At that moment, inside Huo Yuhao's mind, a translucent bead, as smooth and clear as glass, split in two with a sharp crack.
As it shattered, a thick, ink-black mist poured out. It was the intense negative emotion Huo Yuhao had kept buried in his heart for years, deep within his Spirit Sea.
That wasn't all. The powerful negative emotions from Uchiha Sasuke's memories, which Huo Yuhao had absorbed while merging with Sasuke's template, were also contained within it.
And the black mist was now flowing toward Huo Yuhao's eyes!
Outside.
Before Huo Yuhao, a purple-red fire phoenix shrieked as it charged at him. This phoenix was unusual, its entire body composed of dense, viscous fire Soul Power.
Every feather on it radiated a breathtaking beauty. Now and then, one would fall, instantly melting every plant it touched into nothingness.
Huo Yuhao calmly watched the terrifying phoenix, without a trace of panic.
The next second, an immense surge of Mental Power poured into his Sharingan.
This Mental Power was evil and cold, brimming with hatred and killing intent.
But Huo Yuhao wasn't affected. He could feel his Sharingan undergoing an incredible change under the force of that energy!
A third black Tomoe abruptly emerged in the scarlet pupil of his left eye. It formed a triangular arrangement with the other two and spun without pause.
But that wasn't the end. The Tomoe spinning in Huo Yuhao's left eye vanished the next moment, and his scarlet pupil changed back into a bright black one.
Then, at the center of the black pupil, a bewitching flower seemed to bloom. A closer look revealed it to be a vivid red Six-Pointed Star.
Blooming at the center of his pupil, the Six-Pointed Star possessed an extraordinarily striking beauty.
Anyone who had never seen it before would be captivated the moment they met its gaze.
With the help of the negative Mental Power in the Soul Bead Elder Yi had left behind, Huo Yuhao had skipped straight past the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and briefly unlocked the strongest form of the ordinary Sharingan.
The Mangekyō Sharingan!
But only his left eye had opened. Huo Yuhao's right eye was now squeezed shut.
Without thinking, he focused all his Mental Power on his left eye.
Before falling into a deep sleep, Electrolux had told Huo Yuhao that the Mental Power inside the Soul Bead would let him briefly use the Sharingan's latent power without suffering any backlash.
But now, Huo Yuhao felt as though needles were stabbing every cell in his body. The pain was unbearable!
Elder Yi had underestimated the strain Huo Yuhao's body would endure when he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He had underestimated the immense power that came with the Mangekyō Sharingan!
With Huo Yuhao's frail body and Soul Power of only rank 17, he couldn't withstand the impact of this power.
But Huo Yuhao had no time to feel the tearing pain wracking his body. The frenzied fire phoenix had already reached him, opening its enormous jaws to swallow him whole.
"You're nothing but a firefly!" Huo Yuhao roared. At the same time, two streams of blood ran down from his eyes.
"Amaterasu!"
The next moment, terrifying Black Flame abruptly blazed across the purple-red phoenix's body.
"Shriek!" A piercing wail burst from the phoenix again and again.
Its once-gorgeous feathers were scorched black by the flames.
In just a few seconds, the majestic fire phoenix had become a charred chicken.
But the Black Flame showed no sign of stopping. It devoured the chicken's every last part with even greater ferocity.
Terror flickered in the chicken's eyes, and its piercing cries rang out again and again.
At last, after half a minute, the chicken turned to nothingness and disappeared completely.
Ma Xiaotao stood rooted to the spot, staring at the scene in stunned disbelief.
Even the wild desire that had filled her eyes had now been replaced by sheer terror.
That was her beloved Phoenix Evil Fire! How had it been burned away so easily by this Black Flame?
Her Phoenix Evil Fire had been just a hair's breadth away from reaching the level of Ultimate Fire.
The Black Flame had an absolute suppressive effect on Phoenix Evil Fire. Could it be...?
A possibility occurred to Ma Xiaotao.
But just then, the Black Flame, having completely devoured the chicken, still seemed unsatisfied. It spread toward Ma Xiaotao.
It looked ready to burn everything in its path to ashes.
The Evil Fire inside Ma Xiaotao had now been completely burned away, and her eyes had regained a measure of clarity.
When she saw this terrifying thing spreading toward her, her face filled with panic.
She spread her wings and turned to flee, but it was already too late.
The Black Flame spread to her in an instant, and a few wisps climbed onto the wings of her Martial Soul.
"Ah!" Ma Xiaotao screamed as she fell from the sky.
She immediately felt the terrifying destructive power of the Black Flame!
Ma Xiaotao writhed on the ground in agony, rolling back and forth as she desperately drove her Soul Power to extinguish the few wisps of Black Flame.
But something even more despairing happened: no matter what she tried, the Black Flame clung to her like a bone-deep parasite, impossible to put out.
Meanwhile, after releasing Amaterasu, Huo Yuhao's left eye had already returned to its original black.
Only the streaks of blood tears remained on his face.
His whole body was in agony. It felt as if the billions of cells throughout his body were shrinking violently.
It hurt! It hurt so much!
He curled up, on the verge of passing out.
"Who dares lay a hand on my man?!" a familiar voice rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind.
An intense chill suddenly spread out from Huo Yuhao.
"Hurt Yuhao and you hurt me. Die!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice was laden with a bone-deep coldness.
"Don't shout, Brother Sky Dream. It's already over, and you only showed up afterward. I give up," Huo Yuhao said, enduring the pain with helpless resignation.
"Huh?" Only then did Tian Meng take in the situation and realize that the human woman on the other side was lying on the ground, wailing.
"Th-this... damn! Yuhao, you're hurt so badly! Let me help you," Tian Meng said. He'd still been feeling a little awkward, but the moment he noticed Huo Yuhao's condition, he hurried to his aid.
In Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sea, the first of the ten spheres containing Tian Meng's Origin Essence began to shine, its white light continuously merging into Huo Yuhao's body.
Huo Yuhao felt waves of coolness ease some of the pain. At last, he emerged from the torment that had made him feel better off dead.
"Yuhao, I didn't expect using this Soul Bead to exact such a heavy price. I underestimated the power of your eyes."
Another familiar, elderly voice rang out.
Huo Yuhao heard it and looked up in delight. "Teacher, you're awake?!"
Thanks to Naiheli for the 500 coin tip. Just so you know, this novel is against Tang San and Shrek, so please don't misunderstand. The early plot takes place at Shrek, but the protagonist won't join any faction. He'll create his own faction later. I won't say more. Good night, everyone.
Before you continue