Chapter 567: Promise under the Sky of Fire and the Sea
The strong wind whimpered, echoing on the desolate land of the Moon Festival Territory, turning into a tragic melody, seeming to be telling the story of the distant past.
The wind and sand were stirred up and filled the sky and the earth, blending together with the dim sky. It was impossible to distinguish one from the other. Only a long motorcade could be vaguely seen, moving forward in this haze.
The convoy consisted of huge iron cages, inside which countless Mirror Shadow Tribes and Sky Face Tribes were shrouded in despair.
In front of them, two people were sitting, an age apart from each other.
There is a mask on the old man's face, and the same is true on the young man's face.
The expression of this mask is very exaggerated, showing persistence and piety, as if it is always worshiping.
"Those who offer sacrifices to the Red Moon Temple need to wear this mask. This is a ritual prescribed by the temple and is also the qualification for sacrifice. Fortunately, I have done this kind of thing in my early years and have the status."
"As for the destruction of the alliance between the two tribes, such a thing is nothing in the Moon Sacrifice Territory. They are just two small tribes. The Red Moon Temple is superior, and under normal circumstances, they will not pay attention to it."
"Especially at the end of the arrival of the Red Mother, the sacrifices have been collected for countless years. This period is actually the craziest time for all races."
"But you still need to make some preparations. I will handle this matter."
In the wind and sand, Duanmu Zang's calm voice reached Xu Qing's ears.
Xu Qing raised his hand and touched the mask on his face and nodded. Regarding the Red Moon Temple's attitude towards all living beings, this was mentioned in the captain's information.
Today is the ninth day since they left the Holy City.
There is still half a month to go from the designated sacrificial point in the Red Moon Temple. Xu Qing has thought many times in the past few days about what Duanmu Zang said a few days ago.
"Still thinking about the souls of dead beings entering the temple?" Duanmu Zang turned his head and looked at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was silent. After a while, he looked into the distance, looked at the dim sky, and spoke softly.
"Throughout the ages, has anyone really struggled to escape the curse and reincarnation of the Moon Sacrifice Domain?"
Duanmu shook his head.
"Never."
Xu Qing thought about the captain's previous life, and when he was thoughtful, Duanmu Zang suddenly spoke.
"But there are some people who have been trying and working hard." At this point, Duanmu Zang looked at Xu Qing, his eyes full of meaning, hiding some temptations, and spoke out.
"The red moon is not eternal."
Xu Qing and Duanmu Zang looked at each other and nodded slightly. He saw that this sentence was like a code word, but he didn't know what the next sentence was.
Duanmu Zang waited for a moment and couldn't help but ask.
"Don't you say something?"
"The red moon is not eternal." Xu Qing said solemnly.
Duanmu Zang remained silent.
After a while, he sighed, raised his hand to take off his mask, and rubbed his brows.
"Xu Qing, do you know Niyue Palace?"
Xu Qing's expression condensed. He had never heard of this organization, and it was not included in the information given by the captain, so he shook his head.
Duanmu Zang's eyes had been paying attention to Xu Qing's eyes since he said the words Niyue Palace, as if he was confirming something. At this moment, seeing Xu Qing's reaction, he didn't speak again.
Xu Qing didn't ask. He could see that this organization was very mysterious and hidden. If you inquired hastily, it would cause misunderstandings.
Team, keep moving forward.
Until another seven days passed, they walked across the plains, crossed the mountains, and were getting closer and closer to the eastern center. On the top of a mountain peak, Duanmu Zang took a sip of wine, made a decision in his heart, and suddenly spoke.
"Xu Qing, I believe you are not from the Red Moon Temple."
When Xu Qing heard this, he looked at Duanmu.
"The Anti-Moon Temple is a mysterious organization that has existed for a long time in our Moon Sacrifice Territory. This organization has as long a history as the Red Moon Temple!"
"Its origin is unknown, and it has been destroyed many times, but every time the Red Mother comes to harvest and all living beings are revived after withering, this organization will be formed."
Xu Qing's eyes showed a strange light, and it existed at the same time as the Red Moon Temple, which is enough to show that the Niuyue Temple is extraordinary.
