Chapter 130: Taiyi's 130th Day of Taking on Disciples and Creating Games
A blinding white light flashed in mid-air, carrying the already bound disguise voucher, and soared high into the air. The light was so intense that Li Jing and the old merman could barely open their eyes.
However, although the white light was dazzling, it also passed very quickly.
A moment later, the fleshy ball in mid-air burst open. A chubby little baby was revealed from within, with red lips and white teeth, and two arms that were segmented like lotus roots. His exceptionally clear black and white eyes held the pure innocence unique to children as he looked curiously at Li Jing and the mermaid beside him.
But Li Jing was startled by this sudden strange phenomenon and drew his sword from his waist, pointing it at the vast expanse of white.
"Who are you? I am Li Jing from Chentang Pass." Li Jing's voice was firm, but his eyes darted around, looking left and right but refusing to look at Nezha's face.
After finally managing to look up with determination, he quickly lowered his head again after only a few breaths.
Li Jing wiped away his tears, his imposing manner diminished by three points. It wasn't out of shock or fright, but rather because he was dazzled by the suddenly grown head of beautiful hair of the child in front of him.
Where in the world could you find hair like this? So white, so luminous, it shimmered with a strange, iridescent light in the sunlight. It was so bright that it was impossible to tell who owned it.
However, Li Jing kept thinking about that unique statement he made at the beginning. The moment those words were spoken, Nezha, whom he was holding, vanished, replaced by a strange white light in the sky.
The voice came from who-knows-where, but whoever it was, it indicated that besides him and the old merman, there was another uninvited guest in the courtyard who could speak human language.
Chen Tang Pass is a strategic pass between the East Sea and the human race. As the garrison commander, and being in his own courtyard, he naturally had to find this uninvited guest.
For a moment, only Li Jing's voice echoed in the courtyard; no one answered, and a long silence followed.
Then the white light got closer and closer, becoming sparse and dazzling, so bright that Li Jing couldn't open his eyes and could only grip the hilt of his sword tightly.
Then his other hand touched something soft and warm.
Li Jing, suppressing his tears, looked ahead, but was quickly blinded by the light. He still saw a three-year-old child with white hair and black eyes, whose handsome features made him seem approachable.
The child was staring intently at him, walking closer and closer to the tip of his sword.
Li Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly sheathed his sword. Then, belatedly remembering the strange sound, he drew the entire sword, scabbard and all, out of the sheath.
He pressed the hard scabbard against the white-haired child's brow: "Who are you?"
A newborn child wouldn't call himself "Master," and if it were a deity or monster reincarnated through another's womb, it wouldn't be considered his and his wife's child.
Li Jing felt bitter, but he also thought that the child was his and his wife's bloodline, so he still held back some of his strength and kept his distance from the child by only using the hilt of his sword.
The child's skin was so tender that even a light touch left a red mark on his forehead.
But Nezha was completely unaware and continued to walk curiously in Li Jing's direction.
"Well, he is, after all, his child." Li Jing's heart stirred slightly. But before he could squat down to examine the child's face more closely and find the strange voice, another person suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
An old Taoist priest pierced through the clouds and mist, and arrived in the courtyard almost instantly.
As soon as Taiyi Zhenren arrived, he saw this scene: a white-haired child was being pointed at with a sword by his own father, but the child was completely unaware and just instinctively approached the man in front of him, resolutely walking towards the man who had shown murderous intent.
"Spare his life!" Master Taiyi rushed over. "General, spare his life! The child is innocent!"
At this moment, Taiyi Zhenren felt like vomiting. He had clearly calculated the time when Nezha would become his disciple and when Nezha would be born, but who could have imagined that he would encounter an urgent matter from the Heavenly Court halfway through the journey and be unable to get away?
Despite their best efforts, they were still a moment too late, and their poor apprentice was treated this way by his own father right after birth.
Is this calamity of father and son killing each other about to come true at this moment?!
