Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapters 67: Stunting Their Might

In the vast expanse of the blue sky, far above all, a golden light appeared as if cut by a long sword. This light suddenly expanded, and upon closer inspection, it revealed a towering gate that suddenly appeared high in the sky.

From within this massive gate, colorful auspicious clouds drifted out. Though their dazzling brilliance could not conceal the murderous aura surrounding them.

The Tower-Bearing Heavenly King held a golden pagoda in his left hand, while his right hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword at his waist, his expression cold and fierce. Nezha, the Third Prince, carried a demon-subduing staff, was wrapped in binding ropes, had a embroidered ball slung across his shoulder, and stood on two invincible wind-fire wheels, standing solemnly beside the Heavenly King.

The Third Prince appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he was uneasy. For thousands of years, since the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King was appointed as the Grand Marshal for Subduing Demons by the Jade Emperor, he had achieved little. He knew his father was anxious, and yet this request to fight was still rather reckless. Although Taibai Jinxing tried to please everyone, he remained a wise man in the heavenly court. Nezha tended to agree with Taibai Jinxing’s proposal of surrender, but unfortunately, he had to support his father—the determined Tower-Bearing Heavenly King Li.

Whenever he stood in front of Heavenly King Li, Nezha felt a mix of emotions. There was probably no other father-son pair like them in the world. Once, he wanted to destroy his son; I wanted to kill my father. He regarded me as a demon, yet because of me, I became extraordinary. I saw him as a shame, but by giving him my life force, I enabled him to achieve immortality. Whenever I bowed to him, I wasn’t sure whether I was bowing to Li Jing or to the pagoda in his hands—this was the unsolvable sorrow. I have been a god for ten thousand years, yet I still look like a child. Third Prince, Third Prince… I can never escape this annoying title. In truth, my name is Nezha.

As for Nezha’s thoughts, Li Jing might know them, might not, or might know them but care not. The only thing he knew for sure was: With the pagoda bestowed by the Buddha in my hands, I am the Tower-Bearing Heavenly King, your father Nezha, and I can enjoy the Jade Emperor’s favor, commanding hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers at will. From being just an ordinary man, a mere commander of Chentang Pass, I have now become a high-ranking leader of the heavenly army—what glory! Among all demons in the world, which one wouldn’t tremble at the name of Li Jing?

Thinking of this, Li Jing was filled with pride. Looking back at the endless array of gods, celestial officials, and heavenly soldiers, he was even more confident. He longed for the demons of Flower-Fruit Mountain to be right before him, so he could crush them to dust, then return victorious to the court, making the petty officials there too afraid to look him in the eye. Everyone would bring imperial wine to honor me, calling me “Heavenly King Li!”

After flying for a while, Nezha gently reminded him, “Father, we’ve reached the territory of Dongsheng Shenzhou.” Li Jing pretended not to hear and murmured, “Why do I feel that Xiniu Hezhou is getting bigger and bigger?” His voice was as faint as that of a mosquito, instantly scattered by the wind.

Suddenly, Li Jing frowned. A prickling sensation on his back made him uneasy. At the same time, Nezha also gripped his demon-subduing staff tightly. It wasn’t a telepathic connection between father and son, but rather an awareness of danger.

Then, in what seemed like an instant—or perhaps just a moment—the time in the world seemed to stop. After this extremely brief silence, screams could be heard behind them, growing louder as they receded.

Li Jing roared, “What’s causing such panic?”

Nezha rode his Wind and Fire Wheels, drawing a long arc in the air. After taking a quick glance, he returned and reported, “Some unknown monster flew by. Its wings were enormous, scattering dozens of auspicious clouds. Three to four thousand heavenly soldiers were caught off guard and fell.”

Li Jing was speechless. A sense of frustration welled up inside him. Could it be bad luck? How dare ordinary monsters attack my heavenly soldiers? Seeing his father’s troubled expression, Nezha added, “Perhaps… it’s the demons from Huaguo Mountain at work.”

Li Jing spat disdainfully and said proudly, “How could demons have such clever strategies? There are many fierce birds in the world—don’t let them disrupt the troops’ morale!” Nezha opened his mouth to speak but held back.

At that moment, more screams came from behind. It turned out the giant bird had returned. But this time, with precautions in place, the heavenly soldiers, though without their auspicious clouds, had already cast aerial spells, resulting in only a few dozen casualties.

Even if Li Jing was slow to understand, he realized now that the monster’s target was indeed the heavenly soldiers. He shouted softly, “Nezha, obey my orders!” Nezha replied, “Your servant!”
“I order you to capture this monster!” Li Jing commanded sharply.
“…” Nezha was speechless and stammered, “Reporting to the marshal, this bird is as fast as lightning. It’s really impossible to… see where it is.”

