Why Did Ao Run Betray His Elder Brother Ao Guang in Nezha 2?
In Nezha: Chaos in the Sea of Devils, none of the scenes are more stunning than the moment when Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea, transforms into a human form.
In fact, Ao Run had already made an appearance in the post-credits scene of the first film, Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child. Even while trapped under the searing submarine lava of the Inferno, he exuded charm, enchantment, and elegance. When speaking to his elder brother, the Dragon King of the East Sea, his tone was laced with temptation, carrying an inherent allure:
"Brother, would you be interested in a deal?"
True to expectations, the director did not disappoint. In the second film, the moment Ao Run took human form, everyone was stunned. With eyes as soft as silk, right and wrong seemed to cease to matter—after all, if "she" (Ao Run in human form) was this beautiful, then "she" must be in the right.
But was her act of betraying the Dragon Clan and choosing to serve the Immortal Lord Wuliang really justifiable? And why did she do it?
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I
It must be said that the recently released Nezha: Chaos in the Sea of Devils contains many elements from Journey to the West.
For example, Chentang Pass, guarded by Li Jing, is a vital border town nestled between mountains and waters, boasting beautiful scenery. Whether in the original Investiture of the Gods or in the film, Nezha acts near the sea at Chentang Pass, disturbing the East Sea Dragon Palace and thus triggering a battle with Ao Bing, the Third Prince of the East Sea.
In Journey to the West, Huaguoshan (the Monkey King’s home) is also surrounded by the East Sea. Sun Wukong can jump directly into the water from the Water Curtain Cave and reach the East Sea Dragon Palace smoothly.
The East Sea Dragon Palace has a highly distinctive symbol: the Divine Needle to Calm the Sea—one of a kind in the Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld). In the film, it serves as a magical artifact to suppress the sea monsters. In the end, it is this Divine Needle that allows the Dragon Clan, the sea monsters, Nezha, and Ao Bing to break free from the constraints of the Tianyuan Cauldron.
Although Nezha and Ao Bing could absorb the energy of the Tianyuan Cauldron, they could only push open its top cover. Even with a little effort from the Immortal Lord Wuliang and his demon-hunting team, the cover would not budge. However, the Golden Cudgel (the Divine Needle to Calm the Sea) could shatter the Tianyuan Cauldron, push upward all the way, and even break through the roots of giant trees.
Director Jiaozi (Jiaozi is the director’s pseudonym) was worried that the audience might miss this detail, so he deliberately added a few seconds of close-up shots of the Divine Needle during the final battle after it broke out of the Tianyuan Cauldron. Even the Immortal Lord Wuliang was eventually punched by Nezha onto the Divine Needle—it was almost as if the five characters "Ruyi Golden Cudgel" (the official name of the Divine Needle) were written out and stuck in the audience’s faces.
It turns out that the Divine Needle was not used to calm the sea or stabilize the Dragon Palace, but to suppress the sea monsters. What’s even more surprising is that while it took the entire East Sea Dragon Clan plus all the sea monsters to move the Golden Cudgel, Sun Wukong could lift it with just one hand.
II
No wonder in Journey to the West, after Sun Wukong lifted the Divine Needle, the Dragon King of the East Sea was shocked and quickly summoned the other three Dragon Kings to present Sun Wukong with a full set of equipment.
After all, if our Dragon Clan had the ability to wield the Divine Needle as a weapon back then, why would we fear the immortals? We could have directly attacked the Heavenly Court! Now, finally, a once-in-a-millennium opportunity has come—this monkey shall carry on the unfinished cause of our Dragon Clan.
Besides the Golden Cudgel shown in the film, there is actually another foreshadowing in Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child—Xiao Yunyun (Little Cloud Cloud). He is also a disciple of the Primordial Lord of Heaven and usually guards the Gate of the Void alone in heaven. I strongly suspect that he is the Somersault Cloud—Sun Wukong’s mount in later stories.
Of course, the most stunning character we need to focus on in this article is Ao Run, the Dragon King of the West Sea. She is also the mother of the White Dragon Horse in Journey to the West—the most mysterious member of the Dragon Clan and the only female Dragon King. Later, driven by self-interest, she joined forces with the Dragon Kings of the South Sea and North Sea to betray the Dragon King of the East Sea and pledge allegiance to the Immortal Lord Wuliang. Moreover, she used the Sky-Splitting Claw to release the sea monsters and magma, massacring all the people of Chentang Pass.
