The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

In the forest of bones, the battle has reached a fever pitch.

Han Mu's Five Elements Sword Formation clashed repeatedly with Wang Chan's Blood Fiend Demon Blade, unleashing a series of booming sounds. Han Mu appeared to be at a disadvantage, blood trickling from his lips and his clothes torn, but his eyes remained calm. He was waiting, waiting for an opportunity.

"System, monitor the status of the core node of the Blood Fiend Sealing Demon Formation," Han Mu asked in his mind while fending off Wang Chan's fierce attacks.

[Monitoring in progress...]

[Core Node of the Blood Fiend Sealing Array: Damage 12%]

[Blood Moon Demon Lord's Soul Awakening Progress: 34%]

[Warning: The awakening speed of the split soul is accelerating, and it is expected to reach 50% in about an incense stick's time, at which point it will possess preliminary combat capabilities.]

One incense stick's time. Han Mu's eyes narrowed. He had to end the battle within one incense stick's time, or at least severely injure Wang Chan so that he could no longer preside over the formation.

"Han Mu, how much longer can you hold out?" Wang Chan sneered, his Blood Fiend Demon Blade transforming into countless blade shadows, each strike carrying the terrifying power of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. "A fake core is still a fake core; its spiritual energy reserves are far inferior to those of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Once your spiritual energy is exhausted, I will extract your soul and refine it into a Blood Fiend Puppet, ensuring you are never reincarnated!"

Han Mu didn't answer, but silently calculated. His true cultivation level was mid-stage Core Formation, but he only showed early-stage False Core on the surface, so he had to control the output of his spiritual power so that Wang Chan wouldn't see through his disguise. This was also the reason why he had been "fighting hard."

But now, there isn't enough time.

"Looks like I'll have to take a risk," Han Mu muttered to himself. He took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations.

"The Five Elements reverse, the sword formation returns to one!"

The twenty-five flying swords suddenly retracted and merged into one in front of Han Mu, transforming into a giant five-colored sword. The giant sword was three zhang long, with five elements of runes flowing on its surface, emanating a terrifying aura.

"Hmm?" Wang Chan's pupils contracted; he sensed a threat emanating from the giant sword. This shouldn't be the case. How could a pseudo-Core Formation cultivator possibly unleash a spell capable of threatening a Nascent Soul cultivator?

But before he could think any further, Han Mu had already made his move.

"cut!"

The five-colored giant sword, carrying an aura capable of tearing apart heaven and earth, slashed towards Wang Chan. Before the sword even arrived, its intent had already locked onto the space around Wang Chan, leaving him with no way to dodge.

"Blood Fiend Protection!" Wang Chan roared, his body surging with crimson light, transforming into a thick layer of blood armor. At the same time, he bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence onto the Blood Fiend Demon Blade. The demon blade blazed with even greater crimson light, meeting the five-colored giant sword head-on.

boom--

This collision was far more violent than any before. The entire Bone Forest trembled under the shockwave, and countless bones turned to dust. The altar cracked open with a loud "crack." The cracks on the array plate widened, and the blood-red light dimmed somewhat.

As the smoke cleared, Han Mu knelt on one knee, coughing up blood. The five-colored giant sword had shattered, transforming back into twenty-five dim flying swords. Wang Chan was in no better shape; his blood armor was shattered, and a deep, bone-revealing wound gushed from his chest.

"You...you actually injured me!" Wang Chan was both shocked and furious. He, a dignified mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, had actually been injured by a pseudo-Core Formation cultivator—this was an utter disgrace!

But what alarmed him even more was that Han Mu's sword strike actually exacerbated the damage to the altar and the array plate. The array plate was one of the core nodes of the Blood Fiend Sealing Demon Array; once destroyed, the operation of the entire array would be affected.

"No, we can't let him continue attacking the array plate." Wang Chan's eyes were sinister. He held back no longer, forming hand seals and chanting obscure incantations.

As the incantation resounded, the bloodthirsty energy beneath the altar surged forth and poured into Wang Chan's body. His aura began to surge, climbing from the mid-Nascent Soul stage all the way to the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and even faintly touching the threshold of the late-Nascent Soul stage.

"Blood Fiend Fusion Technique!" Wang Chan roared, his entire body enveloped in blood-red light, swelling to three zhang tall and transforming into a blood-red giant. This was a forbidden secret technique of the Blood Fiend Sect, which allowed one to gain immense power for a short time by burning one's essence blood, but the price was a significant loss of cultivation afterward, and one might even fall from their cultivation level.

But Wang Chan couldn't worry about that now. Han Mu posed too great a threat, and the array plate was damaged. If they didn't finish the battle quickly, and the Blood Moon Demon Lord's soul fragmentation was interrupted, he wouldn't be able to explain it to his sect when he returned.

"Han Mu, forcing me to use this technique, your death is worthwhile!" Wang Chan's voice became hoarse, like metal scraping against metal. He took a step forward, the ground exploded, and a giant blood-red palm slammed towards Han Mu, the space itself slightly distorting where the palm wind passed.

This palm strike has already reached the power of the late Nascent Soul stage!

Han Mu's expression turned grave. He knew he could no longer hide it. With his pseudo-core cultivation, he simply couldn't withstand this palm strike.

