Brian Carter learned these three spells and was overjoyed, unable to contain his happiness. He then thought to ask, “Master, could you tell me the origins of Hill Road and the The Foster Sisters?”

This time, however, Mr. Lane ignored him and only said, “You will learn about these things in the future. For now, you need not concern yourself with such trivial matters. I still need to cultivate, so go back to your room.”

Brian Carter didn’t mind being scolded by his master. He had been diligently practicing the Black Water True Method all day, merely manipulating a wisp of water vapor. Now that he had learned three spells, he was truly delighted. Seeing his master send him away was just what he wanted, so he returned to his own room and began practicing the three spells.

What Mr. Lane taught him were common spells used by cultivators, and they weren’t difficult: passing through walls, invisibility, and telekinesis. As long as one knew the incantation and possessed spiritual power, these spells could be used at any time with almost no practice.

Brian Carter silently recited the incantation for the telekinesis spell, pointed with his finger, and suddenly a paperweight in his room leapt up and smacked him hard on the forehead. The paperweight was made of extremely hard rosewood, and the pain on his forehead was intense. Brian Carter was immediately brought to tears, but although he was glad to have succeeded with the spell, the pain on his face made him grumble inwardly: “Why did the paperweight jump up and hit me? Could it be that I didn’t give it a command, so the object being moved comes to ask me for instructions?”

In an ancient book called “The Legend of the Immortal Basket,” Brian Carter had read about a bald man who, upon first entering the path of cultivation, also practiced this telekinesis spell. A stone flew up and hit him first. When he asked his master, he learned that if you don’t give the object a target, the enchanted item will come to the spellcaster, and of course, it hits hard.

Now Brian Carter remembered this episode. He first grabbed the quilt from his bed and held it in front of him, then pointed again and shouted, “Go hit the beam!” The paperweight flew through the air and struck the center of the beam with a bang, sending dust cascading down all over the room. When the paperweight and the beam collided, both were hard, so the paperweight bounced back. Fortunately, Brian Carter had the quilt in his hands to protect his head and face.

The paperweight hit the quilt and, through the padding, struck Brian Carter’s shoulder. Although it still hurt a bit, this time Brian Carter was much happier. He thought to himself, “If I had this skill on the Great Roc Ming King Pagoda, I could have knocked out Charles Walker in an instant. It’s ten times more powerful than the water mist from the Black Water True Method. No wonder people often say that true teachings point straight to the Dao in an instant, while false teachings won’t get you anywhere in ten years.”

Brian Carter practiced dozens of times until he had mastered the telekinesis spell, able to control its strength and speed at will. However, his internal energy gradually became depleted, so he followed the Black Water True Method, closed his eyes to meditate, and cultivated the power of true water. When he opened his eyes again, daylight had already broken.

Chapter Two: Black Water True Method (Nine)

That day, Brian Carter hadn’t actually agreed on a time to meet Emily Foster again. At the time, he wasn’t sure he could persuade his master Mr. Lane to help, and he was afraid of taking on too much and getting things mixed up, which might lead the girl to blame him. After all, saving her sister was a big deal for Emily Foster.

Although Mr. Lane had taught him three spells, after much thought, Brian Carter still felt uncertain. Yesterday, he had only practiced the telekinesis spell. The invisibility spell didn’t really require practice—so long as he could conceal himself, it was enough. But the wall-passing spell definitely needed some practice to master.

“Emily Foster will surely be waiting for me again today at the Great Roc Ming King Pagoda. I might as well pass through the walls all the way there—it’ll save time and give me a chance to practice the spell. I just forgot to ask Master yesterday about the powers of the Five Yin Pouch. That thing is definitely more than just a storage item.”

Brian Carter first poured out everything from the Five Yin Pouch. The iron-backed gray wolf monster had already been completely digested by the black mist. It seemed that after devouring the iron-backed gray wolf monster, the Five Yin Pouch had grown a bit larger, though not noticeably so. Brian Carter thought it was just his imagination and didn’t pay much attention.

He first picked up the Daoist robe he had bought, took off his own clothes, and put it on. Instantly, he went from being an ordinary young man to a fair-skinned, handsome little Daoist. He weighed the horsetail whisk made of “thousand-year-old purple peach wood and silver suanni mane,” but felt it was too conspicuous, so he didn’t take it with him.

The few Daoist robes that Charles Walker had hidden were much too large, so Brian Carter ignored them. But when he shook one out, he discovered a handwritten booklet hidden inside. Curious, he flipped through it.

The booklet recorded only five spells of Hill Road, including the incantations for refining the Hun Tian Banner and the Five Yin Pouch. The other three were the Five-Horse Pagoda Lock, the Fierce Ghost’s Sky-Seeking Hand, and the Mysterious Yin Ghost-Slaying Talisman. Of these, the Hun Tian Banner and the Five Yin Pouch were the most powerful.

After reading Charles Walker’s booklet, Brian Carter realized that the spells he practiced were very different from those of Hill Road. The Black Water True Method taught by Mr. Lane was the fundamental foundation of the Dao. As long as one made some progress in the Black Water True Method, any spell learned could be used immediately, and the deeper the cultivation, the more powerful the spells became.

But the spells of Hill Road were fused with these sinister magical treasures. Without these evil treasures that had been refined for years, none of the spells could be used at all. Moreover, each spell required painstaking cultivation, as if planting a tree from scratch and nurturing it from the beginning. It was nothing like the method taught by Mr. Lane, where the Black Water True Method was the trunk and the various spells were the flowers and leaves. Strengthen the trunk, and the flowers and leaves would flourish abundantly.