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"Taiyi Zhenren accepted the Heavenly Lord's command to cast the Spirit Pearl into the home of the destined man, Li Jing, to be reincarnated as his third son in preparation for the upcoming War of Investiture.
Regrettably, due to a drunken stupor, a strange combination of circumstances led to a mistake: the Demon Pill was mistaken for the Spirit Pearl, resulting in the reincarnation of the Demon Pill instead.
However, after the Demon Pill reincarnated, he did not plague the common people. He was merely somewhat mischievous. Furthermore, the couple, Li Jing and his wife, were unwilling to harm their own child.
Thus, Taiyi felt that Heaven possesses the virtue of loving all living things. Remembering his Master's instructions to take Li Jing's son as a disciple and teach him well, he followed the Master's command, accepted Nezha as his apprentice, and took Li Jing to find the Master to seek a solution.
While passing over the East Sea, the Spirit Pearl was accidentally dropped and unexpectedly reincarnated as the Third Prince of the East Sea Dragon King, Ao Bing.
Taiyi felt that the Dragon Clan had performed a meritorious service by guarding the sea monsters for a thousand years. Thinking this might be the arrangement of fate—and by extension, his Master's arrangement—he entered the East Sea and accepted Ao Bing as a disciple as well.
Leaving the East Sea, Taiyi continued to lead Li Jing to find the Master, but unfortunately, the Master had already gone into seclusion.
Left with no other choice, Taiyi could only bring Li Jing back to Chentang Pass. He then began to instruct both Nezha and Ao Bing in Daoist magic and cultivation.
He believed that if this was truly the Master's arrangement, then three years later, when the Heavenly Tribulation descended, the Demon Pill would surely turn misfortune into blessings. If not, and the Demon Pill died under the tribulation, it would still align with the Master's original plan.
Just like that, three years passed. The Heavenly Tribulation arrived, and Nezha, the reincarnation of the Demon Pill, actually managed to survive the Master's Lightning Curse.
Therefore, Taiyi concluded that the Master had calculated all of this long ago, allowing both the Demon Pill and the Spirit Pearl to become outstanding disciples of the Chan Sect to better handle the War of Investiture.
So, he is now taking his two personal disciples to the Jade Void Palace to complete the Immortal Ascension Examination."
George narrated his revised version of the story with composure, then added:
"However, proceeding this way means the Immortal Taiyi might have to suffer a slight to his reputation. If people look into it closely, it all started because the Immortal got drunk and made a mistake, which led to everything else.
Similarly, Daoist Shen will also suffer some injustice. The disciple he worked so hard to teach will end up becoming the Immortal Taiyi's disciple in name."
"It doesn't count as being wronged. It was indeed because of my gluttony for drink that Shen Gongbao seized the opportunity to switch the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Pill."
Taiyi Zhenren hurriedly waved his hand. He didn't care about these details at all. He made mistakes frequently, and his Master never punished him severely—at most, he would get a scolding.
Shen Gongbao also waved his hand in dismissal:
"As long as the plan can succeed, I can ac-accept it."
The truth would eventually come to light in the future. When that time came, everyone would know that Ao Bing, who had established great merit in the War of Investiture, was the disciple trained by him, Shen Gongbao.
Moreover, this was all for the sake of his beloved disciple. Since things had reached this point, this was already the best solution.
"However, with the Master in seclusion, the one currently managing the Jade Void Palace is Eldest Senior Brother, the Infinite Immortal (Wuliang Xianweng). He has always distrusted the Dragon Clan and holds a significant grudge against the Yao race.
If he obstructs us, I fear it will be quite trou-troublesome."
Finally, Shen Gongbao tactfully pointed out his biggest worry: the Infinite Immortal.
"Eldest Senior Brother is whole-heartedly devoted to refining pills and is the most benevolent person. Shen Gongbao, don't talk nonsense," Taiyi Zhenren immediately retorted upon hearing this.
The Eldest Senior Brother in his impression was completely different from the one Shen Gongbao described.
"Humph, what do you know, you dead fatty? Don't forget, I used to be the Captain of the Demon Capture Team under his command. I know exactly what kind of person he is. He is only benevolent to you, the Master's most doted-on disciple."
