Out of the four or five hundred people who entered, only a dozen or so were still walking. That was terrifying. If Evan Yang had seen everyone else's reactions, he'd definitely wonder why he was completely fine.
"Whew, finally made it. Good thing I'm still within the time limit." Evan smiled, then with a quick step, leaped forward and walked out of the passage.
Just as everyone was guessing which clan or sect's disciple would be the first to come out, Evan burst from the white mist.
"Which family is he from?" Everyone wondered, feeling that they didn't recognize this person at all.
Looking closer, they realized something was off—he seemed just like a mortal.
The Wine Immortal also looked Evan up and down, then smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad. You have talent for brewing."
Hearing the Wine Immortal say this, everyone knew Evan was definitely being accepted as a disciple. Since no one knew which clan or sect he belonged to, there was only one possibility—he was a mortal.
So Second Young Master Fenn tentatively asked, "Kid, which family or sect are you from?"
"I'm an herb farmer. I dig up medicinal herbs for a living," Evan replied awkwardly.
As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked. They started sending sound transmissions to Evan, so before long, his mind was filled with their voices, all offering him benefits if he joined their sects or clans.
Evan's true goal was to enter the Feng Family, and this was his best chance. But he didn't agree right away—instead, he stood there looking innocent and lost, even showing a frightened expression.
Everyone knew others were also sending him transmissions, and some were even threatening him. That's why he looked so anxious.
"What are you all doing?" Seeing Evan's expression, the Wine Immortal was a bit displeased.
The crowd just laughed.
At that moment, another person came out—a woman with a scarred face, dressed in plain clothes, obviously poor.
Evan was surprised to see the woman come out. He wondered to himself, "She made it through too?"
The woman was also surprised that Evan came out first. She knew how terrifying it was inside and had relied on a magic treasure to make it through.
Just like before, the crowd bombarded the woman with recruitment offers.
But the woman ignored them and walked straight over to Evan, curiously asking, "When did you come out?"
"Just now," Evan replied with a simple, honest smile.
The Wine Immortal smiled warmly. "I thought there would be nothing gained today, but unexpectedly, two people managed to come out early."
"Wine Immortal, the time isn't up yet—please wait. More people will come out," Second Young Master Fenn exclaimed, shocked that his own candidates hadn't emerged.
The others quickly chimed in, insisting that the time wasn't up yet.
The Wine Immortal smiled and said, "No need to wait." With a wave of his hand, the white mist vanished, revealing—
Rows upon rows of unconscious cultivators and mortals.
"Alright, you two, come with me." The Wine Immortal looked genuinely happy—having two disciples was even better than he'd hoped.
Second Young Master Fenn grew anxious, wanting to say more, but the Wine Immortal had already left with the two of them, leaving the rest behind to angrily try to wake their people.
No matter what they did, nothing worked. It wasn't until several days later that the cultivators finally woke up, while the mortals actually woke up earlier.
This was because the Wine Immortal had deliberately adjusted the wine array to blunt the arrogance of the clans and sects. So when the mortals woke up, they realized they hadn't succeeded and left in resignation.
The remaining forces left people to wait, but most departed angrily.
"Second Young Master, what should we do now?" asked the guard following behind.
"What do we do? Keep a close eye on Phoenixcrest Mountain. If those two show up, bring them here immediately and tempt them to join the Feng Family." Although his own people failed, Second Young Master Fenn pinned his hopes on the two newcomers.
"Yes, sir." The guard hurried off to carry out the orders.
Meanwhile, Evan and Sienna followed the Wine Immortal deeper into the mountain. A few days earlier, they had already reached his residence, Fragrant Wine House.
As soon as Evan and Sienna arrived, they could smell the rich aroma of wine coming from the house.
"You two, come in with me," the Wine Immortal said with a smile.
They followed him inside and found the place was huge, filled with wine-brewing tools and jars of all sizes.
"You may look like a mortal, but you must have some cultivation. I won't investigate your backgrounds," the Wine Immortal said, smiling at both of them.
Evan wasn't surprised, but the woman was—she felt as if her disguise had been seen through.
But hearing the Wine Immortal wouldn't pursue the matter, the woman relaxed.
"What are your names?" the Wine Immortal asked.
"I'm Ian Wood," Evan replied. The woman introduced herself, "I'm Shui Xiang."
"Alright, from now on, you're the senior brother, and you're the second junior sister," the Wine Immortal said with a smile.
