Ashlock concluded his conversation with the Redclaw Grand Elder and withdrew his presence from his mind to give the poor man some rest from his {Abyssal Whispers}.
As an A-rank mental attack skill, the first time would always be rough, even when prepared for and under the protection of the Mind Fortress pill.
"Luckily, now that he is 'marked,' I can recast the skill on him so long as the Grand Elder is within the range of my roots." Ashlock mused.
Abyssal Whispers had a limited cast radius within a hundred meters of his trunk or one of his offspring if he used {Progeny Dominion}. That was why he had the Grand Elder stick his head through a portal leading to Red Vine Peak beside his trunk.
"This skill restriction is a real pain," Ashlock lamented, "Why can't I just mind fuck anyone I want whenever I want?"
It was annoying, but there were plenty of ways around it. Other than using {Progeny Dominion} on a nearby demonic tree, he could always have Stella kidnap someone and drag them through a portal. Hell, he could do that himself by sending thorn-covered vines to grab people.
"Why am I starting to feel like an eldritch abomination?" Ashlock sighed as he returned his attention to the study. He now felt a very faint back door to the Grand Elder's consciousness and knew he could shout within his mind whenever he wished.
"I will be on my way, Grand Elder," Stella said while rising from her seat, "News of this meeting with the Merchants in a week has motivated me to work on some new pills."
"Safe travels, Grand Elder Stella," The Redclaw Grand Elder said with some amusement, "It was a pleasure to see you as always."
Ashlock had to agree it was rather funny seeing a many century-old warlord calling a sixteen-year-old girl a Grand Elder.
Stella snorted, "Please don't call me that. It makes me feel old."
"What title would you prefer?" The Grand Elder asked.
"Empress—no, wait. I am undeserving of that title," Stella said while looking at her hand, "Just call me Stella. I don't need a title like that if it's you."
"Does she not want to be referred to as Empress until she unlocks her bloodline?" Ashlock wondered. He had to agree that she didn't deserve such a title yet, but she would make a fine Empress of the Ashfallen sect once she matured and learned better social skills.
"What about Princess?" The Grand Elder asked.
That seemed more fitting. Stella matched the typical description of a spoiled princess—which was sort of his fault.
Stella shrugged, "Or Mistress. Either is fine. Do you have a name I could refer to you as? I did hear Demetrios Skyrend refer to you by a name, but you didn't seem too thrilled about it."
"Magnus Redclaw," The Grand Elder's gaze turned slightly angry, "It's a name I'd prefer to never hear again. Just calling me the Grand Elder of my family is fine."
"I see. Well, if you ever get another name, let me know," Stella said as she turned to leave, "I'll stop by again sometime, Grand Elder."
"Feel free anytime. My doors are always open to you, Princess," The Grand Elder gave a short bow as Stella closed the door behind her.
Ashlock then saw a long series of portals snap into existence across the mountain range between the trees and the blur of a blonde girl shooting through them toward Red Vine Peak.
"I guess Stella is returning to the cavern to start work on those pills," Ashlock mused, "I should get to work too."
With the meeting with the merchants in a week, there was much to prepare.
They needed to decide what pills they were going to take to market, and he also needed to have the cavern below the White Stone Palace populated with cauldron plants and all the other alchemy ingredients, as he didn't want the alchemists to have any need to cross the extensive mountain range and pluck plants from the other cavern.
"It's important I draw the line early on," Ashlock mused as his vision blurred through the White Stone Palace in search of Elder Margret, "Red Vine Peak is for myself and those I trust, while the White Stone Palace is for the rest. Therefore its alchemy cavern must be fully independent and stocked with ingredients."
While Ashlock went through the mostly empty corridors of the giant palace that the Redclaws hardly occupied even a single wing of, he returned to the study and saw the Grand Elder talking to Elder Brent in the doorway.
Curious, Ashlock hung around a moment to listen in. The Grand Elder had secured the area with his fire Qi as he repeated the meeting's content with Elder Brent.
"I see," Elder Brent said once the Grand Elder finished, "It's finally time."
"Time for what?" The Grand Elder asked.
"We had suspicions that the immortal was heavily injured within the mountain, right?"
The Grand Elder glanced around as if terrified there was someone watching, and after believing the coast was clear, he nodded, "Indeed we did."
Elder Brent stroked his chin, "Haven't you noticed the immortal displaying more and more power recently? Just a few months ago, he had you learning an ancient language so he could write to you via telekinesis, and now he is speaking straight into your mind? I believe he is close to recovering, and when that happens, it's over for the Blood Lotus Sect. It's just a matter of time."
