The Longevity Family: Starting from the Foundation Establishment Ancestor

To the northeast of the Crimson Forbidden Land, on a scorched earth, the battle continues.

Master Qingyun, wielding the Qingyun Sword, its light shone like a rainbow, each strike imbued with pure Daoist essence, as he clashed with a blood-red phantom. Liu Yueru, Qingxuzi, and Tiezhan fought fiercely against three controlled Core Formation cultivators, while Master Jinpeng, along with Li Hai of the Yuling Sect and Elder Duan of Huadaowu, joined forces to deal with another Core Formation cultivator.

"This demonic soul is incredibly strange!" Master Qingyun grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed. The blood-red phantom—that is, the Blood Moon Demon Lord's divided soul—was only at the early Nascent Soul stage in terms of strength, but its methods were extremely cunning. It could manipulate blood and evil energy to condense various attacks, and it could also erode the cultivator's soul. A slight mistake could lead to certain death.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyun, this can't go on!" Qingxuzi shouted. The clear light in his Bagua Mirror had some restraint on demonic souls, but the effect was limited. The three Core Formation cultivators who were being controlled were even more fearless, and their strategy of trading blows for blows made them feel restricted.

"Concentrate your forces and take care of one of them!" Tie Zhan roared, slashing out with his giant sword, knocking one of the Core Formation cultivators back three steps. The cultivator had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, but he seemed oblivious, instead charging forward even more frantically.

Just then, several five-colored beams of light suddenly shot into the sky from afar. Wherever the beams of light passed, the surrounding bloodthirsty aura quickly dissipated, and the air became clear.

"This is..." Liu Yueru's beautiful eyes lit up, "It's the Minor Five Elements Evil-Breaking Array! Someone set up the array outside!"

"It must be Han Mu and the others!" Master Qingyun's spirits lifted. "The formation is weakening the Blood Fiend Formation, and the power of this demonic soul is also diminishing!"

Sure enough, as more and more five-colored beams of light appeared, the Blood Moon Demon Soul's aura began to become unstable. It let out an angry roar, and its phantom became thinner.

"Insects... ruining my plans..." The demonic soul's voice was hoarse and grating. It suddenly abandoned its attack on Qingyun Zhenren, transformed into a streak of blood-red light, and rushed toward the direction where the five-colored light pillars were most concentrated.

"Oh no! It's heading towards Han Mu's side!" Master Qingyun exclaimed in alarm. "Stop it!"

But the demonic soul was incredibly fast and had no physical form. It passed through the crowd's obstruction and vanished into the blood-red mist in the blink of an eye. The three Core Formation cultivators who had been controlled also suddenly stopped attacking, the bloodshot in their eyes faded, and they collapsed limply to the ground—the demonic soul had withdrawn its power to control them.

"Chase!" Without hesitation, Master Qingyun transformed into a streak of azure light and gave chase. Liu Yueru and the others followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, on Han Mu's side...

"The sixth node is complete!" Han Yunge wiped the sweat from her forehead, a smile spreading across her face. Under Han Mu's guidance, they had successfully set up six minor Five Elements Evil-Breaking Array nodes, forming a purification zone covering several miles. Within this area, the concentration of blood evil had decreased by 80%, and ordinary cultivators could now breathe normally.

Han Li, Wang Lin, and the others were also recuperating. With the protection of the formation, they were finally able to catch their breath.

"Grandpa, what should we do next?" Han Yunge asked Han Mu.

Han Mu gazed into the depths of the forbidden area, his brows furrowing slightly. He detected through the system that the Blood Moon Demon Soul was rapidly approaching, and the Blood Fiend Array was exhibiting abnormal fluctuations in its operation.

"System, analyze the current status of the Blood Fiend Formation."

[Analysis in progress...]

[Blood Fiend Sealing Array: Core node one (White Bone Forest) destroyed, overall power reduced by 35%]

[Blood Moon Demon Lord's Soul Awakening Progress: 41%]

[Warning: The split soul is absorbing the remaining blood essence, preparing to forcibly break through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm]

[Estimated breakthrough time: one incense stick's time]

Mid-Nascent Soul stage! Han Mu's eyes narrowed. Their current split soul was at the early Nascent Soul stage, which they could barely handle. But once it broke through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, coupled with the Blood Fiend Formation's enhancement, everyone present combined wouldn't be a match for it.

