"Senior, may I ask what business you have with this junior?"
Chen Changming stepped out of the cave residence and cupped his fists toward Elder Ziling in salute, his tone respectful yet properly measured.
After all, she was a powerhouse at the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm from the Red Luan Immortal Sect, while this cultivation avatar of his was merely at the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. Whether by cultivation or seniority, he ought to show sufficient "respect."
"Hmm?"
The moment Elder Ziling saw Chen Changming, her heart gave a faint jolt, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up within her.
The feeling was subtle. It was neither the clarity of reuniting with an old acquaintance nor the strangeness of meeting by chance, but like viewing scenery through a thin veil of mist—blurred, yet real.
For the moment, Elder Ziling could not discern the source of that familiarity, but not a trace of it showed on her face. Her expression remained cold and indifferent.
"You are Chen Shan?"
Steadying herself, Elder Ziling's gaze darkened as she demanded sternly.
"Yes, Senior."
Chen Changming nodded calmly, neither servile nor overbearing.
As the distance between them closed, he became increasingly certain—this woman with the face of a child and hair like a crane's had features ninety percent identical to Luan Yanling's. Even the cool, aloof bearing between her brows was exactly the same.
This is definitely another avatar of the Ice Spirit Fairy!
Chen Changming was convinced, yet a new doubt rose in his heart: why would two avatars of the Ice Spirit Fairy exist within the same Red Luan Immortal Sect?
Logically, given Luan Yanling's seventh-layer Nascent Soul Realm cultivation and Elder Ziling's cultivation at the Sixth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm, both should have