"An interesting observation," The Grand Elder crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "And what do you make of these recent orders regarding the mass recruitment?"
"Even when recovered, the immortal doesn't wish to emerge from closed-door meditation without allies," Elder Brent shrugged, "And I don't blame him. Conquering an entire demonic sect seems an exhausting affair. Why should the immortal waste his precious Qi on obliterating a load of ants when he can just use his vast alchemy resources to raise a powerful sect that can do his bidding for him?"
The Grand Elder fell into deep contemplation.
"Of course, I could be wrong," Elder Brent frowned, "Whatever the truth, the immortal has shown us kindness that cannot be repaid in this lifetime, so we need to do our best to fulfill his wishes."
The Grand Elder nodded with a slim smile, "So you are fine to handle the recruitment of new cultivators and servants?"
"Sure. If Elder Margret has been assigned the alchemy cavern and Elder Mo is busy learning the art of smithing, it only makes sense that I busy myself," Elder Brent turned to leave, "I'll go talk with the Academy about us being a family accepting graduates. Then I will go and hire a load of servants."
"Take this," The Grand Elder chucked a silver spatial ring, and Elder Brent caught it effortlessly.
Closing his eyes to check the contents, Elder Brent whistled in amazement, "That's certainly the most money I have seen in a long time—this should be plenty to hire the best servants and even bribe the Academy if needed."
"Do whatever is necessary to get the best people and avoid the cheaper criminals," The Grand Elder said seriously, "And Elder Brent, maybe buy some art and furniture while you're out there? Most of the rooms in this place could use a redo if we are to have people living here. They will see us as poor with these blank walls."
Elder Brent snorted as he left, "I never was one to appreciate the style of the Winterwrath and Evergreen family."
Ashlock found it amusing that they thought he was some crippled immortal stuck under a tree, but it wasn't that far off, so he felt no need to correct them.
Continuing his search, he soon found Elder Margret sitting in a room with the rogue alchemists, Kane Azurecrest, and the twins Oliver and Olivia. Her usual stern expression had softened into a smile as she engaged in an in-depth conversation regarding alchemy with the others in the room.
Ashlock waited for a lull in the intense discussion regarding their experiences at the alchemy tournament to reactivate his telepathy within Elder Margret's consciousness with {Abyssal Whispers}.
"Greetings Elder Margret." Ashlock spoke within her mind, and the woman jolted up from her seat, silencing the room as they all looked at her in confusion.
"Hello, senior. How may I be of help?" Elder Margret answered while closing her eyes, likely in an attempt to block out the horrors that had suddenly appeared.
He knew she used the word 'senior' to refer to him to avoid exposing his identity. Anything involving alchemy was a secret for now and had to be kept within the family until Ashlock had conquered the Blood Lotus Sect.
"Tell Kane Azurecrest he has been accepted to work for us if he swears an oath of secrecy to the Redclaw family. Same for the others, except the twins. They are fine."
Ashlock didn't want to bring these people to the Ashfallen Sect or make them aware of the Ashfallen Trading Company just yet, and also didn't wish to force oaths of absolute loyalty on them. Although they would interact with unique ingredients, they were here to mass-produce the more common pills.
"Kane Azurecrest, I just received word from my senior that you have been accepted to work for us," Elder Margret gave the teen a smile, "Please say an oath of secrecy to our family regarding your work here, and I expect everyone else to as well."
Nobody there had an issue since it was a standard oath of secrecy.
"Lead everyone to the vault room," Ashlock said after the oaths had been made one by one and then quickly withdrew his presence to spare Elder Margret's mind.
The stern woman then led the group toward the vault room while answering Kane's questions, "My senior is known as the immortal. He is a man who rules above us and gives our family orders. It was due to him that we ran the alchemy tournament."
"I see," Kane fell into contemplation as he walked a step behind the Elder.
"All will become clear soon enough," Elder Margret reassured Kane and the five rogue alchemists also listening in, "Especially why we made you say an oath of secrecy."
Turning the corner, the group walked past a sizeable metal door covered in silvery lines, forming a runic formation that distributed physical and Qi-based impacts throughout the metal.
The giant door was left ajar, as nothing was in the vault except a large hole leading into the darkness below.
"The new alchemy cavern is down there?" Oliver asked Elder Margret, leaning closer, "Why's it so dark."
