Volume 1: The Grand Primordium - Chapter 9: The Descent of the Spirit Pearl, Nezha Runs Wild

  And then, Ta Ji, transformed by the fox spirit, arrived in Chao Ge under Su Hu's escort and met King Zhou. With her innate charm, she enchanted King Zhou, who became completely infatuated and couldn't extricate himself! Overjoyed, King Zhou welcomed Ta Ji into the palace, where they lived a life of bliss, envying only the love of mandarin ducks, with no mind to attend to state affairs!

  Tà Jī carefully remembered the teachings of Hóng Xuán and did not dare to persuade King Zhòu to kill loyal ministers. However, many officials saw that King Zhòu was indulging in Tà Jī's beauty every day and neglecting state affairs. Therefore, Grand Preceptor Dù Yuánbiāo presented a memorial to the king, saying: "Your Majesty is the ruler of our Shāng dynasty, but you must not indulge too much in women's charms, causing government affairs to be neglected and harming your dragon body. I hope Your Majesty will prioritize state affairs and return to the court to comfort the spirit of the late emperor in heaven!"

  King Zhou listened and felt that it was reasonable, just as he was about to respond, his face suddenly showed a dark aura, and his head spun with dizziness, and he actually developed a feeling of hatred towards Du Yuanzhi! He shouted sternly: "I am the supreme ruler of all directions, nothing in the world is not under my control, what I think, what business is it of yours? When did you have to bother this old man here? Get out!"

  Just as he was about to turn his sleeve and leave, Du Yuanzhi knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, think thrice! I have a loyal heart, heaven and earth can witness it! Now you are indulging in the harem every day, not thinking of state affairs, already extremely dissipated. If you still don't listen to straightforward advice, the fall of the Shang Dynasty is near!"

  King Zhou heard this and became extremely angry, shouting in a stern voice: "You old scoundrel, how dare you insult me like this, without regard for the distinction between superior and inferior, confusing the ears of the people. This is not the behavior of a subject. Guards, take this old scoundrel out to the Meridian Gate and behead him as an example to others!"

  Du Yuanzhan scolded to no end, but eventually grew old and weak, unable to resist the brutal force of the soldiers. He was forcibly dragged out of the Wu Gate, beheaded, and his body dismembered. His remains were discarded in the wilderness, a place where even death could not rest. King Zhou heard the news and finally calmed the anger in his chest. Surrounded by attendants, he returned to the rear palace and indulged in intimacy with Daji!

  This is not the end, in the following days. King Zhou also killed Mei Bo, a senior official, and listened to the advice of his favorite ministers, Fei Zhong and You Hun, killing Empress Jiang and wanting to kill two sons, fortunately saved by Guang Chengzi and Chi You; barely preserved a thread of blood from the Yin and Shang dynasties. He also summoned the four regional marquises, killed Nanbohou E Chongyu and Dongbohou Jiang Hengchu, imprisoned Xibo Hou Ji Chang, and only because Beibohou Chonghoutu bribed Fei Zhong and You Hun, was able to preserve his body and retreat.

  At this point, the vassals were greatly intimidated, and the officials did not speak out. Each one only sought to protect himself and did not dare to offer direct advice. The common people's complaints filled the streets, but they dared not express their anger. King Zhou saw that no one else came forward to oppose him, and he thought that he was indeed the supreme ruler of all under heaven. All four seas submitted to him. The lives and deaths of all living things were in his control, and for a time, everything seemed to be floating and hazy!

  The sky is clear and the boundary is clear. Hongyuan looked at Chaoge's lingering resentment, sighed silently, even if King Zhou was not instigated by Daji, nor was he confused by the magic of Zhunti Daoren, but the will of heaven was to destroy him, there was also a way for his destruction, and Zhunti Daoren just pushed it. King Zhou was tyrannical, favored treacherous ministers, slaughtered innocent people, and deserved to perish. The matter of sealing the gods was decided by Master Hongyuan himself, and no one could change it. He could only change the small situation in the battle of sealing the gods to protect the Xuantian Gate's luck.

