It was nightfall, and the sun was setting in the west.

It is rare for the sky to be clear, but the sandstorm tonight is exceptionally quiet. As the evil spirit gradually sinks, the bloody afterglow of the setting sun can be seen in the distance.

It was like blood seeping into the fog, and all you could see was spreading red.

"Master!"

Someone in the sand cave came to report in a hurry: "Pei Ji has followed the devil's breath and has come here. We must activate the soul-confusing formation as soon as possible... He is going crazy!"

Huo Qiao nodded and glanced at the demon cultivator beside him.

The latter knew his intention, lowered his head and whispered: "The puppet has been made."

"Then go find him."

There was not much expression on his face, and he was filled with a solemnity that was incompatible with his baby face. His voice was also very low: "Can my people break free of the shackles... success or failure depends on this one move."

Their plan was not earth-shattering.

Given the demons' current weak state, it is impossible for them to do anything earth-shattering.

All the powerful men in the Demon Realm perished in the war, and most of the people left behind had low cultivation levels and were of no use.

Although both are sons of the Demon Lord, Huo Qiao and Pei Ji have completely different life trajectories.

Both of his parents were demons, and they were in love with each other. Later, they both died in the battlefield, leaving behind only Huo Qiao, who was still an infant.

Then the demons were defeated one after another, and the cultivation world set up the Yin-Yang Microdust Formation. By the time he grew up and was sensible enough, the Demon Realm was in a state of complete blockade, isolated from the outside world.

Although it is called the "Devil's Domain", it is actually more like an inescapable cage.

The scenery is the same every day, the sky is dark and gloomy, and yellow sand can be seen everywhere. The tribesmen lived a lifeless life, without any direction or hope.

The survivors of the war told him that the world outside the Demon Realm was not like that.

Once he was outside, he could see the blue sky and white clouds, tall buildings rising from the ground, and green mountains and smoke from cooking fires in the distance.

Huo Qiao grew up in the Demon Realm since he was born. He has never been very smart and it is difficult for him to imagine the scene in that person's words. He can only stand at the end of the barrier day by day and look at the flying yellow sand in the sky.

Fortunately, now they finally have hope of leaving.

There are many demon gods sleeping in the depths of the demon realm. One day, three of them woke up at the same time. The demonic energy broke through the formation and created a crack in the Liangyi Microdust Formation.

The crack is not big, but it is big enough for someone to escape.

Since the formation has a strong spiritual pressure, only demons above the Jindan stage can barely pass through it. In this case, how to expand this crack and further weaken the formation becomes the primary problem that needs to be considered.

The only known way to destroy the formation is to use the powerful burst of demonic energy.

Besides him, the only other person with such bloodline was Pei Ji.

They didn't think of Ningning at first. After all, Pei Ji had always been a loner and had cut off almost all contact with the outside world.

What they have to do is to completely cut off this connection, turning him into an isolated island despised by everyone and isolated from the world, where he sinks step by step into self-loathing and world-weariness, eventually degenerating into a demon and sacrificing himself.

The first step is to implant the evil spirit into the human puppet, pretending to be a disciple of the immortal sect and entering the secret realm of Xiaochongshan, then lead the evil spirit into the ancient tree, and wait for Pei Ji to approach, and then explode it all at once.

As a result, the demonic energy in the ancient forest will riot, and the disciples of the major sects will surely suffer heavy casualties. The source of all the disasters will definitely be attributed to Pei Ji.

After all, he was the only one who possessed the devilish energy, and he was the only one who could cause the ancient tree to become possessed by a devil and kill so many innocent disciples.

However, the plan failed.

A swordsman named "Ningning" went deep into the forest, regardless of the danger to his life, and started a fight with the ancient tree;

Pei Ji, who should have been unconscious, woke up unexpectedly in the middle of the process, drew his sword and killed the evil tree, and became the hero who resolved the crisis in the forest.

This plan failed, so they had to come up with another one, which was to replace the fairy spring used by Pei Ji to heal his injuries with a deadly poison.

As long as he uses a little, the evil aura will seep into his blood along with the poison. By then, when Pei Ji enters the Demon Refining Tower, he will be attacked by thousands of demons. In such a strong demonic aura, he will inevitably be trapped by his inner demons, become possessed, and become an enemy of righteousness.

