In the village of Isha on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert, the curse of the "sand-eater" is spread. For generations, villagers have sacrificed thousands of clay sculptures and mixed the ashes of living people into the sand in exchange for stopping the sandstorm. Batu, the missing sacrificial offering three years ago, suddenly appeared at the entrance of the village, turning into a mummy with black sand in his eyes, holding a piece of clay engraved with "Sand Sacrifice" in his hand. The old village chief Ino insists on continuing the sacrifice, but the village director Shi Shu joins the government investigation team to demolish the clay sculptures, and the conflict is about to break out.
Reporter Lin Xia sneaked into the village to investigate the "Desert Madman Case" and found that the ashes of sacrifices from past generations were sealed in clay sculptures. Geologist Yi Chuan detected mutated microorganisms in the sand and revealed that the "sand eaters" were actually sand puppets controlled by the ancient sand burial tribe - they fed the microorganisms with living human flesh and blood, solidified the quicksand, and protected the oasis. As the sacrifices were interrupted, the sand puppets lost control. Villagers turned into mummies one after another, and the sandstorm swallowed the village like a living creature.
Ino is burdened with the secret of sacrificing his parents and children thirty years ago, Yichuan struggles between scientific beliefs and bloodline responsibilities, and Lin Xia is caught in the whirlpool of truth and lies. The three of them went deep into the ruins of the Sand Burial Clan and discovered that the microorganisms had mutated into "sandworms" that parasitized the human body. Only the host's voluntary sacrifice could quell the sandstorm. In the end, Yichuan introduced sandworms into his body, and half of his body was transformed into the desert of Yongzhen; Lin Xia used false reports to cover up the supernatural truth; Yinuo knelt in the ruins, scattered his grandson's ashes into the sand, and murmured ancient sacrificial words.
When faith becomes a bloodthirsty contract, the boundaries between salvation and destruction are annihilated under the quicksand. Every grain of dust in the sand is the mutual devouring of man and nature.
Intent: When faith becomes a bloodthirsty contract, human beings' reverence for nature will eventually become a cage of self-sacrifice.