The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 336 - 335: Taiyi Dislikes Xi Kang

Chapter 336: Chapter 335: Taiyi Dislikes Xi Kang

Returning to the Taiyang Star Origin Space, Nezha did not immediately begin forging, but instead came to see Xi He.

The image of the former palace still remained, but it was no longer trapped in an infinite loop.

The two chatted like an elder and a junior, and Nezha started talking about East Emperor Taiyi.

After recounting how the Chaos Bell was obtained, Nezha asked,

"Senior, has Senior Taiyi always had such an arrogant temperament?"

Xi He took a sip of tea and said matter-of-factly, "Arrogant? Hardly. Back then, it was extreme pride. Other than the Daoist Ancestor, his brother, and Saint Tongtian, he looked down on everyone in the entire Primordial world.

But, to be fair, he did have enough reason to be that proud.

Back when Di Jun came to propose marriage, it was meant for the two brothers to marry the two of us sisters. However, Taiyi did not even deign to look at my younger sister, Changxi."

Hearing some juicy gossip, Nezha instantly showed an eager expression, signaling her to elaborate.

It was evident that Xi He, who hadn’t had anyone to talk to, was quite eager to share, so she spoke with Nezha in more detail.

"Taiyi and Di Jun are Innate Sacred Beings born from the sun within the Taiyang Star. Di Jun’s personality leans toward the imperial archetype: ambitious, driven, responsible, and shrewd. Taiyi, on the other hand, embodies the pinnacle of a masculine individual—intelligent, proud, decisive, and composed.

He didn’t even need to pursue anyone; with just a wave of his hand, scores of female immortals would line up willingly. You could see it as Taiyi’s sheer brilliance drawing the opposite sex, or simply as the law of attraction at work."

"However, his pride knew no bounds. Even my sister, who was the embodied Taiyin Origin as the Taiyin God, he dismissed. According to him and Di Jun, she was too fragile for his liking.

If I had to guess, the type of godly woman Taiyi would truly consider as a Dao companion would be someone like Houtu Ancestor Witch, Emperor Wa, or perhaps even the Queen Mother of Kunlun..."

Xi He stopped talking and instead gave Nezha a knowing look.

Nezha immediately caught on. "Ah, so he can’t handle... ahem."

"And the Deity of the Moon?" Nezha pressed on curiously.

Xi He’s feelings had long mellowed, especially with the nine golden crows still around and even gaining a new son in her eyes. Time had tempered her heart regarding past events.

"My sister Changxi was the Innate Sacred Being formed from the Taiyin Origin, the most quintessentially feminine woman in this entire Primordial world. She did develop quite an affection for Taiyi on one hand, but her pride on the other made her step back after being directly rejected. From then on, apart from her seclusion and cultivation, she sent forth her Good Corpse to traverse the Primordial lands in search of a man who could surpass Taiyi."

"While she couldn’t find anyone superior to Taiyi, she did find someone quite exceptional—Da Yi, the Great Witch of the Houtu Tribe."

Speaking of Da Yi, Xi He couldn’t help but sigh.

"Back then, the Ten Suns caused havoc across the skies. It was Changxi’s Good Corpse who used the Innate Spirit Root Laurel Tree to craft the Sun-shooting Bow and ten Sunset Arrows, which ultimately aided Da Yi in shooting down nine of my sons.

I was furious beyond belief at the time. Although I didn’t harm her, I severed our sisterly bond. Changxi, wracked with guilt for indirectly killing her nine nephews, personally severed the connection with her Good Corpse and sealed it in the Moon Palace for eternity. She then abandoned her Taiyin Origin and left the Primordial world entirely.

Without the Taiyin Origin, she wandered the Chaos and ultimately took her life through the Three Corpses Cutting Method. By now, she has likely perished and dissolved into the Dao."

Nezha looked at the melancholic Xi He, unsure how to console her. Fortunately, Xi He only lingered in sorrow for a brief moment before fixing Nezha with a determined gaze.

