Evan Yang quickly won Elder Liu's trust, even gaining the official status of a Liu Family alchemist—something he hadn't expected.
As for the man who brought Evan in, he frowned but said nothing. Elder Liu ordered him to lead Evan inside and arrange a room for him.
So the man took Evan inside, found a room, and let him in. As he left, he sneered, "Kid, you'd better be careful. Don't offend the wrong people—or if something happens, don't say I didn't warn you."
Evan smiled, and the man left. Now Evan had freedom of movement in the base, so he wandered around, searching for Faye Gale's whereabouts.
He ran into Mason Liu in one spot, who was glaring at Evan, eyes blazing with fury.
Evan noticed Mason was injured, clearly having been taught a lesson by someone. Thinking it over, it had to be Faye Gale's doing.
"How did you get in here?" Mason Liu snapped.
"Elder Liu let me in," Evan replied.
"My grandfather? Impossible!" Mason Liu snorted.
"Elder Liu said my pill refining skills are pretty good, so he let me in," Evan answered.
"Alchemy? That's funny. If you can refine pills, you must be something special." Mason Liu sneered.
"I really can," Evan said, nodding.
"Since my grandfather let you in, I can't let you idle. Help me refine Ninefold Passion Elixir. If you can't, get out now." Mason Liu snorted.
Evan frowned. "I don't know how." But he knew exactly what that pill was for, and he refused to mess with it.
Mason Liu scowled. "You dare say you can't? Are you joking?"
Evan shook his head, still insisting he couldn't make it.
"Kid, if you can't, then get out. Don't let me see you again." Mason Liu snapped.
"You're not qualified to say that," Evan replied.
"What? Kid, don't forget where you are. This isn't outside." Mason Liu tried to use the base's power to threaten Evan.
If Evan weren't here to catch Elder Liu, he'd have killed Mason Liu with a single palm strike by now.
"What are you looking at? Never seen one before?" Mason Liu barked.
"Do you believe I could seal you right now?" Evan smiled.
"You—" Mason Liu hadn't expected Evan to say that. If Evan really did, and then died, no one could undo the seal.
"Do you believe me?" Evan asked again.
"You—fine, have it your way." Mason Liu hurriedly backed off, afraid Evan would actually do it.
Seeing Mason Liu so terrified, Evan just smiled and continued searching for Faye Gale.
Mason Liu found Elder Liu and said, "Grandfather, hurry, kill that kid."
"What now?" Elder Liu frowned.
Mason Liu said, "He has some weird method that can seal me up. What if he tries it on me again?"
"Relax. If he wanted to do it, he'd have done it already. Would you still be here?" Elder Liu chuckled.
"That's because he doesn't dare," Mason Liu said, frustrated.
"If he doesn't dare, then it's fine. Just mind your own business. Now that he's our alchemist, forget the past for now and focus on preparing for your marriage with the young lady," Elder Liu said with a smile.
Hearing Elder Liu's words, Mason Liu was deeply frustrated. He couldn't do anything to Evan, and everyone else only listened to Elder Liu. Helpless, he decided he'd better avoid provoking Evan in the future.
Evan soon found Faye Gale. When Faye saw him, she was surprised. "How did you get in here?"
Evan explained Elder Liu's intentions. Faye Gale laughed, "So that's it. Good. Find a chance to get out, understood?"
"You can't reach the Palace Lord?" Evan frowned.
"No, so it's all up to you. And my bracelet," Faye Gale said.
"Alright. Be careful yourself," Evan replied.
"Don't worry. They wouldn't dare do anything to me," Faye Gale answered.
Evan nodded, then found the way back. At the entrance, he ran into the man who had brought him in.
"Where are you going?" the man asked curiously, seeing Evan heading out.
"Brother, I want to go drink. You know, my wine—if I don't have it for a day, I feel terrible. Especially since there's a really good batch at my winery, and no one's tasted it yet. It's just been opened, and I'm afraid those damned waiters will steal it if I wait too long," Evan said, making up an excuse.
The man's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Evan replied, surprised by his reaction.
"I've had your wine a few times, but it's so expensive. Now it's good—we're all working for the Liu Family, right?" the man laughed.
Evan hadn't expected the man to be a wine lover too, so he agreed. The two left together and went to the winery.
"Come on, let's go to a private room," Evan said, leading the man inside.
Evan opened a bottle. The man sniffed it and nearly drooled. "Kid, you're amazing—how do you make this stuff?"
"I learned a bit about brewing before. That's how I made it. Never expected it to be so popular—and this is the rarest kind," Evan said with a smile.
Evan poured him a glass. The man drank it, got excited, then kept drinking, finally pouring himself more.
