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

After doing all this, he took advantage of the night to sneak back to Qingyafang without making a sound. He secretly slipped the letter into the arms of the rogue cultivator who had been killed by the Blood Fiend Sect and was left in the mass grave. He also deliberately left a few pill residues unique to Danwang Valley on the corpse, making the whole show of it.

After doing all this, he took advantage of the morning mist to return to Wohu Mountain silently, without disturbing anyone or leaving a trace.

The next morning, the Blood Fiend Sect members indeed went to the mass grave to examine the corpses of the rogue cultivators who had been killed, looking for clues about the talisman.

When they found the secret letter in the corpse's arms and saw its contents, the rubbing of the talisman, and Li Mo's seal, they immediately went wild and rushed back to Zuixianlou like madmen, handing the secret letter to Xue Wuyai.

After reading the secret letter, Xue Wuyai was so enraged that he overturned the table on the spot, his bloodshot eyes filled with boundless fury: "You, Li Mo! How dare you scheme against me! You stole the talisman and then dared to make a fool of me!"

He already harbored an irreconcilable grudge against Li Mo, and upon seeing this irrefutable secret letter, he had no doubt whatsoever. He immediately ordered, "Pack your things! Head to Blackwater City immediately! I'll teach that bastard Li Mo a lesson he'll learn what price he'll pay for stealing from my Blood Fiend Sect!"

In less than half an hour, Xue Wuyai led a dozen or so men and left Qingyafang in a hurry, riding straight towards Blackwater City without even saying hello to the Zhao family.

A deadly crisis targeting Xu Yuan was thus quietly averted.

The rogue cultivators of Qingyafang breathed a sigh of relief as the Blood Fiend Sect members left, speculating that the Zhao family had pressured the Blood Fiend Sect to send these plague-like figures away. Only Li Qinghe knew that it was all Xu Yuan, hiding in Crouching Tiger Mountain, who had orchestrated everything behind the scenes.

He easily resolved the crisis with just a forged secret letter, and even shifted the blame to Danwang Valley, thousands of miles away. He remained completely uninvolved, untouched by any consequences, and his skillful methods only aroused Li Qinghe's greater awe.

Having averted the crisis, Xu Yuan finally felt relieved and began to plan his escape route to Blackwater City.

He called Qian Shi into the stone chamber, took out a simplified version of the Danfu Dao Jing Qi Refining Method, a complete set of first-order talisman diagrams, and a storage bag containing ten high-grade Yuan Qi Powders and twenty exquisite talismans, and handed them to Qian Shi.

Qian Shi stared blankly at the cultivation manual and talismans in his hand. He looked up at Xu Yuan, his eyes reddening, "Brother Xu, this..."

"I'm going to Blackwater City. It will take at least half a month, and possibly up to a month, before I return." Xu Yuan looked at him, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable weight. "You should hurry up and practice this cultivation technique and talisman diagrams. After I leave, you will stay in the Crouching Tiger Mountain cave. Don't go back to the market, and don't get involved in anything. Keep an eye on the market's movements every day. If there's anything unusual, immediately use a communication talisman to tell me."

Qian Shi was the only person he could trust in this cultivation world. He had to make proper arrangements for his escape route before going to Blackwater City to attend the Alchemist Conference, ensuring that even in his absence, he could keep a firm grip on all the movements of Qingya Workshop and that no accidents would occur.

Holding the cultivation manual in his hands, Qian Shi knelt down with a thud and kowtowed three times to Xu Yuan, his voice choked with emotion: "Brother Xu, rest assured! You saved my life! I will do whatever you ask! Even if I die, I will guard the cave and keep an eye on the market. I will never betray your trust!"

Xu Yuan reached out and helped him up, patted him on the shoulder, and didn't say anything more. The only person he could trust to take care of his future was this fellow villager who had come from the mountains with him.

Having settled his finances, Xu Yuan explored various fantasy novel genres—there's bound to be one that suits him. He had finally completed all preparations for his journey to Blackwater City. He possessed the strength of a dual-tiered Danfu master, hundreds of tier-two talismans, a storage bag full of pills, a black gold card from the Baodanlou flagship store, a flawless cover for his identity, and meticulously planned escape routes.

