Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

Ignoring Jiang Ziya completely, Li Mingzhu accelerated his pace and disappeared above the North Sea in mere moments.

Upon entering the Marquis Mansion, Nu Ba instantly took notice. She approached Li Mingzhu without uttering a word, simply staring intently.

"Mission accomplished!"

Li Mingzhu smiled, knowing Nu Ba's temperament and paying it no further mind.

"To Chaoge!"

Nu Ba spoke curtly, and with that, she vanished again. Knowing she had hidden herself in the shadows, Li Mingzhu decided not to press the matter.

Besides, even if he wanted to investigate, he wouldn't be able to figure out where Nu Ba was hiding.

The gap in their cultivation was as vast as a chasm—utterly insurmountable. Furthermore, Nu Ba's strength had grown even more refined since her last battle with Gonggong.

Rushing forward at full speed, it took five whole days for Li Mingzhu to finally bring Nu Ba to Chaoge.

Truthfully, with Nu Ba's Quasi-Saint cultivation, if she had chosen to take Li Mingzhu along at her pace, they could have reached Chaoge in mere moments from the North Sea.

Unfortunately, Nu Ba showed no such inclination, and Li Mingzhu wouldn't even think of asking. Thus, the trip ended up consuming so much time.

Still, it mattered little. The doomed would always meet their fate—these few days made no difference.

Outside Chaoge City, Li Mingzhu and Nu Ba concealed their entire presence, entering the city as ordinary people.

Upon arriving in Chaoge, Li Mingzhu began his preparations. First, he positioned the Spirit Communication Nine Formation along the killer's daily route under the guise of Erlai.

Additionally, through Li Mingzhu's improvements and calculations, the Spirit Communication Nine Formation now only recognized the killer's aura. Anyone else—whether ordinary people or immortals—could not trigger the formation.

And hidden within the Spirit Communication Nine Formation was the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation, a Killing Formation capable of giving even a Quasi-Saint something they wouldn't easily forget.

One must understand—the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation originally eliminated the Chan Sect's Twelve Golden Immortals of their Three Flowers atop their heads and Five Energies within their abdomens during the Divine Enthronement calamity.

It even forced Randeng, with his late Quasi-Saint cultivation, into purely defensive action, not daring to challenge the formation.

With such a formidable array in place, even if Li Mingzhu were alone, he would still have a solid seventy percent chance of trapping the assassin. Adding Nu Ba—another Quasi-Saint—into the mix made success practically guaranteed.

Because of Li Mingzhu's comprehensive preparations, or perhaps the killer's lowered vigilance within Chaoge City, the assassin quickly fell into the Spirit Communication Nine Formation.

"A trivial array? Break it apart!"

Leng Ying sneered coldly as he faced the ever-shifting shapes of the Spirit Communication Nine Formation. This level of formation might annoy Golden Immortals or Taiyi Golden Immortals, but it couldn't even hinder a Daluo Golden Immortal, let alone touch him, a Quasi-Saint.

With a disdainful snort, Leng Ying drew the Seven Killings Sword, the same weapon used in his prior assault on Ao Yu.

The sword emitted an oppressive black light, thick as ink, cascading outward.

Leng Ying expected the formation to collapse immediately, yet to his astonishment, golden light appeared, and the world shifted dramatically.

The Nine Curves of the Yellow River surged toward the sea, never to return. Endless yellow sands accompanied the river, while layers of mist spiraled ceaselessly.

Even someone as arrogant as Leng Ying realized he had fallen into a trap. He dared not be careless, unleashing his full power before the formation could fully solidify.

"Seven Killings!"

The Seven Killings Sword merged seven "kill" characters into one, transforming into an enormous "kill" character that surged forward.

Yet every move Leng Ying made was already within Li Mingzhu's calculations, even down to the direction of his attack.

"Boom!"

A heavy treasure from the Jie Sect, the Primordial Golden Bowl, appeared at this critical juncture, blocking the massive "kill" character completely. At the same time, a streak of red light shot toward Leng Ying from the bowl.

Having just unleashed his full strength, Leng Ying couldn't evade the red light in time. He felt a surge of terror within his heart.

Although he appeared unharmed, the sheer might of the magical treasure left him deeply shaken. A mere sweep of the red light instantly stripped him of five thousand years' worth of mana and cultivation.

Originally only at the early Quasi-Saint level, Leng Ying nearly fell from his Quasi-Saint rank entirely after this strike.

"Kill!"

Li Mingzhu suddenly appeared within the formation, wielding the Fire-tipped Spear. The Four Styles of Dominance Spear merged into a single attack, striking ferociously at Leng Ying.

Seeing nothing but an inexperienced youth attacking him without a Quasi-Saint's power, Leng Ying finally exhaled in relief. Though the spear technique was formidable and domineering, it wasn't enough to take his life.

Swinging the Seven Killings Sword, Leng Ying blocked the Fire-tipped Spear and nearly injured Li Mingzhu with sword qi.

But was Li Mingzhu's assault truly limited to just that single strike?

Of course not. Before Leng Ying could draw breath, eighteen Yellow Dragons rose from the yellow sands and Yellow River below.

Each Yellow Dragon possessed strength equivalent to that of Li Mingzhu. Their purpose, however, was not to kill—they existed to entangle Leng Ying.

Executing this strategy was easy enough. The eighteen Yellow Dragons combined into an array, rendering Leng Ying's attacks futile and trapping him completely.

Breaking free from the dragons required overwhelming cultivation and daoist prowess, which Leng Ying lacked. Moreover, his abilities weren't designed for direct combat.

His skill lay primarily in assassination from the shadows, and now he was forced into open confrontation—a clear disadvantage that weakened him significantly.

Li Mingzhu knew this well, hence the decision to rely on formations to deal with him. If Leng Ying slipped back into hiding, finding him again would prove challenging.

Additionally, being targeted by an early Quasi-Saint assassin was hardly comforting.

Even if Li Mingzhu himself wasn't afraid, those around him couldn't possibly contend with such a threat.

Take the recent attack involving Ao Yu as an example. Li Mingzhu understood that it was aimed at him directly. Unable to deal with him outright, the enemy targeted Ao Yu instead.

Once the eighteen Yellow Dragons trapped Leng Ying, the Primordial Golden Bowl reappeared overhead. Boundless red light poured down in torrents.

Using the Divine Dragons to constrain and the Primordial Golden Bowl to finish the battle!

This was precisely why, during the Divine Enthronement calamity, not even the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, Randeng in his late Quasi-Saint cultivation, or Lu Ya succeeded in gaining any advantage within the Nine Curves Yellow River Formation.

Indeed, Yun Xiao even disabled the Twelve Golden Immortals. Had Yuanshi Tianzun himself not intervened, the immortals might have perished entirely.

The red light enveloped Leng Ying, continuously eroding his dao and cultivation.

With each passing second, it stripped away five thousand years of his cultivation. After ten seconds, Leng Ying's momentum collapsed entirely; his cultivation had fallen to the Primordial Spirit level.

Li Mingzhu knew when to stop. His goal wasn't simply to kill the assassin—it was to uncover the mastermind pulling the strings.

No matter who it was, he would pursue them relentlessly. Even if his power wasn't enough now, he would claim vengeance in the future!