Me? I was transported into a book? And I became a vicious villain?

Gone were the lush green forests and fragrant flowers, replaced by a sea of ​​scorching sand that stretched endlessly to the horizon. The air was heavy and dry, with a stifling heat. The sun beat down mercilessly, turning the world into a flickering phantom.

"Is this... the Sunset Desert?" Chu Mengmeng murmured to herself, with a hint of unbelievable fear in her voice.

"That's right, be careful, there are dangers everywhere here." The man in black looked around vigilantly, his tone serious.

Xiao Yichen gently held Chu Mengmeng's hand and gave her a reassuring look, "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

The three of them walked hard in the desert under the scorching sun, one foot deep and one foot shallow. The sand under their feet was so hot that it seemed to swallow them. Chu Mengmeng felt like her throat was on fire, and every step she took was extremely difficult.

"Wait!" The man in black suddenly stopped and signaled the two to hide.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yichen asked in a low voice.

The man in black looked ahead sharply and said in a deep voice, "There is someone ahead..."

Before he finished speaking, a powerful force swept over, yellow sand filled the sky, sand and rocks flew everywhere, and the whole world seemed to be shaking violently. Chu Mengmeng exclaimed and closed her eyes tightly.

"Sandstorm!" Xiao Yichen held Chu Mengmeng in his arms and used his body to block the invasion of wind and sand.

The wind was howling, sand and rocks were flying, and the three were trapped in the center of the sandstorm, unable to move. After an unknown amount of time, the wind and sand finally subsided, and the world returned to peace.

"Cough cough..." Chu Mengmeng coughed violently and tried hard to open her eyes.

As they looked around, the scenery was completely different. The clear path had disappeared, replaced by a chaotic mess of sand dunes. They were lost.

"What should we do?" Chu Mengmeng's tone was full of despair.

Just then, a vague figure appeared in the distance, slowly walking towards them.

"There's someone!" Xiao Yichen's eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled Chu Mengmeng to meet them.

When I got closer, I found that the person was an old man wearing a coarse linen shirt and a brown headscarf. His face was full of traces of time, but his deep eyes were bright and seemed to be able to see through everything.

"Are you lost?" the old man asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yes, old man, who are you?" Xiao Yichen replied quickly.

"I am a nomad in this desert. I have lived here for generations." The old man pointed to the rolling sand dunes behind him and said, "Where are you going? I can show you the way."

Hope was rekindled on the edge of despair. However, the old man's next words made them fall into deep thought again.

“But…” The old man paused, looking at them deeply, “I advise you not to go there, there…” Following the direction given by the old man, the three embarked on a dangerous journey across the “Sea of ​​Death”.

The scorching sun scorched the earth, and underfoot was an endless golden sea of ​​sand. With every step they took, the sand under their feet seemed to be alive, wanting to devour them.

"Be careful!" Xiao Yichen was quick-witted and grabbed Chu Mengmeng who almost stepped on air and fell into the quicksand.

Chu Mengmeng was still in shock. She looked down and saw that the solid sand under her feet had turned into a huge whirlpool, greedily swallowing up everything around it.

"We can't stay here for long!" the man in black said in a deep voice and walked forward first.

They carefully avoided quicksand traps, but the dangers were far more than that. The desert scorpions, hideous sandworms, and extremely fast sand lizards lurking under the sand dunes were all eyeing them, ready to launch a fatal attack at any time.

Xiao Yichen wielded his sword, and the sword energy was everywhere, killing the desert creatures that tried to approach one by one. However, these creatures seemed to be endless, one wave after another, making it difficult to cope with them.

"This is not a solution!" Chu Mengmeng looked at the increasing number of desert creatures and felt extremely anxious.

At this moment, the man in black suddenly stopped, raised his head, stared sharply ahead, and said in a deep voice: "Be careful..."

Before he finished speaking, the ground began to shake violently, and a huge black shadow broke out from under the sand, opened its bloody mouth, and rushed towards them... Yellow sand filled the sky, and heat waves rolled. A huge black shadow broke out of the ground, stirring up dust all over the sky. It was a sandworm as big as an elephant, with sharp teeth densely packed in its mouthparts, which was intimidating. It roared and opened its bloody mouth towards the three people.

"Get out of the way!" Xiao Yichen growled, pushed Chu Mengmeng away, and rushed towards the sandworm. The long sword in his hand flashed with a cold light, and the sword energy was like a rainbow, going straight to the sandworm's vital point.

At the same time, the man in black quickly formed seals with his hands and muttered something. Black runes flew out from his fingertips and quickly intertwined in the air to form a huge black rune array, covering the sandworm.

"Roar!" The sandworm let out a painful roar, and its huge body struggled violently in the talisman formation, but it was unable to break free.

"Mengmeng, hurry up!" Xiao Yichen shouted anxiously while dealing with the sandworms.

Chu Mengmeng finally reacted, she suppressed the fear in her heart, turned around and ran away. However, before she ran far, her feet suddenly felt empty and she fell into the quicksand.

"Help!" Chu Mengmeng screamed as her body continued to sink.

