When she fell into the Ziwei Realm, Ning Ning had a dream.
The dream was blank, with only a very vague shadow of a young man. She couldn't see his face clearly, but only remembered the vague outline of his figure.
When the demon cultivators walked towards her step by step from the deep rift valley, the man standing in the front gradually overlapped with the one she saw in the dream.
Ning Ning didn't remember that she had seen him before, but what was certain was that this man must have left an indelible impression in her subconscious.
——Because now, she dreamed of him again.
Looking around, there was a desert with rolling yellow sand, and the demonic energy was linked to curling white smoke. She sat side by side with the man on the sand dune, and looking up, she could see a distant and lonely moon in the sky.
A gust of wind rushed over, and the man turned his head to look at her, but his face was still blurry.
Ningning heard him say, "Look, this is...the moon, every time I see it, I think..."
The sound of the wind and countless noises filled her ears, covering up his words. Ningning heard the fog and wanted to shout to ruin the atmosphere, "The wind is too strong, I can't hear clearly, what are you saying?"
However, before she could say anything, she was startled by a chill all over her body and suddenly opened her eyes.
She had encountered the demon cultivators in the rift valley before, and now she should have been taken to their lair.
Ning Ning tried to move her body, but found that her hands were tied by ropes. Judging from the material, they should be the famous immortal ropes, which made her unable to use any spiritual power. Why
did these people go to such great lengths to capture her? She
couldn't figure it out.
As a new socialist youth who grew up in costume dramas, Ning Ning would not attract many young talents with a song "Shui Tiao Ge Tou", nor could she be called a level 10 player in palace fighting, but she still learned a very simple and practical experience -
hiding a small knife in her sleeve for emergency use.
For example, now, the metal contraband has become a god in her heart.
Ning Ning sat up crookedly from the ground, posing like an old monk in meditation, looking around.
It seemed that she should take back what she said before about the "Demon's Lair".
Because this place is really too shabby.
It can't even be called a "house", but just a cave made of sand and gravel, with beds and other various furniture scattered inside. It looks of good quality, but it can't hide the humble nature of this place.
...Where is the glittering and golden palace she imagined? Why does this place look like the set of a rural drama in the 1980s? Ning Ning was a little confused, and even the action of cutting the rope with a knife slowed down subconsciously. In the silence, she suddenly heard a few footsteps coming from outside the door.
The group of demon cultivators should be back.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. She stopped moving and looked up. The first thing she saw was a white-faced face.
The one walking in front was still the same young man as in her dream.
This time the lights were on in the cave. Through the flickering dim light, Ning Ning finally saw his appearance clearly.
Completely different from the imagined evil cultivators who were either arrogant or cold as ice, this man actually had a very well-behaved baby face, and his dark and round pupils were as soft as water, without any aggression.
Ning Ning: ...
Maybe, probably, possibly, this is a white-cut black lotus, seemingly harmless, but actually cruel and ruthless?
The young man noticed her straightforward gaze and was slightly stunned at first.
Then he actually blushed, blinked his eyes hurriedly, and said with six points of panic, three points of guilt, and one point of shyness: "You, you woke up?"
Ning Ning: ...
This guy in front of me should really be a cute and charming villain, right? What about the arrogance, indifference, and contempt? We are both making fan-shaped statistical charts, why are you so different from other villains?
"Master."
A tall and strong man beside him spoke in a deep voice: "You should not use this attitude to treat your enemies."
Master.
Ning Ning's head exploded again.
No way, this shy boy who looks weak and innocent is actually the new monarch of the Demon Realm?
She had indeed heard that the demon clan was short of talent, and that both the Demon Lord and the Demon King were defeated in the great war, but this, this, this, this is too "short of talent", isn't it?
She seemed to understand a little bit why she couldn't see the magnificent and magnificent palace.
"She is a girl after all."
The young man smiled softly, and when he turned his head to look at her, he was still a little embarrassed as if he was guilty: "Miss Ningning, my name is Huo Qiao."
