The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The gates of the Han family in Yanling Fort were tightly closed, and the clan's protective array was fully activated. A faint blue light enveloped the entire courtyard; this was the "Green Bamboo Spirit Protection Array" left by the Han family's ancestors. Normally, it was maintained at a minimum level of energy consumption, but now it was operating at full power.

In the open space in front of the ancestral hall, twelve clansmen at the Qi Refining stage stood in neat rows, their hands gripping magical artifacts. Han Changqing stood at the very front, a blue longsword hanging at his waist, the "Azure Edge Sword," a mid-grade magical artifact bestowed upon him by Han Mu in his early years.

"I've remembered it all." Han Changqing's voice was steady. "The ancestor said that no matter what happens later, we only need to guard the key points of the great formation and must not go into battle without authorization."

"But..." a young man at the sixth level of Qi Refining couldn't help but say, "There must be quite a few people from the Blood Refining Sect, and our patriarch is all alone..."

"Shut up!" Han Changqing interrupted sharply. "The ancestor has his own arrangements, and it's not your place to question them."

The young man's face turned pale, and he lowered his head.

In the corner, Han Yunge quietly clenched the talisman in her sleeve—a "Golden Armor Talisman," which her grandfather had secretly given her yesterday. She bit her lip and looked up towards the quiet room.

Ancestor... can you really do it?

In the quiet room, Han Mu sat cross-legged.

Over the past three days, he has thoroughly consolidated the five years of cultivation he had borrowed in advance. His dantian and qi sea are full, and his spiritual power flows smoothly. He has reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment. Although he is still a step away from the middle stage, he is more than capable of dealing with the Qi Refining stage cultivators of the Blood Refining Sect.

"System, retrieve the current status."

[Host: Han Mu]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 4 (True) / Foundation Establishment Level 1 (Surface)]

[Cultivation Technique: Primordial Longevity Technique (First Level)]

[Spells: Basic Five Elements Spells (Proficient), Weapon Manipulation Spells (Proficient), Qi Concealment Spells (Master)]

[Magic Item: None]

[Current Mission: Eliminate the invading enemies of the Blood Refining Sect (Time Remaining: 1 hour 23 minutes)]

[Task Rewards: Jade Slip of "Minor Five Elements Sword Formation" x1, Five Years of Cultivation Initiation (Remaining after Advance Payment)]

Han Mu's gaze fell on the "Concealing Qi Technique".

The original owner only knew the basics of this spell, but after the system activated it, it automatically upgraded to the "Mastery" level. Combined with the system's built-in concealment effect, the spiritual energy fluctuations he was currently displaying were indeed only at the Foundation Establishment level, and even somewhat unstable.

"That's about it." Han Mu got up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Everyone in the courtyard looked over.

Han Mu, dressed in a neat blue robe, still looked somewhat pale, but his eyes were clear and sharp. He glanced at his clansmen and slowly said, "Changqing will lead five men to guard the eastern array point, Yunge will lead three men to guard the western side, and the remaining four will follow me."

"Father, you..." Han Changqing hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

"Do as instructed," Han Mu said calmly.

Everyone took their places.

About an incense stick later, a whooshing sound came from outside the mountain gate.

Three beams of red light descended from the sky, landing outside the array's light barrier. Leading the way was Zhao Tieshan, still at the peak of Qi Refining. Behind him were two others, one at the eighth level of Qi Refining and the other at the ninth level.

"Ancestor Han, the three-day period has ended," Zhao Tieshan called out. "One hundred spirit stones, are you ready?"

The light barrier of the array rippled slightly, and Han Mu's figure appeared in front of the mountain gate.

He was alone, his blue robe fluttering in the wind.

"Steward Zhao arrived just in time," Han Mu said calmly.

Zhao Tieshan glanced around and saw that only Han Mu had come out of the Han family. He sneered inwardly. He had sent people to investigate secretly yesterday and confirmed that the Han family had kept their mountain gates closed for the past three days, without any outside help, and didn't even have many decent late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

"Where are the spirit stones?" Zhao Tieshan reached out his hand.

Han Mu shook his head: "No."

Zhao Tieshan's face darkened: "Is Old Ancestor Han courting death?"

"No," Han Mu said seriously, "I think that Deacon Zhao doesn't need to go back today."

Before he could finish speaking, the red-robed cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining behind Zhao Tieshan roared in fury: "You old bastard, you're courting death!"

He took a step forward, his hands forming a hand seal, and a ball of crimson flame condensed out of thin air, rushing straight at Han Mu's face!

Blood Flame Technique! The signature spell of the Blood Refining Sect, specifically designed to corrupt magical artifacts and erode spiritual power!

Han Mu's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand and waved.

A cyan wind blade appeared out of thin air and collided with the blood flames.

boom!

The wind blades and blood flames dissipated simultaneously, and the aftershocks caused the light screen to tremble slightly.

"Foundation Establishment Level 1, indeed weak." The Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator grinned maliciously, and once again made a hand seal, this time unleashing three balls of blood flame simultaneously!

Zhao Tieshan stood by with his arms crossed, his eyes full of mockery. The two men he brought were elite outer disciples of the Blood Refining Sect, one at the ninth level of Qi Refining and the other at the eighth level. Together, they would give even a Foundation Establishment Stage Two cultivator a headache. Let alone Han Mu, this sickly fellow?