And within the Red Moon Spiritual Circle, it is even more amazing that it can be revived after being destroyed again and again.
You know, although Chi Mu is sleeping now, it was not like this in the past.
Duanmu Zang's voice came again.
"In the Niyue Palace, there are gathered all the people in the Moon Sacrifice Domain who want to struggle and resist. Their dream is to one day be able to unlock this ancient curse and overthrow everything."
"Although this dream is extremely slim, it is a hope."
"We are also working hard on this. Although the members cannot help each other in reality, they are each studying ways to resolve the curse."
When Xu Qing heard this, some waves arose in his heart. He had also researched the curse in the mine, but he did not go deep into it. This required a lot of experiments.
Duanmu Zang's voice contained some emotional fluctuations at this moment, which continued to echo in Xu Qing's sea of consciousness.
"The identity of every member of the Niyue Palace is a secret. No one knows who others are except themselves. Protecting oneself from being exposed is the first element of the Niyue Palace."
"Because the Red Moon Temple has been purging members of the Niyue Temple, and even among these members, there are people who have infiltrated the Red Moon Temple."
Duanmu Zang took a deep breath and turned to look at Xu Qing.
"The red moon is not eternal, hope will last forever."
"Xu Qing, you may not really be a member of the Niyue Palace, but I think you will definitely come in contact with them in the future. If you want to join the Niyue Palace, you can go to the Kusheng Mountain Range."
Duanmuzang stopped talking, closed his eyes, and continued on his way.
Seeing this, Xu Qing knew that the other party did not want to continue this topic, so he did not ask.
He understood that Duanmuzang should be a member of this reverse temple, and being able to say this in front of him was enough to show that Duanmuzang trusted him.
So Xu Qing thought over and over what Duanmu Zang said in his mind.
In this way, time passed day by day.
Eight days later, their motorcade finally arrived at the center of the East District. A huge valley in the distance came into Xu Qing's eyes.
The mountains on both sides are astonishing, surpassing all the mountains Xu Qing has ever seen. The rocks on them are rugged, and under the dim sky, there seems to be ghosts and monsters.
The valley formed in the depression in the middle is like the mouth of an open underworld. It is shocking and at the same time, the wind blows like ghosts crying and wolves howling in all directions.
In mid-air in the valley, a huge bloody heart suddenly floated.
It was beating, and the thumping sound spread, adding an even weirder atmosphere to the gloomy valley and covering it with blood-colored clothes.
The temple and the statue above the heart exude an astonishing intimidation, standing high above.
There are still many meteorites floating around, and the figure sitting cross-legged on them is still motionless as Xu Qing once saw.
As for the earth, there are doors with different shapes and materials, some large and some small, surrounding the four directions, and waves of transmission are constantly spreading inside these doors.
People are walking in and out of those doors all the time.
As a result, there is an endless stream of people in the valley, and there are too many strange ethnic groups in it, some with real bodies, and some with illusory bodies.
But most of them wear the same mask as Duanmuzang.
These are the ethnic groups from the eastern part of the Moon Sacrifice Region, and they brought their sacrifices here to offer sacrifices to the Red Moon Temple.
"Those doors are the disciples."
"Xu Qing, you can go find them and communicate with them. Most of them can be teleported to the south where you want to go. As for the cost, spirit stones and skyfire crystals can all be used."
"As for the temple in the sky, don't look up."
As he approached, Duanmu Zang spoke in a low voice.
As a local, he is very familiar with the procedures here. After reminding Xu Qing, he said solemnly with emotion on his face.
"Finally, I wish you a safe journey!"
After saying that, Duanmu Zang left with the convoy.
Watching Duanmu Zang's figure disappear into the crowd, Xu Qing took a deep breath and walked into the crowd.
There are many monks of all races here, and people come and go. Although the Temple of the Sky is floating, they don't pay attention to the people below. As long as the sacrifices are paid, everything is autonomous.
When the number of people increases, it will still give people a sense of excitement. Occasionally, you can see some ethnic groups trading, making a lot of noise.
