To get ready to leave this place, I focused part of my mind on ensuring our safety. The first step to that was checking in with Ghosty.

::Have you recovered enough to use that defensive shield I taught you?::

::You know I’m still recovering.::

::I’m not asking you to use it at full strength. Obviously, you’re not well enough for that. But can you produce a shield that holds off an attack from another Nascent Soul?::

::Senior Lin—::

::I won’t ask unless it’s absolutely necessary.::

He hesitated. ::One time. Then I’ll be back where I was a few months ago.::

***

While there were many ways to help the turtle, considering our current limitations, the most effective would be to delegate.

To that end, I used part of my mind to contact the Guest of Honor.

“Senior Azure Pill Saint, this is Fairy Lin, from the Indomitable Will Sect.”

“Oh! The little alchemist who gave up your lecture spot for me, not that I’m benefiting from it. As you may have noticed, everyone needs to evacuate immediately.”

“The black turtle we’re on is being attacked by a Demonic Soul Devouring Vine.”

“Which is why we should all exit as fast as possible.”

I frowned. “We can’t allow evil cultivators to get their hands on Senior Alchemy Island. If you’re willing to make the pill to save the turtle, I’ll give you the valuable prescription, rights, and all.”

He chuckled. “You want me to stay here and risk my neck? For a beast unrelated to me?”

Technically an ascendant beast.

“For a recipe that only an Immortal Bone Creation expert can create. One that will help you reach greater heights.”

“Bah! Don’t be ridiculous. You’re a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if you knew about a pill like that, my life, as the creator of new hand seals that will be used for generations, is worth more than a simple recipe. And it’s certainly more significant than yours.”

I really wanted to yell at this asshole while doing an impression of the ‘Listen here you little shit’ meme from my past-past life.

image [https://i.imgur.com/v2eiQAV.png]

[https://i.imgur.com/v2eiQAV]

But that would end poorly. This fucker was so powerful that he could wipe out my existence with the flick of his fingers.

“Senior, if you don’t agree, then what I’ll have to do will make your contribution to the field feel nonexistent. You may as well help now and become more famous.”

He chuckled. “Are you threatening me, a Pill Saint?!”

“Just stating facts.”

He snorted so forcefully that Little Spring and I flew backward several feet.

“We’re done here. Good luck with your attempts to surpass my accomplishments, brat.”

Was this fucker serious?

The Pill Saint appeared above the main lecture hall, then vanished.

He basically ran away. The man wasn’t even trying to save face at this point. Then again, just because a person lived a long time and produced results from their hard work didn’t mean they were good. Or that they cared about their reputation over their lives. In fact, the more someone had to lose, the more likely they were to do everything in their power to continue to stay alive.

Fuck. Without him, I only had a single option left. But it was something I hadn’t wanted to do. I would have to reveal the work of many brilliant alchemists who deserved to discover their improvements in this life as well. Just like science, the biggest advancements in alchemy couldn’t be achieved by one person alone. It took many brilliant minds working together over many years to create something more. By disclosing their work, I would take their future achievements away from them to save this turtle.

And for revenge. Okay, mostly spite. This fucker needed to get taken down until his accomplishments were a mere footnote in alchemical history.

It wasn’t a choice I was entirely happy with, but I never claimed to be a damned saint.

I ended my split mind technique and concentrated on Enduring Flame. Next, I tested out my telepathic technique’s current range. Little Spring flew closer and didn’t stop scanning the area for attackers while continuing to send out messages to the surrounding people.

::Junior Enduring Flame?::

::You’re still here?! What about the others?::

::Little Spring is sending them instructions to leave the convention. They’ll likely be waiting for us at the emergency teleportation array.::

::You need to leave now! While this fight hasn’t reached you yet, it’s only a matter of time.:: He sounded very stressed. It was worrying. Frankly, I didn’t know if this Peak Master would be able to win against a Demonic cultivator at the peak of Immortal Bone Creation. Not only were Demonic cultivators generally stronger, but Alchemists were usually weaker combatants in general. But this junior of mine was our only option.

