Fusion

Within the God Vault Space. Nora and the others sat together, watching the fierce battle between Quan Juehua and Chen Xiaozhao. An endless horde of ceramic figurines hurled themselves at Quan Juehua. Yet with every wave of attack, Quan Juehua merely flicked his longsword, and black-and-white sword energy swept through all the ceramic figurines. Regardless of their numbers, they were reduced to ash and vanished in an instant. "I thought Quan Juehua was already formidable enough with a saber, but who knew he was hiding a sword? Quan Juehua... is simply terrifying," Gong Qian muttered under her breath, clenching her fists. Probably no one present could even defeat Quan Juehua when he wielded a saber, let alone now when he was using a sword. "Could Quan Juehua really be about to achieve Origin Return? If he does, wouldn't that mean we have no way to avenge Zhang Shou and Chi Feihong?" Little Nora said with bitter frustration. At that moment, Yu Xian silently appeared behind Little Nora. Patting her head, he chuckled. "Don't worry. Quan Juehua's fate is already sealed. Everyone's grudge will be avenged—and avenged brutally!" "Big Brother!" "Big Brother!" Little Nora was the first to turn around. The moment she saw Yu Xian, she threw herself into his embrace. Beside her, Little Huangquan also let out a delighted cry and leaped into his arms. "All right, all right, I'm back. Everything's going to be fine, don't worry," Yu Xian said with a squinting smile, stroking the heads of the two little ones. Then he sensed a particular gaze upon him. Cold sweat broke out on his brow. Parting his smiling eyes a fraction, he looked toward the owner of that gaze. "Finally saw fit to return?" Nora asked coolly. Yu Xian reached out and touched Nora's cheek with a smile. "Well, the short of it is, I'm back." "Big Brother, Sister Niman, Zhang Shou, and Chi Feihong were all killed by Quan Juehua," Little Nora said tearfully, looking up at Yu Xian with a pitiful expression. Yu Xian sat down and turned his gaze toward the battle being broadcast. "Don't worry," he smiled. "Misfortune brings good fortune in disguise. Bad things will turn into good things, and everyone will be just fine." "Salty Fish, can you really beat Quan Juehua?" Gong Qian asked skeptically. Yu Xian gave a thumbs-up and grinned. "Don't worry, victory guaranteed!" "Hearing you say that just makes me worry even more," Gong Qian muttered, rolling her eyes. Once everyone had calmed down from the pleasant surprise of Yu Xian's return and settled back to watch the battle together, Zhang Buyao slipped quietly up beside him. She poked his ticklish spot with a finger, then squinted, sizing him up and down. "The aura on you feels a lot like my brother. Have you reached Oneness? No, that doesn't quite look like Oneness. Could it be... you reached Origin Return?" Zhang Buyao whispered, staring at Yu Xian. Yu Xian winked at her and smiled. "Take a guess. If you guess right, I'll grant you one favor." "Can you beat up my brother?" Zhang Buyao's eyes instantly lit up with excitement. Yu Xian nodded. "Sure." "Then I guess you definitely reached Origin Return!" Zhang Buyao proclaimed. Yu Xian sighed with disappointment. "What a pity, you guessed wrong." Zhang Buyao, whose hopes had been riding high, immediately slumped in disappointment, thinking she had missed her chance to see her brother get beaten up. While Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao were both feeling disappointed, a new development unfolded in the televised battle. Abruptly, three forms of figurines materialized in the void: Chen Dahai, Chen Huohai, and Chen Xiaozhao. This was the wondrous secret of the Marsh Abyss Intent. It could not only protect Chen Xiaozhao, but also draw the spiritual sparks of Chen Dahai and Chen Huohai into the marsh abyss, allowing them all to survive in the form of spirit bodies. It was only because both brothers had their spirits shaken by Quan Juehua's sword strike that it had taken them quite a while to recover. "Quan Juehua!" Chen Huohai glared at Quan Juehua with profound hatred, and blazing flames erupted from him the next moment. Meanwhile, Chen Dahai launched an attack without a word. Boundless seawater materialized out of thin air, instantly turning into monstrous waves that flanked Quan Juehua from the other side. In truth, both brothers had already regained their composure. After all, Chen Xiaozhao had not died, and he had even dragged both of them back from the brink of death. Having grasped what had happened, neither dared be careless any longer. Quan Juehua was too strong; they had to approach this battle with absolute caution. Yet the disparity in their power was simply too vast. One in front and one behind, they formed colossal palms—one of crimson fire, the other of azure water—clearly aiming to clap Quan Juehua between them. Before the two palms could draw near Quan Juehua, however, the entire world abruptly flipped like a mirror. All Beings Inverted! Quan Juehua merely held his longsword in a reverse grip. In an instant, sword light swept across all surrounding space, and wherever that sword light shone, everything was turned upside down. Those moving forward were driven back; those who attacked harmed themselves; the tangible turned intangible, and the intangible turned tangible. *Not good!* Both Chen Dahai and Chen Huohai inwardly cried out in alarm. With a tremendous boom, a shockwave blossomed outward like a blooming lotus centered on Quan Juehua. Flames and seawater transformed into massive flower petals, and Chen Xiaozhao's ceramic figurines were caught in the blast, shattering to pieces one after another. At the same time, in the distant void, a primordial, chaotic marsh was forced from intangibility into tangible form. "Damn it, this old dog was hiding his strength! I'll hold him off—you two get out of here!" Chen Huohai's spirit body, concealed deep within the marsh, immediately called out to the other two. Chen Dahai spoke up. "No, it's enough if Xiaozhao escapes. We stay. As long as Xiaozhao doesn't die, we can be revived again. We'll hold Quan Juehua back." "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I'm afraid we can't escape at all. Our only way out now is to stake our lives on one final gamble. Let's fuse!" Chen Xiaozhao said in a low, steady voice. He was a man of few words, but possessed deep inner clarity. At first, like his two older brothers, he had misjudged Quan Juehua's strength, believing Quan Juehua was roughly on par with them. Now, however, he had long since seen through the truth. Quan Juehua was holding back his strength, and by far more than just a little bit. Their sole chance was to unleash an unexpected burst of power and take him down in one fell swoop before he brought his full might to bear. Running was impossible. To this day, he still could not fathom how Quan Juehua had tracked down the three brothers and managed to launch an assault from outside the world while bypassing his perception entirely. "Xiaozhao... Fine! Then we'll bet everything on this fight. Let's fuse!" Chen Dahai looked at Chen Xiaozhao. Ordinarily, he and Chen Huohai made the decisions for the three brothers while Chen Xiaozhao followed their lead, yet this time Chen Xiaozhao had opposed them. What did that mean? It meant Chen Xiaozhao was absolutely certain of what he was saying. Chen Huohai realized this as well, his expression turning solemn. "Then the three of us will stake our lives against that old dog today. We were born on the same year, the same month, and the same day. At worst, we'll die on the same year, the same month, and the same day!" The three reached out, placing their hands over one another's. In the next moment, the spiritual sparks within their spirit bodies burst into radiant light. Fusion! Their spirit bodies swiftly merged together, and the spiritual sparks within them coalesced into one, giving birth to a peculiar, tri-colored spiritual spark.