Tales of Herding Gods

There was a scribe-written account from the winter of the seventeenth year of the sixty year cycle. It described the event of the jade mountain of Imperial College sinking fifty yards as scarlet flames came out of its caves in a radius of eight hundred miles, which had been an abnormally beautiful sight.

However, the scribe hadn’t recorded the cause of the event. He only used sublime words with deep meaning to mention Heavenly Saint Academy’s Grand Chancellor Qin neglecting his teachings and being punished by the emperor to forfeit his salary of the next two years. His rank had also been dropped from fourth ranking to lower fifth.

According to the people in the palace, it had been an early morning that day when the emperor was alarmed by a loud explosion. He hurriedly flew to have a look and saw that the place of the explosion was Jade Dragon Lake. Countless red dragon carps in the lake were hit and floated on the water’s surface. Jade Dragon Lake itself was several times larger than normal and several times deeper.

The emperor had then flown into a rage.

According to the reports, there was an injury on the emperor’s hand while he was shouting to behead someone.

At that time, the emperor carried a knife while wandering around the mountain, but he couldn’t find that someone. He only stumbled upon a sleeping dragon qilin and chest. He stood guard beside them, but when he still didn’t see the person by the afternoon, he finally gave up.

Rumors said that someone had escaped a thousand miles away in the early morning, so when afternoon came, the dragon qilin who had woken up had to ride the chest for two days and two nights to catch up.

There were other rumors saying that the emperor had gone to the army camp and loitered around Sunshot Divine Cannon for half a day before finally sighing. “His merit is greater than his trouble, so his crime is not worthy of death yet. I should just demote him and take away his salary.” After that, he put away his huge knife and turned to leave.

Of course, these were all rumors and there was no way to verify them. The scribes of the imperial court would never record such things that had no basis.

Over ten days later, Qin Mu set up Between Life and Death in Great Ruins’ Border Dragon City, and a long river stretched through the sky. Border Dragon City became a place connected to Fengdu, and it was extraordinary bustling for a period of time.

Border Dragon City was originally Qin Family’s property, and most of the shops in it belonged to Heavenly Saint Cult. Eternal Peace would ship goods there to sell to Great Ruins, and Great Ruins’ goods would be sent through there to be sold to Eternal Peace.

That city was the first station before entering Great Ruins, so the divine arts practitioners would usually choose it to settle down. After Qin Mu’s arrival, the number of divine arts practitioners in Border Dragon City had multiplied, and the prices were skyrocketing. Si Yunxiang and Hu Ling’er were so happy that they were beaming with joy.

After a few days, an official of Ministry of Revenue came to Great Ruins wanting to collect tax and was attacked verbally by Qin Mu. He then went back to complain to Emperor Yanfeng who didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Great Ruins is not part of Eternal Peace’s territory, so him not killing you when you went to collect tax is already giving me face. According to the rules of their Great Ruins, you should have been beheaded. Don’t create trouble, Great Ruins isn’t our land.”

“Your Majesty, Grand Chancellor Qin is earning money too fiercely. The trade and commerce in Border Dragon City is a huge business!” Minister of Revenue protested. “On top of that, Your Majesty has to pave roads which will connect West Earth and Eternal Peace, but they will have to pass through Border Dragon City! The two roads planned by Grand Chancellor Qin both have to pass through there!

“Border Dragon City will definitely become the first strategic town of Great Ruins, and its wealth will be leading in the world! This minister thinks that Grand Chancellor definitely has selfish motives, borrowing the imperial court’s money to pave roads for his hometown!”

With a sense of helplessness, Emperor Yanfeng looked deeply into his eyes. He then said meaningfully, “West Earth was conquered by him, saving us all the funds and provisions that would’ve been required for the troops. He also spared the countless soldiers from dying in the war.”

“However, the divine arts practitioners that go to Border Dragon City are all people of my Eternal Peace. If they spend money there and can’t be taxed, that place will become a country in a country, and our Eternal Peace’s wealth will definitely be lost! If this continues, how dreadful would it be? Our Eternal Peace will have no money to use!” the ministered stated.

