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

On the other side, after rapidly traversing half of the map, Huo Yu also encountered a minor obstacle.

Not marked on the map of the Qiongshan Sect, there was a hidden chasm on the straight path between Huo Yu and Long Yucheng.

Huo Yu frowned, staring at the incredibly deep and massive rift valley before him.

Within the rift valley, a vast and powerful spiritual energy erupted forth, permeating the entire canyon.

If this naturally formed paradise were in the outside world, it would surely cause a huge uproar in the cultivation world.

However, within this secret realm, the abundant spiritual energy cannot be absorbed by outside cultivators; instead, it gradually slows down the flow of spiritual energy within those who are there. If they linger for an extended period, they will eventually become no different from ordinary mortals.

Moreover, this spiritual energy, which is like poison to outsider cultivators, is like honey to the creatures within the secret realm.

Within that deep and unfathomable canyon, a gigantic dragon-shaped creature could be vaguely seen churning in the dense, almost tangible, spiritual mist.

Huo Yu looked around. The rift valley stretched endlessly, and taking a detour would definitely take a lot of time.

He gazed once more at the dragon-shaped creature soaring through the clouds at the bottom of the rift. After a moment's thought, he resolutely charged into the dense spiritual mist at full speed, intending to cross this insurmountable barrier directly.

As he flew, the surrounding spiritual mist grew thicker, and the spiritual power within Huo Yu's body became increasingly sluggish, gradually slowing down his flight speed.

But the other side of the rift had already appeared within his spiritual consciousness.

At this critical moment, the dragon-like creature that had been lurking at the bottom of the rift rushed toward Huo Yu like lightning, opening its huge mouth in an attempt to swallow him whole!

Huo Yu's eyes flashed, and his speed instantly increased. In the next moment, he easily crossed the giant mouth of the dragon-shaped creature and stood firmly on its head.

The dragon-like creature turned its head, attempting to continue its attack on Huo Yu.

Huo Yu reacted quickly, grabbing the dragon horn that was as long as his arm, and hanging himself on the dragon's head.

The dragon-like creature was instantly enraged, its serpentine body twisting nimbly as it attempted to seize the annoying intruder with its claws. Its agile movements contrasted sharply with its massive size.

However, Huo Yu reacted even faster. He nimbly weaved between the massive dragon claws, dodging all attacks while never leaving the dragon's head.

The dragon-like creature let out a deafening roar, finally abandoning its attempt to grab Huo Yu with its claws, and instead plunged headlong into the bottomless chasm at an astonishing speed.

Before Huo Yu could escape, he was dragged into the abyss of the rift valley.

The spiritual energy at the bottom of the canyon was so dense that it was like solid water. Huo Yu was immersed in it and felt the spiritual energy in his body rapidly stop.

The dragon-shaped creature, however, was in its element, and the pressure emanating from its body rose from the mid-Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the late-Foundation Establishment stage!

Before long, it realized that the annoying little bug on its head had become no different from a human, so it triumphantly planned to swat it to death with its claws.

Just as the enormous dragon claw was about to strike, Huo Yu silently sensed the state of his spiritual energy.

Just before his spiritual energy completely ceased—he suddenly unleashed his Nascent Soul stage cultivation!

Almost simultaneously, a peculiar pressure surged between heaven and earth. Even Huo Yu, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, was terrified by the destructive intent within it, which seemed capable of obliterating everything.

However, at that moment, Huo Yu's spiritual power completely ceased, and the oppressive aura, having lost its target, quietly dissipated after a short while. Apart from Huo Yu, no one else in the entire secret realm sensed its presence.

Taking advantage of the brief but powerful burst of energy during his Nascent Soul stage, Huo Yu successfully grabbed the dragon horns and forcefully pulled the dragon-shaped creature out from the bottom of the rift, then hurled it violently to the other side of the rift.

The enormous dragon's body crashed into the ground, sliding a hundred feet away, sending up dust and smoke that lingered for a long time.

Amidst the billowing dust, the once menacing dragon-like creature now had many scales peeled off, one horn broken off, and its tail drooping limply behind it, looking utterly pathetic.

Having suppressed his cultivation back to the Foundation Establishment stage, Huo Yu slowly walked to the dying dragon-shaped creature and threw down half a dragon horn.

With his attack, he threw the dragon-like creature hundreds of miles away, and it was at that moment that Huo Yu forcibly broke off one of its horns.

Now that they are far from that deep rift valley and free from the interference of the rich spiritual energy, Huo Yu's cultivation has slowly recovered from the mortal state to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

His elaborate schemes, even risking his life to activate the laws of nature within the secret realm, were certainly not solely for the purpose of crossing a natural barrier.

Even before they got close to the rift valley, Huo Yu noticed that the surrounding air was gradually becoming drier and the earth was cracking as if it were dehydrated.

After seeing the dragon-shaped creatures that appeared and disappeared in the rift valley, Huo Yu had a vague guess about their origin.

Legend has it that the ancient Yinglong controlled all the water veins in the world, could summon wind and rain, and could also reverse the flow of rainwater back to the heavens.

In stark contrast, the Gulong left behind barren lands, dried-up waterways, and desolate landscapes wherever it went.

However, compared to these, what people know most about the Gulong is its other characteristic:

Its reverse scales can revive the dead and heal flesh and bones.

The meaning of "rejuvenating flesh and bones" is easy to understand, but what Huo Yu really cares about is the phrase "living dead".

When a person dies, not only does the body's vitality dissipate, but the soul also leaves the body and enters the cycle of reincarnation, leaving no way to live.

Huo Yu speculated that if "rejuvenating flesh and bones" refers to bringing the body back to life, then "living dead" refers to the rebirth of the soul.

Otherwise, how can a body without a soul be called "alive"?

The so-called "divine separation stage" is actually when a cultivator splits their soul into a divine soul that carries divine consciousness and a human soul that carries memories.

While strengthening the divine soul, the human soul is gradually transformed into a divine soul, and finally they are reunited as one. In short, it is a process in which the soul completely transforms into a divine soul.

In other words, the essence of the spirit is the soul.

If the Dragon's Reverse Scale can reunite the soul, it can naturally also repair the spirit!

However, at a glance, Huo Yu could tell that the dragon-shaped creature in front of him was clearly not the legendary Gu Dragon.

The Gulong has deer antlers, a bull's head, a snake's belly, fish scales, and wings on both sides. These features are similar to those of a dragon, but the Gulong has only three toes, and its tail resembles that of a phoenix. Although it has scales under its throat, it has no pearl under its jaw.

The creature before them, while largely resembling a gulong in appearance, had a tail that resembled a fish's rather than a phoenix's. It also lacked wings, instead possessing translucent fins.

Clearly, it is merely a hybrid with some of the bloodline of the Gulong.

What disappointed Huo Yu even more was that this hybrid was still in its juvenile stage.

Both adult dragons and guramo dragons have long whiskers, and the longer the whiskers, the older the dragon is.

The mixed-blood dragon whiskers before them were merely a protruding fleshy growth; no wonder it possessed the bloodline of the Gu Dragon, yet was so easily defeated.

The effectiveness of the reverse scale of the Gulong is directly proportional to its age. For a Gulong that is still a juvenile, the reverse scale may not have grown out yet.

Huo Yu sighed; he had overestimated his luck. How could he possibly encounter a random beast that turned out to be the Gulong he needed?

Just as I was about to finish off this half-breed that had made me waste my energy, a voice suddenly came from my consciousness:

"Don't kill me! I'm willing to become your mount!"