  Hong Xuan suddenly appeared in the clear and void sky, arriving at the palace of Empress Wa. The two saints sat facing each other in silence for a long time, not speaking a word! After a while, Hong Xuan finally spoke up: "Master sister, King Zhou is tyrannical and does not respect the gods, harming loyal ministers, heaven's will to destroy the country. Now that the phoenix sings at Western Qi, the two master brothers' door has sealed the gods, people who will soon be sent to punish King Zhou, the three realms of the seal god, now it should also be the time for the vanguard general to descend into the world!"

  Nüwa nodded in agreement, saying: "Elder brother's words are indeed correct!" She then took out a pearl that was colorless and lusterless, without any aura, saying: "This is a pre-heavenly pearl that I obtained previously, but it has no great use, so I haven't refined it yet. However, this pearl has been absorbing spiritual energy in the palace of the Queen of Heaven every day, and has also listened to my teachings, thus producing spiritual intelligence. Although it's weak and small, it should be the vanguard general for the conquest of Zhuanxu! This pearl was born with a murderous and martial aura, so it will inevitably cause trouble in the future. It's all thanks to elder brother!"

  Hong Xuan nodded and smiled calmly: "Sister, don't worry! I am in charge of the rewards and punishments of the Xuanmen, and I also have the responsibility to protect the Xuanmen. As for the way to do it, I naturally know it myself. Let's just say that with me here, no one can take advantage of the Xuanmen under the heavens!" A cold light flashed through his eyes, but immediately returned to clarity.

  Nüwa was shocked upon hearing this! She secretly calculated in her mind. For a moment, the grand hall fell into silence once again, with even the sound of a needle dropping being audible.

  After a while, Cai Feng Xianzi entered the main hall, bowed her head and reported to Nüwa Niangniang: "Reporting to Your Majesty, outside the palace there is Taizhen Zhenren seeking an audience."

  The Goddess Nüwa said lightly, "You go and bring him in!" The Colorful Phoenix Fairy responded with a sound of assent, then went out of the grand hall. Before long, she brought in the Taìyǐ True Man. He saw the Taìyǐ True Man take small steps forward, bowing his body to say: "Taìyǐ pays respects to the Goddess, has seen the Fourth Master Uncle, wishes the Holy One infinite longevity!"

  Hongyuan was silent, only the goddess Nüwa nodded and said: "Relax! Taizhen, I know why you came here. You can take this pearl!" She then threw the pearl in her hand into Taizhen's hands.

  Taiyi Zhenren was overjoyed and bowed again, saying: "Thank you, Taiyi Niangniang, for bestowing the treasure!" He then bowed to the two saints once more before taking his leave.

  Taiyi True Man has already left, Hongyuan also said: "I have disturbed the teacher's sister for a long time and should take my leave!" After finishing speaking, he stood up and bid farewell to Nüwa Niangniang and left.

  On the east coast, a child of about seven years old was bathing at the entrance of the East China Sea's Jiuxian River. A chaotic dragon suddenly appeared and dyed the river water bright red, causing the Crystal Palace of the Dragon King to shake violently. The shrimp soldiers and crabs were shocked and noisy! The Dragon King Ao Guang shouted: "What's going on?! Li Liang, go take a look at who dares to make trouble above my East China Sea!"

  Xun Hai Ye Li Liang heard the call and went, in a short while he arrived at the Jiuxian River bank, where he saw a seven-year-old child using a seven-foot red silk to stir the river water, and didn't know what kind of treasure the red silk was, it could actually shake the dragon tribe's crystal palace!

  Li Liang shouted forward: "What kind of strange thing did that child use to make the river water reflect red and shake my Donghai Palace?"

  The child turned his head and saw that Li Liang's face was as blue as indigo, his hair was like cinnabar, his mouth was huge and his teeth were sharp, he held a large axe in his hand, and he looked ferocious. The child couldn't help but feel disgusted and said: "What kind of beast are you, looking so ugly? I'm washing my bath here, what business do you have?"

  Li Liang was enraged, holding a large axe and chopping towards the child. However, he knew that although this was just a child, the treasure in his hand must be a rare object, and he seemed to have some magical powers, so he wouldn't die easily from his chop, but still left seven parts of his strength.

