Within the Demon Court!
Shock was written across every face.
Was this brat always this bold?
That thought rose in everyone's mind, filling them with immense curiosity about Gu Changqing.
Saints stood supreme and could not be offended.
This was the shared understanding of countless trillions of living beings.
Moreover, the Chan and Jie Sects shared the bond of the Three Pure Ones, who had studied under the same master.
Even Tongtian was ordinarily deferential toward Yuanshi and seldom contradicted his elder brother.
Yet no one had expected Gu Changqing to cast aside every taboo today.
Even before Saint Yuanshi, his words rang out with conviction as he argued his case without yielding an inch.
It was a feat unmatched throughout the ages.
Had this brat drunk so much that he could no longer grasp the situation?
Or was wine loosening his tongue, giving him an excuse to lash out at Yuanshi and vindicate the Interception Sect?
By now, Yuanshi had also recovered his senses.
His expression was dark as still water, and he fixed Gu Changqing with a hostile stare.
"You... you dare call my disciples walking corpses?"
Yuanshi was utterly enraged.
Gu Changqing's audacity in contradicting him had already struck him as a profound affront.
Worse still, everything Gu Changqing said implied that the Chan Sect clung blindly to convention and that its disciples were no different from walking corpses.
That was even more than Yuanshi could tolerate.
In an instant, an incomparably terrifying pressure surged outward, making everyone present stiffen with fear and alarm.
A Saint's wrath could destroy heaven and earth.
Even a mere wisp of escaping aura was enough to chill them to the bone.
Yet Gu Changqing seemed entirely oblivious, continuing to drink by himself as though Yuanshi's pressure had no effect on him whatsoever.
Tongtian did not stand idly by either. He released his own Saintly might, shielding the Interception Sect's disciples from harm.
"Brother, you and I are Saints."
"Why trouble yourself over a junior like Changqing..."
Tongtian spoke, intending to offer Yuanshi a few words of persuasion.
But just then-
Boom!
Suddenly, the Chaos Bell rang once more, its majestic toll shaking the heavens above.
At the same time, Nuwa arrived from Wa Huang Heaven, raising the Red Embroidered Ball to hover above her head.
Taiyi's voice rang out at precisely the right moment.
"Saint Nuwa has arrived!"
"Let the heavenly marriage ceremony begin!"
His announcement cut Tongtian's words short.
Without waiting for Tongtian to finish, Yuanshi angrily swept his sleeve and turned away.
Seeing this, Tongtian gave a helpless, wry smile and could only lead Gu Changqing, Duobao, and the others toward the seats reserved for the Saint's Lineage.
Yet when Tongtian looked at Gu Changqing, his eyes revealed deep admiration and gratification.
Truly worthy of being my disciple.
He dared to speak and act, never flinching even before a Saint.
Gu Changqing's actions had filled Tongtian with delight.
As they spoke, the group had already taken their seats.
Duobao unobtrusively sat beside Gu Changqing and chuckled in a low voice.
"Heh, Junior Brother Changqing, beautifully done!"
"Today, you said what we Jie Sect Disciples have kept bottled up for so long."
"We've long been sick of Senior Uncle Yuanshi's lofty airs and self-righteous attitude, too."
Only now did Duobao dare reveal his admiration for Gu Changqing.
The other disciples said nothing, but they too turned admiring gazes toward Gu Changqing.
Even Zhao Gongming's expression softened somewhat, losing its usual chill.
At the very least, none of them could have challenged Yuanshi as forcefully as Gu Changqing had today.
Hearing this, Gu Changqing looked at Duobao in drunken bewilderment.
"Oh? Bottled up for so long?"
"Then don't bottle it up. Just speak your mind honestly."
"That's what suits the free and unfettered spirit of cultivators like us..."
Duobao rolled his eyes at those words.
Who besides you would dare?
In the past, Yuanshi had belittled the Interception Sect in every possible way to highlight the Chan Sect's superiority.
Even as the Interception Sect's foremost disciple, Duobao had never dared show the slightest anger.
After all, in his eyes, Yuanshi was like an unapproachable god. What right did he have to argue with him?
Only Gu Changqing could swallow a few mouthfuls of fine wine and throw every restraint to the winds.
By then, Gu Changqing had stopped paying attention to Duobao. Beaming with delight, he threw himself into his seat, eagerly grabbed a jar of Flat Peach immortal wine, and began drinking with abandon.
Well, then!
This Junior Brother Changqing of his not only had an astonishing capacity for wine, but nerves to match.
He had only just offended Senior Uncle Yuanshi, and now all he cared about was drinking again.
As the heavenly marriage ceremony began, all manner of wondrous, mysterious visions rose throughout Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Radiant clouds burst forth for tens of thousands of feet, illuminating all the heavens and the cosmos.
A thousand strands of auspicious light intertwined, displaying peace and sanctity!
In the void, immortal cranes danced and auspicious beasts growled softly, circling Di Jun and Qin Yuan.
Saint Nuwa formed hand seals, tracing profoundly mysterious paths as she controlled the supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Red Embroidered Ball.
Beams of divine marriage light flashed into being and flowed through the Demon Court.
The first heavenly marriage in history was thus established!
Immediately afterward, vast tides of merit and fortune manifested out of thin air.
Everyone in the Demon Court rejoiced.
Although the position of Demon Empress had passed from Xihe and Changxi to Qin Yuan,
the Demon Court's gains remained astounding, leaving Di Jun, Taiyi, and the others overjoyed and trembling with excitement.
None of this, however, had anything to do with Gu Changqing.
In just a short while, dozens of empty wine jars already lay scattered beside him.
Every last drop of the dozens of jin of Flat Peach immortal wine within them had gone into Gu Changqing's belly.
Watching this, Tongtian shook his head with an amused smile.
"This brat..."
Still, Tongtian said nothing more.
This Flat Peach immortal wine was a supreme treasure brewed from numerous spiritual roots and immortal fruits, with marvelous effects such as strengthening one's foundation, cleansing one's marrow, and extending one's lifespan.
As long as Gu Changqing could withstand the cleansing surge of such immense power without his body bursting apart,
Tongtian had nothing to worry about.
With no one stopping him, Gu Changqing truly let himself loose.
In little more than an instant, Gu Changqing downed an entire jar of Flat Peach immortal wine in a single gulp.
Once he drained a jar, he casually tossed it aside without a second thought.
Meanwhile, another jar of fine wine had already appeared in his other hand.
The sight left everyone staring with their mouths agape.
Good heavens!
Through all their endless years of cultivation, they had never seen anyone drink with such effortless grace, like drifting clouds and flowing water.
Three hundred jars... five hundred jars...
Eight hundred jars... a thousand jars...
Who knew how much time had passed?
Wine jars piled around Gu Changqing like a small mountain, numbering well over a thousand.
In other words, he alone had drunk more than a thousand jars of Flat Peach immortal wine.
At this sight, even Di Jun and Taiyi could not stop their eyelids from twitching.
Brewing those thousand jars of fine wine had consumed more than a hundred Flat Peaches.
And now Gu Changqing had drained them all by himself?
It hurt!
It hurt far too much!
Before you continue