Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

Though Wen Zhong was indeed Li Mingzhu's senior brother in terms of hierarchy, Wen Zhong was a person who made strict distinctions between public and private matters. If Li Mingzhu wanted him to return to Chaoge and work on advancing Li Jing's rank, it wouldn't come to pass without some effort.

As Li Mingzhu collected the Treasure Division Rock, his form naturally appeared.

"Demon Path follower, quickly tell me—where did you take the patriarch?"

"Yes, speak up!"

"Hand over the patriarch at once!"

.....

As soon as Li Mingzhu appeared, those lesser demons seemed to have gone mad, endlessly questioning him with reckless abandon, showing no fear of the intimidating power he had displayed earlier.

"And what if I say no? Or perhaps, if your so-called patriarch has already perished by my hand—what then?"

Li Mingzhu stepped forward slowly, unleashing his Physical Body Divine Domain, a curtain of blood enveloping every demon present.

Though such a display held no real power, when it came to intimidation, its effect was unmatched.

Case in point: as soon as Li Mingzhu's Physical Body Divine Domain was unleashed, those lesser demons, who had moments ago been baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, suddenly fell silent and subdued.

"Everyone, listen to me! The patriarch must have been trapped by some method used by this Demon Path follower. Let us all attack together! If we kill this Demon Path scum, will we not be able to rescue the patriarch? What's more, so long as we can hold him off, the patriarch is sure to break free from his entrapment!"

The richly dressed young man from earlier stepped forward from the crowd of demons, speaking loudly from an elevated position.

Li Mingzhu did not intervene. He wanted to see what this individual planned to do. He could clearly sense that this person had not been brainwashed by the Treasure Division Rock.

"Yes!"

"Young Master Yuan is right! Are we truly scared of just one man? This Demon Path follower may be formidable, but he is ultimately no match for the patriarch. We'll hold him off until the patriarch returns to destroy him!"

As soon as this so-called Young Master Yuan finished speaking, a chorus of agreement erupted from the crowd. These lesser demons had been deeply brainwashed by the Treasure Division Rock.

At the mere mention of the Treasure Division Rock by Young Master Yuan, the previously subdued lesser demons began clamoring once again.

"Ignorant and fearless!"

Li Mingzhu sneered, extending his left hand effortlessly to perform the Star-picking Skill, aiming it directly at Young Master Yuan.

Li Mingzhu had no intention of giving these demons the chance to attack him in concert. With a casual motion, he had already captured the instigator.

"Hiding among these lesser demons—what is your purpose?"

Rather than asking why this individual had incited an attack against him, Li Mingzhu went straight to the heart of the matter, demanding what Young Master Yuan intended by coming here in the first place.

"Let me go! Do you even know who I am? If you don't release me immediately, I swear I'll have you ground into dust!"

Even after being captured alive, Young Master Yuan's face was filled with arrogance. He cursed and threatened Li Mingzhu without a shred of awareness of his current predicament as a prisoner.

"Release you? What a joke. Since you refuse to speak, then I'll simply extract the truth myself!"

Li Mingzhu was never one for mercy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have buried thirty thousand armored soldiers of the Sea Clan in a single battle outside Three Mountains Island.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mingzhu formed his left hand into the shape of an eagle's claw and pressed it onto Young Master Yuan's head. Sensing his impending doom, the young man frantically knelt and begged for mercy, but Li Mingzhu was unmoved—too late for that!

"Stop!"

"Do you even know who he is? He's the heir of the Marquis Beihai!"

Just as Li Mingzhu's hand was about to make contact with Young Master Yuan's head, several lesser demons and the young man's entourage cried out in alarm.

Li Mingzhu paid them no heed, responding only with a disdainful sneer. "The Marquis Beihai? What is that supposed to mean to me?"

Yuan Futong?

Never mind, Li Mingzhu thought to himself. He'd intended to deal with Yuan Futong soon anyway—there was no rush. Rest assured, father and son would be reunited shortly.

Without altering his stance, Li Mingzhu pressed his hand down firmly. Without needing further incantations, blood flowed from all seven orifices of Young Master Yuan's lifeless body—his eyes wide open in death!