The direction of the plot was not quite what she thought.
To be precise, it was very different.
Ningning nodded and said "hmm", trying to communicate with him normally: "Can I ask, what do you want to do by bringing me here?"
Huo Qiao lowered his eyes to look at her, and after hearing this, he was silent for a long time, and still said in a gentle voice: "To kill you."
Good, very good, he said these four words without changing his expression, and finally had a bit of the style of the demon clan.
He paused, as if he was considering his words, and hesitantly added: "You can hate us, and we will never let you go - if you want to ask for mercy, don't waste your words."
This man is so strange.
He is said to be cruel and ruthless, but he looks gentle and gentle. She has read so many novels and TV dramas, but she has never seen such a good-talking demon monarch.
You could say he was soft-hearted, but his words just now left her no way out, clearly intending to kill her.
He seemed to be standing in opposition to her, but also equal to her. He gave her enough respect, and told her without hesitation: "I will kill you."
With the attitude of this young demon king, Ning Ning's tension subsided a lot. Hearing this, she leaned against the wall and asked curiously: "Why do you want to get rid of me?"
She was smart and could vaguely guess that he was being naughty, so she used an inquiring tone: "Because of Pei Ji?"
Huo Qiao answered the question irrelevantly, without making a comment: "When we kill you, we won't torture you on purpose, so don't be afraid, girl."
- Just the two words "kill you" are enough to scare people, okay!
"My Lord, why do you have to say so much nonsense to her?"
Someone said disdainfully: "Based on the curse cast on her, she won't live long. If we can kill her, it will be considered a good deed."
Ning Ning didn't quite understand: "Curse? What curse?"
"There are many kinds of curses. We can only detect some of them, but don't know the details--"
Huo Qiao wanted to explain, but while he was speaking, someone came in from outside and whispered to him.
Ning Ning couldn't hear the content clearly, but she knew that the young man smiled and looked down at her: "I should go. Qingheng, you stay here to guard."
A tall man nodded quietly.
"Wait wait wait! I have one last question!"
Ning Ning saw him turn around and quickly raised her voice: "Have we met before?"
Huo Qiao turned his head, his dog eyes shining brightly in the candlelight, like ripples on a lake.
"That's right," she always felt that this sentence was like a deliberate chat, and her voice was much lower, "Speaking of 'tonight's moon'... something."
Huo Qiao looked at her quietly, and suddenly raised his lips and smiled.
"We have never met."
The young man's voice was clear, and his smile slowly overflowed in the light: "But tonight is the fourteenth, girl, you can look up at the sky later... The moon on the fourteenth is beautiful."
=====
Huo Qiao left in a hurry, leaving Ning Ning and the strong middle-aged man named "Qing Heng" staring at each other.
She was still unclear about the strength of the demon camp, so she had to be cautious in everything.
The ropes tied around her hands were gradually cut. Ning Ning wanted to use her consciousness to test Qing Heng's cultivation, but her mind buzzed.
It was the system's voice.
[Qing Heng's cultivation is at the third level of Yuan Ying, and he will be detected if he releases his consciousness. This person is good at using a long sword, but his weakness is in his lower abdomen, and he is not good at quick attacks.]
This voice came without any signs. For Ning Ning, it was like seeing a dead person suddenly resurrect and dance to perform the third-best radio gymnastics in the country.
Before she could react, she heard its voice again: [Take advantage of his slackness and attack immediately with the Golden Snake Sword Technique. Don't hesitate. ］
This was the first time it spoke suddenly.
Ning Ning concentrated and held her breath, gathering her consciousness, and soon understood its intention.
The demon's lair was full of murderous intentions, and the system didn't want her to die there.
But... why did it know so much about this demon cultivator?
This is not the question to think about now.
Due to the existence of the Immortal Binding Rope, Qing Heng didn't have too many guards against her. Ning Ning followed the system's instructions and drew her sword in a moment.
