Ma Xiaotao heard the noise and struggled to open her eyes.
Her originally clear eyes were now filled with a violent, dark red.
When she made out who had arrived, a weak moan rolled from her throat.
"Yuhao..."
Huo Yuhao strode forward and spoke at once.
"Senior Xiaotao, don't talk. Steady your mind."
Things were bad, but they hadn't reached the point of no return.
Standing beside the stone platform, Huo Yuhao carefully observed Ma Xiaotao's condition and quickly made his judgment.
Ma Xiaotao had clearly taken his words to heart that day and tried to suppress her Evil Fire through sheer willpower.
She was on the right track, but her method wasn't quite right. Honestly, she'd been too eager.
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected Ma Xiaotao to try to wipe out all the Evil Fire that had built up over so many years in one fell swoop.
She was simply too greedy.
Nothing in this world could be accomplished overnight. Didn't everything have to be done little by little?
Huo Yuhao had thought she would try gradually, changing things bit by bit. That way, there wouldn't be a problem.
After all, her Evil Fire hadn't suddenly reached its current state, either.
It was actually easy to understand.
Everything in the world followed the principle of Yin-Yang Complementarity and sought balance.
Ever since Ma Xiaotao was a child, Yan Shaozhe and the others had relied on external force to forcibly suppress the Evil Fire in her body.
Over time, her body had adapted to this pathological balance of "Evil Fire within, powerful suppression without."
Now she had suddenly cast off that external force and wanted to face all the Evil Fire that had accumulated over the years on her own. How could that possibly work?
The total amount of Evil Fire inside her had long since exceeded the limits of what her mental strength could control. Only with external force could she maintain a balance.
Once that external force was withdrawn, the balance was instantly shattered. The Evil Fire struck back, turning on her and devouring her from within.
It was just like the Killing Intent Backlash he'd suffered before.
The nature of the Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao was actually much like the killing intent Huo Yuhao manifested through the Ghost Killing Art.
Killing intent gathered and manifested as killing energy.
Desire accumulated and manifested as Evil Fire.
Both had their roots in emotion.
There were only two ways to solve this problem.
Either release the emotions, or control them in advance.
Take Ma Hongjun, Ma Xiaotao's ancestor from ten thousand years ago. He had the same Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, yet he hadn't suffered like this.
The reason was simple.
He let it out.
Whenever his Evil Fire flared up, he'd head straight to the brothels and spend his excess heat, leaving nothing pent up inside him.
It would have been hard for him to suffer from Evil Fire that way.
At most, he might've felt miserable when he couldn't find a brothel. That was nothing like Ma Xiaotao, who'd reached the point of being in mortal danger.
This method was simple and crude, but extremely effective.
The only issue was that it could become a dependency and an addiction.
It clearly wouldn't work for Ma Xiaotao.
This Inner Academy genius might look carefree and unconcerned about such things, but in reality, she was incredibly innocent. She probably hadn't ever engaged in that sort of "release" in her entire life.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up in this state.
That left only the second path.
She had to use her mind and willpower to control her emotions and tough it out.
That was the path Huo Yuhao had demonstrated to her with the Ghost Killing Art.
As long as she could cut off or smooth out the emotional roots that triggered the Evil Fire before it took shape, the Evil Fire would naturally dissipate.
This method would definitely work.
It was just that Ma Xiaotao was starting far too late.
The Evil Fire inside her had already grown into a force to be reckoned with. Her untrained willpower and crude methods simply couldn't control it.
Someone skilled in this area had to step in.
First, they would help her draw out and control the portion of Evil Fire that exceeded her limits.
Then she could slowly work through what remained on her own.
By proceeding one step at a time, she could improve her body's ability to adapt. Eventually, she'd be able to control the Evil Fire entirely through her own will—and even purify it.
And the person who would guide her...
Huo Yuhao sighed.
