The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Stepping into the "Time Corridor," the surrounding scenery instantly distorts and stretches, eventually stabilizing into a strange corridor stretching endlessly, composed of flowing silver ribbons of light. There are no walls on either side of the corridor, only an endless starry sky slowly rotating, but when the light from those stars shines into the corridor, it becomes distorted and sluggish, as if slowed down by an invisible force.

"The flow of time... is indeed changing." Standing at the entrance of the corridor, Han Mu could clearly feel that the flow of time here was different from that outside. It wasn't a simple acceleration or deceleration, but an unstable, fluctuating state, sometimes as fast as lightning, sometimes as slow as a snail.

"We must find the core area as soon as possible, where time flows a hundred times faster than outside." Without hesitation, Han Mu transformed into a streak of gray-white light and sped along the corridor.

The deeper he went, the more drastic the changes in the flow of time became. Sometimes Han Mu felt as if he were moving through viscous glue, with each movement requiring ten times the usual strength and time; other times, he felt as if everything around him was rushing backward, and his thoughts could hardly keep up with the speed of his body.

"No, this won't do." Han Mu stopped, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on the "Source Coffin Mark" between his eyebrows, while simultaneously activating the comprehension method of the middle chapter of "The Flow of Time and Light".

As he circulated his cultivation technique, his perception of the flow of time around him became clearer. Those seemingly chaotic fluctuations in time actually had an inherent pattern—they were like tides, rising and falling, strong and weak. And the direction of the "rising tide" was the area with the fastest flow of time, which was the core of the corridor.

"This way!" Han Mu suddenly opened his eyes and rushed towards an area on the left with abnormally violent time fluctuations.

After passing through an area where the flow of time seemed to have almost stopped, the view suddenly opened up. It was a circular platform about a hundred feet in diameter, suspended in the center of the corridor. Around the platform stood twelve towering bronze pillars, each engraved with intricate runes of time, which were now emitting a soft silver light.

The flow of time at the center of the platform was clearly more than a hundred times faster than the surrounding area. Han Mu could even see that a few withered leaves that had fallen at some unknown time at the edge of the platform turned from yellow to emerald green at a speed visible to the naked eye the moment they entered the platform's range, and then quickly withered and turned into ashes. The entire process completed a complete cycle of life and death in just a few breaths.

"This is it." Han Mu stepped onto the platform.

boom!

The moment he stepped onto the platform, a massive amount of time-related Dao principles surged into Han Mu's body like a flood bursting its banks. This was not a gentle enlightenment, but a brutal infusion and scouring. The platform was forcibly stuffing fragments of time laws accumulated over 30,000 years in the "Time Corridor" into Han Mu's sea of ​​consciousness.

"Ugh..." Han Mu groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. This method of infusion placed an immense burden on his soul and body. If he hadn't already absorbed the "Crystal of the Origin of Time" and had a solid foundation, he would probably have already suffered a soul collapse.

"I can't just passively accept it; I have to actively refine and absorb it!" Han Mu gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, and fully activated the "Time Source Flow Scripture." The "Source Coffin Mark" between his eyebrows burst forth with unprecedented light, and the four fragments vibrated wildly within his body, resonating with the surging time Dao rhythm.

Time acceleration, time deceleration, time stillness, time reversal... countless fragments of insights into the laws of time collided and merged in Han Mu's sea of ​​consciousness. He seemed to transform into a small fish, swimming upstream in the vast river of time, personally experiencing every state of time.

He witnessed a star field being born, flourishing, decaying, and perishing in an instant; he saw a drop of water fall from the clouds, yet remain frozen in mid-air for a thousand years; he saw an ancient great being, in the last moment of his passing, forcibly reverse time, trying to salvage something, only to grasp at nothingness...

"So that's how it is... Time is not a one-way straight line, but a complex structure that can be folded, twisted, and cycled." Han Mu realized in his heart, "Acceleration, deceleration, stillness, and reversal are just different manifestations of this structure. The true 'law of time' is to understand and grasp the essence of this structure."

