It was already night, and the sun was setting in the west.

The sky was rarely clear, but the wind and sand were particularly quiet tonight. As the demonic energy gradually sank, the bloody afterglow of the setting sun could be seen in the distance.

It was like blood stains seeping into the mist, and everywhere was red.

"Master!"

Someone in the sand cave hurriedly reported: "Pei Ji followed the demonic breath and has come here. We must activate the bewitching 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, bowed his head and whispered: "The puppet has been made."

"Then go find him."

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

Their plan was not so earth-shattering.

With the current weak state of the demon clan, it is impossible to do anything earth-shattering.

All the strong men in the demon domain died during the war, and most of the people left behind had low cultivation and were not useful.

Although they were both sons of the Demon Lord, Huo Qiao and Pei Ji had completely different life trajectories.

His parents were both demons, and they were in love with each other. Later, they both died in the battlefield, leaving only Huo Qiao, who was still in his infancy.

Then the demons were defeated one after another, and the cultivation world set up the two-meter dust formation. When he grew up enough to understand things, the demon realm was in a state of complete blockade, far away from the outside world.

It is called the "demon realm", but in fact it is more like a prison that cannot be escaped.

Every day is the same scene, the sky is dark and gloomy, and yellow sand can be seen everywhere. And the tribesmen live without vitality, and can't find any direction and hope.

The survivors of the war told him that the world outside the demon realm is not like this.

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

Huo Qiao had grown up in the Demon Realm since he was born. He was never very smart, and it was difficult for him to imagine the scene in that person's words. He could only stand at the end of the barrier day by day, looking at the flying yellow sand in the sky.

Fortunately, now they finally have hope to leave.

There are many demon gods sleeping in the depths of the Demon Realm. One day, three of them woke up at the same time, and the sky-high demonic energy broke out of the formation, creating a crack in the two-meter dust formation.

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

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

The only known way to destroy the formation is to use the strong demonic energy that explodes.

And the only person with such bloodline, besides him, is Pei Ji.

They didn't think about Ning Ning at the beginning. After all, Pei Ji has always been a loner and has cut off contact with almost everyone in the outside world.

What they have to do is to completely cut off this connection, making him an isolated island despised by thousands of people and isolated from the world, sinking step by step in self-loathing and world-weariness, and finally degenerating into a demon and sacrificing himself.

The first step is to implant the magic energy into the human puppet, pretend to be a disciple of the immortal sect and enter the secret realm of Xiaochongshan, then lead the magic energy into the ancient tree, and wait for Pei Ji to approach, and then explode it together.

In this way, the magic energy of the ancient woods and forests will riot, and the disciples of the major sects will surely suffer heavy casualties, and the source of all disasters will be attributed to Pei Ji.

After all, he is the only one who has the magic energy, and only he can lead the ancient trees to become demonic and harm many innocent disciples.

However, the plan failed.

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

Pei Ji, who should have been unconscious, woke up halfway, drew his sword and killed the magic tree, and became the hero who resolved the crisis in the forest.

This plan failed, so they had to devise another one, replacing the fairy spring used by Pei Ji to heal his wounds with a deadly poison.

As long as he used a little, the devil's breath would seep into his blood along with the deadly poison. When Pei Ji entered the Demon Refining Tower, he would be attacked by thousands of demons. In such a dense demonic aura, he would inevitably be trapped by his inner demons, go astray, and become an enemy of the righteous.

But it still failed.

It was Ning Ning who disrupted the whole plan.

She was like a thorn that suddenly appeared, turning the originally smooth plan upside down.

This time, the Xuanxu Sword Sect's group noticed Mao Xiu and came to the Tianhe Desert, which was the best time to lead Pei Ji into the devil.

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

In this way, there was the illusion that Pei Ji's evil energy entered his body and harmed his fellow disciples.

But the success rate of this method is not high.

Or because of Ning Ning, Pei Ji is no longer the same as he was at the beginning, wandering alone away from all the people in the sect. For him, Tian Xianzi and his group will definitely be biased and trust him.

So they thought of a better way.

A way that can definitely lead Pei Ji into the devil.

