The fairy forced me to marry into her family, so I retorted by throwing myself into the Pool of Fate

"Who are you?" Li Ping asked.

"Hong family, Hong Xing, Fellow Daoist Li, you may call me Xing'er." The young female cultivator smiled faintly.

"Did Hong Peng send you?"

The young female cultivator nodded: "My father said that Fellow Daoist Li needs someone to take care of his daily life, so he sent me here to serve him."

"Go back and tell Hong Peng that I don't need it." Li Ping turned to the side, gesturing for Hong Xing to leave.

Hong Xing was taken aback: "Fellow Daoist Li, do you dislike Xing'er?"

Li Ping ignored him and hissed, "Get out."

"Fellow Daoist Li, please don't send me away!" Hong Xing pleaded, her eyes glistening with tears. "My father said that you are a noble member of the Mu family and cannot be neglected. If I go back like this, I will be severely punished."

Li Ping stared coldly, unmoved.

Hong Xing squeezed out a few tears and sobbed softly.

Li Ping looked him over for a moment, then suddenly relented: "You can stay, but only in the side room. From now on, you can't step into this room without my permission."

"As long as Fellow Daoist Li doesn't kick me out, I'll do anything you ask," Hong Xing nodded repeatedly.

"Then get out of here."

Hong Xing hurriedly got up and walked out. As she passed Li Ping, she suddenly felt a strain on her buttocks, as if she had been pinched hard.

Her expression changed slightly, and she sneered inwardly:

"Hmph, what a despicable man."

After watching Hong Xing leave, Li Ping closed the door and began to make plans in his mind.

Hong Peng appeared respectful, but in reality, he didn't take me seriously.

Sending Hong Xing over was nothing more than sending a spy to monitor her.

The current situation is rather strange.

As for danger, Hong Peng isn't foolish enough to lay a hand on me.

Their actions seemed to suggest they were hiding something.

However, one should always be wary of others and must improve one's self-protection capabilities as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Li Ping immediately took out the two spells that came with the Hanshui Sutra.

The Wave Stacking Technique is an offensive art that can condense water into waves and drive those waves into billows.

This method shares the same origin as the Hanshui Jing (a classic text on water management), emphasizing a progressive approach.

After the first wave, it is used again within three breaths. The next wave will absorb the residual water energy of the previous wave, increasing its power.

Each layer increases the power by 20%, and theoretically, it can be stacked indefinitely.

If it can be stacked to seven layers, its power will rival that of a Xuan-level spell, enough to threaten a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

If combined with the Abyss Flow characteristic, it might even be able to fight against it.

The other technique, Water Dividing and Illusion, is an illusion technique.

It can condense water into shape, creating a substitute that is identical in appearance and aura.

A substitute is not an inanimate object; a wisp of divine consciousness can be placed inside it, allowing it to lure enemies, take their place, or perform other similar actions.

Upon seeing this, Li Ping's heart stirred.

"If a substitute is sent to infiltrate the enemy ranks and trigger its internal magic to self-destruct, wouldn't that be impossible to defend against?"

He continued reading, then shook his head again.

First of all, stand-ins have a time limit and cannot last.

The confusion effect is only effective against mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. To deal with late-stage cultivators, one needs to have achieved minor mastery of the technique.

After all, it's only a Yellow-rank spell, so we can't expect too much.

Li Ping put away his cultivation technique, his gaze narrowing slightly as he thought of Hong Xing.

"We could use her as a practice subject first, if it works out..."

……

……

Sunrise and sunset, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the room, Li Ping sat cross-legged on a futon, his face showing pain.

With a crisp snap, his aura suddenly surged, and his clothes fluttered even without wind.

After a long while, his breathing calmed down, and Li Ping slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.

"Qi Refining Level 3, accomplished."

Looking inward, I saw that Dan Lake had expanded outward by another inch.

Next, it's time to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Thinking of this, Li Ping couldn't help but show a worried expression.

The biggest challenge in the Qi Refining stage is overcoming the bottleneck in the early, middle, and late stages.

