Transformation

"... fragrant cinnamon, magnolia, poplar, elm, pear, chestnut, orange, and pomelo..."

The recitation of the Zixu Fu once again was accompanied by the Empress Dowager recounting some private matters.

This involves some private and important matters, as well as the safety of the new emperor.

"Does the Empress Dowager mean that a powerful cultivator surpassing even the Empress Dowager has entered Chang'an City, and that they might be after me?"

"Good!"

"And this great cultivator is still in Dongfang Shuo's house?"

"Is that so!"

"This... this... this..."

If the great cultivator mentioned by the Empress Dowager were to stay at an inn, or even at the home of some official, the new emperor felt he would be extremely cautious.

But there seems to be nothing wrong with this kind of person living in Zhang Xuezhou's home.

If Zhang Xuezhou and his group were members of a certain faction, and they wanted to kill the new emperor through cooperation, the new emperor felt there was no need to wait until now.

If Zhang Xuezhou and the others had held back when dealing with Gongsun Gui, the new emperor felt he would have been dead by then.

The new emperor believed that someone was targeting him, even trying to take his life, or trying to extract something from him, but he didn't think that such a person would be Zhang Xuezhou.

Whether it was risking their lives to save him or offering him treasures to help him reach the Divine Ability Realm, Zhang Xuezhou and the others had already fully proven their loyalty, which no longer needed to be verified.

On the contrary, the new emperor learned some things from the deceased Emperor Jing, and knew that his mother, the empress dowager, might actually have some problems.

This led the new emperor to inform Zhang Xuezhou of the changes in his cultivation level, but he did not inform the Empress Dowager immediately.

The internal relationships within the Great Han imperial family were complex, and no one knew what mask anyone was wearing. The new emperor could only follow the teachings of Emperor Jing.

"Mother, Dongfang Shuo is extremely skilled at socializing. He was the one who went to the Northern Border to invite that Daoist School Master Li Shaojun. After he became the Grand Master of the Palace, he went away for three months. I'm afraid he met some new great cultivators." The new emperor said, "If it weren't for some health problems he might have had, he would have introduced me to him long ago!"

"Dongfang Shuo's cultivation is insufficient; how could he possibly know a great cultivator of this caliber?" The Empress Dowager shook her head and said, "I'm afraid he was being held hostage, which is why he had no choice but to allow that great cultivator into his residence!"

"You don't understand Dongfang Shuo. He may lack cultivation, but he is quick-witted and eloquent," the new emperor retorted.

"Great cultivators cannot be approached simply by talking," the Empress Dowager said.

"But Dongfang Shuo is also skilled at guessing riddles," the new emperor said. "His win rate in guessing riddles is extremely high. As long as it's not a gamble on cultivation level, he can hold his own against a great cultivator with this skill."

"Shoot the cover?"

Great cultivators regard ordinary people as ants, and even if one becomes a cultivator, an ordinary cultivator is still just a slightly stronger ant in the eyes of a great cultivator. A single act of intimidation can destroy a person in an instant.

This is a difference in the level of life. Top-level cultivators possess immense power, and when they look at their own kind, they have a significant psychological advantage.

Most of the reckless cultivators who couldn't control their tempers reaped what they sowed, but the great cultivators remained high and mighty, just like emperors and officials treated ordinary people.

The idea of making connections across social classes is practically a pipe dream, but the new emperor mentioned a very interesting skill called "guessing the hidden objects".

As long as you are human, you have a competitive spirit and you enjoy fun games, and the game of "Shefu" encompasses both of these attributes.

Given a sufficiently clever opportunity, it is indeed possible for a junior cultivator skilled in divination to get to know a senior cultivator.

However, this requires the junior cultivators to have a sufficiently high level of skill in divination, and their speed in carrying out the tricks must exceed the speed at which senior cultivators can perceive them.

Very few low-level cultivators can achieve this level, especially a great cultivator who has earned the approval of the Empress Dowager.

"Is Dongfang Shuo's skill in guessing riddles really that high?" the Empress Dowager asked, finding it hard to believe.

"He hasn't lost a single battle fighting for me," the new emperor said, forcing a smile. "Mother, you know I have a servant named Guo here. This Guo servant is also skilled at guessing hidden objects, but he's suffered a series of defeats against Dongfang Shuo!"

