Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

"Cheng Yu? What kind of opportunity did he get? How could he make me so interested?" Cheng An was also deeply puzzled.

"Every man for himself, and now that I know this secret, I can't let it slip by. I must become stronger, no matter the cost." Finally, Cheng An clenched his fist and looked determined.

……

Lu Yan continued to follow up the next day.

However, they discovered that they were not resting or wandering around today, but instead went to the outskirts of the city in a team, seemingly to hunt monsters and earn extra money.

The Cheng family caravan's wages were clearly divided, and they always tried to earn as much as possible.

The team that went out this time consisted of five people: three at the fifth level of Qi Refining and two at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Lu Yan was naturally not afraid of this scale, so he disguised himself and followed at a distance.

……

"How about we hunt the hidden beasts again this time?" Cheng Yu asked the group on the way.

"Yes, to be on the safe side, let's go with the Hidden Beast. At least there won't be any unexpected problems," Cheng An agreed.

"I agree too." Cheng Ping, the last one at the fifth level of Qi Refining, nodded in agreement.

With the three Qi Refining Level 5 experts agreeing, the remaining two Qi Refining Level 4 experts naturally wouldn't object.

The group of five entered the forest to search, but they were unlucky and only caught three red-clawed rabbits in the entire morning.

It wasn't that we didn't encounter any hidden beasts, but we just happened to run into other opponents. Since they outnumbered us, we had no choice but to give up.

At noon, the group returned the red-clawed rabbit to its original location and went hunting again.

"We haven't caught a single decent monster all morning. How about we split up and search?" Cheng An suggested.

"Wouldn't this be too dangerous?" Cheng Ping hesitated.

"It's alright, we're only on the outskirts of the forest. We'll just be careful. Besides, catching only a few red-clawed rabbits in a day is a waste of time," Cheng An said frankly.

"Alright~ But be careful." Cheng Ping finally nodded in agreement. Cheng An and Cheng Yu were in one group, and Cheng Ping was in another group with the remaining two Qi Refining Level 4 cultivators.

Cheng Yu, standing to the side, remained silent, looking thoughtfully at Cheng An.

"Brother Yu, since they're heading west, let's head east."

"OK."

Cheng Yu nodded and followed Cheng An eastward.

Lu Yan continued to follow behind the two at a leisurely pace.

Half an hour later, the two successfully found a hidden beast and began to attack it together. Cheng Yu used a sword, and Cheng An used a gun.

Cheng Yu takes a delicate and swift approach, while Cheng An takes a bold and decisive approach.

It's just a hidden beast; once it's blocked, it has no chance of survival.

However, an unexpected incident occurred when Cheng An delivered the final blow to the Hidden Beast. The spear tip passed directly over the Hidden Beast's head and pierced Cheng Yu's chest. With his other hand, he also used two ice cone talismans, preparing to kill Cheng Yu in one strike.

The attack happened suddenly, but Cheng Yu remained calm despite the fact that the attack was already in front of him. With a wave of his hand, a light screen appeared directly in front of him, blocking all of Cheng An's attacks.

"Holy Light Talisman!" Cheng An, who had been knocked back, was greatly surprised to see this. He never expected that Cheng Yu would have a high-level first-tier talisman ready for self-defense at any time.

"Cheng An, what do you intend to do!" Cheng Yu pointed his sword at Cheng An and shouted sharply.

"Hmph! Cheng Yu, this world is a dog-eat-dog world. Only the strong can survive, and the weak can only be nourishment for the strong. Hand over the storage bag and I'll give you a quick death." At this point, Cheng An no longer needed to pretend.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I noticed your ill intentions long ago, which is why I've been on guard against you. But if you want my storage bag, you'll have to see if you have the ability." After saying that, Cheng Yu turned the tables and took the initiative, attaching a Vajra Talisman and a Rock Armor Talisman to himself before charging forward with his sword.

Not to be outdone, Cheng An applied Vajra Talisman and Rock Armor Talisman to himself while unleashing two Fireball Talismans to attack Cheng Yu.

"Swish! Swish!"

Cheng Yu unleashed two sword energies.

"Boom!"

The sword energy collided with the fireball, causing an explosion and producing a puff of white smoke.

The two rushed into the white smoke one after another to begin their battle, and for a time the sounds of ping-pong balls filled the air.

During this time, ice spikes, fireballs, and vines flew back and forth, and Lu Yan, who was not far away, was also amazed.

No wonder the sales of first-tier intermediate talismans are so high; a single battle can easily use more than a dozen.

In fact, each stage of the Qi Refining process has its own division of labor. The initial stage of Qi Refining mainly focuses on strengthening the body, while the middle stage mainly focuses on accumulating spiritual power and learning martial arts techniques.

Only when one reaches the later stages of Qi Refining and has sufficient spiritual power can one learn spells or even use swords to fight enemies.

At first, the two fought evenly, but as time went on, Cheng An started to act strangely. Not only did his movements become slower, but his strength also began to weaken, leaving him only able to parry Cheng Yu.

"How could I be poisoned?" Cheng An asked incredulously as he forced Cheng Yu back with two ice cone talismans, looking at his bluish palms.

"You've figured it out, but it's too late. This is the Blood Fiend Poison I specially purchased. It will make cultivators weak and their spiritual power stagnate. Even those in the late stage of Qi Refining will be affected, let alone someone like you who is in the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Just accept your fate and die." After dodging the ice spikes, Cheng Yu raised his sword again.

"When did you poison me? How come I didn't know?" At this moment, Cheng An finally began to panic, using a binding talisman to block Cheng Yu while retreating.

"Just now, when you used the fireball talisman, I secretly sprinkled poison powder into the smoke." Cheng Yu cut through the vines with a few sword strikes and continued his charge towards Cheng An.

When Cheng An saw that things were hopeless, he turned and ran, but he hadn't run two steps before he collapsed to the ground because he was too weak to run.

"Brother Yu, spare me! I was wrong. I shouldn't have had any ill intentions towards you. I'm willing to give up everything I have." Seeing Cheng Yu walking towards him step by step, Cheng An, terrified, began to beg for mercy.

"Cheng An, even if you die, your things will still be mine. Just as you said, this world is a dog-eat-dog world, and the weak are the nourishment for the strong." Cheng Yu did not soften his heart because of Cheng An's pleas for mercy, and directly ended his life by slitting his throat with a sword.

They then began looting the corpse, taking away Cheng An's storage bag, magical artifacts, and valuables.

After finishing all that, Cheng Yu dragged Cheng An's corpse deeper into the forest, intending to destroy the evidence and frame the monster.

"Tsk tsk tsk~ What a scene of fratricide! Fellow Daoist Cheng, if the rest of the Cheng family finds out about this, you'll probably spend the rest of your life running for your life, won't you?"

As Cheng Yu was preparing to return home, he suddenly heard a mocking voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself." Cheng Yu pointed his longsword at the source of the voice.

"I greet Fellow Daoist Cheng An." Lu Yan walked out from behind the tree, dragging the pickaxe of the God of Mining, and bowed to Cheng An.

"Do we know this fellow Daoist?" Cheng Yu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the other party was only a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, completely ignoring the pickaxe he was dragging behind him.

"I know you, but it's a pity that Fellow Daoist Cheng has probably forgotten me. However, I have a deep and unforgettable memory of Fellow Daoist Cheng." Lu Yan couldn't contain his excitement.