The result was still failure.

It was Ningning who disrupted the entire plan.

She was like a sudden thorn that turned the originally smooth plan upside down.

This time, the people from Xuanxu Sword Sect realized something fishy and came to the Tianhe Desert. It was the best opportunity to lure Pei Ji into the devil's trap.

According to their original plan, they should activate the demon-attracting incense to first cause chaos in the demonic energy in Pei Ji's body, then transform the human puppet into his appearance and kill one of the disciples.

This created the illusion that Pei Ji had evil energy entering his body and was harming his fellow disciples.

But the success rate of this method is not high.

It was because of Ningning that Pei Ji was no longer the same person he was at the beginning, alone and isolated from everyone in the sect. Tian Xianzi and his group would definitely be biased towards him and trust him.

So they thought of a better way.

A method that can definitely lead Pei Ji into the devil's trap.

Although Ningning escaped from this place, she did not reunite with Pei Ji.

As long as before that, in front of him, kill the human puppet that looks like that girl -

The young man in white let out a silent sigh and looked up at the flickering fire in the sand pit, with a determination he had never seen before in his eyes.

Huo Qiao said, "Let's go."

=====

Pei Ji was following the evil spirit and was almost at the entrance of the sand cave.

Wherever he passed, if there were any demons or monsters, they would all be beheaded with a single sword. He had to fight his way through a bloody path, and his black clothes were all stained with blood.

"This kid...is he crazy?"

In the night, smoke and sand mixed with blood, making Qing Heng's back cold. After a short pause, he turned his head and said to Huo Qiao beside him: "The soul-bewildering array is complete, and the human puppet is also ready."

As they were talking, a shadow walked out from the shadows under the sand dunes.

The girl who gradually appeared looked like Ningning, and to make her look more realistic, there were even a few bloody marks on her cheeks from the attack.

It’s a pity that the human puppet has no self-awareness and its every move is controlled, so its eyes appear dull and its face lacks much expression.

“Solve it as soon as possible.”

Huo Qiao said without hesitation: "Don't let him notice anything fishy."

As he spoke, he looked out into the wind and sand at the blood-stained figure of the young man in the distance.

That man is like a sword drawn from its sheath.

Pei Ji was very thin and tall, and his black clothes did not appear very clear in the night. His whole body was shrouded in murderous intent and sword energy. In the layers of blood mist, he didn't look like an upright monk at all. Instead, he looked like a Shura from purgatory.

Perhaps sensing the sudden emergence of demonic energy behind him, Pei Ji drew his sword and turned around. The murderous intent in his eyes condensed into an indissoluble pitch-black color. When he saw the scene behind him, he was slightly stunned.

Beneath the sand dunes in the distance, there were several shadows standing there.

Standing in the front was a tall and strong stranger, and Ningning, who had a long knife against her neck.

...Ningning.

His heart beat faster than ever before, the black-clothed young man's pupils shrank suddenly, and a strong demonic energy overflowed from his body.

Can't.

“The time has come.”

Huo Qiao's eyes darkened, and he moved his fingertips: "Let's start."

This sentence was like a switch, and in a blink of an eye, an evil wind suddenly blew in the desert, and many monsters and demons emerged from all directions.

They had no idea how long they had been lying in ambush in the dark, but now that they had received the order, they rushed forward and attacked Pei Ji fiercely.

"It's amazing that he got here by himself."

The tall and strong man laughed and spoke loudly, the blade in his hand gradually pressed down, and when it touched the girl's fair skin, beads of blood oozed out: "Let me guess... You are here to find this girl, right?"

Amid the roars of countless demons, this voice was like an inconspicuous grain of sand in the desert, buried in a hidden corner and difficult to be noticed.

However, Pei Ji stared at the man's eyes with bloodshot eyes. While drawing his sword to kill the evil demons around him, he was also trying his best to move closer to the sand dune.

The demons surged like a tide, and there seemed to be no end.

His movements were hasty and clumsy. After such a powerful attack, his body was already covered with wounds. If he hadn't had a will to support himself, he would probably have lost consciousness.