Taiyi Zhenren was now truly regretting his actions. Had he known the matter was so important, he would have asked his fellow disciples and colleagues in Heaven to take his place.
After all, there are so many gods in Heaven, there must be someone else who can handle this besides him. But Nezha is his destined only disciple, so it's obvious which is more important.
Fortunately, things didn't escalate to the last minute.
Taiyi Zhenren stood between Li Jing and Nezha, gently tapping Li Jing's sword with his whisk: "Please, General, show mercy; the child is innocent."
With the safety crisis gone, Master Taiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief and noticed the dazzling, seven-colored, glazed white hair that could almost steal the brilliance of the sun and moon.
Taiyi Zhenren gasped. How could this reincarnation of Lingzhu be so unique?
Li Jing frowned as he looked at the old Taoist priest who was approaching menacingly, whose clothes and hair were all disheveled.
When he saw the old Taoist priest skillfully pick Nezha up from the ground, his vigilance reached its peak.
Could this old Taoist priest be planning to steal the child? Li Jing's doubts reached their peak.
Li Jing sheathed his sword, crossed his arms, and greeted the immortal master, saying, "I am Li Jing from Chentang Pass. May I ask your name, sir?"
"I am Taiyi Zhenren, a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun. I have come here because I foresaw that this boy and I have a predestined master-disciple relationship, so I have come to take him as my disciple." Taiyi Zhenren hurriedly introduced himself and his lineage, but his wrinkled clothes and hair obviously reduced the credibility of this statement.
After all, everyone knows that Yuanshi Tianzun always pays the most attention to rules and etiquette, and his twelve Golden Immortals are all cleaner and tidier than the last.
After realizing this, Taiyi Zhenren quickly tried to make amends: "I was dealing with important matters of the Heavenly Court just now, and when I realized that my disciple was in trouble, I came in a bit of a hurry."
"Look, this is my official seal in Heaven." Taiyi Zhenren took out a small vermilion seal from his sleeve. The Heavenly Court's aura on it was undeniable, and even the official seal of Chentang Pass in Li Jing's sleeve was affected at this moment.
After all, Li Jing was the general of Chentang Pass who often had to deal with the Dragon King. He also held a sinecure in the Four Seas and could be considered a subordinate of Taiyi Zhenren.
I was so angry I wanted to cover my face with my hands. What do you call being startled by a newborn baby and then having a stress reaction, only to find that your boss's boss's boss has climbed over the wall to your house and said, "This child is destined for me"?
He had almost come to blows with this newborn child just now, and no matter how you look at it, it felt strange.
“I know, it must be this head of hair.” Master Taiyi immediately replied, “This child’s birth is extraordinary, which is inevitable, but there are some unusual phenomena. It is indeed too bright now. However, I still have some magic treasures that I can give to this child, as a gift for my disciple.”
As he spoke, Taiyi Zhenren took out a round golden ring from his sleeve. The ring looked small, but it suddenly grew larger when it touched Nezha and passed steadily through Nezha's neck.
"This is the Qiankun Ring, which can be made large or small, and can be used as a weapon or for self-defense. Now, having this child wear it can also provide some concealment."
Indeed, after putting on the Universe Ring, although Nezha still had a head of dizzying white hair, at least the dazzling seven-colored light was gone.
As Nezha shook his head, his originally silvery-white hair would occasionally turn jet black, making him look no different from an ordinary three-year-old child at first glance.
"I wonder if this child has been given a name?"
"Reporting to the immortal master, this child's name is Nezha."
Nezha, what a great name!
Master Taiyi held his newly acquired little disciple and found him more and more pleasing to the eye; even his name sounded wonderful.
Then, seeing the newborn Nezha, who was still bald except for the Qiankun Ring around his neck, he quickly took out a long red ribbon from his body and wrapped Nezha up.
