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

In the following days, Li Ping led Mu Ming and the other two in a series of attacks.

With time running out, the cultivators might retreat completely at any moment, so the four of them deliberately picked on the weakest targets.

They came after every single Qi Refining mid-stage cultivator, as long as their location wasn't too remote.

The first three days yielded fruitful results.

He killed five mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators and one late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

This late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was a tough nut to crack. It took the four of them half an hour to finally defeat him.

Mu Junyi was injured; his left arm was cut by a magical artifact, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone. After applying medicinal powder and bandaging it, he went into battle as usual the next day.

It's impossible not to feel exhausted after such a high-intensity, continuous attack.

Li Ping, having a foundation in body cultivation, fared somewhat better, but Mu Ming and the other two had pale complexions and dark circles under their eyes.

On the morning of the fourth day, when they met in the courtyard, Li Ping, seeing the three of them looking exhausted, said, "Why don't we rest for a day?"

Upon hearing this, the three shook their heads repeatedly.

Seeing this, Li Ping stopped trying to persuade him and led the three of them to continue their attack.

Three more days passed, and the four of them gradually adapted to this high-intensity pace.

In every battle, Mu Ming and Li Ping would suppress the enemy head-on, Mu Junyi would provide support, and Mu Chengyuan would be responsible for blocking their retreat. The whole process was smooth and efficient.

The four worked together more and more seamlessly, and their efficiency increased.

But on the seventh day, something unexpected happened.

They came up empty-handed.

The hiding place marked on the intelligence report was now just a extinguished campfire; the people there had long since vanished.

Mu Junyi squatted by the campfire and reached out to touch the ashes: "They're cold. We've been walking for at least two or three days."

Mu Ming's expression was not good, but he still said in a deep voice, "Next one."

The four boarded the boat again and headed to their next destination.

For three days in a row, they went to seven or eight places, but each time they came up empty-handed.

Clearly, the cultivators had come to their senses and had already begun to evacuate and relocate.

On the tenth day, Li Ping and his group sat on the spirit boat, drifting aimlessly on the sea.

Mu Ming rubbed his temples and said, "We've searched all the intelligence points within a 300-mile radius, but we haven't managed to intercept anyone at any of them."

Mu Junyi slumped against the ship's railing, cursing weakly, "These robbers are like rats, they must have burrowed into the ground."

Mu Chengyuan sighed and looked at Li Ping: "Brother Li, what should we do next?"

Li Ping pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's go back first."

……

……

In the courtyard, four people sat together around a stone table.

On the table, pills, talismans, and spirit stones were scattered in a large pile.

In addition, there were seven or eight magical artifacts, a palm-sized bronze alchemy furnace, several spiritual plants in a jade box, two crumpled cultivation manuals, and some miscellaneous bottles and jars.

These things were spread out on the table, piled up to the brim.

"This short sword is a low-grade magic weapon. Its spiritual energy fluctuations are not strong, but it is extremely sharp." Mu Ming picked up a short sword that was entirely black, infused it with a trace of magic power, and a layer of eerie light immediately appeared on the blade. "I estimate it can sell for three or four hundred spirit stones."

"This alchemy furnace is in good condition, with three legs and two handles, and the body has alchemical patterns. It's worth at least eight hundred spirit stones."

"Three Fiery Talismans, two Vajra Talismans, one Gale Talisman..."

The four of them sorted the items into categories and counted and estimated them one by one.

The elixirs were sorted by grade, the talismans were bound by type, the magical artifacts were placed in a separate pile, and the spiritual plants and miscellaneous items were grouped together in one place.

When it came time to tally up the final accounts, Mu Chengyuan flipped through the booklet, adding up each item one by one, his finger pausing on the last number.

He looked up, his eyes brimming with undisguised delight: "About eight thousand spirit stones."

"How much?" Mu Junyi sat up straight abruptly.

"Around eight thousand, no more, no less."

Mu Junyi was stunned for a moment, then grinned and said, "Two thousand spirit stones each, we've really struck gold this time."

