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

After Huo Yu and his entourage left, Bai Lian, who had been waiting quietly outside the hall, silently entered the hall.

He placed his left hand on his chest, bowed respectfully to Xuan Heng's retreating figure, and then raised his eyes, a hint of barely perceptible confusion on his usually stern face, and asked:

"General, are you really going to grant this man the entire territory of Black Mountain?"

Xuan Heng did not turn around, and said calmly:

"Why not give it to him?"

"But Montenegro..."

Bai Lian's words revealed hesitation.

What's in the Black Mountain?

Xuan Heng interrupted him, his tone still steady, yet carrying an undeniable weight.

"No one in the entire Xuandu knows this better than I do."

He finally turned around slowly, his gaze falling on Bai Lian. Those unfathomable dark eyes seemed to pierce through all illusions, reaching even the slightest doubt in his heart.

Bai Lian suddenly remembered the rumors about the general's origins in Black Mountain, and a chill ran through her as she realized her mistake. She immediately apologized:

"The subordinate has overstepped his bounds."

Xuan Heng did not pursue the matter. His gaze seemed to transcend the cold palace walls, landing on the distant and barren west, as if he were talking to himself, he murmured:

"Perhaps, this person is the 'opportunity' that Montenegro has been waiting for."

Bai Lian listened silently with her head bowed, suppressing all her questions and not uttering another sound.

……

The person who led Huo Yu and Long Yucheng was still the same bodyguard deputy that Bai Lian had previously named.

He remained silent, like a moving shadow, leading the three through several heavily armored guards and winding corridors, finally stopping in front of the villa where Huo Yu had once stayed.

He gave a curt bow, said nothing, and then silently turned and left, just as he had come, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

Long Yucheng watched his figure disappear completely at the end of the corridor, then focused his senses for a moment to confirm that there were no other auras probing the surroundings before turning to look at Huo Yu.

An eerie moonlight streamed down from the sky, casting a blood-red glow upon his handsome features. His usually bright and spirited eyes, reflecting the crimson moon, were now filled with clearly visible worry and confusion.

"Senior brother, why do we insist on taking Black Mountain? Why do we have to accept the title of 'Demon General' and those thousand gleaming spies?"

Huo Yu turned to the side, the crimson moonlight outlining a clear contour on his profile, like a beautiful jade stained with blood, giving him an air of otherworldly aloofness.

“Black Mountain is desolate and rarely visited by demons. Even if Xuan Heng planted a thousand spies, what they could see would be far less than one ten-thousandth of what was under his nose.”

Long Yucheng nodded; he understood this principle. They were currently in the heart of a foreign land, and Xuan Heng had already revealed their identities in a single sentence. Naturally, the farther away they were from Xuandu and Xuan Heng, the better.

But the confusion between his brows had not completely dissipated:

"We can also find another place on our own. Didn't Xuanheng himself say that, with our identity token, we are free to come and go within the Spirit Clan's territory?"

Huo Yu took out the tiger tally given to him by Xuan Heng from his sleeve. The cold tally gleamed with a dark luster under the red moon.

"The title of 'Demon General' and the fiefdom are optional. But having this item can save us from some unnecessary trouble."

Having said that, his gaze settled on Long Yucheng's face, and he suddenly asked:

"Did you sense anything unusual while you were in Montenegro?"

Long Yucheng was taken aback upon hearing this. He had completely forgotten about the matter, but Huo Yu's question brought back some of his experiences in Wuliu Village—the Youpo Cave that terrified all the villagers and also made him feel a strange sense of unease.

"Yes, there are..."

He instinctively wanted to recount what he had seen and heard, but saw Huo Yu shake his head almost imperceptibly.

Long Yucheng instantly became alert and immediately stopped talking—they were still in Xuan Heng's general's mansion, where walls could hear them, and it was definitely not a place to discuss this matter in depth.

Huo Yu glanced at the sky and said:

"It's still some time before dawn, let's rest for now."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping almost imperceptibly over the demonic energy that had nearly solidified around him, his tone calm.

"Once we reach Black Mountain, we will never see such a rich demonic energy again."

Long Yucheng immediately understood his implication, nodded without saying anything more, and followed Huo Yu into the courtyard.

The mixed-race Gu Long, who had been left out in the cold the whole time, was very sensible. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he consciously found the most secluded corner room and disappeared into it in a flash, so as not to disturb the two of them.

Huo Yu and Long Yucheng entered the same spacious room. The room was minimally furnished, with only a bed and a low table, exuding a cold cleanliness, as if no one had ever lived there for long.

The two remained silent, neither undressing nor going to bed. Huo Yu sat down on the bed, and almost simultaneously, Long Yucheng sat down opposite him.

Their eyes met briefly, but no words were exchanged. Then, they simultaneously closed their eyes, focused their minds, and quietly circulated their internal energy techniques.

The next moment, the previously stagnant demonic energy in the room suddenly surged, as if slowly stirred and drawn by an invisible hand, converging towards the two of them.

Huo Yu's method of absorbing demonic power was extremely domineering. The dense demonic energy within several miles of the courtyard, almost solidified, formed an invisible vortex around him, like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea.

The immense demonic power silently entered his body, and the air around him was slightly distorted due to the violent flow of energy, creating visible energy vortexes.

However, during Huo Yu's almost predatory devouring, a considerable portion of the pure demonic power naturally flowed out, like water ripples driven by the main vortex, washing and flowing towards Long Yucheng opposite him, and a layer of warm and bright spiritual light floated around him.

The two cultivated techniques that both belonged to the fire element. At this moment, they were cultivating together in the same room. Instead of interfering with or repelling each other, their auras blended and their Daoist charms resonated, forming a wonderful and complementary relationship.

The torrent of demonic power that gathered was fierce and unrestrained when it surged toward Huo Yu, like a raging fire; but when it flowed toward Long Yu City, it became condensed and stable, turning into a dazzling spiritual radiance.

The two forces are not clearly distinct, but rather intertwined and interdependent, forming a harmonious and stable twin cycle through their mutual inhalation and exhalation, release and retraction.

The room fell silent, with only the blood-red moonlight flowing silently through the window, illuminating the figures of the two meditating through the tall window frame, coating them with an eerie red glow.

In the air, immense demonic power continued to flow into this place, forming an invisible energy vortex above the courtyard. Like a silent tide, it surged continuously, nourishing the two bodies that were out of place in this world, yet were rapidly seizing power from it.