The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Eight gray-white beams of "Reincarnation Stripping" light, like eight venomous snakes, instantly entered Han Mu's body. There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any gruesome scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere; only a strange sense of nothingness, as if it were "erasing" existence itself from the river of time, rapidly spread.

Han Mu's body began to become transparent and ethereal, like a reflection in water being disturbed. But his eyes were closed, his expression was calm, and there was even a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Senior Han!" Luo Feng exclaimed from afar, about to rush over.

"Don't move!" Han Li grabbed Luo Feng, his eyes flashing with a strange light. "Look closely, although Brother Han's body is becoming ethereal, the auras of 'Source' and 'Reincarnation' are actually increasing. He's... actively absorbing the Daoist essence of Reincarnation from these attacks!"

As expected, within Han Mu's gradually fading body, the "Source Coffin Mark" between his brows erupted with an unprecedentedly intense light, resembling a grayish-white sun. The fragment of the "Seed of Reincarnation" also trembled violently, releasing a strange attraction that frantically devoured the pure but chaotic power of reincarnation contained within the eight "Reincarnation Stripping" light pillars.

The trial of the "Mirror of Reincarnation" is never about "defeating" the mirror image, but about "understanding" and "absorbing" the true meaning of reincarnation represented by the mirror image. Zhou Meng understood the rhythm of "time shift" and thus fully awakened the "Time Guardian Mark." Han Mu, however, faces a higher-level test, one that transcends the realm of "reincarnation."

The eight beams of "Reincarnation Stripping" light were forcibly devoured and refined by the two supreme powers within Han Mu's body. Han Mu's consciousness also fell into a bizarre and fantastical ocean of illusions.

This illusion was clearer and more coherent than the one I saw in the "Origin Pool" before, as if I were experiencing it myself.

Act One: He "saw" himself (or rather, a gray-robed man who bore a seven-tenths resemblance to him, but with a more weathered and ancient air), standing in a chaotic, undeveloped void, with the complete, hundred-foot-tall "Coffin of Origin" floating beside him. The gray-robed man's hands continuously formed complex hand seals, guiding chaotic energy into the coffin, as if he were "refining" or "nurturing" this supreme treasure of chaos. His eyes were filled with anticipation and... a trace of barely perceptible weariness.

"Is this one of my past lives? The creator or early holder of the 'Coffin of Origin'?" Han Mu's consciousness trembled.

Act Two: Scene Change. A gray-robed man, covered in blood, stands in the center of a collapsing starfield, facing countless terrifying beings with grotesque forms and an aura of destruction. Behind him stands the white-clad woman, Shi Yue, and several other men and women with equally powerful auras. Together, they activate the "Coffin of Origin," unleashing boundless gray-white divine light, temporarily repelling and sealing the terrifying beings. However, the gray-robed man is also exhausted, his body beginning to dissipate. Before fading away, he places a gray-white seed (the Seed of Reincarnation?) and some memories into the "Coffin of Origin," his gaze fixed on Shi Yue, his eyes filled with apology and reluctance. Shi Yue, tears streaming down her face, nods resolutely.

"Ancient war...the ancestors of the Guardians were fighting against some kind of world-ending calamity?" Han Mu's heart was filled with emotion.

Act Three: The scene shifts to the moment when the "Coffin of Origin" shatters. This time, the perspective is closer. Han Mu "sees" that before Shi Yue transforms into light and merges into the giant coffin, she glances back, her gaze seemingly piercing through countless ages, meeting Han Mu's eyes for a fleeting instant. There is no sadness in her eyes, only endless tenderness and… a faint, almost imperceptible expectation. Her lips move slightly, as if uttering two words, but no sound comes out.

Han Mu, relying on the "Seed of Reincarnation," vaguely "read" the mouth shape of those two words—"Waiting for you."

boom!

All illusions receded like a tide. Han Mu's consciousness returned to his body. He was still standing in the Samsara Mirror maze, but the eight mirror images had vanished. The surrounding mirrors, except for those containing Han Li, Zhou Meng, and the others, were all dim and cracked, finally dissipating into countless points of light with a "crash." The entire Samsara Mirror trial space, due to Han Mu absorbing too much core Samsara Dao essence at once, began to destabilize and teetered on the brink of collapse.

Han Mu slowly opened his eyes. In the depths of his eyes, a phantom of reincarnation seemed to flash by, and his aura became more profound and restrained, carrying a sense of vicissitudes that came from seeing through the changes of the world.

"The Law of Time... 87%." Han Mu muttered to himself. Having personally "experienced" part of his past life in the illusion of reincarnation, his understanding of time and reincarnation had deepened. In particular, the fragment of the "Seed of Reincarnation" had noticeably grown stronger after absorbing the pure power of reincarnation, and its fusion with the "Source Coffin Mark" had become even closer.

He brought up the system panel and quickly scanned it.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal (Peak State)]

[Time Law: 87% (Comprehended part of the true meaning of reincarnation, improved understanding of the law)]

[Status: Peak. Fragment fusion rate of "Coffin of Origin" 20%. Fragment of "Seed of Reincarnation" grows stronger and fusion deepens.]

[Celestial Aura: -6000 points]

[System Notification: Successfully passed the final trial of the "Mirror of Reincarnation," gaining an initial understanding of the "True Meaning of Reincarnation." Reward: Increased resistance to reincarnation-related supernatural powers; can now cast a basic "Reincarnation" supernatural power.]

"Brother Han, are you alright?" Han Li quickly stepped forward and carefully examined Han Mu.

"It's alright, we've had a great harvest." Han Mu nodded, then looked at Zhou Meng, Luo Feng, and the others, "How's it going on your side?"

