Don't let Yu Ding take on any more disciples.

Chapter 437 Should I call you Nezha or Brother Lingzhu?
Above the clouds in the sky.

"So that's how it is. This is the knot in Li Jing's heart. No wonder he always used excuses to beat Nezha before."

At this moment, Master Taiyi suddenly realized: "Even my miraculous elixirs are not enough to cure him, so I had to disregard my status and issue a warning. So that's how it is."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ding's expression shifted: "Tell me more, tell me more!"

He had always been looking forward to the story of father and son turning into brothers, but he didn't expect that there would be a story of Taiyi saving his disciple in the middle.

Taiyi rolled his eyes, clearly not interested in saying more, but simply stroked his chin and pondered, "But when did Lingzhuzi become sworn brothers with Li Jing?"

“I do know something about this matter,” Yu Ding said at this moment.

Taiyi's expression shifted: "When did this happen?"

Yu Ding glanced at him: "Explain in detail!"

After a while.

"I never expected that my senior brother would be so skilled at treating injuries from falls and blows. He's a true pediatric expert," Yu Ding teased from the side.

Although he had a bodyguard in Chentang Pass, he was only concerned with important matters happening there and could not possibly go to Li Jing's house to monitor him.

"Hmm? I didn't expect that Li Jing had also come to Yuquan Mountain to ask you to become his disciple?"

Taiyi looked at the jade cauldron that was laughing at him with some surprise and suspicion: "Are you sure... this kid really has nothing to do with you?"

Oh no, too much talk leads to trouble... Yu Ding, who had been enjoying the show, immediately stopped smiling and blurted out, "Absolutely not! Wasn't Li Jing's visit to Yuquan Mountain your disciple's doing?"

Taiyi Zhenren's expression changed slightly, and the doubt in his eyes lessened considerably. He said, "How would I know these things?"

Yu Ding snorted, "Besides, isn't Li Jing's master Taixu, a disciple of my eldest grandmaster? What does that have to do with me, Yu Ding?"

"That's true, junior brother, please don't be offended, I was just overthinking it."

Taiyi nodded slightly, finally dispelling all his doubts.

Whether it was Taixu or Li Jing, they both had complete lineages with their grandmaster, which naturally severed all possibilities related to the Jade Cauldron.

Moreover, now that Li Jing has switched allegiance to the Chan Sect's vice leader, Randeng, it means that Li Jing and his three sons have all become third-generation disciples of the Chan Sect.

If that's not the case, then given Li Jing's rebellious nature, he would definitely suspect that it's related to his junior brother beside him.

Other disciples were all obedient and respectful to their teachers, but Yu Ding taught three disciples who were all unorthodox and rebellious, which made him suffer as he cultivated the Heavenly Court several times.

Yu Ding gave a soft snort and turned his head away.

Phew... It's fortunate that his Taixu lineage is affiliated with his senior master, so his background is solid and can withstand any investigation.

Moreover, now that old Bi Deng is so eager to jump out and take Li Jing under his wing, he's taken on all the subsequent risks.

Teacher Ran Deng is such a good person...

While the two were bickering, Nezha was already about to step out of the study.

But at that moment, a hand landed on his shoulder from behind, and with a loud thud, it pressed down on Nezha's shoulder like a mountain.

Nezha's body sank involuntarily, and he said with a helpless expression, "Let go!"

“You can’t go. If you go, you’ll ruin our family,” Li Jing said earnestly, shaking his head.

Despite the pressure from that palm, Nezha slowly stood up and insisted, "But there has to be an explanation for this."

“Your mother would never do anything to betray your father. There must be something fishy about this, but none of that matters anymore.”

Li Jing came to Nezha, squatted down, and held Nezha's hands in his own, saying with utmost seriousness, "Nezha, from now on, you, Li Nezha, are my son, Li Jing's son. You are now, and you always will be. This will never change."

Nezha stared blankly at Li Jing, who had a serious expression on his face, as if something had touched his heart.

This was the first time in his life that his father had bent down to be at the same height as him.

But he immediately shook his head: "If Father says so, then we need to understand even more. I don't want Father to keep this weighing on his mind."

"Zha'er..."

Li Jing looked at his son with emotion, then suddenly seemed to remember something: "Wait, I just remembered something, could it be related to this?"

Nezha was taken aback: "What is it?"

Li Jing pondered and said, "I remember that after your mother was pregnant with you for three years and six months, one night she dreamed that a Taoist priest entered her bedroom and told her to quickly bring the baby. Then you were born. That Taoist priest was none other than the Immortal Taiyi."

