The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

"The Seven Kill Guards..." Ghost's face was deathly pale. "They are Wang Chan's most elite subordinates. The seven of them are skilled in combined attack formations and have even killed a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Elder Han, you all must leave quickly, don't worry about me!"

"We can't leave," Han Mu said calmly. He looked outside the formation; the Seven Kill Guards had dispersed, forming an encirclement. Twenty-three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were providing support from the outside, sealing off all escape routes.

"System, analyze the strength of the Seven Kill Guards and the weaknesses of their combined attack formation."

[Scanning in progress...]

[Target: Seven Kill Guardians (Mid-Foundation Establishment x7)]

【Combined Attack Formation: Seven Killings Formation (Tier 3)】

[Formation Effect: The spiritual power of the seven members is interconnected, their attack power is stacked, and their defense is shared]

[Weakness: The formation requires seven people to maintain; if even one is missing, it will break. The central figure is a one-eyed strongman (Sixth Level of Foundation Establishment); if the central figure is destroyed, the formation will collapse.]

[Best time to break the formation: Three breaths before the formation is activated, when spiritual energy is not fully integrated]

Three breaths! Han Mu's eyes narrowed. He looked at the four disciples beside him and transmitted his voice, "Listen to my command. When the formation is activated, the four of you will work together to attack the tall, thin man on the left rear. He is the weakest link in the formation. Don't hold back, strike with all your might, then retreat immediately and rejoin Elder Li."

"Elder Han, what about you?" a disciple asked.

"I have my own plans," Han Mu said. "Remember, you only have one chance. If you fail, scatter and escape immediately. Every person who can leave is a life saved."

"yes!"

Outside the formation, the one-eyed burly man grew impatient: "Attack! Break the formation, or kill without mercy!"

The Seven Kill Guards attacked simultaneously, seven streams of crimson spiritual energy soaring into the sky, intertwining in mid-air to form a massive crimson net that descended upon the Concealment Formation. This was the opening move of the Seven Kill Formation, "Heavenly Net," which, once trapped, would leave no escape for anyone within the formation.

"Now!" Han Mu shouted.

The four disciples attacked simultaneously, four sword lights flashing like lightning, aimed directly at the tall, thin man to the left rear. The tall, thin man was focused on maintaining the formation and was caught off guard, hastily conjuring a bone shield.

Boom! The bone shield shattered, the tall, thin man coughed up blood and flew backward, and the formation froze instantly. A flaw appeared in the blood-red net.

"Go!" Han Mu pushed the ghost towards the gap with a palm strike, and at the same time, he soared into the sky to meet the one-eyed strong man.

"Trying to run?" The one-eyed burly man roared, slashing down with his blood-red giant axe. This axe strike contained the full power of a sixth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator; the air itself was torn apart wherever the axe light passed.

Han Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but formed hand seals, instantly deploying the Five Elements Sword Formation. Five sword lights transformed into five-colored rainbows, directly clashing with the axe light.

Boom!

A terrifying shockwave swept outwards, uprooting the surrounding trees. Han Mu grunted and flew backwards, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. But he used the force to retreat, already standing beside the ghost.

"Stop them!" the one-eyed burly man roared.

The remaining six Seven Kill Guards charged forward frantically. But Han Mu was prepared. He took out a stack of talismans—the very ones he had previously looted from Black Wind Stronghold, including attack talismans and trapping talismans.

"burst!"

Dozens of talismans exploded simultaneously, unleashing a rain of fire, ice spikes, lightning, vines... various spells temporarily halted the pursuers. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Mu, along with Youhun and four disciples, broke through the encirclement and fled towards Li Huayuan's direction.

"Chase!" The one-eyed burly man was furious. Since the Seven Kill Guards rose to fame, they had never suffered such a great loss. Their formation had been broken by a few early Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they had even been injured.

However, Han Mu and his group moved very quickly, especially Han Mu. Despite carrying the wounded, his mastery of the Five Elements Escape Technique allowed him to traverse the forest with ease. The Seven Kill Guards, hindered by the talismans, were a fraction of a second slower, and the distance between them gradually increased.

"Elder Han, Elder Li's rendezvous point is three miles ahead," a disciple transmitted.

Han Mu nodded, but his vigilance remained. The Seven Kill Guards wouldn't give up so easily; they definitely had a backup plan.

Sure enough, after chasing for two miles, a blood-red light barrier suddenly rose up ahead, blocking their path. Runes flowed on the light barrier, revealing it to be a third-tier trapping formation, the "Blood Fiend Dragon Trapping Formation"!

"There's an ambush!" Han Mu's expression changed. He should have realized that since the Seven Kill Guards had set up an ambush here, there couldn't have been only one line of defense.

"System, scan for weaknesses in the formation."

[Scanning in progress...]

