"What... what exactly is going on? Why can't I make any sense of this?"
"Did the Dao Ancestor really come here just to ask Gu Changqing for wine?"
"Tch, how could that be? The Profound Gate and the Interception Sect have long been as incompatible as fire and water."
"Even if Dao Ancestor Hongjun enjoyed wine, surely he wouldn't come begging the Wine Sword Immortal for a drink."
All living beings buzzed with speculation, utterly bewildered.
After all, this was far too incongruous.
Hongjun had arrived with overwhelming grandeur, his might striking terror into their hearts.
He had even erected a Spatial Barrier without a word of explanation, keeping Tongtian and the other Sages outside.
Yet in the end, Gu Changqing had emerged completely unscathed?
Countless beings wondered what exactly had happened within that strange space.
Of course, no one could answer their questions.
Within the Interception Sect.
Watching Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Four Saints depart, hundreds of thousands of Interception Sect disciples let out long breaths of relief, filled with the gratitude of survivors who had escaped a calamity.
Gu Changqing said nothing more either. Carrying his Wine Gourd, he swayed his way back to his cave abode.
Meanwhile, in Zixiao Palace!
Hongjun sat facing the Four Saints.
"Master, why did you let Gu Changqing go earlier?!"
"Exactly! That brat has repeatedly defied Heaven, and now he has even attained the cultivation of a primordial Daluo Golden Immortal."
"If we allow him to keep growing, even we Sages will no longer be able to suppress him."
"Even the prestige of the Profound Gate will be destroyed at Gu Changqing's hands."
The Four Saints spoke, their faces full of resentment and urgency.
Even Laozi could no longer remain composed.
The only thing they wanted to see was Hongjun