Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

"Uncle Ying Long was born with wings, which made him an outcast in the clan since childhood. In truth, those wings were a gift from the Ancestor Dragon, though the clan elders at the time didn't understand it.

Still, Uncle Ying Long displayed astonishing talent early on. He reached the Golden Immortal Realm in just a thousand years—a feat never before accomplished in our Dragon Clan. Another thousand years later, Uncle Ying Long achieved the Perfect Golden Immortal stage, while my father was still only a Golden Immortal at the time. Alas…"

"Alas, what?"

Li Mingzhu hastily followed up with a question. Ying Long's first two thousand years truly resembled the life of a protagonist—after all, achieving Golden Immortal cultivation in just a thousand years was incredibly rare. Such talent was virtually unheard of.

Even for the Human Clan, famous for their swift cultivation speed, reaching the Golden Immortal Realm was as difficult as ascending the heavens. While the Dragon Clan possessed extraordinary innate gifts, their slow cultivation speed was widely known.

Yet Ying Long attained the Golden Immortal stage in just a thousand years, proving himself to be a peerless genius. No wonder Ao Yu called him the Dragon Clan's greatest talent.

"Alas, ever since Uncle Ying Long went to assist the Human Emperor Xuanyuan, he never returned. Nobody knows where he went. I never expected to see Uncle Ying Long's statue here today."

Ao Yu sighed deeply. While she referred to it as a statue, she had a hunch that it was truly Ying Long himself—though she refused to admit it.

"What happened during that time?" Li Mingzhu asked, sensing that Ao Yu seemed intent on avoiding certain details.

"Have you heard of the Drought Spirit?" Ao Yu didn't answer Li Mingzhu's question directly. Instead, she posed her own question.

"Of course I've heard of it. Those zombies we encountered earlier, once they evolve to their highest level, they become Drought Spirits. There's also a legend saying the Drought Spirit is the Fire Essence—once it emerges in the Mortal World, it can scorch three thousand miles of land, leaving nothing behind. I'm not sure if it's true," Li Mingzhu pondered aloud.

"Both legends are true, but the catastrophic power of scorching thousands of miles is exclusive to Innate Drought Spirits. That female Drought Spirit is precisely one of them!" Ao Yu stated, her expression tinged with sorrow.

"How so?"

"The female Drought Spirit was born as the daughter of the Yellow Emperor. Her birth was accompanied by strange phenomena. Concerned about the potential harm she could bring to the Mortal World, the Yellow Emperor and his ministers sealed her away after much discussion. Until…"

"Until the Battle of Zhuolu, when Chi You's demonic power grew too overwhelming, and she was unsealed," Li Mingzhu interjected, recalling that the female Drought Spirit had indeed appeared during the Battle of Zhuolu. However, the specifics were unclear, so he relied on Ao Yu to elaborate.

Ao Yu cast him a sharp look before continuing, "After the female Drought Spirit was unsealed, she did help the Yellow Emperor severely defeat Chi You. But by then, her Drought Spirit form had fully matured, making it impossible for anyone to seal her again. Only Uncle Ying Long's Innate Water Attribute Power could barely suppress her destructive influence.

But alas, the two of them grew deeply attached over time. One was the Innate Fire Essence, the other cultivated Innate Water Qi—one hideously ugly, the other strikingly handsome. Who would have guessed they'd end up together!"

"Matters of love are often inexplicable. As long as the feelings are mutual, what's wrong with them being together?"

Li Mingzhu asked with genuine curiosity. He had heard legends about the female Drought Spirit and Ying Long, though they mostly pertained to the defeats of Chi You's subordinates, the Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain. The rest was unknown.

"They were incompatible as fire and water! If they stayed together, the only outcome would be mutual destruction!"

Ao Yu's words struck Li Mingzhu like a thunderclap. He pointed to the statue and stone coffin in the room and asked, "Then what about them?"

