Accepting the Evil Fire

Huo Yuhao felt helpless. Since you've already said as much, what else is there for me to say...

"!"

Ma Xiaotao only felt that the faint, water-like aura emanating from the little milk dog in her arms had become much deeper, accompanied by a low, resonant dragon's roar.

What followed was not coldness, but an incredibly comfortable, cooling sensation—much like taking a sip of ice-cold soda on a parched, sweltering summer day.

After letting out an indescribable moan, Ma Xiaotao blissfully closed her eyes, instinctively pulling the little Huo Yuhao in her arms even tighter...

Huo Yuhao: ...

In truth, one couldn't blame Ma Xiaotao for such a violent reaction. Ever since she began cultivating, she had been tormented by this evil fire; for her, the peaceful cultivation that was perfectly normal for others was nothing short of a luxury.

To prevent himself from being suffocated to death, a dark-faced Huo Yuhao had no choice but to increase the output of his Ultimate Water soul power, pouring an even greater volume into Ma Xiaotao's body so she would hurry up, suppress the evil fire, and let him go.

Much like a small flame meeting a flood, Ma Xiaotao could feel the evil energy attached to her own martial soul's flames cowering before the deep blue soul power of little Yuhao, as if it had encountered its natural predator; it was too terrified to even raise its head.

As a top disciple of the Shrek Academy Dean, Ma Xiaotao immediately drew her own conclusion from the situation.

This... could this be the power of an Ultimate Martial Soul? To be able to restrain the Phoenix Evil Fire, it had to be at least at the level of Ultimate Water, right?

No wonder this little milk dog was so attractive; it was no surprise at all...

After tossing and turning for the better part of the day, the sky had turned completely dark by the time Ma Xiaotao finally finished her relief.

The two were currently in a state where Ma Xiaotao lay on the stone bed, while Huo Yuhao lay on top of her, his face buried deep in her chest, holding each other tightly...

Relying on his own strong willpower, Huo Yuhao finally managed to break free from Ma Xiaotao's restraint and sat down beside her. Ma Xiaotao did not get up, instead lying on her side on the bed with some difficulty, her long legs trembling slightly for reasons unknown.

It was fortunate that Huo Yuhao's soul power foundation was sufficiently deep. Although he was only at level 36—a vast gap compared to Ma Xiaotao, a Soul Emperor—he had cultivated the Spirit Ice Art and possessed the compressed soul power characteristic of an Ultimate Martial Soul. In terms of pure soul power volume, Huo Yuhao was quite confident.

Coupled with the significant boost to his spiritual power after merging with the Golden Hawksbill Turtle, he had finally managed to hold on until the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao's martial soul was completely suppressed and purified without fainting.

Huo Yuhao stared blankly at Ma Xiaotao for a moment before turning his head away, looking as if he were trying to cover up his tracks.

Ultimate Water was just a bit too... intense in certain aspects. Unlike Ultimate Ice, its temperature wasn't low enough, and it was easily evaporated by the Phoenix Evil Fire...

This resulted in both Ma Xiaotao and Huo Yuhao being drenched in moisture... Ma Xiaotao was one thing, but Huo Yuhao's situation was truly miserable...

Two alluring, black-silk-clad legs wrapped in a wet long skirt, and a red dress clinging tightly to her exquisite, curvaceous figure were presented in their entirety before Huo Yuhao's eyes. The key was that this sister actually had the bad habit of not wearing undergarments...

Well, that was that. Everything that could be seen, and everything that couldn't, had been seen...

"Cough, cough..." Ma Xiaotao coughed twice in embarrassment. After all, she was quite a bit older than Huo Yuhao and possessed a relatively mature mind. She shot him a coquettish glare, then raised her hand to release a burst of phoenix flames, evaporating the damp moisture from their bodies.

Huo Yuhao kept his head down, not daring to look at her, while Ma Xiaotao stared unblinkingly at his profile.

Remaining silent like this wasn't a solution, so Ma Xiaotao, acting as the big sister, spoke first: "N... no matter what, I still have to properly thank you, little Yuhao."

"Uh, let's not talk about that for now. Sister Xiaotao, was the way you suppressed the evil fire before... always like what we did today?"

Ma Xiaotao waved her hands in a flustered panic, terrified that the little milk dog might misunderstand. "No, no! Today... today was purely an accident. Before, before..."

Huo Yuhao coughed a few times. "I don't mean to criticize Sister Xiaotao's past life, I just want to tell you that this method of suppressing the evil fire is wrong."

Ma Xiaotao pouted slightly. Why was this little milk dog acting so old-fashioned in this regard? He wasn't as cute as before...

Wrong? Where was it wrong? Wasn't using ice or water-attribute soul power to help her suppress the evil fire the most normal method?

Seeing Ma Xiaotao's confusion, Huo Yuhao immediately explained patiently: "Evil fire is evil fire, but the main body is [fire], not [evil]. It is still fire, and it is a part of your martial soul. It's just that you have always been rejecting and refusing to accept this part of yourself, thinking it is an erroneous part, which is why you have always been subjected to the backlash of the evil fire."

Ma Xiaotao was stunned. She had never thought about the evil fire from this perspective before. She had only felt that this wicked, evil fire was so out of place and disgusting within her fire-attribute Phoenix martial soul, so her only thought had always been to suppress it.

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao had taken his words to heart, Huo Yuhao continued: "I think you could try changing your perspective. Master the power of the evil fire completely in your own hands. Don't reject or suppress it; instead, accept it from the bottom of your heart."

"Whether it is darkness or evil, it is merely an appendage to your fire attribute. This is power that belongs to you in the first place."

Ma Xiaotao gave a bitter smile: "It's not as easy as you say, little Yuhao. You should have felt the mental agitation brought about by the evil fire..."

Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding: "Mm... that can't be blamed on you, Sister Xiaotao. It is the fault of your ancestor, Ma Hongjun. He himself did not pass down the complete Fire Phoenix martial soul, nor did he pass down the method of how to purge the evil fire to you all."

Ma Xiaotao's expression turned somewhat dim: "He did pass down a method to purge the evil fire, but it requires a celestial herb called the Cockscomb Phoenix Tail Peony. If only I could find this celestial herb, I wouldn't have to suffer so much..."