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

After Su Mei and the other woman left, Li Ping's life returned to its usual tranquility.

Patrols, meditation, and listening to music—a routine he followed day after day.

The patrol job is tedious; it's nothing more than looking for suspicious people and asking around about any unusual things.

After his patrol that day, Li Ping arrived at the entrance of Wenxianglou.

The second-floor window was half-open, and faint piano music could be heard coming from it. It was a newly hired musician, but his skills were far inferior to Su Mei's.

Li Ping listened for a moment, but finding it uninteresting, he turned and left.

Back at my lodgings, I closed the courtyard gate, shutting out the noise from outside.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes, concentrated, and began to circulate the Han Shui Jing (a type of Buddhist scripture).

Since mastering this technique, my speed of breathing in spiritual energy has increased significantly.

The magical power surged within the spiritual veins like a tide, wave after wave, and with each circulation, the vortex of energy in the dantian became more solid.

He could clearly feel that the threshold to a higher realm was within reach, as if it were only separated by a thin sheet of paper, which he could break through with a little practice.

"This speed is a bit too fast."

Li Ping opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

According to his estimate, at this rate, a breakthrough could be achieved in at most two months.

Two months? How long has it been since his last breakthrough?

Before the battle on the deserted island, he had just entered the fifth level of Qi Refining, and now he is about to break through again. This speed is simply astonishing.

Even with Mu Yuebai's Foundation Establishment as a cover, others wouldn't completely believe it.

A son-in-law with mixed spiritual roots, whose cultivation level is rising rapidly, who would believe there's nothing fishy about it?

Li Ping pondered for a moment, then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured out two pale blue pills.

He always accepted the pills allocated to him by the Mu family every month without hesitation.

But now, this stuff can no longer be taken.

He poured the pills back into the bottle, sealed the stopper tightly, and stored it deep inside his storage bag.

From today onwards, we'll put aside our cultivation practices for now and shift our focus to physical training.

Although the path of physical cultivation is more difficult than that of magical cultivation, it has the advantage of being unassuming. As long as one does not make a move, others will not be able to tell.

Having made up his mind, Li Ping got up and went out the door.

It was afternoon, and the busiest time of the market had already passed.

On both sides of the main street, some stall owners were dozing off, while others were chatting in small groups.

Li Ping walked across half a street and stopped in front of a stall.

The stall owner was still the same dark-skinned man, dressed in a gray thong, idly wiping a few low-level magical artifacts on his stall with a rag.

"Fellow Daoist Li." The man looked up, his face immediately breaking into a smile. "What brings you here? Feel free to pick whatever you need, 20% off."

20% off? Li Ping raised an eyebrow.

His gaze swept over the man's face, taking in the obsequious expression, and he immediately understood.

During his time in Xikou Market, he deliberately kept a low profile, rarely lingering outside except for patrolling and listening to music.

But as time went on, some people, after making a few inquiries, were able to find out his identity.

Moreover, Mu Fangxu would often invite him to drink and chat, and the close relationship between the two was interpreted in a more suggestive way by others.

By getting on Li Ping's good side and then climbing up to Mu Fangxu, one can naturally gain many advantages in the market.

Li Ping knew exactly what this man was planning.

His expression turned serious, and he said righteously, "I'm not the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others. The price should be what it is."

As she spoke, she glared at the man. Her gaze was calm and unwavering, yet it seemed to see right through him. The man involuntarily shrank back, gave an awkward laugh, and his little schemes vanished.

Li Ping withdrew his gaze and glanced at the items on the stall.

A few ordinary-looking magical artifacts, a stack of talismans, several bottles of pills, and some odds and ends whose names I don't know.

"What about that artificial hill from last time?" Li Ping asked.

The man was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "Thanks to you, fellow Daoist, ever since you bought that one, my rockery has suddenly become very popular. All the ones I had left are sold out."

Li Ping sighed inwardly and asked, "Is there any stock left?"

"To be honest, fellow Daoist," the man rubbed his hands together, "that artificial hill was actually hard to sell. It sat there for a long time without anyone showing interest. Now that it's finally sold out, how could I dare to order any more?"

Li Ping glanced at him: "Can you still get your hands on this?"

The man nodded, then shook his head: "It's possible, but it's a bit troublesome. We have to go down to the deep sea to retrieve it, and we'll need more than a dozen water-repelling talismans for each trip. If it weren't for someone we know well, I really wouldn't want to go through all that trouble."

"From now on, I'll take as many of these as you want," Li Ping said calmly. "The price remains the same, and they'll be delivered separately to the Mu family cultivators' residence."

Upon hearing this, the man's eyes lit up, and he smiled broadly, repeatedly assuring everyone, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, leave it to me. I guarantee I'll handle it perfectly for you."

Li Ping took out thirty spirit stones from his storage bag as a deposit, and added as he handed them over, "From now on, don't put this artificial mountain on the stall."

He paused, his gaze falling on the man's face, and said in a calm tone, "Don't make a big fuss about this. If a bunch of people come to me to buy it, I won't honor it."

The man could easily understand the implied meaning in the words.

The man in front of me clearly has other purposes for buying the artificial mountain, but it's a profitable and stable business, so why does he care so much?

Thinking of this, the man immediately patted his chest and promised, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I know what's important."