She was so fast that the man lost consciousness because of the sword energy before he could draw his long sword.
In the next moment, the dry and cold system voice reappeared in her mind: [Go out and turn right at the first corner. ]
It seemed to be in a hurry and used an almost urging tone.
The cave Ning Ning was in was actually underground. When she left the cave, she saw a complex and deep corridor.
The situation was urgent, so she didn't have time to think too much. She ran quickly according to the prompts that kept ringing.
[Turn right, enemy attack appears.]
[Music cultivator, good at playing the zither, attack his right hand.]
[Concentrate your mind and breathe, enter the secret passage from the sand array on the left. There are Yuanying masters guarding this place, remember to hide your tracks.]
"How do you know this place so clearly?"
There are many threats here, not only are the demon cultivators waiting in various places very powerful, but the forks in the road are dazzling. If she is alone, she will definitely not be able to escape even half of the way.
However, the system knew all the demon cultivators and terrain in the sand cave, and it could be called the strongest golden finger in history.
Ning Ning ran wildly, and asked it jokingly in her heart: "Are you the so-called incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, or a demon who once lived here?"
There was no response.
Or rather, it got a response that was irrelevant: [The sword cultivator in front, the weakness is in the back, use the Taiyi Sword Technique to deal with him.]
The "secret passage" mentioned by the system was not far away, and there was a demon cultivator holding a sword guarding it.
Ning Ning still used an unexpected and quick attack, and the man reacted quickly, raised his hand and tried to counterattack, but was beaten back step by step.
It didn't take long for the Star Mark Sword to point directly at the opponent's vital point, but Ning Ning did not use any force.
She looked a bit wolfish, with a dark pupil that was gloomy. She suppressed the sword energy overflowing from her body and made a gesture to keep quiet.
"Be quiet."
Ningning said, "I have two questions for you."
=====
The system's instructions continued.
It had never spoken so many words at once, and the urgent and harsh mechanical sounds made Ningning's brain confused.
She escaped from the complex underground sand cave through the secret passage. She thought the prompt sound was about to disappear, but in the howling wind after nightfall, she suddenly heard an extremely familiar ding-dong sound.
This is a sound that only sounds when the system issues a task.
Ning Ning's first reaction was, that's not right, according to the original story, has she ever been a demon here?
The answer is definitely "no".
In the novel given by the system, this group of demon cultivators never appeared from beginning to end. The reason why they went to the desert was to practice exorcising demons.
And the shots of "Ning Ning" were pitifully few, and she only appeared in a few sentences in the whole article, because -
the font in her mind gradually took shape, and Ning Ning saw the sentences given by the system clearly.
[It is now late at night, and the sand demons are attacking in groups. For a while, the sky is covered and the moon is blocked, and the wind is howling.
Everyone tried their best to resist. Ningning was terrified. When she ran away, she was unexpectedly swept by the evil spirit and fell directly into the bottomless valley beside her! ］
［Ding Dong! ］
［You know what to do. ］
"Are you letting yourself go more and more?"
Ningning sneered at the last six words. She looked up and saw a long, deep mark on the ground not far away.
I think the reason why the system was so eager to help her was not only to show her the way to escape from the sand cave, but also to lead her here on purpose.
Falling into the valley crack had nothing to do with the evil behavior of the vicious female supporting role, but it showed an unprecedented urgency, which showed that the significance of this matter was extraordinary.
The tangled thoughts in her mind slowly turned.
Ningning had already understood what was hidden under the valley crack.
[Go to the bottom of the valley crack immediately.]
The pain in her brain gradually deepened, and the system's tone was extremely cold: [Immediately.
"This is the most critical step, right?" Ning
Ning said with a smile as she walked forward, "Don't worry, I will do it naturally."
The other party was very cold and did not respond.
She did not care about it. She walked to the side of the valley and drew her sword. The moment she stepped down with her right foot, she used the sword energy to stir up a gust of wind.
