Jiuyi Mountain.
By the banks of the Ji River.
The rushing water suddenly stirred, and three figures appeared on the riverbank, their auras upright and serene, clear and pure.
The man at the front wore his long hair loose and a stone-blue, gold-flecked robe with wide sleeves. His features were handsome and open, his bearing as radiant as rosy clouds and graceful as moonlight. In his hand was a Wood Ruyi carved with clouds, cranes, and lingzhi mushrooms; from its end hung a palace tassel of five-colored, clustered-glass beads. Clear light shimmered around him, his aura pristine, as if he had become one with the surrounding world. He was none other than Jiuyi Mountain's Daoist heir, Fu Xuanxu.
The man on his left wore the robes of a prince of the Liulan Dynasty and a Crimson Gold Crown. Yet his aura was the weakest of the three. He was the Liulan Crown Prince, Zhong Kui Yueji.
As for the cultivator on the right, she wore splendid robes and a jade skirt, with wide sleeves and pearl ornaments. Her arched brows and limpid eyes, her graceful neck and delicate figure, were breathtakingly beautiful, yet carried an air of noble elegance. She was like a Qiong Flower in bloom beneath the full moon, her every glance and gesture radiating incomparable grace.
She was Yan Minghua, the Suzhen Heaven Heavenly Maiden. She had just returned from Qingyao Mountain, and her aura, too, had entered the ranks of the Nine Tribulations Deity Transformation stage.
The three spread their Spiritual Senses, swiftly sweeping the surroundings. Clear light streamed continuously from the Ruyi in Fu Xuanxu's hand as he said in a low voice, "It should be here."
"Junior Brother Ning hasn't arrived yet."
At this, Zhong Kui Yueji immediately said, "Brother Ning ran into a