Chapter 253: The Great Saint Wu Xian Returns

"Thump—!!" x2

At the edge of a massive crater over a kilometer in diameter and nearly a hundred meters deep, two smoldering figures struggled to crawl out, then collapsed simultaneously onto the ground, gasping violently.

Both looked disheveled—clothes torn, bodies scarred with burns… more importantly, their faces, builds, and hairstyles were nearly identical, yet their qi had plummeted to near nothingness, clearly suffering severe injuries.

Without doubt, these two were Zheng Zha from the Zhongzhou team, and his clone, the Demon Team captain Fu Zha.

Ten minutes earlier, the two had struck as the fused warrior "Zheng Fu Zha," engaging in a cataclysmic battle with Poros.

The fight was ferocious—sky darkened, sun and moon dimmed; even the shockwaves from their clashes made the air within kilometers boil and tremble, nearly erasing it.

But as time passed, "Zheng Fu Zha" began to fall behind, for he had recently fought Gilgamesh, draining his energy so severely he could no longer sustain prolonged combat.

Seeing his fusion state about to end, "Zheng Fu Zha" made a desperate choice—he channeled his last remaining energy to unleash 【Primordial: Creation of Heaven and Earth】 once more, launching a full-force strike at Poros, hoping this technique, capable of momentarily multiplying destructive power several-fold, would cripple or even annihilate him.

They succeeded… but not entirely.

As before, the excessive prior energy expenditure had weakened the second use of 【Primordial: Creation of Heaven and Earth】, so it was uncertain whether Poros had been truly wounded.

Moreover, after releasing the technique, Zheng Zha and Fu Zha, their energy depleted, reverted to their separate forms.

At the last instant, Zheng Zha summoned his Shield of Courage with his final strength, blocking the runaway energy around them and avoiding the absurd fate of being killed by their own attack.

Hummm—

The air trembled slightly as Zhan Lan appeared with Zhao Ying, Imhotep, and the clone Cheng Xiao, along with several other Demon Team members. Upon seeing the colossal abyss before them, their faces all showed a flicker of dread.

Earlier, when "Zheng Fu Zha" and Poros fought, they had arrived nearby—but the power of their battle far exceeded the usual Level Four threshold.

Even Zhan Lan and Zhao Ying, without relying on Wu Xian's power, could hardly intervene; they could only hide in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Zheng Zha, Captain, you're insane! What was that move just now—Creation of Heaven and Earth?!"

Soon, the group snapped out of their shock. Clone Cheng Xiao, seeing Zheng Zha and Fu Zha weakly sprawled on the ground, rushed forward with Wang Chaozong to help them up, handing them various energy and stamina-restoring potions.

Meanwhile, Clone Cheng Xiao kept gushing praise over "Zheng Fu Zha"'s performance, as if turned into a mindless fan—leaving Zheng Zha and Fu Zha utterly embarrassed.

"It's Primordial: Creation of Heaven and Earth."

Fu Zha corrected him: "I developed this technique based on the Xian Trigram, building upon 【Destruction】—it can unleash a burst of destructive power several times, even ten times, beyond one's limit in an instant."

"But since it's still new, it's not refined yet—right now it's only a half-finished product. Once I master it fully back home, I'll be able to use it alone."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zheng Zha beside him, a faint smirk curling his lips—clearly proud.

"Pfft! What's so great? Without my infernal flames helping you, could you have created such a powerful skill?"

Seeing his clone's smug expression, Zheng Zha instantly bristled, retorting sharply—though his tone carried a hint of sourness.

"Steamed bun, you're jealous."

Fu Zha sneered: "Then create a skill of your own. Next team battle, we'll fight again—see who's stronger."

"Fight? Bring it! Do you think I'm scared of a clone?!"

Watching Zheng Zha and Fu Zha glare at each other, everyone stood speechless—what was this, arguing with oneself?

Honestly, it was kind of entertaining.

At that moment, Zhan Lan stepped to the edge of the great crater, peered down, and scanned with her spiritual force, searching for Poros's trace—or his corpse.

Hot lava surged upward in billowing waves; red-hot flows occasionally bubbled—no sign of life remained inside. At least, Zhan Lan's spiritual force detected no biological response.

"Is he really dead?"

Zhan Lan frowned, suddenly remembering, and turned to Zheng Zha: "Zheng Zha, did you receive a score notification from the Master?"

The Master had issued a hidden side quest: killing non-reincarnated dimension invaders, besides the final all-A side quest, granted a B-rank side quest and 5, 00 reward points. If Poros was dead, Zheng Zha should have received a notification.

