"Rest assured, the ceremony will be arranged tonight," the white-robed man said.
"Looks like we'll have to do that. By the way, what are we going to tell that Senior Han? According to Yu'er, he seems to have some kind of connection with our matriarch, and delivered her blood soul back to us, so he most likely doesn't harbor any ill will toward our Xu Family," Xu Huo analyzed.
"Indeed. This Senior Han has only just reached the Body Integration Stage, but he seems to be quite powerful and is very knowledgeable in ancient formations; perhaps he can become a powerful backer for our Xu Family in the future. We have to convince him to stay for a few days no matter what. After we awaken the blood soul through the ceremony, we'll have to find a way to befriend him," Xu Jiao decided after a brief pause for contemplation.
"Alright, then I'll go and make some preparations." Xu Huo nodded before turning to depart on his own.
However, the white-robed man faltered momentarily before stopping him. "Wait, I'll come out with you as a show of our sincerity."
Xu Huo thought about this for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That would be good. We certainly can't be too careful in our treatment of a Body Integration Stage being."
Thus, Xu Jiao carefully packed up the jade box containing the small red vial before exiting the secret chamber with Xu Huo.
Around two hours later, Han Li found himself seated atop a futon on the top floor of an extremely lavish and intricate pavilion. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he was rather bemused by this situation.
He had originally intended to leave the Xu Family after delivering the two items, but Xu Jiao had been extremely hospitable and insisted on asking him to stay for some time. Seeing as he was still determined to leave, he had even implied to Han Li that the items contained potential leads pertaining to Fairy Ice Soul's whereabouts, and that her current location could be revealed if he were to stay for a few more days.
This made Han Li rather hesitant. It was naturally impossible to say that he didn't care about Fairy Ice Soul at all.
Regardless of whether it was the Celestial Blue flames he had absorbed, his risky venture into the Heavenvoid Palace, the Heavenvoid Cauldron he had obtained, or his run-in with the North Night Palace in the Great Jin, all of this had something to do with Fairy Ice Soul.
As such, there were a few questions surrounding Fairy Ice Soul in his heart that he also really wanted to have answered. Thus, he certainly wouldn't mind staying for half a month or so if it meant that those mysteries could be resolved.
After all, with his current powers, he didn't have to worry that the Xu Family would try to plot against him. Aside from the legendary Grand Ascension cultivators, no one in the human and demon races could pose a threat to him.
Seeing as Xu Jiao and the other Xu Family cultivators were so eager to keep him, he decided to comply in the end.
However, he had decided that he would stay at the Xu Family for a month at most. If no news of Fairy Ice Soul arose even after a month had passed, then he would still leave anyway.
Of course, even if he did receive news of Fairy Ice Soul's whereabouts, it was still yet to be decided what he was going to do and whether he was going to spend the time to find her. Everything would have to depend on the information that comes to light.
All of a sudden, Han Li raised a hand, and spiritual light flashed, upon which a silver talisman appeared over his palm.
This talisman was none other than one of the True Immortal Realm talismans he had obtained from the ruins in the Vast Glacial Realm.
He still didn't have the ingredients required to refine the Body Integration Stage pills he desired, so he wasn't in a hurry to cultivate. Instead, he had focused most of his attention on studying these talismans.
These talismans were completely spent and devoid of spiritual power, but they were all written in beveled silver text, so they would naturally correspond greatly with the pages of the Golden Jade Tome that he had obtained in the past.
As such, studying them had proved to be very enlightening to Han Li, and he was even beginning to comprehend the Heavenly Halberd Talisman, which he had never managed to make any progress on in the past.
This talisman was the final beveled silver text talisman on that incomplete page of the Golden Jade Tome, and it was also the only offensive talisman on that incomplete page.
Setting aside how powerful the talisman was, just its complexity was far more extreme than other beveled silver text talismans like the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman.
Even though Han Li had progressed to the Body Integration Stage and had attained some insight regarding the laws of heaven and earth, he was still unable to completely comprehend this talisman, and that suggested that it was definitely something to look forward to.
Han Li stared intently at the silver talisman in his hand while constantly scribbling something in the air with the index finger of his other hand.
Most of the time, nothing resulted from this, but occasionally, a few silver runes of different sizes would emerge from his fingertip. These runes would either instantly explode, or linger in the air and shimmer erratically for a while before dissipating, creating quite a mystical sight to behold.
Time passed by slowly, and several pristine full moons soon appeared in the night sky over the mountain range that the Xu Family was situated on.
Han Li was still constantly scribbling with his finger when a peculiar look suddenly appeared on his face.
In the next instant, he rose to his feet before arriving in front of the window in a flash, then cast his gaze toward a certain mountain in the distance with a puzzled look in his eyes.
"What's going on? These restriction fluctuations are so strange. They're like..." All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to him, and he raised his head to look upward, only to be greeted by quite a startling sight.
The pristine white moons up above had turned into a crimson color, and presented a very unsettling sight to behold.
Han Li exhaled as he withdrew his gaze, then turned his attention toward the same mountain, scrutinizing it through narrowed eyes.
