A column of pale, bowl-thick light surged forth from the center of the disk. Han Li remained calm, allowing the light to dance across his body. He could not avoid it at the moment, but more importantly, he had immediately recognized that this luminous glow was not an attack—it was merely probing, seeking information. As the light faded, the column vanished, and the disk itself radiated a bright, vibrant glow. The young man glanced down at the disk, then suddenly gasped in astonishment and shouted loudly behind him. The other cultivators nearby were startled, their expressions turning agitated. Then, the bearded young man asked the young man several questions. After listening to the answers, he turned to look at Han Li on the ground and was equally surprised. He then summoned his massive wolf, which stepped forward and stood beside the young man. He addressed Han Li with a few words, but Han Li merely blinked, completely unable to understand a single syllable. The middle-aged man stroked his chin, shifting his tone, as if speaking a completely different language. Upon hearing this language, Han Li's expression subtly changed. Though still unable to fully comprehend it, he found it somewhat familiar—seeming reminiscent of an ancient tongue spoken in the human realm. Seeing Han Li's reaction, the large Han man smiled with relief and quickly spoke several more sentences in the same language, but Han Li struggled, shaking his head weakly. The Han man grew somewhat puzzled, then hung his weapon on the giant wolf and pulled out a pale yellow wooden box from his sleeve, opening it. Inside lay a round, milk-yellow orb, about the size of a thumb, emitting a faint glow. The middle-aged man looked a bit reluctant, but after glancing down at Han Li and then at the orb, his expression shifted between concern and hesitation before he finally bit his lip and took the orb into his hands. He then turned his wrist, revealing a uniquely shaped ring engraved with several symbols on its surface and set with a jade-green crystal the size of a bean on its back. The Han man pressed the orb onto the crystal, and suddenly, a brilliant light burst forth—radiating brilliantly. The Han Dynasty, without hesitation, threw the pearl at Han Li. As soon as it touched his body, the pearl seemed to come alive, instantly sinking into him and vanishing without a trace. Han Li was slightly startled, immediately feeling a cool current surge from the point of contact, rushing straight toward his brain, causing him to feel a sudden sense of alarm. If his spiritual power had been intact in the past, he would have easily expelled the object with a mere thought. But now that his spiritual power had waned and his body was immobile, he could only watch helplessly, powerless to act. Fortunately, the actions of these individuals did not seem hostile, so Han Li remained calm and did not display any signs of panic. The cool current circled his mind once before dissipating, yet suddenly a sharp stabbing pain surged in his head, followed by a multitude of images and sensations forcefully pouring into his consciousness. Although Han Li could no longer project his spiritual awareness outward, the strength of his inner awareness was genuine and substantial. His face only slightly changed, and his awareness immediately absorbed all these elements, instantly mastering a strange language—precisely the one he had heard from the Han man earlier. The scar-faced Han man, seeing that Han Li had calmly taken the orb into his body without any sign of disturbance, grew visibly surprised again, yet soon spoke in a steady tone: "Can you now understand what I'm saying? Who are you, and why are you here? This is deep within the Qing Luo Desert—most people simply never make it this far." "The Qing Luo Desert? I've never heard of it. To be honest, I arrived here by accident, through a rather unusual means, and I have no idea where exactly I am. As for my identity, I'm just an ordinary person—nothing special to report. You may call me Han Li." Han Li smiled slightly, saying this. "An unusual means? Are you also coming through a spatial rift?" "Don't be surprised. This area has always been prone to frequent spatial rifts, and strangers are often transported here from millions of miles away." The large man showed no sign of astonishment, speaking as if it were a matter of course. Hearing this, Han Li found himself at a loss. All the carefully prepared words seemed to vanish from his mind. "Hehe! From your appearance, you seem no ordinary person. As long as you haven't undergone a transformation into something unusual, your origin story doesn't matter much. But right now, your situation isn't very promising. If no one saves you, within a few days you'll face the scorpion surge in Qing Luo Desert. At that point, even if you possess extraordinary abilities, you'll be doomed. How about it? Would you like to enter into an agreement with our Tian Dong Trading House? We can take you with us, but in return, you'll have to serve our company for ten years. After twenty years, you may then leave." The large man's scar twitched slightly on his face, and a grim smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Ten years! Fine, I accept." Han Li's eyes flashed, and after only a brief hesitation, he readily agreed. "Very well," said the Han man with a hearty laugh, waving a hand toward a knight standing behind him. The other knight pulled out a thick stack of parchment from his cloak, selected one at random, pricked his finger, and wrote a few words on it. Following the Han man's