Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

The Core Formation cultivator from Huadaowu probed his storage bag with his divine sense, his expression changed slightly, and then he fell silent.

The Liu family's savings accumulated over many years are all in this bag. If Lin Feng had really embezzled it, there wouldn't be so much stuff left in the bag.

Fu Yunzi chuckled and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it was Han's own fault for being greedy; he can't blame anyone else. Lin's selfless act of handing over the money is commendable, truly commendable."

Lei Wanhe nodded, a smile appearing on his fat face: "The mission was completed well. You can all go and rest now. The sect will arrange the rewards as soon as possible."

Lin Feng and the others clasped their hands in greeting and withdrew from the main hall.

As Lin Feng stepped out of the palace gate, he let out a long breath, feeling that the back of his clothes was soaked with sweat.

Being stared at and questioned by a Core Formation cultivator is an unbearable experience.

Over the next few days, Lin Feng returned to his daily routine on the Jingu Plain battlefield.

Leaving camp, lying in ambush, hunting, returning to camp—it's the same as before, but also a little different.

The difference is that his mind is no longer on this battlefield.

He is waiting.

Once the sect's rewards are distributed, once Xin Ruyin's teleportation array is repaired, I'll wait for a suitable opportunity to slip away.

A few days later, one evening, Lin Feng was meditating and cultivating in his wooden house when a sound transmission talisman flew into the formation.

"Junior Brother Lin, it's me."

Nie Ying's voice.

Lin Feng stood up and activated the formation.

Nie Ying stood outside the door, dressed in an elegant blue Taoist robe, her hair tied up with a jade hairpin, her skin still as white as snow, her features as beautiful as a painting.

She held an exquisite jade box in her hands. The jade box was pure white and its surface was engraved with fine runes, which shimmered with spiritual light.

"Please come in, Senior Sister." Lin Feng stepped aside.

Nie Ying entered the wooden house, sat down at the small table, and placed the jade box on the table.

"Junior brother, this is your reward." Her voice was still cold, but there was a hint of solemnity in her eyes. "A Core Formation spiritual treasure bestowed upon you by the sect—Snow Spirit Water."

Lin Feng's heart beat slightly faster.

A spiritual object that has reached the Core Formation stage.

He suppressed his excitement, kept a calm expression, reached out and took the jade box, and opened the lid.

Inside the jade box was a clear, watery liquid, like mercury or melted moonlight, flowing slowly within the box, emitting a faint spiritual light and a cool, refreshing aura.

Snow Spirit Water.

Lin Feng picked up the jade box, examined it for a moment, then closed the lid, affixed two spirit-sealing talismans, and put it into his storage bag.

"Thank you, Senior Sister," he said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Nie Ying nodded, stood up, and as she walked to the door, she suddenly turned back and glanced at Lin Feng.

"Junior brother, the storage bag you handed over contains quite a lot of resources."

She deliberately softened her voice, lowered it, and spoke so softly that it only flowed between the two of them:

"We are currently in the midst of a great war between the seven factions, and all factions are facing an extreme shortage of resources. The reward the sect has given you is far less than what you have submitted. Do not hold a grudge or blame the sect for being unfair."

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Senior sister is too kind. Junior brother is already content."

Nie Ying looked at him for a few moments, then slightly curled the corners of her lips into a faint smile. Her usually aloof and indifferent face appeared even more gentle and lively, breathtakingly beautiful and beyond compare.

"That's good." She turned around, walked out of the wooden house, the hem of her blue Taoist robe fluttering gently in the night breeze, and quickly disappeared into the darkness of the camp.

Lin Feng closed the door, rearranged the Lesser Four Symbols Sealing Array, and sat down against the wall.

The calm on his face then turned into a deep disappointment.

"this one?"

He looked at the exquisite jade box in the storage bag, and his lips twitched slightly.

The Liu family's savings of many years were exchanged for only one serving of Snow Spirit Water.

Lin Feng leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his knees.

He didn't know if the Seven Sects were too poor, or if the Core Formation cultivator from Huadaowu was interfering.

But no matter the reason, the result was the same: he risked his life to carry out the mission, handing over assets worth tens of thousands of spirit stones, only to receive a bottle of Snow Spirit Water in return.

"Following the Seven Factions is definitely a dead end," Lin Feng murmured, opening his eyes, which were now clear.

He didn't blame Nie Ying; the matter of rewards wasn't something she could decide. There were higher-ups weighing and allocating them.

He just felt it wasn't worth it.

"I wonder how the formation repair is going with Xin Ruyin?" Lin Feng wondered to himself.

There are less than three months left until the one-and-a-half-year agreement is reached.

Once the teleportation array is repaired, he can leave Yue Kingdom, leave Tiannan, and head to the Chaotic Star Sea.

"I need to find a chance to slip away."

Lin Feng stood up and paced back and forth in the wooden house.

He had to wait until the hype surrounding the recent tasks and rewards had died down, until everyone's attention had shifted to other things, and then find a suitable opportunity to disappear quietly.

Lin Feng sat down again, took out a high-quality True Essence Pill from his storage bag, swallowed it, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate.

Three months. At most three months.

He's about to leave.

So Lin Feng then kept a low profile and slacked off on the battlefield.

He only occasionally ventured out of the camp to hunt, and reduced the number of times he wandered around the trading area. He spent most of his time cultivating in his own hut, trying to minimize the attention of others.

While Lin Feng was quietly getting by, the atmosphere in the camp grew more tense day by day.

First, a large amount of supplies were transported from the rear. Then, the array masters were busy around the camp, modifying and strengthening the original defensive array. The array's spiritual light flickered unpredictably, covering the entire camp completely.

The movement of cultivators became more frequent. Foundation Establishment cultivators from various factions were reorganized into several combat squads.

The Qi Refining disciples were also assigned to different battle groups, and everyone in the camp wore a suppressed, indescribable expression.

Everyone knew that a great battle was about to begin. A decisive battle on a scale larger than any previous campaign.

The once bustling camp was now shrouded in a heavy atmosphere, like the sweltering heat before a storm, making it hard to breathe.

Even the most talkative cultivators fell silent, quietly maintaining their magical artifacts, counting their pills, and preparing for that day to arrive.

Lin Feng knew that the betrayal by Spirit Beast Mountain was imminent.

In the original story, it was Spirit Beast Mountain's defection at the crucial moment of the decisive battle that led to the complete collapse of the seven factions' defenses. That battle was not a close contest, but a one-sided massacre.

Faced with this situation, Lin Feng became extremely vigilant, ready to flee at any moment.

That day came sooner than expected.

That day, Lin Feng was cultivating with his eyes closed in the wooden house when suddenly, a muffled rumbling sound came from outside.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was extremely penetrating, like muffled thunder coming from deep underground. Immediately afterward, the earth trembled slightly.