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

The following morning, the sun shone brightly, and the sea was calm and a clear blue.

A flower boat slowly sailed out from the dock.

Once outside Xikou Market, a woman appeared at the bow of the boat.

She sat barefoot at the bow of the boat, her toes dipped in the seawater, her skirt swaying gently with the waves, as if gazing at the distant horizon.

After a while, four people came out of the cabin; it was Li Ping and his group.

The four men stood apart, forming a triangular formation to protect the woman in the middle.

Li Ping stood at the stern, his gaze steady, occasionally glancing around.

Mu Ming and the other two stood guard on either side of the ship's side, their hands on their magical artifacts, their expressions wary.

Such a sight would surely lead an uninformed person to believe that this was a young lady from a wealthy family traveling with four loyal guards.

The flower boat moved slowly forward, leaving a long white trail on the sea.

The whole morning passed, and the sea was calm and still; not a single ghost was seen.

Li Ping wasn't in a hurry and continued sailing the flower boat toward the nameless island as planned.

Mandu's men don't camp out in this area every day; they're bound to run into him eventually if they keep going.

In the afternoon, the flower boat approached the unnamed island.

The island is full of trees, and they are currently in bloom with flowers in red, white, and pink, a dazzling sight.

The sea breeze carried the fragrance of flowers, so strong it was almost pungent.

As the pleasure boat docked, Li Ping was the first to leap onto the pier, then turned around and carefully helped the woman at the bow of the boat ashore.

Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan went one after the other, while Mu Ming tied the cable at the very end.

The four of them then began to stroll around the island with great seriousness.

Two men led the way, while two others stood guard behind, displaying an air of unwavering loyalty to their lord.

About two hours later, as the sun began to set, the flower boat finally sailed away from the island and returned to Xikou Market.

This pretense continued for three consecutive days.

The first day was calm, and the second day was the same. By the evening of the third day, when they were returning to port, Mu Junyi was getting impatient and muttered in his cabin, "Are all of that old man's men blind? We've been drifting around for three days."

Li Ping said calmly, "What's the rush? The older you get, the more cautious you become. Three days is a short time."

Mu Ming nodded and said, "The Great Black Sea is not close to here. It will take several days for the news to reach Man Du's ears and for them to send people to scout the area."

Mu Junyi scratched his head and remained silent.

As it turned out, Li Ping's judgment was correct.

On the fourth day, there was finally some movement.

Just as the pleasure boat left the dock that day, a fish poked its head out of the water, opening and closing its mouth to release a string of fine bubbles.

The bubble floated to Li Ping's ear, gently burst, and transformed into a sound that entered his ears:

"There are two people following us about two miles behind, and they've been following us for almost half an hour."

Li Ping's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged.

He waited a moment, until the flower boat reached an open sea area with no obstructions on any side, and then suddenly leaped into the air.

"Who are you, sneaking around like this? Are you perhaps after my young lady?"

Before he finished speaking, three talismans shot out from his sleeve.

The talisman exploded in mid-air, transforming into three tongues of fire, each about ten feet long, which twisted and lunged toward the sea behind them.

The scorching heatwave steamed a white mist from the sea surface.

Beneath the sea surface, the two water lines suddenly separated and sped off in two different directions.

The flames missed their target and plunged into the sea, creating three towering columns of water.

Li Ping hovered in mid-air, his face showing disdain, and snorted coldly: "A cowardly rat hiding its head and tail."

Having said that, he didn't chase after them, but turned and landed back on the boat.

The three men on the ship, including Mu Ming, worked together seamlessly, all showing disdain, like seasoned guards who were used to such scenes.

But in their hearts, all four of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: They've finally taken the bait.

That evening, after the flower boat returned to the market, the four people gathered in Li Ping's house.

Unlike the calm of the previous three days, the atmosphere tonight was noticeably more tense.

"Now that the scouts have arrived, if Man Du is going to make a move, it will likely be soon." Li Ping got straight to the point, pointing to the sea chart spread out on the table and marking the location of the nameless island. "If we encounter them at sea, don't fight back, just run away. We'll lure them to the nameless island and then attack together."