This raises a question: when the Immortal Lord Wuliang transformed into a wooden dragon to attack Chentang Pass, Shen Gongbao took the opportunity to use the Sky-Splitting Claw to summon the three Dragon Kings to resist.
Shen Gongbao then exposed the Immortal Lord Wuliang’s hypocrisy in front of the three Dragon Kings, revealing that Wuliang’s real intention was to frame the Dragon Clan and wipe them out entirely.
Since Wuliang was the enemy of the Dragon Clan, Ao Run should have returned to the Dragon Palace to tell Ao Guang (the Dragon King of the East Sea) the truth, urging him not to be so blindly loyal and to rebel with her. But why didn’t she do that?
III
To explain this question clearly, we need to go back a thousand years: what exactly did the Dragon Clan do, and why did they end up in such a desperate situation?
When the Dragon King of the West Sea, along with the Dragon Kings of the South Sea and North Sea, circled around the Immortal Lord Wuliang, it was obvious that Wuliang felt a trace of fear. The reason Shen Gongbao dared to expose Wuliang’s hypocrisy to his face and openly declare that he had no gratitude but only enmity toward Wuliang was that he had the support of these three dragons.
Unfortunately, Shen Gongbao never expected that after circling Wuliang a few times, the three dragons suddenly said:
"Immortal Elder, would you be interested in a deal?"
This line is almost identical to what the Dragon King of the West Sea said to the Dragon King of the East Sea in the final post-credits scene of Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child. However, the Immortal Lord Wuliang clearly had no idea what the three dragons were up to. When they asked if he knew the incantation to unlock the Sea-Calming Chains, Wuliang retorted:
"I do. So what?"
Shen Gongbao immediately realized what the three dragons were planning and accused them on the spot:
"You… you intend to betray?"
At this point, the Dragon King of the South Sea turned to Shen Gongbao and explained their reason for betraying:
"A thousand years ago, the four of us brothers fought against the Immortal Realm together. Who was the one who broke their promise first and threw us into purgatory? We are more than happy to see the Immortal Lord Wuliang deal with Ao Guang!"
So, what exactly happened a thousand years ago? Why were these three Dragon Kings so eager to see the Immortal Lord Wuliang deal with the Dragon King of the East Sea—even to the point of rejoicing?
Even when Wuliang offered to cast a spell on them, they couldn’t wait to accept it before he finished speaking. Why?
IV
In fact, not only do we fail to understand their betrayal, but even their elder brother—the Dragon King of the East Sea—cannot comprehend it.
When he questioned the Dragon King of the West Sea about why she betrayed the Dragon Clan and surrendered to the Immortal Lord Wuliang, she replied:
"I learned it from you, elder brother!"
The Dragon King of the East Sea clearly understood what she meant. He quickly explained that he had no choice back then—he had to do it to save the entire Dragon Clan. He had expected the Dragon King of the West Sea to understand his difficulties, but instead, she turned around and left, saying:
"Now, to save myself, I have no choice either!"
So, what did the Dragon King of the East Sea do back then that made the Dragon King of the West Sea say she was "following his example"?
In the first film, there was a scene where Ao Bing asked his father (the Dragon King of the East Sea) why the Dragon Clan had to stay underwater and could not go anywhere else. At that time, the Dragon King of the East Sea explained to him that in ancient times, the Dragon Clan was once the powerful "Ruler of All Scaled Creatures" who dominated the world. However, in the later war between the Immortal Clan and the Demon Clan, when it became clear that the demons were about to lose, the Dragon King of the East Sea chose to surrender to save the Dragon Clan—and even helped the Immortal Clan suppress the sea monsters.
His only goal was to hope that the Immortal Clan, out of gratitude for the Dragon Clan’s efforts, would recognize them as immortals instead of treating them as demons.
