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

He used a specially made disguise pill to change his face shape and height. His originally handsome face became old and sallow, wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, a white goatee was pasted on his chin, and even his walking posture was changed to a hunched back.

At the same time, he used the Breath Concealing Pill in conjunction with the Breath Concealing Talisman to suppress his cultivation level from the middle stage of the eighth level of Qi Refining to the third level of Qi Refining. His aura became sluggish and weak, making him look exactly like a destitute and dying old rogue cultivator.

Before dawn the next day, and before the morning mist had dissipated, Xu Yuan, carrying a tattered bag, quietly left the Crouching Tiger Mountain cave. He followed the mountain path, avoiding all eyes and ears of Qingya Workshop, without alerting anyone, including Zhao Qiuyue.

Before leaving, he left only an anonymous letter, which he quietly placed on the threshold of the Zhao family mansion.

The letter contained a warning about the beast tide in the Black Pine Forest ten days later, as well as the attack route and methods to break the formation of the Evil Cultivator Alliance six months later. This was considered to have repaid the favor of Zhao Qiuyue for the pill materials and secrets of the talisman seal. From then on, the two parties owed each other nothing and had no further karmic entanglements.

As they traveled westward, the number of pedestrians on the official road gradually increased. Most of them were independent cultivators and alchemists from various families heading to Blackwater City to participate in the Alchemist Conference. They traveled in twos and threes, each concealing their aura and looking vigilant.

Xu Yuan blended into the crowd, his back hunched, head bowed, completely inconspicuous. No one would give this old rogue cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining a second glance. Whenever he encountered patrolling cultivators or monsters in the mountains and forests, he would use concealment talismans to avoid them in advance, never causing any trouble, and he traveled peacefully all the way.

As night deepened, less than fifty miles from the Black Pine Forest, Xu Yuan found a secluded cave to rest, quietly waiting for the intelligence update at midnight. He knew very well that the Black Pine Forest was the vital passage to Blackwater City, and the Blood Fiend Sect and Pill King Valley would definitely have something to hide here. He had to find out all the potential dangers in advance.

At midnight, the familiar system notification sounded precisely on time.

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

[Report: Four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sect are lying in ambush on the mountain walls on both sides of the entrance to the Black Pine Forest. They are specifically targeting lone cultivators heading to Blackwater City to participate in the Alchemist Conference. The leader is Zhou Hu, who was previously the leader of the Green Cliff Workshop.]

Xu Yuan looked at the intelligence report, his eyes suddenly turning cold.

Zhou Hu was the younger brother of Zhou Lin, the former warehouse manager, and also the head of the Blood Fiend Sect's hidden mob in Qingya Fang. During the previous purge of mobs, he was the only one who escaped. Now, the ambush here is ostensibly to intercept and kill rogue cultivators, but in reality, it is specifically to block him. The Blood Fiend Sect must have guessed that he would go to Blackwater City to attend the Alchemist Conference, and had already laid ambushes on all the roads he would inevitably take.

Taking a detour? Absolutely not. The Black Pine Forest is the only route. Taking a detour would add thousands of miles to the journey, not only causing us to miss the Alchemist Conference but also venturing into the even more dangerous Ten Thousand Mountains, which would be ten times more risky than venturing into the Black Pine Forest.

Since we can't avoid it, we might as well nip it in the bud and eliminate this hidden danger.

Xu Yuan set off that very night, taking advantage of the darkness to silently circle around to the side of the Black Pine Forest. Relying on the ultimate control of spiritual power granted by his eight-inch spiritual aperture, he moved along the mountain wall as silently as a gecko, and soon found the ambush point of the Blood Fiend Sect cultivators.

Behind the boulders on either side of the entrance, the four were extremely well hidden, even suppressing their breathing to the extreme. If it weren't for prior intelligence, even a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining would have had a hard time finding their trail.

Without alerting them, Xu Yuan quietly circled around to the rear of the ambush point, which was the only way to enter the Black Pine Forest, and set up a series of deadly traps.

He first laid down three second-tier Immortal-Trapping Talismans on the ground, forming a triple Spirit-Locking and Trapping Array. Once triggered, even a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining would be instantly trapped for three breaths. Then, on the tree trunks on both sides...