Walking inside, Xu Qing did not choose those large doors. He focused on some small doors and quickly locked on a wooden door more than ten feet high. He noticed that no one was going out there, so he was about to go over.
But the chatter coming from the surrounding noise made Xu Qing pause.
"You have heard, right? Something big happened in the west!"
"You're talking about the Guri clan in the west five months ago, right? They seem to have launched a nationwide wanted manhunt."
"I also heard about this. It seems that they lost a treasure."
"What a treasure, it's the sun they made by themselves!"
"As the largest ethnic group in the west, the Guri tribe didn't create a sun to rise above the tribe many years ago, making the area no longer dark. But five months ago, this sun was stolen..."
"It's crazy to steal the sun from the Guri tribe. Which tribe did it?"
"I don't know, it seems that even the Guri tribe themselves are confused, but there is a name mentioned in the wanted list, called Wei Qing Jianyan, and the sun thief is extremely arrogant. This is the name carved on the ground before leaving, but why
This name seems very strange."
"This young sword flame has become famous now."
These sounds came from a distance, accompanied by exclamations and inhalations. When they fell into Xu Qing's ears, the expression under Xu Qing's mask became strange.
He instinctively felt that this was the captain's doing.
"Ungreen Sword Flame?"
Xu Qing murmured in his heart, thinking of how when he parted with the captain, the other party proudly told him that he would definitely hear his name in the future.
The captain's pseudonym Wei Yangzi, the names of Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan, plus his own Qing, were just right.
The captain's good intentions seemed to be reflected in these four words. Even though Xu Qing was not involved, he still added Xu Qing's name.
Xu Qing sighed and walked towards the wooden door ahead.
At the same time, in the sky of the valley, above the beating heart, a woman in red walked out of the temple. The woman's expression was still full of emotion. She lowered her head and stared at the earth, with an unpredictable smile on her lips.
"The evil spirit on this little baby is even stronger."
Behind her, everyone in the temple, including the divine envoy, was sitting cross-legged, motionless, like statues.
No one in this valley can detect everything in the sky. Even if the woman's figure is very clear, no one can notice it even if they raise their heads.
Everyone's perception has been silently changed.
Xu Qing's penis was filled with curses, and his body was retching for a while, and then he pretended not to see it and continued to retching.
Xu Qing was also unaware. At this moment, he walked towards the wooden door in front, communicated and left, and the other party did not want to go to the south.
So Xu Qing patiently looked for other disciples.
After asking dozens of questions, he came to a smaller wooden door.
The door was half a foot long and looked a little dilapidated. As Xu Qing approached, the door frame suddenly twisted and squirmed like a snake. A face emerged from the door and looked at Xu Qing.
"Fellow Taoist, can you teleport to the south?"
Xu Qing spoke calmly.
The face inside the door looked at Xu Qing and smiled.
"One hundred thousand spirit stones!"
Xu Qing glanced at the faces at the door. The price was too outrageous, and most of his spiritual stones were left to Duanmu Zang, so he didn't have much left.
"Don't be too expensive. It's the peak season now, and all ethnic groups are sending sacrifices. If I hadn't planned to go to the south to do business, I wouldn't even want to go that far if you gave me a hundred thousand."
The person inside the door looked sullen and opened his mouth.
Xu Qing pondered and nodded.
"Calculated based on Skyfire Crystal."
"No problem, a thousand white fire crystals, or a red fire crystal." The face inside the door lit up after hearing this, it preferred the sky fire crystal.
Xu Qing nodded and communicated with him. However, the other party could not leave immediately. There were still several batches of guests that had not yet been transported, so he agreed to teleport here tonight.
Xu Qing frowned. He planned to set off immediately, so he left and went to other disciples until he searched in a large circle. The fastest one would take three days, and it was not as good as the wooden door.
So in the end, he chose this half-foot wooden door.
It was still three hours before dusk, so Xu Qing didn't wander around, found a corner and sat down cross-legged, waiting silently.
Time passed quickly, and after more than half of it had passed, Xu Qing saw Duanmu Zang's figure among the people passing by.
