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

Tie Fuhai's voice came to an abrupt end.

His massive body twitched slightly, like a child twisting his fingers after doing something wrong, hesitating and looking troubled.

Without needing to answer, Li Ping already knew the answer.

He didn't speak, but walked up to Tie Fuhai and placed his hand on his head.

His divine sense probed out and entered Tie Fuhai's body.

Tie Fuhai felt something enter his body and subconsciously felt something was wrong, but with Li Ping in front of him, he did not stop him and let him do as he pleased.

Probing with his divine sense, Li Ping quickly sensed an immense demonic power.

That demonic power was vast and profound, like the surging currents in the deep sea, silent yet containing astonishing strength.

Li Ping compared this demonic power with the magical power in his own dantian and was surprised.

Tie Fuhai's demonic power was twice that of him.

Converted to the realm of demonic beasts, Tie Fuhai is now a genuine late-stage first-order cultivator, equivalent to the late-stage Qi Refining realm of humans.

Li Ping withdrew his divine sense and remained silent for a moment.

"What have you been up to lately?" he asked.

Tie Fuhai honestly replied, "I pray for blessings every day, and then it's just eating..."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'll take the pills you give me, and the spiritual items that the fish find," Tie Fuhai said. "Sometimes the fish will find some glowing stones on the seabed, or spiritual herbs growing on the reefs, and they'll bring them to me."

Can you become stronger by eating?

Comparing himself to his own daily arduous cultivation—meditation, internal energy practice, and studying magic—and gradually accumulating magical power, Li Ping couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.

Seeing Li Ping's silence, Tie Fuhai assumed he was angry.

"Master, I will definitely cultivate diligently from now on." He quickly promised, his voice tinged with a hint of panic.

Upon hearing this, Li Ping chuckled softly.

"No need." He patted Tie Fuhai's head. "Just do what you want."

Tie Fuhai was taken aback: "Really?"

"real."

When Li Ping returned from the seabed, it was nearly dusk.

The sea was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, and the waves surged gently, as if afraid to disturb the tranquility of this place.

He surfaced, and with a surge of his magic, water vapor rose from his body, and his robes dried instantly.

Stepping ashore, Li Ping walked along the coastline towards Xikoufang Market.

Since Mu Fangxu arrived in the market, he has used an iron fist to crack down on robbery and theft, with remarkable results.

The flow of people in the market has visibly increased, and several new shops have opened on both sides of the street, selling pills, magical artifacts, and talismans, with a much wider variety of products than before.

As Li Ping walked down the street, he could clearly sense that the atmosphere was different from when he first arrived.

The cultivators gathered in twos and threes by the roadside, chatting and bargaining. Occasionally, a few independent cultivators could be seen setting up stalls, displaying strange items that were of unknown origin, their authenticity difficult to discern.

But the most bustling area was the dock.

Li Ping could see from afar that the dock was teeming with people, like ants carrying food.

A ferry had just docked when passengers filed out, some carrying luggage and hurrying along, while others looked around curiously, clearly visiting Xikou Market for the first time.

Beside the ferry, several cargo ships were unloading their cargo, and laborers were carrying wooden crates back and forth, their shouts echoing throughout.

Li Ping looked around for a moment, then looked away and walked towards the shop by the dock.

This shop is called Haiyuanzhai, specializing in elixirs. It is owned by the Mu family. The shop is not large, but it has a complete range of goods, selling elixirs from the early to late stages of Qi Refining.

The shopkeeper was an elderly man with gray hair, surnamed Zhou, who was at the third level of Qi Refining. When he saw Li Ping come in, he quickly got up to greet him.

"Inspector Li is here, please have a seat."

Li Ping waved his hand: "Manager Zhou, you don't need to be so polite. I'm here to buy some pills."

"What does Inspector Li need?"

"Give me three bottles each of Qi Gathering Pill and Mystic Water Pill."

Shopkeeper Zhou responded, turned around, took two porcelain bottles from the shelf, and handed them over.

Li Ping took the bottle, opened the stopper, smelled it, confirmed the quality was correct, and then took out spirit stones from his storage bag to pay the bill.

By the time I got back to my lodgings, it was completely dark.

Li Ping pushed open the courtyard gate. The courtyard was quiet; Mu Ming and the other two had not yet returned.

He went into his room, closed the door, and sat cross-legged on the prayer mat.

Instead of taking the medicine immediately, Li Ping closed his eyes and regulated his breathing for a while. Once his mind was completely calm, he took out the Xuan Shui Pill from his storage bag and swallowed it.

As the pill entered his stomach, a warm sensation spread throughout his body.

Li Ping circulated the Han Shui Jing (a traditional Chinese medicine method) to guide the medicinal power into the meridians of his body.

Opening up the meridians is a slow and gradual process.

The meridians in the human body are like river channels. Some are naturally unobstructed, while others are blocked. What cultivators need to do is use their magical power as a shovel to dredge these blocked river channels little by little.

The medicinal power of the Xuan Shui Dan provides a continuous boost during this process of clearing blockages.

Li Ping skillfully guided the medicinal power towards the location of the thirty-sixth meridian.

This meridian is located in the lower left of the dantian. It is the final barrier to opening the Great Circulation. He has tried to break through it several times, but each time he failed at the last moment.

But this time, he had a feeling it would work.

The medicinal power surged against the meridian walls like a tidal wave, wave after wave, relentlessly.

Li Ping held his breath and focused all his attention on the attack.

Time passed little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, a soft popping sound came from inside her body.

It felt like a certain acupoint had been broken through, or like something had suddenly become clear.

The thirty-sixth meridian is now open.

Li Ping was startled, and then he felt a mysterious change occurring within his body.

Thirty-six meridians light up simultaneously, echoing each other and forming a complete cycle.

The magical power within the dantian seemed to have found a new channel, surging out along the thirty-six meridians, circulating through the body for one full cycle, and then flowing back into the dantian.

After one complete cycle, the amount of spiritual energy refined was more than double that before.

Li Ping opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

The breath lingered in the air, transforming into a white ribbon that stretched for three feet before gradually dissipating.

Upon seeing this, Li Ping's face lit up with joy.

With the completion of the "Hanshui Jing" (a classic text on water purification), all thirty-six meridians will be open, and from then on, his cultivation speed will be twice as fast as before.

"Having stayed at the fourth level of Qi Refining for so long, it's time to continue advancing."

Li Ping muttered to himself, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

After setting the plan, he focused entirely on cultivation.

During the day, he would patrol the market as usual, and in the evening he would meditate and practice breathing exercises.

He swallowed one pill after another, and the magical power in his dantian gradually increased.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

At noon that day, Li Ping, Mu Ming, Mu Junyi, and Mu Chengyuan were patrolling the East Street of the market.

The sun was scorching, making the stone slabs on the street gleam white.

Mu Ming walked at the front, complaining about the weather. Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan also looked dejected and listless.

Only Li Ping remained calm.

As he was walking, he suddenly stopped.

A slight feeling of fullness came from my dantian, as if something was pushing outwards.

"You guys go ahead and patrol, I'm going back for a bit."

Li Ping left after saying those words, without waiting for the three to react.

Mu Ming was stunned for a moment, then called out to his retreating figure, "What happened?"

"Good thing."

Li Ping didn't turn his head, leaving only two words.