Although Taiyi didn't say anything, the brilliance of the treasure couldn't be concealed, and Li Jing recognized it at a glance as a rare and exquisite magic weapon.
He immediately bestowed two peerless magical treasures upon them. Such a generous gesture was something even Jinzha and Muzha, who had become his disciples, had never received.
Now Li Jing was completely convinced by this unexpected master who came to his door, and he truly regarded him as the master of his youngest son.
However, since Li Jing had accepted the master-disciple relationship on behalf of Nezha, he still had to reveal the voice he had heard at the beginning.
"...That's right. We were choosing a look for our child when this voice suddenly rang out. This voice is somehow connected to me, Nezha. Please, immortal, enlighten us."
Without the blinding white light, the light naturally focused on Nezha for a proper look.
Perhaps because he had been pregnant for three years, Nezha grew to the size of a three-year-old after emerging from the ball of flesh, just like an inflated balloon.
But being new to the world, its eyes were still wide open and confused, and it could only murmur the few words it had just heard. It showed no signs of being able to make any bold statements before even hatching.
Therefore, Li Jing is now completely baffled and cannot figure out where that sentence came from.
"So you don't see Nezha as an oddity because of his white hair?" Taiyi asked in surprise.
Li Jing laughed and said, "Immortal, you are joking. Ancient sage emperors were born with knowledge, and even saints had double pupils. The fact that my son has such an unusual appearance only shows that he was born extraordinary and is by no means an ordinary person."
As expected of the general guarding the border between the sea people and the human race, his thinking is indeed broad.
Taiyi gained a new understanding of Li Jing, and at the same time, his originally black hair was changed back to the color that Nezha had initially chosen.
As for that strange voice: "General, have you ever heard of the mystery of the womb?"
“Nezha is the reincarnation of Lingzhu, a child of the goddess Nuwa. While still in the womb, he retained two or three parts of Lingzhu’s consciousness. Therefore, what you heard may be the voice of his lingering will.”
As for the many spirit pearls who often played "Miracle of the Primordial World" with Goddess Nuwa, Taiyi couldn't stand their dawdling and gossiping, so he wisely didn't continue.
Hearing this, Li Jing finally felt relieved: "I see."
These days, reincarnations of immortals do exist. Wasn't the Holy Emperor Fuxi the reincarnation of Nuwa's brother? In any case, after reincarnation, he recognized his parents in this life, and he and his wife will definitely treat this child well.
Thinking of this, Li Jing's eyes softened: "However, since Nezha is newly born, my wife has not yet seen him. Could we stay a few more years to accompany Nezha for a while?"
“That’s only right.” Master Taiyi readily agreed. After all, the affairs of the Heavenly Court have been far too busy these days, and he hasn’t had time to personally mentor his disciple in recent years. It would be most appropriate to entrust him to Nezha’s biological parents.
Thinking of this, Taiyi took out two Wind and Fire Wheels from his sleeve and strung them on the Hun Tian Ling: "Nezha should cultivate well at home first, and when the time is right, I will take him to the Golden Light Cave for secluded cultivation."
As for what "the time is right" means, it is when Taiyi finishes the tasks assigned by the Heavenly Court and can finally relax and train his disciples.
Alas, the affairs of Heaven are very busy, and he has to go to the next place to work.
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Author's note: Do you know why Nezha has such shiny hair?
Because the goddess Nuwa loves to give Lingzhuzi sparkly clothes and skins, I chose the most dazzling hairstyle when creating her character's face. [Let me see!]
It's not multicolored; it's actually silvery-white overall, but it shimmers with iridescent colors under the sun—a vibrant white! Later on, Nezha can even change his hair color. For example, Taiyi Zhenren can give him black hair now, and who knows, maybe he'll turn green after a fight with Li Jing! [doge]
Chen Tang Pass is located at the border between the East Sea and the human world, so there are many clashes between humans and demons, which is why Li Jing has a very open mind. [doge emoji]
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