"Ah, have Qiu Shou Xian and the others gotten into another dispute with my disciple Changqing?"
Tongtian sighed, his tone deeply resigned.
He knew that Qiu Shou Xian and Dingguang Xian, having served at his side for so long, had grown overbearing and exceptionally vindictive.
Presumably, Qiu Shou Xian and the others had been the ones to stir up trouble today, too.
But even so, Gu Changqing had severed both their legs with a single strike.
That was still going a little too far.
After all, once blood was drawn between fellow disciples, the matter took on an entirely different significance.
"My disciple Changqing's excessive drinking is one thing, but using such thunderous methods against his fellow disciples shows a complete lack of restraint!"
"He really does need a stern reprimand..."
Before his words had faded, Tongtian's figure had already vanished from Biyou Palace.
Meanwhile!
Threads of piercing, unfathomable chill intertwined around Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian.
Every strand of sword intent filled the two with the overwhelming terror of annihilation in both body and soul.
These killing strikes, which could suddenly emerge at any time and from any direction, magnified their terror a thousandfold.
Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian felt their hair stand on end, their souls nearly fleeing their bodies.
With death looming over them, neither could spare another thought for their dignity.
Thud!
Thud!
The two struck their heads against the ground, kowtowing over and over.
Ordinarily, they would only behave like this before Saint Tongtian himself.
As they kowtowed, they pleaded incessantly for mercy.
"Junior Brother Changqing, we were wrong in every possible way! We should never have held a grudge against you!"
"Please show us mercy, Junior Brother Changqing! Spare our lives!"
"Junior Brother Changqing, we truly know we were wrong..."
Tears and snot streamed down their faces as they trembled in utter terror.
At the sight, even those who knew the pair's vile character well began to feel pity.
"Was all of this really Junior Brother Changqing's doing?"
"Even an execution ends with a head hitting the ground. Isn't Junior Brother Changqing taking this a little too far?"
"His sword intent hangs over them without falling. He's forcing our two senior brothers to kneel here and beg forgiveness."
"He isn't killing them, but he's destroying their spirits!"
Cultivators of the Primordial World had always been decisive and ruthless; if they refused to yield, they fought.
But right now, Gu Changqing was clearly tormenting Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian.
For a time, the disciples indignantly condemned Gu Changqing.
Just then, boundless sacred light illuminated the scene, and everyone's expression turned solemn.
"Greetings, Master Tongtian!"
The disciples hurriedly bowed.
Indeed!
Saint Tongtian himself had arrived.
Ignoring the disciples, Tongtian took a step forward and entered Gu Changqing's cave abode.
"Disciple Changqing, wake up at once!"
Tongtian spoke with a stern face, his sonorous voice ringing like a bell.
And his words certainly worked.
As his voice fell, Gu Changqing's previously motionless body, which had seemed utterly dead to the world from drink, finally stirred.
"Hmm? Who's disturbing my sweet dreams?"
"Oh? Master Tongtian... hehe... greetings, Master Tongtian!"
Still looking far from sober, Gu Changqing swayed unsteadily and offered a slight bow, without the slightest trace of decorum.
Duobao's face darkened at the sight.
Well, it looks like Master really does command more authority.
Tongtian, too, was somewhat angered. He stared darkly at Gu Changqing and said:
"Changqing, you've gone too far this time!"
"Even if Qiu Shou Xian and Dingguang Xian provoked you first, you shouldn't have acted so violently, severing their legs with such thunderous methods!"
"And you even pinned them outside your cave abode, making them kneel for everyone to see..."
Tongtian reprimanded Gu Changqing.
But before he could finish speaking.
Gu Changqing acted as though he had heard nothing at all.
"Where's my wine... where's my wine..."
Muttering to himself, he staggered around the cave abode in search of wine.
Suddenly, Gu Changqing's expression shifted.
"Huh? What's this? It's even wreathed in black mist."
"One look tells me it's something sinister. Don't you dare spoil my fine wine!"
As he spoke, Gu Changqing picked something up from the ground and tossed it away with a look of disgust.
At the sight, Tongtian's dark expression suddenly changed.
"That's..."
With a sweep of his palm, he drew the object into his hand. Looking closely, his expression changed dramatically, and fury surged through him.
"The Six Souls Banner!"
"Dingguang Xian, why is this here?!"
If Tongtian had merely been reprimanding his disciple before, now he was truly enraged.
Though he appeared to be asking a question, his mind became as clear as a mirror in that instant. He already understood the entire sequence of events.
Long ago, he had entrusted the Six Souls Banner to Dingguang Xian.
No one but Dingguang Xian could wield this treasure, much less seize it by force.
That left only one explanation.
Dingguang Xian had deliberately deployed this treasure against Gu Changqing.
Its power had been broken, causing it to fall inside the cave abode.
Tongtian's face turned livid as he glared fixedly at Dingguang Xian.
At those words, Dingguang Xian's mind went completely blank.
He knew it was over.
The instant Gu Changqing tossed out the Six Souls Banner, everything was over.
He could no longer conceal his vicious scheming.
Using the Six Souls Banner against a fellow disciple was something Tongtian could never tolerate.
Utterly terrified, Dingguang Xian hurriedly begged for mercy:
"Please quell your anger, Master!"
"I... I merely lost my senses for a moment and acted rashly!"
Beside him, Qiu Shou Xian kowtowed as rapidly as a pestle pounding garlic.
"Spare my life, Master!"
"I only wanted to vent my anger! I never intended to kill Junior Brother Changqing!"
Both knew full well how grave this matter was. Their only hope was to appease Tongtian's fury.
Otherwise, only death awaited them.
Tongtian's aura surged around him, his sage's might spreading in a terrifying, unparalleled tide.
Had it been any other disciple, he would likely have reduced them to dust with a single palm strike.
But in the end, Tongtian remembered the countless ages the two had spent serving him, and his heart could not bear it.
After a long while, he spread his broad sleeve and swept it outward with a thunderous burst.
"Get to the Ten Thousand Thunder Abyss and suffer ten thousand years of lightning tribulations!"
Divine radiance surged, and Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian instantly vanished.
Moments later, their agonized screams rang out from the depths of the Ten Thousand Thunder Abyss.
The Ten Thousand Thunder Abyss was where the Interception Sect punished its disciples, a hell that made every Jie Sect Disciple quake with fear and their scalp prickle at its very mention.
Yet none of the disciples felt the slightest sympathy.
The instant the Six Souls Banner appeared, everyone had understood.
They had wronged Gu Changqing earlier.
Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian had simply been far too vicious.
After all, had the Six Souls Banner taken effect, Gu Changqing would already have been a corpse.
By comparison, severing their legs and forcing them to kneel outside his cave abode were hardly worth mentioning.
At that thought, all those who had condemned Gu Changqing earlier could not help looking ashamed.
And from beginning to end, Gu Changqing had not said a word.
He had fetched a jar of fine wine from somewhere and had already resumed drinking.
As he watched Dingguang Xian and Qiu Shou Xian being punished, he even wore an intrigued expression.
It was as though he were merely an uninvolved spectator to everything that had happened today.
Tongtian, too, looked at Gu Changqing with a peculiar expression.
"You little rascal. Your methods seemed thunderous, yet they revealed a merciful heart..."
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