Noticing Xu Qing, Duanmuzang walked over.
"Didn't you find a suitable disciple?" Duanmuzang asked.
"Found it, let's set off later." Xu Qing looked behind Duanmu and saw that the previous convoy was gone.
Noticing Xu Qing's gaze, Duanmu Zang sat aside and smiled.
"They have all been given to the temple."
"The matter has been resolved, you don't have to worry, just leave with peace of mind." Duanmu Zang's expression was as usual, and there was nothing wrong with it.
But in fact, he was full of worries in his heart. It was not because of the demise of the two clans, and the Red Moon Temple did not even ask about it.
What worries him are the requirements given by the temple.
Let him go back and prepare another five hundred thousand sacrifices within a certain period of time.
This matter is difficult, but Duanmuzang has no intention of telling Xu Qing. Xu Qing has done enough for them, and he is prepared to solve the future problems by himself.
Xu Qing looked into Duanmu Zang's eyes.
Duanmu Zang smiled. The city he had experienced and accumulated over the years was not something Xu Qing could see through in an instant.
Especially if he deliberately conceals it, he will not reveal any flaws.
"What, you don't believe it?" Duanmu Zang said with a smile.
"You are too suspicious. I plan to go back after you finish the transmission."
Xu Qing was silent. He really didn't see any clues, so he nodded. At this moment, the sky became darker and darker, and dusk fell. Xu Qing stood up and said goodbye to Duanmu Zang.
"If you are free in the future, remember to come back and see us." Duanmuzang looked emotional.
"Definitely!" Xu Qing said softly.
"Definitely!" Ling'er also came out of his collar and responded with a crisp voice.
Duanmu had a blessing in his eyes. After nodding slightly, Xu Qing turned around and walked towards the wooden door not far away.
Soon it's close and take out the Skyfire Crystal.
The face inside the wooden door appeared and he swallowed it in one gulp. Then the door shone with the light of teleportation, forming a vortex. Xu Qing took a deep breath and was about to step in.
But at this moment, a deep voice came from behind him.
"close the door."
As soon as this voice came out, Xu Qing's expression suddenly changed, and he was about to take a step, but the wooden door closed instantly, and the transmission fluctuations within it also disappeared in an instant, turning into ordinary.
Xu Qing had an ugly expression. He turned his head and looked behind him. His eyes fell on a figure walking from a distance, and his eyes narrowed.
This is a woman in red, and her body exudes the fluctuations of Lingzang. The crowd around her seems to be unable to see her presence, and even Duanmu Zang is not aware of it.
It was as if their perceptions had been changed, and the world they saw was different from Xu Qing's.
Xu Qing was silent, lowered his head and cupped his fists, bowing to the visitor.
"I've met senior."
He recognized the other person as the divine servant of the Red Moon Temple who had been sent into the crack of the coffin, but the apparently dead person appeared in front of him. The answer was actually easy to judge.
Especially the scene where the perceptions of everyone around him were changed, which made it easier to determine the identity of the person coming.
As for the other people in the temple in mid-air, or why the divine envoy didn't notice, this matter is easier to explain.
Since the terrifying existence in this coffin can change the cognition, it must also be able to change the cognition of the divine messenger. It is reasonable to use some method to create a clone.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing looked respectful.
The woman in red was smiling but not smiling. Under the great pressure rising in Xu Qing's heart, she walked step by step and finally stood in front of Xu Qing.
Seeing Xu Qing's attitude, the woman in red smiled, not surprised that Xu Qing recognized her.
"You little baby, you are so polite every time, which makes me unable to have any evil thoughts."
"Seniors have noble status, and juniors should be so. This is also what my master taught me."
Xu Qing's expression was solemn.
"Are you talking about your master?" The woman in red smiled meaningfully.
Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged and he bowed again.
"Since the seniors don't like the juniors to mention it, the juniors won't mention it."
Upon hearing this, the woman in red looked at Xu Qing, then shook her head and smiled after a while.
"I know you have a good background, and your master should be a powerful person, but this is the Moon Sacrifice Domain."
