Nezha returned his flesh to his parents and died for them
When the Dragon Kings won leave from the Jade Emperor to punish his family, the child god carved up his own body—paying back the "debt" of birth. Taoist lore then rebuilds him as Lotus Prince and Marshal of the Central Altar, a protector worshipped across Chinese religions.
Nezha (also Nézhā Tàizǐ, sometimes rendered Natha) is revered as a guardian figure across Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and Chinese folk practice. Official Taoist titles include Marshal of the Central Altar and, after apotheosis, Third Lotus Prince. Fengshen Yanyi sets his birth in Shang-dynasty Chentang Pass as the incarnation of Lingzhu Zi, fated to aid King Wu of Zhou against Shang. Father Li Jing, the fortress commander, later becomes the Pagoda-wielding Heavenly King; mother Lady Yin delivers a flesh ball after a long pregnancy—from which the wondrous child emerges.
At seven he bathes in Jiuwan Stream using the red sash Huntian Ling as a towel, shaking the waters and drawing Ao Bing, the Dragon King's son. Nezha kills him, pulls the tendons for Li Jing's belt, then—after Ao Guang protests—beats the Dragon King into a snake and marches him home. In the garden he lifts the Yellow Emperor's Qiankun Bow, long untouched, and a Zhengtian Arrow flies to White Bone Cave, killing Lady Rock's acolyte. Confronted and disarmed, he learns the Four Seas' Dragon Kings, with celestial leave, are coming for his parents. He suicides, returning flesh and bones as filial repayment.
In a dream he asks Lady Yin for a temple so his soul can rest—echoing the prenatal dream in which a Taoist placed a child in her bosom. Her secret shrine thrives by answering prayers until still-furious Li Jing burns it down. Later myth restores Nezha in lotus form with cosmic weapons. The tale binds filial duty, cosmic rebellion, and temple cult into one furious boy-god.
Source: Nezha
