After being reborn, the villain comes with a spoiler tag.

Only after the two streaks of light completely disappeared into the horizon did Wang Shizhen and Wang Shili slowly raise their heads from their bowed farewell posture.

"Big brother, what should we do next?"

Wang Shili looked at Wang Shizhen, a hint of worry in her eyes that she could not hide.

Although she didn't say it aloud, Wang Shizhen could read all the worry in her eyes. What she really wanted to ask was:

Should the future of the Wang family be entirely entrusted to two outsiders?

Wang Shizhen answered firmly and without room for doubt:

"Li-mei, you continue with the original plan. Lead the younger generation to the secret passage and await my instructions. Be ready to activate the teleportation array to evacuate this place at any time. I will stay here to guard the ancestral hall and wait for the return of those two elders."

The melancholy in Wang Shili's eyes deepened, but she only nodded slightly, her voice trembling with a barely perceptible sob:

"Brother, take care."

……

At the beginning of the journey to the Ji family's territory, one is greeted by the sight of ordinary people living in peace and contentment. However, once one enters the Ji family's territory, the scenery suddenly changes dramatically.

The earth seemed to have been drained of its last bit of life, becoming extremely parched, with huge cracks appearing like wounds.

In the most severely cracked areas, flames seemed to erupt from the earth's core, violently spewing forth from the center of the parched land, the firelight soaring into the sky, illuminating an apocalyptic scene.

Long Yucheng stared at Huo Yu in astonishment and disbelief:

"This place is right next to Taihu Lake, with abundant water resources, so how could it be like this?"

Huo Yu merely glanced at it indifferently before revealing the reason:

"Someone is using the earth's veins to forge weapons."

The fire elemental energy here is affected by the earth's veins, making its concentration far higher than elsewhere, and it is exceptionally violent. This is why the earth is parched and the land is spewing fire.

In this desolate land, the fields had long lost their former fertility, even the irrigation ditches had dried up and cracked, and the crops were all burned to ashes.

Even worse, in this harsh and unbearable environment, plants and wild animals could not survive, and the mortals living on this land were in dire straits, unable to find anything to eat or even drink.

Wherever Huo Yu and Long Yucheng flew, they could see mortals migrating in groups, their families in tow, searching for that elusive glimmer of hope for survival.

However, looking down from high above, the two could clearly see that the scene of the earth cracking open and flames raging stretched for dozens of miles.

It remains to be seen how many of these mortals, trapped in this hellish inferno, will survive the journey before dying of exhaustion, hunger, and thirst.

In one group of refugees, a dispute arose because of differing opinions on the future.

The group was small, consisting of only a dozen or so people, including men, women, and a few young children, but no elderly people were to be seen.

Covered in sand, these people moved slowly northward with heavy steps, their faces numb and their eyes empty and lifeless, only showing a faint glimmer of light when they looked at the children.

Finally, a tall, muscular man, unable to bear it any longer, shouted angrily:

"We've been heading north for three whole days, and our food and water are almost gone. We haven't even seen a glimpse of Niuwei Village. At this rate, let alone getting out of Taihu Lake, we'll probably die on this road!"

Another villager, clearly also considering giving up, stopped, caught his breath for a moment, and said helplessly:

“I don’t want to go any further north. I’ve heard that the Wang family treats its mortals fairly well. I plan to try my luck in the Wang family’s territory. Besides, the Wang family is closer to us.”

However, before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another person:

"I think you two are really out of your minds! The Ji family has been making such a big move lately, all to attack the Wang family. If you run to the Wang family's territory now, you might temporarily avoid dying of thirst and hunger, but once the war breaks out, you'll still be doomed!"

At this moment, a villager who seemed to be the leader stepped forward and said firmly:

"We fled Taihu Lake with our families just to go to a place where there are no cultivators! Whether it's the Ji family or the Wang family, when have these so-called immortals ever treated us mortals as human beings? What difference does it make where we go? Ji Dalang, Ji Youde, if you want to go to the Wang family, then go. And anyone else who wants to go with them can come along too."

After saying this, he led the way northward. Most of the villagers hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to follow him.

Only the two men who spoke first shook their heads helplessly, watching the leading villager's figure gradually blur, silently praying that he could lead everyone to a way out.

Subsequently, they took their wives and children and resolutely embarked on another path, moving forward firmly in a completely different direction.

Long Yucheng witnessed this scene and was filled with shock and anger.

Although he had stayed in Izumo for a long time, he had also visited several ordinary cities. The people he saw might not have lived in peace and prosperity, but at least their lives were relatively orderly.

Although most demonic cultivators practice demonic arts that harm others for their own benefit, whether through the art of sexual cultivation or by directly absorbing the cultivation of others, their targets must be people with spiritual power. Few cultivators are so idle that they would go to mortal cities to wreak havoc.

Before today, Long Yucheng had never imagined that some people would find even survival a luxury, and the root of all this was simply because someone had affected the nearby earth veins while refining a weapon.

Although he deeply despised the Qiongshan Sect's actions in handling the Nine Star Secret Realm's anomalies, he had to admit that, in a certain sense, the Qiongshan Sect did indeed play a protective role for the surrounding mortal towns. Among the sect's missions, there were many acts of kindness that protected mortal towns from the invasion of demonic beasts, and harassing mortals was strictly prohibited by the sect's rules.

All that he saw and heard today gave Long Yucheng a deeper understanding of the term "demonic path" for the first time.

His impression of the Ji family, whom he had never met, had plummeted to rock bottom. He secretly vowed that if he had the chance, he would seek justice for these innocent people.

After flying for some time, the two finally arrived at the Ji family's residence.

Unlike the Wang family, who went so far as to move a mountain from afar as the foundation of their entire clan, the Ji family's main base was located in the center of the plain, resembling a small town.

Centered around the Ji family's simple and elegant ancestral home, various buildings of different styles are scattered around, some tall and some short, complementing each other perfectly.

Outside the entire territory of the Ji family, a light golden array, like a giant bowl, firmly inverted the Ji family onto this vast plain, shimmering with a mysterious and ancient light.

The person who used the earth's veins to refine magical artifacts was clearly in this Ji Family City. Centered on the Ji Family, the surrounding area of ​​dozens of miles had become a barren, fiery wasteland. Only the Ji Family City at the center of the formation remained normal, with lush vegetation and thriving trees.

Long Yucheng was pondering how to get the Ji family's steward to show himself when he saw Huo Yu suddenly move and stand on the formation in the next second.