"It's not what you think; they didn't die but merely fell into a deep sleep. Uncle Ying Long, possessing Perfect Golden Immortal cultivation, naturally understood the consequences. Thus, he returned to the Dragon Clan to steal the supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Water Spirit Pearl, hoping to use it to purge the Fire Essence."

Ao Yu's expression grew even more sorrowful.

"And then?" Li Mingzhu pressed eagerly. However, he was met with a contemptuous eye-roll from Ao Yu. Feeling unfairly treated, Li Mingzhu refrained from protesting, realizing that she hadn't yet recounted the most tragic part.

Seeing Ao Yu's despondent demeanor, he adopted an equally solemn expression.

"Later, of course, it failed. Otherwise, there wouldn't be this Xuanyuan Tomb. The Water Spirit Pearl not only failed to suppress the Fire Essence but instead intensified the flames within the female spirit, further entangling her water and fire energies and driving her into a state of madness, wreaking havoc everywhere."

Ao Yu didn't continue, but the implication was clear enough—the stone coffin and statue said it all.

"All fallen into slumber," Li Mingzhu murmured, a wave of melancholy washing over him.

Deep down, he admired the pair. It wasn't hard to imagine the numerous obstacles they faced at the time.

Two individuals who should never have been together insisted on defying fate, despite the dire consequences. Even if the end was tragic, they made their choice.

For her, he disregarded his identity within the Dragon Clan, stole the clan's treasure, and betrayed his own people—all to be with her.

For him, she ignored the sneers and scorn of the world, endured the agony of water and fire within her body—all to return to a simple life by his side.

And even in slumber, he was willing to transform into a statue to accompany her for tens of thousands of years. Li Mingzhu suddenly realized they shouldn't have intruded here to disturb them.

Perhaps they were truly content.

"Slumbering, yes… But something seems wrong. Look!"

Ao Yu's voice trembled as she pointed to the stone coffin. A skeletal, drought-yellow hand slowly emerged from within, its long, razor-sharp nails resembling deadly blades. The mere sight of it sent chills down their spines.

Li Mingzhu followed her gaze and saw it too, his heart plunging in alarm. It seemed their intrusion had disrupted the female spirit's seal.

After the hand came the upper body—drought-yellow hair occasionally giving rise to flames and ice crystals, a clear manifestation of intertwined water and fire energies. Sharp-toothed and grotesque, all her features proclaimed her identity as the female Drought Spirit.

With a piercing shriek, the female Drought Spirit leapt from the coffin, her movements as swift as lightning, her body intangible to the naked eye.

Her terrifying claws swept forward, aiming directly for Li Mingzhu's abdomen. Acting instinctively from his sense of danger, Li Mingzhu sidestepped and raised his Immortal Slaying Sword, narrowly parrying the strike. Yet the force knocked him back dozens of feet, and the Immortal Slaying Sword now bore a three-inch-deep claw mark.

A chilling gust passed by, and the female spirit suddenly relocated above Li Mingzhu's head, both claws descending like furious thunder.

Having witnessed her previous attack, Li Mingzhu didn't dare to clash head-on again. Relying on his movement technique, he barely evaded her strike.

But the female Drought Spirit pursued relentlessly, her every motion shadowing his. Twin dragons of fire and water coiled together, speeding toward Li Mingzhu with unerring precision—her mastery over water and fire energies displayed effortlessly.

Not daring to take risks, Li Mingzhu quickly summoned the Treasure Lotus Lamp. Its radiant, multicolored brilliance illuminated the space, effortlessly shielding him from the intertwined dragons.

"Ah!"

The female Drought Spirit howled sharply, seemingly provoked by Li Mingzhu's ease in deflecting her attack. She lunged at him once more.

"Boom!"

This time, however, her assault didn't proceed as smoothly. While her attack did connect with Li Mingzhu, the Treasure Lotus Lamp retaliated with a violent shock, forcing her backward.