The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

"Time Lord... your true form... has descended... the ruins... are being destroyed... quickly... escape..."

Those broken words, like cold awls, pierced Han Mu's mind. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked down at the "Time Beacon" crystal in his palm, which was now covered in cracks and had completely lost its luster, his face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

"My lord?" Liu Ruyan was the first to notice Han Mu's unusual behavior and asked with concern.

Han Mu did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes and fully activated the "Source Coffin Mark" and the fragment of "Seed of Reincarnation" between his eyebrows. With his keen perception of time and reincarnation, he traced and interpreted the last trace of temporal and spatial Dao rhythm fluctuations left in the intermittent signal just now.

The scene was blurry and chaotic, as if viewed through a layer of blood-red frosted glass. He vaguely "saw" a fragment of spacetime, similar to the "Remnants of Time," but even more desolate and ruined, rapidly collapsing and annihilating. The light of countless protective formations flickered out one after another like candles in the wind. A blurry yet imposing dark golden figure, so powerful that it seemed to distort and tremble even spacetime, stood at the end of the river of time, coldly watching the destruction unfold. Finally, there was Qingxuan Daoist's hoarse cry, filled with resentment and a final warning…

puff.

Han Mu felt a sweet taste in his throat, forcibly interrupting the tracing, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Tracing back to a scene involving a Great Luo being personally involved, even if it was just a remnant fragment of Daoist essence, had further injured his already unhealed soul.

"Senior Qingxuan... 'The Lost Realm of Time'... is finished." Han Mu spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor. It wasn't just because of the fall of Daoist Qingxuan, but also because of the absolute power gap that "Time Venerable" himself displayed when he personally took action, a gap that was utterly despairing.

The atmosphere inside the shuttle froze instantly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Han Mu, their eyes filled with shock and horror.

"Brother Han, you mean..." Han Li's face turned pale.

"Yes, the true form of 'Time Lord' personally descended and erased the 'Remnant of Time'." Han Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes turning cold and sharp again. "Senior Qingxuan, at the last moment, exhausted his last bit of power and issued a warning across time and space. He told us... to run away quickly."

"My God..." Luo Feng plopped down on the flying shuttle floor, his face turning green. "That old monster personally intervened? We just beat up his henchmen, stole his fragments, and almost killed two of his guards... Haven't we stirred up a hornet's nest? No, we've stirred up the King of Hell's lair! I haven't even gotten married yet!"

Normally, Luo Feng's witty remarks might have eased the atmosphere, but at this moment, no one could laugh. A heavy shadow called "despair" loomed over everyone's hearts. Facing opponents of the level of "Shadow Time" and "Eclipse Time," they could still fight to the death. But facing the true form of "Time Venerable," a Great Luo being standing at the pinnacle of all heavens, they felt utterly powerless even to escape.

"My lord, we are now..." Liu Ruyan's voice was hoarse.

"The plan to go to 'Myriad Manifestations Heavenly City' remains unchanged," Han Mu said decisively, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "Moreover, it needs to be faster! Since the Time Lord was able to descend upon the 'Relic of Time,' it means he has an extremely deep grasp of spacetime in that area. Our previous activities there likely left even deeper traces. After dealing with the relic, his next step will probably be to spare no expense in using a wider range of spacetime searches or prophetic abilities to pinpoint our location. We must obtain the third key fragment, gather the 'Key of Time,' and open the passage to the 'Chaotic Mist Sea' before he finds us!"

"Only by entering the 'Chaotic Mist Sea,' and utilizing its chaotic spacetime and the power of the 'Remnants of Time,' can we possibly escape the Time Lord's pursuit temporarily and buy time to improve our strength!" Han Li immediately understood Han Mu's meaning, but his brows furrowed. "But Brother Han, even traveling at full speed from the 'Eternal Star Tomb' to the 'Myriad Manifestations Heavenly City,' we still have to avoid numerous dangerous areas and spacetime traps. It will take at least a month. Will the Time Lord give us that much time?"