Shen Gongbao couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Everyone knew the Master loved Taiyi Zhenren the most. Who in the Jade Void Palace wasn't benevolent to Taiyi?
"Although the Infinite Immortal is the acting manager, for major issues, he still needs to convene the other Golden Immortals for discussion. If the Infinite Immortal doesn't agree, simply call upon the other Golden Immortals to decide together.
The other Golden Immortals shouldn't have such extreme prejudice against the Dragon Clan, right?" George proposed an idea.
During the few hours he had spent drinking with Taiyi Zhenren, he had already extracted a lot of intelligence regarding this world's Jade Void Palace from Taiyi's mouth.
Shen Gongbao nodded:
"That is ac-actually fea-feasible."
As the former Captain of the Demon Capture Team, he knew that if it weren't for the continued dissent of the other Golden Immortals, the Infinite Immortal would have long since led the team to exterminate the Dragon Clan.
Previously, Shen Gongbao had been used merely as a pawn for probing. It was precisely because of this that he had gotten to know Ao Guang and became close friends with him.
At the same time, during those years as Captain, he had met many fellow disciples from the Jie Sect who were of Yao origin.
His relationship with the disciples of the Jie Sect was actually much better than his relationship with his own brothers in the Chan Sect.
"What if they don't believe it?"
A look of hesitation appeared on Ao Guang's face.
George smiled:
"Dragon King, rest assured. The Immortal Taiyi holds a special status in the Chan Sect. Those Golden Immortals won't doubt his words too much."
Then he turned to look at Taiyi Zhenren:
"Immortal, you must remember: push everything onto the Heavenly Lord. Just say you suspect it is the Heavenly Lord's arrangement. This way, even if people have thoughts in their hearts, they won't dare to question it before the Heavenly Lord comes out of seclusion.
By the time the Heavenly Lord emerges, the wood will have already been made into a boat—what's done is done—and the problem won't be significant."
He dared to suggest this because he had a certain basis for it.
At least in every story of the Primordial World he knew, the Dragon Clan always ended up controlling the Four Seas. The Heavenly Court and the Three Sects never truly exterminated the Dragon Clan.
Without the Dragon Clan, who could suppress the myriad sea monsters in the ocean?
Therefore, he felt that even if the Heavenly Lord came out and calculated the causes and effects, he likely wouldn't fuss over it too much.
Moreover, the Chan Sect was indeed gaining another powerful general, which was a good thing.
Additionally, he felt this was something the Primordial Lord of Heaven (Yuanshi Tianzun) would be happy to see happen.
Letting Ao Bing become a Chan Sect disciple and an Immortal would serve to appease the Dragon Clan, killing two birds with one stone.
Perhaps this was something the Primordial Lord of Heaven had calculated all along.
Even without George's appearance, the Lightning Curse likely wouldn't have killed Nezha for various reasons. At most, he would have lost his physical body, allowing Taiyi to reconstruct a body of lotus root using the Seven-Colored Precious Lotus, which would align more closely with the legend of Nezha.
"Alright, let's do it!"
After some discussion, everyone felt that George's proposal was the most suitable, allowing everyone to feel at ease.
"Since that is settled, I will act as the notary and stand witness here at Chentang Pass.
I hope both sides will get along harmoniously. Once the dust settles, everyone will be happy!"
After saying this, George secretly sent voice transmissions to both Ao Guang and Li Jing.
To Ao Guang, he said that as a fellow member of the Dragon race, they were on the same side. He promised to help keep a close watch on Chentang Pass to ensure no one leaked the secret.
To Li Jing and Taiyi Zhenren, he transmitted that he was proficient in the Great Teleportation Technique. He told them to rest easy; if the Dragon Clan broke the agreement, he could instantly teleport the entire Chentang Pass away so that no one would be injured.
He wasn't bragging. Putting the entire Chentang Pass into his own pocket dimension and then teleporting to break through the Dragon Clan's blockade was not a difficult task for him.
"Many thanks, Taoist Black Dragon!"
Consequently, both sides bowed deeply to George at the same time, their faces filled with gratitude.
Both parties felt that George was truly a friend who was incredibly loyal, righteous, and worthy of deep friendship.
They resolved to find an opportunity to repay him properly in the future.
(End of Chapter)