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

"Daily Intelligence: From Miner to Daoist Ancestor" is full of classic quotes, come and find resonance.

Ten years ago, he was a rogue cultivator who had to be careful with every spirit stone he spent and didn't dare to utter a sound when Li Qinghe swallowed up all his possessions. Now, he can easily take on orders worth hundreds of spirit stones, has access to scarce foundation-building materials, and has a stable supply of materials, completely escaping the predicament of resource scarcity.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

These are not enough.

Ten days later comes the Blood Fiend Sect's surprise attack, led by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. These resources are merely his confidence in dealing with this calamity, not a reason for him to stop.

Instead of rushing to start refining pills, he first set up a small spirit-gathering array in the southeast corner of the courtyard.

The Spirit Gathering Array can gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and raise the temperature, which perfectly meets the growth needs of the Fire Spirit Grass. He carefully took out ten Fire Spirit Grass seeds, planted them in the prepared spiritual soil, infused them with spiritual power, and activated the Spirit Gathering Array.

A pale white spiritual energy barrier slowly rose, enveloping the spiritual soil where the seeds were planted. Xu Yuan looked at the spiritual soil within the barrier, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

As long as the Fire Spirit Grass matures successfully, he can refine the Fire Spirit Pill, which will give him an extra edge in his future attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

After setting up the spirit-gathering array, it was already dark. Xu Yuan set up the alchemy furnace, arranged the materials for refining the spirit-replenishing pills one by one, lit the spiritual fire, and prepared to start refining the pills.

Just as he was about to put the medicinal herbs into the alchemy furnace, a series of urgent bangs came from outside the courtyard gate. Qian Shi's panicked shouts, distorted by fear, came through the door:

"Brother Xu! Brother Xu! Something terrible has happened! The main force of Black Wind Stronghold has already arrived at Black Wind Valley, thirty miles outside the market, and set up camp!" Chapter Twenty-Nine: Spirit-Replenishing Pill Completed, Fire Spirit Grass Cultivated

Qian Shi's shouts outside the courtyard gate, filled with terrified screams, were particularly jarring in the quiet alley.

Xu Yuan paused for a moment, but without the slightest panic, he steadily put the medicinal herbs he had just taken out back into the jade box before getting up and pulling the door bolt.

Qian Shi, standing outside the door, was deathly pale and trembling all over. Seeing Xu Yuan open the door, he grabbed his arm, his voice hoarse: "Brother Xu! The Black Wind Stronghold is here! Over a hundred of them, and they've set up camp in Black Wind Valley, thirty miles outside the market! The patrolling guards saw them with their own eyes; they're all armed bandits, exuding murderous intent. They're going to attack!"

His eyes reddened with anxiety. The rogue cultivators outside the market had long been terrified by the Black Wind Stronghold. The arrival of hundreds of calamity cultivators was tantamount to annihilation for Qingya Market.

But Xu Yuan showed no panic on his face after hearing this. He simply took the man's arm, pulled him into the courtyard, and closed the door behind him. His tone was as calm as still water: "What's the panic? Black Wind Valley is thirty miles away from the market. If they really want to attack, they won't just set up camp in the valley."

He had long known from the secret message from his inside accomplice that the agreed-upon surprise attack by the Blood Fiend Sect and Black Wind Stronghold would take place in ten days. The fact that the large force had arrived at Black Wind Valley was merely a pre-arranged gathering, waiting for an inside-outside attack in ten days, and they would never rashly launch an attack on the city.

Qian Shi was stunned for a moment, looking at Xu Yuan's confident expression.

The sounds of horses' hooves and shouts at the city gate of the market town grew louder and louder, breaking the tranquility of Qingya Ward in the early morning.

