The Grand Elder had just been about to bluntly confront Xia Nishang when she froze at the words. "Han Ji has gone missing? When?"
True Adept Han Ji was one of Yinsha's registered "Nine True Adepts." The Grand Elder was not well liked within Red Phoenix, but there was absolutely no issue with her stance. She was relatively well informed about the general movements of Yinsha's Nine True Adepts.
If her memory was correct, True Adept Han Ji had appeared at an auction last year.
The sect leader did not answer her question. Instead, she pondered for a long while before speaking. "Half a month ago."
"What kind of joke is this?" The Grand Elder's temper was truly awful. She spared no effort when snapping at fellow sect members, much less outsiders—especially sworn enemies like Yinsha. "A Golden Core True Adept being out of sight for half a month counts as missing? Is his mother waiting for him to come home for dinner?"
Her words were unpleasant, but the reasoning was sound. He was a Golden Core True Adept. Leaving aside the fact that he could casually enter seclusion for decades, even if he had temporarily gone out to handle something, he had no obligation to inform anyone. Disappearing for a year or two was perfectly normal.
Generally speaking, only after a Golden Core cultivator vanished without a word for over three years would a sect or family consider whether he had gone missing—and to confirm it, he would have to be gone for at least five years.
The sect leader glanced sideways at her, finding her manner of speaking unbearably crude. No matter how much she hated Yinsha, this was a Council of Elders meeting. Still, she did not dwell on it and simply explained, "Han Ji accepted a