Hundreds, even thousands of methods exist for drawing talismans. Some require hand seals and mental visualization, divine inspiration flowing from the brush. Others demand stepping on the Dipper's array and chanting incantations.

Even simpler methods exist among the common people, sometimes exceedingly crude.

Talismans are the specialty of Orthodox Daoist priests. Ji Xiang now chanted divine spells, circulating his magical power, and driving the power of incense to adhere to the yellow talismans. Gradually, these talismans twisted, imbued with the divine authority of incense. Writing and speaking this spell could ward off the ten directions of water and fire disasters.

"The Great Yin transforms and generates, the essence of the water element. Xu and Wei correspond above, the tortoise and snake unite in form."

"It travels throughout the six directions, awing all spirits. Nothing is hidden from its observation, no wish is unfulfilled."

"......."

Daoist Divine Spell: You Sheng Spell!

You Sheng refers to the You Sheng True Lord, the name of the Zhen Wu Emperor (Perfected Warrior Emperor) before his elevation. He ranks among the Four Sages of the North Pole, who originated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, flourished in the two Song Dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, the Zhen Wu Emperor was granted the title of National Protecting Deity by the Chengzu Emperor, greatly elevating his status, which led to the rise of Wudang Mountain.

Ji Xiang's predecessor, as a junior Daoist from Wudang Mountain, was naturally thoroughly familiar with the You Sheng True Lord's divine spell. Moreover, within this imperial palace, there was also a statue of the Zhen Wu Emperor. Although it had been moved out of the Longde Hall, it had not been abandoned, merely relocated. The fact that the Wudang Mountain Daoists still worked in the Longde Hall proved this point.

The talismans were plastered all over the doors and windows, incense filled the Longde Hall. Ji Xiang sat down, placing the magic sword horizontally across his knees. This magic sword was called the "Taiyi Three Yuan Sword." It sounded impressive, but in reality, it was the most basic level of the Three Caves Dharma Masters, standard equipment for a Dong Shen (Cave of Spirits) Department Dharma Master.

The power of the magic sword depended on the Dharma Master's own nurturing. Ji Xiang's Taiyi Three Yuan Sword had very little power because its predecessor didn't know how to nurture it. This magic sword had been obtained by his slovenly master from other sects in Wudang Mountain when he left for the capital to report for duty.

Therefore, since it lacked power, he would have to find his own way to give it power.

Ji Xiang summoned another yellow talisman, calmed his spirit, and began chanting the divine spell again, stirring up the incense.

Time gradually passed.

The fifty-year-old incense obtained from the Fire Fiend Zheng Da was almost entirely used up.

Divine spell characters were burned into those yellow talismans by the incense. Immediately following, with a wave of Ji Xiang's hand, all the yellow talismans that had risen on the incense transformed into whirlwinds and stuck to the Taiyi Three Yuan Sword, completely wrapping the entire precious sword!

Yue Bo Spell!

"Awesome comet deity, shatter the nine heavens."

"Divine sword strikes, ghosts annihilated in the nine springs."

"Accept and obey orders, do not linger."

This spell turns ominous when encountering misfortune, and auspicious when encountering fortune, thus being able to further expand one's advantage when in a favorable position.

Advantage is a very subtle thing. For example, if a certain Fire God tripped upon entering, that could also be considered Ji Xiang seizing an advantage. He might think it was just a trip, and there would be no problem, but this Yue Bo spell might take advantage of his weakness and end his life.

"Although it's not a great spell, it's fierce enough, and I'm already a god of incense, eating qi and not dying. How fierce can it be? I'm not afraid of backlash. As long as this Fire God takes one step inside, the advantage will be mine."

Ji Xiang made two preparations, and still didn't stop. He flipped out a few wooden boards from behind the statues of the Three Pure Ones, and used his fingers to circulate magical power, carving words on them. Then he hung them on the surrounding walls. These were called Five Thunder Tablets.

He also picked up a string of prayer beads.... In fact, the prayer beads of the Daoist sect are not called prayer beads, but "flowing beads."

Their power is divided by the number of beads. The flowing beads in Ji Xiang's hand had only the minimum of twelve beads, and these twelve beads represent the twelve thunder gates.

He also took out three kinds of magical instruments: a town-altar wood on the left, a Three Pure Bell on the right, and a Tianpeng Ruler in the center.

After completing all of this, it was already past Wei time (1-3 PM).

It took a lot of time. It was certainly enjoyable to throw out a bunch of talismans when using them, as if being rich and generous, but making talismans was very time-consuming. Those talismans with great power take several days or months to make. Of course, this is naturally related to the cultivation of the talisman drawer himself.

The next thing to do was to wait. Ji Xiang wanted to accumulate magical power so that when the other party arrived, he could directly greet him with a big move to the face.

