"Hungh... What?..." Eishath was completely disoriented, the last thing she remembered was swallowing the nectar of the gods and ascending before oblivion took her. Outside of that, everything was blurry, which was surprising because her unique constitution gave her resistance to alcohol. She sent a pulse of sensory essence to check what was wrong and found the problem immediately. She was hung over, not from alcohol but from the addictive essence that still was working her body like a talented whore.

Remembering that ambrosia made her nether tingle

"Ah. You are finally up. Good, good."

A steady but powerful voice broke her out of her reverie and she finally took notice of her surrounding, she was still on her knees, inches away from the source of her current predicament. Still, she had half a mind to take it in again. But there was a terrifying presence that she did not want to fuck around with. Especially given the sheer density of the power she had received.

"Oh... Oh! This disciple is sorry for taking up the supreme master's time. She shall make herself scarce."

She needed to book it and fast. The person in front of her was a nascent soul with some sort of super essence. She could easily tell these things when she tasted a man's essence and the person in front of her was the greatest she had ever tasted. But more important than any taste or any power was her life and the faster she could run away from this hidden master the better she would be.

"Wait. This master has questions he would like to ask of you."

Of course, she would not be so lucky. The hidden master was interested in her. Why? She was not yet sure but it could not be good. She cursed her luck. She had even approached the gullible but extremely well-taken-care-of disciple to make sure he was not anything special. Apparently, even the spoiled disciple did not know of her own master's true might.

"...Yes?..." All she had to do was act nice and dumb and she would be let go. This monster did not need anything she could provide, not that she knew of anyway. And the impression she got from his weak spoiled disciple was that he was a lenient man, which was surprising given his gargantuan power. There were probably only twelve people in the entire inner sect that matched his cultivation level and she was willing to bet that most would pale in comparison to his actual power.

"What is that unique cultivation method? It is unlike anything this master has ever seen before. To be able to absorb vital essence so passively and so quietly... needless to say, this master is curious."

Her brain stopped working for a moment.

"Umm..." Was all she could mention as her mind desperately tried to reboot itself to escape this situation.

"Do not worry! This master shall heavily compensate you for your time. He shall also listen to any wish you may have."

She was fucked well and truly fucked. This man was far more powerful than even she gave him credit for. Her ability was supposedly nigh untraceable for even those in the enlightenment realm, two stages above the man in front of him. Yet he managed to sniff it out. She was going to die...

Then the words she had heard clicked in her head. This left her extremely shocked and without meaning the words came blurting out.

"...Are you not going to have this disciple arrested?"

That was it. Even if there was a chance that the hidden master thought the technique was not demonic by some miracle her stupid words had without question sealed the deal.

"Why?... Oh! Is this some sort of demonic cultivation method? That is fascinating, but this master has seen quite a few demonic methods but none so subtle and so effective that even such a large difference in stages was ignored."

The man seemed to speak to himself as he stated the obvious, and Eishath was surprised to see no outrage in the man's voice only curiosity as he seemed looked deep in thought, his enchanting mismatch eyes glowing.

"..." She could only stare dumbly at the man who very well held her life in her hands.

"Forgive this master! He forgot that a disciple practicing a demonic art is punishable by death. That is fine. Let us assume we did not have this conversation after it has been done and both of us can be on our merry way."

Just like that, he seemed to dismiss all her worries. But the more cynical side of her believed that he only wanted to wait to pounce on her. Maybe to see if there were more like her? She did not know. But she was still extremely cautious.

"...Really. You shall allow that?"

She asked a probing question, it was not like she had anything to lose.

"This master gives his word that he shall not speak of this again without your given consent."

This time she was truly astonished, masters rarely gave their word as such things held power. Cultivation was as much about the mind as it was about the body and soul and breaking promises often led to worse cultivation paths, so when a word was given it was upheld. Of course, there were ways of skirting the rules without breaking them. Her wariness decreased by quite a bit but it remained.

"Ok... Ok... This disciple thanks the master for his generosity but also needs to apologize. Her unique abilities are bloodline destinies and cannot be shared. Not that this disciple is unwilling, it is simply not possible."

This was a technical truth though she bent it quite a bit. The reaction would allow her to judge what approach she needed. If she had to spill her guts she would, there was no way she could ever resist a nascent soul cultivator.

"Really. Such an interesting bloodline destiny. At what rank is this destiny? Can you tell me that? And from what clan?"

He took that in stride looking like he believed her.

…That was it? Was she over-reacting?...

Maybe, this was one of those eccentric hidden masters who did not care for any of the rules set by society. Her mind flipped from terror to desire quicker than it took her to blink. She needed to bind to this man. His essence had tasted relatively young, not of someone close to the end of his lifespan, which all but guaranteed that he would enter the realm of eternal life. Making a pact with such a man guaranteed success for her future,

"This disciple is unsure of the rank and the clan. She is sorry to say she comes from no clan."

Again she was bending the truth. She wanted... no need to come under this man and her past and nature would more than likely be a hindrance to that future.

"Wow... This master cannot detect any lies in your speech. But this still leaves you as a giant mystery. One this master is extremely willing to solve. But before that. This master has asked and you have answered. What is it you wish for from this master?"

This man was in the nascent soul. Of course, he had soul sight. But like with all 'absolute' powers, they ran on very strict rules which were very easy to manipulate if one knew how and she had a lot of practice.

"That is it?"

Time to go for the offensive, the good thing about eccentric and powerful people was that they were very easy to handle. They were so removed from the world that even when you slight them they would often just let you go.

"Hmm?..." He tilted his head which was enough of a go-ahead for her.

She salivated as she asked her next couple of words.

"Is what this lowly disciple said enough for the supreme master to give his boon?"

She was careful in her wording making sure that he might interpret that what she had said was not enough for a boon and frankly that was true. But if she was right in her thoughts his answer would be more than satisfactory.

"Ah! Yes, you have done quite enough. It is not your fault that answers were not quite what this master wanted. Though, he is extremely willing to research and comprehend this unique essence variant. But that is neither here nor there. So disciple, speak of your boon."

And Jackpot! Inwardly she was doing flips not caring how her 'soul' looked to him. Even if he could see it despite her powers all he would see was jubilation.

"...This one wishes to become your disciple..."

She asked timidly matching her words with her outward timid façade.

"Oh! This master is willing to take in such a talented disciple but do you know that I only take in cauldrons?"

Of course, she knew. She wanted that! Making a pact would be much easier if they were already tethered. She could not hold herself in anymore as she shouted.

"Yes! This disciple wishes to become a cauldron!"

The master had a look of amusement on his face as he shrugged and pronounced those oh-so-wonderful words.

"Very well. Normally this master would want you to wait till the end of the tournament but a boon is a boon and it shall be upheld. Now bow before your master and pronounce you fealty."

"I, lower inner disciple Eisheth, proclaim this supreme master as my lord teacher."

She removed her head from where it lay inches from his divine and kowtowed as she said the words. All the while her mouth was salivating at her future.