With a possible answer forming in his mind, Han Li gazed at the distant mountain peaks, his expression returning to one of calm.
After watching for a little while longer, once the distant fluctuations finally converged and vanished, he turned from the window in contemplation, returned to his meditation cushion, settled cross-legged, and slowly closed his eyes.
In the days that followed, no one from the Xu family disturbed his meditation and cultivation, save for Xu Qianyu's daily visits to pay her respects.
However, from the faint worry lingering on the woman's face, it seemed that the Xu family's efforts that night had not gone entirely smoothly.
Sure enough, each night thereafter, the same celestial phenomena and fluctuations erupted once more.
After several nights in a row, Fairy Qianyu seemed on the verge of saying something to Han Li following her evening greeting, yet each time the words reached her lips, she hesitated and swallowed them back.
Han Li observed all of this, turning it over silently in his mind, though his outward expression remained unchanged.
However, on the morning of the fifth day, as Han Li was studying talismans on the uppermost floor of the tower, his expression shifted. He flipped his palm in a flash, and the talisman vanished without a trace.
He had clearly sensed that at the tower's entrance, besides Xu Qianyu who had come to greet him as usual, there were now two additional presences — Xu Jiao and a stranger.
This aura was remarkably powerful — the cultivation of late Spirit Severing.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face.
To think the Xu family had been hiding a cultivator of such power. They clearly knew the art of not standing out and keeping their strengths concealed.
Just as Han Li was mulling this over, the Clan Leader's respectful voice drifted up from below:
"Junior Xu Jiao pays respects to Senior Han. If Senior has the time, might Junior be granted an audience?"
"So it's the Clan Leader. There's no need for such formality. Please wait in the main hall — I'll be down shortly," Han Li replied evenly, then rose and headed downstairs.
Before long, Han Li appeared at the foot of the staircase on the ground floor, his gaze immediately sweeping to the late Spirit Severing stranger.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Xu Jiao was a young man in a worn gray robe who appeared no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, also regarding Han Li with a smile.
On closer inspection, the young man bore a certain resemblance to Xu Jiao. Standing together, it was Xu Jiao who actually looked like the younger generation by comparison.
"Senior, this is our Xu family's Grand Elder, Xu Yuan. He was at a critical juncture in his cultivation these past few days and was unable to come out of seclusion to welcome you." As soon as Xu Jiao saw Han Li, he bowed and introduced the person beside him.
"Grand Elder? Fellow Daoist Xu Yuan has already reached the great perfection of late Spirit Severing. I imagine you could break through the Body Integration bottleneck at any time. If you succeed, you'll join our ranks." Han Li looked the young man over a few times and suddenly broke into a smile.
"Senior's insight is remarkable. This Junior has indeed begun preparations to break through the bottleneck. However, the chances of success are truly slim." The young man likewise bowed respectfully to Han Li, then replied with a sigh.
Han Li smiled faintly at this but said nothing further. After taking the seat of honor, he gestured for the others to sit as well.
Xu Jiao and the others expressed their thanks and sat down on either side of Han Li.
"Clan Leader, you've come here today — could it be that you already have news of your ancestor?" Han Li cut straight to the point without preamble.
His directness caught Xu Jiao off guard. The Clan Leader's mouth twitched before he managed a bitter smile:
"If Senior had asked this yesterday, this Junior would have had no definitive answer. But I have come precisely to seek Senior's help with this matter."
"Seek my help?" Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly, apparently somewhat surprised.
"To speak frankly, Senior, the items you delivered do provide a way to trace Ancestor Ice Soul's whereabouts. However, the Xu family alone lacks the power to carry this out. We would need to draw upon Senior's strength to some degree." Xu Jiao laid out his purpose plainly.
"What the Clan Leader says is true. For this matter, all three of our Xu family's Spirit Severing cultivators attempted it, but our magical power proved insufficient. We had no choice but to turn to Senior." Xu Yuan spoke with a solemn expression.
"Is that so! Could you two explain the full details of what happened?" Han Li's eyes flickered, but his tone remained calm.
With his current status and cultivation, he would certainly not make any promises lightly.
"Of course — even without being asked, this Junior would have reported the details." Xu Jiao readily agreed. After a moment's thought, he continued:
"The matter itself is not complicated. Has Senior perhaps heard of the 'Great Blood Soul Technique'?"
"The Great Blood Soul Technique! That does sound familiar. Wait — isn't that the 'Great Blood Soul Technique' practiced by Xuejing Shangren tens of thousands of years ago?" Han Li's brow furrowed at first, but he quickly recalled the relevant details, and his expression shifted subtly.
"So Senior has indeed heard of this secret technique. Xuejing Shangren was a rare genius of our human race — one perhaps seen only once in ten thousand years. Not only did he independently create the Blood Soul technique, but he even used it to slay foreign beings of the same cultivation level. To be honest with Senior, although Xuejing Shangren perished long ago, his legacy was discovered by our ancestor, Fairy Ice Soul, entirely by chance. Although this technique closely resembled demonic cultivation and our ancestor could not simply switch her cultivation method, she did select several of its life-preserving secret arts to practice and also refined a number of related life-saving treasures. Among the items Senior delivered this time is a 'Blood Soul Bottle' refined by our ancestor, containing a wisp of Blood Soul. As long as this Blood Soul can be reawakened, we can naturally learn our ancestor's whereabouts." As Xu Jiao spoke, he carefully watched Han Li's expression.