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

It's the same old excuse again.

The smile on Zhou Chengxian's face instantly turned cold, and his brows furrowed.

He set up this banquet today partly out of consideration for their past friendship, and partly to show off in front of Xu Yuan and see how this older brother who used to be superior to him would react now.

He anticipated that Xu Yuan would feel envious, jealous, regretful, or even shamelessly beg him to take him under his wing.

He never expected the other party to be so unyielding, as if the opportunity to make a fortune every day, which he talked about, was less important to the other party than a piece of fish on the table.

The feeling of punching cotton made him feel suffocated.

"Alright, everyone has their own ambitions." Zhou Chengxian waved his hand impatiently, picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp. "Let's drink, let's not talk about these unpleasant things."

The atmosphere at the next table visibly cooled down.

Zhou Chengxian stopped talking to Xu Yuan and turned to Liu Yue'er to chat about his spirit wine business. "The Foundation Establishment senior in the market ordered ten jars at once," and "I've also finalized the distribution deal with Black Stone Workshop next door." His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, and every sentence was full of showing off.

Liu Yue'er's performance was flawless, occasionally letting out a gasp of amazement, her eyes practically overflowing with admiration. Her comedic timing was impeccable, and Zhou Chengxian listened with a radiant smile.

Qian Shi drank silently, occasionally glancing up at Xu Yuan, hesitant to speak.

Xu Yuan was the most relaxed person at the table. He ate and drank as he pleased, devouring most of the spiritual dishes worth over a dozen spirit stones.

If you don't eat your fill of a free meal, you're missing out.

After five rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Seeing that Xu Yuan hadn't shown the slightest emotion he wanted to see from beginning to end, not even a hint of embarrassment, Zhou Chengxian completely lost interest and waved his hand to call the waiter to settle the bill.

"That's enough for today." He stood up, patted off non-existent dust from his robe, and looked at Liu Yue'er with a smile. "Yue'er, you live far away, and the roads are difficult to walk on in the dark. I'll take you home."

Liu Yue'er's cheeks flushed instantly. She lowered her head and replied softly, "Thank you, Brother Zhou."

The group walked out of the private room one after the other. As they went downstairs, Liu Yue'er deliberately slowed her pace. When Xu Yuan walked up to her, she suddenly lowered her voice.

"Brother Xu."

Xu Yuan paused, turning his head to look at her.

The light fell on Liu Yue'er's carefully made-up face. She met Xu Yuan's calm, almost empty eyes and felt a sudden pang of fear, but she still blurted out the words she had prepared all night.

"If you ever find yourself in a tough spot, feel free to come to Brother Zhou. He's loyal and won't abandon you."

Her tone carried a condescending air of charity, as if she were now Zhou Chengxian's Daoist partner, bestowing favors upon a fallen former lover.

Xu Yuan glanced at her, his gaze sweeping across her face without any emotion, as if he were looking at an insignificant stone on the roadside.

He didn't even reply; he merely raised his eyelids and walked straight past her without pausing for a moment.

Liu Yue'er froze on the stairs, her smile instantly gone, and the color draining from her face.

She had imagined countless ways Xu Yuan might react: angry and embarrassed, silent, or forcing himself to say "no need." But she never expected him to completely ignore her like this.

It was as if her words weren't worth a single word from him.

This feeling was a hundred times more embarrassing than being confronted directly.

As we left Zuixianlou, a night breeze blew, carrying the coolness of the market and carrying away the smell of alcohol.

Xu Yuan walked back along the main street of the market with his hands in his sleeves, at a moderate pace, just like usual.

The nights in Qingyafang are much more lively than the days. Stalls line the roadside one after another, selling spiritual herbs, magical artifacts, and materials for collecting demon beasts. The cries of vendors rise and fall, creating a vibrant and bustling atmosphere.

But Xu Yuan had already meticulously recounted the entire dinner in his mind.

Zhou Chengxian's spiritual wine inheritance was of unknown origin, exposed too hastily, and without any backing, he brazenly amassed wealth in the market. In the market for rogue cultivators, he was a prime target, and there were no shortage of people eyeing him.

Either be won over by the Zhao family, or be swallowed up without a trace; there is no third way.

As for Liu Yue'er...

Xu Yuan's lips twitched, but it wasn't exactly a cold laugh; it was more like an expected indifference.

The little girl who used to follow him around, barely able to walk on the mountain path, and who would cry and call out "Brother Xu" when she fell, has now learned to climb the social ladder and step on the old ones.

In the world of cultivation, being snobbish is never a flaw; it's even considered a survival tactic of lower-level rogue cultivators. Unfortunately, her judgment of people was truly terrible.

Can Zhou Chengxian's current glory last three months? Or half a year?

When those bloodthirsty wolves bare their fangs, she will realize just how ridiculous her gamble was.

These things have nothing to do with him anymore.

Xu Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see the familiar courtyard with blue tiles at the entrance of the alley.

He pushed open the door, turned around and bolted it, then casually knocked open the simple protective barrier set up in the courtyard. He had spent five spirit stones to acquire this barrier; it couldn't stop cultivators above the mid-stage of Qi Refining, but it gave him a bit more peace of mind when he slept.

He entered the room, lit a lamp, and the dim yellow oil lamp illuminated the small room. On the table were the talismans he hadn't finished drawing during the day, and the cinnabar had dried on the tip of the wolf-hair brush. In the corner was a thick stack of discarded talismans, the result of his work over the past two weeks.

