"Green wind changing color…"
Xu Qing mumbled to himself and his gaze deepened. The white wind outside the window made him feel a little uneasy.
Any changes in the world were either related to the world's laws or the interference of unimaginable powers, such as the eruption of the Heavenly Fire Sea, or the wind in the green desert at this moment.
"Is there a connection between the two?"
Xu Qing's understanding of the Moon Worship Region was ultimately too little and there were too many things in this world that couldn't be explained. At that moment, in silence, Xu Qing lifted his hand and stretched out the window, catching a grain of white sand in the wind and bringing it in front of him.
This sand was pure white and seemed to have a life of its own. It struggled in Xu Qing's hand and after discovering that it couldn't break free, it actually tried to pierce into Xu Qing's skin.
A golden light flashed in Xu Qing's right hand, stopping the sand from entering as he observed carefully.
A long time later, Xu Qing saw some clues. This white sand… looked more like an insect egg.
"Could it be that the green wind changed its color because an unknown existence dispersed its eggs, causing it to sweep through the entire desert and absorb nutrients?"
Xu Qing revealed a contemplative expression. However, this was only his judgment and there was no evidence.
As for whether the sand was an insect egg or not, it was only Xu Qing's senses without concrete evidence. After all, there were many strange things in the world, and one's senses may not always be reliable.
Ling'er also revealed her head at this moment and looked outside with awe in her eyes. She could also sense the ominous intent contained in the white sandstorm.
Seeing Xu Qing's expression, the parrot felt a little guilty. It blinked but didn't tell him about its feces.
A long time later, Xu Qing retracted his gaze from the sand and looked at the parrot.
The parrot shuddered and hurriedly stood up straight.
"You can bring others with you when you teleport?"
Xu Qing calmly spoke.
"I can!" the parrot exclaimed loudly, but deep down, it thought, 'I can, but it depends on my mood.'
"Where is the captain?" Xu Qing continued to ask.
"He's on the west side of this region, near the shore of the Sacrificial Yin River," the parrot quickly replied.
Xu Qing didn't ask anymore. Although he didn't know what the captain meant by lighting something up, since it was related to the sun, it should require his power of the Golden Crow.
"I can make a trip, but the shadow hasn't returned yet."
Because of Xu Qing's research on curses, the shadow often went out to hunt for him. Sometimes, it would return in a day or two, and sometimes, it would take five to six days.
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the hazy whiteness between heaven and earth in the distance. He called out to the shadow but there was no response. This sandstorm isolated everything.
Xu Qing could only rely on the faint connection to sense that the shadow was far away and didn't move much.
If the parrot could return before the wind blew, logically speaking, it was impossible for the shadow to be stupid enough to be indifferent when it saw Bai Feng.
"Brother Xu Qing, about Little Shadow…" Ling'er looked at Xu Qing, feeling a little worried.
"Something should have happened. Let's go take a look."
Xu Qing spoke calmly, glancing back at the small apothecary. He tidied up the items, pushed open the apothecary's door, and locked it behind him as he walked out. After some consideration, he also found a sign and wrote a message indicating that the shop would be closed for a few months before hanging it up.
Only then did he leave.
The parrot and the Diamond Sect's ancestor had already flown out. One followed beside him and the other carefully landed on Xu Qing's shoulder.
Xu Qing didn't bother with them and walked in the city.
There were not many pedestrians on the streets, and those who were out were kneeling and muttering.
The white sandstorm was blowing past the residences in earth city. Most of the houses' doors were closed.
The residents and the cultivators from the small forces in the surroundings wouldn't go out when the white sandstorm arrived unless they had no choice.
Only those deformed people would walk in the wind and kowtow repeatedly to the white world.
"White Goddess awakens, serene by the fire river."
"Divine child descends, to save the suffering below."
"Amidst countless stars, our hearts remain aglow."
"I'm willing to become the earth, nurturing all we know."
Whispers rang out from the mouths of those deformed people who were kowtowing to the white wind. They were filled with persistence and piety. As they kowtowed, they unbuttoned the wide clothes that covered their bodies, revealing an extremely exaggerated and ugly body.
Their bodies were a shocking sight, as though they had once grown disorderly. A large number of meat strips hung down, and some even had limbs and faces on their stomachs.
The meat strips all rose on their own and swayed in all directions.
This scene caused the parrot to gasp and its eyes to widen.
Xu Qing's gaze swept over and his expression was as calm as ever. He had already sensed it when he arrived here earlier. Now, he wasn't too surprised and walked past these deformed people who were kowtowing and muttering.
Step by step, he walked out of earth city and arrived at the cliff at the edge.
From here, the world was a blurry white. The whimpering wind wreaked havoc and circled around, and the entire world seemed to have turned into a white sea. Countless grains of sand moved with the wind, blowing on Xu Qing's body and landing in his clothes, drilling into his flesh and blood.
However, at the next instant, golden light flashed from Xu Qing's body and all the sand fell.
After sensing the direction of the shadow, Xu Qing tightened his collar and moved forward. His entire person transformed into a rainbow and left the Bitter Life Mountain Range, stepping into the desert.
His robe fluttered and the wind and sand drowned him.
In the desert, Xu Qing sped forward. In this sandstorm, there was an endless amount of sand that enveloped him from all directions. He also faintly sensed waves of greed growing from all things.
