I'm just an ornamental fish in the water.

Jiang Li meticulously recounted everything to Lady Luoshui, from the moment she entered the capital city of Luoyang, including every word and action she took, as well as the expressions and movements of the Emperor and Sima Yi.

Finally, he bowed and said, "This matter is of great importance. I, Xiaoyuer, dare not act on my own initiative, nor dare I conceal anything. I humbly request Your Majesty's judgment."

The smile on Lady Luoshui's face slowly disappeared. Her slender fingers caressed the teacup in her hand. After Jiang Li finished speaking, she took a sip of tea.

Click...

The teacup was placed on the table, and Lady Luoshui looked at Jiang Li.

"Offering tribute to the emperor is something that can only be encountered by chance and cannot be sought after. Even immortals and gods would do their utmost to obtain it if given the opportunity."

"Now, all I need to do is say a few words to receive this blessing. Whether it succeeds or not is none of your concern. Why do you refuse?"

Jiang Li raised her head and smiled, "In Xiaoyuer's heart, nothing that might endanger Your Majesty should be done."

Lady Luoshui's lips curled slightly, then vanished in an instant. She said, "You did very well. Even if you gave a vague answer to this, as long as you agreed, it created an opening."

"The emperor is not without cultivators under his command. As long as there is such a loophole, it will be torn open sooner or later."

"No response is the best course of action; you did a good job."

The fact that the Empress praised Jiang Li twice in a row shows that she was indeed quite satisfied with Jiang Li's handling of the situation.

"In ancient times, the Three Sovereigns ruled the world and the Five Emperors established order, and then there were nine provinces, also known as the Red Land of the Divine Continent."

Although the human race is now spread across the four continents, the Red County of the Southern Continent is still the true home of the human race.

"Speculating on the fate of the new dynasty in China... Ha, the emperor of that time really thinks highly of me."

Lady Luo smiled enigmatically and said, "Don't take it to heart. Let's leave it at that. If the Emperor wants to offer sacrifices, let him. We won't lack incense offerings anyway."

Unlike ordinary human deities, the Goddess of Luoshui does not need human offerings to enhance her own power.

Because she is essentially a "fairy," not a "god."

That's why there's that bright pearl by the pond of ten thousand fish, absorbing the power of incense and prayers.

"Yes."

Jiang Li naturally didn't say anything more, but simply raised her head slightly and looked carefully at the Empress.

Lady Luo smiled slightly, raised her hand and said, "Chi'er, open the quiet room, light the incense, and I will give your little brother a lecture on the scriptures."

"Yes."

Chi'er, who was serving nearby, chuckled and agreed, giving Jiang Li a "you're really something" look before hurrying away.

"Give it to me."

Lady Luoshui raised her hand towards Jiang Li.

Jiang Li hurriedly took out the book of talismans and handed it to the Empress with both hands.

Lady Luoshui opened the booklet and her gaze fell on the general outline at the beginning. This time, she spent a little longer reading it.

"Interesting. Ge Xuan truly deserves to be called a genuine cultivator of the Daoist sect."

Lady Luoshui smiled slightly and stood up.

Jiang Li followed closely behind.

The quiet chamber of the Luoshui Divine Palace is located behind the Luoshen Temple. Although it is not large, it is exquisite in every aspect.

At the very center, at the head of the altar, are three shrines. Two of them are the Jade Emperor, who currently governs all gods and spirits in the Three Realms, and the Queen Mother of the Jade Pool, who oversees the Jade Pool and assists the emperor.

The next one is the Great Emperor of the Lower Yuan Water Official.

Originally, ordinary river gods, in addition to worshipping the Dragon King, one of the four seas to which the rivers they guarded led, as well as the Great Dragon God who oversaw the four seas and four rivers, and the chief deity of the Heavenly Court's water department, "Northern Five Qi Water Virtue Star Lord".

However, the reason why the Lower Yuan Water Official Emperor is enshrined in the Luoshui Niangniang Temple is because this great god is the incarnation of King Yu.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be qualified to receive incense offerings from the Goddess of Luoshui.

