Several kilometers outside the Naxitas Ancient Ruins, on the far side of a sand dune.

Bai Pu and a few others sat together in a circle.

"We finally escaped."

"The strange Red Mist had a limited range of coverage after all. But those Desert Tribes near the ruins... they’re probably finished," Tom said, still shaken.

"Dior, it seemed like you realized something was wrong when you were retrieving the Earth Dragon Bead."

Oshana, being more observant, immediately asked, "Did you know beforehand that taking the Earth Dragon Bead would trigger the Red Mist?"

If that were true, Oshana’s impression of Bai Pu would certainly take a significant hit. After all, Bai Pu’s actions indirectly led to the deaths of thousands in the Desert Tribes and permanently altered the landscape of the Naxitas Ancient Ruins.

Knowing this and still going ahead can only mean Bai Pu was selfish.

Bai Pu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I only guessed that taking the Earth Dragon Bead would cause the Blood Moon phenomenon to reappear... but I didn’t expect the Red Mist to extend to the surface and continue to exert power. Moreover, the Desert People were affected so significantly by the Red Mist, which was beyond my expectation."

"In that case, it’s not your fault."

Oshana let out a sigh of relief, then continued, "Dior, this adventure into the ruins has been very strange. Do you know what’s really going on?"

"I understand your question. To provide answers, we should wake up Mr. Tano here first."

Bai Pu awakened Tano.

The desert guide stood up, bewildered as he looked around: "Where am I?"

"Don’t pretend, Mr. Tano."

Bai Pu stared at Tano, "If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been to the ancient ruins under the Blood Moon, and you’re one of the survivors!"

Tano trembled all over: "I’m not, I haven’t been there!"

"Dior, do you have any basis for saying that?" Tom asked.

"Tom, Oshana, don’t you think it’s odd that the Lost Staff appeared in that terrifying Secret Treasure Hall?" Bai Pu retorted.

"It’s indeed very strange. This task is recommended on the academy’s board for third-year students and those in the fourth and fifth terms of the War God Peak. In other words, the academy acknowledges that third-year students and seniors of the fourth and fifth terms of War God Peak have the ability to complete this task."

Tom, who had yet to completely recover from the "Light of Annihilation" wounds, still had a lingering fear of the Secret Treasure Hall, "Now it seems, it’s really difficult for third-year students and those just entering War God Peak to retrieve the staff from a hall filled with annihilating light."

Each attack deals 1000 points of true damage, directly reducing the maximum, which is nearly unsolvable.

It should be known that Bai Pu’s Mystical Arts Shield Skills, combined with a strong Endurance Attribute, resulted in a Shield Value much higher than those Enhanced Warriors among the natives, but it was still only 878 points.

The principle of Mystical Arts Shield Skills is that as long as it is not shattered, injecting Professional Energy can fully restore the Shield Value.

However, once the shield shatters, it cannot be reactivated in a short period, and injecting Professional Energy becomes impossible.

Furthermore, after retrieving the Earth Dragon Bead and the Lost Staff, the subsequent explosion of Red Mist seems like a giant trap.

Would Garrison Academy set such a trap as a task for its elite students? Absolutely not.

"The Lost Staff appearing in the Secret Treasure Hall does seem suspicious. But what’s it got to do with Tano?" Tom was still unclear.

The Dai Sect suddenly spoke up, "He’s the one who opened the Secret Treasure Hall."

"Exactly, Tano actually knows the method to open the Secret Treasure Hall, which is very suspicious in itself—he’s just an ordinary Desert Man of weak strength, how could he know the ancient secrets of the Red Sand Kingdom from thousands of years ago?" Bai Pu said.

"It seems I can no longer hide my identity. In fact, I am a descendant of the Red Sand Royal Family..." Tano defended himself seriously.

"You’re lying. If you were a royal descendant, the Red Sand Defense Army wouldn’t attack you at will. Moreover, you voluntarily opened the Secret Treasure Hall and offered the Secret Treasure of the Red Sand Kingdom..."

Bai Pu unhesitatingly exposed Tano, then continued, "Your motive for voluntarily opening the Secret Treasure Hall should only be to gamble that we would be tempted by wealth and take away the Earth Dragon Bead. And combining this with the phenomenon of Red Mist explosion after taking away the Earth Dragon Bead, I have reason to suspect... you are a follower of Demon God Salajael. That Red Mist is the power of Salajael."

This conclusion by Bai Pu left the others in shock.

"Dior, why would you make such a judgment?" Oshana couldn’t figure it out.

"Remember the ancient legend of this ruin?"

Bai Pu said slowly, "Thousands of years ago, in the land of Giant Dragons, the Prismatic Saint Dragon King Aureian, fought a great battle with one of the twelve Demon Gods of the Netherworld, Salajael, on this land... The Saint Dragon King’s Super Earthquake Technique caused the earth to flip, and cities to become meteors, burying Salajael.

"Coincidentally, I learned some history of gods and demons in the Secret Collection Hall... The gods of the Demon Fighting Continent generally do not truly fall; the difficulty of killing a god, completely obliterating its will, is ten to a hundred times harder than defeating it.

"Therefore, the Saint Dragon King might not have killed Salajael, but probably sealed it. After coming to this ruin, I heard rumors of the alternating Blood Moon and Safe Month, and this speculation had its initial basis. Later, after entering the ruins, the early end of the Blood Moon and the re-explosion of Red Mist all confirmed my speculation."

Tom suddenly stood up: "Are you saying that the Blood Moon and Safe Month are the will of Salajael and the sealing power of the Saint Dragon King dueling?"

"Yes, it is obvious that the Blood Moon is the active period of Salajael’s powers (True Red Domain), while the Safe Month is the dormant period of Salajael’s powers, or the strong period of the Saint Dragon King’s powers (Brahma Heaven Domain)! During the Blood Moon, when we entered the ruins, what we faced were the Red Sand Ghosts under Salajael’s power and that horrific fused monster (True Red Executor)."

(The terms in parentheses are proper nouns that the Awakened know through Spirit Realm Will and the natives are unaware of.)

Bai Pu continued, "That horrific fused monster was clearly also intentionally shaped by Salajael’s will. Its frontal combat capability was extremely strong, yet it moved slowly, like a giant rolling stone, with the purpose of forcing intruders to run deeper into the ruins!"

"You should know, during the Blood Moon period, Salajael’s power was active. If we ran to the depths of the ruins, we would likely face the will of the Demon God directly! Even its residual will is probably beyond what we can withstand."

Bai Pu pointed at Tano, "For someone like him, becoming a follower of Salajael should be the best outcome, from then on serving to help free Salajael."