The Elder of Chaos's figure had completely vanished from heaven and earth.
Yet that suffocating oppression had not faded with him.
Instead, as that wild, contemptuous laughter lingered in the sky above Golden Ao Island,
an even heavier, subtler atmosphere quietly enveloped the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
The hundreds of millions of watching cultivators remained suspended in the distant sky, refusing to leave for a long time.
No one spoke.
Or rather, no one knew what to say.
Everyone's gaze still rested on Golden Ao Island, on the entrance to that cave abode whose doors remained firmly shut.
Ever since Gu Changqing had turned and gone back inside, that stone door had never opened again.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Only after a long while did someone finally break down and speak in a low voice.
"He's gone... the Elder of Chaos really left."
The voice was extremely soft, yet like a pebble tossed into stagnant water, it instantly sent ripples through the crowd.
"He just left like that? Gu Changqing... never made a move from beginning to end?"
"Not only did he never make a move, he didn't even utter a single threat. He just... drank his wine."
"Is... is this still the Wine Sword Immortal we know, the man who defied heaven's will and feared nothing?"
"The Elder of Chaos's insults were so vile. 'A turtle hiding its head,' 'nothing special'... in the past, the Wine Sword Immortal would probably have slashed at him long ago. But today..."
The speaker paused and did not continue.
But everyone understood what he had left unsaid.
Gu Changqing had been far too abnormal today.
So abnormal that even these onlookers felt an indescribable sense of unfamiliarity and unease.
"Perhaps..."
"Perhaps the Wine Sword Immortal isn't truly as invincible as we imagined."
A