Within the Desolate Island Cave Mansion, a wisp of green smoke rose from the burning Myriad Spirits Nourishing God Incense. It was as fine as a thread, yet contained the strange power of the Chaos Origin, the wishes of all living beings, and the blessings of Sanxiao's bloodline. Ignoring the barriers of space, it followed the Karma Thread hidden in the Netherworld, drifting toward a place beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Tongtian stood motionless. His Chaos Dao Fruit turned slowly, and his mind clung to the wisp of smoke as he carefully sensed the faint feedback it carried back.
The Heavenly River lay at the northernmost edge of the Heavenly Court, where the starry sky of the Primordial World met chaos. It was no true river, but a brilliant ribbon of light spanning the empty sky, formed by the collision of Stellar Power and Chaos Flow. Beautiful, yet extremely dangerous, it was constantly battered by violent Chaos Flow. Any ordinary Golden Immortal who drew near risked the destruction of both body and soul.
At that moment, on a section of the Heavenly River's embankment, dozens of faint, illusory True Spirit shadows struggled like forced laborers to maintain a vast golden shield, holding back the surging chaotic currents outside. Each impact made their already feeble True Spirits shudder violently, their light growing dimmer and dimmer. At their head stood a burly figure, so insubstantial he was almost transparent: Zhao Gongming. Gritting his teeth, he burned what little True Spirit Origin he had left and held on desperately, protecting Luo Xuan, Lü Yue, and the other Jiejiao Disciples behind him, who were even weaker.
Unending pain and despair gnawed at them. Their True Spirits were like candles in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.
Just as Zhao Gongming's consciousness began to blur, an exceedingly faint yet remarkably warm and pure presence seemed to pierce through endless space and time, quietly seeping into him.
It carried his master's distinctive Chaos Dao Charm, the bloodline auras and boundless blessings of his three younger sisters, and a strange power he had never felt before—one capable of nourishing the soul's source!
Like rain after a long drought, that warmth flowed into his near-exhausted True Spirit, bringing a faint but genuine relief! The pain of being battered by Chaos Flow seemed to lessen by one ten-thousandth, and the dim light of his True Spirit appeared to grow just a little more substantial!
It was still a drop in the bucket, but without a doubt, it was a ray of hope in the darkness of despair!
Zhao Gongming abruptly raised his head. In his dim eyes, an incredulous light flared as he gazed into the void. His lips moved soundlessly. "Master... Junior Sisters..."
Behind him, Luo Xuan, Lü Yue, and the other Jiejiao Disciples seemed to sense something as well. A faint flicker of emotion appeared on their numb faces.
"Senior Brother Gongming," a feeble thought reached him.
"Steady your minds! Conceal your auras! Absorb it with all your strength!" Zhao Gongming immediately warned them with a low mental shout. He did not know what method his master had used, but it was surely an act that defied the heavens. They could not let the overseers notice!
The disciples immediately understood. Suppressing their excitement, they silently absorbed the barely perceptible strands of warmth. Even their will, which had been struggling to hold on, grew a little firmer.
On the desolate island, Tongtian slowly opened his eyes and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The incense worked! Though its effect was slight, it could at least slow the disintegration of Gongming and the others' True Spirits, buying them precious time!
"Master, how did it go?" Yun Xiao asked anxiously. Qiongxiao and Bixiao looked over tensely as well.
"The incense reached them. They should be safe for now," Tongtian said, his tone easing slightly. "But this is no long-term solution. We must find a way to strengthen its effect, or seek another method."
As Tongtian considered his next move, his brow suddenly furrowed. He sensed that the concealment ward around the desolate island had been disturbed!
It was no forceful attack, but an extremely faint divine sense, sharp with the aura of weapons, that swept lightly across the area like a probing touch.
"Someone is watching us!" Tongtian's gaze turned cold. He immediately concealed every trace of his aura. The Chaos Bead's radiance drew inward, once more completely isolating the entire cave mansion.
Almost at the same time, beyond the desolate island, high above the clouds ten thousand li away,
a young divine general stood on Wind Fire Wheels, holding a Fire-Tipped Spear, with the Universe Ring wrapped around his arm and the Heaven and Earth Circle at his waist. Frowning, he stared down in puzzlement at the unremarkable island below. The vertical mark on his brow opened slightly, shining with a light that pierced illusion and saw through emptiness. He was Nezha, ordered to patrol the Three Realms and known as the Great God of the Three Altars!
"Strange... I clearly sensed an extremely subtle fluctuation of energy just now. It seemed like the Dao, yet not the Dao; like chaos, yet not chaos... Why did it vanish in an instant?" Nezha scratched his head. His keen instincts, forged from the fusion of his Lotus Root Immortal Body and the Spirit Pearl Child, had caught something unusual, but now he could find no trace of it.
"Could some old monster be cultivating down there? Or... is this another remnant trace of those Outer Realm Demon Gods?" Thinking of the tense atmosphere in the Heavenly Court lately and his father Li Jing's repeated warnings, Nezha dared not be careless. He decided to descend and search the area carefully.
But as soon as he lowered his cloud, a cold, authoritative voice rang without warning in the depths of his Nascent Soul:
"Nezha, are you looking to die?"
Nezha jolted, nearly falling off his Wind Fire Wheels! That voice... It was domineering and ancient, carrying an oppressive might that made even his lotus-root body tremble! It was no ordinary immortal or god!
"Who?! Quit hiding and show yourself, you coward!" Though startled, Nezha stayed calm. He leveled his Fire-Tipped Spear and warily scanned the surroundings, ready to unleash the Heaven and Earth Circle and Universe Ring.