"I know Xiao Guo," the Empress Dowager nodded, "It seems this Dongfang Shuo really does have some ability!"

"That's right," the new emperor nodded repeatedly, "Mother, don't worry about this. I'll ask Dongfang Shuo about it after a while, and then we'll know!"

"That's for the best," the Empress Dowager said with a sigh of relief. "You need to find out about this man's background from Dongfang Shuo, what he's good at, what he's doing in Chang'an City, and whether he harbors any hostility towards us!"

"This person can get along with Dongfang Shuo, so he must have come without hostility," the new emperor reassured him. "Even if he came with hostility, he would fall into Dongfang Shuo's trap because of things like the riddle-solving game. If he had any shame, he wouldn't do anything reckless!"

In an effort to persuade the Empress Dowager, the new emperor continued to flatter Zhang Xuezhou.

However, the new emperor couldn't understand what kind of powerful cultivator Zhang Xuezhou had befriended that could alarm the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

"Dongfang Shuo should be asleep right now. If he's not afraid of that powerful cultivator causing trouble even in his sleep, how could I be afraid?"

The Empress Dowager looked worried, but the new emperor showed no fear.

If Zhang Xuezhou is not afraid of powerful cultivators even while peacefully asleep, it would be a joke for the emperor to be so anxious.

Moreover, when Zhang Xuezhou visited him in the palace, he did not mention any great cultivator. The other party was only concerned with how to remove him from the position of Grand Master of the Palace to avoid causing endless trouble.

The new emperor simply made a connection and immediately understood the gist of the matter.

He didn't think there was anything to worry about.

On the contrary, the new emperor welcomed these unfamiliar and powerful cultivators to Chang'an City. Even if they couldn't become friends, it was still better than becoming enemies.

"You trust this Dongfang Shuo quite a bit," the Empress Dowager complained. "You should know that people are the most unreliable beings. Your Majesty should only trust people three-tenths of the time, and keep the remaining seven-tenths as a precaution. It's always better to be careful than to make a mistake!"

"Mother is right!"

The Empress Dowager's teachings were also the same teachings Emperor Jing had received.

Emperor Jing trusted the Empress Dowager three parts but was wary of her seven parts.

The fact that the new emperor placed even greater trust in his own team is undeniably ironic.

"Mother, there's no need to worry about this. I will summon Dongfang Shuo in twelve days and have him explain the matter to you," the new emperor assured him. "If Dongfang Shuo can extend an invitation, we will invite that great cultivator to the palace as a guest!"

"I've explained it to you clearly enough; there's no need to bring him to the palace!"

The Empress Dowager replied with a slightly embarrassed expression.

The Empress Dowager clearly only trusted people to a certain extent, while remaining wary of them to a certain degree.

If the powerful cultivator in Zhang Xuezhou's residence did not originate from the Immortal Court, it would not be of any particular benefit to her. However, if the other party did originate from the Immortal Court, and they met in such a simple way, and even determined the Empress Dowager's identity through close contact, many things would become beyond her control.

"These past few days, Mother has been preoccupied with studying the Huangji Jing and has been unable to concentrate," the Empress Dowager said. "Once my son uses the Huangji Jing to attain supernatural Divine Ability, and you wield the Crimson Sky Sword, you will surely be able to stabilize the Great Han just as the late Emperor did!"

Divine Ability, the Sole Self Realm, and the True Self —these terms practically divide top-tier cultivators into three levels.

The powerful suppressive force of the True Self Realm cultivators can almost ignore 99% of the cultivators in the world. The Sole Self Realm True Self Realm cultivators. The Divine Ability Realm, a major threshold, is a preliminary stage of the realm's intimidating and suppressive force, and can only withstand the suppression of the True Self Realm cultivators.

The three realms correspond to completely different circumstances, and even more so to different attitudes towards life.

The Empress Dowager believed that the new emperor, who possessed the Crimson Sky Sword, could reduce his need for a certain realm.

"If my son can use Divine Ability to secure his throne, I, as his mother, can die in peace!"

When the Empress Dowager murmured the words, the new emperor couldn't help but tremble.

After many years, it seems that his mother is no longer the person Emperor Jing imagined, but truly cares about the Great Han Dynasty.