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

Li Ping shook his head and smiled, "Senior Brother Fang Xu, do you think I would put this up for no reason?"

Mu Fangxu was taken aback upon hearing this, his teacup hovering in mid-air.

He stared at Li Ping for a few moments, his expression gradually becoming serious: "What do you mean?"

Li Ping smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice: "I've been searching back and forth in the sea these past few days, and I've actually found this place."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Mu Fangxu stared blankly at Li Ping, his gaze sweeping over Li Ping's face several times.

His expression showed surprise, scrutiny, and above all, disbelief.

"You're not lying to me?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ping turned and left without saying a word.

Before I could even step out the door, my arm was grabbed.

"What's the rush?" Mu Fangxu pressed him back into his chair, turned to fetch the teapot, and personally brewed some spiritual tea for Li Ping. "Tell me, what happened?"

Li Ping didn't rush to reply. He picked up his teacup, blew on the tea foam, and slowly said, "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. Before we talk, let's agree on the rules."

"What are the rules?"

"Splitting it 50/50."

Mu Fangxu was taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded and instantly understood.

"What do you want me to do?"

Li Ping held up two fingers: "First, to cover up the noise."

"Of course," Mu Fangxu nodded. "Xikou Market is my territory, so concealing our movements is no problem. Second?"

Li Ping did not answer, but instead took out several sheets of Xuan paper from his pocket and handed them to Mu Fangxu.

The paper contained a detailed diagram of the halo.

Li Ping broke the aperture into several parts: the ancient beast pattern, the small characters in the center, and the edge texture, which were drawn on different pieces of paper, clearly and distinctly.

Mu Fangxu took the paper, glanced at it, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He had exceptional knowledge and immediately recognized it as some kind of restriction or formation.

"This is something on the entrance to the cave," Li Ping explained. "Can the array masters in the ward break this?"

Mu Fangxu laid out the papers one by one and examined them carefully.

After a long while, he raised his head and shook his head: "This thing is a bit complicated. I'm afraid the array masters in the market can't solve it."

Li Ping sighed upon hearing this.

Although I had expected it, I was still disappointed when I heard it.

"Are we guarding a treasure mountain, yet unable to enter?"

Mu Fangxu didn't reply. He picked up the paper with the ancient beast pattern again and looked at it.

Suddenly, he changed the subject and said, "However, I do have a good friend."

"This person is a second-tier array master. He has studied ancient texts for many years, and his knowledge far surpasses that of those mediocre people in the market." Mu Fangxu looked at Li Ping. "He might be able to figure something out."

Li Ping pondered for a moment.

Do we need to add another person?

He weighed the options quickly in his mind, but remained outwardly calm.

The more people involved, the greater the risk of leakage.

However, if that second-tier array master is truly capable, it might not be a bad idea.

Moreover, since Mu Fangxu has spoken, he must have some confidence in his abilities.

"Is it reliable?" Li Ping asked.

Mu Fangxu smiled and said, "Don't worry, he's not out at sea."

Li Ping felt relieved and nodded: "Then it's settled. Once we unravel this, we'll explore the cave together."

"it is good."

Afterwards, the two discussed some precautions before Li Pingfang left.

……

……

Time passed slowly, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

During this half-month period, Mu Ming and the other two remained in seclusion, showing no signs of emerging.

They have obtained a lot of cultivation resources this time, and they probably want to break through their bottleneck in one go.

On Li Ping's side, although Mu Fangxu had already had his friend crack the light ring, he was not idle either.

He first went to several bookstores in the market and bought back several books that specifically discussed prohibitions.

These past few days, he's been holed up in the courtyard, staring at the halo pattern all day, looking at the pattern while flipping through books to compare it.

You won't know until you look at it, and once you do, you'll find that there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Restrictions and formations are of the same origin, both based on the operation of array patterns and spiritual energy.

The only difference between the two is that prohibition focuses on sealing off, aiming to block off a space or object at the lowest cost.

The formation is more comprehensive; it can seal, attack, defend, and even gather spiritual energy.

The restriction is like a branch of the formation.

However, this branch developed extremely well, and over thousands of years, it has given rise to specialized skills.

Some masters who are proficient in enchantments can set up sealing methods that are even more troublesome than those of array masters of the same level.

After reading through books for several days, Li Ping gradually formed his own judgment.

The halo above the entrance to the underwater cave is not a restriction, but some kind of formation.

He recognized at least a few of the core runes of the restriction, but more than half of the patterns in the halo did not match the restriction runes.

It does bear some resemblance to some ancient methods found in books on formations.

While he could make a judgment, Li Ping remained completely baffled as to how to crack it.

That morning, Li Ping was looking through books on formations in his room.

Morning light streamed through the window and fell on the pages of the book.