"So that's how it is!"

Soul Search was a low-level spell, one Li Mingzhu knew well. Although the process left the victim dead, for someone like Young Master Yuan, dying through Soul Search felt like letting him off easy.

In this regard, Li Mingzhu felt entitled to an authoritative opinion, having delved into Young Master Yuan's memories.

This Young Master Yuan was named Yuan Zikai, the sole son of Marquis Beihai, Yuan Futong. His life could be summed up perfectly with two descriptors: arrogant and debauched!

Or perhaps even these words were too mild for someone like Yuan Zikai. To call him a beast was to insult beasts themselves; he was worse.

Routine acts of kidnapping and assault, cockfighting and dog-baiting—such trivialities were child's play to Yuan Zikai, mere passing fancies beneath his attention.

Casually killing people was his regular pastime. In North Sea City, Yuan Zikai's most frequent indulgence was "raising people." And what was "raising people"?

It involved collecting newborn boys and girls from within the city, feeding them Spiritual Medicine to accelerate their growth, and then slaughtering and consuming them once mature—a practice that was merely one among many of his atrocities.

There were worse crimes. Dismembering individuals while keeping them alive was another of his hobbies.

While it was said that dissecting pregnant women to determine the unborn child's gender was invented by Daji, it turned out that this so-called "heir of the Marquis Beihai" had already been practicing such cruelty by the age of twelve.

For such a person, could mere death through Soul Search ever truly suffice as punishment?

"Still hoping for reincarnation?"

Li Mingzhu sneered as a wisp of Yuan Zikai's departing soul attempted to rise from his motionless body, eager to find its way into the cycle of rebirth.

Having witnessed Yuan Zikai's heinous crimes, Li Mingzhu would never allow such an escape!

"Come back here!"

With a low, commanding tone, Li Mingzhu produced a Soul Lamp from his hand and sealed Yuan Zikai's spirit within, igniting it with True Fire!

Though Yuan Zikai's cultivation level wasn't high, he had reached near the Breaking Delusion Realm. His soul, strong as it was, burned fiercely—a process that would last for dozens of days within the flames of True Fire.

Even so, Li Mingzhu felt his anger far from quenched. Yuan Zikai's acts had crossed too many lines. Li Mingzhu himself couldn't think of adequate words to describe them anymore.

Although the lesser demons were once again cowed into submission by Li Mingzhu's display, they still eyed him with defiance, their minds too deeply poisoned by the Treasure Division Rock to break free of its control.

Li Mingzhu had no energy to waste tangling with these lesser demons. With no choice, he brought out the Treasure Division Rock.

"Use any means necessary to dissolve their resistance, and be quick about it. There'll be rewards for you in the future!"

Li Mingzhu snorted coldly and left the situation to sort itself out, drifting toward North Sea City on his own.

Carrying the true body of the Treasure Division Rock, Li Mingzhu had little concern over potential tricks from the old artifact. Instead, his focus shifted to North Sea City, which now required his immediate attention.

Wen Zhong, confident that he could subdue these demons by sending the Treasure Division Rock, had grossly underestimated Yuan Futong's vigilance. Yuan Futong's inaction wasn't due to ignorance—he'd been observing patiently, hoping to master the Treasure Division Rock's manipulative techniques.

This was why Yuan Zikai had come to "attend lectures," so to speak. But Yuan Futong, despicable as he was, hardly deserved praise. He and his son were cut from the same cloth—his cruelty merely better concealed. He too often took lives for sport.

Yuan Zikai's targeting of Li Mingzhu was due to simple greed: impressed by Li Mingzhu's skills and exceptional Spiritual Treasures, he wanted to claim both for himself. Ironically, this ambition had cost him his life.

Of course, his death was well-deserved!

In a single step, shortening the distance as if spanning the heavens and the earth, Li Mingzhu arrived above the Marquis Beihai Mansion.

Combining the fleshly techniques of *Domineering* with the spatial technique "Heaven's Reach in a Step," the results were extraordinary. But clearly, Li Mingzhu wasn't in the mood to savor his achievement right now!