The woman in red said, looking up at the sky.
Xu Qing was silent.
After a while, the voice of the woman in red echoed.
"Little baby, do you still remember the promise made under the sky, fire and sea?"
"Junior, remember!" Xu Qing nodded with a solemn expression.
"Then, come with me to the Immortal Icefield in the northern part of the Moon Festival Region. My sister was suppressed there, and I also have a younger brother who was also buried under the glacier."
The voice of the woman in red was filled with reminiscence and a touch of sadness.
Xu Qing hesitated, he didn't know whether what the other party said was true or false, but in any case, if he went to the north, the level of danger there must be extremely high.
With my own ability, it is too risky to participate in such a thing at this moment.
As for the income being just destiny, it seems disproportionate.
Xu Qing did not hide these thoughts in his heart, but showed hesitation on his face.
He knew very well what his expression meant to the powerful man in front of him, and the other party could tell it at a glance.
This is a way for the weak to make conditions for the strong.
Although it may not work, it is still necessary to try.
"Did your master teach you this move?"
The woman in red glanced at Xu Qing and spoke calmly, her voice calm and majestic.
In his memory, once he spoke like this and had such an expression, many people would tremble and agree to all his requests.
Xu Qing's expression showed embarrassment, and with this gesture, the atmosphere was relieved invisibly.
Seeing this, the woman in red had a strange look in her eyes, thought for a moment, and spoke.
"This is a deal, and I need you to do what I ask for sincerely."
"There are three benefits you can get."
"One, you can get your destiny."
"Second, the human race in the Sky Fire Sea area will receive a temple decree, eliminating the need for additional sacrifices, and will be protected by this decree before the next sacrificial day."
"Three, when you complete my request, I will give you a mysterious gift."
"Now, tell me your choice." The woman in red stared at Xu Qing and spoke slowly.
Xu Qing was silent and looked up at where Duanmu Zang was.
At this moment, Duanmu Zang was leaving. In his mind, Xu Qing had already left, and his back was a little desolate. It was obvious that after Xu Qing left, the worry in his heart rose and spread throughout his body.
"I agree." Xu Qing retracted his gaze, looked at the woman in red, and said calmly.
The risks of not agreeing can be seen, but the rewards of agreeing are proportional to the risks, making Xu Qing decisive.
The woman in red smiled when she heard this. He liked polite and smart people, so he admired Xu Qing very much. It would be best if he was willing to do so, and it would prevent him from killing people.
"I make a lot of promises in this life, little baby, you can rest assured and come with me."
The woman in red said, walking towards the sky, stepping onto her heart step by step, and stood in front of the temple.
Xu Qing took a deep breath, jumped up, and headed straight for the temple.
It was quickly approaching, and when he arrived here, the first thing he saw was the statue of Chi Mu.
This statue made him extremely afraid.
"Your master is indeed of some stature. He actually found a god to swallow Chi Mu, causing her to fall into a deep sleep."
The woman in red had clear eyes and seemed to be smiling but not smiling. He clearly knew everything.
Xu Qing blinked and did not answer the call. Instead, he looked towards the temple. Following the open door, he saw the people inside like statues.
"They taste pretty good."
The woman in red licked her lips.
"You can take a rest and do a full set of tricks. The day of sacrifice will be over in three days and we will leave."
Xu Qing kept silent after hearing this, sat down cross-legged, and looked at Duanmu Zang, who was walking away and was filled with desolation.
The woman in red waved her hand, and a ray of red light shot out from the temple, turned into a token, and went straight to Duanmu Zang.
On the ground, Duanmu Zang, who was worried in his heart, was stunned. He raised his hand to catch it and checked it. He felt the protection of the token and the decree to cancel more sacrifices, so he turned to look in the direction of the temple with a surprised expression.
There, there is nothing.
After a long time, Duanmu Zang withdrew his gaze and walked away silently, murmuring in his heart.
"Is it him..."
"What is his identity?"
In front of the temple, Xu Qing watched Duanmu Zang's back disappearing between heaven and earth, feeling blessed in his heart.