Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

To draw a first-tier advanced talisman, one needs to explore and learn gradually. With one's own aptitude, it would take several years or even more than a decade to master it.

Moreover, Lu Yan had no intention of delving into it; he simply couldn't afford to waste such a long amount of time.

"Are you all preparing to go out hunting demonic beasts?" Lu Yan asked as he saw the group starting to select talismans.

"Cough cough~ That's right, we'll go tomorrow." Ji Danqing couldn't help but cough twice, and his thin figure gave people the feeling that he was terminally ill.

"Take care, fellow Daoist! Please take these two Rock Armor Talismans. It's worth it for us to have known each other." Knowing that this might be the last time they met, Lu Yan couldn't help but hold his hand and present him with the two talismans.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lu." Ji Danqing thanked him and then led everyone away.

Zhu Yuerong still held his arm, her voluptuous breasts swaying, attracting the attention of all the male cultivators passing by, exuding endless charm.

"Sigh~ What kind of mess has the Ji family made?" Lu Yan couldn't help but sigh as he watched the Ji family members walk away.

After returning home that evening, Lu Yan continued to learn about the Cheng family's situation.

After such a long period of time, the Cheng family has reduced their search efforts.

Cheng Shan and his group had stopped, leaving only Yuan Bo and the others.

There was no other way; the Cheng family, with such a large business, couldn't possibly go out searching every day.

Since that's the case, it's time for me to make my move.

Lu Yan once again used the demonic whispers to lure the Cheng family cultivator who was in the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

……

Night falls at the Cheng family residence.

"How many people haven't returned today?" Yuan Bo asked anxiously to a member of the Cheng family.

"Five people: Cheng Ling, Cheng Ming, Cheng Xiao, Cheng Jian, and Cheng Yan," the person replied.

"They're all at the fourth and fifth levels of Qi Refining, damn it!" Yuan Bo slammed the chair to pieces, his eyes filled with rage.

Currently, the caravan has fewer than ten cultivators at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. The losses are so severe that it's impossible to explain them away.

"So what do we do now?"

"Go and inform the Second Master that the murderer has reappeared and ask him to send people to assist."

Yuan Bo doesn't have a good solution right now. He can't catch his opponent when he's at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and he doesn't have enough late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

When Cheng Shan learned of the situation, he was somewhat helpless. The Cheng family did not have many cultivators stationed in Wuyou City to begin with, and since he could not leave the shop, he could only send Cheng Yue and Cheng Hu to assist.

They are at the ninth level of Qi Refining and the eighth level of Qi Refining, respectively.

After discussing it for a while, the group decided to lure and ambush Lu Yan.

However, all of this is laid bare under the pen of Truth.

"In that case, I'll play along with you guys."

Lu Yan put down the Pen of Truth and went to the city gate to buy the carcass of a Qingfeng Deer at a high price.

……

The next day.

Lu Yan continued to wait for the Cheng family at the city gate.

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7 to 9 o'clock), a small team from the Cheng family went out hunting. The leader was a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and the other six were all at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining.

Lu Yan didn't rush to follow. After waiting a while, he saw Cheng Yue and the others disguised and following behind.

Lu Yan then followed them at a leisurely pace; this time, they were his true targets.

The seven-person team in front, like the other cultivator teams, captured the hidden beasts as usual, while Cheng Yue and his group stayed not far away, ready to rush over as soon as they received a signal.

Lu Yan didn't make a move for the entire morning, until early Shenshi (3 PM to 5 PM).

"Hey, Yue-ge, Hu-ge, look, isn't that a dead Qingfeng deer?" Cheng Yan pointed to the distance and said to everyone.

"It seems so. Let's go take a look." Following the direction Cheng Yan pointed, Cheng Yue immediately ordered everyone to go together.

A single Qingfeng Deer can fetch at least thirty low-grade spirit stones, which is a considerable fortune for them.

The group of ten quickly arrived at the body of the Qingfeng deer.

In order to deal with Lu Yan, Yuan Bo summoned all the cultivators in the caravan who were at least at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, except for Cheng Yue and Cheng Hu.

"How come there's a Qingfeng deer corpse here? Judging from the wounds, it must have been killed by an arrow," Cheng Heng said, somewhat puzzled.

"They probably escaped wounded and only collapsed here, but it's a good thing for us," Cheng Hui guessed.

"It's just a Qingfeng Deer, hurry up and put it away, catching the culprit is the priority." Cheng Yue waved his hand and put the Qingfeng Deer into his storage bag.

Cheng Yue's move left the others furious but speechless, though there was nothing they could do, since he was the strongest among them.

"What is this?" After the corpse of Qingfeng Deer was taken away, a white jade skull was left on the ground, which Cheng Hu discovered first.

"It looks like a skull." Cheng Hu picked it up and examined it carefully, then said, "Why does it have such a creepy feel to it?"

"This is Yin Jade," Cheng Yue said to Cheng Hu after taking a look at it.

"I have a bad feeling about this." First it was the corpse of the Qingfeng Deer, and now it's this Yin Jade Skull. Cheng Yue felt uneasy.

Lu Yan, who was watching from a distance, knew that the time had come and released the demonic energy from the white jade skull.

Cheng Yue, who was carefully observing the white jade skull demon, was the first to be affected, as several demonic demons directly burrowed into his body.

"Ah—" Cheng Yue only had time to let out a scream before lying motionless on the ground, his soul completely devoured.

The others fared no better; dozens of demonic creatures attacked simultaneously, and none of them managed to escape.

For a moment, screams continued incessantly until everyone in the Cheng family fell silent.

With six late-stage Qi Refining experts and four mid-stage Qi Refining experts, this was an even greater blow to the Cheng family.

Lu Yan waited until all the demonic energy had dissipated before daring to step forward and check.

Seeing the pain on the faces of all ten people, they realized how powerful the White Jade Skull Demon was.

"What a pity~" Lu Yan said with some regret as he picked up the now-ordinary-looking Skull Demon.

Lu Yan originally planned to use the fragrant herbs to lure the demonic beasts to ambush and kill the Cheng family cultivators, but considering that this was only the outer edge of the forest and there weren't many powerful demonic beasts, even if he could attract some, they might not be able to do anything to Cheng Yue and the others.

After much thought, I realized that I could only use props.

However, the gains this time will be substantial, including the wealth of six late-stage Qi Refining cultivators – a tremendous fortune.

Take all their storage bags and then deal with the remaining seven people.

"Boom!"

As soon as they met, Lu Yan unleashed several fireball and ice spike talismans, bombarding them with attacks.

Then he affixed Vajra Talisman and Rock Armor Talisman to himself, picked up the Mining God's Pickaxe, and got to work.

"Clang~"

"ah--"

In just one exchange, only three of the seven remained: one at the fifth level of Qi Refining and two at the fourth level.

"Chirp~" The three of them were shocked to see this and quickly blew the whistles in their mouths to send a message to Cheng Yue and the others.

Lu Yan ignored him and continued his attack, using talismans without restraint.

"The three of you, don't waste your time. I'll send you down to reunite with them. Farewell!"

Lu Yan used the Mine God's Pickaxe to finish them off one by one.

After the men died, Lu Yan took their storage bags and quickly left the scene.