As late October approached, Zhao Lin returned to Chiwei Island and settled down in the post house.
I meditate every day to practice Qi, and go to the beach to practice casting spells in the water.
As the saying goes, sharpening one's weapons in battle is a waste of time. Although one is confident in one's own strength, he expects the enemy to be lenient. Even if he only becomes a little stronger, he will have an extra chance of saving his life.
Taking advantage of the break in practice, I recorded the four second-level spells in the spiritual chart on the jade slips I carry with me.
Water magic, water magic fist: mastery, upper limit of mastery.
Ice walking spell, ice whirling hammer: mastery, upper limit is great.
Earth spells, mountain collapse and earth shattering: mastery, upper limit of mastery.
Spells without attributes, Concentration: Mastery, upper limit of Mastery.
"Undersea fighting, water magic is naturally the first choice, and water magic fist needs to be practiced more."
"Coupled with the perfection-level water-bending skills and ice-blade skills, even if you encounter a master at the peak of Qi refining, you are sure to be invincible."
After a few days, Gan Xingquan came to visit.
Gan Xingquan is the captain of the island. He was the one who led Zhao Lin and others on a mission to sea last time.
Accompanying him were one old man, four young men, and five monks.
"They are the formation masters sent by Master Chu to perform tasks with you, Sun Jue, Wang Yunzhi, Wei Chong, and Ye Mingkuan."
Gan Xingquan introduced the four young monks to Zhao Lin, and then said to the four of them: "This is Zhao Lin. After going to sea, you will follow him and follow his orders in everything."
"yes!"
The four formation masters were young, all in their mid-twenties, and each came forward to greet Zhao Lin.
The old man has gray hair and wrinkles on his face. Judging from his appearance, he is at least seventy or eighty years old.
When Gan Xingquan introduced him, his words were quite respectful, "This is Mr. Chao."
The old man smiled slightly and said, "I'm glad to meet you, Chao Duan."
"Nice to meet you!"
Zhao Lin responded with a smile, feeling a pity in his heart.
After mastering the Qi-Wang technique, he not only saw that Chao Duan's cultivation was at the ninth level of Qi refining, but he could also accurately identify that this person had reached the peak of Qi refining.
The peak of Qi refining means that all one hundred and eight spiritual orifices have been opened, the meridians have also been expanded, and all the conditions for foundation building have been met.
It is a pity that not every monk who is at the peak of Qi refining can successfully build the foundation. Countless of them have fallen down. If they are young, they still have a chance to get up and try again.
But at Chao Duan's age, there is definitely no hope of building a foundation in this life, so Zhao Lin felt regretful.
After the introduction, Gan Xingquan pulled Zhao Lin aside and whispered: "There are not many formation mages on the island, you have to protect them."
"Although their cultivation level is not low, they have basically never practiced offensive techniques and lack experience in fighting. If they encounter a monk from the Dark Sect, they may not even be able to hold on for a few breaths."
Zhao Lin said seriously: "Senior Gan, don't worry, Zhao will do his best."
In fact, even if Gan Xing didn't say anything, Zhao Lin would do his best to protect these array masters. If there were casualties, even if he killed all the Di An Sect monks, he would not be able to capture Zhutan.
Gan Xingquan nodded, "Chao Lao has already reached the age of old age, and he is willing to take risks to fight for this mission. You can rest assured about his character."
Zhao Lin knew clearly that such elderly monks had no hope of achieving a breakthrough. In addition to cultivating their moral character, they usually spent their energy on studying Taoism.
Maybe his level has declined slightly, but his ability to argue is even stronger than when he was young. It can be said that he gets stronger with age.
Gan Xingquan continued: "I will inform all the monks on the mission about this. Do you have any objection?"
Zhao Lin smiled and said: "Of course, it would be better if someone is willing to join."
After Gan Xingquan left, Zhao Lin invited the five people to sit in his room.
Since we are working together, we must build a good relationship and build trust with each other.
After chatting for a while, Zhao Lin said to several formation masters: "Can I know how to arrange the mechanism?"
The mechanism is a branch of the formation. Zhao Lin has not studied it specifically and only has a little understanding of it.
Sun Jue, the leader of the four, said with a smile: "Actually, there is nothing mysterious. The mechanism has a single function. It only has formation stones and no formation disks. It is easier to set up than a magic formation."
Then he took out six dark brown formation stones and showed them to Zhao Lin.
Zhao Lin took the formation stone and saw neat formation patterns carved on it, arranged in various shapes such as rhombus, star, octagon, etc.
The trace of spiritual energy leaking out gives people a sense of tension, but other than that, it is not much different from an ordinary magic circle.
Zhao Lin returned the formation stone to Sun Jue and asked a more critical question: "How long does it take to dismantle and install a mechanism?"
