Chapter 630: The Origin of Wind Guardians

On the night the red moon and stars appeared in the sky, an almost black wind swept through the Green Sand Desert. However, upon closer inspection, it was actually closer to purple.

Amidst the wind and sand, Xu Qing and his group departed from the apothecary. Accompanying them, besides Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu, were Ling'er, You Jing, and Li Youfei. You Jing was the most challenging among them; it was unknown how the captain convinced her, but You Jing, who usually seethed with anger towards him, unexpectedly agreed to come along. Furthermore, the parrot didn't try to escape; Xu Qing had borrowed it from the young lord. The parrot was initially vehemently opposed, but after seeing Xu Qing's right hand, it inexplicably chose to agree. As for the young lord and his companions, they ultimately did not join them, allowing them to depart.

Thus, Xu Qing and his group walked into the desert amidst the wind and sand, heading deeper.

Meanwhile, as the red moon and stars became visible in the sky and the power of the tides erupted, everyone in the entire Sacrificial Moon Domain suffered terribly. Countless mountain ranges were constantly collapsing, and lakes, one after another, flowed upstream, churning in mid-air. The activity of curses was especially evident on mortals. If one possessed eyes that could survey the entire Sacrificial Moon Domain, they would see death everywhere in every village, town, and city, accompanied by endless wailing. The souls of those who died could not leave Sacrificial Moon; they would gather at the temple, destined to be forever immersed in this purgatory, generation after generation.

Yet madness was ultimately temporary; the despair that followed its release was like a never-ending whirlpool, engulfing everything in an instant. All races, all sects, and all cultivators were alike in this regard. They were unfortunate to have lived during the era of the Scarlet Mother's arrival. After all, the Scarlet Mother appeared every few millennia, without a fixed schedule, sometimes for a long period, sometimes for a short one. Not everyone born and raised during these times would live to see her. Not only were they in despair, but even the forces affiliated with the Red Moon were mostly silent. Because historically, whether affiliated forces would ultimately survive depended on the extent of the Scarlet Mother's hunger. Therefore, the moment the red moon and stars appeared, despair replaced madness, becoming the dominant theme of the Sacrificial Moon Domain. It permeated the world and scattered in the wind of the Green Sand Desert, transforming into whimpers that echoed in the ears of Xu Qing and his group.

Within the desert, the landscape blurred, and the figures of Xu Qing and his companions appeared and disappeared faintly. Footprints appeared in the sand on the path they walked, but they were quickly filled by the wind and sand, leaving no trace.

At that moment, the captain was leading the way, guiding their direction. Xu Qing was positioned behind the captain. As they proceeded, Xu Qing instinctively observed the desolation around them; he had been here before. Xu Qing had passed through this area when he went to rescue Shadow that day; he remembered that a short distance further was where he had first encountered the Wind Guardians.

"We've been walking for two hours already," the captain's voice drifted through the wind, "In another moment, we'll reach our destination." The captain's voice, carried by the wind, reached Xu Qing and the others following behind him.

"The Wind Guardians?" Xu Qing suddenly asked.

The captain looked back at Xu Qing. In the dim wind and sand, his expression was somewhat obscured, but the light in his eyes was very bright. "That's right, little junior brother, you know me best. The place we're heading now is the territory of the Wind Guardians." The captain's gaze fell on Xu Qing, then shifted to Ning Yan and the others behind them. Ning Yan and Wu Jianwu were all wearing thick robes that covered their heads and faces, and they didn't seem to be in good spirits. They actually didn't want to come, and the destination of this journey was unknown to them.

Xu Qing nodded. The mission of the Wind Guardians was to protect the winds of this desert, which was also what made their tribe unique.

"This tribe actually didn't exist before this desert was formed," the captain said as he walked. "A long time ago, a certain being and a great individual, based on an agreement, created this tribe. The moment this tribe was created, it was endowed with the mission of guarding the wind." At this point, the captain paused, turned to Xu Qing, and his eyes held a hint of reminiscence. "A key to open the Ruler's God-Slaying Ground!"

Xu Qing's gaze sharpened, and most of the others were also somewhat surprised after hearing the captain's words. "At that time, the Ruler used the sky as a blade, the earth as a platform, and the sun and moon as connections to form a God-Slaying Platform, where the Scarlet Mother was beheaded." The wind and sand whipped the captain's robes around him. His voice, laden with solemnity, pointed to the ground. "The place of the beheading is right beneath our feet! This is the predecessor of the Green Sand Desert." As soon as the words were spoken, everyone was startled. Xu Qing lowered his head and looked at his feet.

The wind blew, growing stronger, and the captain's voice within it became fragmented and intermittent. "Later, that great individual, along with his companions, found the God-Slaying Ground, which had turned into ruins. They performed extraordinary techniques, causing the God-Slaying Ground to show signs of recovery. Furthermore, wind and sand formed over it, submerging and enclosing everything, hiding it away."

