The legend of Nezha begins in the ancient fortress of Chengtang Pass, a strategic gateway guarded by the noble General Li Jing. The General’s wife, Lady Yin, had been pregnant for an unnatural duration of three years and six months. This prolonged gestation caused great anxiety within the household, leading Li Jing to suspect that the child within might be a demonic entity rather than a human heir. When the day of birth finally arrived, Lady Yin did not give birth to a child, but rather to a large, pulsating ball of flesh that glowed with an ethereal light. Horrified and convinced of a dark omen, Li Jing drew his sword and slashed the fleshy cocoon open. To his astonishment, out jumped a fully formed young boy, laughing and radiating a divine aura. This was no demon, but the reincarnation of the Lingzhu (Soul Bead), sent by the heavens to assist in the coming transition of dynasties. Soon after, the immortal Taiyi Zhenren arrived at the pass, naming the boy Nezha and taking him as a disciple, gifting him two powerful celestial artifacts: the Universe Ring (Qiankun Quan) and the Red Armillary Sash (Hun-Tian Ling).
Nezha grew with terrifying speed, possessing strength and wisdom far beyond his years. However, his divine nature made him impulsive and fierce. One exceptionally hot summer day, when Nezha was only seven years old, he sought relief from the stifling heat at the nearby Nine Bend River, which flowed into the East Sea. Unbeknownst to him, the celestial artifacts he carried were so powerful that their presence in the water sent massive tremors through the ocean floor. As Nezha washed his Red Armillary Sash in the waves, the vibrations reached the Crystal Palace of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea. The underwater kingdom was thrown into chaos; the pillars of the palace shook, and the sea creatures panicked. Disturbed by the upheaval, Ao Guang dispatched a sea scout, the Yaksha named Li Gen, to investigate and apprehend the perpetrator. When Li Gen emerged from the waves and attempted to arrest the young boy with force, Nezha, defended himself. With a single strike of the Universe Ring, he accidentally killed the Yaksha, whose body was cast back into the deep.
Infuriated by the death of his servant, Ao Guang’s third son, the Dragon Prince Ao Bing, volunteered to capture Nezha. Ao Bing ascended to the surface in a display of thunder and storm, demanding that Nezha submit to the laws of the sea. Nezha, however, refused to be intimidated by the dragon's arrogance. A fierce battle ensued between the boy and the prince. Despite the prince’s mastery over the elements, Nezha’s divine artifacts proved superior. He entangled the dragon in the Red Armillary Sash and struck him down. In the heat of the conflict, Nezha pulled the dragon’s tendon from his body, intending to use it as a belt for his father, Li Jing. When Nezha returned home and proudly presented the dragon tendon to his father, Li Jing was filled with a paralyzing dread. He knew that the Dragon Kings were not mere spirits but powerful deities of the celestial bureaucracy, and that Nezha’s actions had brought a death sentence upon their entire family.
Ao Guang soon arrived at Chengtang Pass, demanding justice for his son’s murder. Li Jing, torn between his duty as a father and his responsibility as a commander, could only offer apologies, but the Dragon King would not be appeased. Ao Guang traveled to the Heavenly Gates to petition the Jade Emperor for the destruction of Li Jing’s house. Nezha, realizing the trouble he had caused, used his invisibility powers to intercept the Dragon King at the gate. There, he beat Ao Guang and forced him to transform into a small blue snake, bringing him back to Chengtang Pass in a jar. However, this only escalated the conflict. The other three Dragon Kings of the North, South, and West seas joined their brother, gathering their armies of wind and rain to besiege the pass. They threatened to unleash a cataclysmic flood that would drown every man, woman, and child in the region unless Nezha was handed over to face execution.