Then, before the voice had faded, countless blades of green grass and flowers flew from the stream of light, gathering in midair into a humanoid figure more than a dozen zhang tall. The figure slowly shrank. The grass transformed into fair skin, the flowers into springlike beauty. In the blink of an eye, a ravishing woman in colorful robes stood before Xiao Hua, the corners of her lips slightly raised in a faint smile.
The woman's gaze fell upon Xiao Hua's somewhat stunned face, and then she smiled sweetly again. That smile was peerless, as though flocks of butterflies had spread their wings and danced out from the corners of her brows, stealing all the color from heaven and earth. Behind her, amid surging flowers and grass, clouds of rosy mist arose. More than a dozen men and women of varying attire and apparent ages looked at Xiao Hua with curiosity on their faces.
"Sect... Sect Leader Liu..." Xiao Hua answered almost absentmindedly. But in an instant, he gave his head a slight shake and came to his senses. A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he cupped his hands and said, "Xiao Hua of the Creation Sect greets Sect Leader Liu. But Sect Leader Liu, this joke of yours was a bit too much!"
"Hee hee..." The woman's lips trembled slightly as she replied, "This one knew that True Person Xiao did not care for worldly formalities, so I did not dare make a great display of it. But since this is True Person Xiao's first visit to my Misty Sect, how could I not leave a deep impression on you?"
"All right!" Xiao Hua smiled. "Sect Leader Liu has left this Xiao with far too deep an impression. I fear I will not easily forget it!"
"That