"We must stop it from breaking through," Han Mu said in a deep voice. "Yun Ge, you lead them to continue setting up the formation. The purification effect of the formation can interfere with its absorption of the blood demon power. I'll go and deal with this demonic soul."

"Grandpa, it's too dangerous!" Han Yunge exclaimed anxiously. Although Han Mu had defeated Wang Chan earlier, it was only by temporarily boosting his cultivation through a secret technique. Now, with the backlash of that technique, Han Mu's true combat strength was probably less than 70% of his usual level.

"It's alright, I know what I'm doing." Han Mu waved his hand, about to leave, when suddenly his expression changed and he looked eastward.

A streak of crimson light shot through the air, arriving in an instant and stopping above the group, transforming into a blurry crimson phantom. The phantom was about three zhang tall, its face indistinct, with only a pair of blood-red eyes radiating a chilling and eerie aura.

"Nascent Soul stage... Demonic Soul!" Chen Feng's voice trembled. The pressure of a Core Formation cultivator was already suffocating them, but the mere aura of a Nascent Soul stage demonic soul made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

Han Li's expression was also solemn, his hand gripping the last few life-saving talismans tightly. Faced with a Nascent Soul cultivator, any Qi Refining stage technique seemed pale and powerless.

"Pure Yang...delicious..." The Blood Moon Demon Soul's blood-red eyes stared intently at Han Mu, uttering a greedy whisper. It could sense that this pseudo-Core Formation cultivator contained pure Yang energy, which was a great tonic for it.

Han Mu stepped forward, shielding Han Yunge and the others behind him. He knew that the demonic soul's true target was him—or more precisely, the pure Yang true fire within his body.

"System, assess the current combat strength comparison."

[Combat Strength Assessment:]

[Blood Moon Demon Soul: Peak early Nascent Soul stage (currently breaking through), combat power equivalent to mid-Nascent Soul stage]

[Host: True cultivation level is mid-stage Core Formation, apparent cultivation level is early-stage Pseudo-Core Formation, current state is 70%, combat strength is equivalent to mid-stage Core Formation]

Win rate: 3% (head-on confrontation)

[Suggestion: Delay the attack until Master Qingyun and the others arrive, then join forces to fight the enemy.]

To buy time. Han Mu took a deep breath, made hand seals, and twenty-five flying swords reappeared, forming a sword array in front of him.

"Insects... resist..." The Blood Moon Demon Soul disdainfully raised its hand and grabbed. A blood-red giant claw, hundreds of feet in size, appeared out of thin air and slashed down at Han Mu's head. This claw carried the terrifying power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the space around it was slightly distorted.

"The Five Elements Cycle, Control!"

Han Mu activated the sword formation with all his might, and the twenty-five flying swords spun rapidly, forming a five-colored light screen that blocked the blood-red giant claw. At the same time, he secretly activated the Pure Yang True Fire, coating the light screen with a layer of golden flames.

boom!

The crimson giant claw slammed into the light barrier, causing it to tremble violently and crack, but ultimately it held firm. The pure Yang True Fire and the bloodthirsty power collided fiercely, producing a series of hissing sounds.

"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed in the Blood Moon Demon Soul's eyes. A mere Pseudo-Core Formation cultivator could actually block its attack? Although it only used half its power, it was still more than a Pseudo-Core Formation cultivator could withstand.

"Pure Yang...not bad..." The greed in the demon soul's eyes intensified, and it raised its hand again. This time, two blood-red giant claws slammed down at the same time.

Han Mu's face paled, knowing he couldn't hold out this time. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and endure it, suddenly, three streaks of light rushed towards him from afar.

"Don't be so arrogant, you devil!"

The voice of Master Qingyun rang out, and the Qingyun Sword transformed into a hundred-zhang-long sword light, slashing towards a blood-red giant claw. Liu Yueru's Moonlight Sword Qi and Qingxuzi's Bagua Clear Light also attacked the other giant claw at the same time.

