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

At noon the next day, Xu Yuan appeared precisely at the alley entrance behind Baodan Tower.

This time, he was disguised again, his face smeared with charcoal ash, his body hunched over, and he wore patched short trousers. He looked like a weathered old rogue cultivator in his sixties, someone who would not have been given a second glance if thrown into a crowd.

Wu Song was already waiting in the alley.

He was wearing an inconspicuous gray cloth robe, not the shopkeeper's brocade shirt. He was holding the note in his hand, standing on tiptoe and looking around anxiously.

Seeing Xu Yuan approach, Wu Song paused for a moment, looked him up and down several times, but didn't recognize him. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes: "Who is this fellow Daoist...?"

Xu Yuan didn't speak, but simply took out a white porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it over.

Wu Song quickly took it, uncorked the bottle, and poured out a pill.

The pills were round and plump, with a faint glow on their surface. Their aroma was rich and mellow, filling the entire alley as soon as they were poured out. This superior-grade Vitality Powder was a level above even the best-selling items in the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

Wu Song's eyes lit up instantly, as if he had seen a treasure. He clutched the porcelain bottle tightly and refused to let go. When he looked up at Xu Yuan again, his eyes were full of eagerness: "You are... that fellow Daoist from last time?"

Xu Yuan deliberately lowered his voice, making it hoarse and aged, unrecognizable as his original tone: "Don't ask who I am. How's the goods?"

"Excellent! That's wonderful!" Wu Song nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a rattle-drum. "Fellow Daoist, these pills are the best high-grade Qi-replenishing powders I've ever seen in Qingya Fang! How many did you bring this time? I'll take them all!"

"Twenty," Xu Yuan said calmly.

"Twenty spirit stones?!" Wu Song's breathing quickened. "I'll take them all! I'll buy them at the highest market price! Five spirit stones each, one hundred spirit stones in total! Not a penny less!"

Five spirit stones per stone, almost double the price of the last acquisition.

Xu Yuan knew what was going on, but remained outwardly calm: "The price is acceptable. But I have three conditions. If you agree, we can cooperate long-term. If you don't, this business is off."

"Go ahead! Go ahead! I'll agree to anything, not just three, but thirty!" Wu Song agreed without even thinking.

No way! He could buy such high-grade Yuan Qi Powder and resell it for eight spirit stones per piece. Twenty pieces would mean a net profit of sixty spirit stones. It was a sure-fire way to make money. He'd be willing to kneel down and kowtow even if it meant doing nothing, let alone meeting those three conditions.

"First," Xu Yuan held up one finger, "From now on, I will supply you with at least fifty high-grade Yuanqi powders every month, and the price will always be based on the highest price in the market, following the market trend, and you cannot lower the price."

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!" Wu Song patted his chest and guaranteed, "Don't mention fifty, even if you supply five hundred, I can handle it! I'll always give you the highest price!"

"Secondly," Xu Yuan held up his second finger, "you will provide all the medicinal herbs needed for alchemy free of charge. I'll give you a list, and you just need to prepare them on time. The payment will be deducted from my pill money."

Wu Song hesitated for a moment.

Providing the medicinal herbs for free might seem like a loss for him, but compared to the profits from the pills, the cost of the herbs is negligible. Moreover, a stable supply of such high-grade pills would elevate his standing with the Zhao family.

After only a moment's hesitation, he immediately nodded: "Okay! No problem! Write down what herbs you need in advance and I'll make sure you have everything, all of the best quality!"

"Third," Xu Yuan's voice turned colder, "You cannot reveal my identity to anyone, including the Zhao family. No matter who asks, you cannot utter a single word. If even the slightest word leaks out, this deal will be terminated immediately, and you can forget about getting another pill."

Wu Song smiled instantly.

He thought it was some kind of deadly condition, but it turned out to be this.

In their line of work, keeping one's mouth shut is the most basic rule. Which alchemist who supplies products anonymously doesn't keep it a secret? If he were a chatterbox, he would have had his arm broken long ago and wouldn't be able to be the manager.

Moreover, this alchemist's skills are so good that he's too busy trying to curry favor with him to tell anyone.

"Rest assured, fellow Daoist!" Wu Song patted his chest, assuring him confidently, "Those of us in this line of work are extremely tight-lipped! If you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask a single question, much less divulge it. Even if the head of the Zhao family asks, I won't reveal a single word! I understand this basic rule!"

