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

For a long time, Lingxiao Palace was known as the leader of the righteous path. At its most prosperous time, the sect had seven Dao Ancestors at the Nascent Soul stage, and its reputation was illustrious.

However, long before Huo Yu began his cultivation, Lingxiao Palace had already quietly retreated to the overseas immortal mountains, remaining indifferent to worldly affairs for over a thousand years. Even Huo Yu's previous life had never had any interaction with Lingxiao Palace.

Although Lingxiao Palace has withdrawn from the world, its subordinate sects are scattered like stars across every inch of the eastern coast. The only way for Lingxiao Palace to recruit new disciples is through the recommendations of these subordinate sects.

No one knows how many disciples Lingxiao Palace has today, or how much foundation it possesses.

The only certainty is that the Lingxiao Sect currently has at least two Dao Ancestors: Yuheng Zhenren and Tianquan Zhenren.

The titles of the Daoist Ancestors in Lingxiao Palace do not refer to any one person, but are symbolic positions. There are seven such positions: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang.

Anyone in the Lingxiao Palace who reaches the Nascent Soul stage can inherit one of the seats. If there are fewer than seven Dao Ancestors at the Nascent Soul stage, the remaining seats will remain vacant.

Among these seven seats, Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, and Tian Quan are the four who act discreetly and secretly, and the outside world knows very little about them.

Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang are the opposite, especially Yuheng.

Throughout history, the Jade Balance Immortals have all possessed the Haotian Mirror, one of the three divine artifacts of Lingxiao Palace. Legend has it that this mirror can reflect the three thousand worlds, connecting the past and the present, and that nothing in the world, past or present, can escape its insight.

This is why all the previous Jade Balance Immortals possessed extraordinary abilities, which is why Changsun Ning was so wary of the Lingxiao Palace.

Besides Lingxiao Palace, the other four of the five major righteous sects are Xuantian Sword Sect, Qiankun Dao Sect, Fajie Temple, and Fanghu Immortal Mansion.

After Huo Yu's detailed explanation, Long Yucheng suddenly understood, but more questions arose in his mind:

Since there is a saying about the five major righteous sects, does that mean there are also five major demonic sects? Who gives these rankings? Is there some authoritative organization in the cultivation world that specifically assesses and ranks the strength of various sects?

But before he could ask, Changsun Ning's words, like a morning bell and evening drum, startled everyone who was preoccupied with their own thoughts:

"There is no need for you all to worry too much. This secret realm is hidden in a spatial rift and is not under the surveillance of the Haotian Mirror of Lingxiao Palace. Otherwise, how could it have been my turn to discover such a secret realm?"

Upon hearing this, all eyes immediately turned to Changsun Ning. He smiled slightly and continued:

"Now that we have successfully arrived here, the next thing to consider is no longer the Lingxiao Palace, which is nowhere to be found, but how to break through the next three barriers and enter Lingxiaozi's cave."

Huo Yu glanced indifferently at the boulder engraved with the three large characters "Azure Sky". Indeed, this cave had never been discovered when it was hidden in the spatial rift.

What Changsun Ning didn't know was that after he passed through all four levels of barriers, he would trigger the final restriction set by the cave's master, causing the cave to appear in the Spirit Realm, which would attract the attention of the entire cultivation world, including the Lingxiao Sect.

Although Lingxiaozi's last words stated that "those with affinity will inherit," the struggles and disputes that arose from the emergence of the cave were clearly not a way to select those with affinity.

Thinking of this, Huo Yu carefully studied the message behind the boulder again, and a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Outside the cave, there are four passes. Those who see this stone have already passed the first pass.”

Lingxiaozi only mentioned that there were four checkpoints outside the cave, but never stated that the person who could pass through these four checkpoints was the so-called "destined one".

On the contrary, those who can pass all the checkpoints are the "unlucky ones," and the true secret path to the cave should be hidden in these four checkpoints.

Each challenge is actually an opportunity to select those who are destined to be there. Only those who can find the path to the cave from the challenges are truly destined.

If one only focuses on passing the test, then one will fall right into the trap set by Lingxiaozi.

In that split second, Huo Yu had already figured out Ling Xiaozi's true intention in setting up the four checkpoints.

At that moment, Changsun Ning happened to be talking about the details of the second challenge.

"...Touching this stone will randomly teleport you to one of the five elemental lands. Passing through within three incense sticks' time will be considered passing this test."

Changsun Ning looked at Ning Zhaoqiu as he finished speaking:

"I had you all prepare magical treasures to counter the Five Elements in advance, precisely to deal with this challenge. If Brother Ning is determined to obtain the Purple-Robed Fairy, then you must go to the Wood Element Formation. I wonder if Brother Ning has prepared any treasures to counter the Wood Element?"

Ning Zhaoqiu sneered:

"Brother Changsun was very secretive about this secret realm before, and even the fact that there was someone who could imitate appearances in the first level was only revealed after we boarded the pirate ship. How could I possibly have known in advance that I would need to use a treasure that restrains the wood element?"

Mu Chuyang, who had remained silent until now, spoke up to smooth things over, his tone calm:

"What I have prepared happens to be the Golden Toad Pearl, which has a natural restraining effect on the wood element. Zhaoqiu, please come with me."

Ning Zhaoqiu's expression softened slightly after hearing this.

At this moment, Changsun Ning also took out a small box made of gold and iron from his storage bag, gently opened it, and said to Ning Zhaoqiu:

"I also have a box of Gengjin Spirit Sand. Although it is not as good as Brother Mu's Golden Toad Pearl, it can still help Brother Ning in the Wood Element Formation. I will give it to Brother Ning for now as my apology."

Ning Zhaoqiu glanced at the contents of the box and accepted it without expression.

At this moment, Meng Xia saw an opportunity and couldn't wait to interject:

“Since Young Master Changsun has already given the Gengjin Spirit Sand to Senior Brother Ning, why don’t you come with me to the Water Formation? I specially asked my master for the Pure Water Bottle for this trip, and its power is enough to protect one more person in the Water Formation.”

Upon hearing this, Changsun Ning smiled gently and politely declined, saying:

"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Meng. However, the reason I lent the Gengjin Spirit Sand to Brother Ning is because I have decided to take the Earth Element Formation. Moreover, I was negligent before and did not remind Brother Huo and Brother Long to prepare magic treasures that can restrain the five elements in advance. I suppose you two are completely unprepared for this."

At this point, he suddenly turned to Huo Yu, his tone filled with utmost sincerity:

“The Earth Spirit Essence in my possession still has enough power to protect me, so I can bring one more person with me. Brother Huo can accompany me through the Earth Formation. Fellow Daoist Meng, I would like to trouble you to help Brother Long get through the Water Formation.”