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

Anyone else would have lost their composure long ago. But Xu Yuan remained as steady as a mountain, laying down one card after another, without a trace of impatience in his eyes.

Having endured ten years to reach the third level of Qi Refining, what is this little failure?

Another talisman was laid out.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes and mentally reviewed all seventy-two strokes of the Thick Earth Talisman, memorizing the spiritual energy output and circulation path of each stroke.

When he opened his eyes again, they were clear.

I pick up my pen and begin to write.

The spiritual energy flowed slowly along the tip of the brush, and the seventy-two strokes were completed in one go without the slightest pause.

At the moment of finishing the last stroke, a flash of light appeared on the talisman paper, and a faint layer of earthy yellow light rose from the talisman paper, exuding a heavy and steady aura, before slowly receding into the talisman paper.

Become!

Xu Yuan put down his pen, picked up the talisman, and gently brushed his fingertips across its surface.

The talisman paper is flat, the runes are clear, and the spiritual light is restrained. Although its quality is only medium, it is definitely a Thick Earth Talisman!

He let out a long breath, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed.

Become!

He has finally drawn a first-grade, superior-quality Earth Talisman!

After the initial success, things went much more smoothly afterward.

For the next two days, Xu Yuan stayed indoors, spending all his time, apart from his daily cultivation, drawing thick earth talismans.

The number of waste talisman papers increased, but the success rate of creating talismans also increased. From ten papers to one, to five, then to three, and finally, he could even draw high-quality Earth Talismans!

The premium Earth Talisman has more than twice the defensive power of the mid-grade one. Even a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining might not be able to break through it with a full-force attack!

By the third night, eight thick earth talismans were neatly arranged on the table, three of which were of high quality and five of medium quality.

In addition to the five exquisite Blade Runes, eight Explosive Runes, and two Wind Runes that I had drawn before.

The box was full of his trump cards.

Attack, defense, and escape – it's all there.

Now, even if he were to directly confront a cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, he would have the strength to fight back, and even the confidence to turn the tables. Even if he encountered a cultivator in the late-stage of Qi Refining, he could escape unscathed thanks to these talismans.

Xu Yuan picked up a fine earthen talisman, gently stroking its surface with his fingertips, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

Just then, very light footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

The footsteps were very light, deliberately kept quiet, and circled his courtyard gate twice before stopping.

Xu Yuan's hand stopped abruptly, his fingertips gripping the talisman in his pocket. He instantly suppressed his aura and held his breath.

These footsteps did not belong to Li Qinghe, nor to Qian Shi.

Li Qinghe's shoes had hard soles, making his footsteps crisp. Qian Shi walked with heavy, carefree steps.

The footsteps were light and airy, like someone wearing soft-soled boots made of spirit beast skin. They landed almost silently, clearly indicating that they were not from an ordinary rogue cultivator.

Xu Yuan walked silently to the window and looked out through the gap in the window paper.

The alley was deserted, without a soul in sight.

But he noticed a shallow footprint at the base of the wall at the corner of the alley, with a peculiar pattern on the sole that he had never seen before.

Just then, midnight arrived.

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

The familiar notification sound rang in his mind. Xu Yuan stared intently, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Before my eyes appeared a line of glaring blue characters.

[Cyan Intelligence: Today, three rogue cultivators fleeing from the East Gate were actually spies from the Blood Fiend Sect. They infiltrated Qingya Market under false identities to scout out the area for a massacre six months later.]

Blood Fiend Sect!

A chill instantly ran down Xu Yuan's back.

He just bought the storage bag containing the Thick Earth Talisman diagram from those three people yesterday!

Those three seemingly destitute and starving refugees were actually spies sent by the Blood Fiend Sect?!

The demon who will massacre Qingya Workshop in six months has already infiltrated silently!

Moreover, there are more than three.

Xu Yuan instantly realized that the footsteps that had been lingering outside the courtyard gate just now were most likely from the Blood Fiend Sect!

Throughout the entire Qingya Fang neighborhood, no one except him realized that a catastrophic disaster had quietly crept up to their doorstep.

The intelligence that Blood Fiend Sect spies had infiltrated the market was like a stone thrown into Xu Yuan's heart.

He didn't sleep all night.

As soon as it was light, he changed into an inconspicuous set of clothes and went to the east gate of the market.

The three rogue cultivators' stalls were still there, looking just as dejected as ever. They squatted in the corner, listlessly trying to attract customers, no different from the other rogue cultivators who had fled to the area.

But when Xu Yuan looked at them again, he noticed something different.

The oldest male cultivator leaned casually against the wall, but out of the corner of his eye, he kept scanning the passing market guards, clearly seeing their patrol routes and shift changes.

The female cultivator appeared to be tidying up her stall, but her fingers were unconsciously drawing on the ground. Xu Yuan squinted at her for a long time before recognizing that it was a map of the market.

And then there was the youngest male cultivator, who looked honest and simple, but whenever a cultivator with high cultivation passed by, his hand would subconsciously go to his waist. It was muscle memory from years of holding magical artifacts and being ready to fight at any time. Even if it was only for a moment, it could not escape Xu Yuan's eyes.

It was all an act, as expected.

These three people were not some rogue cultivators fleeing from disaster, but spies sent by the Blood Fiend Sect, who were quietly figuring out the defenses of Qingyafang.

Xu Yuan neither stepped forward nor made a sound.

He simply blended into the crowd, glanced at the scene a few times, and then turned and left.

He can't do anything right now.

With his Qi Refining Level 4 cultivation, he was no different from an ant in front of the Blood Fiend Sect, these ruthless killers. If he alerted them, he would only bring about his own demise.

All he could do was pretend he knew nothing, seize every minute to improve his strength, accumulate enough trump cards, and make thorough preparations before disaster struck.

More and more refugees and wandering cultivators are arriving from outside, and the stalls at the East Gate are almost overflowing. The guards are checking more and more strictly, but they still haven't found any clues.

Meanwhile, Li Qinghe also delivered the Zhao family's internal news on time. The Zhao family had recently added three layers of guards around the ancestral hall, and the protective array was being adjusted every month. It seemed they had sensed something was wrong, but they still didn't suspect the Blood Fiend Sect, only thinking that the bandits in the surrounding area were trying to cause trouble.

Everything was as Xu Yuan had predicted.

Beneath the calm surface, undercurrents are growing increasingly turbulent, and the day of explosion is drawing ever closer.

Until midnight on that day.

Xu Yuan had just finished circulating his energy for the last time. He slowly opened his eyes, and the spiritual energy in his dantian had become even more concentrated. He was just one step away from reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Just then, the familiar system notification sounded in my mind right on time.

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

Xu Yuan habitually looked up, and the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he even stopped breathing instantly.

What appeared before my eyes was not the usual white or blue handwriting, but a line of glaring, almost blinding red, as red as blood, which made my scalp tingle in the dim room.