In fact, they did get their wish—they were officially appointed as Dragon Kings. But they lost their freedom. Because beneath the East Sea Dragon Palace lay the suppressed sea monsters, trapped in the submarine purgatory for a thousand years, enduring the torment of burning magma. The Dragon Clan was tasked with guarding these monsters and could not leave even a single step:
"They call this place a ‘Dragon Palace,’ but it’s actually a prison! If we leave here, the monsters, no longer suppressed by our divine power, will all escape. We can’t take even half a step away!"
V
It is evident that back then, the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas disagreed with the Dragon King of the East Sea and refused to surrender. As a result, their elder brother locked them up with chains.
And this imprisonment lasted for a thousand years. Even if they had feelings for each other before, the torment of a thousand years in purgatory had eroded all those bonds away!
After all, this was the consequence of their elder brother’s surrender—all of them were trapped in this prison forever, deprived of freedom. What’s more, the elder brother could have unlocked part of the formation to make his younger siblings more comfortable, but he chose not to.
However, after a thousand years of suffering, the Four Dragon Kings probably reflected and came to a realization: if their elder brother hadn’t surrendered back then, they might have been reduced to ashes long ago. As the saying goes, "It’s better to be alive than dead," so they gradually made peace with their fate.
In fact, it wasn’t just the Dragon King of the West Sea and the others who harbored resentment—the Dragon King of the East Sea was not stupid. He knew he had been tricked by the Heavenly Court. This led to his "switching the baby" plan (a plan to transfer the Spirit Pearl into Ao Bing’s body), which he regarded as a once-in-a-millennium chance to turn the tide. He pinned all his hopes on Ao Bing: he wanted the Spirit Pearl to merge with Ao Bing, and through cultivation, Ao Bing would shed his dragon horns, enter the Immortal Realm, and break free from this underwater prison forever. Once Ao Bing gained a firm foothold in the Immortal Realm, he could speak up for the Dragon Clan and secure their freedom.
This plan received the support of the entire Dragon Clan—including the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas. So, when Ao Bing was about to carry out the final mission, Ao Run (the Dragon King of the West Sea) even plucked her hardest dragon scale and gave it to him.
Later, when she finally gained "freedom" and transformed into a human, we could still see a missing scale on her thigh.
VI
Unfortunately, the once-in-a-millennium opportunity that the Dragon Clan had waited for was completely ruined because Ao Bing, in a moment of soft-heartedness, chose to die together with Nezha.
When Shen Gongbao returned to the Dragon Palace to report this, the Dragon King of the East Sea flew into a rage. He slammed his palm against a rock and roared:
"My son Ao Bing… the Dragon Clan’s thousand-year wait… I will make Chentang Pass pay with blood!"
Why did the other three Dragon Kings all laugh and mock him after he said this?
The Dragon King of the South Sea emerged from the magma with a strange laugh, telling him to roar louder—maybe that would kill all their enemies. The Dragon King of the North Sea directly taunted him: "You can’t even get out of this prison—what’s the point of putting on such a show of power?"
In fact, when the news of Ao Bing’s "death" reached the Dragon Palace, it wasn’t just the Dragon King of the East Sea who was devastated by the failure of his plan—the other Dragon Kings were equally heartbroken. After all, Ao Bing was dead. The Dragon King of the East Sea was shouting about revenge, but he couldn’t even get out of the prison—how could he take revenge?
What’s more, if the Dragon King of the East Sea really went to take revenge, he would be handing the Heavenly Court an excuse to condemn the Dragon Clan—and waiting for the Heavenly Court to come and destroy them.
The root of this problem lies in their different positions. Regardless of what was said, at this point, Ao Guang (the Dragon King of the East Sea) represented the Heavenly Court and was technically "free." In contrast, the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas, along with the sea monsters, were the enemies of the Heavenly Court’s Immortal Clan—they were the ones being suppressed, and this status remained unchanged even after a thousand years.
But if they didn’t go to Chentang Pass to take revenge, Ao Bing’s identity had already been exposed. Li Jing and others would report this to the Heavenly Court, and the Immortal Clan’s army would still come to wipe out the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan was already in imminent danger.
VII
At this point, Ao Run (the Dragon King of the West Sea) proposed a deal to her elder brother. Although the film did not specify what the deal was, we can roughly guess its content.
