The Wind Guardians were a very mysterious species in the Greenhair Badlands that rarely went out in public. And though most cultivators in the Greenhair Badlands had heard of them, few had ever seen them. It was only when outside forces threatened to harm the desert in some way that they would rise up in force to mount a defense. They had very gruish methods and ancient powers. Even Void Returning experts who ran into them would find them difficult to deal with. Because of that, people eventually started calling them the guardians of the desert.

However, the true name of their species was Wind Guardians. That was because they weren’t really standing guard over the desert. Rather, they were the guardians of the wind. The reason they were so protective of the environment in the desert was that changes to the desert would affect the wind. When the green wind changed color, and filled the sky with white sand, their species would emerge. Though it might seem like they were doing so to welcome the wind, the reality was that they were searching for something within that wind.

As history marched on, people forgot about their reasons for doing that. And therefore, the Wind Guardians eventually just became one of the unique features of the Greenhair Badlands.

It caused quite an uproar when they put a bounty on Xu Qing. After all, the reward, even just for information leading to Xu Qing, was a command medallion. Anyone who had that command medallion could be spared from death when the white wind came. A reward like that was attractive to just about everyone.

Although Xu Qing had taken efforts to hide his identity when dealing with them, there were plenty of extraordinarily talented people in the world. And it was someone like that who used some unknown and mysterious methods to dig up some clues about who he was.

That was why the Wind Guardians were now on the move. In order to establish some prestige for their species, they weren’t going to strike a blow in secret. They were going to handle the situation with great fanfare.

Organizations throughout the Bitter Life Mountains noticed what was going on. That was especially true of the various sects near the mudbrick city. Many of them monitored the situation with divine sense, while others approached the city itself to watch things play out.

When they saw the figures moving through the whitening wind, they gasped.

“The green wind is changing color because of those figures in white. That’s the mysterious species that shows up along with the white wind!”

“I heard that this species… issued a bounty recently.”

“Apparently someone stole one of their holy relics….”

“Given what’s happening, is the thief hiding out in that city?”

Quite a few cultivators had gathered in the area and were watching closely. Some looked surprised, others sneered, and there were other varied reactions.

“The thief is doomed. If you want to screw around, fine, but whatever you do, don’t screw with the Wind Guardians.”

“I read a description of this species in one of the ancient records I was studying. They’re ruthless and brutal, and they do everything in a very domineering way.”

“Aren’t they supposedly really rich?”

As people looked on with both mundane eyes and divine sense, the mudbrick city was quiet in the darkness of night. The pressure from the dome of heaven, as well as the green-and-white wind, created a very stifling atmosphere. Sir Tree-Dao and his subordinates all felt it. The low-level cultivators were shaking in their boots, and didn’t dare to even open the doors of their houses. The only building in the city that was lit with lamps was the Green Spirit Pharmacy, making it seem like the lone source of warmth in the area.

Inside the medicine shop, Ning Yan was bored to death as he scrubbed the floor. Li Youfei looked outside for a bit, and though he noticed something strange was going on, he was ultimately so bored that he decided to help Ning Yan.

Wu Jianwu was sprawled out with his eyes closed as he mentally composed new poems.

Ling’er was hunched over the counter, her abacus clicking and clacking as she calculated the day’s profits. Occasionally she would make notes in her accounting record book. She seemed to be having a very good time.

The Captain stood next to the door like a door god. Though he also noticed that something unusual was happening, he didn’t seem to care much. Nowadays, he seemed to take the most pleasure out of watching Nethersprite make tea. 1

When Nethersprite realized he was staring at her, she glared angrily at him.

The Captain glared back at her. “Hey, get back to work! Otherwise I’ll call your husband out to deal with you!”

A tremor passed through Nethersprite as she thought back to how she’d been toyed with by that vile thing.

Eyes glittering with killing intent, she glared at the Captain. To her, Chen Erniu was the most wicked person in existence. In fact, her hatred for him far surpassed anything she felt toward Xu Qing.

The Captain snorted. “What are you looking at? All you know how to do is laze around and boil water. Get grandpa’s tea ready immediately!”

Nethersprite grinded her teeth, but had no choice other than to take the tea kettle and walk over to the Heir Apparent, who was currently watching Sprouty. Instinctively calming herself, she obediently poured a new cup of tea.

Seeing that, the Captain smiled and was about to say something further when, all of a sudden, a loud knocking rang out from the door.

Wu Jianwu frowned. The noise had interrupted his train of thought. Waving his hand, he opened the door and looked out impatiently.