The sword energy surged, greatly slowing down the speed of falling. The white light illuminated the girl's pale face. Ning Ning subconsciously grasped the long sword.
It was getting closer and closer to the bottom of the valley.
She felt the bloody wind around her and took a deep breath.
Ning Ning's original guess was very simple and straightforward.
There is no such thing as "travel through time". She is the "Ning Ning" in this world, reborn again and again in reincarnation, trying to change the inevitable ending.
The first question she asked the demon cultivator was why he wanted to kill her.
The man trembled and told Ning Ning that the demons wanted to lead Pei Ji into the devil, so as to break the two-instrument dust array, and her death was undoubtedly the best inducement.
According to this explanation, it seems that it can be understood that the system may be, as Bai Wu said, a guide she set in her mind to avoid a dead end.
As long as she keeps acting like a demon and doesn't let Pei Ji have any feelings for her, she can prevent this sudden change.
But this logic doesn't make sense.
First, if she really had reincarnated many times and had memories every time, how could she lose all her past impressions in this round and not remember anything?
The more memories and experiences one has, the greater the chance of survival. If she were to wander around in confusion like she is now, she might be sent to the gates of hell at any time.
Moreover, there were so many life-threatening crises before, but the system never reminded her, but was vague and covered up all the information related to the demon cultivators.
It seems that it is more inclined to stand on the side of the demon cultivators than the righteous cultivators.
Secondly, if she wanted to stop this conspiracy, the method she could use couldn't be simpler -
just inform the elders of the changes in the demon world in advance, let the immortal sect handle the matter, and place Pei Ji in the Xuanxu Sword Sect. With the strength of that group of demons, it would be impossible for them to stir up any waves.
Thirdly, when she abandoned Pei Ji and ran towards the Lingshu Immortal Grass in the secret realm of the Demon Refining Tower, she heard the system's sneer very clearly.
The laughter was obviously full of disdain and contempt. If the system really was her own consciousness, it would never react like that.
Fourthly, the most important point.
Her identity as a time traveler could never be false.
He Zhizhou also came from the 21st century. If she had been born and raised in the world of cultivation, how could she have fabricated a world exactly like his?
Computers, televisions, refrigerators, and air conditioners are clearly objects that the ancients could not have imagined.
In this way, if we abandon this line of thought, there is only one feasible explanation left.
She and the "Ningning" who had reincarnated countless times before are two completely different people.
The valley was deep and white light was bursting everywhere like sparks. Ningning gathered her sword energy and landed on tiptoe.
She smelled the strong smell of dust and moved forward slowly under the sword light.
At that time in the Ziwei Realm, the sword spirit that turned into white mist told her that something suddenly appeared in her body, which might help her survive the death.
Ningning took it for granted that the other party was referring to the system in her mind.
But she overlooked a very important factor.
The sword spirit naturally cannot sense the so-called "system". The only thing she can perceive is everyone's consciousness.
Since "there is one more", then there are two people's consciousness hidden in her body.
Ning Ning raised the Star Mark Sword, and in the dark, she saw a scattered skeleton.
"The extra thing that suddenly appeared in her body", where is the system?
It is clearly... her soul from another world.
Ning Ning remembered the second question to ask the magic cultivator.
About the curse on her.
The man didn't know much about it, and told her hesitantly that this curse had been lost for many years, and he only knew that it was a life-stealing spell.
For some unknown reason, she was so young, but she had to bear the unimaginable death and karma. I'm afraid she will die soon.
Karma.
In the evil magic shop in Luancheng, the owner accidentally revealed that the demons had a magic to replace lives.
Ning Ning didn't investigate it at the time, but now she thinks it's nothing more than transferring karma and exchanging life for life.
Why does the system only let her commit evil deeds but not care about the consequences?
Because as long as she has the idea of harming others and takes corresponding actions, she will naturally bear that karma.
Why is the "original" plot in her mind incomplete and often inconsistent with the facts?