Xu Yuan nodded, took out nine more porcelain bottles from his pocket, and handed them over along with the previous one.

Exactly twenty high-grade Yuanqi Powders, not one missing.

Wu Song quickly took them, opened and inspected them one by one, becoming more and more delighted with each look, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile. He immediately counted out one hundred spirit stones from his storage bag, wrapped them in cloth, and respectfully handed them to Xu Yuan. He then took out a blank talisman and a charcoal pencil: "Fellow Daoist, you can write down what medicinal herbs you need now, and I will prepare them for you next time."

Xu Yuan took the paper and pen, and still using his left hand, he wrote down in a crooked hand all the medicinal materials needed to refine the Yuan Qi Powder and the Exploding Spirit Pill, marking the quantity of each, and then handed it back.

Wu Song took the order, carefully folded it, and put it away. He looked up and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I guarantee everything will be prepared perfectly for you. When will the next delivery be made? Again, at this place and time?"

"One month later." Xu Yuan took the spirit stone, put it in his pocket, "Same place, same time."

After saying that, he turned and left without pausing for a moment, disappearing around the corner of the alley in the blink of an eye.

Wu Song stood in the alley, watching his figure disappear, then looked down at the ten porcelain bottles in his hand and grinned from ear to ear.

Twenty high-grade Qi-building pills can be resold for a hefty profit. Not to mention the long-term cooperation, ensuring a stable supply of high-grade pills every month. His position as manager of the Treasure Pill Pavilion will only become more secure.

This deal was incredibly profitable!

Xu Yuan took a detour for a full half hour to make sure no one was following him before returning to the courtyard with green tiles.

He closed the door, opened the cloth bag in his arms, and poured out a hundred spirit stones onto the table with a clatter, their shimmering white light dazzling to the eye.

Including what he had previously stolen from the thief and his remaining savings, he now had over 150 spirit stones in his possession.

In the past, he would have had to save for thirty years without eating or drinking to accumulate this amount of money. But now, thanks to the opportunity provided by the system and his alchemy skills, he obtained it with ease.

More importantly, he secured a long-term supply chain, so he no longer needed to sell pills secretly, worry about exposing his identity, and even had people providing the medicinal materials for free.

A constant stream of spirit stones, a constant stream of elixirs, and a constant stream of cultivation advancement.

Xu Yuan locked the spirit stones in the cabinet, then casually picked up a high-grade Yuan Qi powder and examined it in his palm.

The elixir was round and smooth like a pearl, shimmering with spiritual light; it was refined by him according to the methods in "The True Explanation of Fire Control".

His pill-making success rate has now stabilized at over 90%, with nine out of ten batches producing successful pills, half of which are of superior quality. This level of skill is unparalleled in the entire Qingya Workshop.

But he showed no arrogance whatsoever.

This skill level is considered top-tier among low-level rogue cultivators, but after the massacre six months later, this level of strength would be insufficient even to protect oneself.

He must improve his strength more quickly and accumulate more trump cards.

Xu Yuan put down the pills, spread out the talisman paper, and picked up the wolf-hair brush.

He has offensive talismans like the Sharp Blade Talisman and the Explosive Flame Talisman, and defensive talismans like the Thick Earth Talisman, but he still lacks one crucial item—a talisman for escape.

If you can't win, at least you should be able to run away.

In the world of cultivation, being alive is more important than anything else.

He searched through all the talisman diagrams he had, but most of them were junk. The diagram for the Wind-Riding Talisman was incomplete and impossible to draw.

Just as he was frowning, wondering whether he should try his luck at the used bookstores in the market, the familiar system notification sounded in his mind right on time.

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

Xu Yuan looked up and his eyes lit up instantly.

[White Intelligence: Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), at the east gate of the market, three fleeing cultivators will be selling miscellaneous items. One of them, in a damaged storage bag, contains a complete first-tier superior-grade "Thick Earth Talisman" blueprint. The seller, unaware of its value, is only selling the storage bag for 1 spirit stone.]

Thick Earth Talisman!

A first-tier, high-grade defensive talisman!

This is exactly the defensive trump card he needs right now!

Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

It's like my wish came true.

He carefully put away the talisman paper and wolf-hair brush, and blew out the oil lamp.