CHAPTER 283: CHAPTER 282: WHO LET YU YUAN BE MY GOOD BROTHER!

"Back when the Chaos Bell self-destructed, under the interference of an overwhelmingly terrifying external force, it likely caused the brief separation of Senior Brother Yun Zhongzi’s Divine Soul from Senior Hong Yun’s Divine Soul, before being surreptitiously extracted by Kunpeng. That is why Senior Brother Yun Zhongzi entrusted me to come here."

"The matters of the past, he no longer wishes to concern himself with. From now on, he is merely Yun Zhongzi, an Immortal of the Chan Sect."

Hearing news of an old friend after countless Yuan Hui, only to find that they have chosen to part ways and forget old ties, brought forth a flood of mixed emotions...

After a moment of silence, he led Nezha to the Ginseng Fruit Tree’s main body once more. With a wave of his horsetail whisk, the roots of the Ginseng Fruit Tree began to quiver, revealing within a remnant of Hong Yun’s soul nurtured by the rich vitality of the wood element.

Zhen Yuanzi waved his horsetail whisk three times. In the end, he lifted it and swung it decisively, finally releasing the soul remnant from the Ginseng Fruit Tree’s constraints.

The remnant soul transformed into a streamer of crimson light, ascending into the clouds where it slowly dissipated. Perhaps eons into the future, the Earth Immortal Realm would see the emergence of another Great Expert born of white clouds.

Letting go, letting go—easier said than done.

At this moment, Zhen Yuanzi raised his head skyward, unable to calm his thoughts for a long while.

From within Nezha’s sleeve, the crystal ball flared brightly, indicating that Yun Zhongzi had not deceived her.

...

With the task completed, Nezha, knowing Zhen Yuanzi was in low spirits, chose not to linger and instead returned to the Starry Sky. Upon returning to her Ziwei Palace, she was greeted by an agitated Yu Yuan.

"Junior Master, something terrible has happened! Master is in danger!"

Nezha: "???"

Your master is in danger—how... wait... why are you bringing this to me?

Could it be that your Primordial Spirit sensed something...?

It turned out to be a false alarm.

The disappearance of Jin Ling Saint Mother wasn’t something that could be taken to Tongtian Sect Master, nor to other Inner Sect disciples—it would only make Master seem incompetent.

Yu Yuan understood Master’s fiercely competitive nature all too well; otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone alone to investigate the Blood Poison.

Not seeking help from the Jie Sect, after much consideration, Yu Yuan could only turn to Nezha, her Junior Master.

Nezha agreed without hesitation. "I will help! Of course I will help!"

After all, Yu Yuan was her good brother!

Just as she stepped out the door, she ran into a hurried Yang Chan.

Yang Chan was evidently more mature now; though anxious, she still methodically recounted the series of events that led to her second brother’s disappearance while investigating the Blood Poison.

Nezha couldn’t help but feel exasperated by Hao Tian—why even set his own nephew up like this? Just because he enjoys cutting his hair during the New Year?

However, upon learning that Yang Jian was with Master Huang Long, Nezha let out a sigh of relief. There shouldn’t be any life-threatening danger; after all, Master Huang Long was famously blessed with good fortune.

Nezha comforted Yang Chan, promising to bring Yang Jian back safely. Only then did Yang Chan relax, though she repeatedly reminded Nezha to exercise the utmost caution.

Taking Yu Yuan, Nezha left the Starry Sky for the East Sea. This time, she didn’t recklessly charge in. After all, even a body-cultivated into something akin to Jin Ling Saint Mother found no return. Two Golden Immortals like them would hardly fare better.

Instead, Nezha did some exploration on the seabed with Yu Yuan, collecting a good amount of mutated sea beast blood before heading toward the Blood Sea, an area under the Ancestor of Nether River Mother in the underworld.

When it came to blood expertise in the Primordial Realm, no one was more renowned than her.

The Nether River Mother, spotting Nezha again, sighed helplessly. "What is this now? Treating my Blood Sea like your backyard garden?"

The Blood Sea was an awful place; if not for necessity, Nezha wouldn’t want to set foot there.