Because that person has reincarnated several times, his memory of the first life is already extremely vague. If she wants to use the art of life-replacement, she must probably base it on the original cause and effect.
Why do she and He Zhizhou both have systems with conflicting functions?
Because her "evil female supporting system" is simply a fake, and perhaps the source of inspiration is the "grindstone" made by He Zhizhou by the way of heaven.
The original "Ning Ning" died in the desert for unknown reasons, and reincarnated again and again to escape the dead end, but things went against her wishes and she could not escape her predetermined fate.
Finally, at some point, perhaps in the last reincarnation, she learned the method of life-replacement - let another soul bear her fate and cause and effect of death, and wait for the former to die, and then reoccupy this body.
It was that person who had reincarnated several times.
It was that person who talked to Bai Wu over and over again.
It was also that person who was ultimately wanted to be saved in this situation.
As for her, she was just a shield for that person to survive.
The so-called "faking death and escaping" was all lies. Once she accepted the fate of death, she would definitely not be able to survive.
Ning Ning continued to move forward and saw a yellowed old book next to the skeleton.
There was no writing on the cover, but she knew what it was.
The real "Ning Ning" fell here because of an attack by a monster, but fortunately she did not die. By chance, she discovered the remains of a powerful demon who had disappeared for many years.
And a secret book containing a method of backtracking.
Now she has found a way to go back, and the cycle of cause and effect has come to a closure, ending here.
What awaits her is only a dead end.
"How many times have you reincarnated?"
Ning Ning leaned over to pick it up, lowering her eyelashes: "You were once possessed by the devil in reincarnation, so you are so familiar with the terrain of the devil's domain and every one of them, and you are so close to Huo Qiao, right?"
A gust of wind passed by, like a miserable ghost crying.
"What should I call you? System?"
She wanted to laugh softly, but she didn't have the strength to make a sound, so she could only continue in her heart: "Or should I say...'Ning Ning'?"
There was no response.
Ning Ning didn't care, and pulled the corner of her mouth lightly.
Perhaps she had been mentally prepared. When she finally knew the whole truth, she did not feel the expected sadness and despair. She paused for a long time and asked again in a very light and indifferent tone: "After inheriting your fate, I will definitely die, right?"
She was answered by the same long and quiet silence.
Suddenly, something in her heart moved slightly, and a gust of wind passed by her ears, making her earlobes itchy.
Ningning heard a voice.
It was no longer a dry and indifferent mechanical sound, but a soft girl's voice like hers.
"...Yes."
Something in her heart suddenly fell to the ground. Unexpectedly, she did not cry or get angry.
Ningning was silent for a moment, as if a huge rock that had been pressing on her heart for a long time suddenly collapsed and shattered all over the ground. She actually breathed a sigh of relief and spoke in a more normal tone: "What about those dreams? About Huo Qiao... Do you like him?"
The voice answered irrelevantly: "I thought you guessed everything and would not enter the valley."
Ning Ning turned the pages of the book in her hand and squinted her eyes at the dust blowing in her face.
The method of retrospection is that the soul born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin day and Yin hour can only be driven by obsession when it is about to die.
It's a pity that this restriction is so harsh. The original owner just meets it, but her birth date is far away from it, so she can't turn back time.
"In that case, won't I be executed on the spot for violating the system's instructions? After I die, you won't have a shield to save your life, and you will probably die too - do you think I will choose to die with you?"
Ning Ning's tone was incredibly calm.
She was silent for a while, raising her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Pei Ji is still in the Demon Clan's trap."
In the endless darkness, the girl clenched the sword in her hand and finally laughed softly: "Even if I can't survive... he must survive."
=====
"Escaped?"
Huo Qiao looked at the mess in the cave and heard Qing Heng blame himself: "She somehow got rid of the immortal rope, and her swordsmanship was too fast to resist. I, I didn't react for a while, so-" "
No problem."
The young demon monarch just smiled: "Although she has disappeared... don't we still have human puppets to use?"