"Still not passed out?" Evan laughed.
Sure enough, the man mumbled, "You're incredible, kid. You can even make this wine."
"Of course," Evan said. As soon as he finished, the man passed out.
Evan asked, "Where does the entrance in the Liu Family winehouse lead?"
"Shàtiān Peak," the man replied.
"Shàtiān Peak? All the Liu Family people are there?" Evan asked.
"Yeah," the man replied.
Once Evan understood, he let the man stay unconscious. He wasn't worried he'd wake up—after all, it was Evan's special brew.
Evan hurried back to Fiend Palace, arriving at the black hall.
There, he was stopped by a First-Rank General.
"Who are you?" the First-Rank General asked curiously.
"I need to see the Palace Lord," Evan said.
"What business do you have with the Palace Lord?" the general asked, curious.
"Faye Gale is in trouble," Evan said.
The First-Rank General was shocked and quickly brought Evan inside. The Fiend Palace Lord, who had been discussing matters with some elders, looked up curiously as the general led Evan in. "What's going on?"
"The young lady is in trouble," the general announced.
"What? What's happened?" The Palace Lord was shocked, and so were the others.
Evan was worried there might be Elder Liu's people here, so he said, "Palace Lord, I'll only speak to you."
The Palace Lord frowned, then told everyone to wait, and took Evan to a private chamber.
There, Evan explained his plan with Faye Gale, how he escaped, and even told the Palace Lord about Shàtiān Peak.
The Palace Lord was skeptical, but Evan expected that. He took out Faye Gale's bracelet. When the Palace Lord saw it, he immediately believed Evan and snorted, "Despicable—they want to control her? No way. I'll send people with any you."
"Palace Lord, I'm worried Elder Liu's people are here, so don't tell them the plan yet. Just send people you trust," Evan replied.
"Don't worry," the Palace Lord replied.
The Palace Lord then led Evan into the main hall and said to the First-Rank General, "Call the other three for me. I have something to discuss."
The other elders exchanged glances, not knowing what was going on.
After dismissing the meeting, the Palace Lord left with Evan and the four First-Rank Generals.
"What's the Palace Lord up to?" someone asked suspiciously.
"No idea. Maybe it's something about the young lady," someone replied.
The others nodded, then went back to their own business.
Evan left with the Palace Lord and the four First-Rank Generals. He wasn't sure how strong the generals were, but from their flying speed, he could tell they were all stronger than him—possibly even on par with Faye Gale.
The Palace Lord was even more powerful—beyond description. Compared to Captain Elder Xu, it was hard to say who'd win.
Meanwhile, Evan secretly sent a message. The people on the other end were both shocked and delighted when they received it.
Evan didn't know what Shàtiān Peak was, but the Palace Lord did. After traveling for most of the day, they arrived at a mountain that looked like a black peak, with black soil everywhere.
"This is the place," the Palace Lord said.
"So, do we go in?" Evan asked.
The Palace Lord nodded, and the six of them flew down together. Evan spread his divine sense. Soon, one of the generals found a cave entrance. They all gathered there, and Evan saw a teleportation array. Beyond it, they might run into members of the Liu Family.
"Palace Lord, are their people inside now?" Evan asked.
"Charge!" the Palace Lord snorted coldly. No matter what threats lay ahead, they all rushed in, with Evan bringing up the rear.
Sure enough, several people appeared from the shadows along the wall. Startled, they tried to attack, but the four generals dealt with them easily.
After seeing the wall, the Palace Lord took out a magic treasure—a cauldron—and smashed it against the wall. With a boom, the wall shattered. Such power left Evan stunned. "When will I be able to do that?" he wondered.
The Fiend Palace Lord charged in angrily with five others. When the people inside encountered them, they quickly weakened, and news spread fast.
Evan managed to contact Faye Gale, telling her the Palace Lord and four First-Rank Generals had arrived.
Faye Gale was overjoyed. Just as she was making preparations, a group rushed in, led by Elder Liu, who glared angrily. "Despicable! Did you contact the Palace Lord?"
"You can't escape now, can you?" Faye Gale sneered.
Elder Liu was furious, not expecting things to turn out this way. He immediately ordered everyone to surround Faye Gale, planning to capture her for negotiations.
But Faye Gale was too strong for them to handle. Elder Liu had to step in personally and shouted, "If you want to live, capture her!"
Everyone understood, so they had to capture Faye Gale to threaten the Palace Lord.
Faye Gale hadn't expected them to try so hard, some even burning their spiritual power to force her back. Luckily, it was a cramped space, or she would have been surrounded and attacked from all sides.
"Despicable! You want to capture me? No way!" Faye Gale shouted angrily.