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

In the vast, clear blue sky, a pristine white ribbon pierces through the clouds and mist, leaving a long, winding trail.

On the white ribbon, dozens of cultivators stood or sat, some with composed expressions and confidence; some with calm and composed demeanor; and some with pale faces and listless demeanor.

This group was the disciples of the Qiongshan Sect heading to the Nine Star Secret Realm, personally led by Elder Chen Liyun.

Elder Chen's natal magic weapon is this white silk ribbon—the Falling Star Silk—capable of supporting nearly a hundred people.

Among these disciples, Huo Yu and Long Yucheng were prominently featured.

At this point, Long Yucheng had long lost the confidence he once had when he patted his chest and assured Huo Yu that he would help.

As a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator, he stood out from the crowd of disciples who were at least Qi Refining Level 3 cultivators. The huge gap in cultivation level made him feel somewhat dejected.

In contrast, Huo Yu appeared calm and composed, resting with his eyes closed to the side.

In reality, Huo Yu's divine sense was always locked onto an inner disciple.

This disciple appears to be at the third level of Qi Refining, but in reality, he is at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

If it were merely a matter of concealing one's cultivation level, it wouldn't attract Huo Yu's attention at all. What truly piqued Huo Yu's curiosity was the gray prism atop this person's head.

Although it wasn't as black as the blackness on Huo Yu's head, it was close to half.

What's even more peculiar is that next to this person's prism, there is only a four-character annotation—"stealing the beams and replacing the pillars"—making him stand out from the group of "cannon fodder" and "passersby" around him.

The last person Huo Yu had ever met with a description of only four characters was Long Yucheng.

Having already figured out which "pillar" was being replaced, Huo Yu withdrew his divine sense.

Throughout the entire process, no one present noticed Huo Yu's divine sense.

During these twenty-odd days, Long Yucheng was engrossed in his cultivation, and Huo Yu also did not slack off.

He searched the surrounding area almost like a carpet search for the hermit of the blue wolf, but found nothing.

Huo Yu noticed that Bai Xue had been lingering in Yincheng outside Qiongshan, but she only stayed there and did not make any other unusual moves, so he ignored her.

Because of a prior agreement with the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets, Huo Yu always kept to himself and Bai Xue's business separate, but would lend a helping hand when she was in trouble.

Unlike Huo Yu, a lone wolf who is nominally a demon lord, Bai Xue is nominally a holy maiden of the demonic path, but in reality, she is backed by the Chang Le He Huan Sect.

Even after losing a Nascent Soul stage expert, the Chang Le He Huan Sect still firmly holds its position as one of the four major sects of the demonic path. This is not only due to the lingering influence left by the Heavenly Mystery Elder, but also greatly related to Bai Xue.

As a result, Bai Xue was frequently targeted by other sects that were unwilling to be subordinate to the Chang Le He Huan Sect.

But after Huo Yu intervened and averted several life-or-death crises for her, the overt targeting by the various sects of the demonic path disappeared, though the undercurrents remained unresolved.

Since the Heavenly Mystery Elder ultimately died because of Huo Yu, Bai Xue inevitably harbored some resentment towards Huo Yu.

But she was a smart woman and wouldn't act rashly until she had the power to bring down Huo Yu.

For the past hundred years, the two have lived in peace.

As the falling star gauze slowly descended, the destination of this journey was finally revealed to everyone.

Huo Yu opened his eyes and saw a misty canyon in front of him.

In the canyon, the disciples of Beast Taming Valley and Divine Sword Sect had gathered together, and hundreds of eyes were fixed on them.

Chen Liyun remained calm, put away the Falling Star Veil, and walked towards the two Core Formation cultivators at the front of the crowd.

The leader of Beast Taming Valley was a young man dressed in brightly colored clothes. He looked to be only about twenty years old, with a handsome face and smiling eyes, and seemed quite approachable.

His flamboyant appearance was extremely eye-catching, and upon seeing Chen Liyun, he smiled and said:

"I never expected that the leader of the Qiongshan Sect would be Fairy Liyun. It seems that our hundred or so people have waited in vain."

