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

Just as the atmosphere was tense and on the verge of conflict, Long Yucheng, who had been standing close to Huo Yu, suddenly darted between the two women and barked a few times.

Su Yixuan's gaze swept across the void above Long Yucheng's head, then glanced at Guan Fengyue, and said slowly:

"Alright, since Fellow Daoist Long puts it that way."

After speaking, she turned to Huo Yu and repeated what Long Yucheng had said:

He said, "This is indeed Junior Sister Guan. We knew each other before we reached Vermilion Bird City, so there's no need to worry."

Guan Fengyue cast a questioning glance between Huo Yu and Su Yixuan again, but did not ask any further questions.

After confirming the visitor's identity, Su Yixuan's expression became increasingly solemn, and she slowly explained:

"My command talisman triggered the restriction on its own shortly after the start of the Thousand Candle Ceremony, creating a spatial rift about half the size of a person out of thin air."

"What? But all my fellow disciples, and even my senior uncles, without exception, all carried that messenger talisman..."

At this point, it was as if a lightning bolt struck Guan Fengyue's mind, and she suddenly realized:

"This……"

"This is a meticulously planned conspiracy! Its purpose is to take the lives of all Zoroastrian disciples simultaneously in a very short period of time!"

Su Yixuan gritted her teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.

"And the mastermind behind all this is the person who ordered everyone to carry a command token at all times and be ready to be dispatched, and strictly forbade anyone from leaving on the night of the Thousand Candles Ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Guan Fengyue also fell silent, and after a moment she slowly spoke:

"Tonight, all mortals have been gathered under the Vermilion Bird Gate, while my familiar senior brothers and sisters are guarding secluded and quiet places rarely visited by people. The person behind the scenes has even considered such details meticulously."

“That’s right. ‘Members of the Zoroastrian Church are forbidden from killing mortals in Vermilion Bird City,’ but Zoroastrian disciples like you and me, who can use spiritual power in Vermilion Bird City, are naturally not considered mortals.”

Su Yixuan's face was ashen as she spoke, word by word.

At this moment, Long Yucheng barked a few more times.

Su Yixuan quickly translated:

He said, "The formation we just saw, wasn't it at the Vermilion Bird Gate? And as I flew here, I discovered that it wasn't just the Vermilion Bird Gate; formations were flashing red everywhere, though not as dazzling as the one at the Vermilion Bird Gate, which dyed the entire sky crimson."

Huo Yu looked at Long Yucheng:

"Is it here too?"

Long Yucheng nodded.

Huo Yu pondered, seemingly lost in thought.

Taking this opportunity, Guan Fengyue finally couldn't help but ask:

"Why did Senior Sister Su repeat Senior Brother Long's words?... Also, why did Fellow Daoist Huo's gaze always linger on Senior Brother Long's knees when they were talking?"

"..."

The two people present, along with Long Yucheng, remained silent. In the end, Long Yucheng barked at Guan Fengyue a few times, then barked again.

"He was explaining to Junior Sister Guan his current situation, that he didn't know why he was a dog..."

Su Yixuan sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

This unexpected little incident instantly diluted the originally heavy, oppressive, and bitter atmosphere.

After listening to Long Yucheng's explanation, Guan Fengyue's expression was complicated, with confusion mixed with a hint of bewilderment:

"I came here to report to Senior Brother Sun that my fellow disciples seemed to be acting strangely, but now it seems that it is all because they are no longer alive... Senior Brother Long, Fellow Daoist Huo, and Senior Sister Su, what are your plans now?"

At this moment, Huo Yu, who had been silent all along, suddenly uttered a startling statement:

"If the person behind the scenes could set up an illusion array throughout the entire Vermilion Bird City in advance, then they must have also made preparations and left a backup plan for fish like you who slipped through the net."

Upon hearing Huo Yu's words, Su Yixuan and Guan Fengyue were both stunned and stood there dumbfounded, a chill of indescribable coldness rising in their hearts.

In fact, Huo Yu's guess was absolutely correct.

Under his divine sense probing, the divine senses of the Golden Core cultivators who had originally surged in from all directions of Vermilion Bird City like a tide began to diminish like falling leaves.

The mastermind behind the scenes does indeed have a backup plan, but their target is not those small fry in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages, but rather those Golden Core cultivators who, even if their physical bodies are destroyed, can still leave their Golden Cores and survive, possessing a certain degree of self-protection.

As for the Nascent Soul stage cultivators, Huo Yu had already seen them; they were all projections of the spiritual energy of the person behind the scenes. It was likely that these Nascent Soul stage cultivators would be the first to perish at the hands of the mastermind.

Those who are currently slaughtering Golden Core stage disciples are most likely those spiritual energy projections.

Long Yucheng first glanced at Su Yixuan and Guan Fengyue, then turned his gaze to Huo Yu and barked a few times eagerly.

He said, "Should we leave this place first? No matter what earth-shattering conspiracy is about to happen here, we can always escape..."

However, before Su Yixuan could finish translating, Long Yucheng seemed to suddenly realize something, and stood there frozen, his eyes filled with struggle.

Huo Yu understood immediately. What Long Yucheng suddenly thought of must be Wang Erniu and Lian Hu, who were currently attending the ceremony at the Vermilion Bird Gate, completely unaware of what was happening.

The mastermind behind the scenes has chosen to make a big move tonight, and the Vermilion Bird Gate, the place where the ceremony is held and where all mortals gather, is the eye of the storm.

Long Yucheng was torn between his worries about his friends and his sense of impending doom.

Long Yucheng's gaze lingered between the direction of the Vermilion Bird Gate and Huo Yu, before he finally let out a pitiful "woof" and even drooped his tail.

Su Yixuan gave Long Yucheng a deep look before speaking to Huo Yu:

He said, "My friends Erniu and Lianhu are currently at the core of the Vermilion Bird Sect's formation. I can't abandon them and escape alone. But I really don't want to implicate my senior brother. Senior brother, you, Junior Sister Guan, and Fellow Daoist Su should leave this dangerous place quickly."

Huo Yu was not surprised by this. He had even anticipated that Long Yucheng would choose to rescue his friend before tonight, which is why he had made preparations in advance.

Without uttering a word, he simply picked up Long Yucheng, who was still in the shape of a big yellow dog, and flew away towards the Vermilion Bird Gate, just as he had done when he arrived.

The moment Long Yucheng felt a sudden lightness in his body, he understood the answer Huo Yu hadn't said. A warm feeling welled up in his heart, and his nose tingled with a sour sensation.

Fortunately, he was a dog now, so he buried his head in Huo Yu's arms to avoid losing his composure in front of his senior brother.

Meanwhile, he quickly browsed through the system shop for life-saving items that might come in handy, secretly glad that he hadn't yet used the 10,000 points he earned from the Eighth Prince to pay off his old debts.

However, Long Yucheng forgot one thing: although he was a big yellow dog in his and Huo Yu's eyes, he was still a human in other people's eyes.

Watching Long Yucheng being carried away in Huo Yu's arms in an almost bear hug, Su Yixuan and Guan Fengyue exchanged a knowing glance in silence, tacitly refraining from making any comments.

Then, the two of them mounted their flying magical artifacts and followed closely behind Huo Yu's gradually receding light.

However, unlike Guan Fengyue, Su Yixuan had a third person she could complain about:

[Damn gay men!]