Sun Jue thought for a while and replied: "The layout of the mechanism is simple. If there are no interruptions, the four of us can complete it within a quarter of an hour if we work together."
"It's a bit troublesome to dismantle, depending on the complexity of the mechanism. Generally speaking, it takes a little longer than installing the mechanism."
After hearing this, Zhao Lin thought in his mind, if there are eight mechanisms in a pearl beach, at this speed, it would take two hours at the fastest to occupy a pearl beach.
This is without interruption.
The dismantling of the array makes a lot of noise. If you want to let the array master arrange the mechanism with peace of mind, you must first eradicate most of the underground and dark sect monks, otherwise the array master will be in danger.
Chu Hongtian sent Chao Duan to assist him, certainly to protect the four formation masters, and to have a helper by his side in case he encountered a strong enemy.
Thinking of this, Zhao Lin politely said to Chao Duan: "Excuse me, Mr. Chao, what spells are you proficient in?"
Chao Duan laughed and said: "I have lived for eighty years in vain. I don't have any proficient spells. I just have a brief knowledge of the water wheel wall spell."
Water Wheel Wall is a second-level water defense spell. After being cast, a rotating water wall is formed around the body, which can defend against various attacking spells.
The spell's defense range is extremely large, which means that Chao Duan can use this spell to protect four vulnerable formation mages.
Zhao Lin thought that Chu Hongtian had considered everything carefully and specially matched a suitable candidate, so that he would have no worries.
He looked sincere and said: "Zhao is weak in talent and has limited strength. He has to rely more on Mr. Chao."
Chao Duan nodded and said with a smile: "It's easy to talk about. I have heard about Zhao Daoyou's deeds, and I admire him very much."
"As long as the old man's meager skills are needed, just give him orders, and don't be polite."
Hearing this, Zhao Lin felt relieved. It would be easy to deal with the other party if he knew his interests so much. He was most afraid of meeting someone who relied on his elders and acted against them, and would oppose him in everything, which would only hinder him.
A few days later, Gan Xing sent all his guards to the post house and informed them that the monks on this mission had basically arrived, and they could move into the camp to familiarize themselves with them in advance so that they could be taken care of when the time came.
Zhao Lin, Chao Duan, Sun Jue and others did not delay and set off immediately.
When we walked into the camp, there were ten monks sitting in the center of the camp, chatting together.
Hearing the footsteps, the monks turned their heads and looked over.
Zhao Lin glanced at it and was secretly surprised.
Among the ten people, except for one person whose cultivation is at the eighth level of Qi refining, the others are all at the ninth level of Qi refining, and two of them are at the peak of Qi refining!
And judging by their age, they were all between thirty and fifty years old, and no one was too young or too old.
This lineup is much stronger than last time.
"Fellow Taoists, I am Zhao Lin, who is here to perform a mission. Please take good care of me!"
Zhao Lin made a bow and then found an empty seat to sit down without any restraint.
Chao Duan, Sun Jue and others just bowed their hands and sat down next to Zhao Lin without introducing themselves.
Everyone was a little surprised, wondering who this person was?
Zhao Lin's cultivation level is only at the seventh level of Qi refining, and he is actually the first among the six. Even Chao Duan, who is at the peak of Qi refining, ranks second.
"It turns out to be Fellow Daoist Zhao, and I am Xu Zhongyong, from Tianqing Prefecture."
After a moment of silence, a monk with slender cheeks and dressed as a Confucian scholar spoke.
This man was quite talkative. Not only was he the first to say hello, but he also introduced everyone present to Zhao Lin very enthusiastically.
Zhao Lin responded with a smile, keeping everyone's name and appearance in mind.
The most impressive ones were naturally the two peak Qi refining monks, and Xu Zhongyong also introduced them solemnly.
Sitting in the middle, with a golden sword in his arms, is a tall man with loose hair named Du Zhen. This man has a majestic build and is more than a head taller than the others.
The other person is Chang Jianqiu, a middle-aged monk with ordinary appearance but extremely sharp eyes.
After exchanging a few words, Zhao Lin smiled and asked, "What were you talking about just now?"
Xu Zhongyong also smiled and said: "What else can we talk about? Of course it's about going to sea. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Zhao has ever performed a mission here before?"
Zhao Lin hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth and said calmly: "Yes."
Xu Zhongyong's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands and said, "That's a coincidence. Fellow Daoist Du and Fellow Daoist Chang have also been here before. Fellow Daoist Du killed three Earthly Dark Sect monks, and Fellow Daoist Chang also made a profit."
Zhao Lin heard this and said with admiration: "You two are very capable, Zhao admires them."
