The Judge trembled with fear: "Your Highness jests. Even if there were, His Majesty and Her Majesty are Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortals of the heavens. How would a minor deity dare to recklessly discuss their lives?"
Yun Heng pointed a finger at the Book of Life and Death: "Then is my name written in here?"
The Judge shakily closed the Book of Life and Death: "Your Highness…"
Yun Heng leaned his little head forward and whispered conspiratorially: "You can read it to me secretly. I won't tell Father Emperor."
The Judge sighed in distress, his waist bent almost as low as the child's height: "Your Highness, perhaps you should go explore elsewhere?"
Finding this uninteresting, Yun Heng looked over and saw the Jade Emperor, surrounded by Immortal Officials, walking out of the Hall of the King of Hell. Yun Heng quickly hurried after them.
Nezha's task was to watch over and protect him. Seeing him run out of the hall, Nezha called out for him not to run off while simultaneously flying to the entrance of the Hall of the King of Hell.
As Yun Heng walked away, the Judge lowered his head and picked up another Book of Life and Death to examine—this one specifically recorded the names of Immortals.
Although he was merely a minor Judge serving the King of Hell, with no authority to determine the life or death of Immortals, the names and birthdates of all living beings in the world were recorded in the Book of Life and Death.
Figures like the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were not difficult to find; the first few pages of the Book contained detailed records of them.
Strangely, however, the Judge searched through the entire Book of Life and Death for the Celestial Realm but could not find the name of Crown Prince Yun Heng.
Whether they were Immortals, Buddhas, Demons, beasts, birds, or ordinary mortals, all were recorded in the Book of Life and Death—except for this little Crown Prince, who had no information whatsoever.
The Judge was utterly perplexed. He was clearly the son of the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, the legitimate future successor of the Celestial Realm, yet there was no trace of him in the Book of Life and Death.
The environment here was dark and eerie. Unfamiliar with the terrain and afraid his Father Emperor would get too far ahead for him to catch up, Yun Heng ran without looking at the path, charging forward with his head down.
In his haste while descending the steps, he skipped every other step, leaping down, but accidentally collided head-on with someone.
With a cry of "Ouch!", Yun Heng stumbled back two steps. If the person he had bumped into hadn't steadied him, he would have fallen onto the steps behind him.
The little one, top-heavy and unsteady, instinctively raised both hands to adjust the silver crown on his head. The wide sleeves of his gauzy robe cascaded down, revealing two plump, fair arms. His clumsy yet adorable appearance made even the gloomy Underworld seem less sinister and terrifying.
Yun Heng looked up to see a tall, slender man dressed in white standing before him, smiling as he asked, "Little one, are you hurt?"
"N-no…" His face was deathly pale, which looked somewhat unsettling. Yun Heng took half a step back and asked, "Who are you?"
"Xie Bian." "Your Highness, be careful!"
Nezha's voice came from behind Yun Heng. At the same time, a hand with sharp nails reached out to grab Yun Heng's shoulder.
Black and White Impermanence had gone to the mortal realm to capture a pair of Malevolent Ghosts with deep-seated resentment. They caught one, but the other escaped. Black Impermanence went to pursue the other, while White Impermanence escorted this one to the Eighteen Levels of Hell for judgment.
Who would have thought a child would suddenly rush out halfway, crashing directly into White Impermanence's leg.
Where did this child come from in the underworld? Naturally, he was brought by the Jade Emperor during his Tour of the Three Realms. Xie Bian didn’t think too much and quickly reached out to support him, fearing that if the little prince fell and got hurt, the entire underworld’s Immortals would be punished.
His mind was completely captivated by Yun Heng, and his attention was focused on the little prince, so he overlooked the Malevolent Ghost he had just captured.
The Malevolent Ghost broke free from Xie Bian’s restraint. Though still wearing Shackles and Handcuffs, its attacking power was not to be underestimated.
Spotting Yun Heng as a child, it immediately lunged forward.
Whether he was frightened into stupidity or the Celestial Realm’s prince was truly born fearless, Yun Heng heard Nezha shouting for him to be careful but remained standing still, allowing the sharp claws to grab his shoulder.
Not far away, the Jade Emperor heard Nezha’s shout and immediately turned around. Seeing his son in danger, the Nine Dragon True Qi around him instantly surged, and a faint golden light flickered in his hand. Nearby, Li Jing, Marshal Wang, and Huang Feihu also raised their Magical Artifacts.
At the same time, Nezha’s Qiankun Ring and Hun Tian Ling (Cosmic Silk) were both unleashed—the former striking toward the Malevolent Ghost, the latter wrapping around Yun Heng to provide protection.
However, the distance between the Malevolent Ghost and Yun Heng was too close. Before the gods could react, the sharp claws had already touched Yun Heng’s shoulder.
“Heng!”
At the critical moment, an incredible scene unfolded!
As soon as the sharp claws touched Yun Heng’s robe, a flash of golden fire appeared on his shoulder, and the Malevolent Ghost’s hand turned into ashes, gradually spreading upward—arm, shoulder, head, until the entire body.
In an instant, amid a piercing scream, the Malevolent Ghost had Soul Scattered and Vanished, leaving not even a trace of ash.
Not only the ghost officers nearby but even the Immortal Officials beside the Jade Emperor were astonished.
What kind of fire could instantly burn a ghost soul to nothingness, leaving no trace? Even the Daoist ultimate technique Samadhi True Fire did not possess such power.