gesture, he leaped down from the great wolf, walked forward, and held the parchment up so that Han Li could examine it. Han Li frowned, studying the parchment, yet remained silent for a long time. "Now, surely," said the Han man, puzzled, "you haven't even seen a blood oath document before?" "No, indeed," replied Han Li, earnestly, "this is my first encounter with such a thing. Could you please explain its function?" What the Han man had presented was no ordinary parchment—it was clearly a scroll of incantation. The characters on the scroll were familiar to Han Li; they were an ancient script used in the human realm. Yet this combination appeared for the first time, with a faint, lingering scent of blood radiating out—something strangely eerie. "Never seen a blood covenant scroll before, have you? Must have come from the east, then. Well, I'll explain. This is quite simple: as long as you've read and understood the text, and willingly drip a drop of your purest blood upon it, the pact will take effect automatically. Should either party later regret their agreement, the power of the blood covenant will instantly draw off part of your essence, leaving you suffering terribly. Hehe—this is a special creation of the Blood Covenant Sect. Unless you've attained the rank of terrestrial immortal, you'll have to endure this condition." The large man didn't seem impatient, merely offering a few casual explanations. Han Lin frowned thoughtfully. In the meantime, though he hadn't yet fully grasped the nature of the blood covenant, he had clearly discerned several details about the characters and their depth. The scroll itself wasn't particularly complex. Though it may not be immediately comprehensible, given his mastery of sealwork, with a bit more time he would certainly be able to unravel this. Moreover, judging by the complexity of the characters, this type of seal appears to only constrain cultivators at the Foundation Stage—those above the Foundation Stage, such as those who have achieved the Condensation Stage or beyond, would be completely unaffected. Even if he had no internal qi at all, the vast essence transformed into his Yuan Yin had already been fully infused into his physical body, making him entirely indifferent to this blood curse. It's likely that once the curse enters his body, it will dissolve on its own. In fact, this seems somewhat similar to the strange artifact, "The Pages of the River of the Dead," presented by the wealthy elder from the Nine-Depths Sect in the Human World. Yet, the two cannot be compared on equal footing. While "The Pages of the River of the Dead" can even exert some influence over Yuan Yin cultivators, this blood seal appears to be primarily used among ordinary practitioners. And according to the Han's tone, it seems to be a commonly used item in this region. Han Li quickly turned his thoughts, simultaneously reading the newly written lines on the document. Indeed, it stated that after receiving his rescue, he would be bound to serve the other party for twenty years. "Agreed, no problem," Han Li said, though his expression betrayed reluctance, as though seeking an excuse. "But right now, I can't move—perhaps we could reschedule this for later?" The knight, holding his dagger firmly, stood utterly still. "Are you practicing the Xuan Jia Gong or the Jing Jiang Ju? Have you reached the second layer of either?" the scar-faced man asked, his voice steady and serious once he regained his composure. "It's the Jing Jiang Ju—third layer!" Hearing this, Han Li remained silent for a moment before slowly responding, though within his heart he was filled with genuine excitement. Now he could finally confirm that this place was indeed the Spiritual Realm as described by that Dayan Beast's duplicate. Otherwise, how could a mere mortal know of such a technique as the Jing Jiang Ju? "With the third layer of the Jing Jiang Ju, I can now contend directly against lower-tier beast creatures. I must say, I've truly found a gem here. That explains why Xiao Qi's ordinary artifact couldn't even make a dent in you. Use your 'Jin Ying Sword'—though it's only a low-tier spiritual artifact, as long as you're not deliberately channeling your internal energy to block, you should be able to cut through it and make a clean wound." The broad-faced man first exhaled gently, his expression returning to normal, then raised his hand and tossed the short sword with its scabbard directly toward them. "Spirit Artifact?" Hearing this unusual name, Han Li's mind stirred. The young woman designated as "Little Qi" caught the sword at once and swiftly drew it from its sheath with a sharp *shush*—a burst of golden light instantly radiated outward. Han Li narrowed his eyes, now deeply puzzled. At first glance, this so-called "Spirit Artifact" seemed no different from a regular magical artifact. Could ordinary inhabitants of the Spirit Realm actually wield such items? However, upon closer inspection, Han Li finally noticed the one distinguishing feature—the sword's hilt bore a shallow groove, with a shimmering golden spirit stone embedded within. This stone was of notable rank, a mid-tier metallic spirit stone, though only one-fifth the size of a human realm spirit stone. He was puzzled in his mind, when suddenly "Little Qi" produced a leather glove from his body, donned it on one hand, and then used the gloved hand to grasp the short sword. The surface of the leather glove shimmered with runes, and it was also embedded with several glowing jade-like stones, each about the size of a bean, of varying colors. (Second update!)