The Bailian Mountain Range.
By the time Hua Ying and her group arrived, a large crowd had already gathered.
In addition to the Liuyun Sect, the other two major immortal sects had also dispatched two teams of disciples.
Those clad in green were old acquaintances from the Qingshan Sword Sect, while those in purple hailed from the Fulei Sect.
Upon seeing Yan Zhao, the respective leaders of both sides approached her. “Daoist Yan.”
The leading disciple of the Fulei Sect was named Gu Ruhui, a rising star with a growing reputation in the immortal path. He possessed a dignified and handsome face and exuded an aura of righteousness. certainly appearing much more genuine than that hypocrite, Wei Jun.
Since the Fulei Sect and the Liuyun Sect were not particularly close, Gu Ruhui simply gave Yan Zhao a curt nod.
The representative from the Qingshan Sword Sect was Ning Shuang, and as expected, Mo Lulu was trailing right beside her.
“We meet again, Daoist Yan,” Ning Shuang said with a gentle smile. “I hope we can work together effectively this time.”
“Daoist Ning Shuang,” Yan Zhao acknowledged with a nod before asking, “Have the members of the Demon Realm and the Beast Clan arrived yet?”
“The demon cultivators from the Demon Realm have not arrived yet, but those from the Beast Clan are already here.” Ning Shuang looked toward the distance, where dozens of people stood in an orderly fashion.
Perhaps they couldn’t quite be called “people,” as they all exhibited various animalistic traits.
Sensing the collective gaze of the group, the leader of the Beast Clan cultivators immediately looked over with sharp intuition.
He appeared to be a pure-blooded Wolf, possessing a pair of eerie, round pupils. His gaze was cold and piercing, and a long, grey-furred tail stood erect behind him.
Upon meeting Yan Zhao’s eyes, his lips curled upward into a wide grin, revealing excessively white fangs that glinted with a chilling sharpness in the sunlight.
Yan Zhao’s expression turned slightly grave. “It’s Feng Jun.”
Hua Ying asked curiously, “Who is Feng Jun?”
Yan Zhao replied, “The current Young Master of the Beast Clan. I’ve dealt with him before; he is not a kind soul.”
In truth, her words were an understatement. Feng Jun was notorious among beast cultivators for his ruthless and cruel methods.
Ning Shuang added with a serious tone, “If even Feng Jun has come, it seems this battle will not be an easy one.”
To the side, Gu Ruhui let out a short laugh while meticulously wiping his longsword. “If he dares to come, we shall simply fight.”
Since the people from the Demon Realm had not arrived, the Bailian Mountain Range had not yet opened. Yan Zhao walked off to the side with Ning Shuang and Gu Ruhui to discuss their strategy.
While the “big shots” were busy strategizing, the idle Ci Jiujiu pulled Hua Ying aside to gossip.
As they chatted, a small head suddenly popped up beside them, summarizing their conversation with an air of sudden realization: “So, Senior Sister Yan doesn’t like eating fish, Senior Brother Wei is particularly vengeful, the Sect Leader loves wearing green underpants, and your Second Elder once chased after the Fifth Elder but turned into that aggressive person he is now after being rejected.”
“Wow,” Mo Lulu exclaimed in admiration. “Life in your Liuyun Sect is so exciting!”
Ci Jiujiu quickly made a silencing gesture toward her. This was all “classified information” she had gathered through various sources; if Wei Jun or the others heard this, she’d be doomed!
Mo Lulu smiled slightly. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”
Hua Ying and Ci Jiujiu cast skeptical looks at her simultaneously.
Hua Ying looked at her and asked, “Why did you come over here?”
“My Senior Sister and the others have serious business to attend to. I couldn’t disturb her, so I came to play with you guys!” Mo Lulu said, sounding perfectly justified.
“But,” Ci Jiujiu asked in surprise, “we aren’t even that close. Why didn’t you go find the other Qingshan Sword Sect disciples?”
“Oh, feelings grow the more you hang out,” Mo Lulu said, her skin even thicker than Hua Ying’s as she directly grabbed Ci Jiujiu’s arm. “Besides, in the Qingshan Sword Sect, I only like my Senior Sister. No one else even catches my eye.”
“You guys are different,” she said, looking at Hua Ying and then at Ci Jiujiu. “I felt we had a fated connection the moment I saw you.”
Mo Lulu nodded at Hua Ying. “Last time we met, it was a case of ‘no friendship without a fight,’ right?”
She was very cute, with large blinking eyes and two small dragon horns protruding from her head, launching a full-scale “cute offensive” on the two of them.
Hua Ying found the girl quite interesting and nodded with a smile. “You could say that.”
Having settled one, Mo Lulu turned her sights on Ci Jiujiu, asking sweetly, “And this Little Senior Sister, I don’t know your name yet.”
Ci Jiujiu tried her best to rescue her arm from Mo Lulu’s embrace, but the other girl’s strength was too great. Unable to break free, she could only give up and let her stay.
“I’m Ci Jiujiu,” she muttered, unable to resist complaining. “This is the first time I’ve met someone even more outgoing than me.”
Mo Lulu gave a delighted cheer. “What a coincidence! My name is Mo Lulu. We are practically sisters from different mothers!”
Ci Jiujiu: “?” Hua Ying: “?”
“So, Sister…” Mo Lulu smiled shyly, her eyes practically glowing as she stared at Ci Jiujiu. “Do you think you could share those few little booklets hidden in your robes with your younger sister?”
Even though Ci Jiujiu had only accidentally revealed a tiny corner of a book, Mo Lulu’s sharp, sparkling eyes knew for a certainty: those were definitely limited-edition, uncensored storybooks!
Hua Ying finally understood. No wonder this girl was suddenly so enthusiastic; her intentions weren’t about the friendship at all.
She had noticed during the last competition they were kindred spirits. This moment only served to prove her intuition.
Indeed, there are invisible auras between people; fellow deviants always seem to find each other.
As the several of them were bonding over their newly established “sisterhood,” a thunderous roar suddenly echoed.
BOOM!!
It sounded like a massive clap of thunder. Thick, heavy black clouds gathered in the sky, pressing down until the world looked as dark as night.
Within the rolling black smoke, several exceptionally thin shadows gradually emerged.
It was the Demon Race.