As the saying goes, when you meet a kindred spirit over wine, a thousand cups are too few. Both Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian were deeply pleased by this encounter. Adding to the joy, Mo Wentian was also a lover of fine wine, so the drinking naturally flowed as freely and delightfully as could be.
It is said that heroes appreciate heroes. Gu Qingfeng might not be considered much of a hero himself, but he held immense admiration and respect in his heart for a heroic and celebrated figure like Mo Wentian.
He had heard the legendary tales of Mo Wentian, and many heroic stories about him circulated throughout the Myriad Heavens and Worlds.
For instance, for a friend, he would walk through fire and water. No matter where he was, if a friend was in trouble, he would rush to offer his full assistance.
It was said he had once ventured alone into the Nine Underworlds for a friend from the Nine Heavens, and had also stormed the Nine Heavens in fury for a friend from the Nine Underworlds.
He had once sacrificed his own well-being to resolve a feud, and had willingly subjected himself to punishment to save a life.
In Mo Wentian's eyes, there was no distinction between Immortal, demon, monster, or Buddha—only the difference between good and evil. Most importantly, he possessed a heart of great benevolence and righteousness. Having roamed the Great Desolate for many years, he had once withstood the fury of a natural tempest to save the cultivators of a world, and had fought the Void Beasts of the Great Desolate for strangers in the void.
He had been swept into spatial turbulence and cast into forgotten spaces. He had even violated Heavenly Dao laws to help others and had faced judgment by the Heavenly Dao.
There were far too many heroic stories about Mo Wentian; three days and three nights would likely not suffice to recount them all.
Mo Wentian was not only bold and magnanimous, valuing loyalty and righteousness above all, but also unconstrained by trivialities. Thus, he had many friends—so many they spanned the Myriad Heavens and Worlds of the Great Desolate, and extended across the Three Thousand Great Daos. Whether in the heavens above or the earth below, whether they were revered Great Dao Patriarchs or ordinary secular cultivators, his friends came from all walks of life and every creed.
Some said Mo Wentian's friends were not only spread across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, but also connected Heaven and Earth, bridging ancient and modern times.
An exaggeration?
No!
Not in the slightest.
It was said that in the early days of the Ancient Era, when the Sacred Lands sought to eliminate Mo Wentian and laid a heaven-spanning net to besiege him, news of this spread throughout the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, causing an immediate uproar. From the Nine Heavens above to the Nine Underworlds below, followers of the Immortal Dao, the Buddhist Dao, the Demonic Dao, and the Monster Dao, the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens, the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, along with many titans of the Great Desolate, numerous Great Dao Emperors, Great Dao Thrones, and even Great Dao Patriarchs personally stepped forward to rescue Mo Wentian.
Was that all?
Of course not.
As Mo Wentian traveled the Great Desolate, championing justice and righteousness, he had saved countless Immortal Realm sects, clans, and families, as well as innumerable cultivators. Thus, on that occasion, cultivators from various celestial domains across the Myriad Heavens and Worlds banded together in droves to rush to Mo Wentian's aid.
This became the famous event of the Ancient Era known as 'The Heroes Defying the Saints to Save the Free Emperor,' also called 'When the Free Emperor is in Peril, All Realms Rush to Aid.'
When Gu Qingfeng heard these heroic tales of Mo Wentian back in the day, he was filled with utmost admiration. He believed Mo Wantian was a truly worthy hero of the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. To be a person, especially a man, one should aspire to be a towering, indomitable hero like Mo Wentian.
Alas.
Gu Qingfeng was no hero.
Although his childhood dream had also been to become a towering, indomitable great hero, as he lived on, somehow, not only did he fail to become the great hero of his dreams, he ended up becoming the very person he despised most.
Having lived to this point and experienced so many things, Gu Qingfeng had long since abandoned any desire to become some widely revered heroic champion. But that did not hinder his reverence for heroes.
In truth,
Gu Qingfeng did not know that while he admired Mo Wentian, Mo Wentian equally admired him.
The difference was, he admired Mo Wentian's chivalry and self-sacrifice, while Mo Wentian admired his unyielding defiance and his swift, decisive settling of scores.
Gu Qingfeng had heard many legendary stories about Mo Wentian. Similarly, Mo Wentian had heard many legendary tales about Gu Qingfeng.
Destroying Immortal Dynasties, burning the Nine Heavens, storming the Nine Underworlds, slaughtering Great Daos, shattering the void, cleaving the firmament, defying Heaven and Earth.
Gu Qingfeng felt a man should be like Mo Wentian—peerless in the world, a knight-errant roaming Heaven and Earth.
Mo Wentian, however, felt a man should be like Gu Qingfeng—unrestrained and untrammeled, rampaging across Heaven and Earth.
When the two met, it was just as Mo Wentian had said: they felt like old friends from the first meeting, regretting they had not met sooner.
They drank heartily, cup for cup, completely sidelining Da Xing the Mad Monk as if he were an outsider, unable to get a word in edgewise.
This left Da Xing the Mad Monk feeling quite disgruntled. It felt as if he, the host, had invited Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian to his home, only for the two guests to become so engrossed in conversation that the host was left with nothing to do.
What vexed Da Xing the Mad Monk even more was that he had invited Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian here to help him. Now that the two had met, neither brought up the matter, nor asked about it, completely absorbed in their chat.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian drinking and chatting so animatedly, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt it inappropriate to interrupt. He could only drink his wine in sullen silence, growing more and more frustrated with each sip, increasingly tempted to curse Gu Qingfeng.
In Da Xing the Mad Monk's view, Gu Qingfeng was utterly shameless. When they had met and chatted earlier, the lad had been drinking his wine the whole time, never once mentioning fine brews like Heavenly Dao and Hell Impermanence. In the end, Da Xing the Mad Monk had to resort to some trickery to coax Gu Qingfeng into reluctantly producing two jars.
But now, the moment Mo Wentian arrived, good heavens! The brat dumped out several hundred jars of Heavenly Dao and Hell Impermanence in one go!
How could this not infuriate Da Xing the Mad Monk? How could it not make him seethe with rage?
Of course,
Anger was anger, rage was rage.
Since he now had a request of Gu Qingfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk couldn't very well throw a fit. He could only endure silently, vigorously downing jar after jar of Heavenly Dao and Hell Impermanence, as if venting his displeasure with Gu Qingfeng through the drink.
Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian drank and chatted like this. No one knew how long they conversed, only that they drank cup after cup, polishing off over eighty jars of the exquisite Heavenly Dao and Hell Impermanence wine. Finally, their conversation turned to Da Xing the Mad Monk.
Noticing the disgruntled monk, Mo Wentian said that meeting Gu Qingfeng felt like reuniting with an old friend, putting him in such high spirits that he got completely carried away chatting and entirely forgot the purpose of his visit. He offered repeated apologies. Gu Qingfeng also laughed heartily, saying he too regretted not meeting Mo Wentian sooner and had forgotten the important matter.
Da Xing the Mad Monk shot both Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian an extremely disdainful glare and said with great displeasure, "Enough, you two. Quit putting on an act for This Old Monk. Do you really think This Old Monk can't see through your little game?
Aren't you just deliberately ignoring This Old Monk to watch him make a fool of himself?
You're still wet behind the ears, yet you dare play mind games with This Old Monk? Don't you know who This Old Monk is? Let me tell you, the moment you two stick your butts out, This Old Monk knows exactly what kind of shit you're going to drop!"
Gu Qingfeng and Mo Wentian exchanged a look and both burst into loud laughter.