Because I was too weak.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Which fucking stung. From my perspective, I had been on top of the world only four years ago. I could have taken care of that demonic cultivator and those vines with a swipe of my palm. But now…

::Have Pill Saint Five Leaves Medicine keep him occupied for a minute. I need you to do something for me.::

::I don’t understand why, but done.::

The Indomitable Will Sect always had each other’s backs.

Once I saw them switch, I sent him what was essentially an information packet through the telepathic technique. It contained the pill prescription, exact step-by-step instructions, and the advanced hand seals that the recipe needed in order to work.

He coughed. ::Senior Lin, this! And the pill recipe... This is all ingenious…::

::While I may not look like it, I am from the older generation. What kind of Senior would I be if I left my Junior without giving him all the information he would need to overcome this trial?::

::But these hand seals!::

::Are only a fraction of what my personal logical alchemy uses. You better make it back to the sect, so I have time to teach you the rest. I want our sect’s alchemy peak to obliterate every hint of the Azure Pill Saint’s accomplishments.:: Muahahaha!

::Then when I come back, I’ll be ready to learn!:: His voice sounded more determined than ever.

I grinned. With the promise of more incredible hand seals, I had no doubt that he’d figure out some way to return.

::Save the turtle first.::

::Yes, Senior Lin! It looks like a few more of my peers are coming. We just might succeed! Though, how long that will take is anyone’s guess.::

***

Little Spring let out a sigh of relief. “Sister Lin, I finished informing everyone about the convention ending early. Two other Immortal Bone Creation experts also agreed to help. While I was talking to everyone, I helped organize a rescue of the fallen cultivators. Their sect members are collecting their bodies once each area gets cleared of puppets. They’re making sure everyone leaves as soon as possible.”

Look at this brat! He set a goal for himself beyond what I asked him to and accomplished it without any input from me. I smoothed his hair back. “Good job! Now, it’s time we leave before one of those Nascent Soul guards put us to sleep.”

While I was fairly certain at least Junior Grass Sprout would come for us if that happened, I didn’t trust the greedy alchemists around us not to take advantage of the situation.

“Or before the Immortal Bone Creation fight kills us all,” he added, a bit too ominously.

The kid wasn’t wrong.

I spread my divine sense out. We weren’t that far from the emergency exits, but this would be the most dangerous short distance we’d ever traveled. While remaining stationary up here helped us keep out of the puppet’s sight, as soon as we moved, we’d make for some easy targets. And I couldn’t allow ourselves to get put to sleep. Sure, we had the space, but we had to see the attack coming to avoid it. The power disparity between Nascent Soul and Foundation Establishment was like that between the heavens and the earth. A cliché saying, but fucking accurate.

It was a good thing we had this! I pulled out the bottle with the Presence Scattering Obfuscation Dan. I tossed Little Spring one, and he caught it with a flourish.

“When crushed and scattered over your body, it can temporarily hide your presence from those Nascent Soul puppets for two minutes.”

He peered toward the emergency exit area. “Can we get there in time?”

I nodded. “It will last us long enough for us to reach there.”

He grinned, crushed the pill, and sprinkled it on top of his head. “Then let’s go home.”

***

We neared the exit. A sizable crowd had formed near it as cultivators fought to leave. For some, that was the teleportation formations. For others who were less fortunate, they needed to evacuate the island through their immortal ships. The Con only had a single entry point to the main island, thanks to a barrier that prevented outsiders from entering the convention at will. It also had the side effect of preventing the low-realm attendees from leaving.

The two equally desperate crowds near the entrance had become a single mass of people struggling to leave. But since these were cultivators, there were some flying, so the whole area looked like a dandelion of immortals.

There was no way we could get through that crowd on foot.

