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

Back in the courtyard, Li Ping went straight into the house and closed the door behind him.

He sat down on the prayer mat, not in a hurry to take the medicine, but first regulated his breathing for a while.

The magical power in his dantian was slightly restless, like a pot of water about to boil.

This is a precursor to a breakthrough, but it is precisely at times like these that we must not rush things.

Li Ping closed his eyes and repeatedly circulated the Han Shui Jing, sorting out the magical power in his dantian again and again.

Once his magical power had completely stabilized and his condition had reached its peak, he opened his eyes and took out a Qi Gathering Pill from his storage bag.

Five pills were lined up in a row.

Li Ping took a deep breath and swallowed the five pills one by one.

The elixir melted upon entering the mouth, transforming into five streams of heat that flowed into the dantian.

The already slightly full dantian was now overflowing to its limit, with magical power almost overflowing.

The time had come, and Li Ping no longer hesitated, immediately activating his magical power.

Expanding the dantian is key to every breakthrough in the Qi Refining stage.

The dantian is like a container, and magical power is like the water in a pool. When the pool is full, you have to dig it up to hold more water.

However, the process of digging the pond was not easy.

The magical power was like a tiny shovel, pushing open the barrier of the dantian from the inside out. Each step it took was accompanied by a sharp pain.

Li Ping gritted his teeth, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

once.

twice.

three times.

The magical power repeatedly impacted the barrier in his dantian, like waves crashing against rocks.

An hour passed, and then a clear sound came from the dantian, like jade breaking.

The next moment, Li Ping's breathing suddenly intensified.

The fifth level of Qi Refining has been achieved.

Li Ping opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

Looking inward, he saw that his dantian had expanded by a full circle compared to before, and the magical power that was almost overflowing now only occupied less than half of his dantian.

The total amount of mana it can hold has more than doubled compared to when it was at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Li Ping nodded and then released his divine sense.

His divine sense spread outwards like a tide, passing through the walls and enveloping the entire courtyard.

Every blade of grass and every tree in the courtyard, even the ants in the corner, are clearly imprinted in my mind.

Five zhang (approximately 10 meters).

The range of his divine sense increased from three zhang to five zhang.

Li Ping nodded slightly, quite satisfied with the result.

He sat cross-legged on the futon and began to plan his own methods.

Now at the fifth level of Qi Refining and having mastered the Water Condensation Scripture, my cultivation speed is more than twice as fast as before. At this rate, reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining is just around the corner.

Of the three spells, Water Splitting Illusion Technique has been perfected, and Wave Stacking Technique is complete, while Abyss Flow Collapse is still at the minor completion stage.

His offensive skills are no weaker than those of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator; however, he lacks defensive capabilities.

Li Ping frowned, thinking of body tempering.

"Next, we should focus on the 'Rock Iron Bone Technique'."

Li Ping muttered to himself, then got up and walked out of the room.

In the courtyard, Mu Ming and the other two happened to return.

Mu Ming walked at the front, wiping sweat as he went, muttering, "This awful weather, patrolling here feels like being in a sauna..."

He was speaking when he suddenly looked up and saw Li Ping, and stopped in his tracks.

"you……"

Mu Ming stared at Li Ping for two seconds, then his eyes widened suddenly.

Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan also noticed something was wrong and looked at Li Ping at the same time.

"Li Ping, you've broken through?" Mu Ming's voice rose.

Li Ping smiled and nodded.

The three exchanged a glance, and all saw shock in each other's eyes.

Mu Ming stepped forward and patted Li Ping on the shoulder, sincerely saying, "Congratulations."

Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan also offered their congratulations.

Li Ping smiled and agreed. Just as he was about to speak, Mu Ming suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, I ran into Senior Brother Fang Xu on the street just now. He said you should visit him when you have time."

Li Ping nodded: "I'll be right there."

……

……

When Li Ping arrived at the seaside courtyard, Mu Fangxu was sitting by the window drinking tea.

"You're here, have a seat."

Mu Fangxu gestured for Li Ping to sit down and personally poured him a cup of tea.

Then, he stared at Li Ping.

Looking up and down, left and right, made Li Ping feel very uncomfortable.

"Senior Brother Fang Xu, what's wrong with you...?"

"You've reached the fifth level of Qi Refining?" Mu Fangxu finally spoke, his tone filled with disbelief.

Li Ping nodded.

Mu Fangxu clicked his tongue, picked up his teacup, and took a sip, as if digesting the news.

"You really have mixed spiritual roots?"

He put down his teacup and asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time.

Li Ping smiled, his expression calm: "The real thing."

"That's not right." Mu Fangxu frowned, counting on his fingers. "When you joined the Mu family, you were only at the second level of Qi Refining. In just over a year, you've advanced three levels. How could a mixed spiritual root advance at that speed?"

Li Ping smiled but remained silent.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and left only a mysterious expression on his face.

He had already seriously considered the issue of his cultivation speed being too fast.

Making excuses only makes people suspicious.

What kind of rare and precious treasures did he consume? What kind of rare and precious treasures could allow a mixed spiritual root to advance three levels in just over a year? Even if such treasures existed, they would be extremely rare. Where did a son-in-law like him get them?

What special cultivation technique did he practice? The "Hanshui Scripture" is good, but it's not heaven-defying.

Since that's the case, I'd rather not say anything.

Let them imagine it for themselves.

Anyway, he has Mu Yuebai as his Daoist partner. Given her status, it's perfectly normal for her to give Li Ping some special treatment and bestow some precious pills upon him.

Anyone would guess that way.

As expected, Mu Fangxu nodded thoughtfully, a "I understand" expression on his face.

Seeing this, Li Ping chuckled inwardly.

You jumped into this ditch yourself, so you can't blame me.

He put down his teacup and changed the subject: "What brings Senior Brother Fang Xu to see me this time?"

Mu Fangxu snapped out of his daze and straightened his expression.

"We have news about what you were asking about before."

Li Ping's heart stirred.

He had been searching for the two offerings, the Crimson Marrow and the Mysterious Ganoderma and the Thousand-Threaded Wood, for a long time.

However, neither of these items is commonly found in the open sea, and despite his inquiries, he has yet to find any results.

Having no other choice, he sought out Mu Fangxu and asked him for help.

I didn't expect to hear news so quickly.

Li Ping suppressed his joy and waited patiently for the next part.

Mu Fangxu slowly spoke: "Thousand-threaded puppet wood is used to make puppets. Puppet masters are rare in this area of ​​the outer sea. I searched for a long time before finally finding it in the hands of a passenger on a ship."

As he spoke, he took a wooden box out of his storage bag and pushed it in front of Li Ping.

The wooden box is about the size of a palm, entirely black, with simple patterns carved on it.

"They only had this one, and they originally planned to take it to Qingfeng City to sell for a high price," Mu Fangxu said. "I was afraid of missing this opportunity, so I had to plead and beg to get it. Don't think it's too expensive."

"How could that be?"

Li Ping waved his hand, picked up the wooden box, and opened it.

Inside the box lay a piece of wood, about the length of a finger, entirely black, with fine lines covering its surface, like countless threads intertwined. Upon closer inspection, the lines seemed to be slowly wriggling.

Li Ping closed the wooden box, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Fang Xu. How many spirit stones are in this?"