The elder and the giant saw this scene. Xu Jiao, though excited, firmly restrained his enthusiasm and used the same method to remove the talisman from the jade box. The white-robed man quickly scanned both objects, hesitated slightly, then reached out and took the blue jade scroll into his hands. He gently placed it against his forehead and closed his eyes. Time passed slowly. At first, the white-robed man’s expression remained calm and composed, but gradually grew somewhat puzzled. Later, it began to shift into growing astonishment. The elder Xu Huo and the giant exchanged glances, their faces reflecting growing concern. After a cup of tea’s worth of time, the white-robed man finally exhaled deeply, his expression dazed as he carefully lifted the jade scroll from his forehead. "Nephew, what exactly did it say?" the elder asked, unable to contain his curiosity. The giant also showed clear eagerness, "Uncle Huo, please take a look yourself." Xu Jiao seemed a bit more alert, his expression complex as he simply tossed the jade scroll across, unwilling to say much more. The elder caught the scroll with a hand, naturally surprised, but after a brief hesitation, likewise infused his divine awareness into it. At that moment, however, Xu Jiao's gaze shifted to the jade box. After a moment's thought, his sleeve swept gently across. Instantly, the lid of the box opened on its own. Within the box, a steady flow of deep black light shimmered, revealing a small, fresh crimson vial several inches long. The surface of the vial bore an unusual pattern, and a faint, lingering scent of blood radiated from it. "Hm, this looks like something from our clan..." The giant, having a clear view, immediately recognized it with a start. "Indeed, this is our family's ancestral Blood Soul Vial—originally a pair, but one of the two was taken away by our Ice Spirit ancestor many years ago. It's surprising that we've managed to reunite them today." Xu Jiao said, his tone grave. "What a treasure!" The giant swallowed hard and murmured something. Xu Jiao said nothing further, but directly ordered him: "Take my token at once and immediately summon all the secret guards of the clan. Surround the mountain where the temple stands completely, and open all the seals in the vicinity—no fly is to be allowed inside. Also, summon the senior elder who is still in meditation, and have him wait temporarily inside the temple." "What? Summoning guards and having the senior elder come out?" The giant was startled, looking utterly incredulous. "Exactly. This is a matter of great importance concerning the Ice Essence ancestor. Even if the senior elder is at a crucial point in his meditation, he must step down." The white-robed man bit his lip and issued the orders with unwavering determination. "The head of the clan has indeed found the ancestor's whereabouts. Good! I'll go right away." Hearing this, the giant was overjoyed and immediately agreed without hesitation, then strode out toward the outer hall. And as Xu Jiao watched the giant step out of the chamber, his gaze returned to the blood-red vial, yet his expression remained uncertain—sometimes dark, sometimes bright. After a while, the elder Xu Hu exhaled deeply, finally finishing the jade scroll and opening his eyes: "Indeed, the ancestor truly journeyed to the wild frontier and even reached the distant continent. Yet, what happened? Only the faint thread of blood soul that was originally sealed has been returned." The elder murmured, his brows furrowed. "The scroll mentions only a brief account beyond the blood soul secret technique. To learn the full details, we must activate the 'Blood Crystal Coffin' and awaken this thread of blood soul once more. Fortunately, the Ice-Purity Ancestor had already prepared for this—long ago, he crafted both the Blood Crystal Coffin and these two blood soul vials. Otherwise, even we would have been completely at a loss." Xu Jiao said, his tone grave. "Indeed. However, the scroll states that once the scroll is removed, a ritual to awaken the soul must be performed within several days." Otherwise, even if there were a blood soul vial, that single thread of blood soul would dissipate. After all, the blood soul seal vial has been sealed for too long. The elder expressed concern once again. "Rest assured, we will immediately begin the ceremony tonight." The young man in white flashed a glance and spoke. "We can only do as such. By the way, regarding the senior, Han, in the main hall—we should respond to him. As Yuhu mentioned, this senior has some connection with the Ice Soul Patriarch and even proactively returned the Patriarch's blood soul. We should therefore expect no ill will from him toward our Xu family." The elder asked again. "Indeed, although this senior Han has only recently attained the Consolidated stage, his abilities seem truly remarkable—he is also highly skilled in ancient array techniques. Perhaps in the future, he could become a vital ally for our Xu family. In any case, we must ensure that he stays with us for some time. After awakening the blood soul through the ceremony, we should make every effort to strengthen our relationship with him." Xu Jiao pondered and then decided. "Indeed, that makes sense." "Then I'll go out and make arrangements." Xu Hu nodded and prepared to leave alone. "But to show sincerity, let me go with you and Master Hu." The white-robed man hesitated slightly before saying this. "That's a good idea. A being at the Consolidated Stage deserves no less than the utmost honor." After a moment's thought, the elder agreed. Thus, the Xu family head carefully took the jade box containing the crimson vial and, together with the elder, stepped out of the chamber. ...An hour later, in a finely crafted pavilion built atop a mountain peak, Han Li sat cross-legged on a mat at the topmost level, his brows slightly furrowed, silently