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

Not long after, Qian Shi rushed in again, looking flustered. As soon as he entered, he exclaimed, "Brother Xu! I heard that Zhang Kui has already spoken to his guards and will lead a team to our door in three days! Why are you still refining pills?!"

Xu Yuan lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace, glanced at the perfectly formed pills inside, and without even looking up, said indifferently, "What's the rush?"

"How can I not be anxious!" Qian Shi was almost in tears. "They'll be storming in with their men in three days! You won't even have a chance to run away then!"

Xu Yuan closed the stove lid, turned around, looked at Qian Shi who was pacing anxiously, and smiled: "Don't worry, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; it won't be our turn."

"Tall?" Qian Shi was taken aback, his face full of confusion. "What tall?"

"You'll find out when the time comes." Xu Yuan didn't explain further, handing him a bottle of freshly refined high-grade Yuan Qi powder. "Take this, go back and cultivate in peace. Don't wander around or discuss this with anyone, lest you get into trouble."

Holding the warm porcelain bottle, Qian Shi looked at Xu Yuan's confident expression and felt a strange sense of calm settle in his heart. Although he still couldn't figure out what Xu Yuan was planning, he nodded, clutched the bottle, and walked away, turning back to look at it every few steps.

The courtyard returned to calm once more, with only the spiritual fire in the alchemy furnace still burning quietly.

Xu Yuan sat by the furnace, his fingertips gently tapping the furnace wall, his eyes calm and undisturbed.

He has already set up the plan; now it's up to Li Qinghe to decide how to play his card.

Meanwhile, on East Street, the gate of Li Qinghe's residence creaked open. The guards at the gate yawned and were about to go out to change shifts when they spotted the anonymous envelope behind the threshold.

The guard was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked it up and ran all the way into the mansion, handing it to Li Qinghe, who had just gotten up.

Li Qinghe yawned and casually opened the envelope, but when he saw the secret letter and the array blueprint inside, the sleepiness on his face vanished instantly, his face turned deathly pale, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Zhang Kui is a traitor!

He actually colluded with the Blood Fiend Sect, and even handed over the blueprints for the core of the protective array!

This is a heinous crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!

But in just a moment, the pallor faded from his face, replaced by an undisguised ecstasy. His knuckles turned white from gripping the envelope so tightly that he looked up and chuckled softly, his eyes filled with a ruthless determination to succeed.

Zhang Kui, Zhang Kui, you've suppressed me for so many years, always going against me. You never thought it would be your time to die!

He didn't even have time to change out of his court robes. He tucked the envelope into his pocket, strode out of the mansion, mounted his horse, and galloped straight towards the Zhao family's main residence.

In the study of the Zhao family's main residence, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. Zhao Qiuyue lowered her eyes and flipped through the files on the investigation of the mole that the guards had just sent over. Her fingertips traced the names circled on the paper, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Despite the martial law being in effect for many days, the Blood Fiend Sect's spies were like weeds that had taken root, sprouting up again after being pulled out, leaving a heavy weight on her mind.

"Knock, knock, knock—" A rapid knocking sound shattered the silence of the study. Li Qinghe's barely suppressed voice came through the door: "Young Miss! I have urgent news to report! It concerns the life and death of the entire Qingya Manor!"

Zhao Qiuyue looked up, closed the file, and placed it on the table. Her voice deepened slightly: "Come in."

The door was flung open, and Li Qinghe strode in. His usual smooth-talking demeanor was completely gone, replaced by a look of grave seriousness and excitement. He locked the door behind him and then bowed deeply to Zhao Qiuyue: "Young Miss! Something terrible has happened! Zhang Kui, the deputy captain of the guard team, is an inside man planted in the market by the Blood Fiend Sect! He has long since colluded with evil cultivators and sold the blueprints for the core of the market's protective array!"

Zhao Qiuyue's hand, holding the white jade teacup, suddenly paused. She looked up at Li Qinghe, her eyes turning icy cold: "Steward Li, these words are no small matter. Zhang Kui was personally promoted by my father and has been in charge of patrolling and defending the market for three years. You accuse him of treason, but do you have any solid evidence?"

"Yes! I have irrefutable evidence!"

Li Qinghe quickly took out the anonymous envelope from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

Zhao Qiuyue took the letter, opened the envelope, and first scanned the secret letter bearing Zhang Kui's private seal. When her fingertips landed on the rubbing of the blueprint of the protective array's core, her knuckles tightened instantly, and her fingertips turned white.

The protective array is the only barrier for Qingyafang. Only the core members of the Zhao family and Zhang Kui, the deputy captain in charge of the defense, have access to the array's blueprints. No one else can make such accurate blueprints, even clearly marking the weak points of the three array points.

With a crisp "crack," the white jade teacup in her hand was crushed, and scalding tea mixed with shards of porcelain splashed onto the table. She seemed oblivious, her eyes blazing with anger.

She was constantly on guard against foreign infiltration and strictly ordered a city-wide search for spies, but she never expected that the most dangerous blade was hidden right under her nose. Zhang Kui, who received the Zhao family's salary and held the power to defend the market, turned around and handed over the entire Qingya Market and the lives of the entire Zhao family to the Blood Fiend Sect!

"Zhang Kui, you sly fox!" Zhao Qiuyue gritted her teeth, her voice as cold as ice. She reached for a black iron token at her waist and slammed it heavily on the table. "Li Qinghe, listen to my command! I order you to immediately mobilize the Zhao family's elite guards to surround Zhang Kui's residence and arrest him! Live or dead! Anyone who dares to resist, kill them without mercy!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Li Qinghe took the token, feeling a surge of heat throughout his body, and his back straightened a bit.

Zhang Kui, who had suppressed him for so many years, was finally going to fall into his hands today! He dared not delay, bowed and took his leave, then turned and rushed out of the Zhao family's main residence. He gathered twenty elite guards of the Zhao family in front of the mansion gate. Each of them had a cultivation level of more than the sixth level of Qi Refining, had been through countless battles, and were the direct descendants of the Zhao family.

The group rode spirit beasts, the crisp sound of their armor clashing echoing through the streets, heading menacingly towards Zhang Kui's residence. The rogue cultivators in the market, seeing this spectacle, quickly gave way, peeking out and whispering amongst themselves, all knowing that something of great importance had happened.

Li Qinghe reined in his horse, dismounted in front of Zhang Kui's residence, and shouted sternly, "Surround it! Block both the front and back gates! Don't let a single fly out!"

The guards instantly dispersed, completely surrounding the mansion. Weapons were drawn, spiritual energy surged, and the surrounding air became tense.

Li Qinghe kicked open the heavy gate of the mansion and led his men inside, shouting, "Search! Search every nook and cranny! Don't miss a single corner!"

But as everyone rushed into the courtyard, they all stopped in their tracks.

The entire mansion was eerily quiet, completely deserted. The main room's door was wide open, tables and chairs were overturned, and a few cheap, coarse clothes lay scattered on the floor. The charcoal brazier had long since cooled, without even a spark remaining.

The wardrobe and wooden chests in the inner room were all ransacked. All the valuables, the tokens used to contact the Blood Fiend Sect, and even the personal clothing were nowhere to be found.

The person had already run away.

Li Qinghe rushed into the inner room, and seeing the empty room, the smug look on his face froze instantly. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

It’s over.