The man under the sand dune continued, "You killed so many demons, should I... give you something in return?"

Can't.

don't want.

Pei Ji wanted to open his mouth, but blood gushed out.

He wanted to go forward, but there was a murderous aura all around him. The demon sword cultivators, talisman cultivators, body cultivators, music cultivators and numerous evil spirits rushed towards him. He could only swing his sword in vain, his hands shaking violently.

"Pei Xiaoji!"

Chengying screamed in panic: "Your body can no longer support it, it will soon reach its limit! You——"

Before it could finish its words, it saw a flash of a knife under the sand dune.

The scene was like a dream.

The usually carefree sword spirit stood there in a daze, unable to make any sound anymore.

It was already late at night, and the bloody light left by the setting sun had completely dissipated, with a surging black tide between heaven and earth.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, chilling the bones and blowing down a drooping cloud in the sky. As light and shadow gathered and dispersed, a bright yellow outline appeared from the endless darkness.

That was the fourteenth moon.

The never full, incomplete moon.

The cold and dim light poured down like water, landing under the sand dunes and illuminating the girl's pale face.

There were many demonic figures around him, but Pei Ji stopped his counterattack at this moment.

Because of this pause, a long knife pierced his chest. He felt no pain, but only heard his own violent heartbeat, thump thump.

It was eerily quiet all around, without any sound.

The moonlight made the knife light under the sand dunes look snow-white.

A slight shake reveals a shocking red.

The long sword that the young man had been holding tightly in his hand suddenly fell to the ground.

"The puppet is dead."

Huo Qiao, who was in the shadows, closed his eyelashes and said slowly, "The bewilderment array has begun."

=====

He has always been alone and no one is willing to approach him.

Pei Ji opened his eyes in a daze, and saw a dense blood-red forest. The forest was filled with demonic energy, and the blood light was set off by the black air.

A cold body fell from the tree. He recognized the monk's robe and concluded that he was a monk from Liuming Mountain.

Someone shouted, "It's him, it's all him! It was his appearance in the ancient forest that triggered the riot... He is the murderer who killed those people! This evil demon must be killed!"

He looked down blankly, only to find that he was also covered in wounds and the pain was unbearable.

"You murderer!"

Someone else cried out in a sobbing voice, and every word he said seemed to want to eat him alive: "Get out of Xuanxu Sword Sect! This is disgusting!"

Pei Ji wanted to tell them that this was not the case.

He had been fighting with the evil tree for a long time, trying desperately to get rid of it. He was not a demon and did not want to hurt anyone.

But no one believed him.

They just stood by with cold eyes, their pupils filled with ice, and when they looked closer, they saw looks of contempt, rejection and fear.

And he stood alone in everyone's gaze, like a horrifying joke.

It has been like this since I was a child, and my life is miserable.

Pei Ji silently told himself in his heart that he didn't care.

He had long been accustomed to the deliberate exclusion, humiliation and cold treatment, and therefore never cared about it.

Even if no one is willing to stand by him, he will...

He won't feel sad either.

My heart suddenly beat heavily.

A vague shadow slowly emerged from the depths of his mind, like a broken moon in the water or a crabapple flower swaying in the fog. He tried to reach out and touch it, but saw only bubbles that were out of reach.

The blood in his body began to flow again because of that shadow.

wrong.

That's not the case.

There was someone who was always by his side.

He was born in the mud, but she was willing to smile at him tenderly.

Only she would be willing to approach him step by step, lead him out of the dark mud, and smile at him gently.

How could he forget.

He will never forget.

That person's name is——

"The evil spirit has spread out."

Qing Heng clenched the long sword in his hand, his eyes showing joy: "This kid's demonic energy is so strong, he will definitely be able to break through the formation - he's moving!"

Huo Qiao lowered his eyes and said nothing.

The moonlight was like glowing wisps of dust, scattered on the blood-stained sword.

The owner of the sword was half-kneeling on the ground, his back half-bent, the arc of his back arched like a trembling beast.

Pei Ji was trembling.

The boy's hairband had fallen off at some point, and his long black hair fell down like a waterfall. As it was stained with blood, it brushed across his face in an extremely messy manner, leaving dark red streaks.

