Taoist cultivation begins with being a miner

At this moment, Lu Yan was following the mastermind backstage.

He just didn't know why the leader of the demons, who was supposed to be the guide, was always walking beside him.

Lu Yan deliberately slowed down to make way for the master demon, but he also slowed down.

"Hey~ Please go ahead?" Lu Yan couldn't help but ask.

"No, no, Brother Ai, let's go together, let's go together." The demon in charge waved his hand and refused to leave.

Seeing that the master was determined to do so, Lu Yan no longer insisted.

Backstage, Lu Yan also met Qi An, the manager of the Demon Arena and a level 10 demon soldier from the Winged Demon Clan.

"Greetings, Great Demon Qi'an." Since his strength was inferior to that of a demon, Lu Yan bowed first.

"No need for formalities. I've seen all your battles just now. How about it, are you interested in joining the Demon Arena?" Qi An didn't waste any words and directly recruited him.

"May I ask, Great Demon Qi'an, what are the benefits of joining the Demon Arena?" Lu Yan asked.

"There are many benefits. The monthly salary is twenty magic stones, a magic weapon, and you can also go to the second floor of the armory to choose martial arts techniques." Seeing that Lu Yan was interested, Qi An's face lit up with joy.

"Then I'm willing to join the Demon Arena." Hearing Qi An's words, Lu Yan nodded in agreement.

"Very good. After joining our Demon Arena, you have two paths to choose from: one is to become the Demon of Ending, and the other is to become the Demon of Slaughter." Qi An gave Lu Yan two choices.

"What do you mean?" Lu Yan was a little confused.

"The Demon of Termination fights other demons in the arena, while the Demon of Slaughter accepts tasks assigned by the Great Demon," explained the presiding demon.

"Oh~" Lu Yanming understood. The Terminator was a combatant, while the Killing Demon was someone who did shady things, like the Frost Demon who had plotted against him.

"I choose the Demon of Slaughter." Without the slightest hesitation, the Demon of Termination was no match for the Demon of Slaughter.

"Very good, Ji'ao, go and take him to choose magical artifacts and cultivation techniques," Qi'an instructed.

"Yes." The Bone Demon led Lu Yan away.

The armory of the Demon Arena was built inside the Demon General's mansion, and Lu Yan followed the Bone Demon Ji Ao without any obstacles along the way.

The armory was guarded by two winged demons, both level nine demon soldiers, and there were also many level seven or eight demon soldiers patrolling around it.

Lu Yan wasn't particularly wary of these people; his main concern was the Demon General Lord of the Fortress.

"The first floor has weapons, the second floor has martial arts techniques, and the third floor has medicinal herbs and treasures. You can only choose from the first and second floors for now." Ji Ao gave Lu Yan a brief introduction and then waited outside the door.

One of the winged demons followed Lu Yan to make his selections, to prevent him from taking more than he needed.

Lu Yan examined the weapons on the first floor and found that their quality was average, similar to low-grade or mid-grade magic weapons from the cultivation world, and they wouldn't be of much help to him at his current level.

But Lu Yan still pretended to choose a decent short knife.

When Lu Yan arrived on the second floor, he began to carefully select items, as he was quite curious about the cultivation techniques and martial arts of the Demon Realm.

The demonic cultivation technique that Lu Yan is currently practicing is called the Demon Refining Technique. It's a very common technique, and his cultivation progress is relatively slow. This time, he can choose a better one.

"This is the one." A quarter of an hour later, Lu Yan picked up a copy of the Twin Moon Demon-Gathering Technique and confirmed his choice.

"Come with me." The Winged Demon led Lu Yan out and registered the selected item.

"Brother Ai, tell me your address. A demon will notify you if there's a mission." After coming out, Bone Demon Ji Ao asked for Lu Yan's address.

After returning, Lu Yan began to familiarize himself with the newly acquired cultivation technique.

However, what happened in the Demon Arena tonight has spread widely within the fortress, and the demons have even given Lu Yan a nickname: the Chrysanthemum-Piercing Madman.

For the next three days, Lu Yan stayed in the courtyard to cultivate. It has to be said that changing the cultivation method really makes a difference; his speed was much faster.

If things continue like this, as long as there are enough magic stones, it will take less than a month to break through to the seventh level of magic weapon.

……

On the evening of the eighth day, the Bone Demon Ji Ao, from the Demon Fighting Arena, notified him to assemble.

It is said that a group of roaming bandits attacked the mine. Although they were successfully repelled by the mine's guards, they continued to plunder around Star River Fortress. Demon General Ningyi dispatched Star River Fortress guards and the Killing Demons from the Demon Arena to go out and clear them out.

Lu Yan's team leader is Bone Demon Ji Ao, an eighth-level demon soldier, who leads three seventh-level demon soldiers, seven sixth-level demon soldiers, and fifteen fifth-level demon soldiers.

By sheer coincidence, Lu Yan encountered the Frost Demon who had attacked him before, named Xue Fei.

"Everyone be careful. There are quite a few bandits this time, and they are very strong. The two great demons in the mine only managed to repel them without even injuring them," Ji Ao reminded everyone outside Star River Fortress.

"May I ask what the strength of these bandits is?" asked one of the power demons next to Lu Yan.

"I heard that the leader is a level 10 demon soldier, a member of the Tooth Demon clan. He is quite powerful and can fight two great demons alone without being at a disadvantage."

Secondly, there were three level-nine demon soldiers, over ten level-eight and level-seven demon soldiers, and a considerable number of level-six and level-five demon soldiers as well.

"So many?" Upon hearing this, the demons felt uneasy. They were already struggling to deal with level eight demon soldiers, let alone level nine and level ten demon soldiers.

If you encounter a demon that you can only run for your life, it's a hired demon that only pays you twenty or thirty low-grade magic stones a month. Why risk your life?

"Don't worry, everyone. The Lord of the Fortress will also take action and will definitely not let them go." Seeing everyone's fear and anxiety, Ji Ao comforted them.

"Ah~ The Lord of the Fortress has made a move, that's good, that's good."

"Yes, yes, the lord of the fortress is a demon general, dealing with demon soldiers is a piece of cake."

Upon hearing this, all the demons breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's set off and search this mountain forest to the south."

"Yes."

……

The moonlight, tinged with red, spilled into the forest, and the frequent roars of demonic beasts only added to the unease in the hearts of the demons.

After searching for three or four hours, it was already the end of midnight (11 PM to 1 AM). Apart from killing a few starving monsters, no trace of the bandits was found.

"Let's look to the southeast again. If we still haven't found it, we'll head back to Star River Fortress," Bone Demon Ji'ao said.

"Okay." The demons showed excitement upon hearing this.

Lu Yan looked around and found that, for some reason, all the demons were intentionally or unintentionally keeping their distance from him, and this had been the case all along the way.

Even though he wanted to talk to them, he couldn't find an opportunity, which left Lu Yan speechless.

Am I being isolated?

That doesn't make sense either; I could clearly see the deep apprehension in their eyes.

Forget it, if I don't fit in, I don't fit in. I'd better hurry back and improve my strength.

"Wait!" They hadn't gone far when they heard faint sounds of fighting. Ji Ao ordered the demons to stop.

"It's to the west, come with me quickly." After carefully identifying the location, Ji Ao led the team westward at a rapid pace.

As soon as I arrived at the place, I saw two groups of demons fighting each other.

Lu Yan had met one of them before; he was a powerful demon from the Star River Fortress Guard, named Chen Zhi, with the cultivation level of an eighth-level demon soldier.

The other side has a variety of equipment, so they must be bandits.