Emperor Yanfeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Daoist Yuan Feng, you are an algebra expert of Daoism so how can you not understand?”

Minister of Revenue was puzzled. “This small official is slow-witted. May Your Majesty enlighten me?”

Emperor Yanfeng smiled at him. “The divine arts practitioners that go to Border Dragon City use the great abundance coins of my Eternal Peace. If they want to spend the money, they still have to earn it in my Eternal Peace, so they will still have to return.”

Minister of Revenue frowned. “But what if great abundance coins circulate in Great Ruins and don’t return to Eternal Peace?”

Emperor Yanfeng smiled. “If great abundance coins could replace gold, silver, and treasures that circulate in Great Ruins, that would be even more wonderful! Think, the imperial court is the one minting coins. With that, wouldn’t the imperial court be in control of Great Ruins’ which couldn’t mint its own coins? Wouldn’t the imperial court then have a say in how much wealth Great Ruins have?

“When great abundance coins replace gold and silver, the imperial court will be able to use great abundance coins to buy mines and rivers. With great abundance coins everywhere, unifying Great Ruins would be just around the corner!”

Minister of Revenue was tongue-tied.

Emperor Yanfeng threw his memorial and stood up to look outside with a deep gaze. “To not spend a soldier and just great abundance coins to gain a rich land like Great Ruins, what a bargain are we getting for this deal? You are still too straightforward, thinking that the money flowing into Great Ruins is a bad thing. You don’t know how to use money to unify the lands, which is the highest quality of invasion.

“When ruling a country, one cannot be bothered with minor gains or losses, but have to see far, dozens or even hundreds of years into the future. When Grand Chancellor wants to earn money, it’s just a few coins. When I want to earn money, it’s about rivers and mountains, no blood on the men’s swords, aiding the people, and unifying the economy!”

Minister of Revenue was completely won over. “Your Majesty’s words can be used to alert the later generations.”

In Border Dragon City, Qin Mu looked at the divine arts practitioners bustling in the streets and the merchants coming and going endlessly. Those people of Eternal Peace Empire made Border Dragon City much livelier than before.

“If Imperial Preceptor managed to bring the divine arts practitioners of West Earth to pave the road and open a path between West Earth and Eternal Peace, the people of Great Ruins wouldn’t have to live so bitterly.”

Qin Mu calculated. Over a month had passed since Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor had led the people of Heavenly Works Hall to the West. Thus, they should have already turned the desert into green plains.

By using Green Dragon Bead of West Earth, they could achieve that with quite some ease. After that, they would need to create streams by drawing water from the snow on the mountains into the desert for dense vegetation to stay alive and grow.

If Heavenly Works Hall could bore a hole in the mountains to the south of the desert, they could draw the water vapor above the south sea to the north. With that, the desert would have no shortage of water, and they wouldn’t have to worry about making rain and snow fall.

In just a few years, the flaming desert would become history.

Once the road was paved, West Earth, Great Ruins, and Eternal Peace would be connected by a smooth road without any obstructions. Merchants would go past the towns and cities in Great Ruins on their way, and the people of Great Ruins would become rich as well.

“Divine Physician Qin, I heard you are a person from Great Ruins.” Xing An who stood behind him broke into his thoughts. “You are a person of Great Ruins yet you bring the power of Eternal Peace Empire into it. You are a sinner.”

“There is no country in Great Ruins so how am I a sinner?” Qin Mu was bewildered. “The people of Great Ruins make the best use of local resources without any ruler. Even if Eternal Peace Empire came, the people from there would also become the people of Great Ruins. The guest will not become the owner here, for they must follow the rules of Great Ruins. Over here, they are the only way to live instead of any law of the emperor.”

Xing An shook his head. “I haven’t interacted much with Emperor Yanfeng, but I can see his great skills and strategy. He will unify Great Ruins in the future. When that time comes, you will regret it.”

Qin Mu smiled. “If the emperor dares to make a move on Great Ruins, he won’t be able to sit on his throne for much longer. You should know how terrifying Great Ruins is. These stone statues…” he said while pointing at the temples in Border Dragon City.

