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

"No problem! I agree!" Su Qingyao agreed without hesitation. All she wanted was an ally to help her deal with Danwang Valley and expose their conspiracy; she didn't care what Xu Yuan's identity was.

Seeing that she agreed readily, Xu Yuan stopped hiding anything and directly revealed the most crucial information: "In the second round of the competition, Li Mo still tampered with things. This time, the test was to refine a second-grade low-level Rejuvenation Pill. Among the medicinal materials distributed by the organizing committee, the core ingredient, Rejuvenating Heart Grass, has been completely replaced with counterfeit products that look and smell exactly the same."

"The counterfeit product will slowly release spirit-stagnation powder when it comes into contact with the alchemy fire, disrupting the flow of spiritual energy. In the end, it will only produce waste pills, and may even cause the alchemy fire to backfire, resulting in the furnace exploding and injuries. Even if you used this batch of medicinal materials, you definitely wouldn't last until the third round."

Su Qingyao's expression changed drastically in an instant. She stood up abruptly, her eyes filled with shock and lingering fear.

She had just received the second batch of medicinal herb samples from the organizing committee yesterday and had already checked them three times, finding absolutely nothing unusual! If it weren't for Xu Yuan's reminder, she would definitely have used these herbs to refine pills in the second round of the competition, and she would not only have been eliminated, but might even have repeated her father's mistake!

She looked at Xu Yuan, her eyes instantly filled with complete trust and gratitude, and bowed deeply to him: "Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist! Su Qingyao will never forget this kindness!"

She didn't hide anything and told Xu Yuan everything she knew about Danwang Valley, Li Mo's alchemy habits, and the list of referees in the organizing committee who had been bribed by Danwang Valley. She even handed Xu Yuan the Hundred Herbs Hall Supreme VIP token that she always carried with her.

"Fellow Daoist, this token allows you to access all the alchemy materials and formularies at Hundred Herbs Hall's branches in Blackwater City. Even third-tier medicinal herbs can be used for free without any restrictions." Su Qingyao said solemnly, "Li Mo has planted people in the organizing committee. I will help you investigate the traps in the third round and the finals. We will look after each other and never let the Pill King Valley's conspiracy succeed."

Xu Yuan accepted the token without hesitation. His relationship with Su Qingyao was mutually beneficial; he provided her with life-saving intelligence, and she provided him with resources and channels—it was only fair.

The two sat in the hall and devised a foolproof countermeasure plan:

In the second round of the competition, both pretended not to notice that the medicinal herbs were counterfeit, remaining completely calm throughout. Su Qingyao performed as usual, using the genuine medicinal herbs she had prepared in advance to refine pills, still displaying the level of a mid-grade second-tier alchemist, attracting the full attention of Li Mo and Danwang Valley; Xu Yuan, on the other hand, continued to play dumb, using the medicinal herbs he brought to refine a low-grade Rejuvenation Pill that was just enough to advance, still advancing on the line without revealing his true strength, causing Li Mo and Danwang Valley to completely lower their guard.

In the third round of elimination, the two will work together again to expose Danwang Valley's conspiracy to tamper with medicinal herbs and alchemy furnaces in public. They will present irrefutable evidence to ruin Li Mo and Danwang Valley's reputation and disqualify them from competing for the championship.

With the plan finalized, there was only half a day left before the second round of competition.

The second round of the Alchemist Tournament began on time at the City Lord's Martial Arts Square the following day.

The referee announced the test question loudly: "The second round of advanced assessment: the test question is to refine a second-grade low-level Rejuvenation Pill. The time limit is three hours. Those with a success rate of over 20% and pill quality of low-grade or higher will advance to the semi-finals! The medicinal materials will be distributed by the organizing committee; participants must bring their own alchemy furnaces!"

Just as Xu Yuan had predicted, it was exactly the same.