We flew into the crowd and slowed down. After struggling for a bit, we came close enough to Peak Elder Grass Sprout, Four Directions Eagle, and the three Golden Core girls to see them. We were almost at our exit!

Of course, that was when my divine sense picked up a Nascent Soul puppet zipping toward us. Likely it was trying to attack the powerful cultivator a few people over and due to my Obfuscation Dan, it couldn’t see us.

I grabbed Little Spring and hid in the space right before it struck. We both reappeared after the puppet passed.

image [https://i.imgur.com/xUl2pLs.png]

[https://i.imgur.com/xUl2pLs]

Fuck. The air was too dangerous. I landed and Little Spring followed. Several cultivators ran past. I recognized Violet, but she was too busy escaping to notice us.

Suddenly, Lina stepped out from a mass of people to block our path to the array. That professional smile was still plastered to her face, but then her limbs would twitch like her puppetmaster had a hand spasm.

“Let us leave, Assistant Lina.”

Her left eye blinked unnaturally.

Fuck, we didn’t have time for this. The puppet guard that just put a cultivator to sleep turned in our direction. Maybe it had sensed us vanish and assumed we were a threat, but it flew toward Little Spring and me. Grass Sprout blurred and appeared right next to the guard. It sent a cauldron-shaped spiritual attack at the peak elder which slammed into her, sending her flying for at least a mile.

Instead of chasing after her, the puppet jerkily turned towards us again, a sleeping pill in its hand. With a snap, it crushed the pill, scattering the powder in our direction.

Eagle blew the dust away with a single powerful step. He took out a massive compass spiritual tool. It floated in the air beside him, spinning with energy that seemed to warp space.

The two Nascent Soul powerhouses exchanged a few blindingly fast blows before Eagle was also sent flying in Grass Sprout’s direction. Since she had started heading back, they slammed into each other.

The two Nascent Soul cultivators must have posed enough of a threat since it finally ignored us and flew toward Eagle and Grass Sprout.

Shit! I didn’t know how much time we had but we couldn’t leave without them. As strong as they were, they wouldn’t survive a stray attack from an Immortal Bone Creation expert.

Lina finally bowed jerkily and stepped aside. “Remember, Nothing… Bad… Bad… Bad… happens at the A-Alchemy Convention.”

I winced. Poor Lina. She started out as Joo Dee and ended up as a messed-up puppet comparable to a malfunctioning Westworld android. “Yes. I agree. Now, let us go so we can continue to say that. And you’ll be back to your old puppet-self in no time.”

Little Spring grabbed my sleeve. ::I knew there was something weird going on here.::

No shit. I just wanted a damn vacation! It hasn’t even been a whole day yet!

She stepped aside and bowed. “Please come again esteemed guests from the In-In-Indomitable Will Sect.”

Aww. Lina. She may have had the association’s best interests in mind but, because of her, I didn’t have to stop my lecture in the middle due to this mess. Instead, I got assurance that I’d have four lecture slots during the next convention, along with 200 high-tier stones I wouldn’t have had otherwise. And since my junior was saving that senior, I could rest assured that the Alchemy Convention would return.

Just thinking about how Violet not only failed to get the 100 stones she was expecting but also didn’t receive the slot she pressured the Association into giving her, made me grin at the poor puppet assistant.

And that was when some random body cultivator got in between Eagle and the puppet. The idiot punched the puppet guard sending him flying backward and heading right toward us. It was going so fast and with such strong energy, I would have to hide in the space to avoid it. But, in that same moment, I realized that our three Golden Core disciples would get hit if I did. The chances that these promising alchemists could survive a strike from a Nascent Soul puppet was… Fuck.

While they had started off not liking me, I could tell by the end of my lecture that they’d changed their minds. To them, even though I was younger and had a lower cultivation, they treated me as their sect ancestor. And one thing we did for our juniors was to protect them from things above their realm. The Indomitable Will Sect always had each other’s backs.

::Shield!:: Ghosty should have eno—