There was also the power of vitality that filled the world, causing the bodies of all living beings here to grow uncontrollably under this invasion.
The sand wanted to crawl in at all times, wanting to parasitize flesh and blood.
"The white wind carries the power of catalysis."
"If the sand is indeed insect eggs, it can explain the catalytic effect. This is catalyzing all living creatures to become hosts for the insect eggs."
"The vast majority of catalysts will eventually be sucked dry and die."
"Only a few of them could escape after finding a mountain peak to hide. Hence, there were those deformed people in the various earth cities in the Bitter Life Mountain Range."
"However, their body conditions are irreversible and coexist with the insect eggs in their bodies. Those meat strips should be formed by the insect eggs."
Walking in the midst of the sandy winds, Xu Qing silently sensed and comprehended. Simultaneously, he released his Poison Restriction power, extending it beyond his body, creating the only black presence within this expanse of white sandstorm.
The moment all the sand and gravel came into contact with the black fog, they would emit sizzling sounds. After that, they would be dyed red and land on the ground like they were dead.
However, there were too much gravel. Xu Qing understood that even if he had some ways to resist, he couldn't stay in this white desert for too long. Hence, his speed increased.
Just like that, six hours slowly passed.
There weren't many cultivators in the white desert. It was as though Xu Qing was the only one walking in the desert.
The ground was also different from what Xu Qing had seen in the past.
In the past, there was very little vegetation in the green sand desert. However, now, in this white sandstorm, white grass grew on the ground. Those grass grew rapidly. At first, they were the length of a finger but soon, they reached the height of half a person.
Endless white grass swayed in the wind. As for the scene of this storm coexisting with the grassland, Xu Qing had never seen it elsewhere.
This lasted until the white grass bloomed with flowers that were as white as cotton. They were like dandelions that were blown by the wind, or white feathers fluttering through the world.
The color of the wind became even whiter.
The greed in the sand grew increasingly intense. The white wind, white sand, and white fur filled the sky. What intensified further was the catalysis within this desert. In this wind, Xu Qing could feel every inch of his flesh and blood within him, exhibiting signs of spontaneous transformation and movement.
It was as though it wanted to separate its body and continue growing until it collapsed.
This malice that came from all directions caused Xu Qing to frown. He stopped in his tracks and the power of the Poison Restriction in his body spread out.
Ten feet, thirty feet… In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing spread his poison to 100 feet, forming a black storm. After that, he continued to speed according to his perception.
He had already sensed the location of the shadow and the distance between them was getting closer, causing the connection between them to increase. The shadow clearly sensed Xu Qing as well. Hence, it intermittently scattered grievances and cries for help.
Xu Qing's eyes turned cold. His previous judgment wasn't wrong. Something had indeed happened to the shadow. Hence, his body swayed and he sped up.
At that moment, the shadow was wailing in pain in the white sandstorm that was some distance away from Xu Qing.
Under normal circumstances, all living beings wouldn't be able to hear its voice, but it was different now.
It was restricted to the ground!
A bronze dagger stained with golden blood nailed it to the white grass. No matter how it struggled, it was useless and it couldn't break free at all.
Every time it struggled, the dagger would emit a golden light, forming a falling force that continuously suppressed it. Every time it was suppressed, the shadow would be heavily injured again and again.
The black curtain it transformed into was covered in countless dandelions. They merged with it, their roots delving deep into the shadow's body, constantly devouring its vitality and forcibly assimilating it.
This was the reason why the shadow wailed in pain.
There were more than ten figures beside the shadow.
They wore white robes and stood in the sandstorm, their appearances hidden. Their robes covered everything and isolated them from the surrounding sandstorm.
Only its white eyes were revealed as it stared coldly into the distance.
"Is your master not here yet?" In the crowd, the cultivator at the front glanced at the struggling shadow on the ground. After saying calmly, he raised his hand and performed a series of hand seals, pointing at the dagger.
Immediately, the dagger nailed to the shadow's body flickered and sank another inch deeper, emitting more golden light. The shadow's screams also became even more heart-rending.
"Your voice isn't pleasant enough."
Hearing the shadow's cry, the white-robed man was indifferent and calmly spoke.
After that, he was about to continue suppressing it. However, at this moment, he seemed to have sensed something and lifted his head, his gaze landing on the horizon.
The dozen or so companions beside him also sensed it one after another and coldly looked into the distance.
The shadow was excited and let out a cry for help.
A black storm appeared in the distant world.
It was like the source of taint. Regardless of whether it was dandelions or sand, they would instantly change color when they got close to this storm.
The white dandelions turned black, as did the sand granules. They surrounded the storm and became part of the black storm.
Wherever the storm passed, the white grass would instantly turn black and wither.
It was like an emissary of death who had descended into the world.
When those white-robed men saw this scene, their hearts trembled.
They were originally filled with confidence as they waited for the shadow's owner. However, now that they saw this black color, they instinctively thought of the legend of the green sand desert.
All of them instantly became vigilant. Even the white-robed cultivator leading the group held his breath as a solemn expression appeared in his eyes. He stared at the rapidly approaching black storm and the blurry figure that appeared step by step and let out a low shout.
"Halt!"
The storm didn't stop. The figure inside still walked over with a terrifying aura.
A cold voice that didn't contain any emotions came out from the storm. It was like an icy cold wind that blew through the world.
"You all have a death wish!"