Ji Xiang stared at the incense burner in front of him:

"I offered you three sticks of incense, but you killed me. This is repaying kindness with enmity. How can I not come back for revenge? I must also ask you for three more sticks of incense."

"Three sticks of incense, one life."

........

Zhu Changluo had already returned to his residence, the Jingyang Palace.

The Jingyang Palace is located in the northeastern part of the Eastern Six Palaces, corresponding to the Gen position in the northeast direction of the Eight Trigrams. The *Book of Changes* calls it "its path is bright."

"Jingyang" means admiring the light.

However, this palace is now a veritable cold palace. Zhu Changluo's birth mother, Consort Wang, had lived here for a long time, depressed and ill, and the Wanli Emperor never gave any care or visits to the mother and son in this palace.

In front of Zhu Changluo, a stove of incense curled up. Beside him, the eunuch whom Consort Zheng had sent here to monitor him was now muddled, standing there foolishly like a demented idiot.

A man in scarlet robes was sitting face to face with Zhu Changluo.

"I have already confirmed that the little Daoist from Wudang Mountain is only at the Foundation Establishment level. He has only just cleared his entire body's Qi Sea, and the sacred embryo in his body has not yet appeared. How could he still be alive after being burned by the Longde Hall's Incense Essence with the Incense Curse?"

"I really couldn't believe it when Chizhi Tongzi (Red Banner Boy) told me."

Zhu Changluo sneered, looking at the man in scarlet robes in front of him, very dissatisfied:

"You righteous gods are constantly saying that you will let me rest assured. In the beginning, you did show me amazing power, but I have been offering sacrifices to you until now, and you have not done anything for me."

"Last year, the two great fires did not harm the Emperor and Consort Zheng. At that time, you also said that everything was taken care of, but now this time, there is another problem."

The man in scarlet robes defended himself: "Last year's great fire that burned down the Qianqing and Kuning Palaces was because your imperial father was wearing a talisman from Zhang Jiugong of Longhu Mountain, so he inexplicably went to the Yangxin Hall and escaped the disaster."

"That Little Divine Immortal is the son of the current Zhang Zhenren of Longhu Mountain. He was born with spiritual power and has great abilities. Our bewilderment techniques were naturally useless. Under the shroud of national prestige, we had no way to use magic to kill your imperial father. This matter is not our fault."

Zhu Changluo's expression became very unsightly. The gloomy him gathered his sleeves and scolded the man in scarlet robes:

"Do not call him my imperial father, call him Wanli, after all, he is about to die...... I only want him to die now."

"Your Fire Lord is constantly saying that his magic power is earth-shattering, but he can't even deal with Zhang Zhenren's son. He is just a child, no matter how much you exaggerate, how powerful can he be?"

"She spoke so sweetly when she promised me at the time!"

The man in scarlet robes said: "You don't understand this, it's really wrong to blame us."

"Longhu Mountain controls all the Daoist sects in the world, only Wudang is not subject to its control.... These people from Longhu Mountain walk sideways wherever they go. You know that there are royal families in this world, and there are also three small families, the so-called Kong family of Shandong, the Zhang family of Jiangxi, and the Zhu family of Fengyang. These three families are temporarily untouchable."

"Actually, it's still because our forces near the capital are not strong enough. The last time the attack failed last year, we frequently set fires in the palace. Didn't we have success a few days ago?"

"The Wanli Emperor repaired the Fire God Temple outside the city, and we guys have stable roots. The specifications of this Fire God Temple are indeed built to be large. The larger the temple, the more incense it can give us."

Zhu Changluo covered his head and sighed with some irritability: "The repair of the Fire God Temple is indeed well done, but this time, the Emperor actually wants to move the statue of the Zhen Wu Emperor back to the Longde Hall to restrain the fire. This is not acceptable."

The man in scarlet robes smiled: "Your Highness doesn't need to worry. From tonight, the starting points of the fire, the first three palaces and the last three palaces, will all be unable to escape. As long as the Wanli Emperor is still in the palace, this great fire will definitely burn him."

"The Ignorance Karma Fire will be born from this great fire."

"You have the power of incense that I gave you. Those fire monsters dare not approach you. At that time, you only need to enter the fire and rescue the corpse of the dead Wanli Emperor. As for that Consort Zheng, I have sent the Fire Gods to take action. She cannot live."

"When those ministers can see that you rescued the Emperor's body, you will ascend the throne in a logical manner, and no one will raise any objections. Then, according to the agreement, you will personally perform sacrifices in the Longde Hall and place the statue of our Fire Lord there, sweeping away the Three Pure Ones and Zhen Wu."

Zhu Changluo looked at him: "What about that Daoist?"

The man in scarlet robes grinned: "Tonight I will personally kill him, and I will definitely not let him live."