“If an Immortal Zhenren really took you both as his disciples then, yes, we can keep his name secret. This is the third-largest headquarters of the Alchemists' Guild, so we do have that ability.”

I folded my arms. “I won’t say his name until you’ve prepared the room to prevent eavesdroppers. There should be several formations prepared here with that function. Am I right?”

He closed the door and moved an innocuous flag on the wall to the correct location. I’d noticed it earlier but left it alone since it was useless for our purposes.

Once he returned to his seat, he nodded. “I’ve turned on the sound sealing formation.”

With that, I had no reason to stall.

There was no going back after this lie. I just hoped that if he was still alive in the immortal realm, that he’d forgive my use of his name.

“Immortal Zhenren Sword Within the Light of Virtue is our master. Originally named Blade Within Blessed Light. Ascended... what is it?” Employee Stone paled. “... About three hundred years ago? And known for his logical alchemy methods, though he was known better for wielding a sword and cutting down evil demonic cultivators who crossed the line.” I grinned at him. “Ring a bell?”

“If I’m not mistaken, Daoist Blade Within Blessed Light did not take any disciples.”

“And that should show you how incredibly special we are, and why this absolutely has to stay private.”

“If you really are his disciples—“

“Are you doubting my elder sister?” Little Spring practically jumped up.

Look at this kid, supporting me with fantastic acting. Pride nearly overwhelmed me. Still, I held his shoulder down.

“As I said. We are, but we need to reach the sect first to officially worship him.”

“You said that your master sent you to participate in this tournament? How exactly?”

I mentally rolled my eyes. I mean, while it wasn’t impossible for immortals to descend to the mortal realm, it was highly unlikely. They had better things to do. But what they did have was a variety of ways of contacting the mortal realm such as remnants of their will they left behind or... “Through my dreams, of course. The same way he taught me about alchemy.”

His frown deepened. I could tell he was waffling and needed a small push.

“I see that you’re an alchemist too.”

He raised both brows in surprise. Not all employees of the guild were alchemists but I could tell this one was from the residue on his hands... and the silver badge I sensed in his pocket. He may not be a manager, but he was certainly a high leveled employee, who had likely decided to help out on a busy day to earn some points from the guild and help him purchase some expensive herbs.

“I’ll give you a special one-time deal.” I held up the index finger with a broad smile. “Ask me what you’re having trouble with, right now in your pill concocting and I will solve it for you. This could be your only chance to have the disciple of an immortal answer your question. So, make it good and not some stupid test.”

His eyes took my measure. “When concocting a Blue Heartfire Dan, I have trouble solidifying the pill into its final form and it fails nine batches out of ten.”

Let’s see, his eyes were focused, not as if he were curious about the answer but as if expecting me to fail. While I could figure it out, I refused to waste my time and his.

I glared. “I said to not give me a stupid test.”

He blanched. “You’re right. I do. I just... wanted to confirm it.”

“Stop. Give me a real question.”

“But a cultivator at your age—“

“—Yes. I may not have worked with those pills and ingredients myself, but I have memorized all the knowledge my master sent to me. Are you sure you want to waste this opportunity on a confirmation?”

He studied me for a long time then, as if releasing pent-up air, began to speak. As he did so his cheeks turned pink. “When working on Yin-Yang Meridian Widening Pill — although I’ve only tried to concoct it a couple of times — with every attempt I make, my cauldron explodes. Even when I pair the Yin attributed plants with the Yang, it still explodes. How do I prevent that from happening?”

“What spiritual herbs are you using for it and in what order?”

He listed the herbs. Then he went so far as to tell me how many breaths between each one as well as the techniques used to prepare them.

I mentally went over the formula and the plants. One had gone extinct between now and a thousand years from now so I had to dig deep in my memories for that information.

Once finished going over everything, I ran through the concocting process in my mind, imagining myself creating the pill using the exact techniques mentioned. I frowned.

This seemed a little...

“What temperature are you using with these?”