Suddenly he looked up.

The originally pitch-black pupils were filled with a strange scarlet color, and the bloodshot climbed up like vines, quickly occupying the entire eyeball while also overflowing heavily outwards, dyeing the eye sockets, the bottom of the eyes, and the upturned arc of the tail of the eyes red.

The wind in the desert suddenly blew up, like the howling of ghosts. For a moment, the monsters and beasts were frightened and scattered in all directions.

The pitch-black fog turned blood red at some point, and the wind rose up, forming a series of roaring whirlpools, and Pei Ji was in the center of the whirlpool.

"It seems... not right."

Someone hesitated and asked, "Can we really control this murderous aura and pressure?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a violent howl of wind in the whirlpool, and the wind and waves burst out with blood and energy -

Suddenly, a cold light appeared, like thousands of arrows shot at the same time, and scattered in all directions!

"Protect the formation, protect the formation! This kid——!"

Qing Heng was horrified by the murderous aura and urged his magic energy to protect his body: "The rest of you, attack him together!"

Many demon cultivators were forced to retreat step by step by the sword energy. Upon hearing this, they managed to steady themselves and concentrate their energy.

After all, they were numerous and powerful, and in a short moment, the surging demonic tide surrounded Pei Ji and trapped him.

He will definitely not be able to get out of this formation tonight.

Huo Qiao nodded and frowned: "Attack."

The demonic tide surged and condensed into several pitch-black swords in mid-air, which simultaneously emitted long, sharp howls amid the whimpering of the wind.

The swords pointed downwards, all pointing at the half-kneeling figure in the center. The howls grew heavier, the black aura grew heavier, and suddenly the sky and the clouds changed color, and several swords were fired simultaneously -

It stabbed straight into the boy's spine.

It is at this moment.

Right at this moment.

In an instant, a bright light appeared, and the mighty sword energy formed a vast galaxy that poured down, enveloping Pei Ji.

The blinding white light and the thick black air counteracted each other, forming a stalemate in mid-air. Huo Qiao was slightly startled when he heard the sword energy humming.

In the blood-stained light, he saw a slender figure standing upright.

The girl's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had cried bitterly not long ago. Her whole body was covered with dust and sand, her long hair was flying, and there was blood at the corners of her eyes and lips.

However, although she looked disheveled, her pair of bright black eyes were as clear as lake water, reflecting the bright moonlight in the sky, which was breathtakingly beautiful.

It was the girl who ran away.

She actually... chose to come back in such a life-threatening situation.

The vast demonic energy and sword energy were in a stalemate in mid-air. Ningning raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth and coughed uncontrollably.

She was very aware of her own strength. She alone would not be able to hold out for long under such an attack.

On the way here, the system occasionally mentioned "destiny" to her.

Precisely because of destiny, Ning Ning in this world would have no way out, and that was death, even if she went back in time again and again; and now Pei Ji had fallen into the evil path, abandoned by heaven, and was shrouded in an extremely gloomy aura of death. Like her, he could not escape the inevitable death.

Destiny is really a magical thing.

The system told her that in her previous reincarnations, she had tried to make Pei Ji fall in love with her. However, the boy saw through her charity and deliberate approach, and was always as cold as ice.

Correspondingly, Pei Ji was once impeccable enough. Even though he was falsely accused of murdering his fellow disciples and colluding with the Demon Realm, he never lost his mind and fell into the evil path.

Only this time is different.

Ningning's arrival was like a stone falling into stagnant water, causing layer upon layer of endless ripples.

A butterfly flapped its wings, pulling out a series of storms that were connected to each other. The changing fates were linked together. Her deliberate evil deeds, by accident, sowed the seeds of Pei Ji's obsession with evil.

Cause and effect, destiny.

Screw fate.

——Hasn’t the fate that was once unchangeable begun to diverge?

Ningning never believed in fate, and was even less willing to leave her future entirely to the so-called "destiny." They are living people, not puppets controlled by heaven.

Since her stone has already caused ripples and brought about the turmoil of fate——

It would be better to create bigger waves in the stagnant water.

A little bigger.

Even if Pei Ji was abandoned by heaven, she would still protect him.