The Legend of Nezha: Who is Taiyi Zhenren in "Investiture of the Gods," and Why Does He Indulge Nezha Unconditionally?

As we all know, Nezha in "Investiture of the Gods" is the reincarnation of the Lingzhu Pearl. There has been ongoing debate online about whether the Lingzhu Pearl is a person or an object. Regardless of what it is, the Lingzhu Pearl originates from Taiyi Zhenren's Qianyuan Mountain Golden Light Cave. The reason the Lingzhu Pearl reincarnated as Nezha was to fulfill the decree of the Primordial Lord of Heaven, serving as the vanguard for Jiang Ziya's mission to overthrow the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty.

Among the many disciples of the Primordial Lord of Heaven, Taiyi Zhenren was chosen to take on this crucial task, which shows that Taiyi Zhenren was the most favored among the disciples of the Chan Sect.

As for what kind of existence Taiyi Zhenren is, it would be fitting to describe him as "overprotective" and "ruthless."

Taiyi Zhenren's overprotectiveness is most evident in his treatment of Nezha. Because Nezha carried an important mission, Taiyi Zhenren bestowed upon him two powerful treasures, the Qiankun Circle and the Hun Tian Ling, when sending him to be reborn into Li Jing's family. As described in the original text of "Investiture of the Gods":

"The flesh ball split open, and a child leaped out, surrounded by red light, with a face as fair as powdered jade. On his right hand was a golden bracelet, and around his belly was a red silk cloth, radiating golden light."

Unlike normal births, Nezha was born from an egg and could run and jump immediately after birth. The golden bracelet he was born with was the Qiankun Circle, and the red silk was the Hun Tian Ling. Because Nezha's birth was so unusual, his father, Li Jing, initially regarded him as a monster. However, Nezha's adorable appearance eventually led Li Jing to reluctantly accept him.

Shortly after Nezha's birth, Taiyi Zhenren hurried to Li Jing's home to name and accept Nezha as his disciple. This meant that even if Li Jing still harbored doubts about Nezha's origins, he had no choice but to accept it since Nezha was now a disciple of the Chan Sect.

One might think that after accepting Nezha as his disciple, Taiyi Zhenren would take him back to Qianyuan Mountain Golden Light Cave to teach him. However, Taiyi Zhenren did not do so. After naming Nezha, he left under the pretext of having other matters to attend to. This set the stage for Nezha's subsequent misadventures.

Think about it: Nezha was born with immense strength, wielded two powerful treasures, and had a father who dared not discipline him. It was almost inevitable that he would cause trouble. Perhaps Taiyi Zhenren wanted this outcome—why else would he give Nezha such powerful tools and then leave him unsupervised?

Nezha's series of misdeeds further highlight Taiyi Zhenren's overprotectiveness. When Nezha killed Li Gen, the patrol officer of the East Sea, and Ao Bing, the third prince of the East Sea, the Dragon King Ao Guang sought to bring the matter before the Jade Emperor. Upon learning of this, one might expect Taiyi Zhenren to step in and mediate. Instead, he gave Nezha an invisibility charm and encouraged him to resolve the issue through force. The result? Nezha beat up Ao Guang.

When Nezha killed two disciples of the Stone Goddess, and she came seeking justice, Taiyi Zhenren not only refused to apologize but also justified the deaths by claiming it was fate. Regardless of whether it was fate, Taiyi Zhenren's favoritism was glaringly obvious. With a teacher like this, it's no wonder Nezha kept causing trouble.

As for Taiyi Zhenren's ruthlessness, three incidents stand out:

The Stone Goddess Incident:

The Stone Goddess was a disciple of the Jie Sect, making her a fellow disciple of Taiyi Zhenren. Even if Taiyi Zhenren wanted to protect Nezha, he could have spared her life. Instead, he used the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shield to burn her back to her original form—a truly ruthless act.

The Dragon Kings' Complaint:

After Nezha beat up Ao Guang, the Dragon King rallied the other three Dragon Kings to bring their grievance to the Jade Emperor. Realizing the situation had escalated, Taiyi Zhenren threw Nezha under the bus, leading to Nezha's act of self-mutilation in Chentang Pass. Only after Nezha's death did Ao Guang's anger subside.

Nezha's Revenge on Li Jing:

Although Li Jing was not fond of Nezha, they were still father and son. Yet, after Taiyi Zhenren resurrected Nezha using lotus roots, the first thing he did was give Nezha the Fire-Tipped Spear and Wind Fire Wheels, hinting that he should teach Li Jing a lesson. This led to the infamous scene of Nezha chasing and attempting to kill his own father, which only ended when Ran Deng Daoist intervened.

From encouraging Nezha to attack the Dragon Kings to subtly pushing him to confront his father, Taiyi Zhenren's indulgence of Nezha knew no bounds. The reason for this behavior is simple: Nezha was the vanguard chosen by the Primordial Lord of Heaven to assist in the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty.

With the backing of the Primordial Lord of Heaven, no matter how much trouble Nezha caused, it didn't matter. If he died, he could simply be resurrected. But as the vanguard, Nezha needed to be strong, ruthless, and fearless to effectively aid Jiang Ziya in the mission to overthrow the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty.

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