News traveled quickly aboard the ship. Before long, all seven Foundation Establishment cultivators knew that Chen Lin had taken in a female cultivator. They came to congratulate him, bringing modest gifts.
The plump man at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, Zhao Hetang, was particularly attentive. He had previously reprimanded Zhao Mengru for pretending to be his relative, so this time he made a point of explaining himself and even gave her a peak-grade magical tool.
Chen Lin knew they had probably misunderstood, believing he had taken Zhao Mengru as his woman, but he could not be bothered to explain.
There was no need to explain something like this anyway.
The Marrow-Cleansing Pill proved remarkably effective. The next day, Zhao Mengru came to report to him in tremendous excitement: her cultivation had broken through to Qi Condensation Level 9!
"Mm, not bad. Spend a couple of days stabilizing it, then prepare for Foundation Establishment!"
Chen Lin responded calmly.
He understood the principle that a measure of rice earned gratitude while a bushel earned resentment, but he urgently needed a trustworthy helper. Qi Condensation Level 9 was still far too weak; she had to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Although an Inner Demon Oath was not completely reliable, its binding power was tremendous under normal circumstances. Besides, she had no reason to betray him. After weighing things up, he decided to trust the person he employed.
The days that followed grew peaceful again.
Apart from standing watch outside once every few days, Chen Lin spent all his time cultivating. A few second-rank monster beasts appeared occasionally, but he never needed to act. The other Foundation Establishment cultivators scrambled to kill them for their inner cores and materials.
He had no shortage of those things now and was happy to enjoy the