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

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The yellowish-brown rock blades exploded within the cramped confinement, the scorching air waves carrying debris, creating a bombardment that left no blind spots.

Zhang Kui's face turned pale. He hurriedly erected a spiritual energy shield, but the power of the Rock-Splitting Talisman far exceeded that of other talismans of the same level. With all eight detonating at the same time, even as a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, he simply couldn't withstand it.

With a crisp "crack", the spiritual energy shield shattered instantly.

The violent rock blade slammed into his chest, and Zhang Kui spat out a mouthful of blood. He slammed into the light screen like a broken sack, breaking countless bones in his body. The Blood Soul Blade also flew out of his hand and crashed into the wall with a loud clang.

Before he could catch his breath, twelve exquisite blade talismans were activated simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of spiritual energy blades that shot towards him like a torrential rain.

Zhang Kui was terrified and used his last bit of spiritual power to roll and dodge, but he was still slashed by several blades, and blood instantly stained the ground red.

In the blink of an eye, the deputy captain of the guard team, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, completely lost the ability to resist. He collapsed to the ground, staring in terror at Xu Yuan as he slowly walked over.

He couldn't understand it until his death: how could a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining be severely injured by a rogue cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining without even giving him a chance to fight?

"You...you knew I would come?" Zhang Kui gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse, the sharp pain in his chest making it difficult for him to even speak.

Xu Yuan squatted down, looked at him, and said in a calm tone: "You ruined your future, lost your position, and the person you hate the most is me. It would be strange if you didn't come back to take revenge on me."

From the day he sent out the evidence of Zhang Kui's treason, he knew that Zhang Kui would come back for revenge.

The three-layered trapping and killing formation in this room was specially prepared for Zhang Kui. It calculated his arrogance, calculated that he would come alone in the middle of the night, and calculated his every move.

Looking into Xu Yuan's calm eyes, Zhang Kui felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He always thought he was the hunter and Xu Yuan was the prey, but in the end, he was the prey who fell into the trap, and from the very beginning, he was completely outmaneuvered by the other party.

With a flick of his finger, Xu Yuan placed a silencing talisman precisely over his mouth, cutting off his chance to call for help.

With a rock-cracking talisman between his fingertips, he slightly activated his spiritual power, and the cold light of the rock blade reflected in Zhang Kui's pupils.

"I ask, you answer. Nod, yes; shake, no." Xu Yuan's voice was as cold as ice. "Did the Blood Fiend Sect have a backup plan for this surprise attack? Even if the protective formation wasn't broken, did they have a way to destroy its core?"

Zhang Kui gritted his teeth, looking at him with eyes full of resentment, refusing to nod.

Without wasting words, Xu Yuan activated his spiritual power at his fingertips, instantly unleashing the Rock-Splitting Talisman, which severed his left wrist with a rock blade.

Blood gushed out, and Zhang Kui convulsed in pain, veins bulging on his forehead, but he was silenced by a silencing talisman and couldn't even scream. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his black clothes.

"I'll ask you one more time." Xu Yuan's Rock-Splitting Talisman was already aimed at his right wrist. "Yes, or no?"

Zhang Kui's mental defenses collapsed instantly. He nodded hastily, his head bobbing like a pestle being pounded, all traces of his previous ferocity gone.

Xu Yuan paused slightly, then pressed on, "What's your backup plan? Where is it hidden?"

He removed the silencing talisman from Zhang Kui's mouth, but the rock-cracking talisman on his fingertip was still pressed against his throat. If the other party uttered even half a lie, he could immediately take his life.

Zhang Kui, panting heavily and his voice trembling, dared not conceal anything and recounted the Blood Fiend Sect's ultimate secret in detail: "It's...it's twelve Blood Fiend Lightning Bolts! Three months ago, the elders of the Blood Fiend Sect had an inside agent bury the Blood Fiend Lightning Bolts in the underground secret chamber of the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall, placing them together with the ancient talisman seal!"

"Even if the protective array wasn't broken on the night of the raid, detonating the Blood Fiend Lightning would directly destroy the array's spiritual energy core, completely paralyzing the entire protective array! At the same time... the Blood Fiend Lightning could also trigger the Blood Sacrifice Array, using all the cultivators in Qingyafang as blood sacrifices to help Elder Liu break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!"

Xu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He only knew about the Blood Fiend Sect's surprise attack plan, but he never expected that the other side would have such a ruthless backup plan.

The twelve Blood Fiend Lightning bolts were buried under the Zhao family ancestral hall. Once detonated, not only would the protective array of the ancestral hall be completely destroyed, but all the cultivators in the entire Qingyafang would become blood sacrifices, and no one would survive.

This was not a surprise attack at all, but a premeditated massacre.

He suppressed the shock in his heart and continued to press for answers, extracting all the details about the detonation method of the Blood Fiend Lightning, its specific burial location, and even the triggering conditions of the Blood Sacrifice Array.

Only when he could no longer get a single useful word did Xu Yuan slowly stand up.

Zhang Kui looked at him, a pleading glint in his eyes: "Fellow Daoist Xu... I've told you everything. Please spare my life, and I'll leave Qingya Manor immediately and never come back... I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Yuan had already activated the Blade Rune at his fingertips.

Two flashes of cold light passed by, swift and decisive, without any hesitation. Zhao Kui's voice came to an abrupt halt, his pupils dilated suddenly, and he was completely lifeless.

"To cut the weeds, you must nip them in the bud." This is the most basic survival rule that Xu Yuan has come to understand after ten years in the cultivation world. Letting Zhang Kui go would leave him with endless troubles in the future, and he would never do such a foolish thing.

After killing Zhang Kui, Xu Yuan did not linger and immediately began cleaning up the scene.

He took out the corpse-dissolving powder and sprinkled it evenly on Zhang Kui's body. After a hissing sound, the body turned into a pool of yellow liquid in no time and seeped into the cracks between the floor tiles.

The bloodstains on the ground and the broken wrist were all cleaned up with the corpse-dissolving powder. He then used a dust-removing talisman to clean the entire room three times. Even the residual blood and evil aura in the air were completely dispelled with the juice of the heart-cleansing herb.

He replaced the broken floor tiles, smoothed out the blasted walls with his spiritual power, and even wiped the blood off the Blood Soul Blade before putting it into his storage bag as a backup trump card.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire house was restored to its original state, as if Zhang Kui had never stepped into the courtyard, leaving not a single trace. The rogue cultivator next door didn't even hear a sound.

After dealing with all the traces, Xu Yuan sat at his desk, tapping his fingertips lightly on the surface, repeatedly processing the information about the Blood Fiend Thunder in his mind.

The Blood Fiend Thunder was buried in the underground secret chamber of the Zhao family ancestral hall, placed together with the ancient talisman seal. The same cloud pattern mark was engraved on the superior-grade spirit brush and the jade slip of the True Explanation of Fire Control in his hand and Zhao Qiuyue's jade pendant, which was enough to prove that this ancient talisman seal was the core relic of the ancient Danfu Daozun.

The extremely yin energy of the Blood Fiend Thunder can activate the ancient restrictions on the talisman and unlock the Daoist's inheritance.

He had originally planned to use the chaos at the start of the raid to evacuate the market and hide in a safe cave on Wohu Mountain, returning only after the commotion subsided. But now, he has changed his mind.

This is not only a catastrophe, but also an incredible opportunity.