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

Upon hearing this, Mu Fangxu fell silent.

It may be hard to hear, but it's the truth.

For the past month, he has indeed not seen anyone. The Mu family members came, the market manager came, but he sent them all away.

He stood up, went into the inner room, took out a nautical chart, spread it on the stone table, and asked, "Where do those two families plan to build their markets?"

Li Ping glanced at the nautical chart and drew a line in the southern part of the map with his finger.

"Green Snail Island?"

Mu Fangxu looked displeased and sighed, "They want to challenge my Mu family."

The location of Qingluo Island is excellent. It is situated on the edge of the Mu family's sphere of influence, connecting to the trade routes of the Zheng and Huang families to the west, while blocking the independent cultivators who originally headed to Xikou Market to the east.

Li Ping nodded and revealed more information: "Both families have announced that everyone who comes to the market will receive five spirit stones on the day it is completed. In addition, those who previously owned shops in the Xikou market can have their rent waived for six months if they bring their lease agreements."

Mu Fangxu's expression finally changed.

The first point is merely to generate buzz for the market's opening; this tactic is unsustainable and nothing to worry about.

But the second one is undermining their family, specifically targeting the Mu family.

The atmosphere in Xikou Market is already unsettled, with many shops closing down and waiting to see what happens.

If Zheng and Huang offer such terms, how will the shops choose?

The Mu family has already lost the support of the people. If this incident happens again, the outcome for Xikou Market is predictable.

"This is difficult," Mu Fangxu sighed.

Li Ping smiled slightly: "What if there's a way to bring the crowds back before their market opens?"

Mu Fangxu was taken aback upon hearing this. After a moment's thought, he shook his head: "Bringing back the flow of people is easier said than done."

Li Ping didn't say anything, but simply placed the formula for the Returning Cloud Pill on the table.

Mu Fangxu was puzzled. He looked at the prescription and then at Li Ping.

Li Ping nodded, gesturing for him to look.

Mu Fangxu picked up the prescription. At first, his brows were furrowed, but as he looked at it, his eyes gradually brightened.

But after reading it, he wasn't very interested and simply put the prescription down: "Restore 30% of your mana? Are you serious?"

Clearly, he believed that the prescription was something Li Ping had written haphazardly to cheer him up.

A pill that restores 30% of one's mana simply doesn't exist on the market.

The Qi Gathering Pill restores 10% of one's mana, and the Yellow Sprout Pill restores 20%. These are the only two pills that can restore mana during the Qi Refining stage.

A recovery of 30%? Unheard of.

Li Ping smiled and said, "I know you won't believe me. I'll go find Cheng Keqing, and he'll tell you then."

After saying that, he turned and left without hesitation.

Mu Fangxu watched his retreating figure, opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't call out to him.

Li Ping left decisively, and his manner didn't seem feigned.

He lowered his head and glanced again at the prescription on the table.

The ingredients—Gathering Spirit Grass, Polygonatum, three auxiliary herbs, the method of condensing the elixir—are described in detail and clearly, not as if they were made up on the spot.

Could it really be true?

Watching Li Ping's departing figure, he suddenly felt a sense of anticipation.

……

……

The alchemist of the Mu family is named Cheng Yi.

He was once a rogue cultivator who set up a stall on Crescent Island. Later, he was noticed by the family head for his alchemy skills and became a guest of the Mu family.

Because of this early experience, coupled with his good relationship with the Mu family's senior members, Cheng Yi was quite prestigious among the Mu family's guest retainers.

Cheng Yi's courtyard was quite large, with five rooms and a large area in the courtyard that was used to process medicinal herbs.

When Li Ping arrived, Cheng Yi was busy in the yard.

Several purple ginseng roots were drying in front of him, each as thick as a thumb, with a shimmering purple sheen and of excellent quality.

Cheng Yi was carefully removing the dirt from the ginseng roots with a small knife.

"Master Cheng, are you busy?" Li Ping cupped his hands in greeting.

Cheng Yi looked up, saw it was Li Ping, and nodded.

Li Ping smiled and asked, "Do you need any help?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yi quickly shook his head: "No, this little bit of Ziyun ginseng is hard-earned."

Li Ping smiled, knowing that he was still angry about his poor performance in alchemy last time.

Two batches were fried at the time, billowing black smoke and filling the yard with a burnt smell. Cheng Yi was so angry that his beard stood on end.

"Don't worry, Guest Master Cheng, I won't ask you to refine pills this time." Li Ping sat down next to him.

Cheng Yi glanced at Li Ping, his face showing suspicion.

Li Ping took out the formula for the Returning Cloud Pill and handed it over: "This time, I need you to help me check if this formula is genuine."

"A pill formula?" Cheng Yi took it and looked at it, only to find that it was a pill he had never heard of before. "Returning Cloud Pill? Where did you get this formula?"

Li Ping smiled and said, "I found it."

"If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it." Cheng Yi pouted and looked down to examine the document carefully.

Unlike Mu Fangxu, Cheng Yi did not make a judgment based solely on the results.

His gaze lingered on pharmacology and alchemical formulas, pondering them repeatedly.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke: "Although this pill has miraculous effects, there is no problem with either the pill-making technique or the refining method."

However, whether it's true or not, one must personally refine a batch to know.

Li Ping nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Guest Master Cheng."

Cheng Yi's courtyard is always stocked with various medicinal herbs, including both Polygonatum and Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

He took a sample of medicinal herbs and began to process them according to the prescription.

The herb was chopped into small pieces, and the polygonatum was dried and ground into a paste. The whole process was done slowly and skillfully.

After processing the medicinal herbs, Cheng Yi glanced at Li Ping and asked, "Would you like to observe from the sidelines?"

How could Li Ping let such a good opportunity slip by?

Besides, he never knew which step he went wrong, so he could compare and see.

The two then went to another room.

The room wasn't large, and there were three alchemy furnaces on a shelf next to it. Cheng Yi took one down, lit the fire, and sat down cross-legged.

Li Ping sat to the side, holding his breath and staring intently, not missing a single detail.

First add the Spirit Gathering Grass fragments, then add water.

Once the medicinal liquid turns bluish-green, pour in the ground Polygonatum sibiricum paste.

A delicate fragrance wafted over, and the two medicinal herbs began to blend together.

The contents of the furnace gradually turned into a paste, and Cheng Yi immediately cast the alchemy incantation.

After watching the whole process, Li Ping realized that his steps were exactly the same as his.

After waiting a moment, Cheng Yi lifted the lid of the furnace, revealing six round and plump, golden-orange pills inside.

Li Ping took a closer look and, seeing that it had indeed been successfully refined, frowned.

This shouldn't be happening.

I tried practicing like that too, so why didn't it work?

Cheng Yi, unaware of his thoughts, simply took out two pills and handed one to Li Ping: "Try it and see how it works."

Li Ping took the pill and swallowed it. As soon as the medicine entered his mouth, its medicinal power dissipated, and a rich spiritual energy burst forth within his body.

Once the effects of the medicine wore off, the two looked at each other and spoke in unison.

"Thirty percent."

Cheng Yi glanced down at the remaining pills in the furnace, remained silent for a moment, then looked up and asked, "What do you plan to do with this pill formula?"

Li Ping cupped his hands in greeting: "I will trouble you, Guest Master Cheng, when the time comes."

Cheng Yi didn't refuse and nodded.