Blue light flashed incessantly within his pupils, and under the effect of his spirit eye ability, he was able to identify that a layer of crimson light had appeared over the seemingly ordinary mountain.
This crimson light surrounded the mountain and expanded and contracted in an erratic manner. The fluctuations that had alerted him were coming directly from that mountain.
He could clearly see that a certain type of profound restriction had already been set up around the mountain. However, that crimson light was truly quite abnormal, and there was some spiritual pressure that could puncture directly through the restriction.
Only after a long while did the blue light vanish from within his eyes, and a contemplative look appeared on his face as he murmured to himself, "Could it be that the Xu Family is holding some kind of blood sacrificial ceremony? But why would they choose to do this when an outsider is present? Could this have something to do with the items I passed on to them today?"
As intelligent as he was, he was able to roughly guess the truth after some quick deliberation.
Chapter 1778: Ancestral Shrine of the Xu Family
After determining a plausible reason behind this occurrence, Han Li's expression reverted back to normal as he continued to appraise the mountain in the distance.
A short while later, the restrictions in the distance finally vanished, and he left the window with a contemplative look on his face, then sat back down onto the futon before closing his eyes.
During the next few days, aside from Xu Qianyu's mandatory daily courtesy visits, none of the other members of the Xu Family came to disturb him.
However, from the hint of concern that was constantly in her eyes, it seemed that what the Xu Family had been doing hadn't progressed very smoothly.
Sure enough, the same fluctuations would erupt from that mountain every single night, and during Xu Qianyu's next fe
w mandatory daily visits, Han Li could tell that she wanted to say something to him, but always decided against it.
Han Li didn't display any reaction to this, but none of it had escaped his detection.
On the fifth morning, Han Li was in the process of inspecting his talisman when his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he abruptly flipped his hand over, upon which the talisman vanished in a flash.
He could clearly sense that Xu Qianyu wasn't the only one who had come to visit him this morning; she had also been accompanied by Xu Jiao and another man who was unfamiliar to him.
This man possessed a very powerful aura and was a late-Spatial Tempering cultivator.
A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes. Who would've thought that there would be such a powerful cultivator in the Xu Family? They sure had hidden him quite well.
Just as these thoughts were running through Han Li's mind, Xu Jiao's respectful voice rang out from down below.
"Junior Xu Jiao pays his respects to Senior Han. May I have the honor of being granted an audience with you?"
"Of course. There's no need to be so polite and formal, Fellow Daoist Xu; please wait in the hall for a moment, and I'll come down right away," Han Li replied before rising to his feet and making his way downstairs.
Moments later, Han Li appeared in the hall on the first floor, and he immediately turned his attention toward the late-Spatial Tempering cultivator whom he was unfamiliar with.
The one standing next to Xu Jiao was a young man in a set of slightly worn-out grey robes. He appeared to only be around 27 to 28 years of age, and he was also appraising Han Li with a respectful smile.
Upon closer inspection, Han Li could see that this man bore a resemblance to Xu Jiao, and judging from outward appearances alone, he looked like a junior of Xu Jiao's.
Xu Jiao immediately extended a bow toward Han Li before making an introduction. "Senior Han, this is the grand elder of our Xu Family, Xu Yuan. He had reached a critical juncture in his cultivation a few days ago, so he was unable to come out of seclusion to greet you."
"Grand elder, eh? I can see that Fellow Daoist Xu Yuan has already reached the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage and can most likely attempt a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage at any time now. Should you succeed, you and I will be equals," Han Li said with a smile as he examined the young man.
"Your discerning eye is truly unmatched, Senior. However, my chances of making a successful breakthrough are very slim," the young man sighed after also extending a respectful bow toward Han Li.
Han Li smiled upon hearing this, but didn't say anything in response. He sat down in the main seat, then motioned for everyone else to take a seat as well.
Xu Jiao and the others immediately expressed their gratitude before taking a seat on either side of Han Li.
"Have you decided to pay me a visit because you'd discovered news about Fairy Ice Soul, Family Leader Xu?" Han Li cut straight to the chase.
Xu Jiao was surprised by how straightforward Han Li was, and his lips twitched as a wry smile appeared on his face.
"If you had asked me this yesterday, then I wouldn't have been able to give you a conclusive answer, but I did indeed come to visit you for this matter, and I have a favor to ask of you."
"A favor?" Han Li raised an eyebrow in a slightly surprised manner.
"Truth be told, the two items that you passed on to us will indeed allow us to track down Fairy Ice Soul, but our powers are insufficient to make use of those items, and we'll require your power as well, Senior," Xu Jiao explained in a concise manner.
"Indeed. All three of our Xu Family's Spatial Tempering cultivators have made attempts, but ultimately failed as our magic power was lacking. Hence, we can only request for your help, Senior," Xu Yuan chimed in with a serious look on his face.
"I see. Would you two be able to explain the situation in greater detail first?" Han Li asked in a calm manner. With his current status and powers, he naturally wasn't going to be making any quick promises.
"Of course. Even if you hadn't asked, I would've disclosed the nature of the situation."