What Ao Run had always wanted was freedom. The deal was probably that she hoped her elder brother would let the three of them (the West, South, and North Sea Dragon Kings) go. In return, they would carry out the mission of silencing everyone in Chentang Pass. Just like Shen Gongbao’s original order to Ao Bing: initially, only four people needed to die, but now that everyone knew the truth, not a single person could be left alive.
Therefore, Ao Run was willing to complete the mission that Ao Bing had failed to finish. As long as Chentang Pass was wiped out, the blame could still be shifted to Nezha (the Demon Pearl). Even without Ao Bing, the Dragon Clan would not face an army of immortals sent by the Heavenly Court to exterminate them.
Even if the three Dragon Kings failed to complete the mission and the Heavenly Court wanted to blame someone, the Dragon King of the East Sea could sacrifice the three of them to take the fall—at least the East Sea Dragon Clan would be preserved.
This was the agreement reached between the Dragon King of the East Sea and the other three Dragon Kings. It not only allowed the Dragon King of the East Sea to vent his anger but also covered up the fact that the Dragon Clan had colluded with Shen Gongbao to steal the Spirit Pearl privately. This explains the opening scene of the second film, where Shen Gongbao takes a nail (the Sky-Splitting Claw) belonging to the Dragon King of the West Sea to Chentang Pass and uses it to open a connecting passage.
Unfortunately, just as the three Dragon Kings were about to kill Master Taiyi (Taiyi Zhenren), Ao Bing suddenly appeared and blocked their attack.
His appearance was so powerful that even the Dragon King of the East Sea, who was far away in the Dragon Palace, sensed his aura. He immediately separated his soul from his body and flew over—only to discover that Ao Bing’s soul had not been destroyed and that he had been saved by Master Taiyi.
With this, the original plan could proceed as usual—and Ao Run and the others’ plan to gain freedom was thwarted once again.
VIII
If the Immortal Lord Wuliang had not framed the Dragon Clan later, I suspect that although the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas harbored resentment toward their elder brother, they would still have continued waiting like this.
However, the appearance of the Immortal Lord Wuliang made them realize a crucial point: those who choose to surrender will never end up well. After all, the Dragon Clan had gone to such extremes to prove their loyalty—they had turned against relatives and even fought among their own kin. But what did they get in return?
Nothing but boundless suspicion and vigilance, and even false accusations against the Dragon Clan, all aimed at wiping them out entirely.
Therefore, when the Immortal Lord Wuliang arrived at Chentang Pass, intending to frame the Dragon Clan, and Shen Gongbao—who was unaware of the truth—summoned the three Dragon Kings, the situation became far more complicated. By this time, almost all paths ahead of the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas were completely blocked!
At this moment, they could have chosen to return to the Dragon Palace immediately, tell the Dragon King of the East Sea the truth, and urge him to set everyone free at once so that they could unite against the Immortal Lord Wuliang.
But unfortunately, after his true colors were exposed, would the Immortal Lord Wuliang let these three dragons go back?
Even if he did let them return, would the Dragon King of the East Sea believe them and set them free?
Even if the Dragon King of the East Sea released them and they all united to resist the Immortal Lord Wuliang, what were their chances of winning? If they could have resisted the Immortal Clan and avoided being refined into elixirs after being imprisoned for a thousand years, why would they have surrendered in the first place?
After all, Nezha was on the Immortal Lord Wuliang’s side back then, and their own Ao Bing didn’t even have a physical body. If a real battle broke out, the Dragon Clan would have had no chance of winning at all.
This is also the reason why, at the end of the film, even though the Dragon Clan, allied with the Demon Clan, Nezha, and Ao Bing, defeated the Immortal Lord Wuliang, they still chose to go into hiding.
IX
If they didn’t surrender, they would all die; if they surrendered, they might still have a glimmer of hope to survive. That’s why, just as the Dragon King of the West Sea told the Dragon King of the East Sea when she returned, she had no choice either.
At the same time, there was resentment toward her elder brother in the words of the Dragon King of the West Sea—“I’m just making the same choice you made a thousand years ago. What right do you have to lecture me?”
Of course, they were well aware that even if they surrendered to the Immortal Lord Wuliang, they would not gain his trust:
“After all, dragons are originally from the demon clan. How could they ever gain the trust of the Heavenly Court?”