Eight second-tier Sky-Splitting Talismans were affixed, creating a comprehensive firepower coverage; finally, two second-tier Yang Flame Talismans were placed at the retreat route, cutting off their possibility of escape.

The entire formation process took him less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. He didn't make a sound at all, and even the fluctuations of spiritual energy were suppressed by the concealment talisman. The four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators hidden behind the boulder were completely unaware that death had quietly descended upon them.

After setting up the killing trap, Xu Yuan retreated outside the formation, hunched over again, and pretended to be completely unaware. He slowly walked towards the entrance of the Black Pine Forest, humming an off-key mountain tune, looking exactly like an old rogue cultivator who had never seen the world.

The four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators behind the boulder spotted him immediately.

Zhou Hu, the leader, glanced at him and saw that he was an old man at the third level of Qi Refining. He smiled disdainfully, waved his hand to the people beside him, and whispered, "An old piece of trash. Just kill him to make up the numbers. Search him for any pills or talismans. Let's finish this quickly and not delay our business."

As soon as he finished speaking, four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators burst out from behind the boulder, their long swords drawn and radiating a thick aura of bloodlust. They lunged at Xu Yuan, shouting, "Old man, stop right there! Hand over everything you have, and we'll spare your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators burst out from behind the boulder, their long swords drawn and radiating a thick aura of bloodlust. They lunged at Xu Yuan, shouting, "Old man, stop right there! Hand over everything you have, and we'll spare your life!"

They were confident they could kill the helpless old rogue cultivator with a single blow, but just as they rushed in front of Xu Yuan, a surge of spiritual energy suddenly came from beneath their feet.

"Click—!" The three second-tier Immortal-Trapping Talismans were activated instantly, and three pale golden light curtains rose from the ground, forming an airtight cage that trapped the four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators inside.

"Not good! There's an ambush!" Zhou Hu's expression changed drastically. He reacted instantly and swung his sword at the light barrier. However, his full-force strike at the eighth level of Qi Refining only left a shallow white mark on the light barrier. It couldn't break through the defense of the second-tier Immortal-Trapping Talisman at all.

In that split second, Xu Yuan's hunched back straightened instantly, the sallow complexion on his face vanished, and a cold killing intent flashed in his eyes. He raised his hand, and the eight second-tier Void-Splitting Talismans on the tree trunks on both sides activated simultaneously!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!" Eight sharp spatial rifts, like the scythe of death, slashed towards the four people trapped in the formation from all directions. The space inside the formation was narrow, with nowhere to hide. The four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators didn't even have time to let out half a scream before they were all cut in half by the spatial rifts, and their blood instantly stained the ground red.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all four Blood Fiend Sect cultivators who had been lying in ambush were killed.

Xu Yuan stepped forward and searched the storage bags on the four people. Inside were not only secret letters between the Blood Fiend Sect and the evil cultivators of Blackwater City, but also a number of high-grade spirit stones and second-tier pills, which was an unexpected surprise.

He took out the corpse-dissolving powder and cleaned the four corpses and bloodstains thoroughly. He even wiped away the traces of the array with a dust-removing talisman, as if nothing had ever happened here.

After disposing of all traces, Xu Yuan disguised himself again as a down-on-his-luck old rogue cultivator and silently passed through the black pine forest.

At this time, there were still eight days until the beast tide in the Black Pine Forest would break out in ten days.

He perfectly avoided this certain death crisis and also took the opportunity to clear out the Blood Fiend Sect's ambush, eliminating them completely and leaving no future trouble.

Just as we stepped out of the black pine forest, the sound of orderly horses' hooves echoed from the official road ahead.

Xu Yuan looked up and saw a large procession of carriages heading towards the Black Pine Forest.

The carriage was entirely black, with hundreds of guards on both sides, each exuding a fierce aura. The lowest level of their cultivation was at least the fifth level of Qi Refining. On the leading carriage, a black banner was hung high, with three powerful characters written in gold paint on it.

Danwang Valley.

It was Li Mo's team, his number one competitor in this Alchemist Conference, who was a direct disciple of the Pill King Valley.