“I wonder if the resonance of these several Yimu Divine Swords will expose my location? No matter, I’ll refine this item first. When The Parkers that bastard comes after me, I’ll just cut down his yin soul and be done with it, eliminating any future trouble.”

Brian White did not wait atop Tongtian Peak for William Parker to return. First, he was eager to refine the stolen magic treasures; second, the terrain there was unfavorable—open and exposed all around. He still hadn’t mastered the art of flight, while William Parker could send out his yin spirit and ride the wind. In such a place, it was impossible to set up an ambush and he would surely be at a disadvantage. With his wealth of dueling experience, Brian White would never trap himself. But if William Parker did come after him, and he had fully refined the seven treasures taken from William Parker, he naturally developed the idea of eliminating the root of the problem.

Half an hour later, a stream of black energy flew over.

It was William Parker’s yin spirit, riding his life-bound magic weapon, the Black Fiend Sword, tracking all the way here.

Brian White had long since lain in ambush nearby, several times wanting to strike and slay William Parker’s yin spirit, but the yin spirit never descended in altitude. Brian White thought to himself that his sword light was of poor quality, his cultivation weak, and he couldn’t send his sword light that far—he simply couldn’t harm his opponent, so he suppressed his impulse. Watching as the black energy circled the area for quite a while and found nothing, it finally left in frustration. Realizing that it was William Parker’s yin spirit flying away at high altitude, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly: “That bastard really is lucky. If he’d flown just a bit lower, I’d have made sure he never returned.”

Brian White knew that many cunning types liked to double back, so after William Parker’s yin spirit flew off, he waited a good while longer. Seeing that William Parker indeed did not return, he got up and headed straight for the nearest village or town. Hiding in the wilds was difficult; it was better to blend into a bustling place. Upon arriving in town, Brian White found a small inn, asked for hot water, took a bath, changed into a fresh Daoist robe, had dinner, and then slept soundly, dreaming sweet dreams.

Chapter 11: The Abundant Emerald Feather Pouch

The next morning, upon rising, Brian White didn’t concern himself with other matters, but began to ponder where he should go from here.

As for the old ancestor of Chicheng, John Brooks, Brian White didn’t feel there was any need to return. John Brooks looked down on David Stone, and as a transmigrator, he wouldn’t be welcomed either. Even if he went back, he’d only be bullied. Besides, he was no longer David Stone, and he had many secrets—if John Brooks discovered them, it would be disastrous.

Although the Chicheng Immortal Sect had several peerless techniques, the old ancestor John Brooks had never taught any to his disciples, waiting until he ascended to the Heavenly Vault to pass on his legacy to his most favored disciple. Brian White didn’t think he’d ever be so lucky as to inherit the sect. Since he couldn’t learn anything more, there was no point in staying and suffering; he might as well go out and seek his fortune. The sect’s rules were quite lax and didn’t mind disciples traveling afar—especially for a useless disciple like David Stone. John Brooks would be glad to have him out of sight, so there was nothing wrong with Brian White traveling alone.

There was another matter: he had just killed Cynthia Parker, slain William Parker’s physical body, and seized their possessions. If he returned to Chicheng, he might not be able to hide all the stolen goods, and his master, the sect founder John Brooks, might catch him. Whether he could keep the loot was secondary; if it came out that “he” had been lured by William Parker and committed all those shameful acts, he’d deserve to die a hundred times over—even though Brian White himself had absolutely not done those things. Although Brian White still didn’t know that William Parker was the direct grandson of Matthew Harris, and that the Xuanming Nineteen Chapters were deeply involved, it didn’t stop him from making a cautious decision.

“Well, I’ll just go into hiding for a few years. What opportunities can I find by staying in one place? Out in the world, who knows what strange encounters I might have. Once I master profound Daoist arts, even that old ghost John Brooks will look at me differently. Going back now just to be a punching bag doesn’t suit me at all.” Having decided on his future path, Brian White felt relieved and began to inspect Cynthia Parker’s magic pouch.

Cynthia Parker’s magic pouch was a bag woven from multicolored cloud brocade, far more beautiful than William Parker’s beast-hide pouch.

After all, Cynthia Parker was a beautiful woman with a natural love for beauty. Not only was the pouch made of exquisite materials, but it was also embroidered with the lifelike image of a kingfisher using some kind of bird feather, matching her Daoist title.

At first, Brian White thought that since Cynthia Parker’s magic power seemed lacking, she couldn’t have anything good. But when he opened her pouch, he was secretly delighted. The contents of Cynthia Parker’s pouch were more than ten times what William Parker had. Although most of it was ordinary items—daily clothing, gold and silver, jewelry, and even rouge, perfume, a bronze mirror, ivory and jade combs, and other toiletries commonly used by women—there were also more than a dozen magic tools. There was even a scroll of Daoist scriptures, recording over a hundred spells of various levels, clearly not from a single sect but collected from many sources.

Brian White did not know that Cynthia Parker was a notorious wanton woman in the Southern Toad Continent’s cultivation world, fond of using her beauty and body to trade for magic tools and Daoist techniques. She had worked hard for years to amass her collection, only for it all to fall into the hands of Brian White the thief. Her fragrant soul now drifts, and who knows if she can rest in peace.