"Ultimately, everything stems from Di Jun and Taiyi not being strong enough. Nezha, even if you have the protection of a Saint, you mustn’t grow complacent. Only by becoming stronger can you take control of your own fate. Otherwise, when opportunity presents itself in the future, you’ll find yourself powerless."

Nezha: ...

Good grief, was all this just leading up to a lecture?

It seems even in the Primordial world, the education of younger generations is taken very seriously.

After chatting for a bit more, Nezha bid farewell to the lonely elder, Xi He, and headed to the Refining Room within the temple. The Demon Clan’s artifact-refining methods were undoubtedly crude by today’s standards, but Nezha lacked the skill to independently reforge the Chaos Bell.

His task was merely to smelt and purify the impurities accumulated on the Chaos Bell Fragments over countless years, ensuring that the quality wouldn’t drop when Nuwa reforged it.

And how would he do this?

Basically, by stripping off his upper garments, grabbing a massive hammer, and starting to beat the metal.

The principle was straightforward—if the terrifying Great Sun Golden Flame couldn’t damage the Chaos Bell Fragments, then nothing else would stand a chance, either.

While Nezha began his smithing, outside, the preparations for the Peach Banquet were in full swing. Though Hao Tian had been in the Chaos for nearly ten thousand years, only a few decades had passed in the Primordial world—still, the last banquet seemed a tad too recent.

Hao Tian thought of an excellent idea: the Queen Mother’s birthday celebration.

How old exactly? Not even the Queen Mother was certain herself.

Queen Mother: ...

If you say it’s my birthday, then I guess it is.

This plan had two obvious benefits. First, it provided an excuse to invite any immortals Hao Tian considered a threat. Second, it was a chance to collect some return gifts.

After all, if you were invited to a grand feast, you wouldn’t show up empty-handed, right? Surely not?

Though Hao Tian wasn’t exactly broke, he did feel the pinch from a recent splurge.

Perhaps because this event came with a metaphorical "entry fee," the scale of the banquet far exceeded that of previous years. Many immortals who received the invitation were quite anxious, wondering what to prepare as gifts.

Anything too extravagant might be unaffordable, while anything too plain wouldn’t just be embarrassing—it’d be akin to openly offending a superior. Hao Tian was notoriously petty, and this fact was well-known.

The lower-ranked immortals were troubled, but so were those higher up.

Take Yang Jian, for example. Though he was now undoubtedly among the upper ranks of the Heavenly Court, he truly didn’t have something suitable to present as a gift. After all, his cultivation hadn’t been going on for very long, and any treasures he obtained were all used to enhance his own abilities.

But the Queen Mother had always treated him and his sister with favor. If it were only Hao Tian’s birthday, he might’ve muddled through, but for this "fearsome" aunt? He couldn’t be casual about it.

In the end, his father-in-law, who was well-off, came to the rescue with a string of top-quality black pearls produced by a millennial clam demon. While not exceedingly precious, the pearls were rare and beautiful, expressing heartfelt regard.

Since he had already accepted this gift, Yang Jian decided to also prepare a matching set of white pearls of similar quality for Yang Chan.

Meanwhile, King Ji, who oversaw the Immortal Market, was resourceful and affluent. She spared no expense, purchasing two batches of starlight-woven fabric from other fairies for Deng Chanyu and herself. Then, she personally designed and crafted one as armor and the other into palace attire. Though these items might not be extraordinarily valuable to the Queen Mother, they carried genuine goodwill.

Golden Light had her own connections. She exchanged a coveted gemstone with a fellow disciple from the Jie Sect and personally forged it into a gift.

However, the most conflicted one was Long Ji. It wasn’t that she was poor—on the contrary, she was incredibly wealthy. But most of her possessions had originally come from the Queen Mother. Not only did the Queen Mother have what she owned, but hers were of even higher quality.

This left her agonizing over what to gift.

So, she went to Taiyang Star to seek Nezha’s advice.