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

With a loud bang, the alchemy furnace exploded.

Li Ping anticipated that alchemy would not go smoothly, but he never expected that even the furnace would explode.

Although that secondhand alchemy furnace was quite old, its walls were of uniform thickness, and it didn't look like something that would explode.

But it just exploded, and exploded cleanly and decisively, even the stove lid shattered into pieces.

According to the book on alchemy, there are only two reasons for an explosion in the furnace.

One possibility is that the alchemy technique was applied incorrectly, and another is that there is a problem with the alchemy furnace itself.

When he performed the alchemy technique, his method was exactly the same as that recorded in the formula, and his magical power flowed smoothly without any stagnation.

But this was only the second time he had truly condensed the elixir, and he dared not say that his technique was flawless.

As for the alchemy furnace, it was a secondhand item, and he wasn't sure if there were any invisible cracks inside.

"If the problem is with the alchemy technique, it will still explode even with a new furnace. If the problem is with the furnace..."

Li Ping shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further.

After tidying up, he sat back down at the stone table, unfolded the prescription for the Returning Cloud Pill, and read it through again from beginning to end.

We still can't find the problem.

"Never mind, let's put it aside for now."

Li Ping put away the prescription and rubbed his temples.

Refining two batches in a row had taken a toll on his mental energy. At this moment, his head was throbbing slightly. If he forced himself to continue studying, he would only get stuck in a rut.

Just as he was about to get up and go back to his room to regulate his breathing, he suddenly heard a muffled thud coming from the courtyard gate.

Then, with another bang, the courtyard gate was violently kicked open by something, and two figures tumbled and fell into the courtyard.

Li Ping's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly.

Upon closer inspection, the two figures turned out to be Mu Ming and Mu Junyi.

At this moment, the two men were covered in blood, their clothes were tattered, their hair was disheveled, and their faces were covered in blood and dust.

Mu Junyi lay motionless on the ground, three deep, bone-revealing claw marks on his back were a shocking sight.

Mu Ming was slightly better, but he was still covered in blood and was struggling to get up, but his arms were shaking so badly that he collapsed to the ground several times.

"What happened?"

Li Ping rushed forward and helped Mu Ming up.

Upon hearing this, Mu Junyi barely lifted his eyelids and opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could utter a single word, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Without saying a word, Li Ping took out a healing pill from his storage bag, pried open Mu Junyi's mouth, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Mu Ming leaned against the wall, panting heavily, but his eyes were still relatively clear.

"Something has happened inside the cave."

"Who did it?" Li Ping blurted out.

Mu Ming shook his head, a look of fear on his face: "It's not a person... it's a skeleton, a skeleton."

Upon hearing this, Li Ping's pupils suddenly contracted.

A skeleton?

Although the cave was large, he and Mu Fangxu had explored it thoroughly and found nothing unusual.

How could a skeleton suddenly appear?

"Take this pill first." Li Ping suppressed the shock in his heart, took out a pill, and handed it to Mu Ming.

Mu Ming took the pill and swallowed it. His complexion improved slightly, but his face was still pale.

"Brother Ming, please speak slowly." Li Ping sat down opposite him, his gaze serious.

Mu Ming nodded and slowly spoke.

"At that time, the three of us were confronting another group of cultivators over a spiritual plant."

That group got there first, and we were planning to back down, but before we could leave, a scream suddenly came from deep within the cave.

"Immediately afterwards, the cultivators in the cave started shouting and ran out in a swarm."

A few of us didn't know what had happened, but we still ran outside.

"But there are too many people."

At this point, Mu Ming's voice trembled.

"There were at least several hundred cultivators going to that cave. They were all crammed into one path. Those with higher cultivation levels could push forward, while those with lower cultivation levels were simply trampled on the ground."

The three of us were stuck in the middle, unable to get out in front and surrounded by people behind us.

Just then…

"The skeleton floated out from the depths of the cave. It had no flesh or blood on its body, but its eye sockets shone with two eerie green lights."

It was also carrying a cultivator in its hand, who convulsed all over and then deflated in the blink of an eye, turning into a dried-up corpse.

"One strike." Mu Ming raised his head and looked at Li Ping. "With just one strike, a living cultivator was turned into a dried-up corpse."

Li Ping felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

It can fly through the air, kill with a single blow, and even suck blood.

Such methods are far beyond the capabilities of cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

"And you?" Li Ping asked.

Mu Ming gave a bitter smile: "We had the worst luck; we were squeezed right in the middle."

Running back leads to skeletons, while running forward leads to a blocked gate.