The Vajrapani beside him said, “The Third Prince is right. We can only see it going but not coming back. How can we capture it? Now that we’re on guard, it will take only a moment to reach Huaguo Mountain. Ignore it!” King Indra nodded, his furrowed brows relaxing slightly.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from ahead. The Tower-Bearing King waved his right hand backward, and all 100,000 heavenly soldiers stopped instantly. Nezha, the Third Prince, was skilled and bold. He flew forward alone. Before he went far, a lion’s head the size of a door appeared in the air. The lion’s head opened and closed, speaking in human language, “Who’s making noise, disturbing my peace?”

Nezha was instantly furious. The heavenly soldiers had passed by without a sound—how could there be any talk of disturbing his peace? He shook the demon-subduing staff in his hand and shouted, “These heavenly soldiers are acting under the orders of the Jade Emperor to capture demons in the mortal world. Those who have nothing to do with this should quickly get out of the way, or else they will lose their lives!”
The lion replied, “What are these heavenly soldiers? And who is this Jade Emperor? Even if I am a demon, who dares to capture me?”
Nezha was both shocked and angry—this lion was incredibly bold, daring to act recklessly even with tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers present! At that moment, Li Jing, along with the Four Heavenly Kings and the Nine Bright Stars, also arrived nearby.
Li Jing said, “Who are you, you vile demon? I am Li Jing, the Heavenly King Who Bears a Pagoda. Hurry up and make way!”
The lion laughed and said, “I don’t care if it’s quiet inside or outside—just don’t disturb my peace! If you don’t dare to attack, send a thousand men to feed me as payment for passing through.”
Li Jing grew furious and shouted, “Who will help me kill this madman?”
With the battle intensifying, the Four Heavenly Kings and the Nine Bright Stars—now without the Bright Star Tai Bai—stepped forward, each wielding their magical weapons, ready to assist Prince Nezha in capturing this demon.
The giant lion gently shook its head, turning from one to nine. Nine massive mouths spat flames, toxic smoke, or thick mist, filling the entire sky with chaos and obscuring all vision.
The gods thought it was a trick and stepped back far away. They only heard the Heavenly King of Auspicious Sounds unfold his magical umbrella, designed to counteract all kinds of pollution. As the umbrella opened, countless precious gems and treasures were embedded in it, spinning in the air and sucking in all the smoke and flames.
The gods praised, “The Heavenly King of Auspicious Sounds is truly skilled.”
Before their praise could fade, Nezha cried out, “Bad news!” When the mist cleared, the lion had disappeared as well.
Suddenly, panicked cries came from the group of heavenly soldiers behind them. The Nine Bright Stars rushed to check and found that thousands of soldiers had been swallowed by the lion’s massive mouths! From afar, a voice was heard: “Since you’re such a stingy wretch who won’t pay for passage, I’ll just take it myself.” The tone was filled with mockery and contempt.
The Heavenly King Who Bears a Pagoda turned purple with anger. Throughout their journey, they hadn’t seen any sign of Flower-Fruit Mountain, and they had already suffered two defeats. He guessed that the Clairvoyant and the Wind-Reader must have already reported the situation to the Jade Emperor—what a humiliating fate!
The Lord of the Moon said, “If this lion demon is from Flower-Fruit Mountain, it will indeed be difficult to deal with.”
Li Jing said, “Now that we’ve come this far, there’s no way to retreat. Nezha, follow my orders—go ahead and scout the way. The main army will follow closely behind, staying out of the way.”
Nezha obeyed and soared down on clouds first, spinning his wind-fire wheels. In an instant, he saw the city of Aolai Country in the distance. Just as he was about to turn back to assist the army, the dark clouds ahead dispersed, revealing a giant ox-headed man about ten feet tall.

Nezha shouted, “Those who don’t want to die, get out of the way quickly! My Demon-Slaying Sword is meant to slay ox-headed demons!” The ox-headed man was naturally the Ox Demon King. He raised his iron rod and said, “Anyone who dares to invade my Flower-Fruit Mountain must first pass through my trial!” Neither of them spoke again; they simply stood facing each other. After just a dozen exchanges, Nezha felt pain in his shoulders and back. Realizing the Ox Demon King was extremely strong, he had no choice but to use some tricks. The prince then shouted “Transform!” and turned into a being with three heads and six arms, wielding six weapons— the Demon-Slaying Sword, the Demon-Slaying Knife, the Demon-Trapping Rope, the Demon-Subduing Staff, the Embroidered Ball, and the Fire Wheel—and attacked the Ox Demon King. The Ox Demon King laughed, “So I’ve met a trickster.” No matter what tactics Nezha used, he simply adapted by blocking with his iron rod. After all, two fists can’t match four arms. In a moment of carelessness, his iron rod was wrapped by the Demon-Trapping Rope. As the saying goes, gentleness can overcome strength. The Ox Demon King struggled twice but failed to free himself. Seeing the Demon-Slaying Sword coming down toward his neck, he realized he was doomed. At that moment, a silver light appeared from above. Nezha lost grip on his sword, which flew out of his hand. In terror, he ignored the Ox Demon King and fled immediately.