The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The moment Han Mu and Han Li stepped into the passage, the surrounding light and shadows swirled, and the portal closed behind them. However, the two did not immediately enter the trial scene, but instead appeared in a brief transitional passage composed of soft white light.

"Fellow Daoist Han, wait a moment." Han Li suddenly stopped, and a simple, ancient-looking coin-shaped magic artifact appeared in his hand, with faint silver light shimmering within it.

"Formation verification?" Han Mu looked at Han Li.

Han Li nodded, his fingertip lightly tapping the copper coin artifact: "What Daoist Qingxuan just said involves ancient secrets and primordial treasures, containing a vast amount of information. I used the 'Time Reversal Array Disc' to deduce the temporal logic chain of several key nodes and discovered..."

"What did you find?"

"We discovered that the three timelines he mentioned—the time of the 'Time Guardians' lineage's demise, the time of the 'Time Lord's' betrayal, and the time of the 'Coffin of Origin's' shattering—correspond to the fluctuation records of the 'Source of Time'." Han Li put away the array plate, his expression grave. "This means that he at least didn't lie about the timelines. But regarding the 'Time Lord's' true purpose…"

Han Mu's gaze sharpened slightly: "You think there's a problem?"

"It's not that there's a problem, but rather that there might be something being concealed," Han Li said. "Qingxuan Daoist said that Shizun wants to 'reset the universe' and become the sole ruler. But if it's just for power, why would he go to such lengths to collect the 'Coffin of Origin'? Such a chaotic treasure, even if it's just a fragment, is enough to make him one of the most powerful beings in the heavens. His desire to break into the core of the 'Source of Time' must have a deeper purpose."

"What do you think it is?"

Han Li was silent for a moment: "I suspect that the Time Lord may have discovered a secret about the 'Source of Time,' a secret concerning... transcendence. He wants to find a way to surpass the Great Luo Immortal, or even the Dao Ancestor, by controlling the Source of Time."

Han Mu's eyes were deep. This conjecture subtly echoed Qingxuan Daoist's last words, "Your system comes from a higher dimension." If Shi Zun was truly pursuing transcendence, then his killing intent towards himself, this "variable," would probably be stronger than imagined.

"I'll improve my strength through the trials first," Han Mu decided. "No matter what Shi Zun's purpose is, without sufficient strength, everything is just empty talk."

Han Li nodded, and the two continued on their way.

At the end of the passage, the white light dissipated, revealing a boundless labyrinth composed of countless enormous mirrors. Each mirror was ten feet tall, its surface as smooth as water, reflecting the figures of the two. However, the movements of the reflections were not entirely synchronized with the real figures; some were fast, some were slow, and some were even performing completely different actions.

"The 'Mirror of Reincarnation' trial seems to be testing one's understanding of 'reincarnation' and 'time'," Han Li observed his surroundings.

Just then, in the nearest mirror, Han Mu's reflection suddenly moved. The reflection stepped out of the mirror and transformed into a gray-clad figure identical to Han Mu, even down to the exact same aura, except that the figure's eyes were empty, like a puppet.

"Only by defeating your own mirror image, or comprehending the 'True Meaning of Reincarnation' within it, can you pass through." A detached voice echoed through the maze; it was the voice of Daoist Qingxuan.

Mirror Image Han Mu raised his hand, and gray-white light flowed from his fingertips, clearly the starting stance of "Time Freeze".

"I'll do it." Han Mu gestured for Han Li to step back, then stepped forward himself.

Almost simultaneously, Han Mu's mirror image activated "Time Freeze," and an invisible force of time enveloped him. Han Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but instead raised his hand and pointed. The two identical forces of time collided in mid-air, canceling each other out and annihilating each other.

"Copy my abilities and cultivation?" Han Mu raised an eyebrow.

Mirror Image didn't answer, its figure flashed like lightning, its hands formed a seal, and it unleashed a "Time Decay" attack. Han Mu responded with the same "Time Decay" attack, and the two gray-white streams that could bring all things to stillness collided, emitting a hissing sound of erosion.

But after three moves, Han Mu discovered a problem. Although this mirror image could perfectly replicate his moves, cultivation level, and even fighting style, it lacked one thing—spirit. Its attacks were rigid and methodical, completely copying Han Mu's previous fighting patterns, without any on-the-spot adaptability.

