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.

Li Ping woke up early, tidied himself up, and then left the courtyard.

The streets were bustling with people, and all the shops on both sides were open. Shop assistants were shouting at the top of their lungs, some selling newly arrived spirit ore, and others hawking freshly made pills.

Li Ping stopped in front of a medicine shop.

The shop was small, with bottles and jars piled up on the counter, and an old monk with a goatee was dozing behind the counter.

"Shopkeeper, bring me three Mysterious Water Pills and three bottles of Nourishing Essence Pills."

The old cultivator snapped out of his daze. Seeing a customer coming in, he immediately put on a smile and quickly took the pills from the shelf, arranging them one by one on the counter.

Li Ping took out spirit stones to pay the bill and put the pills into his storage bag.

After leaving the medicine shop, he wandered around the street again.

The street vendors, seeing that although his clothes were not luxurious, the storage bag at his waist was of good quality, all called out to him and tried to sell their wares.

"Fellow Daoist, take a look. This is a freshly harvested century-old Ganoderma lucidum, full of medicinal properties."

"Fellow Daoist, I have some demon beast cores that I just hunted from the outer sea. You'll miss them if you don't take them now."

Li Ping waved his hand one by one, his steps never stopping.

These things are no longer of any interest to Li Ping.

After walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly stopped.

There was a Buddhist artifact shop by the roadside. The storefront was small, and the signboard read "Baiqi Ge" (meaning "Pavilion of a Hundred Artifacts").

Through the half-open wooden window, you can see that the shelves are filled with all kinds of religious artifacts.

Knives, swords, axes, seals... the variety was dazzling.

Seeing this, Li Ping was tempted.

To be honest, he was indeed lacking a suitable magical artifact.

Physical cultivators have two fists, and magic cultivators have spells. When fighting with others, if they have a handy magic weapon, their combat power can increase by at least 50%.

As he was pondering, a young man quickly came out to greet him.

"Fellow Daoist, my family has a wide variety of magical artifacts. We've been operating in this market for five years, and the quality is guaranteed. Feel free to choose whatever you like." The shopkeeper smiled broadly and gestured for them to proceed.

Li Ping nodded and strode into the store.

The shop's interior was much more spacious than the exterior, with shelves standing on three walls. The magical artifacts were arranged in categories, with swords and jewels separated.

In the corner stood a bronze incense burner about half a person's height, with incense burning inside to dispel dampness, and wisps of smoke rising from it.

The shop assistant led Li Ping around the shop, introducing the various knives as they went: "If you need a knife, our golden-backed knives are all top-grade magic weapons. The blades are quenched with black iron essence, making them extremely sharp."

If you prefer something lightweight, the flying needles and shuttles here are also good; they're specifically designed to break through protective auras.

Li Ping glanced at them a few times, but didn't rush to choose. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "I practice water magic, what kind of magic tools would be suitable?"

Upon hearing this, the shop assistant smiled and immediately took several ritual implements from the shelf and placed them on the counter.

"If you cultivate water magic, you have many options." He picked up a short sword that was entirely dark blue. "This Cold Water Sword is forged from deep-sea cold iron. The blade itself carries a chilling aura. When it strikes an enemy, the chilling aura enters their body, slowing down their movements."

He picked up another string of beads, each one crystal clear and faintly shimmering with water: "This string of water spirit beads can help with water magic cultivation when worn. When activated, it can transform into a water curtain with considerable defensive power."

Then, he picked up one: "This one is called the Thousand-Pound Pearl."

Li Ping's gaze fell on the bead.

The bead is only the size of a longan, completely transparent, like a drop of solidified water.

But the golden thread at the center of the bead has a heavy, substantial feel.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like to give it a try?" The waiter handed over the Thousand-Pound Pearl.

Li Ping took the bead and felt its weight.

He was somewhat surprised that this tiny bead weighed several tens of kilograms.

With a slight exertion of force in his palm, a surge of magical power was injected into the bead. The golden water threads at the center of the bead immediately lit up, and the entire bead trembled with a hum. The surrounding air seemed to thicken in that instant.

"Good," Li Ping praised.

The shopkeeper beamed and explained, "Fellow Daoist has excellent taste. The core of this Thousand-Pound Pearl is a wisp of heavy water that has been specially refined. When used in battle, it will cause injury if it grazes the enemy, and will shatter them to pieces if it hits them."

Li Ping nodded, already making plans in his mind.

His current magical techniques either emphasize explosive power, such as the Abyss Flow Collapse, which, while powerful, requires charging up and cannot be cast instantly, or they are like the Overlapping Waves Technique, which emphasizes continuous flow but lacks suppressive force.

When fighting, if you don't have the means to suppress your enemy, you can easily fall into a passive position.

This precious pearl perfectly filled the gap.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Ping asked, "How many spirit stones?"

The waiter held up five fingers: "Five hundred spirit stones."

Li Ping frowned slightly: "It's a bit expensive."