"This is a one-time opportunity. If we fail this time, Mandu will retreat back into the Great Black Sea and never come out again."

Upon hearing this, Mu Ming and the other two nodded, their expressions solemn.

"Everyone, go back and check your magical artifacts and talismans again, and get plenty of rest."

After he finished speaking, everyone dispersed.

The next day, the weather was fine and sunny, with the sea shimmering in the sunlight, just like the previous days.

The flower boat sailed away from the market dock again, and the woman at the bow was still dipping her feet in the water with a blank expression.

Li Ping and his three companions stood guard at the bow and stern of the boat, their vigilance tinged with a hint of nonchalance.

The pleasure boat traveled for about half an hour before approaching the nameless island again.

Li Ping was the first to leap onto the dock, then turned around and helped the woman at the bow of the boat ashore.

Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan followed closely behind, standing guard on either side.

Mu Ming secured the cable and quickly followed, the group walking along the familiar path they had taken in the past few days into the island.

As the woods grow denser, the fragrance of the flowers intensifies.

Suddenly, a noise came from ahead.

Li Ping paused, and Mu Ming and the other two quickly moved closer, tightly protecting the woman in the center.

The bushes ahead swayed, and two figures emerged one after the other.

The man in the lead was burly and strong, with broad shoulders and a thick waist; it was Man Du.

Beside him was a thin, monkey-faced cultivator, who was whispering in Man Du's ear; he was probably a henchman responsible for scouting the area.

Li Ping's gaze swept over the two men, a hint of tension appearing on his face. He asked in a deep voice, "Who goes there?"

The skinny cultivator chuckled and said in a shrill voice, "Who we are is not important. What is important is that your young lady is probably not going home today."

Mu Junyi stepped forward, his eyes wide with anger: "You're asking for death."

Mandu didn't even lift his eyelids, but slowly turned around.

He was clearly after Mu Yuebai and didn't take the four guards seriously at all.

Although they had already recognized the person, Li Ping and his group still went all out with their act.

The four men were tense, their magical power flowing as they tightly protected the woman behind them, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Mandu slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the four people and landing greedily on the woman's face.

But then he suddenly froze: "It's you, kid?"

When Li Ping saw that he recognized him, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Then, he grabbed the woman next to him by the back of her collar and threw her towards Mandu.

"Fellow Daoist Man, here's a small gift for our first meeting. Please accept it with a smile."

Having suffered a great loss from the self-destruction of the Water Divider, Man Du's pupils shrank as he saw the woman flying towards him; he dared not catch her.

He suddenly lunged backward, carving two deep furrows in the ground with his feet, desperately widening the distance between them.

At the same time, Mu Ming had already led Mu Junyi to flank from both sides, and with a flash, blocked Man Du's retreat.

Man Du reacted extremely quickly, grabbing the skinny subordinate who was still in a daze and throwing him hard towards Li Ping.

Before the skinny cultivator could react to what was happening, he was suddenly airborne.

Unfortunately, he never had the chance to understand.

Li Ping drew his Azure Frost Sword with a clang, a streak of azure light flashed, and he died in mid-air, his body falling to the ground with a thud.

At this moment, Man Du had already engaged in combat with Mu Ming and his companion.

The giant axe cleaved through the air, creating a powerful gust of wind.

Although Mandu is of low character, his cultivation level is genuine.

The giant axe was wielded with extreme ferocity in his hands, and the gale generated by the axe blade sliced ​​off the surrounding tree branches cleanly.

With a single sweep of the axe, both Mu Ming and Mu Junyi were forced back half a step.

Mu Ming was slightly startled, realizing that Man Du's strength was even greater than what was described in the intelligence.

With a single axe stroke, he forced two men back. Man Du's eyes darted around as he began searching for a way to break through.

He feinted with his axe to avoid Mu Junyi's movement, then suddenly lunged to the side.

The woods over there are dense; once you get inside, you can use the terrain to shake off the four of them.

