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

Long Yucheng's next main quest is to go to the Ancient Immortal Realm, but for some reason, Long Yucheng has a strange feeling about the system at this time.

This feeling didn't arise out of thin air; rather, it was like a tiny thorn, silently piercing his heart, and gradually becoming impossible to ignore as time went by.

The important tasks issued by the system subtly guided him, leading him to actively participate in a series of events.

Whether exploring hidden realms, meeting strangers, or defeating powerful enemies, each task is like a piece of a puzzle, together forming a clear guide that leads him step by step toward the core of the event.

Prior to this, Long Yucheng had not paid much attention to these deliberate arrangements.

Firstly, as a well-read transmigrator, he naturally had a high degree of trust in the system. Although the system was quite "artificially stupid," it was still a decent cheat system, able to help him grow rapidly in this unfamiliar world.

Secondly, because the system gives so many.

Influenced by these two factors, Long Yucheng accepted almost any task from the system. Except for those tasks that were truly beyond his capabilities and principles, he would try to complete them.

For tasks that are truly difficult to complete, he can simply give up without facing any punishment: he can choose to do important tasks but not side tasks. Even for main tasks that are mandatory, if he fails due to a lack of ability, the system will simply give him a new task.

Therefore, although he constantly complained about the system being "artificially stupid," he was essentially without any suspicion of this cheat code. He never doubted the system's intentions, nor did he ever think that the system might be hiding any purpose.

However, upon hearing the words "Do not ascend," Long Yucheng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Those four words were like a thunderbolt, splitting the fog in Long Yucheng's heart and allowing him to suddenly perceive those details that he had previously overlooked.

Every task given by the system is intentionally guided, and so far, I seem to have been led by the nose by the system.

And all these meticulously designed guidances seem to ultimately point to ascension.

Although Huo Yu did not know what Long Yucheng was thinking, he naturally understood Long Yucheng's concerns after the previous incident of "not wanting to ascend".

Therefore, he did not directly answer Long Yucheng's question, but slowly said:

"There are no immortals left in the ancient immortal realm, and even the land where the Ascension Platform was located has disappeared without a trace. There is no way for people to ascend there."

Upon hearing this, Long Yucheng's doubts deepened:

"Then why is the Ascension Token still so precious in the cultivation world?"

Huo Yu remained calm and said softly:

"Because of the Immortal Essence."

When cultivators practice breathing exercises or fight enemies, they consume spiritual energy, while immortals consume immortal energy.

The reason why ancient immortal techniques like the immobilization spell in Huo Yu's hands, which were left over in the Spirit Realm, cannot unleash their legendary power is precisely because immortal power must be used to achieve the desired effect.

The immobilization spell can be barely cast by consuming divine sense, but most of the immortal techniques that have been passed down in the world cannot be used at all without immortal power. Even if later generations obtain these immortal techniques, they can only use them as a reference.

The spiritual energy that exists outside of nature is called spiritual energy, while the immortal energy that exists outside of nature is called immortal essence. Just as spiritual energy exists only in the realm of spiritual nurturing, immortal essence exists only in the immortal realm.

The Ancient Immortal Realm is located at the intersection of the Immortal Realm and the Spirit Realm. Therefore, when the Ancient Immortal Realm was still intact, it contained both spiritual energy and immortal essence. Even in the now collapsed Ancient Immortal Realm, traces of immortal essence can still be found.

Even cultivators without immortal power can use immortal techniques as long as they possess immortal essence.

However, the reason why all cultivators flock to Immortal Essence is not only because of this, but also because this item can help cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage break through bottlenecks and enter the Mahayana stage.

After listening to Huo Yu's detailed explanation, Long Yucheng was taken aback, and then quickly asked the Heavenly Dao Assistant:

Will Immortal Essence be sold in the system shop?

The Heavenly Path Assistant quickly answered him:

[Immortal Essence is a 'Immortal' level item. The shop will only unlock the ability to purchase this item after the host achieves the rank of Earth Immortal or Golden Immortal.]

Long Yucheng then pressed on with more questions:

What are Earth Immortals? What are Golden Immortals? What are the differences between them?

The Heavenly Path Assistant replied:

[This issue is not covered in the built-in help manual of the Heavenly Dao Assistant. You will understand it on your own once you achieve the status of Earth Immortal or Golden Immortal.]

Long Yucheng had become accustomed to this way of answering from the system. Whenever he asked a question that was outside his authority or that the system could not understand, it would repeat the same old answer. This was one of the manifestations of the system's low intelligence.

So he skipped that question and moved on to the next one:

How can one attain the rank of Earth Immortal or Golden Immortal?

This time, the Heavenly Path Assistant provided partial answers:

[The method to achieve the rank of Earth Immortal: Enter the Ascension Pool, or pass through the Gate of Heaven. The method to achieve the rank of Golden Immortal can only be answered after the host has achieved the rank of Earth Immortal or Golden Immortal.]

Hearing this, Long Yucheng was now 100% certain that one of the system's ultimate goals was to allow him to ascend to immortality.

Recalling the phrase "Do not ascend," a startling thought suddenly flashed through his mind:

Could it be that even the part of his memory that he couldn't recall after touching the crystal pillar was actually covered up by the system?

This audacious conjecture sent chills down his spine. He dared not delve any further, fearing that the system would detect anything amiss.

So he quickly steered the conversation back to his previous discussion with Huo Yu:

"Senior brother, if we go to the Ancient Immortal Realm, wouldn't we be very likely to encounter Nascent Soul stage cultivators?"

Huo Yu nodded calmly.

Long Yucheng's desire to back out grew stronger, and he became increasingly resistant to going to the Ancient Immortal Realm.

Huo Yu immediately saw what he was worried about and calmly stated it:

"After the collapse of the Ancient Immortal Realm, the space it occupied became extremely unstable. If a Nascent Soul stage cultivator were to make a move within it, it would only cause the few remaining fragments of the Ancient Immortal Realm to completely disintegrate, forcing everyone on those fragments to leave the Ancient Immortal Realm prematurely. Therefore, even if you encounter a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, there is no need to worry too much."

Upon hearing this, Long Yucheng immediately recalled the scene of his senior brother effortlessly extracting the entire Nascent Soul from the body of the late-stage Nascent Soul Demon Lord, and instantly understood the meaning behind Huo Yu's words:

"In the Ancient Immortal Realm, even Nascent Soul stage experts have to obediently suppress their strength to the Core Formation stage. As long as the opponent's cultivation is below the Nascent Soul stage, they are no match for me."

While feeling relieved, Long Yucheng was also increasingly frustrated by the vast difference in strength between himself and his senior brother. He said somewhat dejectedly:

"I see."

Although Huo Yu didn't know why his mood had turned so low again, he glanced at the time and knew that regardless of who ultimately owned Lingxiaozi's cave in the Spirit Gathering Realm, the matter should be settled by now. So he said to Long Yucheng:

"We should go back."