Nezha was closest to Yun Heng and saw it most clearly. Moreover, he himself could wield Samadhi True Fire and was very familiar with it. The golden flame that rose from Yun Heng’s shoulder could not possibly be Samadhi True Fire.
What was it then?
Among the Immortals present, aside from the Jade Emperor, probably no one knew.
Yun Heng tilted his head, brushed away a speck of dust from his shoulder, his little face full of confusion: “Why did it suddenly disappear?”
Even he himself did not understand what had just happened.
Regardless, the crisis was resolved, the little prince was unharmed, and the Immortals finally relaxed, releasing their tightly gripped Magical Artifacts.
In front of the Immortal Ministers, the Jade Emperor did not say anything. He personally walked to Yun Heng and picked up his son.
Xie Bian quickly knelt down: “It was my negligence. Please punish me, Your Majesty.”
“Step down.” The Jade Emperor did not even glance at him, his gaze fixed on his son, full of concern. He patted him to ensure he was fine, then finally relaxed.
He quickly finished handling affairs in the underworld and took Yun Heng away. Throughout this period, he never let Yun Heng leave his sight.
That night, Yun Heng received a beating. Whimpering cries emerged from the Nine-Dragon Imperial Carriage, occasionally accompanied by the Jade Emperor’s scolding.
Outside the Nine-Dragon Imperial Carriage, Nezha stood on his Wind-Fire Wheels before Li Jing, also being scolded.
The Third Prince had always been a tough troublemaker since childhood, constantly opposing his father.
Li Jing reprimanded, "What's going on? Didn't the Emperor order you to follow him closely without leaving his side?"
Nezha shrugged, "The little prince has his own ideas."
Li Jing continued, "It's so dangerous. If anything happens to the prince, we can't bear the Emperor's wrath."
Nezha snorted coldly, "You're concerned about the Emperor's wrath," he paused briefly, then sighed inwardly, "If anything really happens to the prince, I'd feel guilty."
At this moment, faint childish voices came from between the window frames, choked with tears, stammering, "Father Emperor, hit me twice more to calm your anger."
The Jade Emperor asked, "Who are you taking punishment for again?"
Yun Heng whispered softly, "Nezha brother."
As he wished, the Jade Emperor slapped his little butt twice more, "If you're so protective of Nezha, behave yourself and stop causing mischief."
This time sneaking out, he didn't get to eat mung bean cake, but his butt had already suffered two beatings. Thinking of this, Yun Heng grew even more aggrieved and burst into tears again with a "wah" cry.
His sudden outburst startled the Jade Emperor, who thought the two slaps might have been too harsh and truly hurt him. Quickly wiping away his tears, he said, "Alright, stop crying."
Yun Heng hiccupped through his tears and asked his father emperor, "Will you hit me more?"
"No more."
Yun Heng asked again, "Will you punish Nezha brother?"
The Jade Emperor pondered briefly, "No punishment."
The little one finally relaxed, then threw himself into the Jade Emperor's embrace, softly saying, "Father Emperor, I'm so sleepy."
The Jade Emperor couldn't resist his pleading. Looking at the young child in his arms, even the greatest anger dissipated. He gently brushed his hand over Yun Heng's head, removing the silver crown that bound his hair, letting the child's soft locks fall loose, "Sleep, Father Emperor will stay with you."
Yun Heng leaned against his father emperor's chest. As soon as he closed his eyes, his breathing became long and steady—he had already fallen asleep.
The Jade Emperor's Tour of the Three Realms next destination was the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. They first arrived at the shores of the East Sea. This was Yun Heng's first time seeing the ocean. Watching a red sun slowly rise from where the sea met the sky, dyeing both sky and sea red, he excitedly exclaimed, "This place is so beautiful!"
Celestial Master Zhang pointed toward a distant, undulating mountain range, "Prince, look over there—there is an Immortal Mountain."
Yun Heng asked, "What's on the Immortal Mountain?"
"There is Divine Beast Bai Ze."
Yun Heng only heard the words "divine beast" and immediately clapped his hands and jumped up, "Can it be my mount?"
"Probably… not."
"Does it have a master?"
Celestial Master Zhang said, "During the Yellow Emperor's reign, while patrolling, reaching the eastern shores, the beast Bai Ze appeared. It could speak, understood the essence of all things, warned the people, and eliminated harm for the times. When rulers are virtuous and wise, it comes." [From "Song Shu: Fu Rui Zhi"]
Yun Heng picked up a seashell from the beach, turning it over in his palm repeatedly, "I don't understand."
"…"
Zhang Daoling showed off his knowledge, but Yun Heng didn't understand. However, the Jade Emperor was quite inspired, "I wonder what Bai Ze Divine Lord has been busy with lately. I have personally arrived at the shores of the East Sea, yet he hasn't come to greet me."
Ge Xuan, Celestial Master Ge, said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, Bai Ze Divine Lord has been in Secluded Cultivation for a hundred years."
The Jade Emperor nodded, indicating he understood.
Yun Heng ran over to Nezha again, stuffing the seashell into his hand, "Nezha brother, where is the Dragon Palace? I haven't seen it."
Nezha was somewhat distracted, "In the sea."
"Have you been there?"
Nezha tossed the shell up and caught it again: "Of course I have."
"What's inside the Dragon Palace?"
"There's the old Dragon King, shrimp soldiers and crab generals, the East Sea Dragon Pearl, and…"
At this point, his words abruptly stopped. Yun Heng looked at Nezha with confusion and pressed further: "And what else?"
Flames seemed to rise in Nezha's eyes as he tightened his grip on the Fire-Tipped Spear: "And the old Dragon King's son."