The voice transmissions had barely reached Wu Chou's ears when the demonic blade he had raised froze in midair. Disbelief spread across his face.
He lowered the blade, then moved his lips in a silent question, as though he could not believe what he had heard.
Elder Gu replied with another sentence or two, his face expressionless.
The strange exchange left Han Li and the others thoroughly baffled.
Only Naruto knew the truth: the two sides were actually one and the same!
Elder Miao hovered in the air, blank-faced and seemingly oblivious to it all.
"I don't believe you. Show me proof of who you are!" Wu Chou shook his head and spoke in a cold, loud voice.
Whether deliberate or not, he had not used voice transmission. He had said it openly for everyone to hear.
Han Li, Feng Sanniang, and the others heard every word, leaving them even more confused.
Elder Gu's and Elder Miao's expressions changed sharply. They exchanged a glance, both looking furious.
"Here. This should prove who we are!"
Elder Gu flicked his hand with a frosty expression, sending a dark object flying.
Wu Chou caught it without effort.
Naruto focused on it. With his powerful Divine Sense, he could see it clearly: a token engraved with a ferocious ghost's head and wreathed in faint black vapor. Wu Chou was turning it over, examining both sides.
Beside Naruto, Han Li quickly looked toward him, his expression tightening.
The others also watched the three Core Formation cultivators' every move with uneasy suspicion.
Qing Suanzi, however, had gone deathly pale. His fists clenched, he began retreating silently. In moments, he had put twenty or thirty yards between himself and the others.
When he noticed Han Li looking at him, he started in alarm, then gave a strained,