"Over on Li Wei's side as well, mostly through subtle hints and suggestions, guiding Gong Yang to invite Xu Ping."

"Since no flaws have been exposed, why hasn't Xu Ping taken the bait?" Elder Hao knitted his brows, lost in thought.

He found it hard to believe that the immense allure of the Crystal Condensing Liquid didn't affect Xu Ping.

"Could it be... truly as Xu Ping himself said, that he's genuinely worried about uncontrollable dangers in the secret realm?"

Xu Zhixuan cautiously said, "Back when we were at Qiu Xuan Mountain, Xu Ping was always focused on quietly cultivating, almost never leaving."

Upon hearing this, Elder Hao quietly recalled the information about Xu Ping previously recorded in the jade slip.

The jade slip noted that during the Ruins Deserted Island expedition, Xu Ping didn't participate but stayed at Thousand Leaves Mountain to cultivate diligently.

"Could it indeed be as Xu Ping himself claims, worried about uncontrollable dangers in the secret realm?" Elder Hao furrowed his brows.

For now, this seems to be the only reasonable explanation.

"Elder Hao, since Xu Ping doesn't want to go to the secret realm, our previous plans have fallen through. What should we do next?" Xu Zhixuan asked with a worried expression.

"Since the other party is concerned about encountering uncontrollable dangers in the ruins, find a relatively safer place."

Elder Hao quickly regained his composure, speaking with a cool tone.

"A safer place?" Xu Zhixuan was slightly puzzled, momentarily not comprehending Elder Hao's meaning.

...

...

A month later.

Thousand Leaves Mountain.

"Fellow Daoist Duan, what brings you to Thousand Leaves Mountain today?" Xu Ping smiled as he poured a cup of Spirit Tea for Duan Shuang and asked.

"Must there always be a reason to come visit Fellow Daoist Xu for some old time's sake and a chat?" Duan Shuang coyly raised her eyebrows and smiled brightly.

"Of course not."

Xu Ping wore a warm smile, "Fellow Daoist Duan is welcome anytime you wish to visit."

"Now that's a promise, don't say I'm a bother when the time comes." Duan Shuang joked lightly.

"How could that be, Fellow Daoist Duan?" Xu Ping smiled softly, picked up his cup, and took a delicate sip of Spirit Tea.

After some casual chatting, Duan Shuang's expression turned serious as she spoke of her visit's purpose: "Fellow Daoist Xu, truthfully, I've come with an important matter."

"Please speak, Fellow Daoist Duan." Xu Ping put down his cup, his expression earnest.

"It's like this, I usually prefer not to attend regular auctions; instead, I enthusiastically participate in trade gatherings initiated by Foundation Establishment cultivators." Duan Shuang said slowly.

Xu Ping nodded slightly, as he was somewhat aware of this.

Trade gatherings initiated by Foundation Establishment cultivators are akin to underground auctions, where participants may voluntarily seek trades at the last moment.

However, the grade is much lower.

Duan Shuang continued, "Yet this trade gathering is somewhat unusual; I've heard rumors that someone is willing to trade the Frost Moon Peach."

"Frost Moon Peach?"

Xu Ping's heart stirred slightly.

The Frost Moon Peach was also renowned in the Cultivation Realm as a Core Formation Spiritual Object.

Although its effect was slightly inferior to the Crystal Condensing Liquid, improving Core Formation success rate by merely half to one percent.

Even so, for those Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators struggling for breakthroughs and longing for Core Formation, it remained invaluable.

"When I first heard this, I was quite shocked, thinking it was a false rumor to attract attention to the gathering."

"But after extensive inquiries, I found there indeed seemed to be someone intending to sell this item." Duan Shuang explained.

"However, I've heard that the price for Frost Moon Peach is extremely high, so I can't afford it with my current resources. Thus, I thought of Fellow Daoist Xu."

As she spoke, Duan Shuang looked sincerely at Xu Ping, "With Fellow Daoist Xu's strength and resources, acquiring this item and safely bringing it back should not be a problem."

Though she was also tempted by the Frost Moon Peach, she surely couldn't afford it with her current resources.

Moreover, even if she acquired it, she certainly couldn't carry it away with her strength.

"Trade gathering, huh?"

Upon hearing this, a ripple surged in his heart, almost tempting him.

Considering his resources and strength, acquiring the Frost Moon Peach seemed very promising.

Yet he quickly and keenly detected something peculiar.

Recently, the frequency of Core Formation Spiritual Objects appearing seemed somewhat excessive.

In the past, such rare Core Formation Spiritual Objects rarely appeared on the market, often not for decades, but now they were emerging one after another.

First was the Crystal Condensing Liquid mentioned last time in the secret realm, and now the Frost Moon Peach from the trade gathering.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Ping smiled wryly and shook his head, "I am unfortunately short of finances, so I won't be attending."

"Truth be told, though I've crafted Third-tier talismans, the failure rate is terrifyingly high."

"It's been so long since I slew the Golden Core demon, yet I've still not successfully crafted even one Third-tier talisman while squandering quite a bit of material, depleting most of my resources."

Upon hearing this, Duan Shuang regretfully shook her head, "That's truly unfortunate; such Core Formation Spiritual Objects are truly hard to come by."

"There's nothing unfortunate; everything has its destined time." Xu Ping feigned profundity and remarked.

Listening to this, Duan Shuang couldn't help but smile, jesting, "When did Fellow Daoist Xu start delving into Daoist philosophy?"

...

...

"Could someone be scheming to lure me out of Thousand Leaves Mountain recently?"

After Duan Shuang left, Xu Ping sat alone in the pavilion, his brows tightly furrowed as strong vigilance arose in his heart.

Scrutinizing these two matters carefully, they seemed to lack any direct connection on the surface.

Moreover, he hadn't detected any noticeable flaws from them.

But it was just too coincidental; sometimes excessive coincidence is also a flaw.

"Who could it be?"

Xu Ping pondered with knitted brows.

"The Song family?"

"Or... Shuize Sect?"

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