Boom! Boom!

The two blood-red giant claws were shattered by the combined efforts of the three Nascent Soul cultivators, turning into a rain of blood.

"Sect Leader Qingyun!" Han Yunge and the others exclaimed in surprise.

Master Qingyun landed beside Han Mu, glanced at him with worry in his eyes, but didn't ask any further questions. He simply said in a deep voice, "Elder Han, are you alright?"

"It's alright." Han Mu shook his head, relieved. With the arrival of the three Nascent Soul cultivators, the situation was much better.

Liu Yueru, Qingxuzi, and Tiezhan also landed one after another, confronting the Blood Moon Demon Soul. Jinpeng Zhenren, Li Hai, and Elder Duan went to check on the three unconscious Core Formation cultivators.

"Three Nascent Soul cultivators... mere ants..." Although the Blood Moon Demon Soul said this, its aura became noticeably heavier. It was still at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, and facing three Nascent Soul cultivators at the same time, it was not confident of victory.

"Demon, prepare to die!" Tie Zhan, the most impatient of them all, brandished his greatsword and charged forward.

"Wait a minute." Master Qingyun stopped him and said to Han Mu, "Elder Han, your formation can weaken the blood demon, could you expand its range to trap this demonic soul?"

"Yes, but it will take time," Han Mu said. "And we need the seniors to restrain it and prevent it from destroying the array base."

"Alright, we'll buy you some time!" Master Qingyun nodded and said to Liu Yueru and Qingxuzi, "Fellow Daoists, let's join forces to trap it!"

The three Nascent Soul cultivators attacked simultaneously, their Azure Cloud Sword, Moonlight Sword Qi, and Eight Trigrams Clear Light weaving into a net that enveloped the Blood Moon Demon Soul. The demon soul roared repeatedly, its bloodthirsty aura surging wildly as it clashed with the three Nascent Soul cultivators.

Han Mu no longer hesitated and said to Han Yunge and the others, "Quickly, set up the 'Great Five Elements Evil-Breaking Array'! Based on the six nodes, expand the range to cover this area!"

Han Yunge, Han Li, and the others immediately sprang into action. With three Nascent Soul cultivators restraining the demonic soul, they could safely set up the formation. Under Han Mu's command, new array flags were quickly deployed, connecting with the previous six nodes to form a massive array covering ten miles.

The moment the formation was completed, a five-colored pillar of light shot into the sky, turning the heavens a kaleidoscope of colors. The bloodthirsty aura within the area melted away like ice and snow, rapidly dissipating. The aura of the Blood Moon Demon Soul weakened at a visible rate, plummeting from the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage to the early Nascent Soul stage, and continuing to decline.

"No—!" The demonic soul roared in unwilling anger, sensing that its chance to break through was slipping away. If things continued like this, not only would it be unable to break through, but it would also lose its current cultivation level.

"Now!" Master Qingyun shouted, as the three Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously unleashed their strongest attacks.

However, at this critical moment, an unexpected change occurred.

Deep within the forbidden area, from the ruins of the once-destroyed altar, a crimson beam of light suddenly shot forth, piercing the sky. From within the beam, a deep and majestic voice resounded:

"Useless! You can't even handle this simple task."

Within the crimson pillar of light, a blood-red figure, ten times more solid than the Blood Moon Demon Soul, slowly emerged. The figure wore a blood-red crown and robe, its face blurred, but the aura it exuded was unmistakably that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

"I... have descended..." The Blood Moon Demon Soul was both surprised and delighted.

Master Qingyun and the others' expressions changed drastically.

Late Nascent Soul stage! How can we possibly fight this?

Suddenly, an urgent alarm sounded in Han Mu's mind from the system.

【warn!warn! 】

[A Nascent Soul level will has been detected!]

[The Blood Moon Demon Lord's true will has descended through the Soul Split Channel!]

[Danger Level: Extremely High!]

[Recommendation: Evacuate immediately!]

The greatest crisis for the Crimson Forbidden Land has finally arrived.