  The child blocked Li Liang's giant axe with the Qiankun ring on his right hand, and then struck again, instantly breaking Li Liang's head and dying on the shore.

  The child rinsed his mouth and no longer paid attention to the dead yasha, but continued to bathe in the river. Before he had washed for long, he saw that the Jiuwan River suddenly rose by ten feet. The child was startled and looked up to see a man dressed in magnificent attire, holding a divine halberd, with a handsome appearance, sitting on a sea beast, coldly staring at him, saying: "Did you kill my patrolling yasha?"

  "The child said loudly: 'It's really me, who are you and what do you want?'"

  "That man proudly raised his head and said: 'I am Ao Bing, the third son of the East Sea Dragon King! Who are you to dare kill my people from the East Sea? Don't you know the power of the four seas dragon tribe in the three realms?'"

  The child replied: "I am Nezha, the son of General Li Jing of Chentang Pass. My master is Taigong Wang, the True Man of Jinyuan Cave on Qianyuan Mountain. How dare you!"

  Ao Bing burst out laughing and said, "I knew it was someone's kid who dared to kill my people from the East Sea. I didn't expect you had some backing, but others are afraid of your teacher, not me! Don't try to intimidate people with your teacher's name. Today, I'll make this little brat understand that the East Sea is not a place where those careless demons can bully at will!" As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a golden dragon, over 100 feet long, with four claws. Ao Bing coldly said to Nezha, who was shocked and pale, "Today, I'll see what kind of Taoist magic you've learned from Taiyi True Person that makes you dare to run amok in my East Sea!"

  Jiuzhao Jīnlóng shook its dragon tail and struck Nezha with a fierce momentum that was impossible to resist. However, Nezha calmly waved the Hùntiān Lǐng in his hand, and it instantly extended for thousands of miles, tightly wrapping around Jiuzhao's dragon body. No matter how hard Jiuzhao struggled and rolled in mid-air, he couldn't escape the restraint of the Hùntiān Lǐng. Nezha then threw the Qiánkūn Quán in his hand, and it flew to Jiuzhao's head, striking his dragon horn with a loud crash, causing it to tilt to one side. Jiuzhao let out a pained roar and fell to the ground, landing on Li Liang's corpse and crushing it into powder, with blood flowing everywhere.

  Nezha came to Ao Bing's face with a proud smile, pulling Ao Bing's dragon head, and ignoring his pain, said: "Now you know my magical powers, do you dare to speak wildly again?"

  "Ao Bing snorted coldly and said, 'If I hadn't returned home today and left my master, how could you have bullied me like this? If my master were here, would you still dare to speak?'"

  "Ha! You think you can deceive me with such nonsense? Earlier, you boasted about your master's prowess in the East Sea, but now you're nothing more than a prisoner in my hands! Bring out your master and let him speak for himself. With your abilities, you're not even a worthy servant to begin with. If you dare to provoke me further, I'll slaughter your entire family and see who else dares to disturb my bath!"

  Ao Bing seemed to have heard something ridiculous and burst into loud laughter, the mocking and disdain in his laughter was audible to everyone.

  Nezha flew into a rage and said: "What are you laughing at? Do you think I'm just bragging?"

  Ao Bing just hummed and didn't speak.

  "Very well! First, let me pluck out your Dragon Tendon and see how long you can laugh!" Nezha said coldly. Just as he was about to reach out and pull out Ao Bing's Dragon Tendon, a sudden cold hum sounded in his ear, like thunder crashing on his head, stunning him for half a moment, leaving him dazed and disoriented for a long time before slowly coming back to his senses.

  When his head was no longer dizzy, he only felt a lightness in his hand. The Ao Bing that had been caught by him had gone somewhere unknown. In the Jiuxian River, a middle-aged man wearing a dragon robe was coldly staring at him, surrounded by a sinister aura. Nezha's heart suddenly chilled when he saw this.

  The middle-aged man was Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea!

  It is: King Zhou's tyranny caused heaven and earth to separate, the divine pearl reincarnated only to deceive people!

  (Earlier, I mistakenly referred to Ao Bing as Ao Chen. I apologize for the mistake and ask for your forgiveness, dear book friends!)

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