“They are waiting for a call to revive. Once they do, the world is going to flip. Eternal Peace will never become the owner of this land, since it is someone else.”

His gaze flickered as he smiled. “I chased away the Minister of Revenue, and the emperor still hasn’t found trouble for me, so I can see his plans clearly. It’s just that his ideas are empty thoughts. If the emperor could surpass Founding Emperor, they might have a chance of coming true; otherwise, they’re nothing but an illusion. I’m about to go sweep the tombs, will Senior Brother Xing An be coming along?”

Xing An glanced at the chest that had grown legs, then looked away. “I’ll follow wherever you go. I’ll leave only when I’ll find the person I want.”

Qin Mu frowned. “I’ll go sweep the tomb after you settle your thing.”

Hall of Human Emperors was a secret that only the past human emperors knew about. With Xing An by his side, he couldn’t head to Hall of Human Emperors; otherwise, its location would be exposed and bring unnecessary trouble.

Besides, who knew if Xing An wouldn’t dig out the bodies of the past human emperors to collect them?

After a dozen days, the imperial court, Heavenly Saint Cult, Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Monastery, and the rest collected the information of the people born at the specified time. There were up to thirty thousand people.

The official that had sent the information said, “Knowledge from the prairie, snow plains, and West Earth hasn’t been gathered completely yet.”

Xing An looked at the thirty thousand scrolls and couldn’t help feeling a heavy weight settle on his shoulders. After a moment, he said, “The person I want to find is a man, so separate the men from the women.

The official immediately gave instructions to those under him, and once everything was sorted out, he said, “There is a total of seventeen thousand men of which only eight thousand are alive. Most of them had died in the battles and disasters.”

After a moment, Xing An said, “Exclude those that aren’t divine arts practitioners.”

The official gave his orders again and let the officials of Ministry of Revenue sort the information again. After a while, he reported, “There are four hundred divine arts practitioners left.”

Xing An was silent for a moment before saying, “Check if there were any abnormal sights when these four hundred people were born. I’m looking for a divine practitioner who wears a jade pendant.”

The official then ordered to check the four hundred men.

Qin Mu watched the proceedings with a doubt growing in his heart. ‘Every time Xing An gives an order, he hesitates as though it’s not him that’s giving the order. It’s like he is listening to someone else’s words.

‘That’s right, he jumped off the Bridge of Helplessness and sunk into Youdu which is much more dangerous than Fengdu. Monsters overflowing with grievances are everywhere there, so how did he get back? Could it be…’

His gaze flickered, and a Gate of Heaven Influence suddenly appeared behind him. Once it formed, Qin Mu transformed into a snake-headed human, and a straight eye opened up at the heart of his brows.

Xing An immediately noticed it and turned around to face him. His eyes were dense with divine light which blocked Qin Mu’s gaze. He then said indifferently, “Divine Physician Qin, there are some things you are better off not knowing.”

Qin Mu laughed and dispersed his Saturn Sovereign form. Inside, he was ineffably shocked. When he looked at Xing An while the man was off guard, he had seen a terrifying eye hidden in the other’s Life and Death Divine Treasure!

Just then, that terrifying eye had noticed his gaze and was about to look at him. However, it was intercepted by Xing An!

The official came to report at that moment. “We couldn’t find any divine arts practitioner wearing a jade pendant when he was born. After all, being born with a jade in the mouth is a legend.”

“That person wasn’t born with a jade in the mouth.” Xing An was silent for a moment before taking out a drawing. “His jade pendant is used to suppress his devil nature. This is the picture of it. Since you can’t find that divine arts practitioner that’s born at the right time, hang pictures of this jade pendant in every city and find its location! Divine Physician Qin, order your men to make a thousand copies of this drawing!”

Qin Mu took the painting and his gaze fell on the picture of the jade pendant.

Xing An saw that he was looking at it in detail and asked, “Has Divine Physician Qin seen this kind of pendant before?”

Qin Mu shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

Xing An’s gaze flickered, and he took out a mirror. “I’ve forgotten to ask, but how old is Divine Physician Qin now?”