He frowned, his fingers slowly tracing lines on the paper, pausing occasionally to jot down a few strokes on the rice paper beside him.

Just as I was engrossed in watching, someone suddenly knocked on the courtyard gate.

Li Ping put down his book, got up, and opened the door.

A disciple of the Mu family stood outside the door. Upon seeing Li Ping, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother Ping, Senior Brother Fang Xu invites you in."

Li Ping was overjoyed; they had arrived.

He nodded immediately and followed the man across the street toward the seaside courtyard.

In the courtyard, Mu Fangxu was sitting at a stone table, holding a letter in his hand, reading it carefully.

Upon seeing Li Ping arrive, he invited him to sit down and poured him a cup of spiritual tea.

Li Ping had no interest in drinking tea. As soon as he sat down, he asked, "What do you mean?"

Mu Fangxu put down the letter, his expression somewhat complicated.

My friend said that the halo was a formation.

Li Ping wasn't surprised, nodded, and waited for him to continue.

"The person who set up the formation is extremely skilled; he couldn't even understand the method of absorbing magical power."

Seeing Li Ping's furrowed brows, Mu Fangxu smiled and added, "However, it wasn't all without gains."

"What do you mean?"

"Although my friend couldn't break the formation, he did give us a direction." Mu Fangxu handed over the letter. "According to him, the formation method is somewhat similar to that of Gongshu Yan. He told us to start from this aspect."

Gongshu Yan.

Upon hearing these three words, Li Ping's mind went blank.

It was as if a thread had suddenly strung together many scattered fragments.

From the erosion formation on Hongjia Island, to the old man selling his travelogues in Qingshi Market, and now to the formation on the gate of the cave.

In total, he has indirectly crossed paths with this figure from a thousand years ago three times.

It was as if an unseen hand was pushing something toward him.

Is this such a coincidence?

Li Ping was lost in thought for a moment, staring at the teacup on the table, not moving for a long time.

Seeing his expression, Mu Fangxu couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Li Ping snapped out of his reverie and shook his head: "It's nothing. It's just that Gongshu Yan is a figure from a thousand years ago. How do we even begin?"

Mu Fangxu smiled and said, "He's not here, but he left behind a book on formations."

"Weren't his array formation books banned?" Li Ping blurted out.

He had heard this sentence before when he was in Qingshiji.

The old man selling books said that Gongshu Yan's battle formation books were too powerful and aroused taboo, so they were all confiscated and burned.

Upon hearing this, Mu Fangxu's lips curled slightly: "It's true that it's forbidden, but this person is very capable, and his array book is excellent."

Li Ping understood the implied meaning and asked, "Is someone hiding it?"

Mu Fangxu nodded and said matter-of-factly, "That's true. Which array master doesn't have his array manual? They just don't show it to others."

Li Ping pondered for a moment, then asked, "If we don't show it to anyone, how will we find the battle formation manual?"

Mu Fangxu didn't answer, but smiled and patted the storage bag.

Six beams of spiritual light flashed, and six ancient books appeared on the stone table.

The pages are yellowed and the edges are worn, clearly indicating that it is quite old.

Li Ping's gaze swept over the area, and his breath hitched slightly.

"True Explanation of Formation Techniques", "One Hundred Examples of Forbidden Methods", "Collection of Ancient Formations"... a total of six books, each signed by Gongshu Yan.

Li Ping was astonished to find that Mu Fangxu actually possessed six copies of this array book, which had been banned a thousand years ago.

He gave Mu Fangxu a deep look.

This son of the Mu family patriarch appears to be upright and honest, but he has quite a few ulterior motives.

Mu Fangxu felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze, waved his hand, and said meaningfully, "Li Ping, you know, one has to be flexible. Collecting a few books is no big deal."

Li Ping frowned slightly: "Aren't you afraid that the people who banned this book will come knocking on your door?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Fangxu slowly said, "Gongshu Yan's matter happened so many years ago, and no one cares about it anymore."

"If people weren't so hesitant, these books would have been sold and circulated openly long ago."

Li Ping suddenly realized: "I see."

No wonder Mu Fangxu dared to openly collect it; it turns out the ban was practically dead.

After letting the matter drop, Mu Fangxu pushed the three books on battle formations in front of Li Ping.

"Let's each take three books and compare them."

"I've flipped through a few pages, and it talks about many methods for dismantling ancient formations. Let's compare them ourselves. If we can find a similar formation technique to that halo, we should have a clue."

Li Ping nodded and carefully put away the three books on battle formations.

He also made an agreement with Mu Fangxu to meet once a day to exchange ideas, and to keep each other informed if they found any key clues.

After finishing his business, Li Ping took his leave.

Back in his courtyard, he closed the door, lit an oil lamp, and took out the three books on array formations, placing them one by one on the table.