A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1601-Chapter 1800)

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 few 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.