"Hmph. You're still wet behind the ears, yet you dare act so arrogantly just because you have a few magic treasures?" The voice was full of contempt. "Even if your master, True Man Taiyi, were here, he wouldn't dare speak to me that way!"
Nezha was even more shocked. This person had called his master by name and spoke with such arrogance? He forced himself to remain calm. "Stop playing tricks! Tell me your name!"
"You're not worthy of knowing it," the voice said indifferently. "Let me ask you this: you stand on Wind Fire Wheels and wield a Fire-Tipped Spear. Do you still remember where these magic treasures originally came from? And whose favor did your lotus-root body depend on to be remade?"
At those words, Nezha's face changed abruptly! These were the deepest secrets and wounds in his heart!
Most of his magic treasures had come from the Golden Light Cave of Qianyuan Mountain, but Master Taiyi had once said that the art of Artifact Refining, as well as some of the key materials, had countless ties to the ancient Interception Sect. As for his lotus-root body, after he had caused a terrible disaster and repaid his parents by carving out his bones and cutting away his flesh, True Man Taiyi had called in many favors before he could shape it from an innate lotus root mixed with Three Lights Divine Water. It seemed there were debts of karma involved as well.
"Who exactly are you?" Nezha's voice was hoarse.
"I am an old acquaintance from long ago." The voice suddenly turned ethereal. "To see the source of your Spirit Pearl trapped in the Heavenly Court's service, made into a vanguard for suppressing dissent... How tragic."
"You're talking nonsense! I'm a righteous god appointed by the Heavenly Court, the Great God of the Three Altars! I protect the Heavenly Court. How is that slavery?" Nezha snapped back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, but a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes. Over the years, he had fought in wars and suppressed Demonic Beasts, but he had also put down many "disobedient" wandering immortals and even former members of the Interception Sect. At times, he felt that this was taking him farther and farther from the carefree, vengeful spirit he had once been.
"Oh? Is that so?" The voice was full of scorn. "Then do you know what the 'Demon Traces beyond the realms' and 'remnants of the Interception Sect' you've been ordered to search for actually look like? Why you're searching for them? Have the Jade Emperor and the Saints ever told you who is filling the cracks in the embankment of the Heavenly River with their True Spirits?"
Each question struck Nezha like a heavy hammer. He had indeed only followed orders and knew little of the deeper reasons. As for the Heavenly River, it was a taboo no one dared mention.
"Don't try to beguile me!" Nezha gritted his teeth, but unconsciously slowed his search.
"Beguile you?" The voice gave a cold laugh. "I only pity you. Your Spirit Pearl body should have roamed the world freely, yet you've become a pawn without even knowing it. Your father, Li Jing, stands aloft with his pagoda and looks every bit the mighty figure, but in truth he's no more than a puppet in the struggle between the Western Teachings and the Heavenly Court. He can even sacrifice his own son. What would he care about sacrificing you?"
"Shut up!" Nezha hated nothing more than anyone bringing up what had happened back then. He flew into a rage and thrust his Fire-Tipped Spear at the desolate island below!
Boom! The spear's light raged, blasting a corner of the island to pieces, but it still could not break through the Chaos Restriction around the central area.
"Touchy, are we?" The voice remained calm. "Very well, I've said all I need to. Just remember: one day, what I've said today will come to pass. When you finally see the truth, go to the far end of the Eastern Sea and seek an ancient reef. Recite, 'Spirit Pearl Child, return to your place,' and you may glimpse a chance at life. Take care."
The voice cut off. No matter how much Nezha cursed or probed, there was no further response.
Nezha hovered in midair, his expression shifting as his thoughts became a tangled mess. The stranger's words echoed in his mind like a spell: the Heavenly Court's concealment, his father's self-interest, his master's schemes, and the long-forgotten longing for freedom and his true self.
In the end, he did not attack the island again. He only gave it a long look and snorted. "Playing tricks!" Then he rode off on his Wind Fire Wheels, apparently furious—but all thought of continuing his patrol had vanished.
Inside the cave mansion, Tongtian slowly withdrew his divine sense. He had naturally used the Chaos Bead to imitate an aura and sent his words through divine sense, fooling Nezha.
"Master, he's unruly, and he's a direct disciple of the Chan Sect. Why...?" Yun Xiao asked, puzzled. Nezha had been one of the "culprits" responsible for sending quite a few Jiejiao Disciples onto the Investiture of the Gods.
"Spirit Pearl Child is not bad by nature. He was simply taught the wrong things. And his origins are unusual: he has ties to the Western Teachings, the Chan Sect, the Heavenly Court, and even Empress Nuwa. He's an important piece on the board." Tongtian's gaze was profound. "If we can use him as an entry point, we may be able to plant a thorn within the Heavenly Court. At a crucial moment, it could prove useful. I've planted a seed today. We'll see what comes of it."
He said no more and turned his gaze once again to the Myriad Spirits Nourishing God Incense, which was nearly burned out.
The first stick of incense was almost spent. He had to refine more as soon as possible—and strengthen its effect!
Nourishing them alone was not enough! He had to find a way to pierce the Investiture of the Gods' restraints and directly strengthen their True Spirit Origins!
His gaze shifted once again to the System Mall, and then to the vast Primordial World Land.
Perhaps it was time to visit another "old friend."
The one who ruled over reincarnation, yet was also trapped by the Heavenly Dao and dissatisfied with the Saints—Empress Pingxin, Houtu.
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