Even brewing a one-tenth low-grade wine takes at least a year, plus the initial learning and preparation—Evan and Sienna would have to stay here for several years.
Though the process is long, Evan and the woman still chose to remain and accept the Wine Immortal's guidance.
Wine refining doesn't require as much spiritual power or strength as artifact forging or pill-making—even mortals can do it. Once the wine is brewed, you simply seal it and wait for it to mature.
So wine made by mortals is mostly just for tasting. If you want it to reach a level where it can kill, the quality and concentration must be extremely high, which mortals can't achieve—just brewing a top-grade wine takes hundreds of years, and mortals only live about a hundred.
Besides that, wine can also be used for attacks. Evan and Sienna were both curious about how that worked.
After the Wine Immortal finished teaching Evan and Sienna the entire brewing process, he demonstrated another way wine could be used for offense.
"See that big tree up ahead?" The Wine Immortal led them outside Fragrant Wine House and smiled.
Both nodded, and watched as the Wine Immortal used wine as a weapon. They saw a drop of liquid fly from his hand and shoot straight toward the tree.
Suddenly, with a loud boom, the entire tree caught fire.
"Wow." Evan's eyes went wide—half of it was just acting. Any mortal would be shocked by this. Sienna was genuinely moved.
"Mortals can't do this, but you can," the Wine Immortal said to them. After all, only cultivators can use wine as an attack.
Although Evan appeared to be a mortal to others, he was actually a cultivator, so he was eager for the explanation.
So as the Wine Immortal explained things to Sienna, Evan memorized everything carefully.
Just now, the Wine Immortal wrapped the liquid in a layer of spiritual qi, and that qi contained heat. When it touched anything, the heat would flow into the liquid, igniting it instantly.
This is the simplest wine-based attack—the higher the grade of the wine, the greater its power, and concentration also matters a lot.
Besides this fire attack, there's also the method of shooting wine directly into the body. This is much more powerful than just inhaling wine vapor—wine vapor is just gas, and it's not as strong as liquid.
So injecting wine liquid into the body is several times stronger than letting wine vapor enter—sometimes even ten times stronger. Once it enters, the person immediately passes out.
As for other attack methods, the Wine Immortal didn't mention them—he just let the two know they existed. After all, Evan was acting as a mortal, so telling him more would be pointless.
Even so, this gave Evan and Sienna a lot of inspiration.
Once everything was explained, the Wine Immortal led them to start brewing.
Wine and pills share a common trait: strict material selection and precise ratios are essential. If you're careless, you can easily make a mistake.
Evan excelled at picking materials. Even though he suppressed his spiritual power and aura, changed his appearance, and acted as a mortal, the Heaven-Cold Seed inside him couldn't be suppressed—it could neutralize alcohol and sense materials effortlessly.
Whenever Evan's material choices exceeded the Wine Immortal's expectations, the old man would exclaim in shock, "If you were a real cultivator, you'd definitely surpass me."
"You're too kind, Wine Immortal," Evan replied with a smile.
Sienna was also surprised by Evan—she was a cultivator, but her material choices were always a notch below his. Still, she didn't give up and worked hard to improve.
After the material selection phase, the two moved on to the start of brewing.
They had to use boilers and fire to decoct the herbs and water in precise ratios for several days, then transfer everything into clean jars and seal them tightly to prevent leakage.
At this stage, Sienna had it much easier than Evan—she could use her cultivation to handle most tasks.
Evan had to work like an ordinary mortal: carrying pots, fetching firewood, watching the fire, controlling the heat, and finally ladling the herbs and liquid into the jars bit by bit. Sienna just used telekinesis to do it all effortlessly.
"Cultivators really do have it easier," Evan joked with a smile.
"Too bad you're not a cultivator—otherwise, you'd be the next Wine Immortal," Sienna replied, finally regaining some confidence and not feeling totally outdone by Evan.
If she ever learned that Evan was actually a cultivator, who knows how she'd react. But Evan wasn't about to blow his cover, so he kept playing the mortal.
Once everything was set up, three months had passed. During those days, they learned brewing from the Wine Immortal, occasionally listened to his stories about wine, and even pressed him for more details about wine-based attacks.
"You've been here for three months now and know our sect and brewing methods. In one year, you'll be assessed. Are you confident in your one-tenth low-grade wine?" the Wine Immortal asked with a smile.
"Of course we're confident, Wine Immortal," Evan replied with a smile.
Sienna nodded too. Seeing their confidence, the Wine Immortal smiled and said, "Though you're a mortal, your brewing skills are impressive. And you, as a cultivator, are also quite good. The reason I chose you through the wine array was to make sure you wouldn't pass out from your own brew or while opening the jar."