This is a hurdle everyone must overcome, but the difficulty varies from person to person.

For those with high qualifications, eating and drinking are as simple as a matter of course.

For a cultivator with mixed spiritual roots like him, it was like a roadblock, taking up a lot of his time.

It can take anywhere from a few months to several years, or even a lifetime, to break free.

Li Ping shook his head, no longer thinking about it, and turned his attention to matters of magic.

During this month, besides his arduous cultivation, he also frequently practiced magic.

Unlike his cultivation, he seemed to have a great talent for magic.

He had mastered both spells, and was only one step away from mastering the Overlapping Waves Technique.

The transformation of water features has already crossed the threshold and is progressing towards minor success.

"The spell is complete; it's time to put it to the test."

With a thought, Li Ping raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

The water elemental energy inside the room slowly gathered and condensed into a human-shaped silhouette.

He pointed with his left hand, and poured his azure magic into it.

Once the magic power and spiritual energy had merged, he gave a low shout:

"melt!"

The humanoid outline and facial features gradually became clear, and in the blink of an eye, a double who looked exactly like Li Ping stood in front of him.

With a thought, Li Ping sent a wisp of his divine consciousness into it.

The stand-in blinked, stretched his limbs, and then called out:

"Xing'er, why hasn't today's spiritual meal been delivered yet?"

In the side room, Hong Xing was about to enter a meditative state when she was startled awake by this shout.

"Eat, eat, eat. All you ever think about is spiritual food."

She cursed under her breath and reluctantly got up to prepare the spiritual meal.

In no time, several dishes were ready.

Hong Xing pushed open Li Ping's door and respectfully laid out the sacrificial meal.

"Why isn't there any monster meat?" Li Ping asked, his expression showing dissatisfaction.

"Fellow Daoist Li, monster meat isn't something you can have every day. Just make do with this." Hong Xing rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"stop."

"What else is there?" Hong Xing turned around impatiently.

"Turn your back to me."

Hong Xing was taken aback and instinctively turned around.

Snapped!

A slap landed squarely on her buttocks.

"Li Ping, are you sick in the head?" Hong Xing turned around abruptly, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Didn't you like this?" Li Ping spread his hands, looking puzzled.

"Who said I like it?"

"If you don't like it, why not avoid it?"

"I……"

Hong Xing was speechless. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she just stomped her foot and slammed the door shut as she left.

Back in her room, she felt increasingly aggrieved, so she went out to the yard to find Hong Peng.

Upon meeting, Hong Xing angrily said, "Dad, you need to control Li Ping. He's always taking advantage of me."

"Are you being reckless again?" Hong Peng's face darkened. "What did I tell you to do? Have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten, but we can't just let him do whatever he wants, can we?" Hong Xing protested.

"What, you gave it to him?"

"Father, what are you thinking about?" Hong Xing frowned.

Hong Pengqian chuckled and asked again, "In the past month or so, he hasn't forced himself on me?"

Seeing Hong Xing shake her head, he couldn't help but wonder, "Even the most patient man will have his own thoughts. Is this man impotent?"

"No, that's not it." Hong Xing pouted. "I think he's more like someone who has the desire to steal but not the courage."

Upon hearing this, Hong Peng seemed to understand and suddenly burst into laughter.

"What's on Father's mind?"

Hong Peng didn't answer, but instead asked, "What is Li Ping's status in the Mu family?"

"Son-in-law".

"He is indeed a son-in-law," Hong Peng shook his head, "but to be precise, he is the man of Mu Yuebai, a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Hong Xing suddenly realized: "Father means that he's afraid of Mu Yuebai and doesn't dare to do anything reckless outside, so he can only indulge in his desires?"

Hong Peng nodded, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.

Then he asked about the important matter:

"Is he still spending all his time indoors cultivating?"

"I've never been out."

"That's good. Keep an eye on things and report to me immediately if anything unusual happens."

After giving his instructions, Hong Peng was about to leave when Hong Xing called him back.

"Is there anything else?"

"What if Li Ping forces his way in?" Hong Xing asked with a worried expression.