Upon hearing this, an elder from the Divine Sword Sect snorted coldly and said in a deep voice:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you're late."

The elder of the Divine Sword Sect was an old man with white hair and beard. He wore a Taoist robe that exuded an ethereal aura, but carried three swords on his back—one large and two small—making him appear majestic and imposing.

Chen Liyun, the only Foundation Establishment cultivator among the three, showed no fear whatsoever, her expression remaining calm:

"The original time was 9:00 AM, but it's only 3:40 AM now. How can you say we're late? Since both of you are here, and we have time to chat, why don't we open the Nine Star Secret Realm sooner?"

Upon hearing this, the elder from the Divine Sword Sect's expression darkened slightly, while the youth from the Beast Taming Valley chuckled and tried to smooth things over:

“We were worried that Fairy Liyun would be exhausted from her journey and planned to rest for a while before opening the secret realm at 9:00 AM. Since Fairy Liyun still has energy to spare, Fellow Daoist He and I will respectfully comply.”

He then took out a jade piece from his storage bag, and the other two did the same. The three jade pieces flew into the air and merged into a complete jade ring. The three of them then joined forces to inject spiritual power into the jade ring.

The young man from Beast Taming Valley looked the most relaxed, while the old man from Divine Sword Sect seemed to falter after a short while.

On the contrary, Chen Liyun, whose cultivation was only at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage, had a serious expression but no signs of fatigue on her face.

As the three of them worked together to open the secret realm, Huo Yu also gave a general look at the disciples of Beast Taming Valley and Divine Sword Sect present.

Unlike the Qiongshan Sect, the Beast Taming Valley sent nearly a hundred people this time, including twenty-five Foundation Establishment stage disciples; the Divine Sword Sect sent slightly fewer people, but still as many as eighty, including twenty Foundation Establishment stage disciples.

In contrast, the Qiongshan Sect had only seventy members, including thirteen Foundation Establishment stage disciples. Even before entering the secret realm, they already felt the meaningful gazes from the other two sects.

The disciples of the Qiongshan Sect immediately changed their expressions, and even the Foundation Establishment disciples seemed somewhat displeased.

Huo Yu naturally ignored the gazes of these Foundation Establishment juniors. Due to the presence of two Golden Core cultivators, he did not release his divine sense to check the Heavenly Dao Values ​​of other sect disciples.

His current spiritual strength can deceive Foundation Establishment cultivators, but it may not be able to deceive Golden Core cultivators. And using spiritual sense to probe others, whether in the righteous path or the demonic path, is an act of provocation.

Long Yucheng, who was standing next to him, seemed lost in thought and completely oblivious to the situation.

Soon, the jade ring in mid-air emitted a faint purple light. Originally no bigger than a palm, the jade ring gradually grew larger until it was as tall as two people before it stopped changing.

Immediately, a thin curtain of water appeared out of thin air inside the jade ring.

The three elders in charge of opening the secret realm all showed a hint of weariness on their faces, with the elder from the Divine Sword Sect being particularly noticeable.

The young elder of Beast Taming Valley surveyed his surroundings, his gaze lingering on each disciple's face for a moment. His previous playful demeanor vanished, and his tone became solemn and serious:

"I know that your respective sects have already given instructions before you came here. But here, I still want to emphasize the following three points again, and I hope you will keep them in mind:"

"Firstly, once you enter the Nine Star Secret Realm, you will be randomly dispersed to various locations."

"Secondly, the Nine Star Secret Realm is bound by its own rules of heaven and earth. One of the ironclad rules is that cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage cannot set foot in this place."

"If anyone tries to conceal their cultivation level and deceive others, I advise you to withdraw now to avoid offending the rules of the secret realm and suffering the fate of being mercilessly eliminated!"

Thirdly, everything that happens within the secret realm is unknown to the outside world.

"But no matter what you encounter in the secret realm, as long as you can safely leave the gate of this secret realm, no one will be able to lay a hand on you under my nose."

"As for how to leave the secret realm, you only need to crush the teleportation jade slip in your hand, and you will be teleported out immediately. Even if you do not use this item, the gate of the secret realm will automatically close after seven days, and the rules of heaven and earth within will send all the survivors out one by one."