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

The second floor was spacious, and judging from the furnishings, it should be the residence of the white-haired old man.

He reached under the wooden bed, pulled out a box, and rummaged through it for a while before finally taking out a scroll.

The book's corners were curled up, and the cover was covered in a layer of dust, making it look quite old.

The old man wiped it for a moment, revealing a line of small characters: "Gongshu Yan's Travelogue".

Li Ping frowned slightly: "The 'hot item' you're referring to is this travelogue?"

The white-haired old man nodded, a smile on his face.

Li Ping lowered his eyes, displeased: "What I need is a battle formation diagram, are you trying to fool me with a travelogue?"

"Young friend, please calm down."

"What? Is there some other explanation for this travelogue?"

"Of course, there are many different interpretations involved."

The white-haired old man smiled mysteriously and whispered, "Do you know who this Gongshu Yan is?"

"Never heard of them," Li Ping shook his head. "Could they be some extraordinary figure? Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation?"

"Young friend, your vision is too narrow," said the white-haired old man. "This Gongshu Yan was a master of formations. He studied countless formations throughout his life and wrote thousands of books on formations."

It has been said that one cannot truly understand the art of military strategy without studying the works of Gongshu Ban.

"It's so famous, why have I never heard of it?" Li Ping asked.

The white-haired old man coughed lightly and laughed, "Gongshu Yan became famous three thousand years ago, so you naturally wouldn't know that, young friend."

"That doesn't make sense," Li Ping said. "According to you, he wrote many books and was highly regarded. Even if he was a figure from three thousand years ago, shouldn't he have some works that have been passed down and that I should know his name?"

"Well... actually, his books were banned."

"Are you serious?" Li Ping turned his head and looked at the old man strangely.

"That's why I said this is a rare find; there's only one like it in the world."

Li Ping sneered and got up to leave.

"Young friend, don't be impatient. This book only costs one spirit stone."

Li Ping stopped, sat down, and flipped through the book.

This travelogue is indeed related to formations, but it mainly explains formations through the contours of mountains and rivers, as if it was written casually while traveling.

Closing the book, Li Ping took out a spirit stone: "Senior, don't lie to people anymore, or your shop might have to close down."

"etc."

"Is there anything else?"

"I have some really good stuff here."

After the old man finished speaking, he took out three more books from the box. They were old-fashioned and still covered in dust.

Wipe away the black ash, and three lines of small characters will be revealed.

"Floating Jade Sea: A Record of Romantic Encounters by My Pillow"

"Floating Jade Sea: Chronicles of the Storm Beneath the Skirt"

"A Study of the Romantic Affairs of Hongluan in Fuyuhai"

"This?" Li Ping looked puzzled. "Isn't this a formation shop?"

"It's definitely a formation shop. It can earn spirit stones, so who would complain about not having enough? Even a small amount is still money," the white-haired old man chuckled.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you; I'm already immune to all of this from you." Li Ping shook his head.

"Don't rush, young friend."

The old man quickly picked up a book and stood in front of Li Ping.

"You must need this 'Map of the Floating Jade Sea Area,' right? Buy the three copies, and this one is yours for free."

"If you put that same effort into the first floor, I believe the shop wouldn't be doing so poorly."

Li Ping sighed and took out three more spirit stones.

After watching Li Ping leave with the book, the old man sat down on the edge of the bed again.

Looking at the box on the ground, he couldn't help but sigh.

"All these years, this has been my only hobby, so why doesn't anyone want to watch it?"

The old man silently put the box away, then suddenly laughed again.

"Luckily, a sucker came along today."

……

……

After leaving Qingshiji, Li Ping headed towards the heart of the island.

The place is secluded and quiet, with a lone pavilion standing there all by itself. This is the place called Jieyoufang, which specializes in selling spiritual food.

Upon entering, the innkeeper greeted Li Ping warmly and led him to a private room on the second floor.

"Fellow Daoist, what would you like to order?"

Li Ping said, "Give me a free hot pot and two plates of Frost-Descent Spirit Meat."

"Please order larger quantities, don't shortchange us from the start."

"What you're saying, fellow Daoist," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

"Another plate of jade-like mushrooms, and a side of hot vegetables."

"A pot of intoxicating wine."

"Alright, anything else you'd like to order?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Give me another pound of deer blood, I'll boil it in a pot and eat it."

The shopkeeper smiled and agreed, then turned to make arrangements.

In no time, the table was filled with delicious food, steaming hot.

"I only ordered one pot of Drunken Immortal Wine, why were three pots delivered?" Li Ping asked.

"It was a gift from our boss," the shopkeeper smiled. "He said you are a distinguished guest of the Mu family, and we cannot neglect you."

The owner of Jieyoufang is surnamed Lin, and is also a Foundation Establishment family.

In terms of strength, they are far inferior to the Mu, Zheng, and Huang families, but Jieyoufang has branches all over the eight islands of the outer sea, making them a mid-level force.

For many years, he has been honest and law-abiding towards the three major families above him, and he has never bullied the small clans and independent cultivators below him. He has an excellent reputation, but he has always been relatively unknown.

Is this delivery of wine... meant to stir things up?

It seems that the current head of the Lin family is quite a restless person.

Li Ping chuckled softly and secretly made a mental note of it.

While enjoying the delicious food, he took out his travelogue and began reading it as he ate.

It must be said that Gongshu Yan was a remarkable person.

He incorporated the concepts of formations into local customs, landscapes, and natural scenery, making those otherwise dry and boring things interesting.

Even Li Ping was captivated for a moment and gained quite a bit from it.

Such a good book on formations, how could it be banned?

He sighed softly and continued reading.

An hour passed, and only scraps of food remained on the table. The travelogue had been almost finished being read.

However, none of the array diagrams resembled the layout of the cave.

Helpless, Li Ping silently turned to the last volume: "Forbidden Mountains and Rivers: Evidence of Extraordinary Techniques"

Unlike the previous one, this scroll has only one page, which depicts a mountain landscape.

The mountains in the picture are winding and connected, forming a circle.

In the center of the circle, a strange boulder hangs in the air, with eight tiny figures kneeling and bowing their heads below it.

"Um?"

Li Ping's expression turned serious, and he looked down at the annotations below.

"This is no ordinary mountain formation; its principles are closer to those of living things, using humans as the warp and the earth as the weft, absorbing and utilizing the flow of energy..."

The act of stealing from Heaven, though extremely perilous, does not lose the beauty of the ultimate simplicity.

"Is it related to luck?"

Li Ping recalled the layout of the cave and carefully compared it with the mountain map.

The two are largely consistent in their underlying principles, differing only in specifications and minor details.

The size and specifications do not affect the principles of the formation and can be ignored.

In the details, the suspended rock in the picture is not connected to the mountain range, but the stalactites inside the cave are connected to the cave wall by yellow bricks.

If the stalactites in the cave are giant pythons, then the suspended rock in this picture is a real dragon.

The positions of the eight little figures were exactly the same as the layout of the hut in the cave.

Having seen this, Li Ping was already 90% certain.

But this makes things a bit tricky.

After all, luck is a very ethereal and unpredictable thing.

He didn't understand, and the Mu family understood even less.

He had previously thought that the cave construction was not yet complete and that danger would not yet befall him.

Fortune can be formless and intangible.

He felt nothing during his time on the island, but who knew if his luck had already begun to be devoured?