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

The stall area by the pier was bustling with activity.

Li Ping mingled in the crowd, walking and stopping intermittently, occasionally pausing in front of a particular stall.

Instead of rushing straight to his target, he first visited a few shops, pretended to look at some magical artifacts, and asked about their prices.

He circled around twice before finally stopping in front of a stall in a corner.

The stall owner was a dark-skinned man, big and burly, and his stall was filled with all sorts of strange and unusual things.

Broken seashell artifacts, bones of unknown sea beasts, and several pieces of strangely colored ore were piled up haphazardly.

Upon seeing someone approaching, the dark-skinned man immediately perked up.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at the right time. These are all top-quality goods salvaged from the deep sea." The man picked up a dusty gray seashell. "Look at this one, it's the shell of a third-tier sea beast. Take it back and refine it into a magic weapon; its defensive power will be absolutely..."

Li Ping didn't respond. He glanced around the stall expressionlessly, picked up a piece of animal bone, looked at it, and then put it down.

Undeterred, the dark-skinned man continued his introduction, spitting as he spoke.

When he introduced the third item, Li Ping suddenly pointed to a miniature mountain next to the stall.

"How much is this artificial rockery?"

The dark-skinned man was taken aback, clearly not expecting him to ask that question.

But business people can exaggerate anything.

"Fellow Daoist has good taste," the man grinned. "This artificial rockery of mine is no ordinary item; it's a rare stone mined from the deep sea. Placing it in a room can gather spiritual energy and nourish one's vital energy. Look at the texture, the shape..."

"How many spirit stones?" Li Ping interrupted him, his impatience evident.

The dark-skinned man paused for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Thirty spirit stones."

Li Ping frowned, seemingly thinking it was too expensive, but he didn't try to bargain.

He took out his storage bag, counted out thirty spirit stones, threw them on the stall, picked up the artificial mountain, and turned to leave.

The figure blended into the crowd and quickly disappeared.

Li Ping slowed down after walking a distance.

Thirty spirit stones, five more than last time, but he didn't bother with such a small amount of money so as not to attract attention.

After wandering around the shops and stalls at the dock again without finding any more spiritual items imbued with earth energy, Li Ping lost interest and walked back along the main street.

Along the streets, cultivators came and went. Some were independent cultivators with stalls, shouting loudly; some were cultivators who looked like merchants, walking briskly; and some were independent cultivators who squatted by the roadside chatting in groups of three or five.

As Li Ping walked, his thoughts drifted elsewhere, and he thought of the saber.

After the ambush that day, the three men disappeared without a trace, like frightened turtles and tortoises.

Mu Fangxu had been inquiring, but there was still no news.

The Black Sea isn't particularly large, but it's not small either; hiding a few people there wouldn't be difficult.

Previously, he was outmatched and his opponent remained hidden, which relieved him and allowed him to enjoy peace and quiet.

But things are different now. He is at the fifth level of Qi Refining in the Dharma Cultivation Realm and approaching the middle stage of Qi and Blood Cultivation in the Body Cultivation Realm. With his current strength, he can even fight against a late-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator head-on.

Therefore, it's time to settle this score with them.

I'll ask Mu Fangxu again later.

As Li Ping pondered this in his mind, his pace unconsciously slowed down.

A fragrant scent of cosmetics wafted into my nose.

He looked up and the signboard of Wenxianglou came into view.

Faint sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from inside the building, and two maids stood at the door, smiling at him as they solicited customers.

Li Ping glanced at it but didn't go in.

He always felt that he couldn't quite understand Su Mei.

It's not that there's anything wrong with her, it's just that the feeling of being scrutinized every time they meet makes him uncomfortable.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Ping continued on his way.

After walking for a while, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Looking around, the street was still the same street, and the shops on both sides were unchanged. But...

He looked back at the location of Wenxiang Tower.

The sign was still in sight, no more than a hundred paces away.

Li Ping frowned.

With his stamina, how could he have only walked a hundred steps in a quarter of an hour?

A chill ran down my back.

wrong.

Li Ping suddenly looked around and realized that he had only reached the end of the street.

