The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

Outside the Bone Maze, five figures stood in mid-air, their auras powerful, the weakest being at the early stage of Core Formation. The white-bearded elder at the head was none other than Qingyun Zhenren, the sect leader of Huangfeng Valley, with a late-stage Core Formation cultivation. His blue Daoist robe fluttered without wind, and his gaze swept across the area below like lightning.

To his left was an old woman in red robes, an elder of the Hidden Moon Sect, in the mid-stage of Core Formation. To his right was a middle-aged man in black robes, an elder of the Spirit Beast Mountain, also in the mid-stage of Core Formation. There were two others: a white-browed old Taoist from the Pure Void Sect, in the early stage of Core Formation, and a one-armed swordsman from the Blade Transformation Valley, also in the early stage of Core Formation.

Five of the seven major sects have arrived, along with five Core Formation cultivators! This lineup is enough to sweep away any force in the Yue Kingdom.

"Yin Sha Ghost King, you are surrounded! Surrender now!" Master Qingyun's voice boomed like a bell, causing the entire White Bone Space to vibrate.

Inside the maze, a mad glint flashed in the eyes of the Yin Sha Ghost King, but it quickly suppressed it. It knew that a direct confrontation was futile; it had just suffered a backlash, its strength greatly diminished, and the Blood Sha Source Crystal was damaged, leaving the great formation with only 70% of its power. But it had the advantage of terrain and a backup plan.

"Old man Qingyun, you've arrived quickly." The Ghost King flew out of the maze, hovering in mid-air, confronting the five. "But do you think you five can defeat me? How laughable!"

"Mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, yet you dare to be so arrogant!" The old woman in red robes sneered, stomping her cane as a phantom of a fire phoenix flew out, rushing straight at the Ghost King.

The Ghost King neither dodged nor evaded, but instead spewed out a stream of black flames. The two flames collided, unleashing a piercing, corrosive sound. The phantom of the fire phoenix was gradually engulfed by the black flames.

"The Yin Sha Ghost Fire is indeed powerful." The old woman in the red robe's expression changed slightly.

"This ghost king is quite powerful, and the dense Yin energy here is advantageous to it," the middle-aged man in black robes said in a deep voice. "Let's attack together and finish this quickly!"

Just as the five were about to join forces, the Ghost King suddenly burst into laughter: "Trying to outnumber the weak? Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

With its hands clasped together, the Blood Fiend Source Crystal atop the Bone Palace suddenly shone brightly, and beams of blood-red light shot up from the ground, instantly forming a massive blood-red cage that trapped the five people inside.

"Not good, it's an array!" Master Qingyun exclaimed in alarm, summoning his azure flying sword and slashing at the cage. But the flying sword struck the blood-red pillar of light, only causing a ripple.

"It's useless." The Ghost King sneered. "This is the core cage of the Hundred Thousand Blood Fiend Array. Although damaged, it's more than enough to hold you for a while. Once I absorb your essence and blood, repair my source crystals, and break through to the Nascent Soul stage, your death will be imminent!"

As it spoke, it opened its mouth and inhaled, instantly filling the crimson cage with a thick blood mist. The five people's expressions changed drastically; this blood mist could corrode spiritual power and devour essence blood!

"Break through the formation with all your might!" Master Qingyun shouted, and the five of them used their respective methods to attack the cage frantically.

Inside the maze, Han Mu witnessed everything. He was anxious, but knew that rushing out now would be suicide. He had to find a way to break the deadlock.

"System, scan for weaknesses in the Crimson Cage."

[Scanning in progress...]

[Formation: Blood Fiend Dragon Trapping Formation (Tier 3, High Grade, Damaged)]

[Weakness: The array's southeast and northwest cores are weakened by 30% due to damage to the Blood Fiend Source Crystal.]

[Method to break the formation: Attack the core of the formation with pure Yang energy to break the formation]

Pure Yang power… Han Mu glanced at the dwindling Pure Yang True Fire in his dantian and smiled bitterly. He had almost exhausted his Pure Yang True Fire in order to destroy the Blood Fiend Source Crystal, and now only a wisp of flame remained, which needed time to recover.

But time waits for no one. Inside the cage, the five Core Formation cultivators, though powerful, were rapidly depleting their spiritual energy under the corrosive influence of the blood mist. The one-armed swordsman from the Blade Transformation Valley, in particular, with the lowest cultivation level, was already pale and clearly wouldn't last much longer.

"I have to do something." Han Mu gritted his teeth and took out the last few talismans from his storage bag—all of which he had previously searched from the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. There were attack talismans and support talismans.

He looked towards the array's core in the southeast direction. It was located at the edge of the maze, about a hundred feet from his hiding place. There were several lines of defense guarded by ghost spirits in the middle, but most of the guards had been transferred to maintain the cage, leaving the defenses weak.

"I'll risk it all!" Han Mu swallowed the last Spirit Recovery Pill, restoring thirty percent of his spiritual power. He tore off the Concealing Talisman and, with lightning speed, rushed towards the southeast array eye.