"Huh?"

Zheng Zha froze, then his expression darkened.

Boom—

Before Zheng Zha could answer, a geyser of lava erupted violently from the crater. Everyone turned, faces filled with shock.

"Strong strike."

A quiet, almost casual remark echoed clearly into every ear.

Turning, they saw a black, charred humanoid slowly emerging from the lava, lips burned open, exhaling white steam of intense heat—only his massive eyes on chest and head remained intact, fixing on them with overwhelming emotion.

Anger?

No—excitement!

"When was the last time I suffered such severe damage?"

As if time reversed, within seconds, the black substance on his body cracked and fell away like a false shell, revealing unblemished blue skin and a sharply defined, muscular frame—no trace of injury remained.

Throughout this, Poros's aura surged higher than ever, surpassing even his power during the fight with "Zheng Fu Zha."

"This battle satisfied me. As a reward, I'll now kill you all with full strength."

No sooner had he spoken than a gray blade of light shot toward Poros's eye.

"Interesting energy—it seems capable of annihilating matter."

Poros spoke calmly, letting Zhao Ying slash his face with the Hu Po Blade—but the next instant, they passed each other, leaving only a fading afterimage where Poros had stood.

"But what use is a strike that misses?"

His voice came from behind Zhao Ying. Her pupils contracted; her bracelet-style defensive artifact activated automatically, emitting a crisp chime as she was blasted backward like a cannonball, vanishing in an instant like a shooting star.

Meanwhile, Poros didn't pause—he targeted Zhan Lan, the strongest among them, closing in with fists and kicks falling like rain.

Zhan Lan's expression turned grim. She relied on her body, hardened by countless brutal impacts from Wu Xian, to resist Poros.

Though quickly reduced to defense alone, her self-healing and Black Emperor's kinetic absorption kept her from being instantly crushed.

"Go help her! Buy time for the Captain!"

Clone Cheng Xiao roared, rushing forward with Wang Chaozong and Du Gu Feng to aid Zhan Lan, giving Zheng Zha and Fu Zha time to fuse again.

Poros made no move to stop them—he clearly wanted another fight with "Zheng Fu Zha"—and slowed his pace, waiting for their fusion to complete.

Yet…

"Fuse!!" —x2

After Zheng Zha and Fu Zha performed their awkward fingertip-touching dance, a blinding flash erupted.

Seconds later, a short, fat figure—sixty centimeters tall, sixty centimeters around the waist—appeared before them.

Poros: "…."

Zhan Lan: "…."

Clone Cheng Xiao: "Holy shit! Wrong fusion!"

Sensing the weak aura radiating from the fat man, Poros withdrew his hopeful gaze, then spread his arms and roared, unleashing a terrifying energy wave.

A massive light rose like a sun; explosive energy erupted, shattering the air, shaking the earth, and hurling dust into a raging storm.

When the light faded, everyone except Zhan Lan was flung over a hundred meters away, instantly crippled.

Hummmmm—

With a soft phoenix cry, a vast mental force descended, locking Poros in place.

Zhan Lan's face turned pale—Poros's power far exceeded her expectations. She could only suppress him by borrowing a fraction of Wu Xian's strength through a mental link, but she couldn't hold it long. "Go! Now! I can't hold him much longer!"

"Zhan Lan!"

Zheng Fu Zha… no, now he should be called Fat Zha—tried to rush to help, but found himself moving painfully slow, weaker than even a B-rank bloodline enhancement, his gene lock only opened to Stage Three.

Knowing he'd only be a liability, Fat Zha gritted his teeth, turned, ran to Du Gu Feng nearby, hoisted her onto his back, and sprinted toward Clone Cheng Xiao.

"To sacrifice for your comrades—you're a fine warrior. A pity…"

Poros murmured, yet his energy surged higher. He began walking forward through the mental pressure, step by step, accelerating.

"Sacrifice?"

Two trails of blood dripped from Zhan Lan's nose. She suddenly laughed: "Don't think I'm noble. I'm not doing this to help my teammates escape—most of them aren't even my teammates."

"Oh? Then why stop me?"

Poros asked, curious.

"Because… my man's coming."

With that, Zhan Lan released her mental pressure and vanished using instant teleportation.

Poros was baffled—but the next second, a sharp sense of danger surged through him. He looked up. A massive shadow loomed overhead.

————

No extra chapter, but I added more words—please vote for monthly tickets!

(End of Chapter)