“I don’t lose anything by becoming your disciple and apprenticing under you. I can even learn secret techniques. If I say I won’t betray you, then I won’t. Why would I betray my sect for no reason? Am I out of my mind? Besides, when I deal with Edward and Kulak in the future, as my master, would you really have the nerve not to help me? Judging by your appearance, that old ghost Kulak is no match for you!” Lying on the ground, Henry Parker schemed in his heart.

On the other side, James Clark was also calculating: “I’ll scare you a bit first, make you obediently become my disciple. When the time comes, I can just make up some cultivation method or whatever. Wouldn’t it be easy to extract some blood? After all, you’re a blood clan, and you have the Chiyou Heavenly Vein, so your blood is endless. As long as I refine nine drops of the ‘Nine Li Sacred Blood’, once I consume them, it’ll be worth at least hundreds of years of hard cultivation for me, and I might even break through the Qi Induction stage and reach the realm of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation.”

“Master, what is the name of our sect? Are there any other members?” Henry Parker asked James Clark.

“Uh, well… our sect is called the Artifact Refining… our sect is called the Heavenly Dao Sect.” James Clark originally wanted to say Artifact Refining Sect, but thought the name wasn’t imposing enough, so he changed it.

“Hmph, our Artifact Refining Sect’s greatest skills are formations and crafting magical treasures. We don’t have the materials to make magical treasures, so there’s nothing we can do about that. As for formations, it’s all about following the Heavenly Dao and borrowing the power of the heavens. Calling it the Heavenly Dao is not wrong at all.” James Clark thought.

Thus, the embryonic form of the future renowned ‘Heavenly Dao Sect’ across the Three Realms began to take shape.

“As for people, our Heavenly Dao Sect has always passed down in a single line. My master, your grandmaster Lingyun, ascended to immortality more than ten years ago.” James Clark lied through his teeth. If he said his master was beaten to death a few years ago, this newly accepted disciple might immediately betray the sect.

“Ascended to immortality? Is that really possible?” Henry Parker asked doubtfully.

“Why not? Aren’t blood clans also legendary beings? And now you are one. The world is full of wonders.”

Henry Parker thought about it and realized it made sense, so he let it go.

※※※

“Master, are these worm-like symbols really useful? Drawing them is making my head spin!” Henry Parker held a vermilion wolf-hair brush, copying a long-horned, strange symbol onto a piece of yellow talisman paper.

“You really are unusually slow. It took you three days to learn just one ‘Soul Fire Talisman’. Back in the day, I mastered it instantly.” James Clark, who was meditating on formations with his eyes closed, heard Henry Parker’s complaints, opened his eyes, and scolded, “Is it useful? This ‘Soul Fire Talisman’ can gather and channel the fire spiritual energy between heaven and earth! Watch closely!”

James Clark pinched the talisman Henry Parker had just drawn between two fingers. “Spirits of fire, heed my command, manifest at my decree!” With a flick of his hand, boom—a fireball ignited from the talisman paper without any external flame.

“Amazing! But master, I still don’t see the use. Such a tiny fireball is enough to light a cigarette, but I doubt it could be used against an enemy.” Henry Parker still had doubts.

“Hmph! You’ve only practiced Daoist arts for three days and can already produce a fireball like this. That’s not bad at all, considering how little true essence you have. Sure, your blood clan’s physical arts are powerful, but our Heavenly Dao Sect relies on harnessing the immense power of heaven and earth. No matter how strong your blood clan is, can you surpass the universe itself? Do you really think the Soul Fire Talisman’s power is only this little?”

With that, James Clark took the vermilion brush and, with swift strokes, drew five different talismans in a row. Picking up the freshly drawn fire talisman, James Clark said, “Let me show you the basic power of the Soul Fire Talisman.”

Under Henry Parker’s incredulous gaze, a fireball the size of a fist floated in the air, radiating intense heat. Henry Parker felt his hair was about to catch fire. James Clark then tossed four more talisman papers, and blue, white, yellow, and green lights quickly merged into the fireball.

“Careful!” James Clark shouted at Henry Parker. “Let’s see if you can withstand it!”

Henry Parker nodded heavily. “Alright!” With a swish, he retreated ten feet, almost backing up to the wall. Silver-striped wings shielded his entire body, sharp claws grew from his fingers, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light, locking onto the approaching fireball.

When the fireball was just over a foot away from Henry Parker, James Clark gave a sinister smile, quickly formed a hand seal, and chanted, “Five elements reversed, yin and yang transformed!” As the eight words left his mouth, the fireball suddenly vanished without a trace in front of Henry Parker.

Henry Parker was full of disdain: All that thunder, but no rain. Suddenly, it felt as if he had fallen into a fog, and everything around him became blurry. “Not good!” Instinctively sensing danger, Henry Parker shouted, pushing his blood clan speed to the limit, ready to dash out of the mist. By rights, with Henry Parker’s current speed, he should be able to cover thirty feet in less than a second. But just as he moved, Henry Parker felt a force as vast and heavy as the earth, as mighty as a mountain, surging toward him.