Three bursts of blood-red flames roared in.

Han Mu took a half step back, seemingly struggling to support a light blue screen.

Puff puff!

The blood flames crashed into the light screen, creating ripples that caused the screen to dim noticeably.

"Grandfather!" Han Yunge exclaimed in surprise from within the formation.

Han Changqing pressed down on her shoulder and whispered, "Trust the Ancestor."

Outside the mountain gate, the cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining pressed his advantage, patted his storage bag, and summoned a blood-red flying knife! The flying knife grew in the wind, turning into a three-foot-long blade, its body wreathed in blood-red light, clearly having drunk the essence and blood of many cultivators.

"Go!" he shouted.

The crimson flying dagger pierced straight through the light barrier!

This attack was far more powerful than the Blood Flame Technique; it was the full-force attack of a Qi Refining stage cultivator!

Han Mu's expression changed slightly, as if he wanted to dodge, but his movements were slow, and he could only barely turn to the side.

scoff!

The throwing knife grazed Han Mu's sleeve, cutting a gash in his blue robe.

"Hahaha!" the cultivator laughed, "What kind of bullshit Foundation Establishment Ancestor is he? Nothing special!"

Zhao Tieshan laughed as well: "Ancestor Han, kneel down and beg for mercy now, hand over the spiritual vein, and perhaps we can spare your life."

Han Mu looked down at the tear in his sleeve and suddenly sighed.

"I was planning to play a little longer," he murmured to himself.

The next moment, he raised his head, and there was no trace of weakness in his eyes.

Raise your right hand, loosely clenching your fist with your five fingers.

The blood-red throwing knife, which was about to turn back, suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if it had been grabbed by an invisible hand!

"What?" The cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining's expression changed drastically. He desperately activated his magic technique, but the flying knife remained motionless.

Han Mu gently pinched his fingers.

Click!

The crimson throwing knife shattered instantly, turning into fragments scattered on the ground!

"Pfft—" With his natal magic weapon destroyed, the cultivator spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura instantly weakened.

"You..." Zhao Tieshan's pupils shrank suddenly, finally realizing something was wrong.

But it was too late.

Han Mu took a step forward, and his figure disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

When it reappeared, it was already in front of Zhao Tieshan.

"You..." Zhao Tieshan was shocked and tried to retreat, but found that his spiritual energy was frozen and he could not move!

Foundation Establishment Pressure!

But this oppressive aura... wait! This isn't the first level of Foundation Establishment!

"You're in the late Foundation Establishment stage?!" Zhao Tieshan screamed hoarsely.

Han Mu did not answer. He held his left hand together like a sword and gently touched Zhao Tieshan's brow.

puff.

Not a bit of green light penetrated.

Zhao Tieshan's eyes widened, his life force quickly dissipated, and his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

Even until his death, he couldn't understand why Han Mu, who had been sickly just three days ago, would suddenly possess the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Senior Brother Zhao!" the other two cried out in alarm and turned to run away.

Han Mu didn't even look at it, and made a grasping motion with his right hand.

Two cyan wind ropes materialized out of thin air, binding the two people tightly and pulling them back to the ground.

"Senior, spare us! Senior, spare us!" The man at the eighth level of Qi Refining cried, tears streaming down his face. "We were just following orders; it was all Zhao Tieshan's idea!"

Han Mu remained expressionless, flicking his fingers lightly.

Two blades of wind sliced ​​across his neck.

Two heads rolled off.

Outside the mountain gate, silence returned.

Han Mu stood beside the three corpses, his blue robe spotless, not a single drop of blood on it.

He turned to look into the formation, and his clansmen were all dumbfounded.

"Changqing, tidy up," Han Mu said calmly. "Clean up the body and put the storage bag away."

After saying that, he slowly walked back to the quiet room.

Han Mu closed the door and sat down cross-legged.

【Ding! 】

[Mission Completed: Slay the invading enemies of the Blood Refining Sect]

[Reward: Jade slip of "Minor Five Elements Sword Formation" x1, five years of cultivation empowerment]

[Do you wish to receive the cultivation empowerment immediately?]

"I won't collect it for now," Han Mu thought to himself.

Now is not the time for a breakthrough. The Blood Refining Sect will not let the killing of Zhao Tieshan and the other two go unpunished. The real crisis is yet to come.

Han Mu took out the cyan jade slip and placed it on his forehead.

A flood of information rushed into his mind—the "Minor Five Elements Sword Formation," which uses five flying swords of different attributes arranged in an array, with the five elements mutually generating each other and their power amplifying. When mastered, it can trap and kill cultivators of the same level.

"I'm just missing a way to kill someone." Han Mu opened his eyes, a hint of satisfaction flashing in them.

But then, he frowned slightly.

The Blood Refining Sect Master is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and there are three elders at the early Foundation Establishment stage. With his current strength, he would still find it somewhat difficult to confront them head-on.

Unless... we can go a step further.

Han Mu looked out the window, where the distant Green Bamboo Peak was shrouded in mist.

Perhaps it's time to go and take a look.