After hearing the old woman's words, the glimmer of joy that had just surfaced on Yuehua Fairy's and Bai Huaji's faces instantly vanished.
No cultivator — not even one's own kin — was willing to sacrifice several hundred years of cultivation, let alone do so for a complete stranger.
"What about the second option?" the man asked, clutching at a thread of hope.
"The second remedy is to seek out legendary spiritual herbs and refine several supreme yang pills, then forcibly use the method of mutual nourishment between water and fire to alter the Ice Marrow Physique. This method is no simpler than the first. Setting aside the fact that these herbs are extraordinarily rare in this world, appearing perhaps once in a millennium — far beyond what we could ever hope to gather — even if one did obtain them and successfully refined the pills, consuming them would bring endless consequences. Though the Ice Marrow Physique would be broken, the Spirit Root of the body's owner would be destroyed along with it. In the worst case, the Spirit Root would be utterly annihilated, reducing the child to an ordinary mortal. Even in the best case, the Spirit Root would become so wretchedly poor that the path of Cultivating Immortality would be fraught with hardship from that day forward." The old woman spoke with a grave expression.
The middle-aged man's face turned deathly pale, and he could no longer utter a single word.
It was the middle-aged woman who, after a moment of stunned silence, suddenly gritted her silver teeth and pleaded toward Han Li: "Senior Han, your Magical Power is vast beyond measure. Surely you are able to step in and save Guo'er. My family will serve you as cattle and horses for the rest of our days to repay your great kindness."
Hearing the woman's words, the old woman and the others felt a stir in their hearts and could not help but turn their gazes toward Han Li as well.
It was clear that Han Li had come here with the very intention of rescuing the girl. If that were the case, perhaps this "Senior Han" could indeed be persuaded to act.
The middle-aged man dropped to his knees before Han Li without a second word, bowing his head to the ground.
Han Li heard this and showed an ambiguous expression, half-smiling yet not quite. After a long pause, he finally spoke in a slow, measured tone: "You do have some understanding of the situation. That's right — since I've come here, I do indeed have the intention of saving this little girl."
"Thank you for your great mercy, Senior!" The woman heard that it was just as she had guessed, and wild joy surged through her heart. She moved to drop to her knees and kowtow before Han Li as well.
But Han Li gave a slight shake of his head, and a single sleeve swept outward.
An invisible force immediately materialized beneath both the woman and Bai Huaji, lifting them upward.
One person was unable to kneel down at all, while the other was forcibly raised back to her feet.
"Don't thank me just yet. Whether I truly intervene depends on whether you're willing to agree to my conditions first. Though I do have a favorable impression of this little girl, I cannot simply throw away several hundred years of my own hard cultivation for nothing," Han Li said evenly, his expression composed.
"Senior, please state your conditions. As long as it is within our ability, we will agree without hesitation," Yuehua Fairy said without a moment's consideration.
Though the middle-aged man felt a chill in his heart, he likewise raised no objection.
After all, Han Li was his beloved daughter's only chance at survival.
"The conditions are simple. I can assist this little girl in cultivating the great ability of the Ice Marrow Cold Soul, and I can even take her on as an In-Name Disciple. However, once her ability has fully matured, she must search for something on my behalf at any cost. This item may be found among the Human and Demon races, or it may lie in some remote corner of the wilderness. Only someone who has successfully cultivated the Ice Marrow Cold Soul ability would be capable of sensing and locating it. Naturally, this is an extremely dangerous task. Do you two fellow Daoists still wish to have this little girl agree on her behalf?" Han Li looked at the woman and her husband, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes.
"The deep wilderness?" Bai Huaji sucked in a sharp breath at these words, hesitation immediately showing on his face.
Yuehua Fairy, though her expression shifted slightly as well, considered for a moment before carefully asking in reply: "May I ask, Senior — when the ability has fully matured, what level of cultivation will Guo'er have reached approximately? If her cultivation is too low, entering the deep wilderness would be a journey from which there is no return."
"Heh heh, rest assured on that score. Since I'm taking her as an In-Name Disciple and expending such great effort to help her cultivate the Ice Marrow Cold Soul, I naturally won't simply send her to her doom. The thing she seeks can only be sensed by someone with at least Deity Transformation stage cultivation or above. Moreover, I will bestow upon her several precious treasures for self-defense. If it can be found near the Human and Demon territories, there will be no need to venture into the wilderness at all. And even if it cannot be found nearby, I will wait until her cultivation has advanced further before allowing her to venture deep into the wilderness." Han Li seemed to have already thought this through, and he laid out each point in a calm, unhurried manner.
"The Deity Transformation stage! That is more than sufficient. That level of cultivation is already beyond my own wildest reach. Besides, without Senior's intervention, this child cannot even survive the next few years, let alone reach the Deity Transformation stage — which would be at least a thousand years away in any case." Though Yuehua Fairy's own cultivation was not high, she was exceptionally decisive, and agreed on the spot.
As for Bai Huaji, though some worry lingered, he recognized that the woman's reasoning was entirely sound and nodded repeatedly.
The old woman standing to the side had even less reason to raise any objection.
"Very well. In that case, I will take this little girl Guo'er as my In-Name Disciple, and for the next hundred years she will remain by my side. After that century has passed, I will return her to you. Beyond matters of cultivation guidance, I will not interfere with any other aspect of her life." Han Li smiled, his expression warm and amiable.
"Then my daughter will be in Senior's care from now on." The middle-aged man heard this and finally felt at ease, his face filled with gratitude as he bowed deeply once more.