Nezha walked up to the Yaksha with an expressionless face and said, "A few days ago, did you eat those children?"
The Yaksha's eyes darted around as he said, "I didn't eat them! Those kids were naughty, fell into the river, and drowned. I, I didn't have time to save them. I deserve to die!"
Nezha wouldn't believe it even if there were ghosts, and he struck his fist on the Bright Silver Spear, pinning the Yaksha's spear while causing the Yaksha's insides to tremble. The immense pain made the Yaksha's already hideous face even more ferocious.
This also provoked his ferocity. Seeing Nezha not far away, he swung the steel pitchfork with all his might. Nezha grabbed the steel pitchfork heading toward him, adjusted its angle with a slight twist, and then exerted force, splat!
Aaaaaah!
The Yaksha let out a painful howl, intermittently saying, "I, I am the Sea Patrol Yaksha, famous in the Jade Scroll of the Heavenly Court. You, you can't kill me!"
Nezha figured there was no need to ask further. He pulled out the steel pitchfork and as the fork blade reached the Yaksha's chest, he fiercely raised it, splat, clatter, tiny fragments scattered all over the ground.
Summoning back the spotless Bright Silver Spear, he swung the steel pitchfork to dismember the Yaksha and then burned him to ashes with a single flame.
Nezha wasn't being cruel, he simply wanted to understand the structure of such a creature, otherwise how could he mimic it?
Even counterfeiting needs a reference, right?
Activating the Dao Qi of Jade Scrolls, Nezha transformed into a fake Yaksha. Looking at the body, Nezha felt a bit disgusted, but to probe Ao Bing's secrets, he had to make do with it.
If Ao Bing is a good dragon, then that's it. If he's an evil dragon, hmph!
As for not being stable enough? I can just hide in the Mountain and River Map, and no one can do anything to me. Isn't that stable enough?
Entering the Dragon Palace of the East Sea from the river mouth, Nezha found everything novel, but he couldn't show it at all, maintaining a 'cool' face. Fortunately, the Yaksha was a moderate official and had free passage.
The Dragon Palace was vast, and after wandering for a long time, Nezha luckily stumbled upon the Third Prince Long, Ao Bing, taking a stroll on his Green Water Beast.
Ao Bing, wearing armor, was arrogant and shouted from afar, "Li Gen, why aren't you patrolling the sea and instead loitering around the Dragon Palace?"
Nezha froze for a moment, then turned and swam over fawningly, "Your Highness, I, I'm here to report something important to you."
Ao Bing gave a half-smile and said quietly, "What is it, have you found some good stuff again?"
Nezha wasn't quite sure what Ao Bing meant by good stuff, so he vaguely replied, "Well, there is one, though I'm not sure if Your Highness would like it."
Ao Bing grabbed the 'Yaksha' by the collar and said coldly, "A few days ago, you caught six kids and kept two for yourself. You think I don't know?"
Nezha suppressed the anger rising in his heart, thinking: You are courting death!
Quickly thinking, he put on a pleasing face and said, "Your Highness, forgive me. I'm here to report a peerless celestial item to you!"
Ao Bing squinted his eyes, "Oh? If you have good stuff, just bring it to me directly."
The 'Yaksha' was full of flattery, "Well, if I scare the kids, how will Your Highness proceed?"
Ao Bing accepted this explanation and waved his hand, "Lead the way."
Nezha pondered how to silently kill Ao Bing.
Killing him was simple, even though Ao Bing had Heavenly Immortal cultivation and he was only a Human Immortal.
But to do it silently required some planning.
Nezha led the way, choosing sparsely populated areas. Before long, Ao Bing asked suspiciously, "Li Gen, in such a remote place, where's the treasure?"
The 'Yaksha' turned his head to explain, "Your Highness, populated areas have common goods. These remote ones with divine aura are the real treasures."
Ao Bing scratched his brain soaked in water for who knows how many years. It seemed to make sense. Besides, would this little Yaksha dare to harm him?