"The method to open it requires several conditions. The first condition is the appearance of the red moon and stars, and the green sand turning blood-red." The captain's gaze was profound, and his solemn voice now held a hint of excitement. "The second condition is... the wind of the Green Sand Desert must turn from green to black and persist for a fixed duration. Specifically, it must be the fourth two-hour period after the black wind begins to blow."

"Currently, the wind is purple." The captain raised his right hand, and a yellow light emanated from an object in his palm—it was the captain's small orb. The light emitted by this artificial sun was yellow. As it shone, it continuously ascended into the sky until it reached the heavens. The yellow light then spread across the land, merging with the green wind and the red sand. The overlap of these three colors transformed into black!

Instantly, in this area, black wind howled, spreading in all directions. An aura of death emerged from between heaven and earth at this moment, growing increasingly dense. Ning Yan and the others were startled. From the captain's words and actions, they had a strong feeling that what he intended to do this time would be immense. Xu Qing's expression grew solemn as he looked at the captain.

"There shouldn't be just these two conditions, right?" Xu Qing asked. The captain chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, he produced eight bronze daggers, flinging them in all directions. Immediately, the eight daggers spread out. They didn't pierce the sand but instead floated in mid-air, their blades pointing downwards. Black lightning rapidly emanated from each dagger, spreading and forming an incomplete circle. These were precisely the holy artifacts of the Wind Guardians, originally sent to the apothecary and ending up with the young lord. Now, they had clearly been borrowed by the captain.

After completing these actions, the captain raised his hand toward Xu Qing. "Little Ah Qing, lend me the holy artifact you took from the Wind Guardians that day."

Xu Qing didn't hesitate. He took the dagger from his storage bag and threw it to the captain. The captain then formed a hand seal and pointed. Immediately, the dagger flew directly to the incomplete part of the circle. The moment it landed, black lightning spread outwards, and a thousand-zhang-wide circle, centered on them, fully materialized in mid-air. Countless complex runes materialized within the lightning, appearing like text, yet few could understand them.

"Wind Guardians, honor the agreement of your bloodline, come forth!" The captain raised his foot and stomped heavily on the ground. The black wind howled, and all nine holy artifact daggers hummed, amplifying the captain's voice. It echoed in all directions and also transmitted beneath the desert.

Soon, outside the thousand-zhang circle, numerous whirlpools appeared in the desert. Thousands of them, big and small, surrounded the circle. As they continuously rotated, figures of Wind Guardian cultivators emerged from within, one by one. On the brow of every tribe member, a similar circle appeared, flashing in sync and corresponding with the thousand-zhang circle in mid-air.

The closest to the thousand-zhang circle was the Old Ancestor of the Wind Guardians. He looked at Xu Qing and the others with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, his expression constantly shifting. The other tribe members were no different; their minds churned with disbelief as they gazed at the thousand-zhang circle.

"This ritual..." The Old Ancestor of the Wind Guardians' heart was in turmoil. He knew this ritual; it was the highest ritual recorded in their tribe's bloodline, and their true mission, which outsiders could not possibly know. To guard the wind, to guard the desert, and to wait... until one day, a person would appear amidst the black wind. The moment this person appeared, circles would form on the ground, their bloodlines would fluctuate accordingly, and ritual formations would similarly appear on their brows. This was the meaning of their tribe's existence.

Yet, the Old Ancestor of the Wind Guardians could never have imagined that the mission their tribe had awaited for so many years would manifest today. And the person who appeared was, surprisingly, the cultivator from the apothecary. This caused immense turmoil in his mind.

"Little Ah Qing, the third condition to open that place is, naturally, the Wind Guardians." The captain's voice echoed as he looked at the Old Ancestor of the Wind Guardians.

The Old Ancestor's body trembled. A roar from his bloodline made him instantly bow his head and speak instinctively, "Venerable God!"

As his words spread, four of the surrounding whirlpools immediately turned white, becoming extremely conspicuous. Simultaneously, the four tribe members within them also prominently appeared. These four tribe members were male and female, of varying ages, but what they shared was their white hair, eyebrows, and pupils. This type of tribe member held a special status within the Wind Guardians; they were often well-protected from birth until death. The mission of the Wind Guardians required that at any given time, there must be at least three such tribe members present.

"And also, skulls!" The captain's body floated upwards, and he spoke in a low voice from mid-air.

The Old Ancestor of the Wind Guardians took a deep breath and immediately gave orders. Soon, nine black skulls were carefully retrieved from their tribal land. Nine tribe members carried them and placed them directly beneath each dagger floating in mid-air.

"Little Ah Qing, the Ruler's God-Slaying Platform was turned from reality to illusion by that great individual and hidden in the winds of the Green Sand Desert. Only the memories of the Wind Guardians can unlock it. So now, the ritual can begin."