"Who goes there?!" Two guards at the early Foundation Establishment stage spotted him, but Han Mu was too fast. With a flash of sword light, their heads flew off.

"Enemy attack! Someone is trying to destroy the array's core!" a guard shouted from afar.

Ignoring the warning, Han Mu charged towards the core of the formation with all his might. It was a blood-red stone tablet, three zhang tall, covered with strange runes, which was continuously providing energy to the cage.

"Stop him!" Four Foundation Establishment stage guards rushed in from different directions.

Han Mu's eyes turned cold, and he formed hand seals, instantly setting up the Five Elements Sword Formation. Five sword lights attacked the four people, while he himself rushed towards the stone tablet.

"You're courting death!" A guard at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment blocked the way in front of the monument, raising a black shield.

Han Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but thrust out his sword. He used all his strength in this strike, unleashing the full power of his seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivation. The last wisp of pure Yang true fire condensed at the tip of the sword, transforming into a point of golden light.

laugh--

The black shield was pierced like paper, and the longsword passed right through his chest. The guard stared wide-eyed at Han Mu in disbelief. He couldn't understand until his death how the opponent, who clearly only possessed the aura of the first level of Foundation Establishment, could unleash such terrifying power.

Han Mu drew his sword and slammed his palm onto the stone tablet. Pure Yang True Fire surged in, and the stone tablet cracked with a "crack." The blood-red cage trembled violently, and the pillar of light in the southeast corner dimmed noticeably.

"It works!" Han Mu was overjoyed and turned to charge towards the northwest array eye.

"Damn it!" The Ghost King roared in fury. It hadn't expected Han Mu to still be alive, let alone that he could destroy the array's core. It wanted to take action itself, but was held back by the five members of the Azure Cloud True Person group—the cage loosened, and the five's attacks became even more frenzied.

Han Mu charged toward the northwest array's core, encountering three more guards along the way, but he killed them all. At this moment, he no longer concealed his strength, revealing his Foundation Establishment Level 7 cultivation level. His swordsmanship was fierce and invincible.

The northwest array eye is also a stone tablet, but there are more guards here, six in total, two of whom are in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"System, deduce the best breakthrough route."

[Driving simulation in progress...]

[Route 1: Aggressive attack, 40% success rate, high resource consumption]

[Route Two: Feint Attack in the East, Success Rate 60%]

[Route 3: Use talismans to create chaos and sabotage in the confusion; success rate 70%]

Han Mu chose the third option. He took out all his attack talismans—five Tier 3 "Fire Rain Talismans" and three Tier 3 "Lightning Strike Talismans"—and threw them at the guard.

Boom boom boom!

The talisman exploded, raining fire and flashing lightning. Caught off guard, the guards were thrown into chaos. Han Mu seized the opportunity to rush through and slashed the stone tablet with his sword.

The stone tablet cracked, the blood-red cage shook violently, and the beam of light flickered.

"Break!" Master Qingyun roared, and the five of them combined their strength for a single strike. The cage shattered with a deafening crash!

"Ah—" The Ghost King suffered a backlash, spitting out a mouthful of black blood. It glared venomously at Han Mu, then turned and fled.

"Where do you think you're going!" Master Qingyun and his four companions gave chase.

Han Mu breathed a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. His spiritual energy was exhausted, his injuries were severe, and the poison on his left shoulder was beginning to spread. He took out an antidote pill, swallowed it, and circulated his internal energy to expel the poison.

"Young friend, are you alright?" a gentle voice asked.

Han Mu looked up and saw the white-browed old Taoist priest from the Qingxu Sect. He hadn't gone after the Ghost King, but had stayed to look after Han Mu.

"I am fine, thank you for your concern, senior." Han Mu bowed "reluctantly".

"No need for formalities." The white-browed old Taoist carefully examined Han Mu, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. "A Foundation Establishment Level 1 cultivator, yet he managed to destroy the array's core and kill so many guards... Young friend, you are no ordinary person."

"It was just luck," Han Mu said "modestly."

"Regardless, you have rendered a great service." The white-browed old Taoist said solemnly, "If it weren't for you destroying the array's core, the five of us would have been in grave danger. Once this matter is resolved, the Qingxu Sect will surely reward you handsomely."

"You flatter me, senior. This is what I should do."

As the two were talking, a deafening roar came from afar. Master Qingyun and his three companions had surrounded the Ghost King, and a fierce battle was raging.

"System, retrieve the current status."

[Host: Han Mu]

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

[Spiritual Power: 12% (Recovering)]

[Injury: Poisoning (left shoulder), internal organ concussion]

[Pure Yang True Fire: Seed (Requires nurturing)]

[Mission: Assist the Seven Major Sects in eliminating the Yin Sha Ghost King (In Progress)]

Han Mu looked towards the battlefield. There, the Ghost King was in dire straits, but the madness in his eyes remained undiminished.

He knew that the battle was not over yet.