Suddenly, his mind began to spin, as if something was slowly pulling his consciousness away.

In a daze, another song drifted over.

The sound is crisp and melodious, as if it were drifting from a very far place, or as if it were whispering in your ear.

Li Ping's eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

Sleepiness surged in like a tide, wave after wave, so heavy that he could barely stand, his whole body swaying as if he were about to fall to the ground and fall asleep at any moment.

Li Ping's consciousness became increasingly blurred. Just as his eyelids were about to close, he suddenly stumbled and his teeth hit the tip of his tongue.

The brief moment of clarity pierced his drowsiness, jolting him back to his senses.

Li Ping disregarded everything else and, without the slightest hesitation, roared in his heart.

"Opportunity Well".

Suddenly, everything went black.

The bluestone slabs underfoot disappeared, replaced by a barren land.

The sky was overcast, devoid of sun, moon, or stars. Beneath his feet lay cracked, barren earth. Ahead, a dry well stood silently.

Li Ping took a step forward and arrived at the dry well.

At the bottom of the well, the giant python remained coiled as before, its cold, vertical pupils meeting his gaze.

Li Ping felt a sense of relief and breathed heavily.

The drowsiness that had almost swallowed him up vanished completely in this world.

At this moment, he was perfectly conscious.

Recalling the strange events that had just occurred, Li Ping's expression darkened.

Someone is plotting against him.

Illusion? Poisoning? Or some other method?

Li Ping didn't delve into those details, but instead focused on the real key points.

At that moment, someone was attacking him.

Li Ping sat down cross-legged and, taking advantage of the clarity of the sky and earth, sorted out the sequence of events one by one.

As he passed by Wenxianglou, he fell into a kind of bewilderment.

I walked for fifteen minutes, but only covered a mile. Then came the wave of drowsiness, and then that song…

singing.

He remembered.

The singing was clear and melodious, so beautiful that it made people feel disoriented; it must have been some kind of illusion.

The enemy's position must be nearby, otherwise the singing could not have reached us.

The opponent's methods are rather unpredictable, and their direct combat strength may not be very strong; otherwise, they wouldn't need to use such a roundabout method and could have just attacked directly.

Most importantly, the other party probably doesn't know that he has already regained consciousness.

After a moment's thought, Li Ping made up his mind.

He stood up, took one last look at the giant python at the bottom of the well, and then his consciousness left this world.

Bluestone slabs, streets, sea breeze.

Everything from before came back to me, but the streetscape had changed.

He wasn't at the end of the street.

Before us lay a sheer cliff, and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks echoed from below.

A salty sea breeze swept over me, carrying a damp chill.

It turned out that he had been led to the edge of the island.

Beside the cliff, an old banyan tree stands with lush foliage, its branches hanging down like a curtain.

Under the tree, a woman leaned against the trunk, looking in this direction.

She was extremely beautiful, with exquisite features, and her light blue dress fluttered gently in the sea breeze.

At this moment, however, there was a hint of confusion in her beautiful eyes, as if she was puzzled by something.

Seeing Li Ping looking at her, the woman's expression changed slightly, and she suddenly opened her mouth.

The song started again.

But this time, Li Ping wouldn't give her that chance.

With a sudden burst of strength in his feet, he shot out like an arrow.

A distance of more than ten zhang can be covered in the blink of an eye under the explosive power of a body cultivator's qi and blood.

The woman only had time to sing a few syllables before a long, strong hand gripped her neck.

"I've got you."

Li Ping's voice was icy, and his gaze was like a knife.

The woman's singing stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened, and the confusion in them was finally replaced by terror.

Li Ping didn't loosen his grip; instead, he increased his strength even more.

He looked down at the woman, his face expressionless.

"name."

The woman opened her mouth, but only a few breaths escaped her throat.

Li Ping loosened his grip slightly.

"Ruan...Ruan Ling'er." The woman's voice trembled.

Li Ping squinted.

He had never heard of the name Ruan Ling'er.

"Who sent you?"

"No, no one told me to..." Ruan Ling'er's face turned pale as he pinched her. "I just... I just wanted to..."