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

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Long Yucheng, who had been a straight man for two lifetimes, felt disgusted with himself and got goosebumps all over.

But with such speculation in mind, and upon further examining Changsun Ning's words and actions since his appearance, Long Yucheng, who was wearing tinted glasses, now felt that the truth was almost certain.

Caught between the two, Huo Yu was carefully observing the architectural layout of Tianhe City.

His years of experience as a wandering cultivator instilled in him the habit of observing his surroundings as soon as he arrived in a new environment, in preparation for any eventuality. Even after he became the Demon Lord, this habit remained unchanged.

As for Changsun Ning's eloquent speech, Huo Yu's divine sense had already automatically blocked it out.

On the contrary, Long Yucheng seemed to be suddenly attracted by the long history of Tianhe City, and kept interrupting with questions. Changsun Ning was not annoyed and patiently answered them one by one.

Unbeknownst to them, the three of them had changed positions, with Huo Yu on the outside and Long Yucheng in the middle, engaging in a lively and back-and-forth conversation with Changsun Ning.

As Huo Yu walked, the love charm in his arms suddenly warmed, and he heard Long Yucheng's voice transmission:

"Senior Brother Huo, be careful of this guy. He's being unusually helpful; he must have ulterior motives!"

Upon further reflection, Huo Yu understood Long Yucheng's earlier actions and found them somewhat amusing—being protected by someone, especially by a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator, was a first for him.

If Long Yucheng knew that Changsun Ning was at the Golden Core stage, I wonder if he would still have this sense of justice to stand up for her.

Changsun Ning did not deliberately hide his cultivation level. However, cultivators after the Golden Core stage are different from those in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages. They can already contain their spiritual power and not reveal their cultivation level. At a glance, they can easily be mistaken for Qi Refining stage cultivators. Long Yucheng was one of them.

Huo Yu didn't remind Long Yucheng either. After all, he and Long Yucheng were currently at the Foundation Establishment stage and the Qi Refining stage, respectively. If Changsun Ning harbored ill intentions, even if he reminded Long Yucheng, he would only be serving Changsun Ning food.

Now that Long Yucheng has blocked Changsun Ning for him, Huo Yu is happy to have some peace and quiet, and it's good to maintain the status quo.

The three walked and talked, and before they knew it, an hour had passed. Long Yucheng finally politely sent Changsun Ning away, saying that he needed to find a place to stay.

Before parting, Changsun Ning invited the two to his residence for a short rest, but Long Yucheng politely declined and did not press the matter further. He simply agreed to meet them at Tianhefang at Chenshi (7-9 AM) two days later.

At the moment of parting, Huo Yu used his mid-stage Nascent Soul realm divine sense to glance at this person's Heavenly Dao value. It was a white, lightless prism, no different from others, but the annotation beside it was particularly special:

A tree without roots, a duckweed adrift on water.

Changsun Ning was completely unaware of this, and riding the white escape light, his figure quickly faded from Huo Yu's sight.

"Senior brother, what should we do next?"

Seeing that the person, who was probably up to no good, had indeed left, Long Yucheng subconsciously looked at Huo Yu.

Finding a place to stay was just an excuse. Despite having traveled for a day, Long Yucheng didn't feel particularly tired.

Huo Yu, on the other hand, showed no signs of fatigue.

However, having nothing else to do and with it getting late, Huo Yu thought for a moment and decided to find a place to stay.

The two quickened their pace, searching for a suitable place to stay along the street.

Not far from there, an inn called "Youlanxuan" came into view. Its door was low and its appearance was not ostentatious.

Upon entering the inn, a faint fragrance of orchids wafts through the air, and the interior is simply yet elegantly decorated.

It was already midnight, and there were few customers. Only a young servant responsible for greeting customers was meditating and cultivating behind the counter.

Long Yucheng and Huo Yu each booked a room. Long Yucheng's eyes widened at the price of ten spirit stones a night, but before he could do anything, Huo Yu had already paid the spirit stones.

This gesture moved Long Yucheng deeply, while Huo Yu remained oblivious. After saying goodnight, they each returned to their guest rooms.

The room is furnished like any other ordinary inn, complete with a simple magic array that provides some protection and sound insulation.

However, this formation was not very effective against divine sense. Huo Yu's divine sense could easily pass through the formation and see Long Yucheng next door curiously touching the furnishings in the guest room.

Huo Yu took out two sets of formations from his storage bag and threw them on the ground. He adjusted the range of the formations to just cover the room he shared with Long Yucheng before sitting down on the couch with his eyes closed.

Meanwhile, in the very center of Tianhe City, on the rooftop terrace of the City Lord's Mansion, an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard stood facing the moon.

He wore a blue robe with white patterns, which swayed gently in the windless night, making him look just like an immortal from a storybook.

"Old Demon of Six Desires, you're too late!"

The old Taoist priest suddenly spoke.

On the once empty terrace, a figure appeared in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach.

Faced with the old Taoist's accusations, the man not only did not get angry, but instead laughed:

"I was only half a day late, why is Old Ghost Tianhe making such a fuss?"

This unassuming Taoist priest was actually the Lord of Tianhe City—Master Tianhe!

At this moment, he turned to stare at the mysterious man, his expression unfriendly:

"Being late is being late, you old demon of six desires, you had better give me an explanation."

"On the way here, I ran into a young man who seemed quite interested, and we chatted for a bit."

The Six Desires Demon slowly emerged from the shadows, fully exposed to the bright moonlight. His appearance bore a striking resemblance to Changsun Ning, about seven-tenths.

Liu Yu's nonchalant smile vanished, and he sighed:

"It's a pity I was disturbed by a fly, otherwise I wouldn't have come so early."

Master Tianhe snorted coldly, a silver light flashing in his eyes. In that light, the faces of Huo Yu and Long Yucheng flashed by.

After seeing Huo Yu's appearance clearly, Master Tianhe sneered and said sarcastically:

"It's been a century, but your taste hasn't changed at all."

Liu Yu seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in Tianhe Shangren's words, and sighed:

"My love for Lian'er is as clear as the sun and moon; even if I were to die nine times, I would not regret it."

"That's truly touching."

The sneer in Tianhe Shangren's eyes intensified.

"That person is a disciple of the Yellow Springs Sect. Whatever your plans are, don't put the cart before the horse."

"That's natural. There are priorities in everything, and I understand that perfectly well."

Liu Yu laughed.

"I wonder if Lady Blood and the Five-Colored Taoist have arrived yet?"

"We arrived two days ago."

Master Tianhe said irritably,

"We've been waiting for you. We'll set off tomorrow."

"So good!"

Liu Yu and Tianhe Shangren exchanged a glance, each seeing the unspoken understanding in the other's eyes.