Although Ning Ning escaped from this place, she did not merge with Pei Ji.

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

the young man in white sighed silently, looked up at the flickering fire in the sand pit, and there was an unprecedented determination in his eyes.

Huo Qiao said: "Let's go."

=====

Pei Ji followed the evil spirit and was almost at the entrance of the sand pit.

If there were any demons in the past, they would be beheaded by a sword without exception, so he killed a bloody path, and his black clothes were all stained with blood.

"This kid... is he crazy?"

In the night, the smoke and sand were mixed with blood, which made Qing Heng's back cold. After a pause, he turned his head to Huo Qiao beside him and said: "The bewitching array is ready, and the human puppet is also ready." While

talking, a shadow walked out from the shadow under the sand dune.

The girl who gradually appeared seemed to be carved from the same mold as Ning Ning. To make it look more realistic, there were even a few bloodstains on her cheeks from being attacked.

Unfortunately, the puppet had no self-awareness and was controlled in every move, so her eyes looked lifeless and her face didn't show much expression.

"Solve it as soon as possible."

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

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

The man was 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. He was surrounded by a chilling murderous intent and sword energy. In the layers of blood mist, he did not look like a decent monk at all, but rather a Shura from purgatory.

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

Under the sand dunes in the distance, several shadows stood out.

Standing in the front was a tall and strong stranger, and Ning Ning, who was held against the neck by his long knife.

... Ning Ning.

His heart beat faster than ever before, the pupils of the black-clothed boy shrank, and a strong demonic energy overflowed from his body.

No.

"The time has come."

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

This sentence was like a switch, but in a flash, the desert suddenly became evil, and many monsters and demons appeared from all directions.

They didn't know how long they had been lying in ambush in the dark, and now they received the order and rushed up to attack Pei Ji.

"You managed to get here by yourself, that's incredible."

The tall man laughed and said 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 it would be difficult to be noticed.

However, Pei Ji stared at the man's eyes with bloodshot eyes, and while he drew his sword to cut off the evil demons around him, he also tried his best to move closer to the sand dunes.

The demons surged like a tide, as if there was no end.

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

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

No.

Don't.

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

wanted to move forward, but there was a heavy murderous aura around him. The demon sword cultivators, talisman cultivators, body cultivators, music cultivators and numerous demons rushed up. He could only swing his sword in vain, his hands shaking violently.

"Pei Xiaoji!"

Chengying screamed in panic: "Your body can no longer support you, and you will soon reach your limit! You--"

Before it finished speaking, it saw a flash of knife under the sand dune.

The scene was like a dream.

The sword spirit, who was always carefree, stood there in a daze, unable to make a sound.

It was already late at night, and the blood light left by the setting sun had completely dissipated, and the sky and the earth were filled with surging black tides.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, the chill penetrated the bones, and blew down a drooping cloud from the sky. Between the light and shadow, a yellow outline appeared from the endless darkness.

It was the fourteenth moon.

A moon that was never full, but incomplete.

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

There were many demonic shadows 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.

The surroundings were terribly quiet, without any sound.

The moonlight reflected the knife light under the sand dunes as white as snow.

A slight shake was a shocking red.

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

"The human puppet is dead."

Huo Qiao closed his eyelashes lightly in the shadows and said slowly: "The soul is rising."

=====

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

Pei Ji opened his eyes in a trance, and saw a blood-red dense forest. The forest was filled with demonic breath, and the blood light was reflected by the black air.

A body that had long been cold fell from the tree. He recognized the man's sect uniform and thought 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 caused the riot... He is the murderer who killed those people! The evil demon must be punished!"

He looked down blankly, and then he realized that he was also covered with wounds and the pain was unbearable.

"You murderer!"

Someone else cried out, every word, every voice seemed to want to eat him alive: "Get out of Xuanxu Sword Sect! It's disgusting!"

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

He had been fighting with the demon tree for a long time, trying desperately to get rid of it. He was not an evil demon, and he didn't want to hurt people.

But no one believed him.

They just stood by with cold eyes, their pupils filled with ice, looking around, all they could see were contempt, rejection and fear.

