A Secret Cultivator's Stride

"No matter which world, the fastest way to make money is indeed the same."

Xu Lu poured out the purse, producing a series of crisp clinking sounds.

Counting carefully, Xu Lu could not help but feel slightly moved.

Honest and hardworking people like Zhang Bao and his family could only earn enough to scrape by.

Yet a minor thug of the Great River Gang actually carried so much money on him.

"At least three taels of silver, and forty-two copper coins."

Xu Lu muttered, "Including what I obtained previously, I now have twelve gold taels, seven silver taels, and sixty-two copper coins in my possession."

This was Xu Lu's entire current fortune.

Calculated, this was already a highly respectable sum of wealth.

In a sense, Xu Lu could even be considered the wealthiest person in Ande Ward.

"If I had not risked my life to kill Lu Tong'en back then, how could I have accumulated so much wealth in such a short time?"

Xu Lu sighed, once again contemplating the cultivation of secret methods from the beginning.

"Boss, we lost him!"

Outside Jiangdu City, a man in neat brown attire reported to the man before him.

"Lost him?"

Du Yong's face darkened. "How do you do things? You managed to lose a brat whose hair hasn't even fully grown?"

"Boss, that kid specifically goes through places where there are no paths, we..." several Great River Gang members said helplessly.

Du Yong snorted coldly. "This is the only path down the mountain. That kid has to come down sooner or later. Keep your eyes peeled!"

"Boss, why are we wasting so much time on him?" a gang member asked, somewhat puzzled.

"What do you know!" Du Yong cursed. "Let me tell you, not long ago, that kid received a reward of five gold taels from the government. Moreover, Zhao Si bought some manuscripts from him, paying three silver taels for a single sheet! He is a fat sheep! If he stayed in the city, it wouldn't be easy for me to make a move on him, lest Zhao Si find out and cause trouble. Who would have thought he would run outside the city himself!"

A fierce glint flashed in Du Yong's eyes. He had once slaughtered an entire family of four for just a few taels of silver.

Although he was now a minor leader of the Great River Gang, his wolf-like greed remained unchanged.

"Three silver taels for a single sheet of paper?"

The faces of the Great River Gang members filled with greed, their mouths practically watering.

They usually collected protection fees, and if they were lucky, they might make one or two silver taels a month.

Currently, that kid had at least five gold taels. Even if Boss Du took the lion's share, each of them would still get several silver taels, wouldn't they?

"Rest assured, Boss. As long as that kid comes down the mountain, he definitely won't escape our sight!" the thugs shouted.

Xu Lu was completely unaware that he was being watched by Du Yong.

At this moment, carrying a bundle nearly half his height, he panted as he walked toward a cave deep in the forest.

"In this Woaniu Mountain, just as Uncle Zhang said, there is indeed a hidden cave."

Xu Lu entered the cave and then used branches to conceal the entrance.

He had learned of this cave during a casual conversation with Zhang Bao while staying at his house.

Zhang Bao had once encountered a bear while gathering herbs in the mountain and had luckily escaped death by hiding in this cave.

At that time, Xu Lu had, for some unknown reason, asked for its specific location.

He had not expected it to actually come in handy.

"Lu Tong'en once said that activating a secret treasure in Jiangdu City would be detected by Tiangong. Although it is uncertain whether Tiangong monitors the secret treasure itself or the changes in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, being cautious will prevent major mistakes."

Xu Lu decided to cultivate secret methods based on Lu Tong'en's knowledge. He dared not act in Ande Ward of Jiangdu City, fearing that he might be detected by Tiangong.

"If Tiangong's surveillance were truly omnipresent, there would have been no Secret Cultivators left in the world. If I am detected by Tiangong even here, then I shall die with no regrets," Xu Lu muttered to himself.

He took out the prepared materials from his bag one by one.

There were nearly a hundred types of alternative materials for refining secret medicines and secret treasures, along with an ordinary household clay pot.

To purchase all these items, Xu Lu was left with only a few coins.

"If I fail this time, I will have truly lost everything, and can only live on the wind," Xu Lu muttered.

Although he had repeatedly studied the knowledge left by Lu Tong'en and felt he understood the entire process, cultivating secret methods was inherently extremely dangerous, especially since he had no master and was groping in the dark.

If he had not sensed danger from Zhao Si and Du Yong, Xu Lu would absolutely not have chosen to begin cultivating now. He would have waited until he possessed more knowledge and absolute certainty.

"Things have reached this point; thinking too much is useless," Xu Lu muttered. "I have done everything I can. If I still fail, then I accept it!"

Xu Lu lit a fire and placed the clay pot over the flames.

In truth, refining secret medicines required a cauldron.