"Ah shit, I got distracted," Ashlock cursed as he opened his production menus.
"They need some light, so glowing blue mushrooms are a cheap option," Ashlock had used these mushrooms to illuminate the Red Vine Peak cavern and the mine shafts.
He could only grow mushrooms on his roots, but he had luckily spent the morning reinforcing the cavern while Douglas and Geb worked so his roots were everywhere. It also helped that he could request his offspring nearby to also spread their roots.
"Wow!" Oliver exclaimed as the dark hole lit up with a blue hue, suddenly exposing a spiraling staircase leading down into an enormous cavern.
"What was that?" Kane Azurecrest asked Elder Margret.
"The power of the immortal," Elder Margret said as she took the first step down the staircase, "Come on, follow me."
Everyone gingerly followed Elder Margret into the cavern's depths as Ashlock multitasked between his various production menus.
"First, I will grow the cauldron fruits on the platforms that lack soil near the top of each spiraling staircase," Ashlock selected the option and felt a small amount of Qi drain from his soul and through the mountain.
He was glad that Douglas had the foresight to make the alchemy platforms near the top, as it would give the workers the shortest route to the surface, and they would only need to delve deeper into the cavern if they needed to gather ingredients.
Ashlock ignored the alchemist's surprised shouts, and one almost fell off the staircase as giant black fruit sprouted from the nearest stone platform at an unfathomable speed, "I'll put the Qi Flowing Grass on the next level down as it's needed in so many pills."
"What in the nine realms is going on?" A rogue alchemist that Ashlock believed was called Alaina cried out as multiple platforms across the cavern suddenly sprouted Qi Flowing Grass.
"This is just a fraction of the immortal's power," Elder Margret said as she plucked a few stalks and handed them out, "Check their purity too."
Ashlock ignored the chorus of disbelief from the alchemists as he swept his gaze through the cavern, making sure to grow all the flowers he had unlocked.
"Nine Star Soul Grass, Moonlight Calla Lily, Heavenly Bamboo, Celestial Peony Petal,"Ashlock murmured as the cavern became engulfed in his power and the hundreds of barren platforms began to sprout life, "Dreamweaver Orchids, Starlight Lotus, Serene Mist Camellia, and just for good measure so the Redclaws can cultivate in here I will add some Blaze Serpent Roses."
Ashlock examined the cavern, now teeming with flora, and felt rather impressed with himself. There was still a long way to go, but recently he had amassed a sizeable collection of flowers, and with the money he would soon make from selling pills, importing more flowers would be trivial.
"I would just sell the ingredients by themselves, but I think their purity will raise some suspicions, whereas, with a pill, people can chalk it up to a highly skilled alchemist." Ashlock mused, "It also doesn't help that the only people that could afford my ingredients would be my competitors or arrogant noble families like the Skyrends."
Happy with the cavern, Ashlock looked around and located a few small dots that were likely people on one of the distant platforms. The cavern was simply that vast.
Honing in on Elder Margret, he spoke again in her mind, "Have the alchemists practice using my cauldron fruits with the ingredients in here. I will return with more instructions on our plans moving forward in a few days."
With that, Ashlock left the group of alchemists and returned to Red Vine Peak's cavern in search of Stella.
"Oh, Tree, you're back," Stella said as she glanced up from her cauldron and popped a Mind Fortress pill.
"How did you know..." Ashlock asked her through telepathy.
"It's hard to explain, but I can feel when your attention is focused on me," Stella smiled, "I assume you returned to talk about pills?"
"Yes, we need to decide what pills we can make from my fruit and truffles that will sell best on the market."
Ashlock opened up his skill list and was about to list out all of his fruit and truffle options when Stella asked something he hadn't expected.
"Tree, do you have any types of poison?"
"Poison? What for?" Ashlock asked.
"Well, if we are going to become an alchemist-focused sect, we should also dabble with the darker side of alchemy," Stella grinned as she raised her hands, "In one hand, I could hold a pill that grants immortality, whereas, in the other, I have one that grants inevitable death. Isn't that the peak of alchemy? To rule over life and death?"
Why was he not surprised that Stella, of all people, would bring this topic up? But she had a point... if they were planning to become an alchemy-focused sect, wouldn't it be wise to weaponize it?
"I do have a poison," Ashlock answered as the ground cracked open and a root emerged next to Stella, "One that turns someone into a tree—my cursed sap."
"That's perfect," Stella said as she approached the root, "A fitting death for our foes."
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