Wang Tieguang heard the voice—seemed to be that of Huang Ying, the young maid on board. But in other seasons, Shunjiang might freeze over on the river surface, yet during the flood season, it would never form ice at all. Moreover, the weather today… Without being able to help himself, Wang Tieguang raised his head and looked up at the sky. There, the bright red sun was high in the noon, and even though he was dressed only in a thin leather coat, he felt a gentle warmth, as though he might soon begin to sweat. And there, people inside the ice? Though he had traveled on the road for many years, he had never heard of such a thing before. Reaching instinctively for the two short spears of hardened iron strapped to his back, he found himself stepping toward the direction of the sound. As soon as he reached the side of the large ship, he saw a group of seven or eight people gathered there—both men and women, including maids, male servants, and boatmen—clustered together, pointing at something in the river, marveling at what they saw. A slight glance to the side revealed, indeed, a white, floating object drifting on the river surface several yards east—remarkably conspicuous. Upon focusing closely, it was clear that the object was a translucent, crystalline block of ice, within which a human figure appeared trapped. "Indeed strange," Wang Tieguang murmured, his expression of astonishment evident. "Could it be that someone from long ago fell into the river and is now rising to the surface as the ice melts? What a phenomenon!" A low, steady voice came from behind him. "Gao, you've arrived," Wang Tieguang said without turning, knowing instantly that the person behind him was his long-time partner—a seasoned courier who had been refining his physical strength for several years and had gained a reputation for his martial skills. "Ah, there's a person inside the ice—rare indeed!" A burly man with a full beard approached casually, marveling quietly. "Even if it's a corpse, that's hardly surprising." Wang Tieguang sneered and spoke calmly. "That's true! A dead person simply can't come to seize the ship." The big man rubbed his coarse beard and chuckled. "What are you all fussing about? Didn't you know the lady had just passed away?" A middle-aged scholar stepped out of the cabin, his expression serious as he reprimanded the maids and servants. This was Zhou Shiyu, reportedly the trusted aide of the official in charge. He had hired Wang Tieguang and the other two, and had traveled aboard with the official's family. "Master Zhou, the river..." The young maid, Huang Ying, timidly extended her delicate fingers, pointing toward the river surface. Zhou Shiyu had already found it odd that Wang Tieguang and the others were standing there; now, upon hearing the young maid's words, he glanced over in their direction. Upon seeing the ice block and the figure within, they were naturally filled with astonishment, but soon furrowed their brows and said, "It's merely a corpse—there's no point in lingering. Go about your duties. Do we really need me to summon the House Manager?" Their tone grew more stern as they concluded. Hearing the words "House Manager," the maids and servants immediately turned pale and scattered in a rush; the remaining two or three crew members quietly slipped away as well. Wang Tieguang and the big man exchanged glances, both feeling that staying put was not ideal, and decided to leave together. However, just as the big man, named Gao Dafeng, was about to take a step, he paused, his body stiffening, and uttered a gasp of surprise. "How is this possible? This person is still alive!" Upon hearing this, both Wang Tieguang and the scholar were startled and turned to look. Yet, nothing seemed out of the ordinary—the figure remained motionless within the ice. The scholar cast a skeptical glance at the big man. "There won't be any mistake," the big man said with conviction. "Just now, the man frozen in the ice blinked. I saw it clearly." "High Brother won't deceive us," Wang Tiegang said without hesitation, fully trusting his companion's words. Zhou Shiyu, observing this, remained somewhat doubtful. Yet after thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "Even if that man is truly alive, it makes no difference to our current affairs. As long as we don't trouble the lady or the young lady, and since the other ships have remained undisturbed, we have no need to intervene." Wang Tiegang heard this and felt neither angry nor dissatisfied. The man frozen in the ice indeed seemed strange—leaving him on the boat was exactly what he had hoped for. After all, having traveled the circuits for so long, he was far more cautious about such odd occurrences than most people. It was only High Dafeng who showed a moment of hesitation. "Wait a moment, Zhou Shiyu!" he said. "Saving one life is equivalent to building seven tiered pagodas. And my mother has always been deeply compassionate." "Since he hasn't died yet, let's bring him on board first." A sweet voice suddenly came from the ship's cabin, and then a graceful young lady in a fine silk robe stepped out, with the maid Huang Ying, who had just left, now bowing respectfully behind her. It seemed she had just informed the lady of this matter. "Madam Second Sister! This isn't quite proper—having a stranger come aboard?" Zhou Shiye, upon seeing the young lady, bowed respectfully, but his face showed hesitation. "There's nothing improper about it. Since he has survived the ordeal in the ice and has happened upon us, this is surely a blessing for our family. Besides, there are plenty of empty rooms on board—we can easily make room for him. Should we really be afraid of one nearly-dead stranger among so many of us?" The young lady spoke softly, her expression firm and unyielding. "Very well. Since Madam Second Sister has given the order, I shall immediately send someone down to attend to him." The scholar paused thoughtfully, then finally bowed and agreed. The young