The poisonous smoke of the skull demon sprayed onto the low wall, making a sizzling sound. In an instant, the wall melted halfway, as if ice meeting a blazing sun. Adam Brooks, seeing how formidable the skull demon’s poisonous smoke was, was greatly shocked. Noticing that the skull demon was about to spray again, he quickly summoned his True Dragon Force and transformed the Five Yin Pouch into a black ring of light, expanding and contracting, to meet the poisonous smoke head-on.

This skull demon was extremely cunning. Seeing Adam Brooks use the Five Yin Pouch again, it let out a shrill screech and became even more elusive. Taking advantage of its ability to fly, it circled around a few times and found an opening, slipping behind Adam Brooks and spraying poisonous smoke at his back. Adam Brooks was at a disadvantage—he didn’t have the skull demon’s ability to flit about in the air. Realizing the danger, he was alarmed and tried to dodge with a desperate leap, but how could he possibly avoid it?

Just as the black smoke was about to reach the back of his neck, a golden light suddenly shot out, as sharp as a blade. In a flash, it shattered the skull demon to pieces. Adam Brooks narrowly escaped disaster, still shaken, when he saw the golden light that had destroyed the skull demon drift down gently. He reached out and caught it—it was a page of a golden book.

The writing on this golden page had long since faded, but now there was a new image: a golden dragon, baring its claws and fangs, as if about to soar and transform.

Adam Brooks held the golden page, not sure what to think for a moment. But now he understood that the three pages of the golden book had not been lost; somehow, they had been hidden within his own body, and when he was in danger, they flew out and destroyed the skull demon.

“These three pages of the golden book are truly miraculous, possessing such powerful magic that even the skull demon was shattered in a single blow. This is no place to linger—I'd better leave quickly!”

Adam Brooks put away the golden page and hurried back to Henry Clark’s residence. For some reason, the second chief had not yet returned. Adam Brooks went back to his own room to rest, reflecting on the night’s events and studying the golden page.

“The last time I used the Five Yin Pouch, I was immediately exhausted, nearly to death. But this time, after capturing that Daoist and the magistrate’s concubine, I suddenly felt invigorated. How did that old Daoist also know the magic from the He Mountain Scripture? Could it be that the He Mountain Scripture is related to his family? I must keep the matter of killing the Daoist and the magistrate’s concubine a secret—if anyone finds out, it will bring disaster. But this golden page—how has it changed again? The original incantation has vanished, replaced by this true dragon image…”

Adam Brooks tossed and turned, pondering for a long time, but couldn’t make sense of it. Fortunately, he wasn’t one to dwell on worries. He set aside these thoughts and focused on studying the golden page.

He examined it for a long while, then suddenly shuddered, discovering that the true dragon image on the page had a faint flow of energy from head to tail. Moreover, there were many hidden points of light along the dragon’s body, becoming clearer the more he looked.

Chapter Eight: The True Dragon Acupoint Diagram

“These are the acupoints and the routes for circulating true qi on the dragon’s body.”

After only a short while, Adam Brooks suddenly had this thought, and the more he considered it, the more certain he became.

Adam Brooks quietly began to circulate the Supreme Dragon Transformation Formula, following the true dragon acupoints shown on the golden page. Sure enough, the true qi in his dantian surged into the huiyin acupoint, where it gathered into a small cluster—completely different from before, when the qi could only flow through the meridians but could not be stored in other acupoints.

“So that’s it! No wonder I couldn’t proceed to the next stage of cultivation. To continue with the Supreme Dragon Transformation Formula, I need to use this true dragon acupoint diagram.”

With this discovery, Adam Brooks was overjoyed. Although opening an acupoint was not something that could be accomplished in a day, now that he had the method, progress was within reach. It was a hundred times better than groping in the dark without direction.

Adam Brooks carefully put away the golden page. While it was still dark, he began practicing the Supreme Dragon Transformation Formula, cultivating the True Dragon Force. With the true dragon acupoint diagram, his cultivation became much smoother. After one round, not only did the true qi in his dantian grow stronger, but the newly opened huiyin acupoint also gathered true qi into a cluster.

As dawn broke, the courtyard suddenly became noisy. Adam Brooks went out to look and saw that Henry Clark, who had been out all night, had finally returned.

He saw that Henry Clark looked quite excited. Though he seemed tired, he showed no sign of sleepiness. Upon seeing Adam Brooks, the scholar with the double-yin constitution grabbed his hand and said with a laugh, “Do you know where I went last night? I went to the magistrate of Poyang’s mansion. Even the prefect of our county was at the banquet! But that’s not all—I met a great master. Can you guess who?”

Adam Brooks had already guessed, but hearing from Henry Clark that the grand mansion last night was actually the magistrate’s residence, he was still surprised. Of course, he didn’t dare to guess directly: “You met an old Daoist who knows the magic from the He Mountain Scripture.” He simply followed along and said, “Did you meet the other two chiefs of the Bamboo Branch Gang?”

Henry Clark snorted and laughed, “The Bamboo Branch Gang? They’re nothing! Even though they have some connection with the prefect, they’re not worthy of an invitation from the prefect or the magistrate. Let me tell you…” Henry Clark lowered his voice mysteriously, “I met an immortal master—a true expert. It was he who offered a huge reward for information on Xiao Pingnan’s whereabouts.”