“Grandmaster!” Chen Fanzhuo said, rushing inside. He looked very alarmed. Quickly clasping hands to the back room he loudly continued, “Grandmaster, this is bad! The Wind Guard—”

Before he could finish speaking, the rumbling sound of an intense wind could be heard outside. Sand kicked up everywhere in the city, beating against the houses and making everything hazy.

Then, figures in white dropped out of the wind and into the city. Some appeared on the streets, others on the rooftops. Still others hovered in the air. There were thousands of them, with many of them being powerful experts. Their intimidating energy became a mighty pressure that was focused completely on the Green Spirit Pharmacy.

Of their number, four in specific landed about 300 meters away from the medicine shop. Those four had white robes inlaid with gold. Though it wasn’t possible to make out their facial features, their clothing made it obvious that they were different from other members of their species. It was the same with their cultivation bases. All of them had passed the dao begetting phase and were fully in the Spirit Trove level.

And yet there was one who surpassed even them. As he landed only about 30 meters away from the Green Spirit Pharmacy, his golden robe made him very eye-catching. Another difference between him and the other Wind Guardians was that he had no hood on his robe. His white hair was very clear, and despite his hunched back, he seemed threatening without being angry.

In his presence, the four Spirit Trove cultivators as well as the thousands of other white-robed figures all bowed their heads.

“Patriarch,” they said.

He pulsed with the aura of the great circle of Spirit Trove, and he also had numerous threads connected to him that were dao lineaments. When he managed to contain all of those dao lineaments in his eyes, then he would be able to break through from the Spirit Trove level and into Void Returning. At the moment, though, he was only halfway to that point.

The wind was getting stronger, screaming like an angry beast and shaking the hearts of all onlookers. The people watching from outside the city felt a suffocating sensation, and they couldn’t help but focus their attention on the golden-robed old man.

The old man looked with cold eyes at the Green Spirit Pharmacy. As his energy surged, it was just barely possible to see the image of a divine dragon roaring. It made the old man seem like he could surpass any tribulations and crush anything in his path. After studying the Green Spirit Pharmacy briefly, he started walking forward. Every step he took caused the ground to quake, and sent the wind screaming about. No one else seemed capable of even moving. He didn’t speak, nor did he pulse with terrifying fluctuations. It was as if the people in the Green Spirit Pharmacy were so unimportant to him that he didn’t need to say anything.

Now that he was here, all he had to do was reach out and take back the holy relic, then crush the entire medicine shop. When all was said and done, cultivation base was the foundation of everything. Hands clasped behind his back, he walked forward and, without even a moment of hesitation, entered the Green Spirit Pharmacy.

As soon as he did, the door slammed closed behind him.

No one took the slamming of the door to indicate that something bad might happen to the patriarch. Whether it was the Wind Guardians or the people who were just watching the commotion, no one felt that something unexpected had happened. After all, the cultivation base disparity was so great that it was like watching a gigantic beast deal with a tiny rabbit. No matter what the rabbit did, it wouldn’t be able to escape the fate that awaited it.

The Wind Guardians all felt that way, and stood by excitedly waiting. Because the wind was connected to their emotions, it started blowing even harder through the mudbrick city.

Meanwhile, the onlookers were shaken. Every time the Wind Guardians took to action and revealed some of their reserve powers, everyone was stunned.

“They’re establishing their might and giving a warning to everyone.”

“The thief in that medicine shop doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Want to steal stuff? Have fun. But don’t steal holy relics from the Wind Guardians….”

“If the thief knows what’s good for him, he’ll hand over the holy relic and the evil spirit. If he does, he might enjoy a quick death. Otherwise, he’ll definitely suffer.”

Some onlookers sighed. Others reveled in the thief’s misfortune. Most pleased of all were the white-robed Wind Guardians who had previously clashed with Xu Qing. The Wind Guardian who had led that group was on the same street as the Green Spirit Pharmacy, smiling broadly. He felt wonderful, and was visualizing what would happen when his patriarch walked out with that evil, savage thief.

You got lucky and made off with our holy relic, thief. As a result, I was punished by the elders. But now you’ll learn the consequences of offending our species! And not just you. That evil spirit of yours, plus that teleporting parrot, are both going to die! That’s what happens when you provoke the Wind Guardians!

If you need to blame someone, blame yourself! This is what you get for pissing off truly powerful experts! Starting today, all cultivators in the Greenhair Badlands are going to remember how mighty and powerful the Wind Guardians are!

The white-robed young man started laughing coldly. He simply couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

1. Door gods are (according to Wikipedia): “divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones.” In this case, I think it’s less referring to his physical appearance, posture, or pose, and more referring to the fact that he’s standing next to the door with a weapon. ☜

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