Xu Yuan had just finished his practice, and the spiritual power of the seventh level of Qi Refining within his body slowly returned to his dantian. The tingling sensation of the surge in spiritual power after his breakthrough still lingered on his fingertips. He walked to the window, lifted a corner of the window paper, and looked outside. He saw a large number of unfamiliar cultivators dressed in tight-fitting clothes and exuding a fierce aura pouring into the main street of the market. Each of them carried a magic weapon at their waist, had sinister eyes, and carried an indelible stench of blood. They were clearly not peaceful rogue cultivators.

Although the Zhao family guards checked each person individually, they couldn't handle the sheer number of people pouring in. Within half an hour, a long queue had formed, and the checks became increasingly perfunctory, with most of them just glancing at the spirit contract tokens before waving them away.

These people openly claimed that "the surrounding markets were robbed and they came to Qingya Market for refuge," but Xu Yuan knew better than anyone that they were not refugees or rogue cultivators at all. They were the vanguard of Black Wind Stronghold and Blood Fiend Sect, who had infiltrated the market to scout out the location, meet up with their inside agents, and prepare for the subsequent surprise attack.

Within a single day, the atmosphere of the entire Qingyafang changed completely.

The once bustling market town was now mostly deserted, with most shops closed. The wandering cultivators on the streets hurried about, each with their hands on their magical implements and their eyes warily scanning the strangers around them. The alleys were filled with wandering cultivators carrying bundles, preparing to flee, but most of them were stopped by the guards as soon as they reached the city gate—the Zhao family had issued a strict order that, with the Blood Fiend Sect eyeing them covetously, the market town was only open to those entering, strictly preventing spies from sneaking in and out.

For a time, the entire market was filled with anxiety, as oppressive as an airtight iron pot that could explode at any moment.

As evening approached, Qian Shi's urgent knocking came from outside the courtyard gate. Before he even entered, his voice, trembling with sobs, drifted in: "Brother Xu! Brother Xu! Open the door quickly!"

Xu Yuan unlatched the door and saw Qian Shi carrying a bulging bundle, his face pale and his hair disheveled. He grabbed Xu Yuan's arm as soon as he entered, stamping his feet anxiously, "Brother Xu! Run! It'll be too late if we don't run now! The news has spread that the main force of Black Wind Stronghold is only thirty miles away, and the streets are full of infiltrated cultivators. This market town is about to fall! I've already made arrangements with some familiar fellow cultivators; we'll sneak out through the western irrigation ditch tonight. You're coming with us!"

He was genuinely terrified. Black Wind Stronghold had a fearsome reputation, leaving no one alive in its wake. If they were to attack, these low-level rogue cultivators would undoubtedly be the first to be sent to their deaths as cannon fodder.

Xu Yuan closed the courtyard gate behind him, pulled him into the yard, and said in a calm tone, without the slightest panic: "If you run now, you'll die even faster."

Qian Shi was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Since Black Wind Stronghold is going to attack, how could they not have laid an ambush outside the market?" Xu Yuan looked at him, his words clear and distinct. "If you climb over the canal now, you'll be ambushed and killed by the ambushing cultivators the moment you leave the market. You won't even have a complete corpse left. Staying inside the market, with the protective array and the Zhao family's guards, is actually safer than outside the city."

He already knew from the system intelligence that Black Wind Stronghold had set up sentries at various intersections around the market, specifically to intercept and kill fleeing rogue cultivators and rob their storage bags. Leaving the city now would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

Upon hearing this, Qian Shi froze, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He was only thinking about running away and hadn't considered the ambush outside the city. If Xu Yuan hadn't reminded him, he probably would have died in the wilderness outside the city tonight.

"Then... what do we do now? Just stay in the market and wait for them to attack?" Qian Shi's voice trembled, and the bundle in his hand slipped to the ground.

Xu Yuan turned and went back into the house, handing him a cloth bag. Qian Shi opened it and his eyes widened instantly—neatly arranged inside were five high-quality Earth Talismans, three Blazing Flame Talismans, and a whole bottle of top-grade Rejuvenation Pills, all life-saving hard currency.

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