Two thousand spirit stones is equivalent to more than half a year of hard work for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

Everyone couldn't help but smile; the fatigue of the past few days seemed to have been somewhat relieved by this number.

Li Ping pondered for a moment, then said, "You've underestimated our contribution points."

"If this is included, each person should receive 2,500 spirit stones."

Two thousand five?

There was a moment of silence at the table when the number was announced.

Then, all four of them burst out laughing.

These past few days, I've been working day and night, launching attack after attack. The exhaustion, anxiety, and frustration of failing to achieve my goals all found their place at this moment.

The four then sorted and packed the items on the table.

Mu Ming looked at the four storage bags and said, "The items are of various kinds. It will probably take some time to sell them all."

Li Ping picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Good things come to those who wait. Take it slow."

Mu Ming nodded, turning his gaze from the storage bag to Li Ping, and asked seriously, "What are your plans next? Will you continue the attack, or call it a day?"

The matter of the raids and suppression is far from over, but the current situation is far from optimistic as to say it will continue.

Li Ping did not answer immediately. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Now the cultivators have all come to their senses. Those who should have run away have run away, and those who should have hidden have hidden."

Continuing to attack is too inefficient.

Instead of wasting time outside, it's better to stop here.

After speaking, he looked at Mu Ming, then at Mu Junyi and Mu Chengyuan.

Mu Ming nodded, offering no objection.

Mu Junyi leaned back in his chair and laughed, "Whatever, I've already made enough money this time anyway."

"I'll listen to Brother Li," Mu Chengyuan said.

And so, the four of them reached an agreement and stopped.

That night, to celebrate their bountiful harvest, the four of them went to the Relief House together.

Upon arriving on the second floor, the four ordered a table full of food and drinks, drinking from large bowls and eating meat with gusto.

Mu Junyi had the lowest alcohol tolerance. After a few bowls of spirit wine, his tongue started to get tied in knots, and he kept babbling on and on to Mu Chengyuan.

Mu Ming was more composed than Mu Junyi, but he also drank until his face was flushed, and he rarely showed his usual composure.

Li Ping held his wine bowl, watching the three of them fooling around, a smile always on his lips.

Amidst clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, the four drank until midnight before staggering out of Jieyoufang and helping each other back to their courtyard.

……

……

The next day.

Li Ping groggily opened his eyes when the sun reached its zenith.

A hangover is awful; my head feels like it's stuffed with cotton, and my temples are throbbing.

He sat up in bed, shook his head, walked to the water vat in the yard, scooped up a ladleful and poured it on his face.

The cold water helped to sober up most of the alcohol.

Li Ping poured two more ladles of water on himself, wiped his face, and finally woke up completely.

He glanced at the room of Mu Ming and the other two. The doors and windows were tightly closed, and snoring filled the room, indicating that they were still hungover.

Li Ping didn't wake them. He left the Mu family's courtyard alone, walked through the market, and found a secluded spot on the coast.

With no one around, he channeled his magic and leaped into the water.

Outside the cave, the Iron-Covered Sea swam slowly. Upon seeing Li Ping, it quickly swam over.

"Master, you've arrived."

Ten days have passed since it was sent to find the location of that animal skin sea chart.

To be honest, Li Ping didn't have high hopes for this animal hide of dubious origin.

Unexpectedly, Tie Fuhai actually made a discovery.

Thinking of this, Li Ping felt a sense of relief.

He reached out and patted Tie Fuhai on the forehead, saying, "You've had a tough time these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Tie Fuhai grinned and said, "I didn't work hard at all. I just waited for news. The ones who really put in the effort to search were those fish."

Li Ping smiled and said, "The fish are your subordinates, so their efforts are naturally your credit."

Tie Fuhai was a little embarrassed by the praise, and swayed its huge tail.

Li Ping pondered for a moment, then said, "Whether there are treasures in that place or not, there will be plenty of Xuan Shui Pills this time."