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

It has been like this since he was a child, and he has lived a miserable life.

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

He had long been accustomed to those deliberate rejections, humiliations and cold treatments, so he never cared.

Even if no one is willing to stand by his side, he...

he won't feel sad.

His heart suddenly beat heavily.

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

The blood in his body started flowing again because of that shadow.

No.

That's not it.

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 was willing to approach him step by step, take him out of the dark mud, and smile at him tenderly.

How could he forget.

He would never forget.

That person's name was——

"The evil spirit has spread."

Qing Heng clenched the long sword in his hand, his eyes showing joy: "The evil spirit of this kid is so strong, it will definitely break through the formation——he moved!"

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-prostrate, and the arc of his arch was like a trembling beast.

Pei Ji was trembling.

The boy's hairband had fallen off at some point, and his long black hair was scattered like a waterfall. It was stained with blood, and it brushed across his face in a messy manner, leaving dark red marks.

Suddenly he raised his head.

His originally pitch-black pupils were filled with a strange scarlet color, and bloodshot climbed up like vines, quickly occupying the entire eyeball, and also overflowed heavily, staining the eye sockets, the bottom of the eyes, and the upturned arc at the end of the eyes.

The wind in the desert rose suddenly, like the howling of ghosts, and the monsters were frightened and scattered.

The pitch-black mist turned into blood red at some point, and the wind swayed up, forming a vortex that roared endlessly, and Pei Ji was in the center of the vortex.

"It seems... not quite right."

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

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the howling of the wind in the vortex, and the wind and waves wrapped in blood burst out -

suddenly a cold light appeared, like thousands of arrows shot at the same time, and scattered all around!

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

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

Many demon cultivators were beaten back by the sword energy, and they barely stabilized their bodies and gathered their energy and concentrated their minds after hearing this.

After all, they were in large numbers, but in a moment, the surging demon tide gathered to surround Pei Ji and trapped him in it.

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

Huo Qiao nodded and frowned: "Attack."

The demonic tide surged, condensing into several pitch-black long swords in the air. In the howling of the wind, they simultaneously emitted sharp long whistles.

The sword tips were pointing downward, all pointing to the half-kneeling figure in the center. The long whistles gradually became heavier, and the black air became heavier. Suddenly, the wind and clouds changed color, and several swords were fired at the same time -

piercing straight into the boy's spine.

It was at this moment.

At this moment.

In an instant, the bright light was strong, and the vast sword energy was interwoven into a vast galaxy pouring down, covering Pei Ji.

The dazzling white light and the dense black air offset each other, presenting a stalemate in the air. Huo Qiao was slightly startled by the buzzing of the sword energy.

In the bloody light that covered the sky, 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 stained with wind and sand, her long hair was disheveled, and there were bloodstains at the corners of her eyes and lips.

However, although she looked miserable, 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-and-death gap.

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

She knew her own strength very well. She could not hold on for too long under such an attack alone.

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

Because of destiny, Ning Ning in this world has no choice but to die even if she goes back in time again and again; and now Pei Ji has fallen into the devil's way, abandoned by the way of heaven, and is shrouded in an extremely gloomy death aura. Like her, he cannot escape the inevitable death.

Destiny is really a magical thing.

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

Correspondingly, Pei Ji was once impeccable enough. Even if he was falsely accused of harming his fellow disciples and colluding with the devil, he never lost his mind and fell into the devil's way.

Only this time was different.

Ning Ning's arrival is like a stone falling into stagnant water, causing ripples.

A butterfly flaps its wings, causing a series of storms that are linked to each other. The changing fate is one after another. Her deliberate evil "cause" sows the "result" of Pei Ji's obsession with her.

Cause and effect cycle, destiny.

Damn destiny.

- Hasn't the once unchangeable destiny already diverged?

Ning Ning never believes in fate, and is even more unwilling to leave the future entirely to the so-called "fate". They are living people, not puppets controlled by heaven.

Since she, this stone, has already stirred up waves and caused the movement

of fate to fluctuate, why not stir up the waves in the stagnant water a little bigger.

Even bigger.

Even if Pei Ji is abandoned by heaven, she will still protect him.