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

Mu Fangxu held up one finger.

"One thousand spirit stones."

Li Ping's eyelids twitched violently.

Although he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp when he heard the number.

"It's so expensive..."

"Of course," Mu Fangxu said. "This thing can be used to create second-tier puppets. What does a second-tier puppet mean? It's equivalent to Foundation Establishment level combat power."

Li Ping nodded.

He understood the reasoning, but the spirit stones were real.

He took out all the spirit stones from his storage bag, piled them on the table, and counted them.

One hundred and thirty yuan.

This is all his possessions.

Li Ping pushed the spirit stones in front of Mu Fangxu: "Senior Brother Fangxu, this is all I have. I'll try to gather the rest, but if it's still not enough, I'll have to owe you for now."

Mu Fangxu glanced at the spirit stones on the table, then at Li Ping, but did not reach out to collect them.

"If I give you everything, what are you going to do?"

"A cultivator can't do without some spirit stones."

Li Ping smiled and asked, "And what about you?"

Mu Fangxu waved his hand: "No need to worry, I have plenty of spirit stones."

As he spoke, he pushed the spirit stone on the table back and then picked up another item.

"The Crimson Marrow Mystic Mushroom is cheaper, 500 spirit stones per serving, and it's sold in Qingfeng City. If you need it urgently, you can ask a member of your clan to bring it back for you."

This item requires two offerings, which is one thousand spirit stones. Adding the one thousand spirit stones for the Thousand-Threaded Wood, the total is two thousand.

Li Ping felt his heart bleed upon hearing this, and his dough twitched slightly.

Mu Fangxu saw through his embarrassment and said calmly, "The Crimson Marrow and Mystic Herb are not rare in Qingfeng City. They are available at any time. There's no need to rush."

Li Ping nodded.

Since it's always available, there's no need to rush.

However, this matter of spirit stones still needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

In a daze, he remembered the iron-backed whales on Pingyue Island.

We can't let them draw salaries without working anymore; we need to assign them some tasks.

Thinking of this, Li Ping asked, "Senior Brother Fang Xu, do you know if there are any goods transport jobs in the clan, and how are they arranged?"

Mu Fangxu shook his head: "It's no use asking me about this. The clan elders are in charge of this matter."

Li Ping nodded, then asked, "May I ask which elders are in charge?"

Mu Fangxu didn't ask any further questions and simply gave a few names.

Li Ping noted everything down, pondering in his mind, waiting to find out more when he returned to Crescent Island.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Li Ping got up to take his leave.

When I stepped out of the courtyard, it was already close to dusk.

A sea breeze blew in my face, carrying a salty, damp smell. In the distance, another ferry slowly docked at the pier.

Li Ping glanced at it, then looked away and walked towards his residence.

The matter of the spirit stone has made progress, and the Thousand-Threaded Wood has also been obtained.

Once we've collected enough spirit stones and bought the Crimson Marrow Mystic Mushroom, we can start the next offering to the Well of Opportunities.

"I wonder what good stuff they'll throw out this time."

Li Ping felt a faint sense of anticipation.

……

……

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

At the dock of Xikou Market, Li Ping, carrying a jar of spirit wine, squatted on a stone pier with Mu Ming and the other two, enjoying the breeze.

"I say, Ping-ge, you're living too comfortably." Mu Ming took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said, "Patrolling, cultivating, listening to music, a three-point routine, you're more like an old man in the market than I am."

Mu Junyi chuckled from the side, "That's right, he's become a regular at Steward Su's place. Last time I went to Wenxiang Pavilion, the young lady even asked me why Fellow Daoist Li wasn't here today."

Li Ping smiled without saying a word, took the wine jar, and took a sip.

He spent more than half a year with Mu Ming and the other two, and they had figured out each other's personalities.

Although these three came from a collateral branch of the Mu family, they did not have the arrogance of scions of a prominent family. They were down-to-earth in their work and straightforward in their speech, making them easy to get along with.