She handed over the collected blood to the Nether River Mother, who finally showed a bit of interest.

With a delicate movement of her fingers, the blood flew out of the Jade Bottle, hovering before her. As her fingertips danced, the blood began to separate and reassemble. Her expression grew increasingly grim.

This particular substance was undoubtedly a creation of the neighboring Ancestor of Nether River—she could confirm as much. However, the chaotic Dao Rhythms contained within stumped even her. "Did I ever cultivate such a thing? How come I don’t recall?"

After deliberating her words carefully, she said, "This was concocted by the Ancestor of Nether River next door... probably... maybe there was some problem in his cultivation."

"What kind of problem?"

Perhaps embarrassed, the Nether River Mother didn’t explain clearly, instead pointing to her head.

Nezha’s first thought was: The Ancestor of Nether River has gone mad?

Could a Quasi-Saint truly lose their sanity?

She wanted to probe further, but the Nether River Mother clearly had no intention of elaborating.

Their relationship was merely that of collaborators; it was impossible for her to divulge her secrets to Nezha.

As for a solution, there was none.

The blood poison was a result of the Ancestor of Nether River’s own madness. Any creature it encountered would be infected by his insanity unless he himself was eradicated. Otherwise, there was no cure.

For Nezha, trying to take down the Ancestor of Nether River was as ludicrous as a joke—it wasn’t happening.

For now, the only option was to contain the Blood Poison within the Blood Sea itself.

Nezha didn’t push further; he was sensible.

As they parted, the Nether River Mother gave Nezha several blood-red flowers. Wearing them would prevent interference from the Blood Poison, so the trip wasn’t entirely in vain.

Glancing at the Blood Sea in the distance, Nezha hesitated. Charging in recklessly wasn’t an option—should she seek reinforcements?

As she was debating, the Blood Sea surged violently, and a dazzling golden light became trapped in the Blood Sea Formation.

Nezha and Yu Yuan exchanged a look—they recognized this aura all too well; it was Jin Ling Saint Mother’s.

Yu Yuan, growing anxious, was about to charge in, but Nezha quickly held her back.

She produced two Jade Talismans and said, "Nephew, the Ancestor of Nether River is one of the few Great Experts to emerge after Heavenly Creation. Take these tokens to Longevity Mountain’s Wuzhuang Temple and seek help from Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi and Senior Yunxiao on Three Immortals Island."

Without wasting words, Yu Yuan took the Jade Talismans and rushed off.

Nezha looked at the distant Blood Sea with exasperation. How could Jin Ling Saint Mother be so daring? Did she learn nothing from her last failure?

Transforming into a drop of blood, Nezha entered the Blood Sea and flew toward the golden light.

The polluted, chaotic aura of the Blood Sea was utterly abhorrent. Thankfully, the Nether River Mother’s Blood Flowers proved effective.

...

Jin Ling felt deeply unlucky. Anywhere but the Blood Sea, she could easily retreat safely even against the current Ancestor of Nether River. Yet during her investigation, she ran into Huang Long and Yang Jian.

Given the strained relations between Jie Sect and Chan Sect, she technically didn’t need to intervene. However, having recently shared a banquet with them at Lingshan—and considering Yang Jian’s close friendship with Nezha—she was compelled to brave the Blood Sea to rescue the two.

But the moment she entered, everything went wrong. The seabed passage was a one-way route. Furious, she shattered it with two heavy punches, thereby resolving the issue of Blood Poison spreading into the East Sea—but trapped herself!

Huang Long and Yang Jian were tucked safely into her Four Symbols Tower; otherwise, they’d have succumbed to insanity long ago.

She had already fought a fierce battle against the Ancestor of Nether River in the Blood Sea. He was powerful, but so was she. After some time, he began rambling about merging Hongmeng Purple Qi, and then used the Blood Sea to form a grand formation, trapping her.

The filthy, chaotic blood incessantly corroded her Dao Rhythms. She could endure for now, but over time, her situation might truly grow dire.

Still, she wasn’t one to await death in silence. Manifesting a Dharma Form of six arms, she began pummeling the surroundings relentlessly. "If I’m trapped here, you’re not going to have a good time either, Ancestor of Nether River!"