Sword qi swept a million miles, one blade's cold light shone across nineteen lands!

The Heavenly Marriage ceremony came to an end.

Yet word of what had happened in Lingxiao Hall spread from ten mouths to a hundred, traveling throughout heaven and earth.

For a time, heaven and earth shook, and all living beings erupted in an uproar.

"Hey, have you heard? Saint Tongtian of the Interception Sect recently promoted his Fifth Personal Disciple, and his strength is terrifying."

"Even dead drunk, he crushed the Twelve Golden Immortals with a single sword strike."

"Hiss... he overwhelmed the Twelve Golden Immortals all by himself? Could that Wine Sword Immortal be a Daluo Golden Immortal?"

"What a pity we weren't qualified to visit the Demon Court and witness that world-shaking scene ourselves."

Countless cultivators marveled, regret written across their faces.

Among the younger generation of cultivators, the Twelve Golden Immortals were already considered the cream of the crop.

Who could have imagined that such figures would be utterly crushed by one man?

Everyone was intensely curious about Gu Changqing, this Jie Sect Disciple.

Some even speculated that Gu Changqing might have reached the Daluo Golden Immortal realm long ago.

Only that could explain how he had disregarded the disparity in numbers and defeated the Twelve Golden Immortals in an instant, all by himself.

Meanwhile, on Kunlun Mountain.

Inside the Jade Void Palace.

"Useless fools! Useless fools!"

"This time, you have utterly disgraced my Chan Sect."

Yuanshi was beside himself with fury, raging like thunder.

He jabbed his finger repeatedly at the Twelve Golden Immortals before him, his hand trembling despite himself.

A saint's thought encompassed heaven and earth, all-knowing and all-powerful.

He heard every word of the praise showered upon Gu Changqing and the mockery directed at the Chan Sect.

Yuanshi nearly flew into a frenzy!

Under Yuanshi's furious rebuke, the Twelve Golden Immortals fell silent as cicadas in winter, their hearts quaking with fear.

Juliusun, who had first spoken up to challenge Gu Changqing, steeled himself and said:

"Please forgive us, Master!"

"This time, we underestimated our opponent..."

"Gu Changqing appeared dissolute and unrestrained, and his behavior was eccentric, but his attacks were ruthless. That was why we let our guard down."

Hearing Juliusun's words, Guangchengzi and the others hurriedly nodded.

It was a decent excuse.

After all, were they supposed to admit that the twelve of them combined were inferior to Gu Changqing alone?

That would kill them and stab their hearts besides.

Yet Yuanshi did not buy it.

"Hmph, underestimated him?"

"Even now, you have yet to notice what is strange about Gu Changqing?"

"All the effort I spent nurturing you was wasted."

Yuanshi grew even more incensed.

Defeat itself was nothing to fear.

But even now, the Twelve Golden Immortals were still making excuses, blaming their loss on having underestimated their opponent.

It was like pouring oil on a fire, darkening Yuanshi's expression further.

At his words, the Twelve Golden Immortals grew even more alarmed.

"Strange?"

"Master, did you notice something unusual about that brat?"

Guangchengzi asked hesitantly.

After casting them a glance, Yuanshi's expression finally eased a little.

"That brat Gu Changqing appeared to be drinking, but in truth... he seemed to be cultivating through it."

"The more wine he drank, the sharper and more peerless his sword intent seemed to become."

As expected of a saint, Yuanshi possessed a keen eye and acute divine sense.

Thinking back on it now, he had already begun to discern the purpose behind Gu Changqing's drinking.

At those words, the Twelve Golden Immortals stood wooden as chickens.

Drinking was cultivation?!

They had never heard of such a thing.

Great Luo Heaven, the Eight Scenic Palace!

Within the Human Sect.

Earlier, at the Demon Court, the Human Sect had drawn little attention. It could even be said that its presence had barely been felt.

Yet Laozi had taken in everything about Gu Changqing, and it had left him deeply concerned.

"Master, how did it go?"

"Have you divined Gu Changqing's true background?"

Xuandu questioned Saint Laozi with an anxious expression.

Only after a long while did Laozi slowly open his eyes.

With a peculiar expression, he shook his head.

"How strange..."

"I performed the divination with a saint's cultivation, yet Gu Changqing's fate remained hidden, shrouded in a fog of chaos."

Laozi spoke with bewildered uncertainty.

For a saint to be unable to see through the fate of a junior disciple was unprecedented.

This only made Laozi more certain that Gu Changqing was no ordinary cultivator.

After pondering for a moment, Laozi addressed Xuandu solemnly:

"My disciple Xuandu, when you face Gu Changqing in the future, you must never become arrogant or look down on him."

"You both came from the human race, but that brat has clearly mastered some means unknown to others."

"Try to befriend him. Perhaps it will bring you unexpected gains."

Hearing Laozi's words, Xuandu wore an indescribable expression.

Was his master telling him to learn from Gu Changqing?

The thought left Xuandu feeling rather strange.

But cowed by Laozi's authority, Xuandu still gave a slight nod after a moment.

In contrast to the solemn or gloomy atmosphere within the Human Sect and the Chan Sect,

the Interception Sect was filled with jubilation, its voices boiling over.

"Senior Brother Changqing's divine might is unmatched! He has brought glory to our Interception Sect!"

"Haha, what a delight! Just hearing about Senior Brother Changqing's magnificent feat makes us feel wonderfully satisfied."

"Every time the Three Teachings gathered in the past, the Chan Sect always had to belittle us."

"This time, it was their turn to taste being trampled underfoot and losing every scrap of dignity."

Over a hundred thousand Jie Sect Disciples laughed, their exclamations of wonder unceasing.

Though they had not personally witnessed the Twelve Golden Immortals' instant defeat, they too felt they could lift their brows and breathe freely. The resentment pent up in their hearts for so long vanished at once.

Before this, some fellow disciples might still have been unconvinced when Gu Changqing became the saint's Fifth Personal Disciple.

But after this incident, not one of the Interception Sect's hundred-odd thousand disciples harbored any objection.

His feat had bolstered the Interception Sect's prestige, winning the admiration of every Jie Sect Disciple.

Yet Gu Changqing himself, the man at the center of it all, cared nothing for any of this.

He had hurried back to the Interception Sect earlier and gone straight into his cave abode to continue drinking fine wine in great draughts.

It was not because he coveted the pleasures of the palate.

Rather, Gu Changqing faintly sensed that he had already touched the barrier to breaking through to a major new realm.

He expected that before long, an opportunity for breakthrough would arrive, allowing him to enter the Daluo Golden Immortal realm in one leap.

An ordinary disciple would have needed to enter seclusion, cultivate diligently, and devote himself to comprehending the Dao.

Gu Changqing, however, had no need for such trouble.

With fine wine in hand, he only had to drink enough, and the opportunity for breakthrough would come naturally.

Thus, in just a few short days, he once again drank himself into a stupor and fell asleep inside his cave abode.

Gu Changqing's breathing was long and steady, his body shone, and his blood and qi surged.

Wisps of Dao resonance rose and swirled, drifting up and down as they flowed endlessly into his flesh, tendons, and bones.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth became almost tangible, surging toward him in mighty torrents and pouring into his body.

In the Primordial World, the years went uncounted!

Golden Ao Island had always been peaceful and serene.

On this day, Gu Changqing's lips suddenly stirred in his sleep.

"Sword qi swept a million miles, one blade's cold light shone across nineteen lands!"

Those words emerged from his mouth.

In an instant, winds rose and clouds surged above Golden Ao Island, while divine radiance burst forth.

Over a hundred thousand disciples turned to look.