Ice and Fire Cultivation

Outside the Sea God Pavilion, a fiery red figure paced back and forth at the entrance.

"Xuelian! Get out here!"

Ma Xiaotao shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice full of impatience. Her hands rested on her hips, her cheeks slightly flushed with agitation, while faint flames flickered around her.

Yan Shaozhe stood nearby, looking helpless.

"Xiaotao, don't be so anxious. The Pavilion Master is teaching him inside. He'll be out soon."

"I can't wait!" Ma Xiaotao shot him a glare. "He's the first person who can suppress my evil fire! What if the Pavilion Master keeps him in there all day? Wouldn't that mean I'd have to wait until tomorrow?"

Yan Shaozhe did not know whether to laugh or cry. "You silly girl, what are you in such a hurry for? He's not going anywhere."

Ma Xiaotao snorted and continued pacing at the door.

"Besides," Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice, a meaningful look in his eyes, "his Extreme Ice can indeed suppress your evil fire. If he can truly remain at Shrek, that would be a good thing for you."

Ma Xiaotao stopped short, her expression stiffening slightly.

A good thing...

She recalled those calm, water-like eyes on the arena stage, and the sensation of the ice-blue soul power entering her body and suppressing her evil fire.

It was a lightness she had never experienced before.

Seeing her momentarily lost in thought, Yan Shaozhe smiled faintly and said nothing more.

Inside the quiet room.

Mu En sat cross-legged on a wooden couch and slowly spoke.

"Xuelian, your Extreme Ice is indeed rare, but the way of using a Martial Soul is not limited to brute force. I will teach you a meditation formula that can help you better control the mysteries of ice."

He paused before continuing, "This formula is called the Iceheart Formula. I obtained it from an old acquaintance in my youth. Listen carefully—"

Mu En slowly recited a passage, his aged voice distant and profound, as though it had drifted across the ages.

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and listened, engraving every word into his mind.

His spiritual power had already reached the Demigod Realm, and his comprehension far surpassed that of ordinary people. In only a moment, he had thoroughly memorized the formula.

Seeing how quickly he had understood it, Mu En's eyes flashed with approval.

"All right, I have taught you all that I can. That girl outside is getting impatient. Go out."

Huo Yuhao was slightly startled. "Ma Xiaotao?"

Mu En smiled and nodded. "Ever since you defeated her, that girl has been thinking about you constantly. Go on. Cultivate with her for a while—it will benefit you as well."

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment, then rose and bowed. "This junior takes his leave."

The moment he stepped out of the Sea God Pavilion, a fiery red figure lunged toward him.

"Xuelian!"

Ma Xiaotao seized his sleeve, her eyes shining brilliantly.

"You're finally out!"

Huo Yuhao looked at her calmly. "What is it?"

"Of course there's something!" Ma Xiaotao said as though it were only natural. "Cultivate with me!"

Huo Yuhao frowned slightly. "Cultivate together?"

"Yes!" Ma Xiaotao nodded forcefully. "I felt it just now. There seems to be a special connection between us. Your ice and my fire, they seem... they seem to attract each other. If we cultivate together, the results might be even better!"

She paused, stepping closer with expectation in her eyes. "Can you help me suppress my evil fire?"

Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before replying evenly, "I should be able to."

Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up even more. "Then what are we waiting for? Come on, to my place!"

Without giving him any chance to refuse, she dragged Huo Yuhao deeper into the Inner Academy.

Ma Xiaotao's room was on the eastern side of the Inner Academy. Its furnishings were simple, yet it carried a faintly feminine air. Several pots of fiery red flowers sat on the windowsill, and a painting of a phoenix spreading its wings hung on the wall.

The instant Huo Yuhao entered, a scorching aura rushed toward him. It was fire-attributed soul power left behind by Ma Xiaotao's long years of cultivation, permeating every corner of the room.

Ma Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the bed and looked at Huo Yuhao.

"Let's begin."

Huo Yuhao nodded and sat down opposite her.

They activated their soul power at the same time.

Ice-blue radiance and crimson radiance lit up simultaneously, intertwining and colliding within the room. Ma Xiaotao's flames were blazing and violent, while Huo Yuhao's frost was calm and profound. The instant the two powers touched, they gave off a series of hissing sounds.

Ma Xiaotao frowned slightly. She could feel the evil fire within her body stirring restlessly. It was a hidden danger left behind by cultivating the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Whenever her cultivation reached a critical point, it would flare up and leave her in unbearable pain.

But at that moment, Huo Yuhao's Extreme Ice slowly seeped into her meridians. Wherever that chill passed, the evil fire was suppressed bit by bit.

