Primordial Era: The Great Serpent of Yunmeng

(P.S.: This chapter contains a large amount of content from the original Investiture of the Gods. Please subscribe at your own discretion.)

While Nezha was happily washing himself on one side, the Crystal Palace where the Dragon King of the sea lived on the other side began to sway and shake.

The dragon race of this time is no longer what it used to be. In fact, in this primordial world, beneath the East Sea, there are many dragon beasts but few true dragons.

True dragons with purer bloodlines would have long since followed the Ancestral Dragon and others to the Chaos Realm, where they reside.

The few remaining dragons in the primordial world today are mostly just dragon beasts with dragon forms.

His cultivation level was low, and he was merely living off the reputation he had accumulated in the Dragon Clan.

Fortunately, they could also control the clouds and rain, and stir up trouble. The dragon race did not completely withdraw from the prehistoric world, so the other races and the Heavenly Court let them be.

However, in terms of status alone, the dragon race's position in the prehistoric world is no longer what it used to be.

The few true dragons that remain in the primordial world are indifferent to this, after all, all races still retain the respect they once had for the dragon race.

As for the dragon beast, even they themselves do not consider it one of their own kind, so why would they care how the other races treat the dragon beast?

As long as the myriad races and the Heavenly Court do not extend their influence into the four seas, they will let it be.

Everyone understood the bottom line, so although the dragon race's status had decreased, the status of the Four Seas remained unchanged.

Despite their vast influence across the four seas, the dragon race remains aloof and superior to ordinary people.

The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, was sitting idly in his Crystal Palace when the palace suddenly began to shake. He was terrified and cried out, "There was no earthquake! Why is the palace shaking like this?!"

So he sent the sea patrol yaksha Li Gen to see what was going on. When the yaksha arrived at the Nine Bends River, he saw a child holding a red ribbon, playing happily in the water.

The yaksha parted the river water, rose to the surface, and shouted, "What kind of demon are you, child, causing such chaos in our East Sea Dragon Palace?"

Nezha turned around and saw a monster half-floating on the water, with red hair, a blue face, a huge mouth and fangs, and holding a large axe. He asked curiously:

"You beast, what kind of thing are you? How can you speak human language?"

The yaksha was furious: "Grandpa, I am a renowned sea patrol yaksha from the East Sea! How dare you call me a beast!"

As he spoke, he swung an axe at Nezha's head.

Nezha leaped up to dodge, raised his right hand and used the Qiankun Ring to strike the Yaksha on the head.

The yaksha died on the spot. Nezha complained that the yaksha had dirtied the Qiankun Ring and the water, so he jumped ashore and sat by the water to wash the Qiankun Ring.

This Li Gen was no ordinary man; he was a "general" appointed by the "Heavenly Court" to serve in the East Sea, yet he died so easily here.

However, the Crystal Palace became increasingly unstable due to Nezha washing the Universe Ring with water.

The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, had a headache. He wanted to go out and see for himself, but was stopped by his third son, Ao Bing, who said:

"They're just a few children; there's no need for Father to trouble himself. I can go myself."

Having said that, the Third Prince summoned his dragon soldiers and shrimp generals, mounted his water-avoiding beast, and, carrying his halberd, left the Crystal Palace, parted the water, and headed towards the surface.

The waves rose like mountains and then crashed down, creating a vast expanse of water that rose three feet above the ground.

"Who killed my Yaksha? Come and face your death at once!"

Nezha was enjoying watching the surging waves when he suddenly heard Ao Bing's words. Without thinking, he stood up and admitted his point:

"It was I who killed him. I am Nezha, the third son of Li Jing, the general of Chentang Pass. My father is in charge of this area."

"I was taking a bath on my father's land to escape the heat. What does that have to do with that bastard? He came to insult me; he deserved to be beaten to death."

The Third Prince Ao Bing angrily cursed, "You brat, you don't know what's good for you! Yaksha Li Gen was sent down by the Jade Emperor, and you actually killed him, and you still dare to spout nonsense!"

Having said that, he lowered his halberd and thrust it forward. Nezha, unarmed and unable to defend himself, ducked his head to avoid the halberd and shouted:

"Wait, who are you? I don't kill nameless nobody!"

Ao Bing roared in anger, "I am Ao Bing, the third prince of the East Sea Dragon King!"

Nezha laughed loudly:

"Oh, so you're the Dragon King's son. If you keep drawing your sword or gun and piss me off, I'll catch that old mudfish and skin him alive."

The Third Prince could not bear such humiliation and thrust his halberd again.

Seeing that the opponent was coming at a fierce pace, Nezha quickly spread his Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) into the air.

The Hun Tian Ling (a type of magical ribbon) swept down like a fiery cloud, binding the Third Prince to the water-avoiding beast and throwing him onto the shore.

Nezha jumped ashore, stepped on Ao Bing, and used his Universe Ring to knock the Third Prince out of his original form—a dragon that stood stiffly on the ground.

Nezha exclaimed, "Oh dear, I didn't expect to reveal the little dragon's true form. Well, let's extract its tendons and make a dragon tendon sash to tie on Father's armor."

They immediately pulled out the tendons of the Third Prince and took him back to the pass.

The guards, who had never seen such a scene before, were so frightened that they were speechless and weak-kneed, and followed him back into the pass as if in a dream.

Upon hearing the report from the shrimp soldiers and crab generals that Nezha, the third son of Li Jing at Chentang Pass, had killed his son Ao Bing and even skinned and dismembered him, Ao Guang burst into tears and roared in fury:

"My son is a righteous god who brings rain and nourishes all things. How could you just kill him like that!"

"Li Jing, you once studied Taoism in Xikunlun, and we were sworn brothers. How could you allow your son to commit evil deeds, even beating my son to death and not leaving him with a complete corpse? You must give me an explanation..."

After saying this, Ao Guang transformed into a scholar and angrily headed towards Chen Tang Pass.

Now, after Ao Guang left Chen Tang Pass, he went straight to the Crystal Palace, where he saw the Four Dragon Kings Ao Qin, Ao Shun, and Ao Run waiting for him.

Ao Guang recounted what had happened, and all the dragons gritted their teeth and discussed raising an army to avenge themselves.

The next day, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas arrived at Chentang Pass and flooded Chentang. Li Jing saw this from the city wall and was terrified.

Upon seeing this, Nezha said to Li Jing, "Father, this whole affair was caused by me. How can we escape this calamity if I don't die?"

He then said to Ao Guang, "One person's actions are one's own responsibility. I killed Ao Bing and Li Gen, and I should pay with my life. How can a son implicate his parents!"

He then drew his sword, cut off his flesh to return to his mother, and removed his bones to return to his father, thus returning his parents' flesh and blood before taking his own life.

Upon seeing this, the Four Dragon Kings withdrew the floodwaters and returned to their respective seas.

Nezha's spirit, still lingering, drifted and floated, heading straight for the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.

Knowing his purpose, the Immortal Taiyi summoned the Golden Cloud Boy:

"Pick two lotus flowers and three lotus leaves from the Five Lotus Pond."

The boy hurriedly picked up lotus leaves and lotus flowers and placed them on the ground.

The immortal plucked the petals from the flower and arranged them into three sections. He then folded the lotus stem into three hundred joints. The three lotus leaves were arranged in three groups: top, middle, and bottom. The immortal clapped his hands and shouted:

"If Nezha can't take human form, when will he?"

With a loud bang, a figure leaped up, his face as white as powder, his lips as red as cinnabar, his eyes gleaming with sharp light, and his body sixteen feet tall. This was Nezha in his lotus incarnation, who knelt down before his master. (End of Chapter)