The hall blazed with lamps and candles, resplendent as an immortal palace, illuminating its soaring corridors and winding galleries as clearly as daylight.
Their light echoed the rising moon hanging far away beside the upturned eaves.
It almost made one wonder whether one stood amid clear ripples and gentle waves, borne aloft by radiance, with a dazzling haze filling one's eyes...
At that moment, Tu Shan Ningning stood grinning below the jade steps, her face tilted up toward the purple-robed Daoist above, whose expression was impassive.
She now looked like a little girl of twelve or thirteen, her face still touched with childishness and far from fully grown, her round cheeks rosy, her manner sweet and endearing.
Her hair was arranged in twin buns, and she wore a delicately colored yellow ruqun embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns. Her two furry fox ears and her tail kept swaying, making her look quite happy.
When Chen Heng looked toward her, a faint smile touched his lips.
Tu Shan Ningning proudly spun in a circle, planted her hands on her hips, and said smugly:
"Impressive, right? Aren't I impressive? I've reached the Qi Refinement Realm, and I've taken human form! Uncle Ge said my aptitude ranks among the best of the little foxes-even better than Tu Shan Zhuang's and his!"
The Uncle Ge whom Tu Shan Ningning mentioned was, naturally, Tu Shan Ge.
And Tu Shan Ge's words were neither indulgent praise nor falsehood.
Chen Heng saw that Tu Shan Ningning's aura was pure, free of impurities. A faint jade luster flowed across her face, and her eyes were clear; she had evidently cultivated the Dao Arts of the Profound Gate.
Had her skill in taking human form not remained insufficient, leaving her unable to conceal her ears and tail,
it would have