The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

The alarm blared sharply in the night, instantly shattering the silence of the hilltop.

"Alert!" Li Huayuan shouted sharply, his figure flashing as he rushed out of the tent. The other cultivators followed closely behind, each summoning their magical artifacts and standing ready for battle.

Han Mu also rushed out of the tent, already holding a cyan flying sword in his hand. He looked up and saw the light screen of the Six Harmonies Alert Array rippling in the night, with more than a dozen dark figures attacking the array from the southeast.

They are ghosts! And there are quite a few of them!

"System, scan for incoming targets."

[Scanning in progress...]

Number of ghosts: 14

[Cultivation Level Distribution: 1 at Foundation Establishment Level 3, 3 at Foundation Establishment Level 2, and 10 at Foundation Establishment Level 1]

[Status: Berserk (Enhanced by Yin Sha Qi, combat power increased by 20%)]

Threat Level: Medium (Requires teamwork to handle)

Fourteen Foundation Establishment stage ghosts—that's quite a force. Han Mu's expression turned serious. Although the team had thirteen members, their cultivation levels varied greatly; if they were to fight head-on, the outcome would be unpredictable.

"Form the formation!" Li Huayuan remained calm under pressure. "Junior Brother Wang, maintain the defensive formation. The rest of you, form groups of three and split up to engage the enemy! Guest Elder Han, you, Zhao Tie, and Sun Ming form a group to deal with those three Foundation Establishment Level 1 ghosts on the left!"

"yes!"

The team quickly split into four groups. Li Huayuan faced the third-level Foundation Establishment ghost alone, while the other three groups each dealt with three to four ghosts. Han Mu, Zhao Tie, and Sun Ming formed a triangular formation to meet the three ghosts attacking from the left.

These three ghostly creatures were all at the first level of Foundation Establishment, but after being strengthened by the Yin energy, their aura was close to that of the second level of Foundation Establishment. They roared and pounced, their ghostly claws stirring up gusts of black wind.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I'll lead the attack, you two support from the side!" Zhao Tie shouted, swinging his mountain-splitting axe and cleaving down the foremost ghost. The axe flashed like a rainbow, its force immense and heavy.

"Alright!" Sun Ming replied, his flying sword transforming into a streak of silver light as it pierced towards another ghost.

Han Mu "barely" controlled his sword, dealing with the third ghost. He deliberately suppressed his strength, only displaying the level expected of a first-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. His swordsmanship looked somewhat "clumsy," but he was able to "narrowly" avoid the ghost's fatal attacks each time.

The battle unfolded fiercely in the darkness. Li Huayuan faced the most perilous situation; the ghost at the third level of Foundation Establishment was incredibly powerful, each strike carrying a dense aura of Yin energy. However, Li Huayuan, at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, possessed profound cultivation and steadily suppressed the ghost.

The other three groups were also locked in fierce combat. The ghosts felt no pain, were unafraid of death, and launched a frenzied attack. Soon, cultivators were injured, and the smell of blood made the ghosts even more violent.

"This won't do!" shouted a Foundation Establishment Stage 4 cultivator. "There are too many ghosts; we'll wear them down!"

Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan slapped the ghostly creature in front of him back and shouted, "Change formation! Contract the defenses and wait for the attack!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly moved towards the center, forming a circular formation back-to-back. This reduced the defensive area, but allowed them to support each other, significantly easing the pressure.

Han Mu retreated into the formation, panting. There was a shallow wound on his left arm, from which blood was seeping out. He had left it on purpose to make it seem more realistic.

"Fellow Daoist Han, are you alright?" Sun Ming asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just a superficial wound." Han Mu shook his head and took out a healing talisman to stick on the wound.

After the circular formation was completed, the ghostly attacks were temporarily halted. However, they did not retreat but instead surrounded the formation and continued to charge. To make matters worse, more ghostly creatures were attracted by the battle's fluctuations and were heading this way.

"Elder Li, the ghosts are gathering in greater numbers, what should we do?" Junior Brother Wang asked anxiously. He was already struggling to maintain the warning array, and the array's light barrier was flickering unpredictably, on the verge of breaking at any moment.

Li Huayuan's face was grim. He hadn't expected to attract so many ghosts. Logically speaking, they were only on the outskirts of Black Wind Ridge, and there shouldn't have been such a dense concentration of ghosts.

Unless... someone deliberately lured them here!

"System, analyze the reason for the gathering of ghosts," Han Mu asked in his mind.

[Analysis in progress...]

[The ghost's behavior is unusual: it's an organized attack, not an instinctive assault]

[Slight fluctuations in mental state detected, suspected of being manipulated]

[Source of the fluctuation: Five li to the southeast]

They're being manipulated! Han Mu's eyes turned cold. Something was definitely wrong. Someone was secretly controlling ghosts to attack them. Was it someone from the Ghost Spirit Sect? Or that group of mysterious people?

"Elder Li, the ghost is being controlled!" Han Mu transmitted his voice. "The controller is five miles to the southeast!"

Upon hearing this, Li Huayuan scanned the southeast direction with his divine sense. Sure enough, in a mountain hollow five miles away, he sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation. Although it was concealed, it could not escape the perception of a Foundation Establishment Level 7 cultivator.

"How dare you!" Li Huayuan laughed angrily. "You actually dared to plot against Huangfeng Valley! Junior Brother Wang, you take three people to guard the formation, the rest of you come with me to capture the mastermind!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already transformed into a streak of azure light, heading straight for the mountain hollow in the southeast. Han Mu, Zhao Tie, and the other six followed closely behind, leaving Junior Brother Wang and three other cultivators behind to maintain the circular formation.