However, even the cheapest cauldron, like those used by ancient Taoist alchemists in his past life, cost dozens of silver taels, which Xu Lu could not afford at all.

Therefore, he could only settle for the next best thing and use a clay pot.

He had repeatedly deduced the process of refining the Taiyang Liuzhou Pill and believed there was no fundamental difference between a clay pot and a cauldron.

"High-grade secret medicines require a cauldron, but this Taiyang Liuzhou Pill is not a high-grade pill. Its refining process is not much different from brewing ordinary Chinese medicine. As long as the heat is well-controlled, success is not difficult."

Xu Lu carefully began placing the medicinal herbs into the clay pot.

In his past life, he had helped his elders brew traditional Chinese medicine, so he was not unfamiliar with the process.

The sound of burning firewood echoed in the cave as time gradually passed.

Xu Lu had entered the mountain at noon, and by nightfall, the medicinal herbs in the clay pot had finally boiled dry.

A layer of black, paste-like substance remained in the pot, emitting an unpleasant odor.

"Roughly, possibly, perhaps... it is a success."

After it cooled, Xu Lu carefully scraped the black paste from the clay pot and rolled it into pill-sized spheres with his fingertips.

Looking at the exactly twenty black pills, Xu Lu felt somewhat uncertain.

"These medicinal herbs are non-toxic. Even if they failed to refine into the Taiyang Liuzhou Pill, they shouldn't take a life," Xu Lu muttered, storing the pills in a prepared porcelain bottle.

Then, he picked up another set of materials.

Now, it was time for the next step!

"Generally speaking, once you have the secret medicine, you only need to cooperate with a secret treasure to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. But I do not have a secret treasure, and Lu Tong'en likely did not either. In the inheritance he received, he was not taught how to craft a secret treasure, only a substitute method was left behind."

Xu Lu recalled the notes he had taken when translating the knowledge left by Lu Tong'en.

"According to the inventor of that substitute method, what truly functions in a secret treasure is a core, which can also be called a secret array. It is actually drawing certain geometric patterns using special materials. That person dismantled a secret treasure and discovered a useful secret array. This was what Lu Tong'en used to cultivate."

Xu Lu placed more than ten types of materials in a specific order, obtaining a thick, paste-like liquid.

"I have seen a true secret treasure before. There were indeed some lines inside, which must be the secret array he spoke of. The secret array inside a secret treasure is definitely not drawn with this kind of substance," Xu Lu mused. "But regardless, as long as it works. In the future, I must find a way to obtain a secret treasure, otherwise drawing the secret array every time is too troublesome."

Xu Lu muttered in his heart as a complex diagram surfaced in his mind.

The diagram was composed of several circles, rectangles, triangles, and other shapes combined in a highly intricate manner.

If someone without a foundation in geometry saw this diagram, they would only feel dizzy.

But for Xu Lu, replicating this diagram was not difficult.

After contemplating for a moment, Xu Lu began using the prepared liquid to draw on the ground.

He drew for three to four hours.

By the end, the cave was filled with various lines, extending even to the surrounding stone walls.

"The secret treasure I saw before was only the size of a brick. Now, just an introductory secret array takes up so much space. A knockoff is indeed inferior to the real thing," Xu Lu looked at the completed secret array and let out a long sigh of relief.

The secret array was so complex that if a single line was drawn incorrectly, the entire array would be completely ruined.

Succeeding on the first try was a stroke of luck even for him.

"The last time I touched a secret treasure, a cool stream of air flowed into my body. The next day, I felt highly energized, but that feeling gradually faded. It must be because I did not consume the secret medicine, so my body could not retain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

Xu Lu recalled his reaction when he first touched the secret treasure; back then, he had not even known how he had activated it.

"A true secret treasure should be very easy to activate. At least it won't be like this cracked version of the secret array, which actually requires human blood to activate. It looks like a demonic art no matter how you look at it."

Xu Lu muttered, biting his fingertip despite the pain, and smeared his blood onto a specific spot on the secret array.

Then, he quickly sat in the center of the array.

As soon as he sat down, a wind suddenly blew from the flat ground within the cave.

Those lines lit up simultaneously, presenting a truly magnificent sight.

The air currents surged, and a wisp of light rapidly flowed along the lines in the cave. After completing a cycle, only a tiny, imperceptible thread remained, flowing along the lines into Xu Lu's body.

Xu Lu paid close attention to his body's reaction. When he sensed a cool stream of air flowing into his body, he did not hesitate, immediately tossing a Taiyang Liuzhou Pill into his mouth.

A burnt, foul taste filled his mouth, almost making him vomit.

He forced himself to swallow the pill.

As the pill entered his stomach, a scorching heat exploded within him.