"Fellow Daoist, this is a top-grade magic artifact." The shopkeeper quickly explained, "Just that wisp of heavy water alone costs one hundred spirit stones. Add to that the craftsman's wages and the other materials, and five hundred spirit stones is already the cost price. I didn't ask for more."

Li Ping glanced at him. Although this guy was doing business, his words didn't seem like he was just fooling around.

"Four hundred and fifty," Li Ping said. "If that's acceptable, I'll take it."

The shopkeeper looked troubled, hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, let's make friends. If you need any more magical artifacts in the future, just come to my house."

Li Ping nodded, took out spirit stones, and paid the bill.

After putting the Thousand-Pound Pearl into his storage bag, Li Ping was about to turn and leave when his gaze was suddenly drawn to a dark box in the corner.

It was a rectangular wooden box, entirely black, with its surface covered in densely packed patterns.

"Is this a sword case?"

Following Li Ping's gaze, the shop assistant immediately perked up and quickly walked over to pick up the sword box.

"Fellow Daoist has excellent taste. This sword case is one of my family's specialties." The shopkeeper placed the sword case flat on the counter and gently opened the lid.

The inside of the sword case was lined with a layer of deep red velvet cloth, on which twenty-four grooves were neatly arranged. Each groove was engraved with fine array patterns at the bottom, and the patterns were connected by silver lines to form a complete cycle.

"This sword case can hold twenty-four flying swords," the shopkeeper said, pointing to the groove. "And most importantly, it can continuously infuse the flying swords with spiritual energy."

Li Ping's eyes lit up: "Infusing spiritual energy into a flying sword? What does that mean?"

Seeing his interest, the shopkeeper explained in more detail: "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but we have specially refined an array into this box. As long as you put spirit stones into the spirit slot at the bottom of the box, it will operate on its own, continuously injecting spiritual power into each flying sword."

He pointed to a hidden slot at the bottom of the sword case and said, "It will keep running as long as the spirit stones don't break down. Once the flying sword is fully charged with spiritual power, the sword case will automatically stop operating without wasting a single bit of spiritual power."

Li Ping became more and more interested as he listened.

It can continuously inject spiritual energy? Wouldn't that be perfect for storing the Formless Array Flag?

His thirty-six Formless Array Flags can only be stored in wooden boxes on ordinary days. Although they can be preserved, it is best to keep the array flags full of spiritual energy at all times in order to exert their maximum power.

If one could have such a sword box, neatly stacking the thirty-six array flags inside, nourishing them with spiritual energy every day, and taking them out when needed would be at full spiritual energy, saving so much trouble.

Thinking of this, Li Ping asked, "Is there anything that can hold thirty-six flying swords?"

The waiter was taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head repeatedly: "Fellow Daoist is joking."

Flying swords are incredibly expensive. An ordinary cultivator is already quite wealthy if they can collect twelve. A sword case with twenty-four swords is already the best my family can afford. Thirty-six... no one has ever made one before.”

Seeing Li Ping frown, the waiter said again, "Fellow Daoist, with your cultivation level, twenty-four flying swords are enough. Any more than that would be impossible to control."

Li Ping ignored his advice.

The thirty-six Formless Array Flags are all essential; not a single one can be missing. If they cannot all be stored in the sword box, then the sword box is meaningless to him.

He was somewhat disappointed, shook his head, and turned to walk out.

Just as I reached the door, the waiter caught up with me again.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait." The waiter stopped Li Ping, rubbing his hands together. "Does Fellow Daoist really require thirty-six servings?"

Li Ping nodded.

"How many spirit stones can you offer, fellow Daoist?" the shopkeeper asked tentatively.

Li Ping raised an eyebrow and turned around: "Spirit stones are not a problem, as long as your family has them."

The waiter hesitated for a moment, as if weighing something, before finally saying, "If you absolutely must have thirty-six, then... we can make it to order."

"Customized?" Li Ping's eyes lit up.

"Yes," the shopkeeper explained. "My family has a professional weapon-refining master who will re-forge a sword box according to your requirements. The size will be larger, the grooves will be increased to thirty-six, and the array patterns will also need to be re-engraved. It's just that the cost of a custom-made one is higher than that of a ready-made one."

"How many spirit stones?"

"Five hundred." The shopkeeper held up three fingers, then flipped through the boxes again. "A twenty-four-piece sword box will cost one thousand spirit stones. A thirty-six-piece box will require a redesigned array pattern and an expanded array. One thousand five hundred spirit stones is really not expensive."

Li Ping pondered for a moment.

1,500 spirit stones, three times more expensive than the Thousand-Pound Pearl he carried. He had just bought pills with his spirit stones, and this expense was indeed a bit tight.

But then I thought, once this sword box is made, the thirty-six Formless Array Flags will have the best place to live.

This money must be spent.

"Okay," Li Ping said. "Fifteen hundred spirit stones, I'll take it."

The shop assistant was overjoyed and quickly took out a contract from under the counter, on which he wrote down the customization requirements.