"Oh, right." Mu Chengyuan suddenly remembered something, "Did Senior Brother Fang Xu come looking for you again this morning?"

Li Ping nodded.

Mu Ming clicked his tongue: "Senior Brother Fang Xu really treats you differently, talking to you every few days. I heard that 'limited-time discount' idea he came up with last time alarmed the Foundation Establishment Elder."

Li Ping waved his hand: "It was just a casual remark."

He was telling the truth. He had only casually mentioned those business methods from his previous life, but he didn't expect Mu Fangxu to actually adopt them.

Several shops along the dock started offering limited-time discounts and a rebate program for spending a certain amount. This combination of measures caused the foot traffic in the market to increase by another 20%.

Xikou Market was already well-located, at the intersection of several shipping routes, and now, with proper management, it has the potential to surpass the other two markets owned by the Mu family.

The only thing to worry about is the Tribulation Cultivator.

However, these matters are not something a son-in-law like him should worry about.

Li Ping snapped out of his thoughts, stood up, and said, "You guys keep drinking, I have something to take care of."

Mu Ming waved his hand without looking up.

After leaving the dock, Li Ping turned and headed towards his residence.

What truly troubled him was the spirit stones.

The Thousand-Threaded Wood owes Mu Fangxu a thousand spirit stones, and the two portions of Vermilion Marrow and Mysterious Ganoderma cost another thousand. He is now heavily in debt, and his pockets are emptier than his face.

Unfortunately, his patrol duties kept him tied to this place, leaving him no time to work on spirit stones.

Fortunately, good news came from Pingyue Island.

Hong Xing was in charge of the island's affairs, so she wasn't idle.

She searched far and wide and finally found a buyer for the water vine.

In two months, once the tidal vines on the island are harvested, he can exchange them for spirit stones to relieve his immediate crisis.

Thinking of this, Li Ping felt somewhat relieved.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, went into the house, and sat down on the prayer mat.

With the matter of the spirit stones showing promise, the progress of another matter made him even more satisfied.

Li Ping sat cross-legged and began to circulate his qi and blood.

The body's Qi and blood surged like a river, far more vigorous than three months ago.

That drop of blue essence blood truly lived up to its reputation as a top-grade body-refining spiritual item.

He used it to temper his body, and his progress was astonishingly fast. Now his body tempering cultivation is approaching the mid-stage of the Qi and Blood Realm, which is equivalent to the sixth level of Qi Refining for a magic cultivator.

He hadn't expected that his physical cultivation level would surpass that of his magical cultivation level.

Moreover, at this rate, the gap will only widen, and the body cultivators might break through to the next realm first.

Li Ping opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the artificial mountain on the table.

The artificial mountain is about the size of a head, dark green all over, with a simple and unadorned shape; it looks like an ordinary ornament.

However, if one carefully senses with one's divine sense, one can perceive a thick layer of earth energy contained within the mountain.

The cultivation of the Rocky Iron Bone Technique does not rely on hard work; it depends on spiritual objects containing earth energy.

He wandered around the market for a long time before finally finding the item by chance at a stall.

This thing comes from the deep sea, yet it contains the earth's energy, which is quite strange.

However, there are many strange things in the cultivation world, so as long as it works, it's fine.

Li Ping pulled the artificial mountain in front of him, placed his hands on the rocks, and began to circulate the Rocky Iron Bone Technique.

A heavy, earthy energy seeped from the artificial mountain and flowed into my body through my palm.

When the earth's energy enters the body, it's like molten iron being poured, seeping inch by inch into the muscles, bones, skin, and flesh.

A faint gray sheen appeared on the surface of the skin, as if it were covered with a layer of stone.

An hour later, the earth's energy dissipated completely.

Li Ping tried to draw energy from the artificial mountain again, but it was empty, devoid of any trace of earth energy.

"One unit is consumed every two months."

Li Ping nodded, satisfied with the speed, then got up, dusted off his robes, and went out the door.