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Chapter 981: Thirty

For a time, the brilliant aura from the spear filled the battlefield. Nezha, however, began to show signs of frustration. His own Fire-Tipped Spear seemed unable to overpower Zhao Suoxiang.

As the black mist around Nezha\'s brow thickened, his agitation grew. Suddenly, his Red Armillary Sash flew out, followed by the reappearance of the Universe Ring and the flying golden brick. In a fit of rage, Nezha\'s body underwent a dramatic transformation, sprouting two additional heads and six arms.

Three heads and eight arms—one pair wielding the Fire-Tipped Spear, another pair holding the Red Armillary Sash, yet another gripping the Universe Ring, and the last pair clutching the golden brick.

The sudden transformation shocked the crowd. Could this person turn into a monster?

With the addition of his three magical weapons, Nezha\'s combat power increased significantly, giving him a clear advantage. Zhao Suoxiang, however, remained calm, wielding his single spear. As Nezha with his three heads and eight arms pressed the attack, Zhao Suoxiang countered each weapon in turn—sometimes facing the Fire-Tipped Spear, sometimes the golden brick, then the Universe Ring, and finally the Red Armillary Sash.

Zhao Suoxiang had to employ different techniques with his spear for each magical weapon. Yet, after a stick of incense time, he had become accustomed to Nezha\'s assault. Strangely enough, he began to shift from a position of being suppressed to gradually gaining the upper hand.

"Future War God, truly living up to his name!" Zilu remarked in a deep voice from a distance.

Zilu could see that Nezha was at the peak of the Great Immortal realm, while Zhao Suoxiang had only recently broken through into it. Despite this disparity, Zhao Suoxiang managed to gain the advantage. How could Zilu not be amazed?

The people of Da Yin cheered enthusiastically.

"Impossible! No one can surpass my spear skills, especially not someone who just entered the Great Immortal realm!" Nezha cried out in disbelief.

By this time, Zhao Suoxiang was fighting with ease.

"Because you are not loyal to the spear!" Zhao Suoxiang said calmly as they continued to fight.

"Loyal to the spear?" Nezha paused, staring at Zhao Suoxiang in confusion.

"I only use the spear; it is a part of me. But you rely on many magical weapons. Each one is powerful, but you don\'t master any of them! I\'ve already broken through to the Great Immortal realm. You are no match for me. Surrender now, and I will plead with the Holy King to spare your life!" Zhao Suoxiang said loudly.

Out of righteousness, Zhao Suoxiang felt a sense of mercy toward Nezha. After all, it was due to Nezha that he had achieved his breakthrough, so he was inclined to show leniency.

"Surrender? In your dreams! No one has the right to make me surrender!" Nezha roared in fury. The main pair of eyes turned completely red.

A massive amount of black mist surged from Nezha\'s brow, as if he had become a different person.

He charged at Zhao Suoxiang with renewed madness.

Zhao Suoxiang once again suppressed Nezha with his spear.

The black mist on Nezha\'s face thickened.

Gradually, a faint symbol began to emerge from Nezha\'s forehead.

"Thirty?" Master Shi suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, it\'s Thirty!" Zhong Shan replied with a serious expression.

Thirty.

Zhong Shan recalled the corpse of the Sage from the small thousand world, where a similar symbol, formed from black mist, had appeared on the Sage\'s forehead. It was the same "Thirty" that now appeared on Nezha\'s brow.

Suddenly, the symbol "Thirty" covered Nezha\'s face, and more of the same symbols emerged on his body and arms. With the appearance of these symbols, a massive amount of black mist erupted from Nezha\'s body.

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Nezha\'s power surged instantly.

The terrifying outpour of strength immediately disrupted Zhao Suoxiang\'s suppression, flipping the situation once more in Nezha\'s favor. His fierce onslaught began to overpower Zhao Suoxiang, turning the tide of the battle.

"Shishu-zu, what is that?" Sekong asked Zilu, who was standing nearby.

"A cursed seal," Zilu replied, squinting his eyes.

"A cursed seal?"

"Someone has sealed this \'cursed seal\' within Nezha\'s body. This kind of curse can draw on Nezha\'s vitality, potential, and lifespan to enhance his power. However, the cursed seal also alters a person\'s nature, and it seems that Nezha has been changed by it, now under its control," Zilu said in a deep, serious tone.

Indeed, Nezha\'s strength continued to grow, reaching what seemed like the level of an Ancient Immortal.

With each powerful strike, Nezha became more reckless, and to those watching, he seemed like an entirely different person, as if he were being controlled.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!" Nezha laughed wildly, fully immersed in the battle.

Zhao Suoxiang, on the other hand, was forced to retreat, though he managed to avoid serious injury. He had realized that Nezha had lost his sanity, fighting mechanically with the experience he had accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years. However, Nezha\'s immense power made it difficult for Zhao Suoxiang to find an opening.

"Third Prince, Third Prince, please be alright!"

"Senior, please save the Third Prince! This isn\'t who he really is. I beg you, help him!" A group of golden-armored warriors pleaded with Luo Xingchen, clearly recognizing that Nezha was no longer in control of himself.

Had the evil energy broken through the seal?

"Enough!" came a voice from the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, Zhong Shan\'s voice.

"Swoosh!"

Following Zhong Shan\'s command, Luo Xingchen suddenly moved, disappearing from his previous position and reappearing next to Nezha, where he gently pressed a finger against Nezha\'s brow.

"Time Reversal!"

The black mist on Nezha\'s body swiftly retreated back into his brow, and his three heads and eight arms vanished, returning him to his original form.

However, perhaps due to the excessive energy drained by the cursed seal, Nezha fainted on the spot.