Tie Fuhai has been quite exhausted lately, with bloodshot eyes. Despite being fed so much essence and pills, it hasn't fully recovered.

This prayer for the cloud-borne pomfret has indeed taken it a lot of effort.

Li Ping knew exactly what was going on and ensured that all the necessary supplies were provided.

I thought that if I said that, Tie Fuhai would be overjoyed.

Unexpectedly, it hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Master, could you bring some different pills this time?"

Li Ping was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "What? Isn't the Profound Water Pill your favorite?"

Tie Fuhai said, "I used to like it, but lately I don't know why, it doesn't taste as good as it used to."

Li Ping raised an eyebrow, a thought flashing through his mind.

Monsters are often more sensitive to elixirs than cultivators.

When they feel the taste is off, it's often not because their palate has changed, but because their bodies are telling them that there isn't enough of this stuff.

Could it be that as Tie Fuhai's cultivation level has improved, the Xuan Shui Dan has become less effective for him?

Li Ping suppressed his thoughts and nodded: "When I go back this time, I will try to bring back as many different kinds of pills as possible. You can try them slowly and see which one suits your taste best."

Then, Li Ping flipped over and sat on Tie Fuhai's back, and the two headed towards the cave.

About half an hour later, Tie Fuhai stopped in front of a pile of rocks.

Li Ping steadied himself and looked up.

The scene before me looked somewhat familiar: jagged rocks of varying heights, some rising like pillars into the sky, others lying prostrate on the ground like crouching beasts.

Li Ping took out the yellowed animal hide and compared it to the original.

The arrangement, spacing, and shape of the stones all match perfectly.

Only the cave marked on the animal hide was nowhere to be found.

Li Ping looked around, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the pile of rocks several times, only to find that there were nothing but rocks.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Tie Fuhai and his men have mistaken the place for something else?

This sea area has many reefs, and many of them have similar terrain. It's not impossible that fish can't distinguish the details and mistake similar places for the same one.

Just then, Tie Fuhai suddenly moved.

It swam straight toward a large rock, its speed undiminished, and it looked like it was about to crash into it.

The rock was about the size of a house, with a rough surface and looked very solid.

Iron-Covered Sea is several meters long, and if it were to crash into it head-on, it would inevitably tear its skin and flesh.

Li Ping hurriedly called for a stop, but Tie Fuhai seemed not to hear him and instead sped up even more.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened. The moment Tie Fuhai touched the boulder, it seemed as if he passed through an invisible curtain of water.

Its body disappeared inch by inch from the surface of the stone, as if it were being swallowed up. First its head, then its torso, and finally even its tail disappeared into it.

Li Ping could see it clearly from behind; the stone was completely intact, with not even a single piece of stone falling off its surface.

Before he could think it through, a suction force came from the rock and pulled him in as well.

Suddenly everything went black.

Alarm bells rang in Li Ping's mind, and his magical power surged throughout his body in an instant. His right hand was already on the storage bag.

A moment of darkness, and when vision returned, the scene before me had completely changed.

A spacious cave appeared before them, with several fist-sized luminous pearls embedded in the dome, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.

Underfoot were smooth, closely spaced bluestone tiles.

The cave dwelling is surrounded by a pure white stone wall, its radiance restrained, with faint spiritual energy fluctuations flowing across it, completely isolating it from the seawater.

Li Ping looked around, his brows furrowing.

"This place...is it as small as Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed? Or is it just an illusion?"

He turned to look at the white wall behind him, but found no trace of a door.

"When I first came here, I also thought the fish had mistaken the place," Tie Fuhai's voice rang out from the side, tinged with a hint of smugness. "When those little creatures reported to me, I scolded them. But since we were already here, we had to give it a try, and we just bumped into them and got in."

Li Ping glanced at Tie Fuhai, then looked around, his mind racing.

Hiding a cave inside a large rock, it's something most people wouldn't be able to find.

If it weren't for those tireless fish darting about on the seabed and bumping into this entrance, it's likely that no one would have entered for another hundred years.

This place is not simple.