Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

Following the memories within the Pearl of Inheritance, Lu Yan began to use a talisman brush to outline the patterns of the cleansing talisman, and then infused it with the spiritual power within his body.

What was supposed to be a natural outcome turned into a disaster when the talisman was ruined after only half of the design was completed, due to the chaotic patterns and uneven distribution of spiritual energy.

Lu Yan was unconvinced and tried several more, all with the same result.

At this point, Lu Yan finally understood the reason: his hands couldn't keep up with his brain. Even though he had inherited the talisman-making technique, he lacked the basic skills to make talismans himself.

Theory alone is not enough; other people's memories are always theirs, and you need to practice a lot to make them your own.

So Lu Yan began to learn how to outline the basic patterns. With the help of the memories in the Pearl of Inheritance, Lu Yan learned very quickly and mastered it all in less than three days.

Making the cleansing talisman again went much more smoothly. It took most of the day and wasted seven talisman papers to finally make the cleansing talisman.

Moreover, once you succeed, you will almost never fail to make a cleansing talisman again.

I must say, this Pearl of Inheritance is indeed a wonderful thing; it saved me a lot of time.

The following day, Lu Yan did not continue making talismans, but instead learned about the Ba Mao Gang.

The matter of Zhao Ming of the Ba Mao Gang killing his original self cannot be left unresolved. Now that he has all sorts of tools, he will naturally not let him go.

Lu Yan did some makeup to make herself look more mature, and then wandered around several restaurants in the market area, which were frequented by members of the Ba Mao Gang.

In the afternoon, Lu Yan finally saw four members of the Ba Mao Gang eating and drinking in a restaurant, one of whom was his target, Zhao Ming.

Lu Yan also pretended to be a customer and ordered two jugs of fruit wine and several small dishes, then waited quietly.

Half an hour later, the four left. Lu Yan also pretended to have finished eating and left, taking with him the chopsticks that Zhao Ming had used.

Back at his residence, Lu Yan began using the True Word Brush on Zhao Ming.

Since we're going to deal with him, we should first understand him. After all, the Ba Mao Gang is a behemoth to Lu Yan right now, so we need to be careful in everything we do.

"What bad luck today! I played all afternoon and not only did I not break even, I also lost three spirit stones. What a damn bad luck! I must make up for what I lost tomorrow."

Lu Yan put down his pen and pondered carefully. Zhao Ming was a gambler. Lu Yan knew that gamblers were the most reckless. After losing everything, they would do anything. No wonder he could commit burglary and murder.

He added more blood to the pen and continued writing.

"Sigh~ I lost everything again today. If I had stopped in the first few rounds, I could have earned a few spirit stones. Why can't I control my hands?"

I was originally planning to visit the Flower Moon Pavilion, but it seems I'll have to find a way to get some more spirit stones.

"The new young lady at Huayue Tower is so inexperienced, she kept me from getting out of bed the next day. It's just a pity she's a bit expensive, otherwise I would stay here every night."

"..."

He wrote about ten entries in a row, all about gambling dens and brothels. It seems that Zhang Ming is quite self-disciplined, living a very simple life.

"That Boss Ji is really something. He collects so many spirit stones every month, but only gives us six each. He's so stingy. If it weren't for his brother-in-law protecting him, we would have killed him long ago."

Lu Yan knew that this Boss Ji was the leader of the Ba Mao Gang. His brother-in-law controlled an area with nearly 1,500 people, each with ten spirit fragments. He could collect more than 140 spirit stones a month. After deducting the 100 spirit stones he gave to his underlings, he still had more than 40 spirit stones left.

That's more than ten times what Lu Yan earned in a month of hard work. It has to be said that shooting and black marketeers are truly a high-stakes industry.

After writing this, Lu Yan felt his spiritual energy was running low, so he quickly took out a spirit stone to start recovering.

After recovering, Lu Yan continued writing.

"Hehe~ I didn't expect this quiet kid to be such a fat sheep, with ten spirit stones hidden in his house. Too bad you won't be able to enjoy them in the future. Just die in peace, I'm going to get my money back tonight!"

Just after writing this message, Lu Yan received an important piece of information: it seemed that he was not the only victim, and that the other person was also a low-key person like himself, who had unexpectedly been targeted by Zhao Ming.

However, upon closer examination, it makes perfect sense. If someone works hard every day and is very self-disciplined, never spending extravagantly, they must have savings at home. This is probably why Zhao Ming targeted his original self.

Unfortunately, the place where his original body hid the spirit stones was somewhat special, causing him to waste a whole night's effort.

"Inside the Flower Moon Pavilion..."

"I lost quite a bit gambling again today..."

"..."

"Huh? That kid surnamed Lu isn't dead? I remember I used a lot of force last night, could he have just passed out?"

"That guy doesn't gamble or visit prostitutes, he must have a lot of spirit stones hidden at home. We didn't find any last time, we'll try again later."

I finally found information about myself; it seems they've been taken advantage of.

Lu Yan was never one to sit idly by and wait for death. Rather than spending his days in fear and apprehension about Zhao Ming's potential harm, he preferred to take the initiative.

I need to plan this out carefully.

First of all, it can't be in your own home, because there are too many residents around and too many eyes and ears. For example, Liu Fu'an next door, you can't hide the slightest thing from him.

Secondly, one cannot be in the city of Wuyou. If someone sees this and reports it to the Ba Mao Gang, one will definitely be doomed.

The only option is to take action outside the city.

However, Zhao Ming rarely leaves the city. He usually frequents gambling dens and brothels. To lure him out of the city, you need something he desires.

After a moment, Lu Yan had an idea.

……

Three days later at noon.

Zhao Ming lost everything again at the gambling den, cursing under his breath as he returned to his residence.

Although it was noon, everyone in the neighborhood had already gone out to work, making the alley exceptionally quiet.

They hadn't gone far when they saw an extremely excited young man walking towards them from a distance.

"Oh~ Fellow Daoist Lu, what's got you so happy?" As he approached, Zhao Ming recognized the other person as Lu Yan, whom he had almost killed a month ago.

"Eh~ It's Fellow Daoist Zhao. It's nothing, I'm just taking a break today and wandering around." Lu Yan immediately stopped smiling when he saw Zhao Ming and replied cautiously.

"Just wandering around~" Zhao Ming had very sharp ears, and he heard the clear sound from Lu Yan's arms as soon as Lu Yan got close.

Based on his years of experience, he was certain that the sound was definitely from spirit stones colliding with each other, and there were at least five of them.

Zhao Ming immediately became interested, and the unpleasantness in the gambling den vanished in an instant.

"In that case, Fellow Daoist Lu, please proceed." Zhao Ming bowed to Lu Yan and took his leave.

"Hmm~" Lu Yan nodded and then quickly left.

Zhao Ming pretended to walk forward for a while, then turned around and quickly followed Lu Yan at a distance.

He's currently short of spirit stones and definitely won't let this opportunity slip by.

The city of Wuyou has four gates, each guarded by several Foundation Establishment cultivators. Unless there is an attack from demonic beasts, the gates are left open day and night to facilitate the return of hunting teams.