Forever Family

"Brother..."

"Die..."

"Brother... forever..."

"Let me devour you..."

Eerie whispers murmured in his ears. Ye Chuan could feel himself enveloped by flesh and blood, his body pierced by writhing tendrils, his meridians invaded as if every pore had been violated by those grotesque appendages.

"..."

"Bro..."

As the monster released crimson energy, siphoning Ye Chuan's life force, he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness—until his eyes snapped open. His pupils were pitch-black, deep as abyssal voids.

In the next instant, the chaotic power within him erupted, instantly devouring the monster's tendrils and reversing the flow, draining its energy instead!

"What... no... AHH?!"

The monster twisted and thrashed, but the terrifying suction was inescapable. Before Ye Chuan could even process what was happening, the creature's aura began rapidly withering.

The chaotic force spiraled out of control, shattering the cocoon of flesh around him and instead coalescing into a swirling maelstrom that swallowed the monster whole.

Simultaneously, Ye Chuan felt power surging through him, his energy soaring.

[You have reached Late-Stage Nascent Soul]

[You have reached Nascent Soul Perfection]

[Breaking through to Spirit Transformation Realm—]

[Due to your unique constitution, survive the heavenly tribulation]

In an instant, the blood-stained sky was swallowed by roiling black clouds, arcs of lightning dancing ominously between them.

Still absorbing the monster's essence, Ye Chuan had no time to react before—

"BOOM!"

The thunder seemed eager to annihilate him. A bolt as vast as a dragon's descent split the heavens, engulfing both Ye Chuan and the monster in blinding fury.

"Hummm—"

Chaos surged. The earth fractured. Yet the lightning, instead of destroying him, refined into pure energy that nourished his body.

The monster wasn’t so fortunate. The heavenly punishment, a bane to all wickedness, scoured its flesh-bound form, tearing it apart again and again amidst agonized regeneration.

"SCREEEEEECH—!" Its shriek shook the very fabric of the world.

Desperate to escape, the monster writhed—only for Ye Chuan to seize it with tendrils of chaos, yanking it against his chest. "Running away?"

"DIE!!!!!"

The monster’s maw gaped, unleashing a chorus of tormented souls. Countless tendrils impaled Ye Chuan, only to be devoured by the chaos. Undeterred, it kept slashing at him, fighting to break free.

Ye Chuan tightened his grip, crushing every healing pill in his spatial pouch, locking them both in a brutal battle of attrition.

With each thunder strike, the crimson world flashed white. Under the relentless divine lightning and Ye Chuan’s draining grasp, the monster’s aura dimmed.

"Crack... crack-crack." Its blood-mask shattered, revealing a single eye—his sister’s. Dull, lifeless, yet flickering with struggle.

Seeing his chance, Ye Chuan roared at the sky, "HEY! SAVING YOUR STRENGTH?!"

His voice seemed to shake the heavens. The weakening lightning convulsed, arcs converging into a cataclysmic final strike.

"NO... STOP!!!!!!!!" The monster wailed.

The bolt fell. Thunder drowned them once more.

Under the divine purge, the fleshy armor clinging to his sister finally disintegrated. Ye Chuan absorbed the residual lightning.

The clouds parted. The bloodied sky faded.

[You have reached Early-Stage Spirit Transformation]

[You have reached Mid-Stage Spirit Transformation]

[You have reached Late-Stage Spirit Transformation]

[Nine Flames Avatar → Chaos Avatar]

......

Dawn approached.

Ye Chuan landed, cradling his sister. As the crimson horizon cleared, he glanced down—and exhaled in relief.

"That was hell." He nearly coughed blood.

Thankfully, the heavenly tribulation had weakened the monster, and chaos proved its natural counter.

"Mmm..." His sister stirred. Beneath her ash-gray bangs, round eyes blinked up at him. "Brother?"

"How do you feel?" he asked. "Better?"

She frowned. The oppressive force within her had vanished. Memories flooded back—including what she’d done.

A splitting headache seized her. Ye Chuan set her down, channeling his psyche to soothe her. After all, she was a "treasure" of red-tier rarity—he’d be damned if his efforts went to waste.

Gradually, her pain eased. She smiled. "Brother... thank you."

Ye Chuan checked her body. Her physiology was... altered. No longer human.

Her blood pulsed with unnatural life; her veins resembled living tendrils.

"Your body..." He hesitated. She seemed human fused with the monster’s essence—though the eerie aura had been purged by the lightning.

"I’m fine." She shook her head, then hesitated. "Brother... am I still a monster?"

"No." Though her form had changed, "monster" didn’t fit.

She stood, gazing at the disintegrating world. "Brother, it’s vanishing. Can you leave?"

"And you?" He noted the collapsing edges. Their time here was ending.

"I’ll stay." Her voice was hollow. "This is my punishment. I... caused all this. Let me atone."

Her words carried resignation. To her, survival itself felt like sin.

"No!" Ye Chuan grabbed her wrist. "I didn’t save you just to watch you disappear!"

"Bro...ther?" She blinked, then laughed softly. "We barely know each other, yet you’re already acting like family."

"Yeah."

"But... I don’t hate it." Her smile wavered. "I... really can keep living?"

"Simply dying isn’t the way to atone—living is." Ye Chuan tightened his grip on his little sister’s hand.

"Come on, let me collect your rent... cough I mean, let me stay with you forever."

"We’re family forever, right?"