After carefully reviewing the contract and confirming that everything was correct, Li Ping paid a deposit of five hundred spirit stones.

It was already noon when we stepped out of the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, and the market was at its busiest.

The streets were bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder, and shop assistants on both sides were working hard to serve customers.

Li Ping looked around, secretly sighing in his heart.

When he first arrived at Xikou Market, it was bustling, but its scale was still much smaller than that of Shuangfeng Market.

Looking at it now, the foot traffic in the market has steadily surpassed that of Shuangfeng Market.

After turning a corner, Li Ping arrived at the busiest street in the market.

This street is the main street of the market, with neat bluestone slabs on the ground and shops lining both sides.

There were more monks on the street than before; some were going in and out of the shops, while others stopped to haggle at the roadside stalls.

As Li Ping was walking, he suddenly noticed a crowd gathered ahead, blocking most of the street.

He paused, and looking into the distance, he saw that the crowd was packed in layers, making it impossible to move.

The cultivators behind them stood on tiptoe to look inside, while those in front whispered among themselves, their voices buzzing with discussion.

Li Ping's heart stirred, and he squeezed into the crowd.

He had already achieved some success in physical cultivation, and his physique was much more robust than that of ordinary cultivators. With just a little effort, he was able to steadily push through the crowd and walk step by step into the inner circle.

Pushing past the crowd, Li Ping arrived at the innermost room and took a closer look.

A tall, thin cultivator stood in the center of the crowd, dressed in a gray Taoist robe, with a gaunt face and a long sword on his back.

On the ground in front of him was a spiritual plant that was half a zhang tall.

The roots of the spiritual plant are thick and twisted like a dragon, with each root as thick as a thumb.

The plant is entirely emerald green, with thick leaves that gleam with an oily sheen.

The most eye-catching feature is the top of the plant, where a wisp of mist formed from spiritual energy faintly refracts a halo of light under the sunlight.

Li Ping felt a chill run down his spine.

He recognized the spiritual plant; it was the one he had dug up from the herb garden in the cave yesterday, which Mu Fangxu had later divided and hidden away.

"Mu Fangxu has already made his move?"

Having figured this out, Li Ping composed himself and began to secretly observe the reactions of the people around him.

The onlookers craned their necks, their eyes fixed on the spiritual plants on the ground.

Some people pointed and whispered, while others gasped in astonishment.

"This...this is Jade Spirit Grass? Jade Spirit Grass can grow this big?"

"Are you kidding me? I've been growing Jade Spirit Grass for twenty years, and the largest one I've ever grown is only two feet tall. This one must be ten feet tall."

"It's not just about size; look at the veins on the main stem—they're glowing with gold! That's a sign that it's about to advance."

An old man in the crowd stroked his beard, shaking his head and saying, "In my opinion, this Jade Spirit Grass must have absorbed some kind of rare and precious treasure during its growth. Otherwise, how could a mere first-tier spiritual plant grow into this state?"

A middle-aged cultivator nearby scoffed, "A rare and precious treasure? If it had truly absorbed such a treasure, would it only be a first-tier spiritual plant? In my opinion, this is just a coincidence, a mutation of the spiritual plant. It is rare, but it's not unheard of."

"A chance phenomenon?" The old man scoffed. "How many mutated plants have you seen? I've lived for eighty years and traveled all over the outer seas, and I've never seen such an anomaly."

Look at the spiritual energy above it; it's almost solidified. How can this be explained by ordinary mutations?

The two argued incessantly, and the people around them joined in the discussion.

Some say this spiritual plant must be a new variety, and if it can be cultivated in large quantities, its value will be immeasurable.

Some people say this is clearly a smokescreen, a counterfeit product made by someone to fool people.

Li Ping listened to the crowd's discussion without saying a word.

Last night, he and Mu Fangxu went to such great lengths, dividing the plants and hiding them, all for this very moment.

Just as he was pondering this, a well-to-do monk stepped out from the crowd.

This cultivator was broad and stout, dressed in a brocade robe, with three or four storage bags hanging from his waist, clearly indicating that he was quite wealthy.

He walked straight up to the tall, thin cultivator, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, how much are your spiritual plants?"

The tall, thin cultivator sized him up and down, then said in a flat tone, "Five hundred spirit stones, no bargaining."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in uproar.

Five hundred spirit stones? Are you crazy?

"Even second-tier spiritual plants are only this price, so why is a single Azure Spirit Grass worth so much?"

"Exactly. Not to mention whether his spiritual plant is even useful or not, the price alone is outrageous."

The monks discussed it amongst themselves, and no one agreed with the price.

The tall, thin cultivator sneered, his face showing disdain: "A bunch of ignorant fools. This is a spiritual plant that has broken through to a higher rank."

Looking across the entire open sea, let alone our Xikou market town, you can't find a second one in Qingfeng City.

"Five hundred spirit stones, I'm already selling it for a pittance."