Evan and Sienna nodded. This was fundamental—if a brewer faints from their own wine, what's the point? All the effort would be wasted.
"Alright, since you're confident, start brewing a jar of one-tenth low-grade wine. Brew for a day, then seal it up. In a year, you'll be evaluated," the Wine Immortal said once they understood.
Hearing this, they got ready, brewed their one-tenth low-grade wine for a day, then sealed it in a big jar. The main task was done—they just had to wait for the year to pass.
"Good thing I didn't ask you to brew high-grade wine, or who knows how many years it would take to graduate," the Wine Immortal joked.
Evan and Sienna felt the same way, but Evan wasn't worried—he had the Sky-Piercing Tower, which could compress time fiftyfold. A thousand years inside would be only twenty years outside, making it perfect for aging wine.
Both their wines entered the aging phase and would be opened in a year. During that year, the Wine Immortal continued to teach them much about wine, from which they benefited greatly.
(This line is a webnovel reading prompt, not part of the story. Skipping translation.)
Besides that, they had some free time.
"Junior sister, is 'Sienna Rivers' your real name?" Evan teased her one day, playing the senior brother.
The woman glared at always. "Don't call me that so familiarly—especially in public. If you do, you can deal with the consequences yourself."
"Uh, is it really that serious?" Evan asked, feigning doubt.
"Try it if you don't believe me," she replied.
At that moment, Sienna gave Evan a strange feeling. When he first met her, she seemed friendly—especially when he tried to lift her veil and she brushed his hand aside. He still remembered her words then. But now, she seemed changed, as if something was weighing on her.
"Then I'd better not try. As a mere mortal, I can't do anything against your guards. But I'm curious—why do you always keep such a stiff face?" Evan asked.
"Stiff face? My face is covered in scars—how would you know what it looks like? Besides, not everyone is like you, always grinning," she replied.
Evan really did smile a lot. Whenever the Wine Immortal talked about something interesting or surprising, Evan would react with exaggerated expressions, making Sienna think he was just an ignorant, aimless mortal.
"I'm just a mortal. As long as I have food, clothes, and shelter, there's nothing to worry about. Of course I'm happy. Now that I've learned to brew, maybe I can open a winery and sell a lot of wine, live a comfortable life for years," Evan said with a smile.
"Being a mortal really is nice," Sienna replied after a moment, then fell silent.
No matter what Evan tried, he couldn't get her to talk, so he just muttered to himself.
So over the year, Evan and Sienna spent a few days chatting idly, but most of the time, they brewed wine.
At the end of the year, the Wine Immortal called them over and smiled, "Time's up. How do you feel—nervous?"
"Nervous," Evan replied with a smile.
Sienna said nothing, just waited for the wine to be opened.
"Opening wine is an art. Remember—not to open the jar too wide, or the aroma will escape. Just open a small hole, use a special wine ladle to scoop some out, and taste it," the Wine Immortal instructed before opening the wine.
Evan and Sienna both nodded.
The Wine Immortal brought out their wine jars, poured three cups from each, and let each of them taste two cups to see if there were any differences.
Evan and Sienna tasted their wines and found that, to mortals, this one-tenth low-grade wine would be considered excellent, but to the sects and noble families, it was just average.
Moreover, the wines they brewed had different qualities.
"Evan's is more fragrant, while Sienna's is smoother. Do you know why?" the Wine Immortal asked after tasting both.
Evan and Sienna were puzzled.
"Evan chose better ingredients, so his wine is more aromatic. But during brewing, some smoke got into the wine, making it less smooth and giving it a hint of smokiness. Sienna's was brewed faster, so it avoided that," the Wine Immortal explained.
"I see," Evan said with a smile. He realized his brewing wasn't as quick as Sienna's, so some smoke had mixed in.
"But overall, you both succeeded. With more practice, you can brew wine that's both fragrant and smooth," the Wine Immortal said, clearly pleased with their results.
Hearing this, they knew it was time to leave the mountain.
"You are my disciples—the first and only ones I've ever taken. From now on, you're members of Wine Heaven Gate. Our sect doesn't use master-disciple titles, so just call me Wine Immortal or Senior like everyone else," he said, knowing it was time to say goodbye.
Evan and Sienna nodded.
"I don't have much to give you, so I'll gift you each a special wine jar," the Wine Immortal said with a smile, handing them two jars—so small they fit in the palm of a hand.
Each took one and examined it curiously.
"Small as it is, it's very useful—you can use it to dilute wine," the Wine Immortal explained with a smile.
"So small? How does it dilute anything?" Evan asked, puzzled.