"Meng Meng!" Xiao Yichen's eyes were bloodshot and he wanted to rush over to save her, but he was entangled by the sandworm and couldn't get away at all.

At this critical moment, the man in black suddenly appeared beside Chu Mengmeng. He grabbed her arm with one hand and waved his other hand gently. A black light flashed, and the quicksand seemed to lose its suction. Chu Mengmeng's body slowly rose and finally returned to the ground.

"Thank you..." Chu Mengmeng was still in shock and looked at the man in black with gratitude.

"Be careful!" The man in black didn't say much, just pulled her behind him, then waved his hands again to force back the surging quicksand.

With the help of the man in black, Xiao Yichen finally found an opportunity and stabbed the sandworm in the vitals with a sword. The sandworm let out a shrill scream, and its huge body fell to the ground with a bang, stirring up a cloud of sand and dust.

The three of them did not dare to stay for long and continued to walk deeper into the desert. After several days of trekking, they finally found the ruins the old man had mentioned. It was an ancient altar, with many broken stones scattered around, and some mysterious patterns could be vaguely discerned on it.

In the center of the altar, there is a black box engraved with complex runes, emitting a powerful magical fluctuation.

"This is the box that seals the artifact." The man in black walked to the box and said in a deep voice.

Xiao Yichen nodded, drew out his sword, and carefully opened the box. Inside the box lay a crystal clear blue crystal, with countless stars twinkling inside the crystal, emitting a frightening energy fluctuation.

The man in black formed seals with his hands, muttered something, and shot a black light into the crystal. The crystal suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the entire altar.

"It's done!" The man in black showed a hint of joy on his face, "The curse of the artifact has been lifted."

Xiao Yichen picked up the crystal, and a powerful force instantly surged into his body, making him feel full of strength.

"Let's go." The man in black turned and walked outside.

"Wait!" Chu Mengmeng suddenly stopped him, "Why are you helping us?"

The man in black stopped but did not look back. He just said calmly: "I have my reasons for doing it."

After saying this, he left the altar without looking back.

Xiao Yichen and Chu Mengmeng looked at each other and saw doubt in each other's eyes. However, they knew that now was not the time to ask questions, so they also left the altar.

Just as they were about to leave the desert, a group of people wearing black cloaks suddenly appeared on the sand dunes in the distance and were approaching them quickly...

The scorching sun baked the sand dunes, and the undulating sand waves seemed to be frozen. Chu Mengmeng, Xiao Yichen and the man in black stood on a high place, looking into the distance, but they did not feel relieved at all about leaving the desert.

"They are coming." The low voice of the man in black broke the silence, with an imperceptible solemnity in his tone.

Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen followed his gaze and saw a group of figures in black cloaks approaching them quickly on the sand dunes in the distance. Under the sunlight, the weapons in their hands reflected a cold light, like a group of messengers from hell.

"It seems that we can't leave easily." Xiao Yichen clenched the sword in his hand, and the sword made a crisp sound, as if responding to the master's determination.

Although Chu Mengmeng was a little scared, she still held Xiao Yichen's hand tightly and gave him silent support. After experiencing so many dangers, she was no longer the weak young lady.

In a blink of an eye, the men in black had approached within a hundred meters. The leader was tall, with a pair of murderous eyes under his black cloak. He stared at the men in black coldly and said in a hoarse and low voice: "Hand over the artifact, and I will spare your life."

The man in black sneered: "Just you guys?"

“You don’t know what death is!” The leading man in black roared, and suddenly a black long sword appeared in his hand. The blade was engraved with strange runes, emitting a heart-pounding dark aura.

"Kill!" As he gave the order, the men in black behind him shouted in unison and rushed towards the three people like a black tide.

"Protect Mengmeng!" Xiao Yichen protected Chu Mengmeng behind him, and the sword in his hand turned into silver lightning, rushing towards the man in black who was rushing in the front.

"Bang!" With a loud noise, the long sword in Xiao Yichen's hand collided with the long sword of the man in black, stirring up dust all over the sky. Xiao Yichen only felt a powerful force coming, which made his palm numb and his body involuntarily stepped back a few steps.

"Be careful!" Chu Mengmeng exclaimed, waving the staff in her hand. Ice cones appeared out of thin air and shot at the men in black who tried to bypass Xiao Yichen and attack her.

The black-clothed man flashed and appeared in front of Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen. He quickly formed seals with his hands, and a black light curtain instantly unfolded, protecting them. The attacks shot at them were blocked by the light curtain.

"I'll deal with him, you go deal with the others." The man in black said without turning his head, his tone full of unquestionable majesty.

Xiao Yichen and Chu Mengmeng looked at each other and saw the determination in each other's eyes. They knew that now was not the time to hesitate. Only by working together could they defeat the enemy in front of them.

"Okay!" Xiao Yichen nodded, tightened the sword in his hand, turned around and faced the men in black.

Chu Mengmeng also took a deep breath, and the staff in her hand glowed brightly, preparing for the upcoming battle... At this moment, the man in black suddenly turned around and looked at Chu Mengmeng, with a complicated look in his eyes, and whispered: "Live..."