As far as he knew, of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect's ten current True Disciples, only two were women: Huo Qiushui, ranked fifth, and Ruan Lingxiu, ranked ninth.
He had already met Ruan Lingxiu. As for Huo Qiushui, he had never seen her, but she was rumored to have a cold and aloof aura, which didn't seem to perfectly match the woman before him.
'Who... who in the world is this woman?'
Chen Qing suppressed his confusion. 'She can enter and exit the Grotto Heaven freely and dares to venture into the core region. Her status must be anything but ordinary. It's likely on par with a True Disciple, or perhaps... even more special.'
An unknown amount of time passed. The aura in the Grotto Heaven's core region gradually calmed down, the raging storm clouds slowly dissipated, and the churning Primordial Qi settled.
Chen Qing stepped out from behind the ancient tree, his gaze flickering uncertainly as he looked toward the core region.
