Sure enough, Xin Xin's explanation came at just the right moment. "These are Daoist Wood Spirit Talismans, said to be specially effective at breaking water-element formations. The method for refining them was lost long ago. I spent more than ten years of painstaking effort to find these two talismans, and they were the final preparation I made for entering this formation. As for entering the Profound Water Palace, and what we may encounter afterward, even I do not know."
Having said that, Xin Xin opened her mouth again, about to blow out her true qi, but suddenly closed it. She glanced at Xiao Hua. "Little monk, can you help me once?"
"Oh? How?" Xiao Hua asked, somewhat puzzled. "This little monk does not understand Daoist techniques, so how could I help you? Of course, if Benefactress can teach me how to use the power of thought from my Buddhist cultivation to activate talismans, this little monk would ask for nothing more!"
"Hehe, you wish!" Xin Xin shot Xiao Hua a sidelong glance. "The power of thought used by your Buddhist sect is utterly different from the mana of the Daoist sect. I am a Confucian cultivator—how could I possibly know such a secret art? If you want that secret art, you may as well ask that senior brother of yours who is destined to achieve Bodhisattva Buddhahood in this lifetime."
With that, Xin Xin opened her mouth, and a stream of golden true qi shot forth like a sword, striking the leaf-shaped talisman directly. "Sss..." The instant the true qi touched the talisman, it gave off a corrosive hiss. Along with the sound, the emerald radiance on the leaf rapidly flickered, as though the leaf were being devoured by insects.
"Go!" Seeing the talisman's glow flickering uncertainly, Xin Xin hurriedly