Xu Jiao paused momentarily to gather his thoughts, then continued, "It's actually not all that complex. Have you heard of the Great Blood Soul Technique, Senior?"
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly before he quickly recalled the relevant information, and his expression changed slightly as he said, "Great Blood Soul Technique? It does sound rather familiar. Hmm? Could this be the very same Great Blood Soul Technique that was cultivated by that Daoist Master Blood Crystal tens of thousands of years ago?"
"As expected, you really have heard of this cultivation art. This Daoist Master Blood Crystal was an extremely rare prodigy among our human race. Not only did he invent this Great Blood Soul Technique, he had even used it to slay foreign beings of the same cultivation base as him in the past. Truth be told, Daoist Master Blood Crystal has long since perished, but Fairy Ice Soul discovered what he had left behind many years ago.
“Even though this cultivation art was close to a devilish art, and there was no way that our matriarch would go to the trouble of completely altering the cultivation art to make it accessible to her, she was still able to cultivate some of the life-saving secret techniques in the cultivation art, and also refined several types of related life-saving treasures. Among the items that you passed on to us is a Blood Soul Vial, which our matriarch refined in the past, and the vial contains a wisp of her blood soul. All we need to do to track down our matriarch is to awaken this blood soul." As Xu Jiao was speaking, he was keeping an eye on Han Li's reaction this entire time.
However, aside from the slightest reaction that Han Li had displayed upon hearing about the Blood Soul Vial, he remained completely expressionless.
"The phenomenon that's been taking place these past few nights have arisen from your attempts to awaken the blood soul, right?" Han Li suddenly asked after a brief pause.
"Indeed, Senior. We didn't dare to delay and gathered everyone on the same night as you arrived to perform the awakening ceremony. Unfortunately..." Xu Jiao's voice trailed off here as a resigned look appeared on his face.
Xu Yuan sighed before continuing where Xu Jiao left off. "Unfortunately, we've failed the awakening ceremony several times in succession. Perhaps this is because the blood soul has been contained in the vial for too long or because our bloodlines aren't pure enough. In any case, the talisman sealing the blood soul has already been removed, so if we can't awaken the blood soul in two more days, it's going to completely dissipate."
"You want me to join in on the awakening ceremony?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.
"Indeed, Senior. We've tried everything during the past few days, all to no avail, so I can only turn to you now, Senior." Xu Jiao rose to his feet as he spoke before extending another earnest bow toward Han Li.
Han Li stroked his chin in contemplation, and only after a while did he reply, "If it really is just a lack of magic power, then I can certainly give you a hand, but if the blood soul or the awakening ceremony is fundamentally flawed, then I won't be able to do anything."
Xu Jiao immediately nodded in an elated manner in response. "Of course. Those issues are beyond our control, and if the issue truly lies in one of those areas, then we can only concede to our ill fortune."
Xu Yuan and Xu Qianyu were also ecstatic to hear this.
Seeing as Han Li had decided to agree to this matter, he wasn't going to sit around any longer. He immediately rose to his feet, and said, "Let's not delay this any longer. I'll go with you to see Fellow Daoist Ice Soul's blood soul right away and prepare the awakening ceremony with all of you."
Xu Jiao processed this request for a brief moment before deciding that there weren't any issues, and he nodded in response. "Alright. Even though this ceremony can only be performed at night, it would be a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with the blood soul first."
If they could truly track down Fairy Ice Soul, then the Xu Family wou
ld immediately be elevated to become a super family in the human race.
As such, Xu Jiao and the Xu Family elders were keen to do everything in their power to awaken this wisp of blood soul.
Thus, Han Li departed from his pavilion with the Xu Family trio, and the four of them flew directly toward the mountain where the fluctuations had erupted from during the past few nights.
Such a short distance was naturally covered in the blink of an eye, and they soon arrived at the mountain, which appeared to be quite ordinary in itself, but was surrounded by balls of spiritual light of different colors to form a restriction.
Between these balls of spiritual light were a series of azure-armored guards.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense over the area, and he discovered that most of these guards were at the Nascent Soul Stage, and there were over 100 of them.
This wouldn't be considered to be a formidable force in Deep Heaven City, but it was quite a force to be reckoned with for a single family.
These guards were all concealed within the restriction in a very discreet manner, and none of them made a single sound nor any false moves to blow their covers, clearly indicating that they had been very well-trained. This was even rarer to see in a family.
Xu Jiao seemed to have noticed Han Li's intrigue, and he explained, "These are our Xu Family's secret guards, and they're the most elite forces at our Xu Family's disposal. I'm sure they aren't anything special in your eyes, but if they were to join forces in groups of three or four, they would be able to combat even Deity Transformation cultivators."
"Oh? So these guards must be adept in combination secret techniques," Han Li remarked in an intrigued manner.
"Hehe, that is indeed the case. It would be very bad if the awakening ceremony were to be disrupted, so all of our family's secret guards have been gathered here as a safety precaution," Xu Jiao explained.
Han Li merely nodded in response and didn't offer a reply on this occasion.
Xu Jiao summoned a formation plate to part the restriction first, and the four of them landed in front of a massive building that resembled a shrine, situated halfway up the mountain.
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