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

As dusk fell, the setting sun, like fine gold dust, filtered through layers of clouds, dappling the exquisitely crafted man-made landscape with a soft glow.

The artificial rocks are arranged in a staggered and rugged manner, as if they were formed by nature. The winding path leads to the lotus pond with its rippling blue waves, where a few koi fish swim leisurely, occasionally leaping out of the water and splashing out ripples.

A man and a woman stood in the pavilion in the center of the lotus pond.

The man, dressed in a brocade robe with gold-embroidered phoenix patterns gleaming in the setting sun, turned his head slightly and focused his gaze on the pond, watching several koi carp swarming and vying for the fish food on the surface.

The woman, dressed in a light red palace gown with flowing gauze, swayed gently in the breeze, resembling a fairy from a painting.

"They have left the palace."

In the red-clad woman's consciousness, Huo Yu and Long Yucheng were mingling with the Golden Feather Guards just as they had come, heading towards the Xihua Gate where the shift was changing.

The Eighth Prince pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the woman in red:

What do you think of those three people?

The woman in red spoke without any inflection:

"Huo Yuneng can use his divine sense."

This statement caused a flicker of surprise in the Eighth Prince's eyes, but he did not delve further into the matter. Instead, he asked:

"I let them go, Azhu, you won't be angry, will you?"

The woman shook her head, her tone calm:

"You can do whatever you want, my mission is to help you achieve your wishes."

Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince's lips curled into a faint smile, but a dark and unfathomable emotion flashed in his eyes before he changed the subject:

"A-Zhu, did you know about this concept of luck before?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in red looked up at the Eighth Prince for the first time:

“I know. I also know that even knowing the predetermined ending, you will still choose that path.”

The Eighth Prince gazed at the woman in red, a hint of sadness flashing in his calm eyes. His heart was filled with mixed emotions, and in the end, he could only remain silent, letting the night gradually engulf their figures.

……

Huo Yu and Long Yucheng changed into civilian clothes and ran into Su Yixuan as soon as they came out of the Golden Feather Guard barracks.

"Fellow Daoist Huo, Fellow Daoist Long, did you gain anything from this trip? If the information you obtained is still insufficient, I can think of another way."

Su Yixuan spoke softly, reverting to the frail and pitiful demeanor she had when they first met.

But whenever Long Yucheng thought that this "weak woman" in front of him was the one with the highest status and cultivation among the three people present, he couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.

With her Foundation Establishment cultivation and her status as a disciple of the Fire Worship Cult, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she could do whatever she wanted in Vermilion Bird City.

However, seeing the five-figure points displayed in the system shop, Long Yucheng sincerely thanked them:

"Thank you very much for your great help, Fellow Daoist Su."

[Target number one, Long Yucheng, has gained two points of favorability; current favorability is 19.]

Hearing the notification sound indicating an increase in favorability, Su Yixuan pressed on, her gaze towards Long Yucheng filled with an even more poignant beauty.

Long Yucheng felt goosebumps all over his body from her stare.

[Target number one, Long Yucheng's, favorability has decreased by one point; current favorability is 18.]

"..."

Su Yixuan silently took more than ten deep breaths before she could barely shift her gaze from Long Yucheng to Huo Yu:

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Huo has found what he needs?"

Huo Yu did not answer, but asked another question:

"Is there a disciple named Wang Yi in the Zoroastrian Church?"

"Wang Yi?"

Su Yixuan frowned slightly, gently rested her chin on her hand, and fell into deep thought.

In reality, she had no recollection of the names of the other members of the Zoroastrian cult, and she only remembered the surnames of the fellow disciples she frequently interacted with. However, she still had to pretend to be deep in thought.

After a moment, Su Yixuan answered with some hesitation:

“I have never heard of this name before, but I can check the roster of disciples back in the church. Does this person have any other distinguishing features?”

"male."

Huo Yu answered succinctly.

"..."

Su Yixuan waited for a long time, but Huo Yu didn't continue speaking. She kept reciting "An Actor Prepares" in her mind, and only then could she barely maintain her expression and say softly:

"I understand. I will check the disciple roster tonight, and I will inform Fellow Daoist Huo immediately if there is any news."

After saying this, Su Yixuan hurriedly took her leave.

These two women she's trying to seduce are both incredibly infuriating; if she stays any longer, she'll really have a hard time maintaining her acting skills.

Long Yucheng watched Su Yixuan's retreating figure, the clinking of silver ornaments echoing as she walked away. He wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer out:

"Senior brother, I feel that she... is a good person."

"..."

Huo Yu did not answer. If he had only suspected it before, he was now 100% certain that this woman had designs on both Long Yucheng and himself.

Huo Yu had no objection to this.

In the world of cultivators, especially demonic cultivators, those with ulterior motives are actually easier to trust. As long as you figure out what they want, you can use them or achieve your own goals through exchange.

What we should really be wary of are those who are nice to us for no reason.

Long Yucheng has not been a demonic cultivator for long enough. He is still in the stage where he can't help but wag his tail at others if he feels a little kindness. However, this is actually better for Huo Yu.

However, compared to Su Yixuan, whose threat level had almost reached zero, Huo Yu was more concerned about something else at this moment.

As more intelligence was gathered, a hidden thread gradually emerged from the vast amount of chaotic information:

The leader of the Fire Worship Cult—the second most powerful being in Vermilion Bird City after Vermilion Bird himself—is clearly brewing a long-planned conspiracy, and the moment to bring all the plans to a close will be the Thousand Candles Ceremony four days from now.

To carry out this plan, he first replaced all the Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the sect with his own spiritual projections, and then summoned all the sect members to gather in Vermilion Bird City on the day of the Thousand Candles Ceremony.

If we continue to follow this line of thought, the reason given for recalling all Zoroastrian disciples—the Vermilion Bird Seal, which appeared for the first time in six hundred years—is most likely also fake...

wrong.

When Huo Yu had previously consulted the imperial historical records, he had already made some guesses about this so-called chosen one.

The Eighth Prince's Vermilion Bird Seal may be fake, and the woman in red beside him may truly be one of the spiritual projections of the Zoroastrian leader.

However, the true Vermilion Bird Seal has indeed appeared in Vermilion Bird City, and Huo Yu has already personally seen the person who holds the seal.

What gave Huo Yu such certainty was the unique interpretation of the Heavenly Dao that he had seen on his first day in the city:

Where is the old mirror reflecting the phoenix? The withered paulownia tree no longer shelters the phoenix.

……

After saying goodbye to Su Yixuan, Long Yucheng and Huo Yu walked slowly towards the inn.

Seeing that Huo Yu had once again entered a state of deep thought, Long Yucheng did not disturb him.

Ever since he saw Su Yixuan off, a smile he couldn't suppress had been playing on his lips. While browsing through the items in the system shop that he wouldn't normally dare to glance at, his eyes would scan the five-figure points on the system interface every minute.

Halfway there, when Huo Yu suddenly asked him if he wanted to attend the Thousand Candles Ceremony, Long Yucheng, whose mind was still immersed in the system shop, subconsciously answered:

"Such a grand event, we've just arrived at the right time, wouldn't it be a shame to miss it?"

After speaking, he snapped out of his daze of the ten thousand points and looked at Huo Yu somewhat embarrassed:

"Senior brother, if you have other important matters to attend to, you can go ahead and don't need to stay with me..."

"Nothing else."

Huo Yu's answer was brief and to the point.

Long Yucheng immediately beamed with joy again:

"Great! Senior brother, forget what I just said. It would be too pitiful for me to participate in such a lively event all by myself."