Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

"Don't worry, you two, I'll take you to see him right away." Facing the two's attack, Lu Yan did not back down. He wielded the Mining God's Pickaxe in his hand to defend himself while using talismans to counterattack.

Ice spikes, fireballs, and vines appeared frequently between the three of them.

"Shadow Slash!" Lu Yan quickly swung the Mining God's Pickaxe in his hand, unleashing several slashes of pickaxe energy towards Cheng Ping.

Taking advantage of his flustered state, he killed the remaining Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator with a single pickaxe strike.

"Damn it!" Cheng Ping was furious when he saw his companion being killed again, and he swung his knife even more fiercely.

Both use the same sword technique, but Cheng Ping's is more about wide, sweeping movements, while Lu Yan's Shadow Blade Technique is about overwhelming people with speed. In addition, with his own strength and the weight of the God of Mining's Pickaxe, he has virtually no weaknesses.

Without the assistance of the fourth-level Qi Refining expert, Lu Yan held an absolute advantage in the fight against Cheng Ping.

After a few rounds, Cheng Ping's hands were numb from the shock of the Mine God's Pickaxe, and he had no choice but to use the talismans on his body to maintain his balance.

"Fellow Daoist, I admit defeat. All these things belong to you. We have no enmity between us. I will leave now. Please spare me." Knowing that he would be finished if the fight continued, Cheng Ping began to beg Lu Yan for mercy.

"I'm very sorry, but my grudge isn't against you, fellow Daoist, but against the entire Cheng family. I've already asked Cheng An and Cheng Yu to leave. Now it's your turn, fellow Daoist." As he spoke, Lu Yan increased the force.

With a final strike, Lu Yan knocked Cheng Ping's sword away.

"Spare me!"

"Fellow Daoist Cheng, remember to be a good person in your next life. Farewell."

Like Cheng Yu, Lu Yan showed no mercy, ending Cheng Ping's life with a single blow, allowing them to reunite.

After Cheng Ping's death, Lu Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief, as his spiritual energy and physical strength were almost depleted from continuous battles.

Quickly loot the three corpses, then return to Worry-Free City.

While at the city gate, I sold the two corpses of the hidden beasts.

Back at his lodgings, Lu Yan began to examine the gains he had made on this trip.

Five storage bags, all the smallest size. Unlike magical artifacts, storage bags can be secondhand, as there is a large market demand for them, and since they are basically the same style, they won't attract enemies.

These storage bags would sell for between seventy and eighty low-grade spirit stones in the treasure market.

Of the four magical artifacts, Cheng Yu's artifact was completely destroyed by his own Mining God's Pickaxe, and Lu Yan didn't want it.

Cheng Ping's magical artifact was also damaged due to repeated collisions with his own mining god's pickaxe, resulting in its blade being full of nicks and chips, rendering it half-damaged and worth at most two or three spirit stones.

The other three items are intact and can be sold for twenty or thirty low-grade spirit stones.

Next were the contents of the storage bag: ninety-six low-grade spirit stones, a dozen bottles of pills, dozens of talismans, and some other miscellaneous items.

In just one day of plundering, they amassed two to three hundred low-grade spirit stones, enough to keep them from worrying about spirit stones for months to come. No wonder there are so many cultivators raiding outside the city.

Putting these things aside for now, Lu Yan took out the Blood Fiend Poison from Cheng Yu's storage bag. This thing was in powder form and was in a porcelain bottle.

Lu Yan had also heard of the infamous Blood Fiend Poison; once inhaled, even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would be in serious trouble.

He can handle the fifth level of Qi Refining without any problem, but he's a bit unsure about the sixth level. Using items would be a waste, but the Blood Fiend Poison is just right for him.

After cultivating for a while that evening, Lu Yan used the Demon Whisper again. There were quite a few people in the caravan who were at the mid-stage and early-stage of Qi Refining. Basically, every one of them had participated in human trafficking and deserved to die.

"I'll go hunting some monsters outside the city tomorrow and earn more spirit stones."

The person Lu Yan lured this time was named Cheng Mingqian, one of the five Qi Refining Level 6 cultivators in the team.

Sure enough, Cheng Mingqian, who was enjoying himself in the brothel, decided to go out hunting monsters the next day.

The disappearance of Cheng Yu and his four companions did not attract the attention of the Cheng family, who all assumed they were out having fun.

……

The next day.

Lu Yan waited for Cheng Mingqian at the city gate and saw Cheng Mingqian leave the city with more than ten people in the middle of Chenshi (7 to 9 o'clock).

One Qi Refining Level 6, two Qi Refining Level 5, three Qi Refining Level 4, six Qi Refining Level 3, and six Qi Refining Level 2.

Lu Yan didn't take cultivators below the fourth level of Qi Refining seriously, but the two cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refining were a problem. If he wanted to make a move against Cheng Mingqian, he had to make sure that these two cultivators at the fifth level of Qi Refining weren't around to assist him.

It seems that a direct attack won't work; we can only wait for an opportunity in secret.

Lu Yan followed them at a distance, but as he followed, he suddenly felt something was wrong; it seemed that he was also being followed.

Lu Yan was shocked to notice that four cultivators were watching him closely behind him. Could it be that his targeting of the Cheng family had been discovered?

But this doesn't make sense. I'm just a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator. The Cheng family doesn't need to be so careful. Could it be a Tribulation Cultivator?

Thinking about it carefully, it's quite possible. My current solo hunting of monsters fits their image of an easy target.

If that's the case, then they must be removed to avoid further complications.

After entering the forest, Lu Yan stopped and jumped into a tree to wait for the four people to arrive.

A moment later, the four of them entered the woods. Lu Yan checked their cultivation levels and found that they were all at the fourth level of Qi Refining, which he could handle.

"I wonder what brings you fellow Daoists with me?" There were no obstacles to hide in, so Lu Yan jumped down to face the four of them directly.

"Big brother, we've been discovered," one of the four said.

"No problem, since that's the case, let's get straight to the point."

"Kid, leave your storage bag and valuables behind, and we'll spare your life," the leader of the four shouted at Lu Yan.

"The storage bag is on your waist. Come and get it if you want it," Lu Yan said to the four, patting the storage bag on his waist.

"Kid's asking for it, let's go." The four men took out weapons from their storage bags, all of them broadswords.

Lu Yan noticed that they had dark skin, burly builds, and calloused hands, so they must also be miners.

Not wanting to waste any more time with them, I took out the Mining God's Pickaxe.

"Haha, big brother's weapon is actually a pickaxe!"

"I've never seen anything like it in my life. I've used a pickaxe for half my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone use it as a weapon."

"Has this kid gone mad from mining?"

"Very likely."

Upon seeing the Pickaxe of the Mining God, the four burst into laughter, momentarily forgetting their plan to attack.

But Lu Yan wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass him by. He affixed Vajra Talisman and Rock Armor Talisman to himself and charged straight up with his pickaxe.

"Watch out, fourth brother!"

"Clang~"

The eldest of the four had barely managed to warn the fourth one when Lu Yan instantly killed him by slicing his broadsword in half with a pickaxe.

"Fourth brother!" The other three were shocked to see this, not expecting Lu Yan to be so fast.

So he quickly turned to Lu Yan.

"Clang clang clang~"

Lu Yan was completely unafraid of facing three opponents alone, and even the use of talismans by his opponents was useless.