My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

"Buzz—"

Li Shimin felt as if a giant bell had been struck hard in his head.

He strode down the steps, snatched the oilcloth package from the courier's hand, and tore open the seal with trembling hands.

Unfold the leather document.

The document was covered with urgent plea for help written in blood by the governors of various prefectures.

"A natural disaster...a natural disaster!" Fang Xuanling, standing on the right, trembled, his legs went weak, and he almost fell.

Wei Zheng gripped his court tablet tightly, his knuckles turning white, his eyes filled with fear.

The Central Plains were flooded, the granary of the Tang Dynasty. The floodwaters not only inundated the fields, but also the very foundation of the newly established Tang Dynasty.

The main hall was in complete chaos.

Li Chen leaned against a pillar in the hall, coldly watching the scene unfold. His divine sense swept over the scroll of documents; even the approximate death and injury figures were enough to send chills down one's spine.

"Immortal Master!"

Suddenly, a figure dressed in an apricot-yellow four-clawed dragon robe pounced on Li Chen.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian knelt on both knees, tears streaming down his face, his voice so mournful it could pierce the roof of the hall.

"Immortal Master, your supernatural powers are immense, capable of defying fate! On behalf of the millions of people suffering from disaster in the Tang Dynasty, Chengqian implores you to use your divine abilities to save the people! Chengqian is willing to sacrifice ten years of his lifespan in exchange for the cessation of the floods in the Central Plains!"

Li Chengqian shouted as he banged his head against the ground repeatedly, drawing blood instantly from his forehead.

The officials in the hall all turned their heads, and many of the older officials showed a hint of emotion in their eyes.

Li Shimin's hand tightened around the document, and he turned to stare intently at his eldest son kneeling on the ground. A complex and violent glint flashed across his face, which was haggard from days of worry.

"You unfilial son! What are you doing?!" Li Shimin shouted angrily.

Li Chen leaned against the pillar and rolled his eyes dramatically.

He stretched out his withered fingers and picked at his ear.

"Alright, stop acting."

The old man's hoarse voice echoed in the hall, carrying an undisguised sarcasm.

"Your father just lost his temper over your brother's matter a couple of days ago, and today you're here in front of the entire court, putting on a grand show of 'the Crown Prince loves his people like his own children.'"

Li Chen lowered his head and looked at Li Chengqian, who was frozen in place.

"Ten years less of your lifespan? If I really took those ten years of your lifespan and used them to fill the Yellow River, you'd be scared out of your wits by now."

Li Chengqian's kowtow motion froze instantly.

Blood dripped from his forehead onto the floor tiles, and his face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He knelt there, unsure whether to get up or not.

Li Shimin took a deep breath, and the ferocity in his eyes slowly subsided. He walked up to Li Chen, bowed deeply, and bent over to the extreme.

"Your teachings are wise, Immortal Master. But this flood in the Central Plains is a calamity for the people of the Tang Dynasty. Human strength has its limits. I... beg Your Majesty for mercy."

Li Chen did not dodge the bow.

He dusted off his sleeves.

The dynasty's fortune can propel someone from the early stages to the peak of the later stages simply by saving them. If this flood, which has affected half of the Tang Dynasty, were quelled, wouldn't the golden light of merit directly push him to the threshold of the Golden Core stage?

"It's not that I can't help you with the disaster relief."

The old man slowly raised his head, his deep eyes sweeping over the assembled civil and military officials.

"But I have rules. There is a difference between immortals and mortals, and it must be an equal exchange. Your Tang Dynasty cannot take advantage of my immortal abilities for free."

"Ten conditions! A hundred conditions! As long as I can provide them, and the Tang Dynasty's treasury can provide them, I will agree to them all!" Li Shimin's eyes gleamed, and he roared decisively.

"You don't need that many."

Li Chen reached into the wide sleeve and communicated with the storage bag through his mind.

"I need to refine a batch of pills and magical artifacts, requiring a massive amount of rare spiritual materials, top-grade jade, and the essence blood of demons and ferocious beasts over a hundred years old. I will provide you with a list. Use the entire resources of your Tang Dynasty to collect as much as you can."

"Absolutely no doubt!" Li Shimin replied without hesitation.

Li Chen nodded.

He pulled a hand out of his sleeve, palm up.

There was no movement, only a soft "snap" sound.

A thick stack of yellow talismans, about an inch high, appeared abruptly in the old man's withered palm.

The talisman paper was made of rough material, but the lines drawn with cinnabar on it emitted a blinding red light that was difficult to look at directly. Faintly, the surrounding air seemed to be drawn by this stack of talisman paper, rippling with extremely faint spiritual energy.

The ministers in the hall all gasped in shock.

Li Chen casually tossed the stack of talismans open like cards and gently patted them onto the sandalwood imperial desk in front of Li Shimin.

"Ordinary people control floods by carrying things on their shoulders and backs. I don't have time to move stones to plug the holes for you."

The old man's finger touched the topmost talisman, which was decorated with water ripples.

"This is a talisman for calming the waves and stopping the flood. Give it to the laborers ahead. No need to chant incantations or cast spells. When you encounter overflowing rivers or breaches, simply light it and throw it into the water. Within a radius of one mile, the waves will subside and the current will slow down for three hours."

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size.

Fang Xuanling gripped his beard so tightly that he didn't even notice when he pulled out a few strands.

"This is a talisman for strengthening the embankment with thick soil."

Li Chen moved his finger to the second picture, his tone as calm as if he were introducing radishes at a market.

"Burn it into ash, sprinkle it on the damaged parts of the riverbank, cover it with soil and tamp it down. The power of the earth spirit will condense, and the mud will directly turn into hard stone. Ordinary breaches will automatically silt up and seal themselves when sprinkled on."

He continued pointing downwards.

"A talisman to disperse clouds and stop rain. Bundle dozens of these together, find the highest point in the county town, burn them, and scatter the ashes in the wind. Localized rain clouds will disperse on the spot, and the torrential rain will stop immediately within ten miles."

"The last one is the water diversion symbol."

Li Chen's fingers slammed heavily onto the last talisman.

"When you're digging the flood discharge channel, bury one every hundred paces. The water will automatically follow the runes to the low-lying areas. It will go wherever you want it to go, and it will never flood the nearby farmland."

Inside the main hall, it was so quiet you could hear a leaf falling.

Only heavy breathing could be heard.

Li Shimin stared intently at the stack of yellow paper scraps on his desk, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch them, but he stopped abruptly half an inch away, afraid that his rough fingers might damage this magical artifact that could save millions of lives.

Seeing their naive and unsophisticated appearance, Li Chen pulled out several more stacks of the same talismans from his sleeve and casually tossed them onto the table.

"I've taught you how to use it. Everything's here."

The old man took a half step back and tucked his hands back into his sleeves.

Whether you can quell this flood depends on your own fate.