lady in the brocade robe smiled gently and said nothing, then led her young attendant back to the guest cabin. Meanwhile, Zhou Shiye looked at the ship's cabin, his brows furrowed. "Both of you have heard this, haven't you? It seems the man truly will be saved. But this ice block is so enormous—we'll likely have to trouble you both again." Zhou Shiye sighed with a wry smile. "No problem," said Gao Dafeng, unconcerned. "I may not have much else, but I've got my strength in abundance." Wang Tiegang, however, studied the giant ice block carefully before slowly nodding, indicating he had no concerns. ...It was unclear how long they had remained in the darkness, but after a severe headache, Han Li finally stirred from his drowsy state. Yet even before he opened his eyes, he heard a bright, youthful voice. "Master, when exactly will this man wake up? It's already been two days and two nights. Is he really all right? Miss has been waiting for my reply the entire time!" "Hmph!" How could this young girl possibly know anything? I merely have a passing understanding of medicine. How could I possibly know when he would awaken? Yet this patient's condition is truly unusual. Though his face is pale and clearly showing signs of severe depletion of qi and blood, upon examination of his pulse, the pulse is remarkably strong—seeming stronger than that of an ordinary person. This truly baffles me! A somewhat weary, elderly voice remarked. "Ha! I think it's probably the Master who has mistaken the pulse!" The girl, clearly very familiar with the elder, laughed and teased. "Nonsense! In the past, whenever any of you had a headache or a mild illness, it was always me who treated you. Never once has there been a mistake. Perhaps this patient has a rare, previously unseen condition. After all, I'm not a physician—how could I fail to recognize it?" The elder seemed slightly embarrassed, yet persisted with determination. Hearing this, Han Li felt himself lying upon an exceptionally comfortable bed, with a thick quilt beneath him and a smooth cotton blanket draped over his body, his body warmly enveloped. Listening to the old man and the young man conversing in the language of Da Jin, Han Li felt a sense of reassurance. It seemed that not only had he been rescued by ordinary people, but he had finally reached within the territory of Da Jin. Yet, his current situation was truly dire. As soon as he had regained consciousness, he had immediately scanned his internal condition with his divine awareness, only to draw in a sharp breath, his heart filled with dismay. After escaping the pursuit of Tian Lan's holy maiden and traveling over ten thousand miles, his time seal had finally expired. He had immediately plunged into the river, adopting the artificial death technique taught by Da Yan's divine sovereign, sealing himself within a block of ice and allowing it to drift downstream, thus evading the sudden onslaught of the pursuers. Yet, his current physical condition was appalling—worse than he had anticipated, even by a third. Not only had the excessive use of Xue Ying Dun caused a severe depletion of his vital essence, leaving him physically frail, but the loss of true energy was even more pronounced, resulting in a dramatic drop in his cultivation level—down to the Qi Condensation stage. Thus, without at least five or six years of careful recuperation and restoration, it would be nearly impossible to regain his former cultivation. Han Li sighed deeply, then suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly checked the status of his various flying swords within his body. To his relief, he found Yin Yue, whose spirit was equally weak, deeply unconscious and barely responsive, within one of the swords. However, the failure of the second prenatal spirit still troubled him. Although the distance between them made it difficult to sense any clear connection, it was evident that the second prenatal spirit had not been unexpectedly eliminated by the great master as he had anticipated. Instead, a faint, intermittent link remained, indicating that the spirit still existed. Yet if he fails to recall this Yuan-Emperor within a certain period, once the other becomes independent, the counter-impact he will face can be anticipated. The only thing that keeps him calm is that, once he regains his original cultivation, the initial stage of the second Yuan-Emperor will surely not be a match for him. Securing the other and bringing him back under his control will not be a difficult task at all. With these thoughts in mind, he suddenly sent a voice through his spiritual awareness. "Master, how long have I been unconscious in the ice before arriving in the Great Jin realm? Are there any Great Jin cultivators nearby?" "Ah! Finally you've awakened. You drifted in the river bottom for over a year. The magical energy clinging to the ice eventually depleted, and then the ice itself floated to the surface. Nevertheless, Han—your condition is truly rather poor." The Great Derivation Sovereign replied, lazily. "I myself have no doubt about the state of my body. But this time, managing to escape is a fortunate stroke of luck—after all, it's a blessing in a time of misfortune. There's nothing to complain about." After all, in such a situation, it wasn't everyone who could escape unscathed at the hands of a late Yuan-Ying stage cultivator." Han Li smiled, speaking with a touch of pride. "Hmph, you're surprisingly thoughtful! Still, I haven't asked you yet—why have you never mentioned your possession of a spiritually attuned artifact before? That explains it—on several occasions, when you were meditating and refining your cultivation, you even placed me outside the meditation chamber. I've long wanted to personally study what a true spiritually attuned artifact truly is. Stop all this chatter—when you get a chance, bring that small cauldron over and show it to me carefully." The Grand Sovereign of Daxian's tone shifted, speaking with growing irritation.