The Yaksha wouldn't dare, but Nezha would.
He led Ao Bing to a desolate coast, where a fake Dao Qi flowed, with a 'Nezha' seated on a distant large rock.
"Your Highness, look! A treasure!"
Ao Bing saw from afar, a child with fair skin and delicate features enveloped in spiritual power, and rushed over without thinking, not caring what's behind him.
Nezha dispelled the transformation, drew out the Bright Silver Spear, and poured all his mana into it, striving to remember the mighty image from the Chaos he once glimpsed.
Divine, he did not have.
Form, he could not achieve.
Nezha had only a faint sense of it, but even that little sense was enough.
With Nezha as the center, an inexplicable Dao Qi unfolded, freezing everything it touched. Ao Bing noticed something wrong, wanted to turn back and see what was happening, only to be frozen by the Dao Qi as he turned his head.
At least he died knowing it.
In Ao Bing's terrified gaze, the spear tip drew a mysterious trajectory across in front of him.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor Ao Bing's scream.
The still waves began to roll again; Ao Bing's body made a puff sound and turned to ashes scattered by the wind. A True Spirit shot toward the Investiture of the Gods beyond the heavens.
Nezha struggled to stabilize his body that was continually breaking down due to the backlash of using the Power Dao, and moved away from the spot, finding an uninhabited place to flee into the Mountain and River Map to heal his wounds.
In the Nuwa Palace, Nuwa, holding the Heavenly Observation Mirror and watching this 'live broadcast', fell into deep thought; is this what I taught? I haven't cultivated the Power Dao?
At the same time Ao Bing died, the life plaque in the Deep Sea Dragon Palace shattered into powder. The guard was stunned and quickly informed the Dragon King.
The Old Dragon King was furious. His third son just died like this? Who did it?
The Dragon Palace was efficient, and they found out immediately that Ao Bing went with Yaksha Li Gen. As for what they did? Unknown.
Could a bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals even meddle with the Third Prince Long's affairs?
The Old Dragon King immediately summoned the Turtle Prime Minister, "You thousand-year-old turtle, quickly calculate how my son died!"
The old turtle was a bit hesitant; this matter was evidently not simple. If he stumbled upon a Great Expert, wouldn't he be lighting a lamp in the toilet? Yet, under the pressure of the Dragon King, he had no choice.
The Turtle Prime Minister thought to himself, I'll just take a rough, cursory, small, distant look.
And that small look left the old turtle gone, he only saw thousands of golden lights, then his body turned into flesh and blood firecrackers cracking inside the turtle shell, without giving any information, he died.
The neighboring marine creatures were terrified, 'Holy turtle, who did this involve?'
The Dragon King knew not to pursue further, but the pain of losing a son and Dragon Clan's arrogance couldn't just let it go easily.
After thinking for a long time, he came up with an idea, "I'll go to the heavens to complain! Some demonic creature recklessly killed the Third Prince Long of the Deep Sea Dragon Palace and the Sea Patrol Yaksha Li Gen. The Heavenly Court is nominally the superior of the Four Seas, you can't ignore this, can you?"
Nezha didn't care about what came next, who was Ao Bing? Never met, not familiar.
The injuries looked scary but weren't serious, mostly from backlash from the Power Dao. A bit of medicinal treatment would do.
Returning to the Nuwa Temple, Granny was waiting in the main hall, probably for several days already.
Granny saw Nezha returning alone. Was she relieved? Disappointed?
There was both, and her expression was very complex.
Nezha approached her and said solemnly, "I'm sorry Granny, I didn't find Gou Dan."
Granny didn't blame him but sighed with relief, wiping her tears with a smile, "It's fine, it's fine, as long as you are safe."
With that, she turned and walked away in loneliness.
Nezha watched Granny's staggering back, wanting to call out to her but having no reason to do so.
Spiritual Sense told Nezha that this Granny wouldn't last three days. Physical ailments can be healed, but how do you save a heart that's already dead?