The more he spoke, the stranger the father and son's expressions became.

"Master?"

"The Immortal Taiyi must know something about this."

The father and son looked at each other in bewilderment.

Just then, a figure floated down from the sky and appeared before the father and son.

It was none other than the Immortal Taiyi.

Taiyi stared at Li Jing for a long time before saying, "So this is what has been bothering you all along."

Li Jing felt guilty and dared not look him in the eye.

"Master!"

Nezha stepped forward anxiously and asked, "Father said that I look 99% like his brother Lingzhu. What's going on?"

Taiyi stared at Li Jing and snorted, "Lingzhuzi is my disciple."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing was startled and looked up at Taiyi and then at Nezha in disbelief.

The confusion in his mind instantly dissipated, and he murmured, "That's right, that's right, Lingzhuzi said back then that he was indeed Taiyi Zhenren's disciple, but..."

Nezha snorted, "Then Master called him out to confront my father. Although he is my senior brother, he has made my father unhappy for many years. I must get an explanation."

"Fool! Idiot!"

Taiyi shook his head speechlessly and slapped Nezha's head: "Don't you understand? You are the reincarnation of Lingzhu. How can I call him here if you're here?"

With this slap, Nezha froze on the spot, feeling as if his mind had been flooded with memories he had never had before.

In these memories, he saw a figure holding a fire-tipped spear, riding on wind-fire wheels, wearing a Qiankun Ring around his neck and a Hun Tian Ling around his arms, with fiery red hair and a cinnabar dot between his eyebrows.

The figure turned around, revealing a face that was almost identical to his.

Then this figure met and befriended his young father, and helped his father pursue his mother...

After a long silence, Nezha murmured, "I am the reincarnation of Lingzhuzi, and Lingzhuzi is... me?"

Li Jing's face revealed a smile that was more like a grimace.

Now that the truth has come out, he really doesn't know whether he should be sad or happy.

In addition to receiving good news, he also received bad news.

The good news is that Nezha is indeed a descendant of the Li family.

The bad news is... this son is actually the reincarnation of his sworn brother from many years ago, which explains why they look exactly alike.

Because they were indeed made from the same mold.

The father and son slowly turned to look at each other, and both were startled the moment their eyes met.

Li Jing said helplessly, "Immortal, are you kidding me, Li Jing... Immortal?"

He wanted to complain to Taiyi Zhenren, who was responsible for all of this, but when he turned around, he found that Taiyi Zhenren had disappeared without him.

"Ugh!"

Li Jing sighed, but then heard another sigh come from the side.

Upon hearing the sound, both looked at each other and saw the weariness and exhaustion on each other's faces.

At this moment, their relationship was so complicated that, after learning the truth, they could no longer look each other in the eye.

The night was cool!

Two figures, one tall and one short, sat on the steps in front of the study, looking distressed, their right hands supporting their chins as they sighed.

At this moment, a wisp of pure energy gathered in the sky and transformed into the Taiyi Zhenren, who also looked puzzled.

"Hahaha, Senior Brother Taiyi, you're really good at creating a show, turning brothers into father and son like this." Yu Ding, who had been waiting for this moment, couldn't stop laughing.

Taiyi glanced at the jade cauldron speechlessly: "Is it that funny?"

Yu Ding nodded repeatedly: "It's hilarious!"

Taiyi waited with a dark face until Yuding finished laughing before frowning and asking suspiciously, "Li Jing is a man of great fortune, and he and Lingzhuzi do indeed have a father-son relationship ordained by fate, but how could they become sworn brothers?"

Yu Ding ignored Taiyi, who was completely baffled, and continued to watch the show below.

The father and son sat on the steps until dawn.

"The moon is pretty good tonight, isn't it, Nezha? No, Brother Lingzhu, sigh!"

Li Jing tried to start a conversation, but ended up awkwardly unsure of how to address him.

Nezha looked up and said, "Hmm!"

Li Jing asked with extremely mixed feelings, "Should I call you Zha'er now, or... Brother Lingzhuzi?"

His emotions at this moment were so complex that words could not describe them. Even he, for seven years, could not process the suspicion that his son was not his biological child.
In the end, he discovered the absurd truth that he was actually the reincarnation of his sworn brother who had helped him countless times.

Nezha tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, "I still prefer to be called Nezha."

Li Jing paused for a moment, then stared at Nezha seriously and asked, "So now... are you still Nezha?"

He knew a little about reincarnation.