Thus, they had no choice but to burn their bridges—willingly letting the Immortal Lord Wuliang cast a spell on them just to dispel his doubts. As long as they could survive the present, there would always be a chance to turn their fortunes around; at the very least, they would gain freedom for the time being. After all, instead of being eternal prisoners at the bottom of the sea, it was better to take the initiative to jump into the chessboard of power and be a “living piece.” This was just as she told the Immortal Lord Wuliang—after hundreds and thousands of years, she had finally understood the rules of the world.
Naturally, she was unwilling to die in humiliation with shackles on her. Instead, she chose to break free from the chains and fight for her fate, no matter what the outcome.
However, it’s important to note that after Ao Run surrendered to the Immortal Lord Wuliang along with the Dragon Kings of the South and North Seas, she did little to help during the entire battle. Even when she found out that Ao Bing was still alive, there was a hint of joy in her, and she even reminded him to be careful of sneak attacks.
In fact, she knew very well: if the Immortal Lord Wuliang won, she, along with the Dragon Kings of the South and North Seas, would be the only ones who knew about his crimes—and their end would undoubtedly be death.
If the Dragon Clan won, she, on the other hand, could survive. But after all, she still had the spell cast by the Immortal Lord Wuliang on her. It was likely that only the Immortal Lord Wuliang himself could break such a spell; otherwise, Master Taiyi would have been able to break the Heart-Piercing Spell on Nezha.
X
Therefore, after the Immortal Lord Wuliang was defeated, Ao Run chose to use the Sky-Splitting Claw to tear open space and rescue him.
I venture to speculate that if there is a third Nezha film, it will most likely seek to “redeem” Ao Run. Of course, the biggest obstacle to her redemption is the massacre of Chentang Pass.
With the power of her Sky-Splitting Claw, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to use space magic to save the people and cover up all traces with magma. But this possibility is very slim—otherwise, Lord Li Jing and his wife wouldn’t have been petrified by the Sea Yaksha.
Furthermore, bringing ordinary people back to life is not a difficult task for immortals. They could simply go to the Underworld to retrieve the people’s souls; if that didn’t work, Master Taiyi could always continue growing lotus roots (to reconstruct bodies, as he did for Nezha).
Of course, to immortals, the death of ordinary people is trivial and means nothing. I specifically wrote about this issue in a previous article:
Yes, the King of Miefa Kingdom killed 9,996 monks for no reason at all, yet he faced no consequences; after Sun Wukong returned to Huaguoshan, he killed more than a thousand hunters from Aolai Kingdom in one go, but it didn’t stop him from becoming the “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” or later the “Victorious Fighting Buddha”; the Golden-Winged Roc devoured all the people of Lion Camel Kingdom in one meal, yet in the end, he still became a guardian of the Tathagata Buddha, and even got the first share of all delicious offerings; even the Jade Emperor, out of a grudge against the Magistrate of Fengxian County, casually issued an order that caused nine-tenths of the population of Fengxian County to die of drought.
From an ordinary human’s perspective, we truly feel sorrowful and can empathize with the suffering. But to those immortals, it’s nothing. And who can guarantee that when the Four Dragon Kings were part of the demon clan and fought against the Immortal Clan of the Heavenly Court, they didn’t harm ordinary people?
Judging from the fact that Lady Li Jing (Li Jing’s wife) is still alive in Journey to the West and even gave birth to a younger sister for Nezha—despite having been refined into an elixir before—it’s clear that reviving the people of Chentang Pass would be no difficult task for immortals.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that all Four Dragon Kings appear in Journey to the West—not a single one is missing. If these three (the Dragon Kings of the West, South, and North Seas) really became villains and turned against the Dragon King of the East Sea, the subsequent story would be impossible to make coherent.
Therefore, I am more inclined to believe that Ao Run’s decision to surrender to the Immortal Lord Wuliang was a choice made after weighing the pros and cons. If the Dragon King of the East Sea had been refined into an elixir back then, these three would have been the only remaining members of the Dragon Clan—the “green mountains” that Empress Shiji spoke of (“As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood to burn”).
As long as you have read Journey to the West and know the final fate of the Dragon King of the West Sea, you will presumably understand Ao Run’s choice.
