534: Chapter 534 The Child Slays the Dragon - Calamity Devastates the City

Ao Guang gave a brief account of Li Gen's tragic death. Ao Run immediately cupped his hands and said, "Father, please sit at ease; leave this matter to your child." He then gathered the water soldiers, mounted a silver-scaled water beast, and took up a painted halberd that glinted with a chilling light before leaping out of the Crystal Palace. One could see him cleaving the waves and splitting the currents; the water crashed and fractured as giant waves toppled like mountains. The turbid waters churned as if boiling, and the water level on the flat ground suddenly rose by several feet, the crests of the waves rushing straight for the embankment.

Nezha stood on the shallows, looking up at the water, and blurted out, "What a huge wave! What fierce water!"

The two family generals turned pale and urged repeatedly, "Young Master, get to shore quickly! If you don't leave now, you'll be swept away!"

Suddenly, a rift opened in the crest of a wave, and a water beast shimmering with silver broke through the surface. A man sat atop the beast—his golden armor reflecting the sun, his battle robe fluttering, holding a long halberd. He was imposing and heroic as he shouted a stern question: "What madman dares to kill my Sea-Patrolling Yaksha, Li Gen?!"

Nezha glanced sideways, his brow furrowed in deep disgust: "What Yaksha? Just this filthy appearance with a crooked mouth, protruding forehead, blue face, and fangs? He's worthy of being called a Yaksha? He's eyesore-ugly and nauseating—killing him was exactly what I did!"

Ao Run's gaze sharpened, and he questioned coldly, "Who exactly are you?"

Nezha held his head high and puffed out his chest, showing no fear: "I am Nezha, the third son of Li Jing, the Regional Commander of Chentang Pass! My father guards this place and is the lord of this territory. I was here enjoying the cool air and playing in the water, having nothing to do with that beast; yet he spoke foul words and insulted my reputation—taking his life was only right and natural!"

Ao Run was enraged upon hearing this, pointing his halberd directly at him: "What a lawless brat! Li Gen was patrolling the sea by the decree of the Heavenly Court, yet you dared to kill him and even have the audacity to speak such arrogant words, slandering a divine official!"

Seeing Ao Run leveling his halberd to attack, Nezha sneered and shouted first, "And which strand of seaweed did you crawl out of to meddle in my business?"

"Today, I shall let you die with understanding—I am the Third Prince of the East Sea Dragon Lord, Ao Run!"

Upon hearing this, Nezha raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming even more contemptuous: "Oh? So you're the cub raised by that old loach Ao Guang. You certainly put on quite the airs. If you piss me off, I'll even strip those old scales off your father and stew them into soup to feed the dogs!"

Ao Run trembled with rage; as a noble of the Dragon Clan, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? He let out a furious roar: "Rebel, meet your death!" and thrust his halberd.

Nezha did not retreat but advanced instead. The Armillary Sash soared like a crimson ribbon, coiling around Ao Run's head and violently throwing him off the beast's back. Nezha closed in rapidly, pinning the other's throat with one foot, and smashed the Universe Ring down upon his crown with the force of a thunderbolt—with a dull 'thud,' Ao Run's Primordial Spirit shattered, and his true form suddenly appeared: a silver-scaled coiled dragon lay limp on the ground, its horns fractured and its dragon eyes wide open, lying motionless. The two family generals on the shore were terrified, their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering as they retreated three steps in unison.

Nezha's anger had not yet subsided. He drew a dagger and neatly skinned the dragon, then pulled out the crystal-clear dragon tendon. He gave it two fierce snaps before jumping off the corpse, panting heavily.

"Young Master! Young Master! You've caused a great disaster! That was the biological Third Prince of the East Sea Dragon King!"

"I know." Nezha wiped away his sweat, but his tone suddenly dropped, "But the person is already dead... what else can be done? Let's hurry back to the manor." He was no longer an ignorant child; though the blood had rushed to his head just now, now that he had calmed down, he felt his palms grow cold and his chest tighten—this matter had pierced the heavens; how would it end? With weak steps and an anxious heart, he ran back home.

Before he could even catch his breath, a rolling thunderous voice echoed in mid-air: "Li Jing! You allowed your son to commit murder and take the life of my beloved son Ao Run! Come out of the city and accept your punishment immediately!"—Ao Guang, the East Sea Dragon King, led thousands of water tribes, hanging over Jiangtang Pass like a black cloud pressing down on the city.