Although it is the same true spirit, after reincarnation, it is like new branches growing on a cut tree stump, making it difficult to say that it is the same person again.

Although he missed his former brother, he loved his son more.

If Lingzhuzi were to replace Nezha's primordial spirit and take over this body at this moment... he really couldn't make a choice.

Nezha laughed and said, "Don't worry, Father. I just have some of the memories from before the Spirit Pearl, but I am still Nezha."

"Good! Good! Good!"

Li Jing happily hugged his son tightly, tears of joy streaming down his face: "Zha'er, I'm sorry, I was so stupid, I was so petty. If I hadn't acted this way, I wouldn't have almost lost the best son in the world."

"Uh, Dad, could you please stop calling me 'son' and just call me Nezha? It feels weird otherwise," Nezha said in a low voice.

Li Jing said, "Okay! Okay! Okay, you can say whatever you want."

Nezha smiled and hugged Li Jing.

Li Jing looked at the night sky and said, "Zha'er, after seeing you rescue those injured people, I suddenly realized that you have really grown up and become a real man. So, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?" Nezha asked.

Li Jing whispered, "You must become the pillar of our family. If your father is no longer here, you must support our family and protect your mother, okay?"

Nezha paused for a moment, then said, "Of course I can, but why is Father gone? Could it be...?"

He followed Li Jing's gaze to the deep night sky, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. He excitedly said, "Father, are you going to the Heavenly Court to seek justice for Grandpa and Grandma? Okay, as the saying goes, like father, like son. I'll go with you."

Li Jing looked in astonishment at his son beside him, whose eyes were shining with excitement and eagerness to try.

Is this really his son?
“The Heavenly Court is a place even more terrifying than a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. It’s not a place that a mortal like Father can venture into. And there are some things that Father alone cannot change,” Li Jing said, shaking his head.

Nezha asked in surprise, "Father, why do you belittle yourself? Back then, Brother Yang made a great disturbance in the Heavenly Palace and split Peach Mountain with an axe for the sake of his own family. How can you be inferior to Brother Yang when you have both family hatred and public hatred?"

“How could Nezha persuade his father…” Li Jing stared in disbelief at his son who was urging him to go to heaven.

He always felt that something was different about his son; his tone of voice and manner of speaking were exactly the same as Lingzhuzi's.

Indeed, he once had the idea of ​​storming the Heavenly Realm to demand justice for his family and friends.

However, as he settled down and started a family, this idea gradually subsided.

But what happened at Chentang Pass this time rekindled his thoughts, and his murderous intent surged to its peak.

But... his family, and the millions of lights of Chentang Pass, became the biggest chains binding him.

Li Jing said, "Father is not a coward, but as the general, my main responsibility is to protect the millions of people in Chentang Pass. If I act rashly, it doesn't matter to me alone, but what if it affects you, Mother, and the innocent people of Chentang Pass?"

If he and Yang Jian were that young, they would certainly not lack the passion and courage to disregard all consequences.

I will do what I want to do, and I don't care what happens after I do it. What does it matter to me if there is a great flood after I do it?
But now he is middle-aged.

He is no longer young; he has developed a maturity he dislikes, and he has too many things to consider.

Nezha said, "But what about Second Brother Yang, Princess Longji, and the others..."

Li Jing smiled and said, "Your father is not like Erlang Shen, who is the Heavenly Emperor's uncle, or Princess Longji, who is the Heavenly Emperor's father. Your grandfather and your maternal uncle have long since passed away."

Nezha was taken aback and asked, "What does this have to do with Grandpa and Uncle?"

Li Jing smiled and patted Nezha's head, saying, "You're still young, you don't understand these things."

He had a very slim chance of survival, but there was a high probability that he would not return.

He may die a glorious death, but what about his son and his wife? What about the hundreds of thousands of lights in Chentang Pass?
With the Heavenly Emperor's connections, would the gods dare to touch the people behind Longji and his group?
Of course, although he had a new master, he knew from their brief meeting that this master would not stand against the Heavenly Court for the people of Chentang Pass.

"Oh!" Nezha's disappointment was palpable.

Li Jing stood up and said with a smile, "Alright, it's getting late, you should go and rest, or your mother will be looking for you."

Above the clouds in the night sky.

"Li Jing has truly become mature and composed."

Yu Ding said softly, "I guess this is what growing up is all about!"

Although he knew that the Heavenly Court needed to change, this great responsibility was still too heavy for Li Jing.