Chang Jianqiu returned the favor and said calmly: "It's just a fluke."
Du Zhen's expression remained unchanged and he just nodded in response.
Xu Zhongyong didn't ask about Zhao Lin's record. He seemed to think that it was already remarkable that he could save his life.
Then he continued: "I just mentioned one thing. Originally, this task only required waterbending to a minor level, but it suddenly changed in the middle of the month. It requires at least a proficiency level."
"Not only that, the rewards have also increased! The spiritual stones and good deeds exchanged for collecting spiritual beads are 50% higher than before. The good deeds of the Dark Sect monks killed have increased from 200 to 500."
"Actually, I have been paying attention to this task. I felt that the risks were out of proportion to the benefits, so I never wanted to receive it. It was not until I discovered this change that I was tempted to join."
"This is a good thing."
Zhao Lin responded casually, finally understanding why the monks who came this time were two levels stronger than before. It seemed that Chu Hongtian deliberately raised the task threshold and increased the rewards in order to attract experts to join.
Xu Zhongyong nodded, suddenly remembered something, and raised his voice: "Did you know? Two years ago, someone killed fourteen Earthly Dark Sect monks!"
"How can it be?"
"Are the underground monks made of paper?"
"The rumors are not credible and must be exaggerated..."
Everyone was shocked at first, and then expressed their disbelief.
Xu Zhongyong looked proud, "To tell you the truth, I have a good friend who came to Chiwei Island two years ago, and we were on a mission with that person!"
"He saw it with his own eyes, and it is absolutely true."
Du Zhen asked: "What's that person's name?"
Xu Zhongyong frowned and thought for a while, then said, "It seems that his surname is Zhao."
Du Zhen snorted lightly and said, "Such a person should be famous throughout the sect. Why have I never heard of him?"
Xu Zhongyong was stunned by the question, and after thinking for a long time, he found an explanation: "Maybe it's to protect this person, to prevent the Di An Sect from sending people to assassinate him."
"Furthermore, our sect and the Di An sect are apparently at peace with each other. It's not easy to publicize this kind of thing."
Everyone was doubtful, but they didn't ask any more questions.
Chao Duan and the four formation masters naturally knew that the person they were talking about was Zhao Lin, but they did not say anything.
Du Zhen suddenly said: "Di An Sect monks are good at water fighting, and they often appear in groups. If they meet alone, their lives may be in danger."
"It's best that we do the same, what do you think?"
Xu Zhongyong was the first to raise his hand and responded, "Yes, when we unite, we are strong; when we divide, we are weak. That's how it should be."
Du Zhen nodded and said: "Based on my experience, it is best for the undersea fight to be within five people. If there are more people, it will easily cause confusion and it will not be possible to take care of everything."
At this point, he paused and said, "Who wants to form a team with me?"
"I."
"And I."
Xu Zhongyong said to a monk.
"stop!"
There were still a few people who wanted to agree. Du Zhen raised his hand to signal that it was time to stop. He turned to look at Chao Duan behind Zhao Lin and asked, "Is this fellow Taoist willing to join?"
Want to poach someone?
Zhao Lin sneered in his heart, but remained calm on the surface, sitting upright without blinking an eyelid.
Chao Duan smiled and said: "We are a group of six, no one else will join us."
Du Zhen frowned slightly and looked at Chang Jianqiu again.
"Sorry, Chang is used to being a loner."
Chang Jianqiu refused simply.
Du Zhen's eyes flashed with anger, and he said solemnly: "Since you don't want to, then so be it!"
The scene was a little awkward for a while, and even Xu Zhongyong stopped talking.
After sitting for a while, it was getting late, so everyone went to their rooms to rest.
The next day, two more monks at the ninth level of Qi Refining rushed to the camp, and the number of people performing the task reached eighteen.
Everyone goes to the beach to practice underwater every day and seize the time to practice water fighting.
As the date approaches, the atmosphere becomes more and more tense. Everyone knows that the increase in mission rewards means that the risks have also become greater.
One night before departure, Gan Xingquan came to the camp and taught everyone the handprints used for communication during this mission.
"This seal is called the Falling Fan Seal. It has thirteen variations, which respectively means moving forward, stopping, turning, retreating, asking for help, warning, and eliminating danger..."
As Gan Xingquan spoke, he opened his palms, with his thumb clasped at the base of his middle finger, his little finger raised, and his index, middle, and ring fingers spread apart.
The hand shape changes, a hand seal is made, and various mana fluctuations are emitted.
Everyone practiced for a while and quickly mastered it.
Next, just like last time, Gan Xingquan circulated the sea map to everyone, and explained how to collect spirit beads and various matters that needed attention.
Although Zhao Lin already understood it, he still listened to it again word for word. (End of chapter)
