Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

There were quite a few people at the city gate at this time, including many low-level Qi Refining cultivators like Lu Yan, who blended in inconspicuously.

After walking for a while, Lu Yan suddenly stopped and looked around. Seeing that no one was around, he continued walking cautiously.

Zhao Ming, who was behind, was also very patient, following at a distance, wanting to see what Lu Yan was up to.

Lu Yan walked to a small hill, looked around, and found nothing unusual before coming to a bush.

Parting aside the surrounding vines and branches, a small cave was revealed inside.

The entrance was very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Lu Yan slipped inside, emerged a moment later, covered the entrance again, and quickly left.

Seeing this, Zhao Ming finally understood why he had searched the man's house from top to bottom but couldn't find the spirit stones he had hidden. It turned out they were hidden outside the city. Damn, he was really clever.

However, no matter how cunning the prey is, it cannot escape the hunter's eyes, and Lu Yan accepted the spirit stones himself.

Watching Lu Yan walk away, Zhao Ming quickly ran towards the cave entrance.

Pushing aside the vines and branches, Zhao Ming crawled inside and, using the sunlight outside, began to examine the situation inside the cave.

"Huh~ Why does this cave look like it was just dug recently?" Zhao Ming muttered in confusion before stopping, since finding spirit stones was the priority right now.

The hole was shallow, and soon he saw a patch of land that bulged slightly, so he quickly started digging outwards.

"Haha~ They really hid the spirit stones here." Zhao Ming was overjoyed when he saw the spirit stones inside.

I took them out and counted them; there were only six. Although it didn't meet my expectations, I was still very happy to have received six spirit stones for no reason.

He put the spirit stone in his pocket and then quickly walked out of the cave.

I was originally planning to go home and sleep, but now that I have these six spirit stones, I can go to the Flower Moon Pavilion and sleep with my young lady.

"Screech~" But before Zhao Ming could take two steps, a sound of flesh being pierced reached his ears, followed by a sharp pain in his chest.

Zhao Ming turned his head in disbelief to look back.

He discovered that Lu Yan, who had already walked far away, was now standing behind him, holding a sharp knife in his hand, the blade of which was already piercing his back.

"You, you're not cough cough—" He had barely uttered a few words when blood began to flow uncontrollably from his mouth.

"Didn't I go back?" Lu Yan said with a smile, finishing the sentence for him.

"How...how could this be—" Zhao Ming still couldn't believe that he would be outsmarted by a rookie.

"Nothing is impossible. Fellow Daoist Zhao, you were careless. Be more careful in your next life. Goodbye!" After saying that, Lu Yan twisted the hilt of his sword forcefully, causing Zhao Ming to die completely.

"Hoo~" It was his first time killing someone, and Lu Yan was still a little unaccustomed to it. He sat on the ground and gasped for breath.

It took a long time for me to recover.

It wasn't until he heard the roar of a beast that Lu Yan realized how dangerous the wilderness was.

After a quick search of Zhao Ming's body, I found nothing of value except my six spirit stones.

Lu Yan was not surprised at all; he had never expected a gambling addict to have anything good.

They quickly stuffed the body into the cave, then cleaned up the bloodstains on the ground and threw the dagger into the cave as well.

The cave was filled with rubble from all sides, and then the vines and branches were restored to their original state.

From that moment on, Zhao Ming disappeared from this world.

And his own crisis has been temporarily resolved, allowing him to live a peaceful life for a while.

Instead of rushing back, I waited for a while and then returned to Worry-Free City with the rest of the workers.

Back in his courtyard, Lu Yan recalled the events of the day. To trap Zhao Ming, Lu Yan had spent three days in advance surveying the terrain and digging a cave.

To be honest, what Lu Yan was most afraid of was Zhao Ming blocking him at the cave entrance. The king's belt and the wooden carvings for replacing his hands and feet were all prepared.

Fortunately, Zhao Ming remained hidden and did not come out, and Lu Yan did not want to waste these two things on him.

……

The next day at dawn, Lu Yan did not continue to refine talismans at home. In order to avoid being discovered, he went to the mine again to work and dig for spirit ore.

After entering the mine, Lu Yan, as usual, found a place to dig diligently until nightfall before leaving with the others.

When he left, he also took the small teacup that Steward Zheng used for drinking water, hiding it in his hair and taking it with him.

Manager Zheng lives in the central city, and Lu Yan needs to find out some information about the central city.

As darkness fell, Lu Yan lit an oil lamp and began to use the Pen of Truth to investigate Steward Zheng's secrets.

"Haha, a good harvest today, another three spirit stones. I've saved more than eighty this month. After giving some to my superiors, I still have about thirty left."

The spirit stone mine where Lu Yan was located was just a small mine, with only about three hundred cultivators working there.

Although there are daily increases and decreases, the overall change is not significant.

"The female cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining at Qingfeng Pavilion are so enjoyable to sleep with, and they know a lot of tricks."

I heard that the female cultivators in the mid-stage of Qi Refining in the pavilion are even more powerful, capable of making people feel like they're dying of pleasure. It's just a pity that they're too expensive, starting at three spirit stones each time.

"Never mind, the same goes for female cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining."

Lu Yan: ...

It's all gambling and prostitution. Doesn't this Worry-Free City have any other entertainment?

Thinking about it carefully, there really isn't any, otherwise the brothels and gambling dens in the city wouldn't be so rampant.

The Qingfeng Pavilion that Manager Zheng mentioned was a higher-class brothel in the city.

For male cultivators sent from outside to the lower levels of Wuyou City, the requirements are very strict; they must break through to the Qi Refining stage.

Female cultivators are much more lenient; as long as they are pretty, that's enough, and some don't even have the aptitude for cultivation.

Ordinary women were usually assigned to low-level brothels like Huayuelou, while female cultivators with cultivation levels and good qualities were assigned to higher-level brothels like Qingfengge.

"I had another female cultivator today. She was huge, I almost suffocated inside. I'll choose her again tomorrow. This life is really comfortable."

"Sigh~ This month's spirit stones have all been spent in Qingfeng Pavilion again. It's the same every month. You surnamed Zheng, you can't keep going down this path of decadence. Your cultivation hasn't improved at all in three years."

Have you forgotten your childhood dream? You are destined to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, standing above all other cultivators. What kind of female cultivator won't you have then?

There might even be female cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage throwing themselves into your arms; that's what real life is like.

Starting tomorrow, you must bid farewell to women and focus on your cultivation, striving to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yan looked at Steward Zheng with newfound respect, realizing he was quite self-aware.

"Let's order the one with the long legs again today. I'm getting a bit tired of ordering the big one all the time. It's time to change things up."

Oh, right, I think I said yesterday that I was going to practice diligently.

"Never mind, maybe next time. Life is short, you should enjoy it while you can, otherwise it would be such a waste after you die."

Lu Yan: ...

Why does this art style look so familiar?

"Hiss~ I suddenly feel like I'm getting old. I used to be able to stay up until midnight, but now I can't even last an hour. I can't deny that I'm getting old."

It seems I'll need to buy some Qi-strengthening and Yang-enhancing pills tomorrow.

"..."

After writing more than a dozen entries about Steward Zheng's romantic escapades, Lu Yan was exhausted and put away his pen of truth to rest.