Three Thousand Cups of Nectar a Day, a Drunken Sword Dance in Pursuit of Freedom!

Taiyi glared, fury boiling within him.

This fellow deserved to be called a saint's disciple?

He was clearly nothing but a worthless drunk.

And the opportunity for the Heavenly Marriage had been ruined by just such a brat, making everyone from the Demon Court choke with anger.

Taiyi stepped forward, glaring at Gu Changqing.

"Brat, you've got some nerve!"

"What exactly did you say to Xihe and Changxi? How dare you ruin my elder brother's Heavenly Marriage!"

Even with Tongtian standing nearby, Taiyi harshly interrogated Gu Changqing.

At the sight, the Interception Sect disciples grimaced inwardly.

Good grief. More than a dozen of the Demon Court's foremost experts had come to demand an accounting.

Tongtian had long since warned the Interception Sect disciples to avoid entangling themselves in the karma of the Measureless Calamity and to have no dealings with the Witch and Demon Clans.

Under these circumstances, even Saint Tongtian would find it difficult to protect Gu Changqing.

This time, Gu Changqing would probably have trouble explaining himself.

It was all because he had failed to watch his tongue.

As for Gu Changqing-

Hearing Taiyi's words, he froze for a moment.

"The Demon Court... so you're experts from the Demon Court..."

He muttered this as though he had only now learned who his visitors were.

Then Gu Changqing gulped down several mouthfuls of fine wine and let out a long, satisfied breath.

"Hehe, I never imagined that my fellow Daoists Xihe and Changxi would really refuse the Heavenly Marriage."

"Looks like someone actually believes what this drunk says."

Gu Changqing grinned smugly, calling himself a "drunk" without the slightest embarrassment.

On the contrary, he seemed immensely proud of it.

Those words drove a blade straight into their hearts.

Had Saint Tongtian not been present, Taiyi would have unleashed his mighty divine arts and killed Gu Changqing on the spot.

Beside him, Di Jun's expression was equally ugly.

But as the Demon Emperor, he was not as impulsive as Taiyi.

Suppressing his anger, Di Jun turned toward Saint Tongtian and said:

"Please judge this matter fairly, Saint. This brat dared interfere in the Demon Court's affairs and ruin my Heavenly Marriage."

"I ask that you hand him over to me, to uphold the prestige of the Interception Sect's lineage."

Di Jun's voice was cold and stern. He intended to take Gu Changqing away outright.

To Di Jun, this was only natural. Tongtian could hardly refuse.

After all, the brat was merely an insignificant Outer Sect disciple.

Surely Tongtian would grant him that much consideration?

Yet upon hearing those words, Tongtian paused, then his expression darkened.

"You want to take my disciple away?"

"You think you're worthy?!"

At these words, Di Jun, Taiyi, and the others froze.

This was not what they had expected.

A revered saint was fiercely rebuking the Demon Emperor and the Eastern Emperor over an Outer Sect disciple-and a hopeless drunk, at that?

Was he willing to make an enemy of the Demon Court?

For a moment, Di Jun's gaze turned rather strange as he looked at Gu Changqing.

He vaguely sensed that this supposed Outer Sect disciple was anything but ordinary.

The watching Interception Sect disciples, however, looked as though they had expected this all along.

Gu Changqing was no longer the man he had once been.

Tongtian alone had already bestowed two or three spirit treasures and opportunities upon him.

With Tongtian valuing him so highly, how could Di Jun take him away merely by demanding it?

Everyone knew Yuanshi fiercely protected his own, but Tongtian was no less protective.

His imposing defense of his disciple left everyone's hearts surging.

"May I ask, Saint, whether you intend to indulge your disciple in defying the Heavenly Mandate?"

Taiyi spoke coldly.

At these words, the expressions of Di Jun and the others changed drastically.

Good grief!

Wasn't Taiyi being far too bold?

He was challenging a saint.

Did he think his title as the Demon Race's Eastern Emperor allowed him to stand on equal footing with a saint?

Sure enough.

Hearing Taiyi's words, Tongtian's face became as still and cold as deep water.

"Heh. Taiyi, are you saying I cannot distinguish right from wrong?"

Tongtian's tone was calm.

His gaze seemed utterly placid as he stared at Taiyi, yet it made every hair on Taiyi's body stand on end, his heart and courage nearly shattering.

Only then did Taiyi abruptly realize that Tongtian, standing before him, was a saint in every sense of the word.

In his eyes, all living beings were nothing but ants.

Taiyi did not dare answer.

At that moment, Di Jun finally came to his senses as well.

He knew Taiyi's boorish words had already angered Saint Tongtian.

Obtaining an explanation was now impossible.

Shooting Taiyi an irritated glare, Di Jun could only force a smile and say apologetically:

"Forgive us, Saint Tongtian!"

"That is simply Taiyi's temperament. He speaks without thinking and meant no disrespect to you."

Tongtian gave no answer, his expression remaining indifferent.

Just then, Gu Changqing studied Di Jun and Tai Yi with keen interest.

"Mighty experts? What a dull bunch."

"Being the Wine Immortal is so much better-carefree and unbound."

"Three thousand cups of nectar a day, a drunken sword dance in pursuit of freedom..."

Hearing this, Taiyi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Everyone from the Demon Court was about to explode with anger, yet this brat was still in the mood to recite poetry?

But before he could say anything-

A sudden change erupted within Gu Changqing's cave abode.

Rumble!

A tremendous heavenly peal exploded.

Ten thousand rays of divine radiance burst forth. Boundless sword intent surged into the heavens, appearing out of thin air and gathering in a vast, mighty torrent.

Then a keen-edged treasured sword appeared high across the sky, spilling azure divine radiance throughout the heavens.

"That's... the Qingping Sword?!"

The Ten Demon Saints' expressions grew grim.

The immortal sword displayed its edge without restraint, its presence soul-seizing, filling even the Ten Demon Saints with shock and terror.

Moreover, when it came to a sword that released azure divine radiance, the only one they could think of in all heaven and earth was Saint Tongtian's Qingping Sword.

For a moment, everyone from the Demon Court was even more horrified.

What was happening?

Was Saint Tongtian determined to protect his disciple to the very end, even going so far as to summon the Qingping Sword?

That was the treasure with which Tongtian had attained the Dao, and the sole symbol of his mastery of the Sword Dao.

It could wipe out everyone from the Demon Court in an instant.

With such overwhelming terror bearing down on them, how could Di Jun and Tai Yi dare utter another word about demanding an accounting?

"Spare us, Saint!"

"We acted rashly today and overstepped!"

"We shall leave at once!"

Di Jun bowed low, not a trace of his earlier aggression remaining.

If that Qingping Sword fell, all dozen or so of them would likely meet their end on Golden Ao Island.

Staying alive came first!

Compared with that, the Heavenly Marriage no longer mattered.

As his words fell, Di Jun gave a discreet signal with his eyes.

Without a word, Taiyi, Bai Ze, and the others immediately rode streaks of rainbow light away, vanishing beyond Golden Ao Island.

They looked thoroughly frightened and bedraggled.

It was as though they feared that a moment's delay would let the towering sword intent blast their bodies apart.

Little did they know that, as Tongtian watched Di Jun and the others depart, his expression grew stranger still.

"The Qingping Sword?!"

"What Qingping Sword?"

Tongtian could clearly sense that his own Qingping Sword had remained within his sea of consciousness the entire time. He had never summoned it.

In other words, the sword image hanging high in the void was not the real Qingping Sword at all.

Then something occurred to Tongtian, and he looked at Gu Changqing, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"You little rascal. You can even imitate my Qingping Sword now?"