The sudden words came without warning, yet rang out with perfect clarity.
"Uh... Fellow Daoist Houtu is right. This certainly isn't cultivation gone astray!"
"Hehe... uh... it's merely everyone's heart-demons revealing themselves."
At those words,
Tongtian and Houtu froze for a moment.
But then they immediately realized.
Gu Changqing!
Indeed!
Who else but Gu Changqing could have that familiar tone?
Sure enough!
The two looked toward the voice!
In the shadows along the side of the Main Hall, beside a Vermilion Immortal Pillar so thick it took both arms to encircle, a figure had appeared at some unknown moment.
Gu Changqing leaned against the pillar, one leg bent, his foot resting on the cloud-patterned relief at its base.
He held the enormous Wine God Gourd in one hand. Its lid was already open, and a wine fragrance so rich it was almost tangible instantly dispelled the hall's cold gloom.
Gulp...
Gu Changqing tilted his head back, and the clear liquor formed a slender stream that fell precisely into his throat.
A little wine dripped down his chin, soaking the blue robe over his chest and leaving a dark wet patch.
Sect Master Tongtian took a step forward, and the green brick beneath his foot gave a faint, sharp crack.
"Disciple Changqing?"
Those words echoed through the hall.
Sect Master Tongtian did not draw any closer. His steps seemed somewhat stiff.
As the master of the Interception Sect and a Heavenly Dao Sage, Biyou Palace was his absolute domain.
Every inch of space and every wisp of spiritual qi lay within his perception.
Yet he had sensed nothing whatsoever when Gu Changqing entered, nor did he know when it had happened.
Space had not rippled, karma had not stirred, and even the Great Array's restraining seals had given no warning.
Houtu,