Facing Huo Yuhao's question, the Ice Empress did not respond immediately.
Her ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly as her vast spiritual power silently extended like invisible tendrils, cautiously reaching toward Li Changqing, attempting to penetrate his Spiritual Sea and investigate it.
However, just as her spiritual power was about to make contact with Li Changqing...
Li Changqing, who had been gazing at the lake, suddenly turned his head.
He simply looked quietly into Huo Yuhao's eyes.
Or rather, he was looking at the Ice Empress within Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.
Those black eyes were calm as still water, without the slightest ripple, yet they seemed capable of piercing through all appearances and reaching directly into the depths of one's soul.
Under the gaze of those eyes, Huo Yuhao felt a chill rise up his spine, and his entire body trembled involuntarily.
The Ice Empress and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, residing within his Spiritual Sea, felt the same palpitation, as though they had been locked onto by some higher-level existence.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly asked in his heart, "Ice Empress, did he discover you?"
The Ice Empress fell silent for a moment before slowly replying, her voice carrying a trace of gravity. "Probably not... He merely sensed fluctuations in spiritual power. This young man is very strong, and his talent is exceptionally high. You must never make an enemy of him in the future."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly answered in his heart, "I understand."
Li Changqing looked at him for several seconds, then withdrew his gaze and turned back toward the lake as though nothing had happened.
However, at that moment...
The lake surface, previously as calm as a mirror, suddenly began to boil violently!
The water bubbled as if it had been brought to a boil, white steam rising and spreading across the sky above the lake.
A scorching aura rushed toward them, warping even the air.
Immediately afterward, a red figure swept across the distant lake surface at astonishing speed.
In its wake, the lake water was vaporized by the intense heat, leaving behind a long trail of white mist!
Li Changqing's pupils contracted. Reacting almost instinctively, he grabbed Huo Yuhao's shoulder and kicked off the ground, sending them both rapidly retreating!
The very next second after they moved away...
Boom!
A blazing pillar of fire descended from the sky and struck the spot where they had just been sitting with perfect precision!
The grassland instantly ignited, transforming into a raging sea of fire.
Blackened earth spread outward, while even a large portion of the lake water evaporated.
Li Changqing dragged Huo Yuhao back dozens of meters before they finally regained their footing.
Looking at the burning inferno, cold sweat instantly soaked Huo Yuhao's back.
If Li Changqing had not pulled him away in time, he would likely have become a charred corpse by now.
He raised his head and looked into the sky.
There, a beautiful red figure hovered above the sea of flames.
She was a woman who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.
She wore a short red dress, her fair and slender legs exposed, with a pair of red high-heeled boots on her feet.
Her appearance was extraordinarily beautiful, her features as exquisite as sculpture. A head of fiery red hair danced wildly in the wind like burning flames.
However, the most eye-catching thing about her was her eyes.
Eyes that should have been bright had now become a pure black.
There were no whites, no pupils, only endless darkness, like two bottomless black holes.
The aura emanating from her body was terrifying enough to suffocate anyone.
The surrounding air twisted under the heat, while the lake water beneath her continuously evaporated with hissing sounds.
Li Changqing released Huo Yuhao, straightened up, and stared gravely at the woman in red before slowly uttering four words: "Evil fire possession!"
Ma Xiaotao, controlled by the evil fire, had completely lost her reason.
Her eyes were black as ink, without a trace of clarity, and her entire body seemed to have become a machine built purely for slaughter.
After sensing the life auras of Li Changqing and Huo Yuhao, she attacked almost instinctively.
With a wave of her right hand, several blazing fireballs condensed out of thin air. Like meteors trailing long fiery tails, they screamed toward the two of them!
Wherever the fireballs passed, the air warped from the scorching heat, and the grass beneath them turned to ash the instant it touched them.
Huo Yuhao's face turned pale. He instinctively tried to dodge, only to discover that the fireballs were unbelievably fast, leaving him no time to evade.
At that moment, Li Changqing stepped forward and waved his right hand.
Buzz!
A massive golden pagoda appeared out of thin air and descended from the sky, enveloping them both.
Brilliant golden light flowed across its body, radiating a vast and sacred pressure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several fireballs struck the pagoda in succession, erupting with deafening explosions.
Flames scattered in all directions, scorching the surrounding ground black.
Yet the golden pagoda remained utterly unmoving, without even a single crack appearing on its surface.
After sensing the sacred power of merit emanating from the Heavenly Profound and Earthly Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, Ma Xiaotao, controlled by evil fire, became even more violent.
The evil fire within her seemed to have received intense stimulation. Like an enraged beast, it roiled madly, trying to break free of its restraints and contend against the power that made it profoundly uncomfortable.
However, though the Evil Fire Phoenix was powerful, it was ultimately far inferior to the Heavenly Profound and Earthly Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, hailed as the foremost defensive treasure.
Only moments later, Ma Xiaotao was completely suppressed.
Under the watchful eyes of Huo Yuhao, the Ice Empress, and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the massive golden pagoda slowly descended and precisely enclosed Ma Xiaotao within it.
The next instant, immense sacred power of merit poured down like a waterfall, golden light flooding Ma Xiaotao's entire body.
Ma Xiaotao let out a pained roar. Her body struggled violently as both hands frantically struck the pagoda, trying to break free.
But that sacred power of merit was like invisible chains, firmly binding her limbs and bones, leaving her unable to move even an inch.
Gradually, her struggles grew weaker and weaker until she finally collapsed powerlessly to the ground, gasping for breath.
A faint trace of clarity seemed to flicker through those pitch-black eyes.
Standing outside the pagoda, Huo Yuhao watched Ma Xiaotao, who had just been so imposing and arrogant, get suppressed into such a pathetic state. His mouth fell open, and it took him a long while to close it.
At that moment, within his Spiritual Sea, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm saw this and could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Obvious shock filled his voice as he said, "Icey, if I'm not mistaken, this girl's strength should already be close to the Soul Sage level, right?"
The Ice Empress fell silent for a moment.
Then she slowly spoke, her tone carrying an unprecedented gravity. "That's right. And she possesses the top-tier beast martial soul, the Fire Phoenix. Though she has been eroded by evil fire, her foundation remains. To suppress a genius close to the Soul Sage level purely through martial soul attributes..."
She paused before continuing, a trace of wariness in her voice that even she herself had not noticed. "This can no longer be described by the word 'genius.'"
Before you continue