Gu Changqing's words fell.
An uncanny, deathly silence settled between heaven and earth.
It was unlike the oppressive silence when Jieyin had ordered his guest to leave, and unlike the uneasy stillness when Gu Changqing had countered others with twisted logic.
It was a kind of... utter mental blankness.
As though an invisible giant hand had forcibly pressed pause on the thoughts of everyone within a million li.
Outside Vulture Peak, the thousands upon thousands of cultivators watching from afar gaped, their eyes wide and their expressions frozen.
Some froze in midair in the very posture of flight, forgetting even to circulate their magic power, utterly unaware that they were slowly sinking.
Some dropped their magical treasures from the clouds with a clatter, yet had no interest in even glancing down.
Some had mouths open wide enough to fit a Ginseng Fruit, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
Others dug hard at their ears, then dug again, before turning to their companions and asking in voices that sounded almost like sleep-talking:
"I... I didn't mishear, did I? What did the Wine Sword Immortal just say?"
Their companions looked equally bewildered, repeating mechanically:
"He said... he wants to enter the Buddhist School..."
"To sense the Buddhist School's Dao rhythm... and if he has an affinity with the Buddha... he'll leave the Interception Sect and join the Buddhist School..."
"If he has no affinity... he'll turn around and leave..."
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the same questions in the other's eyes.
You heard that?
I didn't mishear?
Then everyone sucked in a cold breath at once.
"Hiss..."
That collective gasp seemed to be a signal, instantly setting all heaven and earth ablaze.
"He's mad, mad, mad! The Wine Sword Immortal has completely lost his mind!"
"Leave the Interception