Since Li Jing was no longer causing trouble, he was relieved for Randeng and breathed a sigh of relief himself.

Now he has finally broken free from the curse that his disciples would always have an inextricable connection with the Heavenly Court after leaving the mountain, and he can now safely accept... an egg.

In the original Investiture of the Gods, Yang Jian was the only disciple, but he inexplicably gained so many disciples.

You said you could just accept their gifts and learn some skills to go back and help build up your hometown, but they didn't. These rebellious disciples, after leaving the mountain, either caused trouble in the Heavenly Court, wreaked havoc in the Western Sea, or even attacked the ancestral land of the Demon Court's remnants...

The primordial world was already in such chaos, and these little brats have only made it more turbulent.

Fortunately, his mentor had developed a skill for creating numerous and sophisticated disguises, which prevented them from being pursued.

Otherwise, with so many enemies, how could he dare to stay in Yuquan Mountain? What other way would he have to go but to move back to Yuxu Palace?

Over the years, under the urging and pressure of his apprentices, his talent in the art of doppelganger and transformation has been fully displayed.

In the past, he would never have imagined that he had such a high talent for those two spells.
Next, he focused all his attention on attaining the Great Luo Dao Fruit.

“Nezha needs lotus roots and leaves to cultivate the Lotus Holy Body. I see that the lotus flowers on the back mountain of my junior brother are growing very well. May I borrow one?” Taiyi asked.

Yu Ding nodded slightly: "Of course it's possible. Judging from the timeline... it should be open by now."

Immediately, the two brothers went to Yuquan Mountain to collect materials for Nezha's cultivation of the Lotus Holy Body Incarnation.

At this moment, in front of the Demon-Sealing Cave in the East Sea.

Ao Guang was surrounded by five divine dragons.

At this moment, the five dragon clan elders had already revealed their true forms, their hair standing on end in fury, their beards and hair standing on end.

"Ao Guang, how dare you! You actually gave half of the East Sea's fortune to your son!"

"Not bad!"

"The fortune belongs to the entire East Sea Dragon Clan. How dare you, as the Dragon King, misappropriate it for your own purposes? What is your punishment?"

"Death is not an exaggeration!"

"Very well, it's good that you've confessed. We, the five elders, have unanimously decided to remove you from your position as Dragon King and imprison you in the Demon Sealing Cave. Do you have any objections?"

"Everyone!"

Huanglong Zhenren frowned and said, "Although Ao Guang has made a grave mistake, isn't this punishment a bit too harsh?"

“Immortal Huanglong, although you hold a very high seniority within my clan, you are no longer a member of the dragon clan. You have no right to interfere in the affairs of the dragon clan,” said an elder of a blue-white divine dragon.

"Uncle Jiu, there's no need to plead for me. Ao Guang was already prepared before he did it."

Ao Guang smiled and said, "The punishment by the five elders is fair and just, and I have no objection. I only have one request, and I hope you will allow it."

"speak!"

"Do not tell my son Ao Bing about this. He will soon be going out to cultivate with the Immortal Yu Ding."

The five dragons exchanged a glance: "Granted!"

Immediately, the five divine dragons opened their mouths and each spat out an elder's token. The five tokens merged into one, releasing a blazing five-colored divine light that landed on Ao Guang.

The crown on Ao Guang's head and the royal robe on his body fell off by themselves.

At the same time, the token resonated with the Demon Suppression Hall, causing the void to distort and opening a passage leading into the Demon Suppression Hall.

Ao Guang stepped into the passage with a smile, showing no regret whatsoever.

"Hmm?" Huanglong seemed to sense some movement behind him, and immediately sighed. With a sweep of his whisk, a beam of immortal light flew out and stopped the fluctuation.

Ao Guang disappeared into the passage, and then the five elders activated the five tokens to separate the passage and vanish.

……

Not long after, in a hall.

With a sweep of his whisk, Huanglong sent a beam of light to the ground, which transformed into Ao Bing, who looked grief-stricken but was unable to move.

"Grandpa, what exactly is going on?" Ao Bing asked anxiously.

Huang Long sighed: "Your father tried to guard against it all, but you still managed to sneak up on him. Oh well, you can't live under your father's protection forever. There are some things you should know."

Then he told us about the dragon clan's fortune.

Ao Bing was stunned, muttering, "How could this be? How could this be?"

"Therefore, you'd better not let your father's good intentions go to waste. The important thing is to follow your master and cultivate diligently. One day, you'll still have a chance to save your father from this predicament," Huanglong said with a profound warning.

(End of this chapter)