contemplating. Yet within, he could not help but feel a deep sense of苦笑. Originally, he had intended to deliver the items, briefly chat with the members of the Xu family, and then depart. Yet he had not expected the elder of the Xu family to be so enthusiastic. Not only did he strongly urge him to stay a little longer, but even when it was clear that the guest was eager to depart, he subtly hinted that among the items now being transferred, there were indeed traces leading back to the Ice-Soul Immortal Maiden. As long as the guest remained at the Xu family for a few days or weeks, he might very well uncover the whereabouts of their ancestors. Hearing this, the guest found himself hesitating. To say that he had no interest whatsoever in the Ice-Soul Immortal Maiden would certainly be untrue. After all, the Qing-blue ice flame he had absorbed, his daring journey into the Xitian Palace, the Xitian Sacred Cauldron he had obtained, and even his connections with the Bei-Ming branch of the Dajin Dynasty—all of these were deeply tied to the Ice-Soul Immortal Maiden. Moreover, there were several lingering mysteries in his heart that he longed to resolve with her help. As for staying an extra ten or fifteen days, he found no difficulty at all. With his current level of cultivation and power, he had no reason to fear any unusual intentions from the Xu family. Among the human and yao clans, aside from the legendary great cultivators, no one could pose a threat to his life. Thus, despite the vigorous efforts of the Xu family head and other Xu cultivators to persuade him otherwise, he ultimately settled in this pavilion. However, within his heart, a decision had already taken shape. He would stay at the Xu family for no more than a month; should there be no word from the Ice Spirit Maiden by then, he would certainly not prolong his stay any further. Of course, even if he did eventually learn the Ice Spirit Maiden's whereabouts, it remained to be seen whether he would pursue her further or not—this would depend on the circumstances at the time, which he would decide upon as the situation warranted. Han Li silently pondered, then raised his hand. As the light shimmered slightly, a silver scroll appeared in his hands—exactly the true immortal scroll he had retrieved from the site of the ancient seal of the Guanghan Realm, now depleted of its spiritual energy. During this period, since the compound elixirs could not be prepared immediately, he did not feel urgent about refining his own spiritual power, but instead devoted most of his mental focus to studying the celestial scroll. Though this scroll lacked manifest power, its characters were entirely inscribed in silver frog script—clearly sharing deep affinities with the script traditions found in the previously obtained Jinque Yushu scrolls. This has allowed Han Li to gain significant insights. Even the "Heavenly Spear Seal" that had remained elusive in the Jinque Yushu fragments, now begins to take shape. This seal is the final type of silver frog script seal recorded in the fragment and the only offensive one among them. While its actual power remains to be seen, in terms of depth and complexity, it surpasses other silver frog script spiritual seals such as the Taiyi Huaqing seals. Even after Han Li advanced to the Consolidated Body stage and began to grasp the fundamental laws of the cosmos, he still found it difficult to fully comprehend this seal. In this regard, the "Heavenly Spear Seal" undoubtedly deserves great anticipation. Han Li stared intently at the silver scroll in his hands, while simultaneously moving his finger continuously, drawing and gesturing in the air. Most of the time, nothing unusual occurred, yet occasionally, silver characters burst forth from his fingertips—sometimes exploding and dissipating suddenly, sometimes coalescing and flickering erratically, appearing remarkably mysterious. As time passed, without much delay, several bright, full moons hung in the sky above the mountain range where the Xu family resided, and it had now grown deep into the night. While Han Li was still gesturing vigorously, a sudden change appeared on his face. In the next instant, he rose abruptly, stepped swiftly, and materialized at the window, gazing toward a distant mountain peak, his expression tinged with mild puzzlement. "What's going on," he thought, his mind racing, as if suddenly recalling something. He raised his head toward the sky—only to be startled. To the observer, the moon that had previously shimmered with silver light in the night sky had, without any apparent reason, turned a deep crimson, casting a sense of unease. Han Li exhaled deeply, focused his gaze, and then turned his eyes once more toward the mountain peak he had originally been observing. With his eyes narrowed, the blue glow within his pupils flickered continuously. What appeared to be an ordinary mountain peak, under the keen sight of his spiritual vision, was now enveloped in a layer of crimson radiance. This blood-colored glow constantly swelled and receded around the mountain, and the subtle disturbance that had stirred him seemed to emanate from within the mountain itself. It was clearly evident that a mysterious spell had been established around the mountain's perimeter. Yet the blood glow was far from ordinary—some portions of the spiritual pressure could still penetrate directly through. "Such a strong aura of blood, is it possible that the Xu family is indeed conducting a blood sacrifice ritual? Yet if they are, wouldn't they have chosen a time when no outsiders were present? Could this be related to the items I delivered today?" Only after a while did the blue glow in his eyes fade away, and he murmured softly several times, his face deeply thoughtful. How astute he was! With only a brief reflection, he had already guessed the truth of the matter to a remarkable extent.