"It's all show and no substance." Han Mu shook his head and suddenly changed his tactics.

Mirror Image Han Mu was still following the preset procedure, preparing to unleash the fourth move, "Time and Space Return to Silence". But this time, Han Mu did not counterattack. Instead, his figure flickered strangely, and he used the "Seed of Reincarnation" to activate a trace of the Dao of Reincarnation, setting up a thin, constantly flowing gray light screen in front of him.

The mirror image's "Space-Time Silence" slammed into the light barrier, causing it to tremble violently but not shatter. Instead, it deflected part of the attack back. The mirror image was clearly unprepared for this response, and its movements faltered slightly.

This stagnation is the flaw.

Han Mu appeared on the left side of the mirror image like a ghost, his fingers forming a sword shape. He didn't use any time-related magical abilities; it was just a pure, direct thrust infused with the power of the Taiyi Jade Immortal, striking the center of the mirror image's brow.

Click.

A crack appeared between the mirror's brows, and then its entire body peeled away like shattered porcelain, turning into specks of light and dissipating. The mirror itself dimmed, revealing a path leading deeper into the labyrinth behind it.

"I see." Han Li said thoughtfully. "This trial is not only a test of strength, but also a test of whether you can transcend your existing combat patterns and incorporate new insights. You just used the power of the 'Seed of Reincarnation'."

Han Mu nodded, looking at the thousands of mirrors in the maze: "Looks like we'll have to fight our way through."

"Not necessarily." Han Li pointed to several mirrors. "Look at the reflections in those mirrors. Although the movements are not synchronized, they seem to contain some kind of pattern. Fast, slow, still, reverse... This should be a simplified projection of the 'Time Corridor' trial. If we can understand these patterns, we might be able to find a shortcut."

Han Mu observed intently and indeed discovered that the reflections in the mirrors were not entirely random. In some areas, the reflections moved extremely fast, as if time had been accelerated a thousand times; in others, they moved as slowly as a snail; and in still others, the reflections moved in reverse.

"Different manifestations of the laws of time..." Han Mu realized. The true purpose of this "Mirror of Reincarnation" trial was probably to allow people to personally experience and understand the various states of time in battle, thereby deepening their understanding of the essence of the laws of time.

"This way." Han Mu pointed to a mirror area where the reflections of movement were "flowing backward." He had a vague feeling that this area might hold a deeper mystery about "reincarnation" and "time reversal."

As soon as the two stepped into this area, the surrounding mirrors lit up simultaneously. In each mirror, an image exactly like Han Mu emerged, but this time, the eyes of these images were no longer empty, but carried a strange, world-weary quality, as if they had seen through the cycle of reincarnation.

What's even more unsettling is that the aura emanating from these mirror images, while still at the early stage of Taiyi Jade Immortal, possesses a unique Daoist charm belonging to "Reincarnation," which Han Mu has not yet fully mastered.

"It seems the real trial is just beginning." A fighting spirit flashed in Han Mu's eyes as he said to Han Li, "Fellow Daoist Han Li, you retreat to the safe zone to observe the battle. I'll take care of these mirror images."

Han Li nodded and stepped back, while simultaneously forming hand seals to set up a defensive array around him, both to protect himself and to prevent the aftershocks of the battle from damaging the maze's structure.

The eight mirror images simultaneously raised their hands, their movements perfectly synchronized, each fingertip glowing with a greyish-white light of "reincarnation." It was not simply the power of time, but a higher-level power infused with the principles of reincarnation.

"Reincarnation—Stripping Away!"

Eight voices rang out simultaneously, and eight gray-white beams of light shot towards Han Mu from different directions. Wherever each beam of light passed, space was subtly distorted, as if even the "traces" of existence were being forcibly stripped away and erased.

Han Mu took a deep breath, and instead of dodging, he closed his eyes and focused his mind on the "Source Coffin Mark" and "Seed of Reincarnation" between his eyebrows.

He wanted to experience firsthand what the more complete power of "reincarnation" simulated by this "Mirror of Reincarnation" was like.

Perhaps this is the opportunity to break through the current bottleneck.