Just as the Great Priestess and Ruo Shui were speaking, another priestess came rushing over in a panic.
"Bad news, Great Priestess... something has happened in the forbidden grounds."
The priestess burst urgently into the stone grotto and reported in a trembling voice, "While the Holy Son was refining the Northern Essence Water, he was ambushed by the Divine Tree. He is about to be consumed."
"What?" The Great Priestess froze, her expression changing drastically.
"Brother Feng..." Ruo Shui's face turned deathly pale with alarm and worry.
The group hurried toward the forbidden grounds. Ruo Shui could no longer spare a thought for her former awkwardness; her worry for Lu Feng outweighed everything else now.
By the time they arrived, the gates to the forbidden grounds had already shut completely. No matter how the three priestesses joined forces and tried, they could not open them.
"What happened?"
Ye Fan's voice drifted over from afar. From where he stood on the Spirit Pool Flatland, he could not see what was happening behind the gates around the distant corner. Yet seeing everyone's anxious expressions, he, too, sensed a flicker of unease.
Hearing Ye Fan call out, Ruo Shui and the priestesses withdrew from outside the forbidden grounds to the edge of the Rebirth Pool.
Only then did Ye Fan get a clear look at Ruo Shui. He was startled. Earlier, he had seen a priestess protecting a young woman as they hurried away, but since he had not seen her face clearly, he had not recognized her as Ruo Shui.
Now, seeing her, he could not hide his astonishment. "Sister Ruo Shui... all your injuries have healed?"
Ruo Shui nodded faintly. With Lu Feng's safety filling her mind, she seemed to have forgotten how to speak, her heart unbearably heavy.
A priestess