"It's that bug carrying the fragment! He really is here!"

The remaining five or six late-stage and peak Golden Immortal "Time-Binding Spirits" roared, abandoning the "Reverse Time Alliance" cultivators and turning to pounce on Han Mu. The two injured peak Golden Immortal cultivators of the "Reverse Time Alliance" also hardened their eyes and attacked simultaneously, sending several sharp gray blade beams and a sinister soul-locking spell towards Han Mu's back!

With a formidable enemy in front and a sneak attack from behind, Han Mu was instantly surrounded!

Han Mu snorted coldly. Facing the oncoming "Time Demon Spirit", he neither dodged nor avoided it. He simply raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them in the void in front of him.

"Time and space—return to silence."

*Whoosh!* A purer, vaster, and seemingly timeless gray-white domain suddenly expanded from Han Mu's center! The powerful "Time-Binding Spirits" that had rushed towards them froze instantly upon entering this gray-white domain. The chaotic fragments of time on their bodies melted and subsided rapidly, like ice and snow exposed to the scorching sun. The violent red light in their eyes extinguished, and their massive bodies silently transformed into primordial time particles, dissipating into the air. Instant kill!

The blade light and soul-locking spell that attacked from behind lost their power the moment they entered the gray-white domain, and were easily wiped out by Han Mu with a flick of his sleeve.

"Tai...Taiyi Jade Immortal?!" The two Golden Immortal peak cultivators from the "Reverse Time Alliance" were horrified, finally recognizing the true nature of Han Mu's power, which far surpassed that of a Golden Immortal peak cultivator! They tried to retreat in fear and send a message.

"Can you leave?" Han Mu's voice was icy. His figure appeared before the two like a ghost, and he struck one of them on the top of the head with both hands. The "Source Coffin Mark" in his palm flashed, and the power of time decay instantly invaded.

Before they could even scream, their bodies rapidly withered and crumbled into ashes. Han Mu waved his hand and collected their storage magic treasures.

Having dealt with the immediate trouble, Han Mu didn't linger and dashed into the deep cave entrance.

Inside the cave entrance was a downward-sloping passageway, its walls covered with ancient sealing runes, many of which were now faded and damaged. Han Mu could sense that the deeper he went, the clearer the resonance of the fragments of the "Coffin of Origin" became, but at the same time, a chilling, menacing aura, as if sealed for endless ages, faintly emanated from the end of the passageway.

Han Mu quickened his pace and soon arrived at the end of the passageway. Here was a small stone chamber. In the center of the chamber was a stone platform, and on the platform, a roughly palm-sized, irregularly shaped grayish-white crystal fragment floated—another fragment of the "Coffin of Origin"! The fragment emitted a soft grayish-white light, and it seemed as if starlight flowed within it.

However, beneath the fragment, on the stone platform base, countless dark red chains, seemingly composed of congealed blood and resentment, were coiled. The other ends of the chains sank into the stone chamber floor, connecting to the deeper darkness below. A thick, bloody, violent, chaotic, and malevolent aura seeped continuously from the chains and the ground, attempting to erode and corrupt the fragment.

"The seal... has been eroded... there's something else sealed underneath..." Han Mu's eyes were grave. He stepped forward, preparing to take the fragment first.

Just as Han Mu's hand was about to touch the shard—

boom!

The entire stone chamber trembled violently! The ground suddenly exploded! Countless dark red chains shot skyward like venomous snakes, their ends coiled around a massive, three-zhang-tall, dark gold skeleton, seemingly crafted from the bones of some kind of god or demon! Two mad, violent dark golden flames burned in the skeleton's eye sockets, radiating a terrifying and ferocious power far exceeding that of a peak Golden Immortal and faintly touching the threshold of the Taiyi realm! It opened its massive maw, letting out a silent yet soul-piercing roar, and brandished its bone claws, viciously grabbing at Han Mu and the fragment!

"Ancient god-demon remains? Corroded by the malevolent energy and resentment of this place, transformed into the 'Burial Time Demon'?" Han Mu's pupils contracted, instantly understanding. The reason this fragment was here was not because it was lost, but because the ancient "Guardian of the Nether Spring" used it as the core of a seal to suppress this god-demon remains! Now that the seal is broken, the demon is about to break free!

Ahead lies a ferocious demon, behind are pursuers (there may be reinforcements from the "Reverse Time Alliance" or even more powerful "Time Demons" drawn to the valley), the fragments are within reach yet fraught with danger!

Han Mu's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He held nothing back and activated the three powers within his body at the same time: the "Origin Coffin Mark," the fragment of the "Seed of Reincarnation," and the "Netherworld Guardian Order." He unleashed the full power of the Taiyi Jade Immortal's aura to meet the oncoming Burial Time Demon!

"Want the fragments? You'll have to get past me first!"