[Formation: Blood Fiend Dragon Trapping Formation (Mid-grade Tier 3)]

[Formation Deployer: Foundation Establishment Level 5 x 3]

[Weakness: The northeast corner of the formation is poorly protected due to hasty deployment]

Breaking the formation will take five breaths.

Five breaths! The Seven Kill Guards behind them have closed to within a hundred feet; they'll arrive in three breaths at most. Not enough time!

"The four of you, form the Four Symbols Defense Formation and hold off the pursuers for three breaths," Han Mu decisively ordered. "I'll go break the formation."

"But……"

"Execute the command!"

The four disciples gritted their teeth, turned around, and formed a battle formation. They knew this was a death order, but none of them flinched. Those who could enter the Outer Affairs Hall were all elites of Yellow Maple Valley, and they were already prepared to die.

Han Mu placed the ghost on the ground and then lunged towards the northeast corner of the formation. There, as expected, were three black-robed cultivators maintaining the formation. Seeing Han Mu charging towards them, they attacked simultaneously. Three crimson sword energies intertwined to form a net, blocking his path.

"Get out of my way!" Han Mu roared, condensing pure Yang true fire in his palm, transforming it into a golden pillar of fire that slammed into the sword energy net. Pure Yang true fire is specifically designed to counter blood evil, and the sword energy net hissed and quickly melted away.

"Pure Yang Technique!" The three black-robed cultivators were shocked and hurriedly changed their formation. But Han Mu was even faster, and the Five Elements Sword Formation was unleashed again, with five sword lights attacking the three of them.

puff!puff!puff!

Three heads flew off. Han Mu didn't even look, and slashed his sword at the array's core stone tablet. The stone tablet shattered, and the blood-red light curtain collapsed with a deafening roar.

The entire process took exactly three breaths.

"Go!" Han Mu turned around, only to see a scene that made his eyes widen in horror—the Four Symbols Formation formed by the four disciples had been broken, two of them lay on the ground, their fates unknown, while the other two, covered in blood, were still fighting to the death. The Seven Kill Guards had surrounded them, and the one-eyed strongman's giant axe was cleaving towards one of them.

"Stop!" Han Mu's eyes turned bloodshot, and he no longer cared about concealing his strength. His cultivation at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment erupted, and he appeared in front of the one-eyed strongman in an instant, throwing a punch.

This punch contained eighty percent of the spiritual power of the "Primordial Longevity Technique," and the space around it was slightly distorted wherever the fist's wind passed.

The one-eyed burly man's expression changed drastically; he hadn't expected Han Mu to be hiding such terrifying strength. In a haste, he swung his giant axe to block.

clang!

The giant axe was blasted away by a punch, the one-eyed strongman's tiger's mouth split open, and he was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing into three large trees before stopping, his sternum shattered and on the verge of death.

"You..." The remaining six Seven Kill Guards were stunned. They never expected that this guy, who seemed to be only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, was actually a great expert at the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

"Kill!" Han Mu's killing intent surged, and the Five Elements Sword Formation was unleashed at full power. This time, he held nothing back. Five sword lights, like swimming dragons, weaved through the six people. Wherever they passed, one person was killed.

Three breaths later, all six Seven Kill Guards collapsed to the ground, none alive. The twenty-three Qi Refining cultivators on the periphery were terrified and scattered in all directions.

Han Mu did not give chase; he hurriedly checked his disciples' injuries. Both were seriously injured, but still breathing. He took out healing pills and fed them to them, then used his spiritual power to protect their heart meridians.

"Elder Han..." The ghost struggled to get up, looking at the corpses all over the ground, his eyes filled with shock.

"This place is not safe to stay any longer," Han Mu said in a deep voice. He had revealed his true strength, and if the news got out, it would surely bring even greater trouble. They had to leave as soon as possible.

Just then, a whooshing sound came from afar. Li Huayuan arrived with his five disciples and gasped when he saw the horrific scene on the battlefield.

"Elder Han, this is..."

"We'll talk about it when we get back," Han Mu interrupted him. "Save the people first, then evacuate immediately."

Without delay, the group, carrying the wounded and the ghosts, returned to Yellow Maple Valley at full speed. Along the way, Han Mu kept pondering—their strength had been exposed; how should they proceed?

But he didn't regret it. If he hadn't intervened, those four disciples would have certainly died. On the path of cultivation, there are certain bottom lines that cannot be crossed.

"System, retrieve the current status."

[Host: Han Mu]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 8 (True) / Foundation Establishment Level 1 (Surface)]

[Status: Minor Injury (65% Spirit Power Consumption)]

[Exposure Risk: High (Seven Kill Guardian survivors may have already been contacted)]

[Mission: Escort the ghost back to Yellow Maple Valley (80% completion)]

Han Mu looked toward Huangfeng Valley with a determined gaze.

Let what's meant to come come.