In the mountain valley, three black-clad cultivators sat cross-legged, the one in the middle holding a small black banner, which he waved continuously. Black mist swirled around the banner, faintly connecting it to the ghostly creatures surrounding the circular formation.

"The Soul-Controlling Banner of the Ghost Spirit Sect!" Li Huayuan recognized it at a glance. "It really was you who did this!"

The three black-clad cultivators were terrified when they realized their presence had been discovered. The leader, a one-armed old man with a Foundation Establishment level five cultivation, was one of the deacons of the Ghost Spirit Sect. He gritted his teeth and said, "Li Huayuan, I didn't expect you to find us. But it's too late. Lord Ghost King has awakened, and you're all doomed!"

As he spoke, he bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood essence onto the Soul Control Banner. The banner shone with a brilliant black light, and the ghosts surrounding the circular formation suddenly roared in unison, their auras surging, and their attacks becoming even more frenzied.

"You're courting death!" Li Huayuan stopped wasting words and struck out with his palm. The cyan palm print grew in size as it faced the wind, turning into a three-zhang-long shape, and pressed down on the three black-clad cultivators.

The one-armed old man hurriedly summoned a bone shield to defend himself, and the other two also used their own methods. However, the difference between a fifth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator and a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator was too great. The bone shield shattered with a "crack," and the force of the palm print did not diminish, sending the three of them flying.

The one-armed old man was severely injured, coughing up blood and collapsing to the ground. The other two were killed instantly. The Soul-Controlling Banner lost control, its black light dimmed, and the ghosts surrounding the circular formation paused, their attacks greatly reduced.

"Take him down!" Li Huayuan shouted.

Zhao Tie and the others stepped forward, subdued the one-armed old man, and sealed his cultivation. Han Mu then picked up the Soul Control Banner; it was icy cold to the touch, and countless tiny ghost faces were writhing on its surface, sending chills down one's spine.

"System, analyze the Soul Control Banner."

[Item: Hundred Ghosts Soul Control Banner (Tier 3 Magic Item)]

[Function: Can control Foundation Establishment stage ghosts, up to 30]

[Status: Belongs to a master (original master's mark needs to be erased)]

[Value: High (for Ghost Path cultivators)]

"A good thing." Han Mu's heart stirred. Although this Soul Control Banner was evil, if one could control it, it would be a powerful weapon. However, now was not the time to study it. He put the Soul Control Banner away and would deal with it when he got back.

With their controller eliminated, the ghosts surrounding the circular formation lost their command and became chaotic. Some continued their attack, some began tearing at each other, and others scattered and fled.

With everyone working together, they quickly cleared out the remaining ghosts. After the battle, a headcount was taken: five people were slightly injured, but no one died—a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

"Elder Li, what should we do with this man?" Zhao Tie asked, pointing to the one-armed old man.

Li Huayuan walked up to the one-armed old man and said coldly, "Speak, what exactly is the Ghost Spirit Sect plotting in Black Wind Ridge? Why are you attacking us?"

The one-armed old man gave a bitter laugh: "Speaking means death, not speaking also means death. But if I speak, Lord Ghost King will not spare my family..."

"If you tell me, I can guarantee your family's safety," Li Huayuan said in a deep voice. "You should know the reputation of Huangfeng Valley."

The one-armed old man remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Lord Ghost King... intends to set up the 'Ten Thousand Blood Fiends Grand Array,' using the essence, blood, and souls of ten thousand living beings to attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. The array is seventy percent complete, awaiting activation on the night of the full moon when the Yin energy is at its peak..."

"Full moon night? How many more days until then?"

"Three days," the one-armed old man said. "At midnight three days from now, when the moon is full and the yin energy reaches its peak, the great formation will be activated, and all living beings within a radius of three hundred miles will be sacrificed..."

Three days! Everyone's expression changed drastically.

"Where is the core of the formation?" Li Huayuan pressed.

"Deep within Black Wind Ridge, that black hole... the place where Lord Ghost King was sealed." After the one-armed old man finished speaking, his body suddenly stiffened, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he died.

"He's dead," Zhao Tie said after examining him. "There was a restriction within his body. If the secret were leaked, the restriction would be triggered, and he would be annihilated, soul and all."

Li Huayuan's face was ashen. Three days, only three days left. If the 100,000 Blood Fiend Array were activated, the surrounding three hundred miles would be ravaged by death, including Yanling Fortress and the villages and towns surrounding Huangfeng Valley.

"Send a message back to the sect immediately!" Li Huayuan ordered. "Report the situation in detail and request the sect leader's decision. At the same time, everyone pack your belongings and prepare to leave. This place is not safe to stay any longer; there are definitely other people from the Ghost Spirit Sect here."

"yes!"

Everyone sprang into action. Han Mu returned to his tent and began packing. His heart was heavy; three days was far too short. Even if Huangfeng Valley acted immediately, mobilizing manpower would take time.

Moreover, since the Ghost Spirit Sect dared to set up such a large-scale scheme, they must have a backup plan. This crisis is probably not so easy to resolve.

"System, retrieve the current status."

[Host: Han Mu]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 7 (True) / Foundation Establishment Level 1 (Surface)]

[Family cultivators: 101]

[Family Development Task: Completed]

[Current Crisis: The 100,000 Bloodthirsty Array (3 Days to Go)]

[Obtained: Hundred Ghosts Soul Control Banner (requires refining)]

Three days... Han Mu gazed into the depths of Black Wind Ridge. There, the Yin Sha Ghost King awaited the night of the full moon.

He had to do something. For his family, for immortality.