Brian White naturally did not dare refuse John Brooks's summons, so without a second thought, he vaulted over the courtyard wall, used his lightness skill, and headed straight for the Thunderfire Hall. The Thunderfire Hall was the very heart of Wuxin Temple, and usually only the patriarch of Chicheng, John Brooks, cultivated his Daoist arts there. His disciples, unless summoned, would never dare come lightly. Only on the first and fifteenth of each month would John Brooks gather all his disciples there to teach Daoist methods; at other times, Brian White had never set foot in this place.

When he stepped into the Thunderfire Hall, he immediately saw a stern and chilling golden light, transforming into a dazzling golden arc, forming a straight line that hovered before the patriarch John Brooks. From his angle, it seemed as if this golden line had split John Brooks in two.

Brian White had only just begun to entertain a few idle thoughts when he heard a stern shout as John Brooks angrily rebuked, “You rebellious disciple! Though I scold you often, how dare you even hide your breakthrough in cultivation from me? If you hadn’t roared so recklessly today, I wouldn’t have known you’d already broken through to the Sensing Realm.”

At the word “rebellious disciple,” Brian White couldn’t help but think his plot to betray his master had been exposed, but then he realized he’d never even had such a thought, let alone taken any action. Only then did he hear the rest of John Brooks’s words, which were questioning why he’d concealed his progress. At this, Brian White felt deeply relieved, thinking that David Stone’s taciturn nature gave him the perfect excuse. He fearfully knelt to the ground and explained in a low voice, “Recently, disciple did feel a slight improvement after a long period of stagnation, but I wasn’t sure if I’d truly broken through, so I didn’t dare tell Master.”

John Brooks grew even angrier. As the head of a prestigious sect, he disdained any embellishment to his appearance, and now, looking every bit the aged Daoist, he blew out his beard, which fluttered beside his head, vividly expressing his unstable mood. The patriarch John Brooks pointed and scolded, “Still trying to argue! You’ve cultivated for a dozen or twenty years—how could you not recognize the signs of the Sensing Realm? I sentence you, starting today, to seclusion and reflection at your senior brother George Clark’s place for a hundred days. You’re not allowed to attend lectures on the first and fifteenth, either. Now get out of my sight!”

Brian White felt a depression akin to having fought a thousand rounds with an evil sect boss, only to have someone else steal the credit at the end. But he knew this was not the time to argue, so he quietly agreed, left the Thunderfire Hall, and went straight to find his senior brother George Clark.

The eldest disciple under John Brooks, George Clark, had been in the sect for a hundred and fifty years, had inherited sixty to seventy percent of John Brooks’s true teachings, and was regarded as the undisputed successor of Chicheng’s next generation. Among his junior brothers, he commanded great respect, and thirty years ago had already forged his Golden Core, making him a renowned figure among the various sects of Southern Nanchan Continent. His swordsmanship was extraordinary, and he had slain countless masters of the evil sects.

When Brian White went to find this senior brother, he was a bit uneasy, not knowing how George Clark intended to deal with him.

The courtyard where George Clark lived was twice as large as Brian White’s, its walls formed by ancient trees as thick as two men’s arms, and many birds often fluttered about. These birds were all spiritual creatures raised by George Clark, many of which had developed spiritual awareness and were even smarter than some slow-witted people. When they saw Brian White arrive, more than a dozen birds immediately chirped, “David Stone is here, David Stone is here, senior brother, senior brother... come protect our eggs! Come protect our eggs...”

Hearing the birds’ racket, Brian White instantly felt the urge to strangle them all, but before he could act on it, a gentle, hearty laugh rang out. A middle-aged man with a lean, refined appearance walked out calmly, smiling, “So it’s junior brother David Stone. Master already sent me a message, so I know why you’re here. Very well, you can cultivate here for a few days.”

George Clark led Brian White to a side room, casually took a Daoist scroll from his sleeve, and placed it before Brian White, chuckling, “After breaking through to the Sensing Realm, disciples of our sect must learn some common spells. Although this scroll, ‘The Miscellaneous Marvelous Uses of the Yang Talisman of Chicheng,’ only records some minor arts and not the true teachings of our sect, they are very useful when traveling the world. Junior brother, you must study them diligently and not look down on them.”

Only then did Brian White realize that John Brooks was not punishing him; this was indeed a rule of the Chicheng Immortal Sect—upon reaching the Sensing Realm, one could come to George Clark to learn spells.

Of course, these spells were not the core teachings of the Chicheng Immortal Sect, but rather common arts such as talismanic horse spells, illusion techniques, transportation arts, dream-invoking arts, five-ghost expulsion, warding off evil, talismanic water, praying for sunshine, rainmaking, fasting, dream-walking, making trees bloom with a touch, divination, geomancy, seeking medical advice, fortune-telling, driving away insects and beasts, and so on. Needless to say, the seven great sword sects, the four great talisman clans, the three great artifact schools, and the two great ghost lineages—all the top sects—had even more comprehensive and refined collections of such arts, for their disciples to use as needed when traveling the world. Even ordinary itinerant cultivators or those who made a living in the martial world knew a bit of these, and they were widely spread throughout the world of Jambudvipa. The top sects simply had more complete and exquisite versions, making it easier for their disciples to have them at hand when needed.