Li Ping nodded and turned to leave.

He dared to entrust this matter to the old man not out of trust, but because he had asked Mu Fangxu to investigate the man's background as early as after the first purchase of the artificial mountain.

The island's hermit, surnamed Yu, had lived in Xikou Market for over twenty years. He married a local woman and they had a son and a daughter, both of whom made a living in the market.

These people have families and are based entirely on the island. They can run away, but they can't run away from their roots. They are much more reliable than outside monks.

Putting this matter aside, Li Ping turned and walked towards Mu Fangxu's seaside courtyard.

In the great battle on the deserted island, apart from Mu Junyi who was unconscious, Mu Fangxu was the most seriously injured. The blood mist unleashed by Xiong Pihai was really difficult to deal with; once it touched the body, it was like a bone-deep infection. Even with Mu Fangxu's cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining, it took him more than two months to recover.

The courtyard gate was ajar. Li Ping pushed it open and went in, just in time to see Mu Fangxu sitting on the couch changing the dressing on his wound.

He was shirtless, with a palm-sized wound on his shoulder covered in a dark red scab, the edges of which were tinged with an unnatural bluish-purple.

An old servant applied ointment to the wound, and Mu Fangxu grimaced and howled in pain.

Seeing this, Li Ping couldn't help but chuckle.

Mu Fangxu glared at him, gritted his teeth and ignored him. After the old servant finished applying the medicine and helped him get dressed, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Have you seen enough?" Mu Fangxu said irritably.

Li Ping sat down at the table, his smile fading. "Is there anything seriously wrong?"

Mu Fangxu calmly straightened his clothes and said lightly, "It's just some superficial wounds, nothing serious."

Li Ping nodded and got to the point: "Tell me, what brings you here?"

Mu Fangxu's spirits lifted, and he leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice to ask, "Do you know what Su Mei does in the Giant Whale Gang?"

"In charge of intelligence," Li Ping said.

"That's right." Mu Fangxu nodded. "It's true that she's in charge of intelligence, but she doesn't know much about the internal affairs of the Giant Whale Gang. For example, she still doesn't know where their headquarters is."

Li Ping didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

A glint flashed in Mu Fangxu's eyes as he slowly said, "But she knows quite a bit about other Tribulation Cultivators."

"Oh?"

"I specifically asked her about it before." Mu Fangxu's expression shifted slightly, and he said calmly, "She knows most of the dozen or so large and small groups of cultivators around Xikou Market and the surrounding hundreds of miles of sea very well."

Which island is their hideout on? Who is their contact? What flight route do they usually take, and what time do they appear? Over the years, she has put in a lot of effort to find out.

He looked up at Li Ping and said, word by word, "Compared to the intelligence held by my Mu family, hers is far more detailed."

Li Ping was silent for a moment, then understood what he meant: "You mean, you want to clean up the nearby cultivators again?"

Mu Fangxu nodded heavily: "In the past, when we wiped out the bandits, we only fought against small fry."

"A motley crew of Qi cultivators in the early and middle stages keeps reappearing after being killed; it's a band-aid solution, not a fundamental one."

"This time it's different. In Su Mei's intelligence report, there are more than ten lairs of late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."

These people are the real problem, having entrenched themselves for years, plundering merchant ships, killing and robbing, and have taken the lives of countless cultivators in the past.

Li Ping pondered and said, "If we can eradicate these stubborn problems at once, the reputation of Xikou Market will surely be greatly enhanced. At that time, trade routes will be smooth, and merchant ships will no longer have to worry. The market's revenue can increase by at least 30%."

"More than that." Mu Fangxu shook his head. "If we can achieve victory in one battle, the prestige of my Mu family in this sea area will also be enhanced."

"When are you planning to make your move?" Li Ping asked.

"Once I've recovered from my injury, I'll make some preparations, about two months from now."

Two months? Li Ping did the calculation in his mind for a moment, then said, "Since there is still some time, I will seize the opportunity to cultivate and strive to make another progress before then."

Mu Fangxu was just picking up his teacup when he heard this and the tea almost spilled.

"It hasn't been that long, and you're about to break through again?"

He thought about it and realized that Li Ping had only broken through before the battle on the deserted island, and less than two months had passed since then.

Li Ping smiled, his expression unchanged: "I had some insights during the last great battle."

"A sudden realization?" Mu Fangxu looked suspicious. "That Xiong Pihai is at the peak of Qi Refining, two minor realms higher than me. I fought him so many times, almost losing my life, but I didn't realize anything."

"You only dealt with two Qi Refining Level 5 henchmen, and you've already grasped the essence?"

Li Ping didn't argue, only saying calmly, "Perhaps I have a higher level of comprehension."

Mu Fangxu choked upon hearing this.

He initially dismissed it, but then he remembered the giant wave spell that Li Ping had used that day.

The giant wave rose from the ground with tremendous force, indicating that it had reached at least the perfect level of perfection.

To master a spell to perfection, one certainly needs a certain level of comprehension.

He himself has cultivated for so many years, but he has only perfected one spell.

Mu Fangxu nodded, accepting the statement, but he couldn't hide the envy on his face.

"Alright, you can go now."

"It's better to hurry up; the more strength we have, the more certain we will be."

Li Ping responded and got up to take his leave.