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

He did not rush to force the seal, because the spiritual aperture seal is connected to the soul. If he is not careful, the spiritual aperture will shatter and the soul will be damaged. At best, he will become a complete cripple, and at worst, he will die on the spot.

Over the years, he has always disliked fighting unprepared battles.

Xu Yuan spent a whole day making thorough preparations. He first reinforced the original four-layer formation of the cave dwelling, and then used the newly learned restriction techniques from the Danfu Daojing to set up three layers of warning talismans at the entrance of the cave dwelling. Whenever a cultivator stepped into the hundred-zhang range, the formation would immediately sound an alarm, and even the concealed aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator could be detected in advance.

Then, he set up two layers of interlocking trapping and killing formations outside the stone chamber, with twelve high-quality rock-cracking talismans as the core, combined with a maze formation and a spirit-locking formation. Even if a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining broke in, he would be trapped instantly and would have no chance to disturb his process of breaking the seal.

Finally, he activated the spirit-locking array of the cave to ensure that even if there were any unusual spiritual phenomena when the seal was broken, not a single bit of spiritual energy would leak out, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble.

After doing all this, Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on the stone bed and swallowed a top-grade, smooth, white spirit-replenishing pill.

The pure medicinal power slowly dissolved in his body, nourishing his meridians and dantian. He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, circulating the introductory mental technique of the Spiritual Aperture Opening Heaven Technique, adjusting his spiritual power to its peak state.

After confirming that everything was in perfect order, he slowly opened his eyes, placed the ancient talisman on his knees, formed hand seals, and sank his consciousness into his dantian, accurately touching the spiritual seal that had imprisoned him for ten years.

"Rise." Xu Yuan silently recited the incantation, his divine soul power activating the talismans on his knees.

The talisman instantly sensed his intention and burst forth with a warm golden light, flowing continuously into his dantian along his meridians, precisely enveloping the four-inch-sized spiritual aperture that was sealed and locked by layers of seals.

This seal was originally an innate restriction of the ancient alchemy and talisman body, sharing the same origin and root as the talisman seal. Wherever the golden light reached, the originally indestructible seal finally showed signs of loosening.

Xu Yuan dared not be distracted in the slightest, and focused all his attention on circulating the Spiritual Aperture Opening Heaven Technique, transforming the golden light of the talisman into countless fine golden threads, which precisely rushed towards the thirty-six nodes on the seal.

These thirty-six nodes are the core of the first layer of the seal. If even one is wrong, it will trigger a backlash from the seal, with unimaginable consequences.

Time passed slowly, and the only sounds in the stone chamber were the soft ringing of the golden light of the talisman and Xu Yuan's steady breathing.

One hour, two hours, three hours. The moment the final golden thread precisely pierced the thirty-sixth sealing node, a crisp sound, "Crack—!!" echoed from Xu Yuan's dantian.

The first layer of spiritual seal that had trapped him for ten years shattered instantly!

Countless golden rays burst forth from the shattered seal, and the spiritual aperture, which was originally only four inches in size, expanded wildly, finally stopping steadily at eight inches in size, and did not move an inch further.

The moment the spiritual aperture expanded, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the entire cavern was drawn together by an invisible vortex, frantically converging towards the stone chamber. The spirit-gathering array was activated, and the dense spiritual energy turned into liquid, churning endlessly in the stone chamber.

An ordinary cultivator would have allowed the spiritual energy phenomenon to spread at this moment, enjoying the pleasure of their talent transformation.

Xu Yuan's first reaction was to flick his finger and instantly shatter the core rune of the Spirit Locking Array.

With a soft hum, the Spirit Locking Array was activated at full power, like an overturned iron bucket, locking all the frantically gathered spiritual energy firmly inside the stone chamber, without even the slightest fluctuation leaking out of the cave.

Only when the vortex of spiritual energy gradually subsided did Xu Yuan slowly exhale a breath of turbid air and open his eyes.

He could clearly feel that the whole world had changed.

An eight-inch spiritual aperture is a top-tier talent in the cultivation world, highly sought after by top sects to be accepted as a core disciple.

The previously sluggish flow of spiritual energy has now become as smooth as breathing. Nourished by the golden light of the talisman, the meridians have been widened by nearly twice their original size. Even the smallest meridian branches can now be precisely controlled to control the flow of spiritual energy.

The most noticeable change is in the speed of cultivation.

Previously, it would take him an entire night to refine a high-grade Yuan Qi Powder, but now he could clearly sense that the speed at which the spiritual energy of heaven and earth entered his body was more than five times faster than before. Refining a high-grade Yuan Qi Powder would only take him two hours at most.

Not only his cultivation speed, but also his talent for alchemy and talisman making has undergone a qualitative leap.

Previously, when drawing top-grade rock-cracking talismans, he could only manage to get five out of ten. But now, with the blessing of the eight-inch spiritual aperture, the talismanic methods of the Danfu Dao Jing have become incredibly clear. Even just by deduce it in his mind, he is confident that he can reliably get seven out of ten.

The effects of alchemy will be doubled.

A good-for-nothing who was ridiculed for ten years suddenly became a top genius envied by thousands.

Xu Yuan's face showed joy, but his eyes remained calm and composed.

He knew very well that talent was never a lifesaver; only by transforming it into real cultivation and strength could one truly survive.

With his spiritual aperture broken open, a massive amount of spiritual energy continued to flow into his dantian. In addition, the medicinal power of the top-grade spirit-replenishing pill he had previously taken was not yet fully refined. His dantian was already filled with abundant spiritual power. The bottleneck of the seventh level of Qi Refining, under the support of the eight-inch spiritual aperture, was as fragile as paper.

Xu Yuan closed his eyes and activated the Fire Control True Solution, guiding the surging spiritual power within his body to attack the barrier of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

With the blessing of the eight-inch spiritual aperture, the exquisite control of spiritual power by the Danfu Daojing, and the profound foundation accumulated over ten years, the barrier between the seventh and eighth levels of Qi Refining can be shattered at the slightest touch.

"Buzz—!!" The spiritual power within his body surged dramatically, flowing smoothly through the expanded meridians. The spiritual power vortex within his dantian spun faster and faster, becoming increasingly dense.

In less than half an incense stick's time, his cultivation level steadily broke through the threshold of the eighth level of Qi Refining, soaring all the way up until it finally stopped steadily at the mid-stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining, and then stopped moving no further.

At this moment, his spiritual power was twice as strong as it had been before his breakthrough.

His control over spiritual power has progressed from the subtle level to the ultimate level.

Even without using any talismans, he could easily crush ordinary cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining simply by manipulating spiritual power.

The moment the breakthrough was completed, the first thing Xu Yuan did was not to feel the surge of power, but to immediately suppress all the spiritual energy fluctuations around him.

With a flick of his finger, he took out two specially made concealing talismans and stuck them on his chest.

His cultivation level, which was at the mid-stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining, was suppressed so severely that it dropped all the way to the third level of Qi Refining. Even his aura returned to its previous unremarkable state, the kind that wouldn't attract any attention in a crowd.

Then, he waved his hand and cast several cleansing talismans, cleaning up the traces of spiritual energy left behind by his breakthrough in the stone chamber, even erasing all traces of the sitting marks on the stone bed.

After doing all this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and carefully put the ancient talisman into his personal storage bag.