"System, temporarily remove one layer of the seal and raise your cultivation to the early stage of Core Formation," Han Mu silently prayed.

[Received. Temporarily remove one layer of seal, cultivation level raised to early Core Formation stage, duration one incense stick's time, consuming 1000 clan contribution points.]

A powerful aura erupted from Han Mu's body. His cultivation, originally at the early stage of the False Core realm, instantly broke through to the early stage of the Core Formation realm. Although it was only a small advancement, the difference between the Core Formation and False Core realms was qualitative. Core Formation cultivators had already condensed a golden core, and the quality and quantity of their spiritual power far surpassed those of False Core cultivators.

"What?!" Wang Chan exclaimed in shock. He sensed Han Mu's aura suddenly surge, climbing from the early stage of Pseudo-Core Formation all the way to the early stage of Core Formation. How could this be? A breakthrough during battle? And a major breakthrough from Pseudo-Core Formation?

But there was no time for him to think. Han Mu had already made his move.

"Pure Yang True Fire, scorching the heavens and boiling the seas!"

Han Mu pushed forward with both hands, unleashing the full power of the Pure Yang True Fire within his dantian. This time, it was no longer the previous fire lotus, but a golden sea of ​​fire. The sea of ​​fire surged, bathing the entire White Bone Forest in gold. The terrifying power of Pure Yang swept in all directions, melting away the bloodthirsty aura like ice and snow wherever it passed.

Wang Chan's blood-red giant palm collided with the golden sea of ​​fire, emitting a hissing, corrosive sound. The bloodthirsty aura, facing the pure Yang true fire, was like encountering its nemesis, quickly dissipating. In less than three breaths, the blood-red giant palm was completely incinerated.

"No!!" Wang Chan cried out in terror. He felt that his Blood Fiend Fusion Technique was being suppressed by the Pure Yang True Fire, and the Blood Fiend power within his body was rapidly dissipating.

Han Mu pressed his advantage relentlessly, appearing behind Wang Chan in a flash and striking Wang Chan in the back with a finger.

"Pure Yang Finger!"

puff-

The pure Yang finger force penetrated his body, shattering Wang Chan's protective blood-red aura as easily as paper. He screamed in agony as he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the altar.

Boom!

The altar, already riddled with cracks, collapsed completely under the impact. The array plate shattered into several pieces with a "crack." The crimson pillar of light connecting to the core of the Blood Fiend Sealing Array dimmed instantly.

"The array plate... is shattered..." Wang Chan spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with despair. With the array plate shattered, the core node of the Blood Fiend Sealing Demon Array was destroyed, affecting the operation of the entire array. The awakening of the Blood Moon Demon Lord's divided soul would also be interrupted.

"Han Mu, I'll remember you!" Wang Chan glared at Han Mu with resentment, then gritted her teeth and crushed a blood-red jade talisman. The talisman exploded, transforming into a cloud of blood mist that enveloped him. The blood mist writhed, space distorted, and Wang Chan's figure rapidly faded.

"Blood Escape Talisman?" Han Mu frowned. The Blood Escape Talisman is a life-saving talisman of the Blood Fiend Sect. It allows one to escape by burning their life essence, making them extremely fast, but at a huge cost. In Wang Chan's current state, using the Blood Escape Talisman would cause him to drop at least one minor cultivation level, and he would be unable to recover for at least ten years.

He wanted to stop him, but once the Blood Escape Talisman was activated, it was difficult to interrupt. Moreover, with his current "early stage Core Formation" cultivation, he couldn't stop a Nascent Soul cultivator from desperately escaping.

The blood mist completely dissipated, and Wang Chan's figure vanished, leaving only a pool of blood and a broken altar.

Han Mu stood there, only letting out a sigh of relief when he sensed that Wang Chan's aura had completely vanished. He could actually have kept Wang Chan there; if he had revealed his true cultivation level, the mid-Nascent Soul cultivator would have had no chance of escaping. But he couldn't reveal it, at least not now.

"System, retrieve the current status."

[Host: Han Mu]

[Surface Cultivation Level: Early Stage of Core Formation (Temporary, half an incense stick's time remaining)]

[Actual Cultivation Level: Mid-stage Core Formation]

[Spiritual Power: 42% (High Consumption)]

[Injury: Minor injury (internal organ concussion)]

[Family Contribution Points: 8900 points remaining]

The cost was considerable, but worthwhile. Han Mu looked at the shattered altar; the array plate was destroyed, and this core node was essentially ruined. The power of the Blood Fiend Sealing Array would be weakened by at least 30%.

"Next, it's time to go find Yun Ge and the others." Han Mu determined the direction and headed towards Han Yun Ge's location.

Shortly after he left, a faint wisp of blood-red light emerged from the ruins of the altar, transforming into a blurry, blood-red phantom. The phantom gazed in the direction Han Mu had departed and let out a silent roar.

"You ruined my plans...you ant...wait until I wake up...I'll make sure your soul is annihilated..."

The crimson phantom slowly dissipated and merged into the ground.

Deep within the forbidden area, the awakening rate of the Blood Moon Demon Lord's divided soul stopped at 39%.