At an inn somewhere in the outer city of the Nine Dragons Imperial Capital!
The bright moon had just risen, the stars were sparse, and the night breeze was crisp and clear.
The Otherworlder known as "Lotus Step by Step," dressed in a purple-and-white cloud-patterned gown, rested her head on her jade-like arm as she leaned against the windowsill, quietly gazing at the imperial capital's nightscape—its lights like stars, its prosperity alive with clamor.
"Rivers and mountains are like a painting, beauties like poetry; when the heart is tranquil, lotuses bloom beneath every step."
In that fleeting moment of tranquility, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out from nowhere...
"Who?!"
Lotus Step by Step's expression changed. Loose Immortal aura erupted from her as her mana surged at top speed in vigilance. Then she saw a figure in a robe with his hair bound by a circlet, seeming to cross the void as he slowly approached, making Lotus Step by Step cover her mouth with a small hand, her eyes widening in utter disbelief...
Her voluptuous figure appeared even more curvaceous as she leaned against the window. With cloudlike hair and a flowerlike face, she displayed both mature charm and the dignified, virtuous bearing of a gentle and graceful married woman, a sight that drew the eye.
Looking at those familiar features, that unfamiliar temperament and attire, Xiao Ying smiled and praised, "Not bad! Indifferent to fame and profit, content wherever fate placed you—yet you still cultivated on your own to the Loose Immortal Realm!"
At the current era and stage of the Forging the Sacred Court world, the Loose Immortal Realm was not uncommon. However, those whose cultivation had reached that realm were basically absolute elites of their respective factions, or people blessed with extraordinary fortuitous encounters. Without factional