Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

The Buzhou Mountain of legend was once as tall as the heavens, connecting to the Nine Heavens above and bordering the Nine Netherworld below. But what lay before Li Mingzhu now was just a series of low hills, with no trace of its former grandeur.

To say he wasn't saddened would be a lie—but such emotions were fleeting. The present mattered more, for lingering over the past was futile and meaningless.

Following the strange calling within his heart, Li Mingzhu trekked through the ruins of Buzhou Mountain. When he reached the edge of a lake, the mysterious summoning within him abruptly vanished.

In most cases, such occurrences had two explanations: either the calling had guided him to its endpoint, or the summoning had never existed to begin with.

Between the two, Li Mingzhu leaned toward the first possibility.

Without overthinking, Li Mingzhu stepped directly into the lake.

At his current level, his cultivation was but a sliver away from that of a Daluo Golden Immortal, and his actual combat strength rivaled that of a Quasi-Saint—no ordinary Quasi-Saint, at that. Naturally, moving through the lake was effortless for him.

The lake itself held no abnormalities. Even after exploring its depths, Li Mingzhu discovered nothing out of the ordinary, which struck him as rather unusual.

Having gained nothing from the lakebed, Li Mingzhu ascended from the water with furrowed brows.

The greatest abnormality here was that there was no abnormality at all. After pondering for a moment, Li Mingzhu decided to dive back into the lakebed, unleashing Taiyang Fire from his Hun Tian Ribbon.

Under the searing flames, the lakewater evaporated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Once the water dried up, the lakebed was fully revealed. But aside from mud and gravel, there was still nothing remarkable to be seen.

Faced with the unchanged bottom of the lake, Li Mingzhu couldn't help but feel a flicker of frustration. Could it be that his intuition was mistaken?

As Li Mingzhu mulled over where he might have gone wrong, a sudden gurgle came from the very center of the lakebed—a spring erupted, and crystal-clear water began flowing vigorously.

"Now that's more like it!"

Li Mingzhu chuckled to himself. This was the kind of discovery he had been expecting.

The mouth of the spring was wide enough to accommodate three people. Li Mingzhu stepped into the spring, only to find himself entering an entirely different world—a secret grotto with wonders beyond imagination.

Inside the spring, the passage led to a waterfall cascading like a silver curtain, its torrents pouring down with a majestic flow of three thousand feet.

Diving headfirst into the spring, Li Mingzhu couldn't avoid being drenched by the raging waterfall. Fortunately, his robust physique and formidable resilience meant he remained unscathed, despite the impact.

Rising from the pool beneath the waterfall, he ascended into the sky, overlooking the new domain. This small world was exceedingly modest—not only was it smaller than the Demon Clan world he once explored, but it didn't even compare to his own cave mansion.

It was a world so small that with one glance, he could take in its entirety: a single waterfall, a Spiritual Mountain perched above it, and atop the mountain, a solitary Daoist temple—nothing more.

Rather than a "world," "secret realm" seemed a more fitting description for this place.

The temple exuded a rustic atmosphere, with a purple bronze incense burner inside, sending up curling smoke.

Undoubtedly, this Daoist temple was the core of this secret realm.

Yet Li Mingzhu did not approach it immediately. While the secret realm was small, its creator—and the potential dangers within—remained unknown.

Charging into the temple recklessly would be risky. What if danger lurked inside? How would he respond?

Such considerations must be made. Though he instinctively felt the place posed no threat, caution was paramount.

After deliberating, Li Mingzhu decided to enter the temple—but not before taking several precautions. First, he stepped outside the secret realm and set up a transmission array.

The array had only one purpose: no matter where he was, as long as he crushed the jade scroll in his hand, he would be transported back here instantly.

Truly a must-have for home travel, robberies, and battles!

Next, before entering the temple, Li Mingzhu equipped himself fully.

He wielded the Fire-tipped Spear in hand, the Treasure Lotus Lamp glowing above his head, and the Wind and Fire Wheel spinning beneath his feet!

Ascending the Spiritual Mountain and standing outside the Daoist temple, he noticed a stone stele inscribed with the characters "Circulation."

Further ahead lay an open courtyard. In the center stood a purple bronze incense burner, from which tendrils of smoke rose, perfumed by an unknown incense that, upon inhalation, gave Li Mingzhu a faint sense of falling into a Dao-enlightenment state.

Above the temple's entrance hung a plaque with three characters written on it: "Zhou Tian Pavilion."

Though constructed like a Daoist temple, it bore the name "Zhou Tian Pavilion." How peculiar!

Continuing forward, Li Mingzhu pushed open the main doors and entered.

The temple's main hall was barren—there was neither object nor inhabitant. Strange. Before Li Mingzhu could make sense of this, a sudden darkness engulfed him.

He tried to crush the jade scroll he carried, but found himself unable to act at all.

A point of light emerged within Li Mingzhu's consciousness, growing ever brighter. Eventually, it evolved into a Dharma Body, with shimmering laws circulating around it. This was different from the mana of the Primordial World; it seemed to belong to another cultivation system entirely.

"Welcome, fortunate one, to the Circulation Secret Realm!"

The Dharma Body moved toward Li Mingzhu, its form rippling with spatial distortions. Though it felt close, it simultaneously seemed separated by an infinite expanse.

Before Li Mingzhu could question its identity, the Dharma Body suddenly exploded. Instantly, Li Mingzhu found himself back in the temple's main hall.

The hall had changed. A high platform floated in the center, atop which sat a pond. In its waters bloomed a Twin Lotus. Beside the pond lay two scrolls.

These, Li Mingzhu surmised, were the treasures of the Circulation Secret Realm. But whose legacy was this? The Dharma Body hadn't finished speaking before it vanished.

Carefully, Li Mingzhu approached the pond, using his mana to lift one scroll and unroll it. There was no sign of danger.

The creator of this secret realm, it seemed, bore no hostility toward later generations but merely wished to leave behind an opportunity for them.

The scroll contained little text, but its revelations were earth-shattering. If the information recorded was true, then all beings of the Primordial World, even the great Pangu, were merely gazing at the sky from the bottom of a well.

The Primordial World was believed to be created by Pangu through immense effort, shaping it from the Chaos. But was it truly the only macrocosm within the Chaos?

Not at all. Deep within the Chaos Sea lay the Origin Continent. On this continent existed many beings as powerful as Pangu—if not more so.

There were even supreme entities capable of creating and destroying countless worlds with a mere wave of their hands. The founder of the Zhou Tian Pavilion—whose sect had left behind this secret realm—was one such being, having transcended the multiverses and stood supreme above the Great Dao.

The name of the senior who left this secret realm was Akasaka Child. Eons ago, he inadvertently stumbled into this portion of the Chaos, coinciding with Pangu's act of opening the heavens. On a whim, he sparred with Pangu.

The duel ended in mutual destruction. Akasaka Child suffered grievous, incurable injuries and ultimately perished here, while Pangu transformed himself to create all things!

If not for the injuries inflicted by Akasaka Child, how could Pangu have died? Did people truly believe the Heavenly Dao had schemed against Pangu?

With Pangu's might, rivaling the Great Dao itself, he could crush the Heavenly Dao with a mere finger. How could the Heavenly Dao dare to scheme against him?

It was only after Pangu's true death that the Heavenly Dao dared to seize control of everything he left behind.