The woman wasn't pleased. Why should Evan be senior brother? She asked, "Wine Immortal, why is he senior brother?"
"Because he came out first, which means he entered the sect first," the Wine Immortal explained simply. He also personally preferred mortals.
This left the woman speechless, but after thinking it over, she didn't mind. She was only here to learn, not to truly become the Wine Immortal's disciple, and her identity was fake anyway.
Seeing both agreed, the Wine Immortal continued, "Though I'm called the Wine Immortal, I've never reached the peak of wine refinement. I hope you two will inherit my path—don't fear powerful forces, and pass on our sect's wine arts well."
"Wine Immortal, what is our sect called?" Evan asked curiously.
The woman was curious too. No one outside knew the Wine Immortal's true identity—only that he was a master brewer and not someone to offend.
"Heavenly Wine Sect—a sect that uses wine as its weapon," the Wine Immortal said with a smile.
"Wine as a weapon?" Evan asked skeptically.
"Yes, just like the wine array. Even a little wine can make cultivators faint—the consequences are obvious," the Wine Immortal said with a smile.
Evan and Sienna both agreed, especially after experiencing the wine array. It could kill without a trace—once the targets fainted, the user could easily capture or kill them.
"So never underestimate wine. People think it's just for tasting, but there are many types. Wine can kill, strengthen the body, and unlock a person's greatest power," said the Wine Immortal.
Hearing this, Evan grew more interested. After seeing the wine array trap so many, he realized wine truly could kill.
As for strengthening the body and unlocking power, Evan didn't know much, so he eagerly awaited the Wine Immortal's explanation.
Sienna was curious too, so the two of them sat and listened as the Wine Immortal explained the secrets of wine and the history of the Heavenly Wine Sect.
The Heavenly Wine Sect only recruits disciples once.
As a result, there are very few disciples—never more than a hundred across the three star systems. Those truly skilled are even rarer. The Wine Immortal is recognized as the strongest, so the sect gave him the title.
The Heavenly Wine Sect also has a rule: if members need help, they can assist each other and send messages using a unique sect method.
After explaining the sect, the Wine Immortal began teaching Evan and Sienna about wine classification.
Wine is divided into five grades: inferior, medium, superior, high, and supreme.
The wine used in the array today was superior grade. If the concentration is high, its fumes can make weaker cultivators collapse.
Each grade has concentrations from one-tenth to ten-tenths. In the wine array, mortals got four-tenths, cultivators got six-tenths.
The higher the concentration, the harder it is to brew—even the Wine Immortal has only managed up to eight-tenths.
Nine-tenths and ten-tenths are legendary concentrations, nearly impossible to brew.
After explaining grades and concentration, the Wine Immortal taught Evan and Sienna how to distinguish between them.
Just these lessons took ten days. Evan, remembering he was supposed to be a mortal, listened during the day and pretended to sleep at night.
After ten days, the Wine Immortal began teaching about brewing: the higher the grade and concentration, the more steps and the longer the aging required.
For example, a superior grade wine at one-tenth concentration needs a hundred years to age; at eight-tenths, it requires eight hundred years.
For high-grade wine, the base is a thousand years. At eight-tenths concentration, it needs eight thousand years. The Wine Immortal isn't old enough for such wine, but he has a few jars of three-tenths wine brewed after mastering, still preserved.
When Evan asked about supreme wine, the Wine Immortal smiled, "No one has ever brewed it. It takes ten thousand years, and it's extremely difficult. Any mishap or poor ingredients will ruin it. No one in the sect has succeeded."
"I see," Evan nodded. Sienna was shocked—she never knew wine had so many divisions.
"Brewing wine is a process of waiting. I don't know what level you'll reach, but I'll teach you everything I know. How much you comprehend is up to you," said the Wine Immortal.
It truly is a long wait; no one knows if a wine will succeed after a thousand years, especially since superior grade wine is measured in millennia.
So mortals naturally lack the innate advantage for brewing high-grade wine.
But the Wine Immortal didn't look down on Evan. Instead, he smiled, "Inferior wine takes one to ten years; medium, ten to a hundred; superior, a hundred to a thousand; high-grade, a thousand to ten thousand; supreme is nearly impossible. But just because you're mortal doesn't mean you can't brew it—you can leave it for your descendants to finish."
Evan smiled. "Thank you for the encouragement, Wine Immortal."
"Next, I'll teach you how to brew wine. Once you both master brewing one-tenth inferior wine, you can leave the mountain," the Wine Immortal said with a smile.