Indeed!
Gu Changqing had broken through once again.
Had Saint Tongtian been there, he would have been utterly astonished.
In just a few thousand years, a human with no cultivation whatsoever had become a late-stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal.
Even among direct disciples, such speed would have been nothing short of dazzling.
That earlier sword strike had come from a flash of inspiration during Gu Changqing's breakthrough, when he comprehended a powerful sword technique.
Now, Gu Changqing fell into deep thought.
"Ginseng Fruit, Yellow Central Plum, Flat Peaches..."
"Hehe, those are fine things, but they all have owners. Getting hold of them won't be easy."
Gu Changqing gulped down a large mouthful of wine and muttered to himself in frustration.
As his cultivation rose, his requirements for the quality of his wine grew ever higher.
Only finer brews would allow Gu Changqing to keep advancing.
He counted through the world's renowned supreme spiritual roots, one by one.
Ginseng Fruit belonged to Zhen Yuanzi, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, who treasured it dearly.
Flat Peaches grew Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens and were controlled by the demon race. As the central players in the tribulation, that race was one all living beings feared they could not avoid quickly enough.
As for the Yellow Central Plum, it was in Saint Yuanshi's hands.
He was, in fact, Gu Changqing's senior martial uncle.
But Gu Changqing imagined going to ask him for Yellow Central Plums and saying he wanted to brew wine with them.
He would probably not only fail to obtain the immortal fruit, but also earn an angry rebuke from Yuanshi for "squandering Heaven's treasures."
Gu Changqing continued pondering.
A moment later, his expression shifted, and his eyes lit up.
"The Moon Laurel Tree!"
"Hehe, how did I forget that supreme spiritual root?"
The Moon Laurel!
Gu Changqing had suddenly remembered this legendary supreme spiritual root.
The tree grew on the Taiyin Star under the care of the two divine maidens, Xihe and Changxi. It ranked alongside the Fusang Divine Tree, the Bodhi Tree, the Five-Needle Pine, and their peers.
The Moon Laurel Blossoms it produced were immortal flowers on the same level as Ginseng Fruit.
He drained the wine jar in one breath, then flung it aside with a sweeping flourish.
Then he turned his deep gaze toward the ancient cosmos.
"Those two divine maidens keep out of worldly affairs. They should be a little easier to talk to."
He slurred this to himself.
Then he took a step, ascended straight into the endless heavens, and vanished into the void.
Beyond the heavens and earth of the Primordial World!
The Taiyin Star floated in the cosmos, cool moonlight flowing around it as it radiated a bone-piercing chill.
This great star was extraordinary, formed from condensed innate taiyin qi. Every trace of its aura was as cold as ice.
Ordinary cultivators would never dare approach it rashly.
At that moment, on the Taiyin Star...
Two figures of peerless beauty stood tall.
Xihe possessed a cool, striking beauty, with bright eyes and pearly teeth. Her graceful figure could captivate all living beings.
Changxi was naturally lovely, charming and adorable, with features like a painting, skin like ice, and bones like jade.
These sisters were innate deities born on the Taiyin Star, just as Di Jun and Tai Yi had been born on the Sun Star.
Both women had their eyes gently closed, streams of taiyin qi swirling around them as though they were meditating on the Dao.
But Changxi, who looked like a little girl, was lively by nature and clearly found it difficult to quiet her mind.
She stole a glance at her elder sister, Xihe, and said:
"Sister, there are only the two of us on the Taiyin Star. It's so boring."
"I've heard the mighty cultivators who came here say that the Primordial World is a truly vast world."
"Countless races stand side by side there, trillions upon trillions of cultivators contend, and the Saints' lineages look down upon the cosmos, revered by all living beings."
"I wonder... is it really that exciting?"
Curiosity sparkled in Changxi's beautiful eyes.
She was filled with longing for the Primordial World, where she had never set foot.
Though she had not said it outright, how could Xihe fail to hear the meaning behind Changxi's words?
The girl wanted to travel through the Primordial World and see those beings of countless races for herself.
But Xihe shook her head indifferently and said calmly:
"As cultivators, we must hold fast to our Dao Hearts and remain unmoved by external things."
"Besides, we are only early-stage Daluo Golden Immortals. In the Primordial World, with its ten thousand layers of peril, we hardly count as supreme experts."
"Let us focus on cultivation. Once we are strong enough, we can think about other things."
At those words, Changxi immediately pouted in displeasure.
But seeing the firm, unyielding expression on her elder sister Xihe's face, she dared say nothing more.
Just then!
An extraordinary phenomenon suddenly appeared beyond the Taiyin Star.
A figure rode a flying sword, brilliant streams of light rising around him and illuminating a million li in every direction.
Wherever the immortal sword passed, its fierce edge flashed, and none of the chaos laws and order could bar its way.
The figure standing on the immortal sword wore Daoist robes that snapped in the wind, radiating wild, unfettered abandon.
"Oh? Sister, look! Another fellow Daoist from outside has come."
"Riding a sword, lighting up the chaos-how extraordinary!"
Changxi sprang to her feet, her face brimming with delighted surprise.
Hearing her, Xihe's delicate brows drew together slightly, but she slowly opened her eyes and looked beyond the Taiyin Star.
"May I ask which fellow Daoist has come here?"
Xihe spoke softly, yet her words carried like the voice of the Great Dao, rumbling across the Taiyin Star.
As her voice faded, the newcomer laughed heartily and answered:
"I ride my sword upon the wind, slaying demons between heaven and earth!"
"With wine, I revel free and unfettered; without wine, I am wild all the same!"
"I am Gu Changqing, the Wine Sword Immortal, a disciple under Master Tongtian of the Interception Sect!"
They had yet to see the newcomer's appearance clearly.
But those few lines alone revealed such magnificent spirit that Changxi's admiration deepened, wonder filling her face.
Xihe's expression shifted as well.
"The Interception Sect? Saint Tongtian?"
When lectures had been held at Zixiao Palace in the past, Xihe and Changxi had also gone to listen to the Dao.
Thus, they had met Tongtian once, though they had never had any dealings or conversations with him.
Still, Xihe knew very well that the Interception Sect Tongtian had now founded was a Saint's lineage in the Primordial World, possessed of incomparable majesty.
It also enjoyed the renown of "Ten Thousand Immortals Paying Homage."
Naturally, she dared not slight Gu Changqing, who had come to visit.
With a wave of her jade-like hand, the Taiyin Star's innate power dispersed, and Gu Changqing stepped onto its surface.
Seeing this, Changxi walked toward Gu Changqing with a smile.
"Fellow Daoist... Wine Sword Immortal?"
"Hehe, your Daoist title really is unusual."
"Roaming to the ends of the earth with wine in hand and a sword at your side? How free-spirited..."
Changxi acted as though they were already acquainted, showing no wariness toward this visitor from outside.
She had always been deeply curious about everything beyond the Taiyin Star.
Besides, she had just been dreaming of those so-called Saints' lineages.
And the man before her happened to be a Saint's disciple from the Interception Sect.
Thus, Changxi was all the more friendly.
But when she came within ten paces of Gu Changqing, her expression suddenly froze.
An overpowering reek of alcohol hit her full in the face.
Changxi paused, then took a closer look-and was left even more dumbfounded.
Before you continue