Daily Intelligence: From Miner to Dao Ancestor of Alchemy and Talismans

Li Qinghe came today for three reasons.

First, to confirm whether he had truly broken through. The initial scrutiny upon entering and the probing throughout were all for this purpose.

Secondly, he tested Li Qinghe's character. If Li Qinghe acted shrewd and vigilant, refusing to go to Black Wind Valley outright, it would mean that this person was difficult to control and a potential threat, and must be eliminated as soon as possible. However, Li Qinghe's behavior of being greedy for small gains and cowardly played right into Li Qinghe's hands, completely lowering the other party's guard.

Third, set a trap for him.

This mission to Blackwind Valley is a deadly trap.

Xu Yuan opened his eyes, returned to the room, sat at the table, and gently tapped his fingers on the surface.

Not urgent.

Waiting for the intelligence tonight.

He wanted to see just how much of a trap that old dog Li Qinghe had dug for him.

For the next three days, Xu Yuan didn't go anywhere.

During the day, he would close the door and study the "True Explanation of Fire Control" to hone his skills in transforming spiritual energy into threads. At night, he would sit cross-legged to stabilize his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining. His life was no different from before.

The only difference was that he spent half a day drawing three exquisite blade runes.

After breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, his spiritual power more than doubled, and his control over it was also vastly different from before. When drawing talismans, the spiritual power output from the tip of his brush was as steady as a mountain, and far fewer talismans were wasted than before.

Three Blade Runes, two of them are of high quality, and one is of ordinary quality.

Xu Yuan carefully put away the two high-quality personal cards, and placed the ordinary one under the bed.

He then took out the talismans he had drawn before and counted them.

Five premium Blade Talismans, eight Explosive Flame Talismans, three Thick Earth Talismans, and two Windwalking Talismans that can temporarily increase escape speed.

The box was full of his trump cards.

But Xu Yuan still felt it wasn't enough.

Since Li Qinghe dared to set a trap for him, he would never send just a few henchmen. This old dog never leaves a trace in his actions; once he makes a move, he's absolutely certain of success and will never leave him any way out.

He needs to prepare more.

On the third night, at midnight.

Xu Yuan neither cultivated nor slept.

He sat at the table, lit an oil lamp, and waited quietly.

The flickering lamplight cast an inconspicuous shadow on half of his face. Outside the window, the night was deep, and the market was utterly silent; not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

Xu Yuan's heartbeat was steady, neither fast nor slow.

He knew the answer was coming soon.

It was just past midnight.

The familiar system notification sounded in my mind right on time.

[Ding! Today's intelligence has been updated.]

Xu Yuan stared intently, and the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted.

What appeared before my eyes was a line of glaring blue characters, which made my scalp tingle under the dim light.

[Blue Intelligence: Three days later, in the dense forest west of the Black Wind Valley's herb fields, three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators are lurking, specializing in killing lone cultivators and stealing their treasures. Li Qinghe has already colluded with the cultivators, using you as bait to kill you. After the deed is done, the cultivators will be robbed of their wealth, and Li Qinghe will then use the charge of "colluding with cultivators" to completely erase all traces of you in the market.]

Xu Yuan stared at the line of text for a long time.

Three people are at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

One is at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and the other two are at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Li Qinghe not only conspired with the robber cultivators to kill him and seize his wealth, but also planned to label him as "colluding with robber cultivators" after his death, ensuring that he would be disgraced and never recover.

What a ruthless and vicious plan.

If he hadn't had the system and hadn't seen this intelligence beforehand, and had foolishly gone to Black Wind Valley, facing three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, he would have undoubtedly died. Even after death, he would have been unfairly blamed and had no one to reason with.

Xu Yuan's face was expressionless; he felt no anger, fear, or even the slightest surprise.

He had already guessed all of this. The intelligence merely confirmed the details for him.

Three days ago, when Li Qinghe came to his door, he knew that this job was a dead end.

Three years ago, a rogue cultivator in the market accidentally stumbled upon Li Qinghe's embezzlement of market spirit stones. He was sent to Black Wind Valley by Li Qinghe using the exact same method, and eventually died at the hands of the thief cultivator. He was also accused of colluding with the thief cultivator and stealing the Zhao family's spiritual medicine.

Most of the independent cultivators in the market had forgotten about this incident, but Xu Yuan remembered it for ten years.

He had long known that Li Qinghe, that old dog, would never let him go. Li Qinghe had held a grudge ever since he swallowed his spirit stones and was publicly humiliated by Zhao Qiuyue. He hadn't acted before because he was wary of his relationship with the Zhao family's eldest daughter, but now that he saw he hadn't had any contact with the Zhao family for so long and was only a newly advanced Qi Refining Stage 4 cultivator, he naturally decided to kill him.

He just didn't expect Li Qinghe to be so ruthless.

Xu Yuan's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, one tap after another, with a steady rhythm.

There was no panic in his eyes, only a chilling killing intent.

Since Li Qinghe wants him dead, then he'll send these three cultivators on their way first.

Not only must they fight back, but they must also obtain irrefutable evidence that Li Qinghe is a traitor.

This old dog's life should be put to rest.

The sky outside the window gradually brightened.

The first rays of morning light shone through the window paper and fell on the thick stack of talismans on the table.

The night the intelligence was confirmed, Xu Yuan cleaned up everything on his desk.

He locked all the writing implements, cinnabar, talisman paper, alchemy furnace, and medicinal herbs in a cabinet. On the table, only an oil lamp and five neatly folded, exquisite blade talismans remained.

He sat at the table, staring at the five talismans for a long time.

Three are at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, one is at the fifth level, and two are at the fourth level.

In a head-on confrontation, he, a rogue cultivator who had just broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refining, had no chance of winning. Even if he had talismans, he couldn't overcome the fact that his opponents outnumbered him and had higher cultivation levels.

But he doesn't need to confront it head-on.

He had precise intelligence provided by the system, three days to prepare, a trump card that the opponent was completely unaware of, and a mastery of talismans.

This is enough.

Xu Yuan carefully put the five sharpness talismans close to his body, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down to sleep.

That night, he slept even more soundly than usual.

After ten years of struggling at the bottom, he had long since learned that the more you have to fight for your life, the more you need to sleep well and get enough rest.

The next morning, before dawn and before the roosters in the market had crowed their first crow, Xu Yuan went out.

He didn't go through the main gate of the market; he climbed over the wall to get out. He took the abandoned irrigation ditch on the west side, keeping his head down the whole way, avoiding all the patrolling guards and early-morning vendors, so that no one could see his whereabouts.

Once outside the market, he straightened up, quickened his pace, and headed towards Black Wind Valley.

Black Wind Valley is located northwest of Qingya Village. At a normal walking pace, it would take an hour to reach. With his Qi Refining Level 4 cultivation, he could arrive in half an hour if he traveled at full speed. However, he didn't travel at full speed, maintaining a steady pace while cautiously observing his surroundings.