However, he had only taken two steps when a figure blocked his way.

Li Ping planted the Azure Frost Sword upside down in the ground, a smile playing on his lips. "Man Du, I heard you're a body cultivator. What a coincidence, so am I. Come on, let's spar a bit and see who's tougher."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ping pushed off with his feet and shot towards Mandu like a cannonball.

With a single palm strike, even before the wind of the palm arrived, the sheer force of the blow caused the air to hum.

Upon seeing this, a ruthless glint flashed in Mandu's eyes.

Without dodging or avoiding, he stomped his feet hard on the ground, and his blood and energy surged outwards.

boom!

Before Li Ping's palm could even touch Man Du's back, it was pushed back by that powerful surge of qi and blood.

He tumbled several times in mid-air, and after his feet landed, he slid backward for about ten feet before regaining his balance.

He shook his numb right arm, somewhat surprised.

At the late stage of the Qi and Blood Realm, Man Du is quite secretive.

Ahead, taking advantage of the momentum of the counterattack, Man Du suddenly turned around, swept his giant axe horizontally, forcing Mu Ming and Mu Chengyuan, who were fighting closely, back half a step. Then, he touched the ground with his toes and leaped into the air.

"Young man, if you want to keep this old man here, train for a few more years."

He uttered harsh words, but his movements were faster than anyone else's.

With a swift turn in mid-air, he swept towards the sea surrounding the island; once he entered the sea, it would be his domain.

Upon seeing this, Li Ping's expression suddenly hardened: "This is the moment we've been waiting for."

He turned his body and suddenly pushed out with both hands.

Two giant waves appeared out of nowhere, one on the left and one on the right, crashing down on the Mandu in mid-air.

The surging waves, with immense force, completely blocked Mandu's escape routes in all directions.

That wasn't all. Li Ping formed hand seals, and the magical power at his fingertips condensed into two points of dark blue light.

With a flick of his fingers, two springs shot out from his fingertips, a torrent of water gushing forth.

Two cascading waves and two springs completely blocked Mandu's retreat route.

The ferryman was suspended in mid-air, with nowhere to escape.

If he had fought to the death, he might have been able to hold out for a while longer, but in the end he was afraid and only thought about running away.

This run made him a sitting duck in mid-air.

Mandu gritted his teeth and swung his giant axe, trying to withstand the attack head-on, but Li Ping's magical power far exceeded his expectations and came from all directions, making it impossible for him to resist.

The giant axe cleaved through a wave, and a second wave followed, crashing down on him.

He swayed, and before he could even regain his footing, two springs were already in front of him.

Man Du could only unleash all his vital energy to the limit and forcefully withstand the first spring.

With a deafening roar, the blood and qi collided with the spring, and the resulting shockwave snapped the surrounding trees in half.

Mandu coughed up a mouthful of blood and his body began to fall.

The second spring followed closely behind, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Click.

The sound of the ribs breaking was clearly audible.

Mandu fell straight down from mid-air like a kite with a broken string, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

He struggled to get up, but after only half of his body was propped up, he spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed back to the ground.

Li Ping stepped forward, looked down at Man Du, who was barely breathing on the ground, and remained expressionless.

Mu Ming and his two companions surrounded him from three directions, sealing off his last chance of escape.

Blood and foam gushed from Man Du's mouth. He opened his mouth and managed to squeeze out a sentence in fits and starts: "You...you...you're a damn cunning bastard."

Li Ping squatted down, picked up Man Du's storage bag from the ground, and weighed it in his hand; it was quite heavy.

He tucked the storage bag into his robes, stood up, and gave Man Du one last look: "Fellow Daoist Man, what you're saying is rather inappropriate for a Tribulation cultivator like yourself to accuse someone of being cunning, isn't it?"

After saying that, he turned around and waved to Mu Ming and the other two: "Let's do it."

Mu Chengyuan stepped forward, and the short halberd fell.

After a muffled thud, the forest fell silent again.

The sea breeze still carries the fragrance of flowers, but there's a faint, lingering smell of blood in the air.