It took Chen Lin a full month to refine the spirit of Lei Xing into his body.
This is only the first step. Next, you need to use the method of Gold, Fire and Thunder to devour the spiritual objects bit by bit, fuse them, and use them for your own benefit.
This is a slow process and you can't be impatient.
It is only necessary to complete the fusion before breaking through the middle stage of foundation building. Then you can use the pseudo spiritual roots formed by the tempering of the heavenly tribulation.
Time passes by little by little.
The expected big changes did not occur, and Chen Lin became more free.
The resources of the alliance had become so scarce that even the ink for refining the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was running low. It took him half a day to go to work every other day.
He even began to worry that if he continued like this, he would be sent back to the demon hunting team again.
But what he worried about did not happen, instead he got good news.
The alliance finally decided to retreat, breaking out to the distant sea of the Wuding Sea and heading for the main continent.
The order was issued personally by the deacon elders Hai Mingyue and Li Xuanming. The cultivators of Danding City would be divided into several teams to avoid being caught in one fell swoop.
However, the specific breakout plan was kept secret, and which team would go in which direction had already been determined. A cultivator like Chen Lin, who was in the early stages of foundation building, only had to obey the orders.
As the news came out, people in the city became restless, and every monk tried his best to build relationships in order to catch up with a powerful team.
Although the alliance has long stipulated that once retreated, protection levels would be allocated based on merit levels, but human relations are always inevitable. Merit levels are only the explicit conditions, and there are many hidden conditions as well.
For example, his nominal disciple He Yuqing was called back as soon as the news of the retreat came out. It was obvious that he would follow the He family's team, but he, his master, did not receive such treatment.
"Master, why don't you use your connections to follow our Neptune Sect's team? I just got the news that our Neptune Sect has a temporary base on an island in the far sea, and we have already built a large sea-crossing ship there. The ships of other forces are not as big as our Neptune Sect's."
Chen Lin has always been nice to He Yuqing, and before leaving, this girl returned the favor by providing Chen Lin with a piece of information.
But she could only provide information. A branch of the He family who was at the fourth level of Qi training did not have the qualifications to bring outsiders into the Sea King Sect's team.
"Okay, I get it. You better be smart and don't be reckless. I won't be able to use these things anymore. Use them for self-defense!"
Chen Lin took out a storage bag and handed it to the other party. Inside it were some elixirs, talismans, a top-grade flying sword, and a snake spirit he had used before. These things had long been useless to him, and he had never thought of dealing with them, so he just gave them to this nominal disciple for self-defense.
"Thank you, Master. Take care!"
He Yuqing didn't act pretentiously. After taking the storage bag, she kowtowed three times to Chen Lin and then left the Quartermaster Department.
Elderly people...
Chen Lin couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.
Yes, if you count, it has been seventeen or eighteen years since the time travel. The original owner was in his forties, and he is now a sixty-year-old man.
In the previous life, at this age, one should retire and enjoy his later years, plant flowers and raise birds, play with grandchildren, and enjoy family happiness.
But now, we still have to run for our lives and calculate everything for survival.
Although the life of a cultivator may seem good, in reality they may not be as happy as the lives of ordinary people!
After sighing for a while, Chen Lin calmed down.
Now that he has embarked on this path, there is no reason to retreat. Even if the road ahead is full of thorns, he will fight his way out. Cutting through the thorns is a kind of happiness!
He Yuqing's words reminded Chen Lin that his current merit level was not low, but just waiting for the alliance's arrangements was not a good idea.
On the surface, the alliance will deploy a unified retreat plan, but in fact the alliance is just a loose organization. Each major force must have its own plans and will place its core personnel on a safe route, while those who are not important will become cannon fodder to attract enemy fire.
He has no roots or connections, so he would definitely not be able to enter the core team based on his merits alone.
After thinking it over in his mind, Chen Lin decided to go find Zhao Qiankun and give it a try.
Although he was not very familiar with this person, he was a generous and magnanimous person, and he was also an elder of the Sea King Sect. Perhaps he could use his relationship with him to get what he wanted.
But to Chen Lin's disappointment, Zhao Qiankun was not at the base. It was said that he had gone out on a mission and had not returned yet.
Not only was the other party not there, but even the people from Yunhai were not there, saying that they had gone out on a mission.
Chen Lin suddenly had a bad feeling.
Then, he went to visit some important figures. These people were the core members of the major sects. He didn't actually know them, but just wanted to confirm some guesses.
The information he received made his face even uglier.
These people are not here. They all said they were on missions.
How could there be such a coincidence in this world? On the eve of the great retreat, all the important figures of noble status formed a group to go out on a mission. It was too fake!
Chen Lin suspected that these people might have already taken the lead and left through special channels in advance. If this was the case, those who remained in Danding City would all be cannon fodder to attract the attention of the Qishen Sect!
This speculation made him feel uneasy and he felt that he had to do something. After thinking about it, he walked towards Qian Li's residence.
The alliance acted quickly and the order to assign teams was issued the next day. According to his level of merit, Chen Lin was assigned to the first-tier evacuation team, led by a Jindan Zhenren.
