Claiming the Throne of Gods, Starting from the Rebirth of Nezha

Seeing that Li Gen was impervious to reason, Nezha realized that it wasn't that the matter couldn't be negotiated, but that the other party simply didn't regard him as important.

If Taiyi Zhenren came today, or at the very least, the General of Chentang Pass, Li Jing, Li Gen's attitude wouldn't be like this.

With nothing else to do, Nezha thought he could only stall for time and think of another plan.

He said, "I only heard that the sacrificial offerings are for the Four Sea Dragon Kings, but the Dragon King is a True God of the Heavenly Court in charge of rain and clouds. How could he commit such an evil act as swallowing people alive? Every time there are sacrifices, only you, the Yaksha, come. Is this sacrifice for the Sea Dragon King or for you, a Yaksha?"

"Insolent brat!"

In Nezha's eyes, the blue light around Li Gen intensified, the terrifying pressure almost materializing to press forward!

If it were an ordinary person, they would have surely turned pale and been frightened out of their wits, but Nezha's spiritual resilience was equally strong, his expression unchanged as he continued, "You should go down and pass on a message for me. The Dragon King, as a True God of the Heavenly Court who governs the clouds and rain, should operate in secret, spreading kindness to the Four Seas. Heaven cherishes life and Nezha does not believe the Dragon Palace would dare defy Heaven and commit such evil deeds. The sacrifices stop here, and what happened in the past shall be let go!"

"Centuries of sacrifices, how can they stop just because you say so? I'll say it again, quickly hand over the offering!"

Li Gen was furious, his large nostrils spewing two streams of hot white air, puzzled as to why this mere child, with a mortal body, dared defy him.

"You act on orders, why take it this far? I'll say it again, today I am the offering. If you dare, then capture me. But if it delays the Divine Enthronement, can you bear the responsibility?"

Their gazes locked across the moist air by the coast, where unseen, sparks seemed to fly and blades clashed!

Li Gen saw Nezha's extraordinary demeanor and was hesitant. If what he said was true, he, just following orders, had no reason to take such risks.

Truly delaying important matters would lead to reporting to the Heavenly Court, and the Old Dragon King would definitely push him to take the fall. Not only would he gain no benefits, but centuries of cultivation might become empty.

But if Nezha was tricking him today and he reported to the Dragon Palace, Old Dragon King Ao Guang might be reasonable, but the Third Prince Ao Bing was known for his temper and would certainly punish him.

He said, "If I go back today and you hide away so I can't find you, what then? So, you stay here, I'll report to the Dragon King, and if I return and don't see you, I'll devour every villager, how about that?"

Li Gen's voice was like a great bell, heard for miles, terrifying the villagers into a panic, desperate with fear.

Nezha was unwilling, understanding that while he would not flee, he had no right to gamble with the lives of the villagers. He said, "You want me to stay put just because you say so? No way!"

"Hmph, won't drink the forbearance wine but instead drink the penal wine!"

Just as Li Gen was about to grow angry, Nezha said again, "How about this, we both take a step back. Let's meet here in three days and discuss the matter properly."

Li Gen weighed it in his mind, gave Nezha a fierce look, which Nezha took as tacit consent.

The waves behind slowly surged forward, gradually submerging the rocks up to Li Gen's waist. Just before leaving, he suddenly glanced at the Great Witch on the ground and shouted sternly, "With no offering, what's the point of a sacrifice? You, Great Witch, dare to deceive me!"

"Lord Yaksha!"

The Great Witch hadn't reacted yet, had just fearfully raised his head when he saw an axe fall from the sky, splitting him from head to foot, blood spraying out!

The waves churned, a wave washed over, erasing Li Gen and the dead Great Witch from the rocky shore.

By the seaside, even stars of blood couldn't be seen, as if it were all an illusion.

Nezha gently touched the head of Dahei, a poor dog still trembling, its tail tucked between its legs.

Nezha let out a long breath, not much better off than Dahei. With just those few words, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Three days.

How to break the stalemate in three days?

Nezha gave Dahei a light kick at its back end and walked back, while villagers watched him from a distance, uncertain what they were thinking and not daring to approach.

Nezha didn't care about their attitudes, feeling it was already good enough. Thinking of this, he even chuckled, with Dahei looking at him as if he were a fool.

Nezha shouted to the villagers, "Go back, everyone. In three days, I will return and resolve this issue!"

The villagers watched him as if they hadn't heard, but Nezha didn't mind. He picked up a stalk of dogtail grass from the roadside and put it in his mouth. Compared to these concerns, he was now most curious about why Li Jing hadn't come to stop him.

What Nezha didn't know was that Cui Yu had told Lady Yin about it first. Lady Yin was indeed worried and immediately sent someone to find Li Jing.

But by coincidence, Li Jing had brought Central Army officer Feng Xiaonian and maid Lv Ping to Wild Horse Ridge for training early in the morning.

Lady Yin had no choice but to send Cui Yu with a few house guards to find Nezha. Cui Yu was not as fast as the guards, so she let them go ahead. But the guards, unaware of the exact situation, only knew they were ordered by Lady Yin to find the Third Young Master in Lizhu Village. When they reached Lizhu Village and found no one, they searched around and then returned, not encountering Cui Yu on the way.

Poor Cui Yu, although constantly working hard in the manor, had never traveled such a long distance before. By now, the sun was setting in the west, and with night approaching, her legs were stiff, and she had five or six blisters on her feet, unable to walk any further.

There was a dense forest on both sides of the road, with many birds and beasts. As the long night loomed, strange and peculiar noises came from the roadside.

After all, she was just a sixteen-year-old girl, carrying a mix of grievances and fears in her tear-filled, willow-leafed eyes, on the verge of tears.

"Sister Cui Yu, what are you doing here?"

Cui Yu looked towards the voice, seeing a handsome boy driving a black dog along the field ridge. Seeing her, he quickly approached with a smile; who else could it be but Nezha?

Cui Yu was so angry she gritted her teeth, raised her hand to slap Nezha's head, but seeing him just lower his head and close his eyes, not even dodging, she softened and couldn't bear to hit him, her hand landing on his head just like in usual play.

She asked, "Why didn't you dodge, silly child?"

"Hehe, if it would calm Sister Cui Yu's anger, Nezha's thick-skinned enough to take a couple of slaps!"

"No longer a mute, but still as cheeky. Now tell me, what happened today?" Seeing Nezha unharmed, Cui Yu felt relieved.

Nezha picked and chose bits of his story to tell, and from those snippets, Cui Yu understood the danger involved. But she was too tired, and as Nezha pulled her along, she cried out "ow" and nearly fell forward, luckily caught by Nezha.

Cui Yu said, "I can't go any further today, you go home and find someone with a cart to pick me up."

"That won't do. I heard from Li Cunxin that there are tigers nearby. If a tiger came and took Sister away, I'd feel guilty to death."

At the mention of tigers, Cui Yu grew fearful, sighed, and said, "Neither this nor that works, so what should we do?"

Cui Yu herself hadn't realized that ever since Nezha started speaking and reading, she'd unconsciously begun to rely on him, this much-younger child whose daily care she still provided.

Nezha looked around and said, "I recall Mr. Fan's courtyard is only four or five miles from here. I'll carry Sister there to stay the night, and then we can let Mr. Fan's house guards report our safety to Mother."