On the night the Red Moon appeared in the sky, a nearly black wind blew in the green sand desert.
This was somewhat similar to the legends of the Green Sand Desert. It was formed after the original green wind fused with the redness of the ground.
However, upon closer inspection, it actually leaned more towards purple.
Amidst the sandstorm, Xu Qing and the others left the apothecary.
Other than Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu, Ling'er, Nether Fairy, and Li Youfei also set off with them.
Among them, the most difficult to bring was Nether Fairy. It was unknown what the captain said to her, but it actually made Nether Fairy, who always showed disgust towards him, agree to follow.
The parrot didn't escape either and Xu Qing borrowed it from the heir.
The parrot originally wanted to reject Xu Qing but after seeing Xu Qing's right hand, it strangely chose to agree.
As for the heir and the others, they ultimately didn't participate and allowed them to leave.
Just like that, Xu Qing and the others walked into the desert amidst the sandstorm and headed deeper.
At the same time, as the Red Moon became visible in the sky, with the eruption of the power of the tide, all living beings in the Moon Worship Region suffered indescribable misery.
Countless mountain ranges were constantly collapsing, and lakes were flowing in reverse, churning in mid-air.
Especially the activity of curses on the mortals was extremely pronounced.
If one could observe the entire Moon Worship Region, they would see death and endless wailing in every village and town.
The souls of those dead beings couldn't leave the Moon Worship. They would gather in the temples and be immersed in this purgatory forever.
In the end, madness was only temporary. The despair after venting was like a vortex that would never stop and would drown everything in an instant.
It was the same for all races, sects, and cultivators.
They were unfortunate to live in the time of the Crimson Goddess' descent.
After all, the Crimson Goddess came once every few thousand years, without a fixed schedule. Sometimes it would take longer and sometimes shorter. Not everyone born and raised during this period lived long enough to witness Her.
They weren't the only ones in despair. Even the forces that were dependent on the Red Moon were on tenterhooks.
This was because from history, whether the dependent forces could survive or not depended on the degree of hunger of the Crimson Goddess.
Hence, the moment the Red Moon appeared, despair replaced madness and became the main theme of the Moon Worship Region. It fused into the world and also scattered in the wind of the green sand desert, turning into a whimper that echoed in the ears of Xu Qing and the others.
In the desert, the world was blurry and the figures of Xu Qing and the others were faintly discernible.
The footprints they left behind were quickly filled up by the sandy wind, leaving no traces.
The captain was walking at the front, guiding the way.
Xu Qing's position was behind the captain.
As he moved forward, Xu Qing instinctively observed the surrounding desolate scene. He had been here before.
Back then, when he went to save the shadow, Xu Qing had passed by this area. He remembered that further ahead was the place where he had first seen the members of the Wind Guard Race.
"We've been moving for four hours. We'll reach our destination in about fifteen minutes now."
The captain's voice came through the wind, reaching the ears of Xu Qing and the others following behind.
"Wind Guard Race?"
Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
The captain turned his head and glanced at Xu Qing. In the dim sandstorm, his expression was a little unclear but the light in his eyes was very bright.
"That's right. Junior Brother, you understand me well. The place we're going to now is the Wind Guard Race's area."
"Junior Brother, you should know the legend of the Wind Guard Race, right?"
The captain's gaze landed on Xu Qing before looking at Ning Yan and the others at the back.
Ning Yan, Wu Jianwu, and the others were all wearing thick robes that covered their heads and faces. They weren't in a good mood.
Actually, they didn't want to come. They didn't even know their destination this time around.
Xu Qing nodded. The mission of the Wind Guard Race was to protect the wind in this desert. This was also the reason why this race was special.
"This race didn't exist before this desert was formed."
The captain spoke as he walked.
"There was once an existence and a great person who molded this race based on an agreement."
"The moment this race was created, it was given the mission of guarding the wind."
"However, in essence, the mission of this race is actually a key."
At this point, the captain stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Xu Qing, his eyes filled with reminiscence.
"A key to open the land where the ruler slew the god!"
Xu Qing's gaze froze. The others were also surprised when they heard the captain's words.
"Little Qing, I told you before that before the Crimson Goddess became a god, she was killed by the ruler back then."
"At that time, the ruler used the sky as a blade and the ground as a platform. He used the sun and moon as a connection to form a God Slaying Platform and behead the Crimson Goddess.
The sandy wind fluttered the captain's robe. His voice was solemn as he pointed to the ground.
"The place of the execution is under our feet! This is the predecessor of the green sand desert."
As soon as he spoke, everyone's hearts trembled. Xu Qing lowered his head and looked at his feet.
The wind was blowing, growing louder and louder. The captain's voice was fragmented and intermittent.
"Later on, that great person and his companions found the land of the god execution that had turned into ruins and used a mystical technique, causing signs of recovery to appear in the land of the god execution. It also formed a sandstorm that drowned and sealed everything, hiding it."
