Xuan Jin's voice clearly reached Protector Wu's ears.
At the same time, Cai'er, Yue Mei, and the others were all startled. Following Xuan Jin's gaze, they looked over, yet found nothing.
Just as they were puzzled, Xuan Jin vanished from where he stood.
The next moment.
Xuan Jin's figure appeared out of thin air behind that uninhabited sand dune.
Less than a meter before him, a humanoid mass of black mist stood frozen in place in an extremely strange manner.
The black mist churned violently, revealing its master's intense inner turmoil.
Protector Wu felt as though his soul was about to cease functioning.
This mysterious Dou Zong had actually appeared directly before him!
The concealment secret art he had always been proud of was like a joke before this man!
"Who are you?"
Xuan Jin looked at the familiar mass of black mist before him, his tone calm.
He did not expose the identity of the person before him as a Soul Hall Protector.
Mainly because every Soul Hall Protector looked the same to Xuan Jin—dark, shadowy soul bodies that were truly difficult to distinguish.
Moreover, this was Xuan Jin's first encounter with a Soul Hall Protector. The Northwest Continent seemed to have only three Protectors: Protector Wu, Protector Tie, and Protector Xuan.
Xuan Jin had no idea which Protector the soul body before him was.
"Your Excellency... Your Excellency has misunderstood."
A dry, grating voice came from within the black mist. Protector Wu forcibly suppressed the fear deep within his soul and attempted to explain himself.
"This old man was merely passing through and was drawn here by the battle's fluctuations to inspect the situation. I harbor no ill intent."
Protector Wu tried to distance himself from the matter.
"Passing through?"
Xuan Jin repeated those two words.
"Then you