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

Su Yixuan was shocked and her face was full of disbelief, because not only had she set up a concealment formation, but she had also been keeping a close eye on the surroundings with her divine sense throughout the conversation between the three of them, and no movement could escape her perception.

However, someone approached the place silently, and her divine sense did not detect the slightest movement.

But Su Yixuan quickly realized that the problem did not lie with her.

The person in front of her was already standing there, but she still couldn't perceive his presence with her divine sense; she could only see his figure with her naked eyes.

Su Yixuan's gaze sharpened, fixing on a woman in red standing behind that person.

Unlike Su Yixuan, Huo Yu showed no surprise whatsoever from beginning to end.

Huo Yu spotted this person as soon as he appeared near Jingyang Palace.

He spent far more time here than he would have needed to find clues, all in the hope of this person showing up. Half of what he said earlier was also meant for him.

The strange spell of the woman in red that could shield divine sense had no effect on him. At the same time as he discovered the two people, he also noticed the red mark between the eyebrows of the leader, which was exactly the same as the Vermilion Bird mark described in historical records.

The person who just clapped was none other than the eighth son of the current emperor, who was about to ascend the throne and was born with the Vermilion Bird Seal.

The Eighth Prince wore a dark red robe embroidered with a lifelike Vermilion Bird pattern in gold thread, which complemented the vivid Vermilion Bird mark between his brows, adding a touch of holiness to his originally sharp features.

Following closely behind was a woman in a light red dress, her long black hair simply tied back, her face aloof, her eyes ethereal.

Judging from her attire, she was not a member of the Zoroastrian sect, yet she was able to use spiritual power within the Vermilion Bird City. At the same time that Huo Yu's divine sense detected the Eighth Prince's figure, she also discovered Huo Yu's divine sense probing.

Huo Yu couldn't see through her cultivation level.

This person seemed to have no spiritual power; Huo Yu could not see her spiritual root, and she did not have the Heavenly Dao Prism.

Huo Yu was no stranger to this situation.

The five Nascent Soul stage disciples I saw during my previous nighttime infiltration of the Fire Worship Cult were all like this woman, possessing abundant spiritual power but lacking spiritual roots and Heavenly Dao points.

As for the Eighth Prince, he was indeed just a mortal. After the applause subsided, he sincerely praised him:

"These insights are truly refreshing and I have never had the pleasure of hearing them before. May I ask who the three of you are?"

Faced with these three uninvited guests who had trespassed into his library, the Eighth Prince showed no displeasure whatsoever; instead, he took the initiative to ask their names.

He had a cold and aloof appearance, but when he smiled, all his sharpness disappeared, replaced by a friendly demeanor that made people feel an instant liking for him.

However, his gaze remained focused on Huo Yu throughout, and his questioning of the other two was clearly just a side effect.

Huo Yu answered calmly and concisely:

"Huo Yu".

Long Yucheng's gaze lingered on the Vermilion Bird mark between the Eighth Prince's brows for a long time before he slowly uttered his name, seemingly lost in thought.

"Long Yucheng".

"Su Yixuan".

Seeing that the two had already introduced themselves, Su Yixuan had no choice but to speak as well, but her wary gaze never left the silent woman in red behind the Eighth Prince.

At this moment, she was frantically asking the system questions in her mind:

Does my "heartthrob" aura have no effect on the Eighth Prince? What's his current level of affection for me?

The system replied in an emotionless, synthesized voice:

[The "charming" aura is functioning normally; currently, the Eighth Prince Wenjing's favorability towards the host is fifty.]

Why didn't he even glance at me once after he walked in?

[Different individuals exhibit different outward behaviors at a level of 50 favorability. Some individuals are more easily swayed by emotions—what the host often refers to as "love-struck"—and will be extremely obedient to the host at this level of favorability; while others are not easily swayed by emotions.]

In short: This person is the "anti-romance type," meaning they don't easily show their feelings even when they're attracted to someone, and it's not a case of their "heartthrob" aura being misplaced.

Huo Yu was unaware of the intense internal dialogue in Su Yixuan's mind. He only noticed that when Long Yucheng gave his name to the Eighth Prince, the Heavenly Dao Value above his head changed directly from medium gray to light gray.

"You two, having entered my library with the disciples of the Holy Sect, must also be cultivators."

The Eighth Prince chuckled, his gaze lingering briefly on Su Yixuan's red dress and silver ornaments before returning to Huo Yu's face.

"The concept of destiny that Mr. Huo just mentioned is a novel insight that I have never heard of before. I wonder if Mr. Huo would be willing to condescend to seek a position as a guest advisor in the Eastern Palace?"

"I have no plans to."

Huo Yu flatly refused. He had already accomplished the main purpose of his trip to the palace, and he had no interest in the Eighth Prince.

Moreover, he didn't want to have too much contact with the woman in red beside the Eighth Prince.

In Huo Yu's eyes, there were only two possibilities for this person's identity:

Firstly, she is like those Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Zoroastrianism, a projection of other people's spiritual power.

Only one person could silently replace all the Nascent Soul stage elders with spiritual projections within the territory of the Zoroastrian Church, and each projection possessed Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

Another possibility is that this woman is an incarnation of the Vermilion Bird, and since the Vermilion Bird is not a human cultivator, this would explain why she does not have Heavenly Dao Value.

If that's the case, then it means that everything that's about to happen in this city is under the control of the Vermilion Bird. With a Mahayana cultivator in charge, no matter what kind of conspiracy the person behind the scenes is plotting, it will be difficult to stir up any huge waves.

If not, then the schemes behind all these conspiracies are probably far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

The Eighth Prince was completely unaware of Huo Yu's thoughts. After being rejected by Huo Yu, he did not show any displeasure, but instead changed the subject:

"'Those who follow the will of Heaven prosper; those who defy it perish.' This saying has been around since ancient times. Whether or not one is a manifestation of destiny, all living beings are born to play their respective roles in the operation of the laws of Heaven and Earth. All I, the prince, can do is to do my best and live up to this life."

Despite the prince's polite manners, he still inadvertently revealed a hint of arrogance that comes with being in a high position for a long time.

Huo Yu remained noncommittal, while Long Yucheng and Su Yixuan, knowing they weren't the people the Eighth Prince truly wanted to discuss, simply chose to remain silent to avoid making a fool of themselves.

Seeing that no one was there to support him, the Eighth Prince instantly felt a little disheartened:

"That's enough. I will pretend that today's events never happened. Please go back to where you came from."

After saying that, he waved his hand, signaling the three of them to leave on their own.