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

They stormed into the market, killing anyone they saw and burning any houses they encountered. Shops along the street were kicked open, counters were smashed to pieces, and spirit stones and pills were looted. Any rogue cultivators who put up a fight were hacked to death on the street.

The once bustling Qingyafang was reduced to a living hell in the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Blood flowed like a river on the bluestone pavement, and severed limbs and remains were everywhere. The firelight illuminated the ferocious smiles of the calamity cultivators, accompanied by the desperate cries of the rogue cultivators. The rogue cultivators who had previously huddled together for warmth had now scattered and fled. However, the four gates of the market were tightly closed, and the protective array of the market was paralyzed. They were like lambs trapped in a cage, left to be slaughtered by the calamity cultivators.

While the Black Wind Stronghold's bandits were busy burning, killing, and looting, drawing most of the Zhao family's attention, the real killing move had already silently landed on the Zhao family's residence.

More than thirty elite cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sect, dressed in black robes and exuding a chilling aura, took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the market through the blown-up side gate, avoiding the main street where the battle raged, and silently circled around to the back gate of the Zhao family mansion.

The leader was none other than the guild master at the ninth level of Qi Refining. His long sword was stained with blood, and wherever he went, the guards at the gates were killed with a single blow before they could even scream.

Above the mansion, a blood-red figure stood in mid-air, his body radiating a murderous aura. That person was Elder Liu, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator from the Blood Fiend Sect.

He looked at the Zhao family guards in chaos below, a sinister smile appearing on his face. He gently raised his hand and unleashed a streak of blood-red spiritual energy, slamming it hard against the charging guard captain.

With a clang!

The captain of the guards desperately raised his knife to block, but... the spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was terrifying. He was immediately shaken so badly that he spat out blood and slammed hard against the courtyard wall, breaking countless bones.

"Heh... With your meager cultivation, you dare to stop me?" Elder Liu hovered in mid-air, his Foundation Establishment stage aura instantly sweeping out. All the low-ranking guards in the Zhao family mansion were trembling and kneeling on the ground, unable to even hold onto their magical artifacts. "Where are the old bastards of the Zhao family? Come out and face your death!"

He didn't rush to kill, but hovered in mid-air, casually flicking out streaks of blood-red spiritual energy, killing the guards who rushed up one by one. It was clearly a game, his purpose being to restrain all of the Zhao family's living forces, force out the Zhao family's Foundation Establishment ancestor who was in seclusion, and buy time for his subordinates to seize the talisman seal.

Without the restraint of Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Zhao family mansion's defenses crumbled like paper.

The Blood Fiend Sect cultivators charged forward, quickly breaking through the front and middle courtyards, and heading straight for the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall in the back courtyard.

All of this was clearly seen by Xu Yuan, who was hiding in the shadows.

He was currently lying on the roof of a three-story restaurant next to the main street of the market. He had two top-grade concealment talismans on his body, which completely concealed his aura as a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator. He blended into the night and the firelight. Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator did not deliberately scan him repeatedly with their divine sense, they would never be able to detect his presence.

With one hand on the storage bag at his waist and the other holding a high-grade spirit brush, he spread out his divine sense, taking in the entire situation of Qingyafang with the calmness of an outsider.

He could see clearly that although the hundreds of robber cultivators from Black Wind Stronghold had rushed into the market, most of them were engrossed in burning, killing, and looting, and had long since lost their formation. Li Qinghe, with the elite guards of the Zhao family, had already set up a defensive line on the main street. The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, and more than half of the robber cultivators had been killed or wounded. They were firmly tied down and had no way to spare any effort to support the Blood Fiend Sect.

More than thirty elite cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sect had broken through the outer defenses of the Zhao family mansion and rushed to the square in front of the ancestral hall. The leader, a ninth-level Qi Refining stage cultivator, was leading his men in a fierce attack on the ancestral hall's gate.

Elder Liu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in mid-air, had already severely injured the captain of the Zhao family's guard team, but he still hadn't killed him. He was still toying with and restraining the Zhao family's Foundation Establishment ancestor, who hadn't shown up yet, clearly because he was being held back by something.

At the entrance of the ancestral hall, Zhao Qiuyue, dressed in a blood-stained outfit, stood guard with her long sword surging with spiritual power, leading the remaining dozen or so direct descendants of the Zhao family.

Her left arm was slashed open with a deep gash that exposed bone. Her face was pale, and her spiritual energy shield was teetering on the brink of collapse. Yet, her eyes remained sharp, and with each swing of her sword, she could force back the Blood Fiend Sect cultivators who rushed forward. But it was clear to everyone that she was about to give out.

On the street below, rogue cultivators were constantly being chased and cut down by the robbers, their cries heart-wrenching. Not far away, houses were still burning, flames shooting into the sky. Inside the Zhao family mansion, guards fell one by one, their blood staining the bluestone slabs in front of the ancestral hall.

But Xu Yuan remained unmoved.

He had neither the urge to rush down to save people nor the compassion of a saint, because he knew very well that rushing down now would be suicide.

The Black Wind Stronghold's treacherous cultivators, the Blood Fiend Sect's elite troops, and Elder Liu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator—any one of them could plunge him into an abyss of no return.

If he intervenes now, he will not only fail to save anyone, but he will also expose himself and become a common enemy of the Blood Fiend Sect and the Zhao family. All his previous preparations and plans will be in vain.

At this time, the worst thing you can do is act impulsively and become the first cannon fodder to rush in.

Therefore, he needed to wait—wait for the Blood Fiend Sect cultivators to storm into the ancestral hall, triggering the twelve Blood Fiend Lightning bolts buried underground and activating the ancient talisman. More importantly, he needed to wait for the Zhao family's Foundation Establishment ancestor to appear and fight Elder Liu of the Blood Fiend Sect to the death, until both sides were severely injured.

Everyone's attention was focused on the talisman and the life-or-death battle in the ancestral hall. That was the best time for him to make his move, to seize the greatest opportunity with the least cost.

Xu Yuan slowed his breathing, his fingertips lightly touching the talisman brush, his gaze fixed on the direction of the Zhao family ancestral hall.

Just then, his pupils contracted slightly. A dozen or so Blood Fiend Sect cultivators, under the cover of the frontal assault, circled around to the side wall of the ancestral hall and jumped inside.

The leader, a black-robed cultivator, kicked the heavy vermilion door of the ancestral hall.

With a loud crash, the long-neglected door broke open, and the ancestral hall's main entrance was kicked open.

A dozen or so Blood Fiend Sect cultivators, howling and gripping their blood-stained longswords, swarmed in.

The vermilion doors of the ancestral hall were kicked open, and the heavy door panels slammed against the wall with a deafening thud.

A dozen or so Blood Fiend Sect cultivators, gripping blood-stained longswords, rushed in like a swarm of bees. Their gazes swept over the rows of ancestral tablets of the Zhao family in the ancestral hall, finally settling on the ancient talisman enshrined on the high platform in the very center.

The talisman was pure white, only the size of a palm, and engraved with three flowing cloud patterns. In the center was a mark of an alchemy furnace and a talisman brush, exactly the same as the treasures in Xu Yuan's hands.