"Therefore, we can't proceed step by step." Han Mu took a deep breath and looked at Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han Li, with your understanding of spacetime formations and the environment here, is there any way... to forcibly shorten the journey? Even if it involves some risks."

Han Li fell into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on the star map as his mind raced, calculating various possibilities. After a moment, he looked up, a decisive glint in his eyes: "Yes! I know of three hidden 'Ancient Star Paths' recorded on some ancient star maps. These paths weren't naturally formed; they're suspected to be spacetime 'scars' left by ancient battles or some special event. They're extremely unstable and fraught with unknown dangers, but they can greatly shorten distances. If we take the most dangerous, but also the shortest, 'The Ancient Path of the Burial Star River,' we might be able to compress the time to... less than ten days!"

"Ten days?" Zhou Meng gasped. "But the risks..."

"It's better to take the risk than to be caught by Shi Zun and face certain death." Bai Ling gripped the sword in her hand tightly.

"Let's do it! I'm going all in!" Luo Feng scrambled to his feet, gritting his teeth. "It's better than sitting here waiting to die!"

Han Mu nodded, about to speak, when suddenly, the dark gold "Reversal of Time" token from the Eclipse that Han Li had sealed in his arms began to vibrate violently without warning. A dazzling dark gold light appeared on its surface, and a cold and vast "Reversal of Chaos" will, which originated from the same source as "Time Lord," rippled out like water!

"Not good! It's a tracking mark! Shi Zun is using this token to locate us!" Han Li's expression changed drastically.

Almost the instant the token changed, the light of the three crescent moons in the gray sky outside the shuttle seemed to dim for a moment at the same time. An indescribable, cold feeling, as if being glanced at from a supreme being, swept over the shuttle!

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, everyone felt a chill run through their bodies and their souls trembled.

"He...discovered us?" Li Qingzhu's voice trembled.

"No, it should just be a vague sense, a general direction." Han Mu forcibly suppressed the palpitations in his heart, grabbed the violently vibrating token, and with his five fingers exerting force, the gray-white "Time Decay" power surged into it!

Chi Chi Chi -!

The dark gold restriction within the token clashed fiercely with Han Mu's power, producing a piercing sound. Finally, with a "crack," more cracks appeared on the token's surface, and the fluctuating will was temporarily suppressed, its light dimming. But Han Mu knew that this suppression wouldn't last long; Shi Zun had already noticed this area.

"There's no time to hesitate!" Han Mu tossed the temporarily dormant token to Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han Li, immediately plan the route for the 'Burial Star River Ancient Road'! Full speed ahead! Liu Ruyan, be ready to deal with any sudden dangers! Zhou Meng, Luo Feng, Bai Ling, you all need to seize the last moments to recover; the road ahead may not be peaceful!"

"yes!"

With no further objections, everyone immediately sprang into action. The dire situation only fueled their stronger will to survive and their fighting spirit.

Han Mu brought up the system panel and quickly scanned it.

Name: Han Mu

[True Realm: Mid-stage Taiyi Jade Immortal (80% recovered from injuries, soul slightly damaged)]

[Time Rule: 87%]

[Status: Minor injuries, soul damaged. Fragment fusion rate of "Coffin of Origin" 25%. Sensing the will of "Time Lord" scanning from a distance with blurred vision. The tracking mark of the "Reverse Time" token is temporarily suppressed.]

[Celestial Aura: -6000 points]

[System Notification: Confirmed that the "Relic of Time" has been destroyed by the "Time Lord's" true form, and Daoist Qingxuan has perished. Emergency Quest "Desperate Escape" triggered: Before the "Time Lord" completely pinpoints your location, reach "Myriad Manifestations Heavenly City" via the "Ancient Path of the Burial Star River." Quest Reward: Survival. Failure Penalty: Death.]

"The Ancient Path of the Burial Star River..." Han Mu closed the control panel and looked out the shuttle window at the endless, deep, and perilous "Eternal Star Tomb." "Hopefully, this path won't become our... final resting place."