"Senior, please spare the Third Prince!" The golden-armored warriors rushed over and pleaded.

They knew that this place was far from the Four Great Continents, and with Nezha now captured, they had no other options but to beg for mercy.

But Luo Xingchen and Zhao Suoxiang paid them no heed as they carried Nezha toward the Longevity Hall.

The golden-armored warriors, treading carefully, followed. When they arrived at the Southern Heavenly Gate, they were disarmed and had their cultivation sealed by Da Yin soldiers before being escorted to the plaza in front of the Longevity Hall.

In the Longevity Hall\'s plaza, Nezha lay unconscious before the gathered crowd. Master Shi squatted down to examine him.

The seal had broken, and the black mist that Luo Xingchen had just reversed began to emerge once more. The "Thirty" symbols reappeared all over Nezha\'s body.

"King Zhong, we deserve to die for our sins! Please, save the Third Prince!" The golden-armored warriors, brought in earlier, immediately knelt before Zhong Shan, begging for mercy.

"What is your purpose here?" Zhong Shan asked in a grave tone.

The golden-armored warriors fell silent. How could they explain? They had come to trouble Zhong Shan, but could they say that?

Perhaps out of concern for Nezha, the lead golden-armored warrior quickly responded, "King Zhong, we were in the wrong. The Third Prince came to avenge his master. But this time, the Third Prince is behaving very strangely, as if he\'s being controlled. Normally, he would report to the Jade Emperor before leaving the Four Great Continents, but he didn\'t this time. It must be due to the black mist! Please, King Zhong, show mercy and save the Third Prince!"

The group had just witnessed Luo Xingchen successfully suppress the black mist, so they placed all their hopes on Zhong Shan. However, knowing they had been disrespectful earlier, they could only continue to apologize profusely.

"Eighth Princess! That\'s right, the Eighth Princess! King Zhong, we\'ve heard that the Eighth Princess has some ties with you. Over the past century, the Third Prince has helped the Eighth Princess many times. For her sake, please save the Third Prince!" another warrior pleaded.

"The Eighth Princess?" Zhong Shan asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, the \'Hao Meili\' Princess who was brought back from Fengzhong Territory. That\'s her!" the warriors continued to beg.

Meanwhile, Master Shi, who had been observing Nezha, stood up and looked at Zhong Shan.

"Holy King, that Sage\'s corpse has regained some of its intelligence. The cursed seal within Nezha was placed by it!" Master Shi said gravely.

"So, it has finally revived?" Zhong Shan frowned.

"It\'s only regained some intelligence. Whether it\'s the same intelligence as the original Sage, we cannot be sure," Master Shi shook his head.

"How did the cursed seal end up in Nezha\'s body?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Forgive me, King Zhong, but the Third Prince had it after returning from the Sacred Corpse Mountain. We originally thought that the Third Prince had managed to seal the evil energy, but it seems there was more to it," one of the golden-armored warriors explained.

"The Sacred Corpse Mountain?" Zhong Shan queried.

"Yes, it\'s where the Biyou Palace of the Tongtian Sage once stood. Now, it\'s shrouded in corpse energy, and no one can enter. Anyone who goes in never comes out. Only the Third Prince entered and then came out, but we didn\'t expect..." the golden-armored warrior trailed off in distress.

"Biyou Palace?" Zhong Shan\'s voice was low.

"Yes, it seems that the Sage\'s corpse turned into a zombie. The Third Prince mentioned that the reanimated corpse of the Sage called itself \'Thirty\'," the golden-armored warrior responded.

"It\'s called \'Thirty\'?" Zhong Shan asked with suspicion.

"Yes!" The warrior did not dare hide anything.

"Master Shi, can you force out the internal cursed seal?" Zhong Shan asked.

"If it were any other cursed seal, I might be powerless, but since it was left by that Sage\'s corpse, I happen to have a method," Master Shi suddenly said.

"Oh?" Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow.

Master Shi then produced a nail.

A coffin nail? Zhong Shan recognized it immediately. This was one of the nails from the coffin that once held the Sage\'s corpse, a nail meant to seal the Sage\'s body, and it was no ordinary item.

Back when the coffin left the Small Thousand World, there were ten coffin nails. Zhong Nineteen had obtained five, Ren Zun had acquired two, and Master Shi had the remaining three.

"Then proceed," Zhong Shan commanded.

"Yes!"

Master Shi drove the coffin nail into Nezha\'s forehead. Then, he began to perform a spell, slowly withdrawing the nail. As the nail was removed, a cloud of black mist emerged from Nezha\'s brow.

Master Shi quickly captured the black mist in a small bottle.

"The extraction is complete!" Master Shi reported promptly.

"Good." Zhong Shan nodded, showing no intention of taking the bottle, which Master Shi naturally kept.

"Thank you, King Zhong! Thank you so much!" The golden-armored warriors were deeply moved.

"Although you were not the ones I was expecting, coming to Da Yin to cause trouble cannot go unpunished. Leave this bow behind. Luo Xingchen, seal Nezha and let them take him back to Haotian," Zhong Shan ordered.

This was Zhong Shan giving Haotian some face and repaying an old favor from the time of the creation of the world.

"Yes!" Luo Xingchen immediately responded and swiftly sealed Nezha.

"Da Yin has only one divine archer, so this bow will be entrusted to you," Zhong Shan said to Luo Xingchen.

"Thank you, Holy King!" Luo Xingchen was deeply touched. He had coveted the bow for some time.

The golden-armored warriors dared not show their anger. The divine bow was a possession of the Li family—how would they explain this upon their return? However, the fact that the Third Prince could return, and that the evil energy had been extracted, was a blessing amid the misfortune. The warriors didn\'t know whether to thank Zhong Shan or to resent him.

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8