The surrounding cultivators went mad, indiscriminately throwing magical artifacts and talismans at each other. Some, in their desperate attempt to break through, even attacked those directly in front of them with deadly force.

"Knowing that waiting any longer would surely mean certain death, I grabbed Junyi and Chengyuan and also attacked the people in front of us."

We fought our way through, and finally managed to get out.

He paused abruptly as he spoke.

Her eyes suddenly reddened, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Cheng Yuan... he didn't come out."

Li Ping froze, feeling as if something had hit his head hard.

"Chengyuan is gone?"

"That skeleton was chasing too fast..." Mu Ming raised his hand to cover his eyes, his body trembling. "Cheng Yuan was left behind and was grabbed by that skeleton. His life essence was drained and he collapsed behind the gate."

I tried to turn back and pull him away, but Junyi dragged me outside, saying it was too late, too late…

Mu Ming's voice gradually faded, and suddenly his head lolled to the side as he lost consciousness.

Li Ping quickly reached out to support him, then took out another pill and fed it to him.

He stood up, feeling a buzzing in his head.

Mu Chengyuan's face involuntarily appeared before my eyes, and past memories flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Li Ping stood in the courtyard, silent for a long time.

He looked down at Mu Ming and Mu Junyi.

Both men were covered in wounds and their breaths were weak. If they were delayed any longer, even if they survived, their very foundations would be damaged.

Li Ping stopped thinking about it and bent down to carry the two of them into the house, placing them on the bed.

He extended his divine sense to carefully examine the injuries of the two.

The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed.

Mu Ming had seven or eight wounds on his body. Some were burned by fire magic, some were long cuts from sharp weapons, deep enough to expose the bone, and there were also several marks from shattered talismans, leaving his skin torn and flesh torn.

Mu Junyi's injuries were more severe, with three scratch marks on his back, the edges of which were blackened and lingered with a sinister aura.

There was also a penetrating wound in his abdomen, as if he had been stabbed in from behind by some kind of sharp, cone-shaped magical artifact.

The injuries were messy and intertwined.

Li Ping's expression grew increasingly grim.

This type of injury is the most difficult to treat, as it can have far-reaching consequences.

After pondering for a moment, Li Ping left the courtyard and headed straight for He Jiu's residence.

He Jiu is the Mu family's honorary physician, with a cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining. His medical skills are highly regarded in Xikou Market.

Li Ping had dealt with him several times and knew that although the man was somewhat eccentric, his medical skills were indeed remarkable.

A moment later, He Jiu followed Li Ping to the courtyard.

He entered the room and frowned.

"How did you get injured like this?"

He Jiu walked to the bedside, checked the pulses of both men, then looked at their pupils by opening their eyelids, and finally placed his hand on Mu Junyi's chest, closing his eyes to sense for a long time.

He Jiu lowered his hand and sighed, "They're lucky to have made it back alive."

"How is it?" Li Ping asked.

"Just like you said, the injuries are too complicated." He Jiu shook his head. "There are injuries from magical artifacts, talismans, spells, and there's also a sinister aura. I reckon it was caused by some kind of evil spirit."

These injuries are intertwined, and moving one can affect the whole body.

If we immediately focus all our efforts on treatment, it could easily trigger a simultaneous flare-up of the injuries, at which point even a miracle wouldn't be able to save them.

He thought for a moment, then took out several bottles of topical ointment from his medicine box, carefully applied them to the wounds of the two men, and wrote down a prescription to hand to Li Ping.

"First, use medicine to draw out the evil qi, then use this prescription to slowly nourish and restore the body's foundation."

Once the injuries have stabilized, I will resolve them one by one. During this time, it is crucial to avoid using any magical power and to prevent any further external injuries.

Li Ping took the prescription and glanced at it.

The list above is densely packed with more than a dozen medicinal herbs, most of which are mild and nourishing, and are indeed appropriate for the symptoms.

"Thank you for your trouble, Elder He," Li Ping said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"You're welcome," He Jiu waved his hand.

After seeing He Jiu off, Li Ping didn't waste a moment and went straight to Chen's Pharmacy.

The little girl with the round face was about to greet him when she saw him arrive, but her smile froze when she saw the expression on his face.

Li Ping placed the prescription on the counter and said, "Make this prescription, ten doses."

The young girl took the prescription, glanced at it, looked up at Li Ping's face, said nothing, and turned to get the medicine.

In a short while, ten doses of medicine were packaged. Li Ping paid with spirit stones, put the medicine package into his storage bag, and turned to leave.

He did not return to the courtyard.

Instead, they headed straight towards the seaside courtyard.