On the other side of the table were three small porcelain bottles, each filled with the Yuan Qi Powder he had refined. The bottles were smooth and were cheap, the kind that cost five copper coins each at a general store, but the contents of each bottle were worth five spirit stones.

In the cabinet in the corner, there was a stack of exquisitely drawn blade talismans, which he would never use unless absolutely necessary.

Under the bed was a bag of spirit stones, containing dozens of spirit stones, which he had earned from selling pills. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to live comfortably for a while.

This small place, with these few belongings, is all he has to survive in this cannibalistic world of cultivation.

Others' glory is theirs alone. Whether they mock or show off, what does it have to do with him?

He doesn't live off those things.

"That's enough," Xu Yuan said in a low voice, it was unclear whether he meant that he had enough of his possessions or that he had had enough of this boring dinner party.

He took off his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the couch, held the spirit stone in his hand, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

The spiritual energy within the body flowed slowly, circulating along the cultivation path, completing one cycle after another.

The bottleneck that had been blocking him for ten years had long since loosened, and in another month or two, he would be able to steadily break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

By then, he will be able to refine higher-level pills and draw more powerful talismans, giving him a better chance of survival in the catastrophe that will occur six months later.

As for Zhou Chengxian, Liu Yue'er, and all those random things from tonight, he cleared them all from his mind.

It's not worth his time or effort.

At midnight, the hustle and bustle of the market fell completely silent, and even the snores of the spirit beasts in the neighboring courtyard stopped.

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 solidified a little more. Although it was insignificant, it would eventually lead to changes over time.

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

A few familiar lines of text suddenly appeared before my eyes.

Xu Yuan stared intently, his pupils contracting slightly.

[White Intelligence: Tomorrow at noon, at the alleyway behind Baodan Tower, a rogue cultivator will be selling a damaged alchemy furnace. Hidden within the furnace's bottom layer is half a fragment of a fire-attribute fire control technique, "The True Explanation of Fire Control." The seller, unaware of its value, is only offering the furnace for 2 spirit stones.]

White intelligence?

Xu Yuan blinked, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

He originally thought that the previous alchemy inheritance was already a tremendous opportunity, but unexpectedly, the system directly delivered to him what he needed most right now.

Fire control techniques.

The jade slip in his hand contained clearly written formulas and basic techniques, but only a few words about controlling the heat: "gentle fire and slow speed," which was practically useless.

In the past month, he had almost lost count of how many batches of pills he had ruined. If he succeeded in two or three out of ten batches, he was considered lucky; most of the materials were wasted. With such a low success rate, most of the spirit stones he earned went to paying off his debts, and he didn't even dare to cultivate at his own pace.

Now, a piece of intelligence clearly tells him that there is half a complete fire control technique hidden in a broken alchemy furnace, which is only sold for two spirit stones.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the surging joy in his heart, and gently tapped his knee twice with his fingertips.

Not urgent.

The intelligence indicated it would be at noon tomorrow, leaving him with more than half a day. He needed to prepare carefully, absolutely not revealing his identity, and even more importantly, not letting anyone know that this half of the magic formula had fallen into his hands.

He got off the couch, stepped barefoot onto the cold stone slab, walked to the old wooden box in the corner, squatted down and started rummaging through it.

Disguise items must be prepared in advance.

Xu Yuan didn't sleep that night.

The sky outside the window gradually brightened.

He first drew a basin of well water, washed himself thoroughly, and then did his daily morning breathing exercises without fail. Over the past ten years, this has become a habit ingrained in his bones, and he never skips it, even if he hasn't slept all night.

After completing a set of breathing exercises, the spiritual energy in my dantian stabilized, and most of the fatigue from not sleeping all night dissipated.

Xu Yuan then walked to the table and opened the small cloth bag he had found last night.

Inside was a bag of extremely finely ground charcoal ash, which I had prepared two years ago when I went to the deep mountains with Qian Shi to collect herbs. It was originally intended to be applied to my face to ward off poisonous mosquitoes in the forest, but I no longer needed it and had been sitting at the bottom of the box ever since.

He poured some well water, mixed the charcoal ash into a smooth paste, and, looking in the bronze mirror, carefully applied it to his face, neck, and the back of his hands.

The dark charcoal ash covered his originally handsome features, obscuring even the texture of his skin, leaving only his eyes visible. He then deliberately applied a thicker layer of charcoal ash to the corners of his eyes and cheekbones, creating wrinkles that instantly aged him by more than ten years.

He changed into a gray cloth short-sleeved brown garment with several patches, the collar and cuffs worn and frayed, something he had worn out a couple of years ago but couldn't bear to throw away. He then loosened his previously neatly tied hair, casually tied it into a bun with a smooth wooden hairpin, and deliberately let a few stray strands fall in front of his forehead.

Looking at himself in the bronze mirror, the person in the mirror was exactly like a down-on-his-luck old hermit who had spent years making a living in the mountains and had been through many hardships. If he were thrown into the pile of stalls at the east gate of the market, no one would give him a second glance.

Xu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then looked in the mirror and deliberately hunched over, adjusting his walking posture. He transformed his originally upright figure into one that resembled someone who had been working with a bent back for many years, and even slowed down his breathing.

Disguise can only fool the eyes, not the divine sense. If a cultivator with a higher cultivation level were to sweep over, his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation would be immediately apparent. Although it's not exactly a secret, it could leave a hidden danger sooner or later if he were to confront the old rogue cultivator who bought the pill furnace.