"Hehe, I just finished off a mirror image too!" Luo Feng proudly waved a dark red crystal in his hand. "Look, it even dropped a 'Fierce Qi Crystal Core,' this thing is great for body tempering!"

Zhou Meng also walked over, his aura more solid than before: "Senior Han, my 'Time Guardian Mark' is completely stable, and I've also gained several inherited combat divine abilities."

Although Bai Ling's left arm injury had not yet healed, her eyes were sharp: "My sword intent has also improved, and my grasp of 'fast' and 'slow' is more precise."

Just then, the entire maze space shook even more violently, and a large number of mirrors began to collapse.

"Oh no! This trial space is about to completely collapse!" Han Li's expression changed. "We must leave immediately!"

Han Mu looked into the depths of the maze, where the entrance to the "Origin Pool" was originally located, but it was now covered with cracks.

"There's no time to get to the 'Origin Pool'," Han Mu said decisively. "Let's go back the way we came and meet up with Senior Qingxuan and Liu Ruyan at the pavilion!"

Without further delay, the five retreated quickly back to the passage they had come from. Mirrors continued to collapse along the way, and spatial-temporal turbulence raged, but under Han Mu's temporal domain, they escaped the passage unharmed and returned to the pavilion area.

Inside the pavilion, Daoist Qingxuan, Liu Ruyan, and the others had been anxiously waiting. They all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Han Mu and his group return safely.

"Young friends, you've finally emerged!" Daoist Qingxuan greeted them, his expression still grave. "The fluctuations of the 'Mirror of Reincarnation' suddenly intensified just now, and I thought something had happened. But now there's an even more troublesome situation—"

Qingxuan Daoist pointed to the sky above the ruins outside the pavilion. "During your time in the trial, the concealment array around the ruins has been triggered three more times, each time more intensely than the last. The 'Reverse Time Alliance's' search network is tightening rapidly; by tomorrow at the latest, they will have found the exact location!"

Han Mu's gaze turned cold: "They arrived quickly."

"Moreover..." Han Li suddenly spoke, the "Time Reversal Array Disc" in his hand flashing rapidly, "I detected that the tracking mark that Ying Shi planted before his death seems to have been remotely activated by some external force! Although you temporarily sealed it near our location with the power of time, Brother Han, after activation, it will continue to emit weak fluctuations, guiding the 'Time Reversal Alliance' in the right direction!"

"In other words, even if we hide in the ruins, they will eventually find us." Zhou Meng gripped his warhammer tightly.

"My lord, what do we do next?" Liu Ruyan looked at Han Mu. "To fight, or to retreat?"

Han Mu looked northeast—that was the approximate location of the "Eternal Star Tomb," and also where the sixth fragment was located. He quickly weighed his options.

In battle, with his current strength and the cooperation of Qingxuan Daoist and his team, he might not lose, but it would be a brutal fight, and he would be completely exposed, attracting more attention from "Time Venerable." Let's go. Using the emergency teleportation array Qingxuan Daoist mentioned earlier, although the destination is random, it can temporarily shake off pursuers and buy time to obtain the sixth fragment and enhance our strength.

"Let's go," Han Mu decided, "but not using the emergency teleportation array."

Everyone was taken aback.

Han Mu looked at Daoist Qingxuan: "Senior, you mentioned before that there is a temporary passage leading to the 'Chaotic Mist Sea' deep within the Lost Realm, but it requires the 'Key of Time' and specific conditions to open, is that correct?"

"That's right." Daoist Qingxuan nodded. "But we only have one key fragment right now, which isn't enough to open a stable passage. Forcibly opening a temporary passage would result in a completely random destination and be extremely dangerous; we might fall directly into a spacetime turbulence or some kind of dead end."

"Then let's open a temporary passage." Han Mu's tone was firm. "The 'Reverse Time Alliance' definitely thinks we'll use the emergency teleportation array to escape to the outer perimeter of the 'Netherworld Abyss.' We'll do the opposite and go to the most dangerous and unpredictable place. As for the danger..."

Han Mu grinned, a sharp glint in his eyes: "My current strength should be enough to protect everyone as we pass through the temporary passage. And what if we're lucky enough to land near the 'Chaotic Mist Sea,' or... the area where the sixth fragment is located?"

"This is too risky!" Daoist Qingxuan shook his head.

"Should we stay here and wait for the 'Reverse Time Alliance' army to advance, or for the will of the 'Time Lord' to arrive in person, instead of taking any risks?" Han Mu asked rhetorically.

Qingxuan Daoist remained silent.

"Brother Han is right," Han Li said thoughtfully. "There is a way to survive by putting ourselves in a desperate situation. Moreover, I have the 'Time Reversal Array Disc,' which can stabilize the direction as much as possible in the passage. Although it cannot precisely control the destination, it can try to avoid the most dangerous time-space nodes."

"It's settled then!" Luo Feng slapped his thigh. "I, Fatty, love excitement! It's better than waiting here to die!"

Looking at the determined eyes of the crowd, Daoist Qingxuan finally sighed, "Fine, since you've made your decision, I'll gamble with you! The temporary passage opens at the very core of the ruins, at the site of the 'Spring of Time.' Let's go there now!"

However, just as everyone was preparing to set off, the entire sky of the "Relic of Time" was suddenly dyed a strange dark gray! A terrifying pressure that made one's heart tremble, as if it could freeze time, descended with a roar as if the sky were collapsing!

A cold, grand, and infinitely majestic voice echoed between heaven and earth:

"Found you, you insects. I... have come in person."