As the competition began, the alchemists in the arena accepted the medicinal herbs distributed by the organizing committee. Most of them did not notice anything unusual and directly put the herbs into their alchemy furnaces to begin refining pills. Only Xu Yuan and Su Qingyao quietly put away the medicinal herbs provided by the organizing committee, took out the genuine Rejuvenating Grass they had prepared in advance, and put it into their alchemy furnaces.

As time passed, a commotion gradually began to break out in the stadium.

"Something's wrong! Why can't I control my inner fire?!"

"Why won't my medicinal herbs dissolve?! What's going on?!"

"boom--!!"

The sounds of exploding furnaces rang out again, even more frequently than the first round. Countless alchemists stared at the blackened, ruined pills inside their furnaces, their faces ashen with disbelief. They had followed the pill formula step by step, their techniques and the fire used were flawless—how could they have produced such ruined pills?

Even Li Mo, standing in the center of the arena, was stunned for a moment as he watched the alchemists' furnaces explode one after another. He only knew that the organizing committee would lower the scores of rogue cultivators, but he didn't expect the Pill King Valley to go to such lengths, directly replacing the core medicinal materials with counterfeit ones, intending to wipe out all the rogue cultivators in one fell swoop. After his initial shock, a disdainful smile curled at the corner of his lips, and he continued to concentrate on refining pills, completely ignoring these eliminated rogue cultivators.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye, and with a command from the referee, all the alchemical fires were extinguished simultaneously.

In this round, out of 127 contestants, only 30 successfully advanced, resulting in an elimination rate of over 70%. The vast majority of contestants failed to even refine a single qualified Rejuvenation Pill.

The list of those who advanced was announced on the spot: Li Mo from Danwang Valley, with ten high-grade Rejuvenation Pills and a 100% success rate, ranked first; Su Qingyao from Baicaotang, with eight high-grade Rejuvenation Pills and an 80% success rate, ranked second.

Xu Yuan, with three low-grade Rejuvenation Pills and a success rate of just 20%, barely made it into the semi-finals, ranking 30th.

Just like in the first round, it was still that inconspicuous old rogue cultivator who advanced entirely by luck, and he didn't attract anyone's attention.

Only Li Mo, standing in the stands, glanced at the last name on the list of those who advanced, and frowned slightly when he saw the words "Old Xu".

Both times, he barely made it to the next round. Once could be a coincidence, but twice, it's unlikely to be.

He beckoned to the disciple beside him, a sinister glint in his eyes, and whispered, "Go and investigate this rogue cultivator called Old Xu. Find out everything about him."

The night before the semi-finals began, the lights in the annex of Baodanlou were still on.

Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on the stone couch, holding a lustrous Qingling Pill between his fingertips, and slowly swallowed it. As the pill entered his stomach, its gentle medicinal power flowed along his meridians, forming a faint protective layer in his dantian. This perfectly neutralized the medicinal properties of the Jieling Dispersing Pill, preventing the possibility of the pill fire going out of control from the root.

He had just finished his practice when a soft knock came from outside the courtyard gate, and Su Qingyao arrived as promised.

"Fellow Daoist Xu." Su Qingyao walked into the hall with a somewhat solemn expression. "In tomorrow's semi-final, Li Mo will definitely have a backup plan. I have a bad feeling about it."

"Don't worry, I've already figured out his backup plan." Xu Yuan said calmly, telling Su Qingyao in detail that the third batch of medicinal herbs had been mixed with the Spirit-Locking Powder, and that it would cause an explosion when it came into contact with the pill fire. He then handed her a Spirit-Clearing Pill, saying, "This pill can neutralize the effects of the Spirit-Locking Powder. Taking it in advance will ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Su Qingyao accepted the pill, her fingertips trembling slightly, her eyes filled with gratitude. She knew all too well the significance of this pill—without Xu Yuan's reminder and this pill, she would have inevitably repeated her father's fate in tomorrow's semi-finals, suffering a severe injury from the explosion and being eliminated.

"I, Su Qingyao, will never forget Fellow Daoist Xu's great kindness." She bowed deeply to Xu Yuan, her tone extremely solemn.