Li Jing looked up at the sound, his gaze sweeping over the wet bloodstains on Nezha's lapel, and then catching sight of the shimmering dragon tendon clutched in his hand. His heart sank violently. He had just barely suppressed the matter of Li Gen's death, and in the blink of an eye, the tragedy of a dragon prince was added; misfortunes truly never come alone. He gave Nezha a fierce glare, then donned his armor and robe, led his soldiers onto the city gate tower, and cupped his hands toward the sky: "Dragon King, please calm your anger. Let us speak reasonably; do not damage our harmony, and even more, do not harm your health!"

"Harmony?" Ao Guang sneered like a blade. "Your son slaughtered my Yaksha, murdered my own son, and even publicly humiliated this King—if I do not flood Jiangtang Pass today, it will be hard to vent the hatred in my heart!"

In an instant, dark clouds turned like ink and torrential rain poured down. The seawater flowed backward, and the Jiuxi River surged over the embankments. Turbid waves battered the city; the veins on Li Jing's temples throbbed, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.

Nezha suddenly rushed to the top of the wall, facing the storm and shouting to the sky: "One person acts, one person takes the consequences! Ao Run and Li Gen were both killed by me; let me pay with my life! Why trouble my parents? And what does this have to do with the people of Jiangtang Pass?!"

Li Jing stepped forward and grabbed his arm tightly, his voice trembling: "If you die, wouldn't my guilt as a father be even greater?!"

Yes, yes, my son, you are not in the least bit wrong! It was all those water monsters and evil spirits who frightened you and forced you into this—you were just treading the waves in the Jiuxi River; you didn't disturb the Dragon Palace, steal dragon pearls, or overturn the water manor. On what grounds do they interfere so crossly? Truly arrogant and unreasonable!

Lady Li Yin had just finished listening to the report from the family generals. Fire rose in her heart, and she immediately shielded her son behind her. She could not tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye, so how could she allow her own flesh and blood to bear such a baseless accusation?

Although Li Jing felt something was amiss, hearing his wife speak so decisively and seeing Nezha's pale little face made his heart sink: if he truly let the child lose his life in such a muddled way, wouldn't he, as a father, become the most useless backbone in the world?

"Fine, Li Jing! Under all of heaven, every river, lake, and sea—which place is not under the jurisdiction of my water tribes? Is it for you of the Human Race to behave so wildly and insolently here!" Ao Guang's scales trembled with rage, and he spoke without thinking. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had misspoken, but what's done is done, so he could only harden his heart and persist.

Li Jing snorted coldly, his gaze like a knife: "The lands of the world all belong to the Human Race; are the water veins of the Nine Provinces the private property of your Dragon Palace alone?" He took a step forward, his voice like a great bell, "This Jiuxi River outside the city is under the governance of Jiangtang Pass; where the Law reaches, I, Li Jing, hold the seal of authority. My son was merely treading water barefoot and throwing stones at the waves; he neither harmed living creatures nor destroyed the embankments. For you water tribes to jump out and point fingers, your meddling is far too broad, too hasty, and too cruel!"

Ao Guang was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, but then his eyes widened in fury as he roared overbearingly: "Enough talk! My son's life was lost at your son's hands; a blood debt must be paid in blood, it is only natural! If you do not hand him over today, do not blame me for overturning this Jiangtang Pass and flooding it to the bottom!"

Li Jing was about to argue further when he suddenly saw the turbid waves surging; the river water had already reached the lintel of the barbican gate. The sound of the water was a thunderous roar, and the backflow was imminent.

Nezha suddenly rushed out from behind his father, drew the longsword from his waist with a backhand, and said sharply as the cold light flashed: "Fine! Today I shall cut my own throat to pay for a life with a life!"

Before his voice had even faded, the sword's edge was already against his throat—Li Jing reached out to stop him, but his fingertips only brushed the cold iron of the scabbard; a thin line of blood instantly bloomed on the side of his snow-white neck.

Li Jing's heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife, and Lady Li Yin fainted on the spot. Ao Guang, however, grinned with a hideous smile, a hint of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

"Clang!" The longsword fell to the ground, but that bloodstain was already deep enough to be fatal. A golden light streaked across the sky, and a figure suddenly stood beside Nezha.

Perfected Lord Taiyi had been in the Golden Light Cave quietly meditating on the turning of the tribulations when he suddenly felt a great shock to his spirit. Calculating with his fingers, he realized Nezha's soul lamp was about to be extinguished! He didn't even have time to grab his fly-whisk before tearing through the clouds to rush to Jiangtang Pass—but he was a moment too late after all. Even though he had knocked away the sharp blade, that sliver of Killing Intent had already eroded into the meridians. The youth's breath was like a flickering candle in the wind, swaying on the verge of going out. The master lowered his eyes, his internal organs burning with grief.