Although he was in the first echelon, Chen Lin couldn't be happy.
He had secretly investigated and found that there were more than 3,000 people in their evacuation team, including dozens of foundation-building cultivators, and the rest were in the Qi training stage. Such a large scale would make the target too big.
Even though there is a Jindan cultivator leading the team, this Master Pang is not very strong. Not only is he only in the early Jindan stage, but he is also said to have lived for more than 400 years and his life span is almost over.
No matter how you look at it, this team of yours doesn't seem to be the core, but rather seems to be deliberately created to take the blame.
Chen Lin was unsure and did not go to report directly, but found Qian Li again.
"How is it going? Which team have you been assigned to? Have you contacted other foundation-building monks?"
The two met at Qian Li's residence. Chen Lin first told him about his situation and speculation, and then asked the other party.
Qian Li smiled bitterly and said, "I was assigned to a team in the second echelon. The leader is an old cultivator who has reached the end of his life. It seems that you are right. I am afraid that all of us are cannon fodder. The real core personnel have already withdrawn!"
Chen Lin nodded and said solemnly: "If this is the case, I'm afraid we can't report. These old cultivators who are approaching the end of their lives must have reached an agreement with the alliance to use their lives in exchange for the safety of their families and future generations. They will definitely carry out the orders of the alliance loyally. As long as foundation-building cultivators like us sign up, we will be detained and used as the main force. It will be impossible for us to leave alone."
Qian Li agreed, "I thought so too. Yesterday I contacted a few Foundation Establishment cultivators that I am on good terms with. They all felt that the situation was not normal and wanted to break away from the main group and act independently. Some people have already organized themselves."
"Oh?" Chen Lin was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Who is this organizer? Is he reliable?"
Although he wanted to find some companions to act together, which would be safer, they also had to be reliable.
“Ahem.” Qian Li coughed lightly, seeming a little embarrassed, and then whispered, “Fellow Daoist Lin must know this person.”
"I know him. Who is that?" Chen Lin looked at him suspiciously and urged, "It's already this late, and you still have the time to play dumb? Maybe the order to march will come down soon."
Qian Li straightened his expression and said, "The organizer is Madam White Bone!"
"who?"
Chen Lin was very surprised this time.
It’s not that I have any discrimination against Madam Bai Gu, but given her identity and status, there is no reason for her not to be among the core staff!
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and looked at Qian Li suspiciously. After sizing him up for a while, he said, "I wonder if you have surrendered to Madam Bai Gu's temptations?"
Qian Li's face turned red, but he immediately stiffened his neck and said, "What do you mean by surrender? That's called dual cultivation!"
Chen Lin rolled his eyes. Sure enough, this guy had been taken down by Madam Bai Gu. He couldn't help but complain, "One-on-one is called double cultivation, ten-on-one is called a concubine. But didn't you say that you couldn't do it because of Fairy Zixia's incident? How can you satisfy Madam Bai Gu?"
"Get lost!" Qian Li cursed, "It's all because of you. If you hadn't asked me to contact other people, how could I have met Madam White Bone and wouldn't have been captured!"
Chen Lin opened his mouth, speechless.
He immediately changed the subject and said, "So, you have decided to join Madam White Bone's team. How many people are there in total?"
Qian Li was no longer bothered by this. This matter was not entirely forced by Madam Bai Gu, he himself was also half-hearted.
The other party's methods were ingenious, and she easily helped him regain his masculinity. The process was so wonderful that he is still savoring it to this day. Now he would not want to leave even if Madam Bai Gu drove him away.
He nodded and said, "Under the current circumstances, I will naturally follow Madam Bai Gu. In addition to Madam Bai Gu's several lovers, the team has also gathered some foundation-building cultivators, probably more than ten, and no more than thirty people in total."
At this point he glanced at Chen Lin and said, "What are your plans? Make a decision quickly. Madam White Bone will leave tonight. If you want to join us, hurry up. With my introduction, she will definitely agree. Also, I have to remind you that the city gates are now closed. Without a pass token, it is impossible for you to leave alone. You can either join us or follow the main force. You have to think carefully."
Chen Lin frowned and said nothing. After a long while, he suddenly said, "Is Madam Bai Gu so miraculous that she made you fall in love with her just once?"
Deep down, he was really curious about this woman. Her method of taming men was so powerful that it seemed that any man who got close to her would be devoted to her.
But the other party was very covetous of him!
Qian Li was stunned for a moment, but he reacted immediately and said angrily, "Why, you want to try it too? But I tell you it's really magical. I guarantee that the taste will make you want more after you try it. And if you want to try it, don't think about me. She and I are not Taoist partners, so I won't be jealous."
Chen Lin gave a thumbs up and said with a smile, "So generous, you are indeed worthy of being my good brother."
He immediately shook his head and said, "It's a pity that I can't do it. The technique I practice doesn't allow me to get close to women. Otherwise, with my assets, I would have plenty of women. I need to think about this matter and give you an answer before tonight."
After saying that, he stood up and left.