"It's working!"

Ma Xiaotao was overjoyed. She immediately calmed her mind and cooperated with all her strength.

Time passed second by second.

After an unknown amount of time, Ma Xiaotao suddenly opened her eyes, disbelief filling them.

"My evil fire... has been suppressed!"

She raised her hand. A ball of crimson flame burned quietly in her palm. The fire was purer and steadier than it had ever been before, without the slightest trace of the evil fire's agitation.

At some point, Yan Shaozhe had appeared in the doorway. Seeing this scene, his eyes were full of shock.

"How... how is this possible?"

He strode into the room, his gaze shifting repeatedly between Huo Yuhao and Ma Xiaotao.

"Did you feel anything unusual while cultivating just now?"

Ma Xiaotao thought for a moment. "Unusual? No. It just felt very comfortable, very smooth."

Yan Shaozhe frowned deeply. "No, that's not right. Both of your soul powers... have returned to their optimal states. And that fluctuation just now was clearly some kind of pulling force."

He looked at Huo Yuhao, his eyes carrying a trace of scrutiny.

"Xuelian, what is going on?"

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. "I don't know either. Perhaps it is because ice and fire attract each other."

Yan Shaozhe stared at him for a moment before finally sighing.

"Forget it. There are many things in this world that cannot be fully explained."

He looked at Ma Xiaotao, a thoughtful gleam flashing through his eyes.

This girl's attitude toward Xuelian was clearly unusual. If the two of them could truly be together, it would not only suppress Xiaotao's evil fire, but also leave Shrek with an unparalleled genius...

Yan Shaozhe made up his mind.

"You two continue cultivating. I won't disturb you."

He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Only the two of them remained in the room once more.

Ma Xiaotao stared at Huo Yuhao, excitement glittering in her eyes.

"Xuelian, let's continue cultivating!"

Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment, then nodded.

The two sat cross-legged again and activated their soul power.

This time, Ma Xiaotao could clearly feel that the pulling force between them had grown stronger. Her flames seemed to have found a home, instinctively wanting to draw closer to Huo Yuhao's frost and merge with it.

"This feeling... is so strange..."

She secretly opened her eyes and looked at the youth opposite her.

That delicate face was tranquil as water, his eyes closed as though he were immersed in his own world. Ice-blue light flowed around him, lending his entire figure a cool and aloof aura.

Ma Xiaotao's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

She hurriedly closed her eyes, not daring to look any longer.

But she did not know that the person sitting opposite her was no longer Huo Yuhao himself.

Within the Spirit Sea.

Tianmeng Ice Worm lazily controlled Huo Yuhao's body and muttered, "Little Yuhao, you really know how to find work for me. You even want me to handle cultivating with a girl?"

Huo Yuhao's voice rang out within the Spirit Sea. "Tian Meng, thank you for your trouble. I have important matters to attend to."

Tianmeng Ice Worm snorted. "Fine, fine. Who told me to be such a good person? Go on. Leave things here to me."

Huo Yuhao nodded and sank his consciousness into the Undead Demi-Plane.

The Undead Demi-Plane.

Beneath the gray sky, Electrolux's phantom floated silently.

"Yuhao, you have come."

Huo Yuhao landed within the demi-plane, his gaze falling upon Dugu Bo, who stood motionless to the side.

"Old Yi, I need your help with something."

Electrolux nodded slightly. "Speak."

Huo Yuhao slowly said, "I want to alter Dugu Bo's appearance to resemble mine. Although Tian Meng's Simulation soul skill can also change appearances, it is far inferior to this."

A strange light flashed through Electrolux's eyes before understanding dawned on him.

"You want him to act in your place?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "I need to lie low here at Shrek under the identity of Xuelian. But someone must oversee the rebuilding of Spirit Hall. Public opinion has been fermenting for so long; the time has come."

He paused before continuing, "Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo have been secretly protecting Ye Guyi. It is time to call them back as well. Although Myriad Demon King is still asleep, I can try to awaken him. With him holding the fort, and Dugu Bo disguised as me, it will be enough to deter every faction."

Electrolux was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "It is feasible. However, changing one's appearance is no easy matter. Especially if you want to alter a puppet so that it looks exactly like you—it will require a great deal of effort."

Huo Yuhao bowed. "I will trouble you, Old Yi."

Electrolux raised a hand. Gray Undead Magic Power slowly flowed forth, enveloping Dugu Bo.

"Focus your mind and remain calm. Do not let yourself be distracted."

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and cooperated with all his strength.

Time trickled by.

Wrapped in Undead Magic Power, Dugu Bo's face slowly began to change—