Jiangyun Prefecture, Xingji Pavilion.

Tonight is the inauguration ceremony for the new Pavilion Master of Xingji Pavilion and the Immortal Official of Jiangyun Prefecture, Xingyuan. After midnight, Jiangyun Prefecture once again set off fireworks. The gorgeous tail flame rushed into the night sky, exploding with a bang, reflecting the sea of ​​stars. At this moment, the highest observatory in the entire Xingji Pavilion was silent.

Through the carved diamond-shaped window lattice, I could see that the top floor attic was clean and simple, with nothing but a couch. A thin young man with a delicate face stood upright in front of the window, staring at the cold white moon outside the window, his eyes seemed to be hooked, and he was talking to himself like a dark stone sculpture in a cold and gloomy place:

"Why? I should have won!"

"It's not fair... they never intended for me to succeed!"

"Except for my background, how am I inferior to Xing Yuan..."

——After Xing Yuan took office, he not only sealed the ghost arts, but also dealt with the ghost magicians with thunderous means. Whether it was to eliminate dissidents or to eliminate future troubles, the ghost magicians in the Xingji Pavilion were demoted to outer disciples and imprisoned in the observatory, never to be able to make a breakthrough.

A bunch of fireworks shot up into the sky, and he staggered back a few steps as if frightened. The young man put his hands on his knees and lowered his head to breathe heavily. His whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. After a long time, he squeezed out a few words from the trembling:

"Give it back to me..."

He raised his head inch by inch, his face extremely distorted, only a cold light flashed in the corners of his eyes in the shadows, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke each word:

"Give back everything that belongs to me and my mother!!!"

With the last word, his spiritual power broke through his fingertips, and he used blood to draw a series of rare and complicated spells in the air! His movements became faster and faster, and his expression became more and more vicious, just like a trapped beast that was madly devouring people. His blood left crisscrossing light marks in the air!

"I vow to save the sentient beings in hell. I will save all sentient beings after countless calamities..."

The reluctance and despair were like a black tide that engulfed him, causing his brain to rip apart and his ears to roar like thunder. As the last stroke fell, Stardust knelt heavily on the ground and punched the ground, cracking his finger bones and leaving four clear blood marks.

——His magic power was not enough to control too many evil ghosts, so he could only try to summon one. It didn't matter if the evil ghost was fierce or fierce, as long as he could kill Xing Xuan and destroy Xingji Pavilion...

He stared at the blood-red talisman in the air, his eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was trembling. A tear mixed with blood fell onto the wooden floor with a plop.

At the same time, the bloody curse glowed brighter!

A red lightning bolt struck down from the black sky, accurately finding the location of the observatory without any deviation, and then the night wind became cold, as if it was the cold wind blowing from the Nine Netherworld in the legend, icy and bone-chilling. At a certain terrifying moment, the young man's long hair stood up, stiff and straight, and a huge black umbrella opened on the top of his head.

All this happened in a flash. Soon, the hair fell back, the wind stopped, and the sky outside the window was still full of fireworks. But Xingchen knew that something was different.

He could feel his fingers getting colder and colder, just like his life was gradually slipping away and he couldn't control it.

The next second, a hoarse voice sounded in the darkness not far in front of him.

"You have bad luck."

His neck seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, and within a few seconds of the terrible suffocation, his face turned blood red, from red to blue, and from blue to purple. The light and shadow in front of him kept tearing, outlining the figure of a tall man whose face could not be seen clearly.

"—summoned me."

“Please…” Xingchen did not struggle. His face was covered with tears. He gasped and coughed violently, and said intermittently, “Help me…”

"Oh?" The shadow walked around him slowly, as if examining a commodity for sale. "What can you give me?"

Xingchen's face was pale and his breathing was rapid, but his internal organs seemed to be ignited by some intense emotion:

"You can take everything I have!"

As soon as these words came out, Xingchen's eyes suddenly froze. He stood still, staring straight at the air in the shadow. The shadow completely enveloped him like a piece of black cloth, entering his body through all seven orifices, leaving no trace.

The secret oath of sacrifice was fulfilled at this moment. No one noticed the dark clouds quietly gathering at the end of the sky, and the storm hidden behind the clouds that was about to break out.

——The crazy obsession and desire were twisted to the extreme, and finally turned into a huge mouth of hell, swallowing up this ignorant young man and the entire human world.

***

Yongning Prefecture.

The south loves rain in summer, and now the sky is covered with thick clouds and there is no wind. This rainstorm has been long awaited, and the inn is very dull inside and outside. This dullness is not fatal, but it is like a pair of invisible hands strangling your neck, which can neither kill nor loosen, making you want to break free but feel very uncomfortable.

When Ling Wujie woke up, his wounds and clothes had been cleaned up. Besides him, there was another person in the room who looked like a Taoist priest and wore a yin-yang mask.

"…You saved me?"

The demon Taoist sat on a black poplar wood armchair with lotus patterns carved on it at the east end, slowly grinding the teacup with his head lowered. His posture was extremely elegant, as if he was sitting in a painting. But for some reason, there was something cold about him that made people stay away.

"Not really," the man said without even raising his head, "Quan Xing has no intention of killing you."

“Then you…” Ling Wujie knew who he was as soon as he saw the Yin-Yang mask, but he just didn’t understand why the sinister Taoist wanted to save him.

"I am here to show you two paths," he took a sip of tea before continuing slowly, "First, return to Quanxing and let others bully you and die in depression; second, work for me and avenge your grievances."

Ling Wujie recalled that his mother had told him to live well before she committed suicide, and the helplessness in his eyes could not be concealed: "I just want a way to survive..."

The man suddenly smiled coldly, and his voice sounded like a ghost crawling back from the eighteen levels of hell, with a cruel and irresistible temptation.

"In my previous life, I only showed people the way to death...Die standing or die kneeling, it's your choice."

Heavy rain poured down at this moment, and the bloody memories of the past came to his face in the cold wind, like lightning piercing through the dark clouds, shattering his weakest soul into pieces.

——It was not until later that Ling Wujie discovered that Xingchen did have this ability. As long as he wanted, he could persuade people step by step and tell them stories in a gentle and eloquent manner, making people believe in everything he said to the point of fanaticism without realizing it.

"What do you want me to do?" The young man turned over, got out of bed and knelt on the ground, his eyes flashing with solemnity and determination as if he had burned his boats.

"Dig for the golden elixir." Xingchen didn't even look at him. He put down his teacup, stood up and walked to the window. "There are demon bells hanging everywhere in Jiuzhou. It's not convenient for me to do anything."

The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the broken raindrops and scattered leaves danced wildly. The evil Taoist's black and white robe fluttered in the wind, like a proud flag.

A long time later, Ling Wujie also asked him what he was going to do.

Stardust raised the corners of his lips and sighed. The sigh was light and melancholy, like a dream, as if a person suddenly remembered an extremely wonderful thing in a distant past life -

“…Restore the country.”