Looking across all of Shrek Academy, there probably wasn't anyone else besides him, a practitioner of the Ghost Killing Art, who could do it.
Once he had thought everything through, Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate any longer.
Soul Power quietly circulated inside him, and the Ghost Killing Art sprang into action.
Huo Yuhao reached through the layer of dark red light and grabbed Ma Xiaotao's burning-hot wrist.
Guiding Ma Xiaotao's hand, Huo Yuhao pressed it directly against his chest.
He couldn't pass the Ghost Killing Art directly to Ma Xiaotao.
This cultivation art was far too sinister and dangerous, and that old Ghost Demon Venerable was still watching from the Sea of Consciousness.
He could only use the most direct physical contact and let Ma Xiaotao comprehend it for herself.
How much she could grasp was entirely up to her.
Ma Xiaotao was already being tormented by the Evil Fire, suffering so badly that she could barely hold on to consciousness.
But as a genius disciple of the Inner Academy, her comprehension shouldn't be too poor.
As for Ma Xiaotao, Huo Yuhao had suddenly grabbed her hand and forcibly pressed it against his chest.
Her mind went blank with a buzz.
W-what is he doing?!
Ma Xiaotao had never been this intimate with a man in her entire life.
On top of that, the Evil Fire had an intensely aphrodisiac effect. Her mind muddled, a wave of heat surged through her body.
The Evil Fire that had been raging within her actually receded by a third, driven back by this sudden rush of embarrassment and distracting thoughts. In its place came an indescribable tingling sensation that traveled up her arm and shot straight to the crown of her head.
Huo Yuhao immediately realized something was wrong.
At a time like this, you're telling me you want to take the release route?!
I'm not doing that!
He immediately tried to use the Ghost Killing Art to influence Ma Xiaotao in the opposite direction and bring her back to her senses.
Unfortunately,
the difference in their strength was simply too great, and the effect was minimal.
The temperature of Ma Xiaotao's hand didn't drop. Instead, it grew hotter and hotter, and even started to tremble.
He lowered his head and saw that the genius of the Inner Academy had flushed cheeks, her neck red all the way to the roots, and her breathing had grown so ragged it had lost all rhythm.
Huo Yuhao could tell at a glance what was happening to her and grumbled inwardly.
At a time like this, you're still fantasizing?!
And I'd just praised you for being innocent! Now I see you're a little "naughty" through and through!
Huo Yuhao was utterly helpless and could only remind her aloud.
"Senior Xiaotao, focus!"
"Feel the path of the Soul Power in my body and the way my emotions are directed."
"Don't think about that other nonsense!"
Huo Yuhao's shout snapped Ma Xiaotao back to her senses.
When she realized what she'd just done and thought, she was instantly overcome with shame and mortification!
Ma Xiaotao wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the ground and hide in it.
She'd actually done that in front of a junior several years younger than her, just because she'd touched his chest...
It was mortifying!
Ma Xiaotao bit down hard on her tongue, using the sting to force her mind back under control.
She closed her eyes and focused all her attention on the hand pressed against Huo Yuhao's chest.
Before long, she sensed an unusual fluctuation.
The way Soul Power circulated in Huo Yuhao's body was completely different from any cultivation art she had learned.
There was no frenzy, no scorching heat.
Only absolute calm—almost coldness.
The negative emotions that could drive people mad were forcibly sorted out inside Huo Yuhao's body, broken down, and ultimately transformed into the purest power.
He could actually turn Evil Fire into lustful fire!
What a subtle method of control!
Ma Xiaotao was secretly shocked. She quickly cast aside her distracting thoughts and followed Huo Yuhao's guidance, trying to adjust the emotions within her body.
Seeing that she had entered the right state, Huo Yuhao began to exert himself more.
He deliberately opened his meridians and gradually drew the portion of Ma Xiaotao's frenzied, surplus Evil Fire into himself.
The moment this Evil Fire entered his body, it began to wreak havoc.