As his understanding deepened, Han Mu's mastery of the laws of time improved rapidly. 78%...80%...82%...

Half an hour outside, two and a half days have passed inside the platform.

On the morning of the third day (time within the platform), Han Mu slowly opened his eyes. His eyes seemed to hold the swirling of stars, the cycle of life and death, and the sedimentation of time. An aura several times stronger than before slowly emanated from his body.

"The Law of Time... 85%!" Han Mu clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him. "Mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal, I've succeeded!"

He brought up the system panel and quickly scanned it.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal (Breakthrough from the initial peak, realm stabilized)]

[Time Rule: 85%]

[Status: Peak. Fragment fusion rate of "Coffin of Origin" increased to 20%. Mastery of the four basic states of time acceleration, deceleration, stillness, and reversal deepened.]

[Celestial Aura: -6000 points]

[System Notification: Successfully broken through to the mid-stage of Taiyi Jade Immortal. Received the "Time Corridor" trial reward: Perception of changes in the flow of time increased by 300%.]

Just as Han Mu was about to leave the platform, the entire "Time Corridor" suddenly trembled violently! The twelve bronze pillars shone brightly, and the runes on their bodies flickered wildly, as if they were under tremendous pressure.

Immediately afterward, Qingxuan Daoist's anxious voice rang in Han Mu's mind: "Young friend Han Mu, come out quickly! The entrance formation has been broken, and 'Shadow Time' has led the main force to break in! We can't hold on much longer!"

"They're here!" Han Mu's eyes turned cold, and he shot off the platform like lightning, rushing towards the entrance of the corridor.

This time, he was no longer affected by the changing flow of time. Those areas of acceleration and deceleration were transparent to him; he could even easily see through their fluctuations and pass through them in the most effortless and fastest way.

In just a few breaths, Han Mu rushed out of the "Time Corridor" and returned to the pavilion area.

The sight before him caused his pupils to shrink sharply.

Outside the pavilion, Daoist Qingxuan, covered in blood, was locked in fierce combat with a blurry, gray-clad figure that seemed to be composed of countless shadows. The gray-clad figure's aura was clearly that of a mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal, specifically at the "Shadow Time" level!

Han Li, Liu Ruyan, Zhou Meng, and the others were surrounded by more than twenty Golden Immortal peak cultivators from the "Reverse Time Alliance," who formed a defensive array. However, the array's light barrier was already teetering on the brink of collapse, and everyone was injured. Luo Feng had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, Bai Ling's left arm hung limply at her sides, and Li Qingzhu, Lin Fan, and Lin Xue were all pale-faced. Yun Yazi's remnant soul transformed into a thin protective shield, barely protecting Zhou Meng, but he himself was already so ethereal that he was almost transparent.

Further away, hundreds of early to mid-stage Golden Immortal cultivators from the "Reverse Time Alliance" were fighting against several broken guardian puppets. Dozens of corpses lay on the ground, some from the "Reverse Time Alliance" and others from two completely destroyed guardian puppets.

"Old man Qingxuan, obediently hand over the 'Key of Time' and that brat named Han Mu, and I'll give you a quick death!" Ying Shi's voice was like the scraping of metal, harsh and unpleasant. He held a short blade formed from shadow in each hand, and each attack carried a strange time-slowing effect, making Qingxuan Daoist's movements a beat slower, and causing new wounds to continuously accumulate on his body.

"Dream on!" Qingxuan Daoist coughed up blood and withstood the blow, then forced Ying Shi back with a backhand sword strike, but he himself was also shaken and forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Senior, step back and heal your wounds." A calm voice suddenly rang out.

Han Mu's figure appeared in front of Qingxuan Daoist like a ghost, blocking Ying Shi's next attack.

Ying Shi's pupils contracted, his short blade halting in mid-air as if it had struck an invisible wall. He stared intently at Han Mu, a flicker of surprise in his crimson eyes: "Mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal? You broke through?!"

"Just broke through, perfect for testing your skills." Han Mu grinned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Dare to hurt my people? Are you ready... to die?"