After learning that Silver Fairy was safe, Mu Linglong became much quieter once they returned to the city, and Chen Lin enjoyed some rare peace as well.
He returned to a leisurely cultivation routine. With no specific duties, he spent each day either cultivating or strolling through the city, seeing whether he could come across any valuable treasures.
And sure enough, as more and more people poured into the Immortal City, fine items occasionally appeared, and he spent lavishly to acquire quite a few.
He obtained plenty of pill formulas, talisman techniques, and other craft heritages.
But even in peace, one had to prepare for danger. Especially with Mu Linglong constantly reminding him that something was wrong with He Huahai, Chen Lin did not remain idle. He resumed work on his underground escape tunnels.
First, he felt that a single entrance was too few. If danger arose and he could not return to the shop in time, or if someone sealed off or occupied the shop outright, the escape tunnel would become useless.
So he purchased two more residences in the city under other identities and dug a tunnel in each. He also excavated two at concealed locations outside the city. All the tunnels connected deep underground, allowing each to serve as either an entrance or an exit.
To prevent anyone from discovering them by chance, he did not fully open these auxiliary tunnels. Using his divine sense to mark their positions, he left a sealed stretch in each, which he could quickly dig through whenever he needed to use them.
These were merely supplementary measures. The main tunnel remained the one inside the shop, which he extended as deep and as far as possible. He dug primarily toward the Teleportation Formation on Island Number Nine, pushing it as far