But Huo Yuhao gave it no chance.
He drove the Ghost Killing Art to its limit and forcibly suppressed the Evil Fire.
The essence of Evil Fire was desire.
Huo Yuhao gradually wore it down, returning it to the most primal, simplest form of lustful fire, then dissolved it into nothingness with his absolute rationality.
The entire process was extremely dangerous. One careless move, and he'd be burned by the fire he'd ignited.
Fortunately, Ma Xiaotao truly lived up to her reputation as the Inner Academy's most outstanding genius.
Her comprehension was exceptional.
With Huo Yuhao demonstrating the method and shouldering part of the burden, she quickly grasped the basics.
The two worked in tandem, one within and one without, and their coordination grew increasingly seamless.
The Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body was gradually drawn out, suppressed, and assimilated.
The temperature inside the Stone Chamber began to fall slowly.
Yan Shaozhe, standing outside the door, sensed the change. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
The Evil Fire that had tormented Ma Xiaotao for over a decade, leaving even him—a Super Douluo—helpless, had actually been suppressed by a new student with only one ring!
Just who was this kid?
But what exactly was he doing in there?
Yan Shaozhe had a bad feeling. He could only sense roughly what was happening; he couldn't see the situation inside clearly. He also didn't dare open the Stone Chamber recklessly, afraid that doing so might interfere with Huo Yuhao suppressing Xiaotao's Evil Fire.
He paced anxiously outside the Stone Chamber, like a helpless old father.
Inside the Stone Chamber,
Time passed second by second.
After who knew how long, the last roving strand of Evil Fire in Ma Xiaotao's body was finally neutralized.
The dark red cocoon of light that had wrapped around her vanished instantly as its Soul Power support ran out.
Ma Xiaotao's taut nerves finally relaxed. She was utterly exhausted and couldn't even lift a finger.
Her body went limp, and she pitched forward, collapsing heavily into Huo Yuhao's arms.
Leaning against Huo Yuhao's shoulder, Ma Xiaotao gasped for breath.
Her heart was full of relief at having survived the ordeal, along with irrepressible joy.
This method really worked!
She could clearly feel that her control over fire had improved by leaps and bounds.
If she kept following this method and practiced with Yuhao a few more times, she could definitely break free of the Evil Fire's control once and for all and truly master this power!
Ma Xiaotao was overjoyed, but Huo Yuhao had gone completely rigid.
This is bad!
Ma Xiaotao wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing!
Her soft, delicate body pressed against him without so much as a barrier, and the astonishing sensation spread from his chest through his entire body.
The unique fragrance of her body, mingled with sweat and the scent of flames, rushed into his nose.
Huo Yuhao's breathing hitched.
He was a normal man. Who could withstand this?
Worse still, to neutralize the Evil Fire just now, the two of them had transformed all that frenzied energy into the most primal desire.
Thanks to his self-control and the suppression of the Ghost Killing Art, Huo Yuhao could still barely steady his mind.
But what about Ma Xiaotao?
She had just gone through a life-or-death crisis. Her mind was extremely weak, and the aftereffects of the transformed lustful fire still lingered in her body.
In this state, she was a powder keg that could go off at the slightest spark!
Huo Yuhao was just about to push her away when the person in his arms suddenly moved.
Ma Xiaotao seemed to find her position uncomfortable. She actually rubbed lightly against him, shifting into a position that fit the curves of her body even more closely.
Then she raised both arms and loosely wrapped them around Huo Yuhao's neck.
Huo Yuhao's scalp prickled. He lowered his head and looked.
Ma Xiaotao happened to lift her face.
Her delicate, radiant features were now flushed a deep red, glowing with an alluring color.
Her eyes were unfocused and watery as she stared at Huo Yuhao, a naked yearning in their depths.
Ma Xiaotao lightly bit her ruddy lower lip, her breath fragrant.
"Yuhao."
"You smell so good..."
Before you continue