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

The Zoroastrianism, as the state religion of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, is neither a righteous nor a demonic sect. Because its disciples rarely venture beyond the borders of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, both the righteous and demonic paths have intentionally or unintentionally ignored it.

The source of this tacit understanding comes from a name: Suzaku.

In the history and mythology of the mortal world, the Vermilion Bird is revered as one of the Four Symbols of Heaven, ruling over the seven southern constellations, and is the powerful god of the south.

In the vast and boundless records of the cultivation world, the image of the Vermilion Bird becomes elusive and mysterious:

One theory is that it is a celestial beast originating from the Nine Heavens Celestial Palace; another is that it belongs to the demon realm and is a peak powerhouse among the demon race; yet another rumor is that the name "Vermilion Bird" is the Daoist title of a powerful human.

Although there are many different theories about the origin of the Vermilion Bird, one thing is agreed upon: the Vermilion Bird's strength has reached the Mahayana stage.

In the cultivation world, Mahayana cultivators are like divine dragons above the clouds, mysterious and unpredictable. Even when they occasionally appear in the mortal world, no one can fathom the depth of their cultivation.

This is why the number of Mahayana stage cultivators currently existing in the entire cultivation world remains a mystery.

However, for those who have even the slightest doubt about the authenticity and strength of the Mahayana stage, all their doubts will vanish like morning mist as soon as they step into Vermilion Bird City.

This city, hidden among many ordinary cities, seems to be a world of its own, with rules of heaven and earth completely different from the outside world.

"Everyone is equal under my rule"—this is the law of Suzaku City.

Whether they are Qi Refining cultivators who have just begun to understand the basics or powerful cultivators who have reached the Nascent Soul stage, once they step into the territory of Vermilion Bird City, they are no different from ordinary people, without exception.

To rewrite the rules of a world with one's own power—this is the might of a Mahayana cultivator!

For this reason, whether it is a righteous sect or a demonic force, as long as they are cultivators, they all tacitly avoid Vermilion Bird City, making this city a truly neutral place.

In this land protected by the divine power of the Vermilion Bird, there is no distinction between the righteous path and the demonic path, and even the boundary between cultivators and mortals has become blurred.

Over time, Suzaku City gradually expanded its influence to several surrounding city-states, eventually evolving into the present-day Suzaku Kingdom.

Although the law of "equality of all beings below the Mahayana stage" is only effective within Vermilion Bird City, few cultivators dare to run wild in other cities of Vermilion Bird due to the deterrent power of the state religion of Vermilion Bird.

The Zoroastrianism originated from the fanatical worship of the Vermilion Bird. Its followers are all people who are destined to be connected with the sacred flame of the Vermilion Bird, and thus are exempt from the laws of the Vermilion Bird City to some extent, and can use spiritual power in the city.

Huo Yu learned about the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame when he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage. He once fought with a disciple of the Fire Worship Cult outside Vermilion Bird City, and that battle deepened his understanding of the Dao of Fire.

During that battle, Huo Yu was accidentally tainted by the opponent's flames. The flames were extinguishable by water and spontaneously combusted without wind, only extinguishing themselves after Huo Yu left the territory of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.

As for the Vermilion Bird Sacred Flame, it is said to possess the power to revive the dead and reverse reincarnation.

It was precisely because of the strong home-field advantage of the Zoroastrian Church that both the righteous and demonic paths had to tacitly turn a blind eye to the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.

Fortunately, the Suzaku Kingdom's almost rogue-like advantage in territory seems to have its limitations. After expanding to its current size, it has stopped expanding outwards, so it remains only a medium-sized country.

After hearing about the complex historical ties between the Vermilion Bird Kingdom and the Zoroastrianism, Long Yucheng looked up again, gazing at the towering bronze city wall that stood dozens of feet high. His feelings were completely different now.

If Huo Yu hadn't intervened in time, he would have been pulverized and turned into a bloody mess by now if he had recklessly flown in from that height.

Even if there were a minuscule, one in ten thousand chance that he would survive, he would be reduced to a mortal and then easily disposed of by the Zoroastrian woman as if he were an ant.

"Thanks to Senior Brother Huo's timely intervention, otherwise I would have almost committed suicide without even realizing it."

A wave of fear washed over Long Yucheng, and his gratitude towards Huo Yu was palpable, but a hint of confusion quickly followed.

"But wouldn't this mean that the Zoroastrian Church could do whatever it wanted in Vermilion Bird City, slaughtering non-members at will?"

Doesn't this contradict the original intention of Suzaku to protect this city?

Huo Yu shook his head:

"That's not the case. For members of the Zoroastrian Church, slaughtering mortals in Vermilion Bird City is a grave crime. Once committed, one will immediately lose connection with the Sacred Flame of Vermilion Bird, lose the privilege of using spiritual power in Vermilion Bird City, and thus lose the qualification to remain in the Zoroastrian Church."

“The ‘mortals’ here refer to all those who have no spiritual power. Once cultivators enter Vermilion Bird City and lose their spiritual power, they are also considered to be among these ‘mortals’.”

Long Yucheng suddenly realized, his eyes gleaming with longing:

"I see. In that case, the Vermilion Bird is indeed an ambassador of peace! Senior brother, do you think that mysterious and unpredictable Vermilion Bird, who is neither human nor demon, is still in this world?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Yucheng seemed to realize something and quickly covered his mouth, looking around nervously like a thief caught doing something wrong. Then he transmitted his thoughts to Huo Yu telepathically:

"Senior brother, I've heard that those with high cultivation levels can sense who's talking about them behind their backs. I hope the person in question didn't hear what I just said?"

Huo Yu found it somewhat amusing:

"If everyone's words behind someone's back can be heard, wouldn't Mahayana cultivators be driven crazy by trivial matters?"

Long Yucheng pondered for a moment and said:

"That's why they changed their names and hid their identities, probably because they didn't want people to keep talking about them!"

Huo Yu was speechless.

This idea seems to make some sense, but based on Huo Yu's experience in his previous life, it is most likely that such a function does not exist.

Otherwise, in the six hundred years between his breakthrough to the Mahayana stage in his previous life and his facing the tribulation of ascension, he should have heard Long Yucheng, who hated him to the bone, mention him at least a few times.

Unaware of Huo Yu's thoughts, Long Yucheng asked again mysteriously:

"Senior brother, is that guy you mentioned still in this realm?"

"I don't know."

That's the truth. Huo Yu had no connection with the Vermilion Bird Clan in his previous life. Even when he fought with the Zoroastrian disciples, it was outside Vermilion Bird City.

It seems that a major event did indeed occur in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom in his previous life, but the Vermilion Bird did not appear, so Huo Yu did not retain much of an impression.

In contrast, Huo Yu was more interested in knowing the purpose of Long Yucheng's trip.

He never expected that less than seven days after he left, Long Yucheng would almost kill him.

Is being particularly prone to causing trouble also a manifestation of being favored by Heaven?

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because the mere mention of it made Long Yucheng furious, and he said indignantly:

"I took on a mission from the sect. It was supposed to be easy and simple, and I could finish it in a day. But I didn't expect there to be a dragon's saliva grass right next to the mission location."

"I used all my strength to defeat the guardian spirit beast, and just as I was about to take the spirit herb, that guy appeared out of nowhere and snatched the Dragon Saliva Grass away!"