Just as he was preparing to set off for Blackwater City early the next morning, the communication talisman outside the cave suddenly lit up, sending an urgent message from Zhao Qiuyue.

Xu Yuan channeled spiritual energy into his fingertips and probed the communication talisman with his divine sense. Zhao Qiuyue's voice, filled with undisguised exhaustion and despair, immediately came through: "Fellow Daoist Xu, the Zhao family's ancestor, who was in seclusion to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, suffered a cultivation deviation and his cultivation level plummeted. He now only possesses the strength of the early Foundation Establishment stage. The bloodbath six months from now... the Zhao family... cannot withstand it."

In the early morning, Wohu Mountain was still shrouded in a thin mist. The heavy stone door of the cave was gently knocked on. The knocking was very soft, but it carried an undisguised tremor.

With a flick of his finger, Xu Yuan held two second-tier Void-Splitting Talismans in his palm. His divine sense spread out along the gaps in the array and he saw that there was only Zhao Qiuyue outside the door. She was holding the hand of a five-year-old boy and did not even bring her sword. Her plain clothes were covered in dust. The composure and sharpness of the noble lady of the day were gone, leaving only exhaustion and paleness on her face.

After confirming there was no risk, Xu Yuan removed the outer layer of restrictions and pushed open the stone door.

As soon as the stone door opened, the little boy timidly shrank behind Zhao Qiuyue, his round eyes watching Xu Yuan warily, his little hands tightly gripping the hem of Zhao Qiuyue's clothes.

This is Zhao Chen, the only male heir of the Zhao family and Zhao Qiuyue's younger brother.

Zhao Qiuyue looked up at Xu Yuan, her eyes instantly reddening. She bowed deeply to Xu Yuan, her voice choked with undisguised sobs: "Fellow Daoist Xu, please save the Zhao family, save my brother."

Xu Yuan sidestepped her full curtsy and led the two into the outer hall of the cave. After closing the stone door to block out the mountain winds, he poured them a cup of spiritual tea and said calmly, "Miss Zhao, please speak slowly."

After drinking a cup of cold tea, Zhao Qiuyue finally managed to calm herself down and recount the Zhao family's dire situation in detail.

In order to prepare for the bloodbath six months later, the Zhao family patriarch forcibly went into seclusion to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. However, at the most critical moment, he suffered a qi deviation and not only failed to break through, but also damaged his meridians and his cultivation level plummeted. Now he can't even stabilize his early stage Foundation Establishment realm, and his strength is less than one-tenth of what it used to be.

Originally, the Zhao family had a Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge, who could at least hold their own against two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. But now, the Zhao family doesn't even have a single high-level combatant they can rely on.

Six months later, the four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Evil Cultivator Alliance led their troops to attack. It was a foregone conclusion that Qingyafang would not be able to be defended, and the entire Zhao family would inevitably suffer a fate of being wiped out.

Finally, Zhao Qiuyue couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She stood up abruptly, bowed deeply to Xu Yuan again, her waist almost touching her knees, and then took out a carved sandalwood box, presenting it to Xu Yuan with both hands.

The wooden box was opened, and inside lay three things: a bronze token engraved with the Zhao family emblem, which was the core control token of the protective array and could control all the array's cores and escape routes; a jade slip that recorded the complete heritage of the Zhao family over hundreds of years; and a black iron key, which was the only key to the Zhao family's underground treasure vault.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, I know I shouldn't force you, but the Zhao family is truly desperate." Zhao Qiuyue's voice trembled with tears as she pulled Zhao Chen beside her, pressing the little boy's shoulder and making him bow to Xu Yuan. "This is Zhao Chen, the only male heir of the Zhao family. If the market falls in six months, I beg you, Fellow Daoist, to spare his life and ensure the continuation of the Zhao family's legacy. You may take everything from the Zhao family's underground vault and all the resources of the market; Zhao Qiuyue will have no complaints whatsoever."

With a tap of the fingertip, one is instantly transported to the wonderful world entrusted by the Zhao family in Chapter 68.