Lady Luoshui sat upright on one of the prayer mats and pointed to another prayer mat opposite her.

"sit."

Jiang Li glanced at the prayer mat, bent down and moved it to the lower left of the Empress before sitting down cross-legged.

Lady Luoshui blinked helplessly and said, "Concentrate and calm your mind."

"Yes."

Jiang Li slowly adjusted her breathing. Since taking human form, everything has become more like that of the human race. The ability to be in harmony with nature that originally belonged to animals, whether for hunting or to avoid becoming prey, has disappeared.

To achieve concentration and calmness nowadays, one must follow the human method: adjust one's breathing, actively calm the mind, and empty one's thoughts.

Generally speaking, it is extremely difficult for a recently transformed alien to do this, but for Jiang Li, it was a chance to rediscover her former feelings.

Seeing that Jiang Li got into the state so quickly, Lady Luoshui was also a little surprised, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She just gestured for Jiang Li to open the talisman book.

"In your opinion, what principle does this general outline concern?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li subconsciously replied, "Naturally, it's the way of talismans."

Having said that, one could see a smile playing on the lips of the Empress.

Did you answer incorrectly?

But if this isn't the general outline of talismans, then what is it?

"I have heard of Ge Xuan. He is indeed skilled in the art of talismans. However, the talismans he uses are derived from alchemy."

Lady Luoshui slowly said, "The essence of its cultivation is also the Dao of Alchemy."

As the saying goes, all the great paths lead to the same destination. There are many methods of enlightenment in Taoism, which may seem to be distinct from one another, but in fact they are all related and evolving from one another.

Those who practice visualization can also perform breathing exercises during visualization.

Those who practice meditation in the room can also extend the path of visualization during rituals.

Similarly, those who cultivate talismans can naturally condense a talisman pill in their dantian and develop the inner alchemy path.

vice versa.

This is what Ge Xuan cultivated: he was skilled in the art of internal alchemy, and all other supernatural powers and methods originated from it.

"Rather than calling this the general outline of talismans, it would be more accurate to call it the general outline of alchemy talismans."

"The essence of it is not how to control talismans, but how to gather one's own great medicine in the dantian, using the body as a furnace and the five internal organs as materials to fuse a talisman pill."

"In this way, the power of talismans is brought to manifest, and this is the essence of Ge Xuan's talismanic arts."

As Jiang Li listened to the Empress's detailed explanation, he was both surprised and delighted. He was delighted because the method was profound and must be of high status, which would greatly benefit his cultivation.

What was surprising was that Master Ge Xuan had given away such a profound method so easily.

"The Taoist school doesn't hoard its secrets, but it also doesn't readily pass on its profound teachings. Master Ge must have already foreseen that once you obtained this general outline, you would come to me for instruction."

Lady Luoshui smiled and said, "Therefore, it's not that he didn't evaluate and examine you, but rather that he entrusted this responsibility to me."

"If I believe you are a promising talent and will not use this method for evil purposes, then I will naturally pass it on to you."

Seeing that Jiang Li was a little nervous, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He pretended to be troubled and said, "Oh dear, Master Ge has really given me a difficult problem."

Her beautiful eyes swept over Jiang Li, and seeing the nervous look on his face, she chuckled and said, "Alright, looking at you like that, even if I don't trust my own judgment, how could I not trust the King of Yu's judgment?"

"Listen carefully, the general principles of talisman pills transmitted by Master Ge are as follows..."

After teasing Jiang Li, Lady Luoshui explained the essentials of the general principles of the talisman pill in detail.

As Jiang Li listened, she felt her mind was still in a daze and she couldn't grasp the truth within.

Seeing this, Lady Luoshui was not surprised. She raised her hand and summoned the green smoke of the Qingxin Incense, causing it to swirl around Jiang Li.

As Jiang Li smelled the calming and soothing fragrance, his mind suddenly became clear, and the profound truths that he could not hear before were now clearly audible.

The more I listened, the more I realized how terrifyingly ingenious and profound Ge Xuan's wisdom and Taoist cultivation were...