"The method to open it requires you to satisfy a number of conditions. The first condition is that the Red Moon appears and the green sand is like blood."
The captain's gaze was deep and his solemn voice was filled with passion.
"The second condition is that the wind in the green sand desert must turn from green to black, and it must happen at a specific time, precisely in the eighth hour when the black wind starts blowing."
"Now, it's the purple wind."
The captain lifted his right hand and a yellow light emitted from the item in his palm. It was the captain's little dumpling.
The light emitted by this artificial sun was yellow.
It rose into the air until it reached the sky. Yellow light spread out on the ground and fused with the green wind and red sand.
The overlapping of these three colors created black!
Immediately, this area turned black and the black wind whistled, spreading in all directions.
An aura of death grew at this moment, becoming increasingly dense.
Ning Yan and the others were shocked. From the captain's words and his actions at this moment, they had a strong feeling that what the other party was going to do this time would definitely be extremely great.
Xu Qing's expression was solemn as he looked at the captain.
"There should be more than these two conditions."
The captain laughed and with a wave of his hand, he took out eight bronze daggers and swung them in all directions.
Immediately, the eight daggers spread out but they didn't pierce into the sand. Instead, the blades pointed down and floated in the air.
They emitted black lightning that rapidly spread, forming an incomplete circle.
They were the holy items of the Wind Guard Race. Back then, they were sent to the apothecary and landed with the heir. Now, they were clearly borrowed by the captain.
After doing this, the captain lifted his hand toward Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, lend me the holy item you took from the Wind Guard Race back then."
Xu Qing didn't hesitate. He took out the dagger from his storage bag and threw it to the captain. The captain then performed a series of hand seals and pointed.
Immediately, the dagger headed straight for the incomplete part of the circle. The moment it landed, black lightning spread out and a ten-thousand-foot-long circle appeared in the air with them as the center.
Countless complicated runes manifested in the lightning. They looked like characters but few would be able to recognize them.
"Wind Guard Race, follow the agreement of your bloodline. Come out!"
The captain stomped fiercely on the ground.
The black wind whistled and the nine holy item daggers buzzed, enhancing the captain's voice. It echoed in all directions and was also transmitted to the bottom of the desert.
Very soon, a large number of vortexes appeared in the desert outside the ten-thousand-foot-long circle.
There were no less than thousands of them of various sizes surrounding the circle. As they continued to rotate, the figures of the Wind Guard Race cultivators appeared one after another.
A similar circle appeared on the forehead of every member of the clan. It resonated with the circle in the air and flickered at the same time.
The person closest to the 10,000-foot-long circle was none other than the Wind Guard Ancestor. He looked at Xu Qing and the others in bewilderment as his expression kept changing.
As for the other clansmen, it was the same. Every one of their hearts was churning as they looked at the 10,000-foot-long circle in disbelief.
"This ritual…"
The Wind Guard Ancestor's heart was in turmoil.
He knew that this ritual was the highest ritual recorded in their race's bloodline. It was also their true mission that outsiders couldn't know about.
Protect the wind, protect the desert, wait… for the day when a person appeared in the black wind.
The moment this person appeared, a circle would appear above the ground, their bloodlines would fluctuate, and a ritual array formation would appear on their forehead.
This was the meaning of their race's existence.
However, even in his dreams, the Wind Guard Ancestor would never have thought that the mission their race had waited for many years would appear today.
Moreover, the person who appeared was actually the cultivator from the apothecary.
This caused his mind to fluctuate greatly.
"Little Qing, the third condition to open that place is naturally this Wind Guard Race."
"What is needed is all the members of this race who have appeared on the day when the black wind descends over the countless years."
The captain's voice echoed as he looked at the Wind Guard Ancestor.
The ancestor's body trembled. The rumbling from his bloodline instantly made him lower his head and speak instinctively.
"Respect the god's decree!"
As his voice rang out, four of the surrounding vortices turned white. At the same time, the four clansmen inside also appeared.
There were men and women among these four tribesmen and their ages varied. However, what was similar was their hair, brows, and even their pupils. They were all white.
This type of clansmen had a special status in the Wind Guard Race. They were protected very well from the moment they were born until they died.
The mission of the Wind Guard Race required that at any given time, there must be three or more of these tribesmen present.
"Also, the skulls!"
The captain's body floated up and he spoke in a deep voice.
The Ancestor of the Wind Guards took a deep breath and immediately passed down the order. Very soon, nine black craniums were carefully taken out of their territory. Nine clansmen carried them and placed them under each of the daggers floating in the air.
"Little Qing, the ruler's Deity Slaying Stage was turned into an illusion by that great person and hidden in the wind of the green sand desert. Only the memories of the Race of the Wind Guards can open it."
"Now, the rite of sacrifice can begin."