"Immortal! I beg you to save my son!" Li Jing's knees buckled as he held Nezha tightly, his voice hoarse like tearing silk.

"This poor Daoist... is powerless." Perfected Lord Taiyi shook his head with a light sigh, his fingertips brushing Nezha's temple, his tone sorrowful. "This sword is soaked in the Evil Qi of a hundred battles; the malice is condensed and will not dissipate. Had I come half a breath sooner, I could have channeled the Qi to lead away the Evil Qi; now... it is the will of Heaven, Karma is hard to reverse."

Li Jing froze in place, his whole body cold. He suddenly remembered how many times he had swung his blade on the training grounds, how many times he had shed blood at the border; that personal sword had long been tempered by his own iron-blooded slaughter to be bone-chillingly cold—it wasn't that the blade wasn't sharp, but that he, as a father, had personally nurtured the murder weapon into a death warrant.

Perfected Lord Taiyi slowly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Ao Guang, each word resonating like thunder: "You people dare to kill a Disciple of my Chan Sect; there will surely be a day of reckoning for this account."

Hearing this, Ao Guang's dragon horns trembled slightly, and he broke out in a cold sweat. How could he not know? Even the gods of the Heavenly Court showed three points of courtesy to those under the sect of Yuanshi; he, a mere minor Dragon King of the East Sea, actually dared to touch a direct descendant of the Chan Sect—it was practically setting fire to his own dragon scales! Regret surged, and he wished he could withdraw and hide in the deep sea, no longer daring to lift his head.

Nezha's pupils had already dilated, and his breath was as faint as a gossamer thread. Looking at his father's face, his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound.

"My son... you died too tragically. It is your father's incompetence that I could not protect you... Why? Why?!" Li Jing held his son tightly, letting the warm blood soak his front, and wailed toward the sky, his voice splitting the clouds.

Killing Intent, Evil Qi, and malice—all were the breath of death ground out by weapons. Ordinary generals might occasionally be tainted by it, and it could even be used to protect a house and ward off evil; but those who practice the Dao avoid this most of all. Once it invades the body, it is like poisonous fire burning the meridians, eroding the bones inch by inch. And Li Jing, as a great general guarding the pass, had fought for decades; his aura of slaughter had long since solidified, attaching to his sword and seeping into his Bloodline, far beyond what an ordinary person could compare to.

Even Perfected Lord Taiyi was helpless. Firstly, because that Evil Qi was too overbearing, and secondly, because his own cultivation was still hovering at the threshold of a Golden Immortal, a step away from the realm of Great Unity and the Law of Heaven and Earth—if he had such Divine Ability, he could regroup the physical form and reverse Yin and Yang with a wave of his hand. Alas, on the path of cultivation, a hair's breadth of difference is the gap between life and death; the word 'strength' has always been a threshold forged in iron.

"Li Jing, do not weep. Though the Physical Body is destroyed, the soul has not dissipated. This poor Daoist still has a way to reforged a spiritual womb for him."

Mist swirled, and a lotus flower as pure as early snow suddenly bloomed. In the shifting radiance, it gently lifted Nezha from Li Jing's arms and slowly wrapped him within its supple, unfolding petals. That lotus bud was translucent and moist throughout, emitting a clear, soul-soothing aura as if it could wash away all the troubles of the mortal world—Perfected Lord Taiyi trembled, his heart burning, as if he were unable to keep his eyes open, stung by this holy aura.

"This... could this be..."

His pupils shrank suddenly, and his throat tightened. Before finishing his sentence, he turned to Li Jing and said urgently, "Do not panic! A great power must have stepped in to protect him! As for who it is... though this poor Daoist dares not say for certain, this lotus is unique in the world—it can only grow from the palm of one person!"

Li Jing grabbed the sleeve of the Daoist robe, his voice tight: "Who is it? Who is saving my son?"

Perfected Lord Taiyi looked up and exhaled, each word as heavy as the tolling of a bell: "The Saint Master of the Human Race, the Holy Lord Dao Chen!"

As the words landed, Li Jing's figure swayed, and even Ao Guang suddenly retreated half a step, his face as pale as gold leaf. When the immortals of the Chan Sect saw a Saint, they could still bow and salute, but facing this Holy Lord Dao Chen who stood above the Saints—it was not mere awe, but a bone-chilling shiver. Everyone froze on the spot, their breathing even coming to a halt, looking as if their souls had been sucked out.