Tales of Herding Gods

“The second heaven of Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens…”

Qin Mu looked around and saw ruins everywhere. There were collapsed city walls and palaces, broken flying cities in the sky, worn-out mountains and rivers, as well as skeletons that covered the land.

The huge mountains in the distance were also badly damaged. The mountain peaks were like corncobs that got gnawed messily. Even a huge chunk of the core was bitten off and made the mountains look like they could fall anytime.

The ground that had split apart were all covered with volcanoes and lava. Rivers were the blood that flowed on land—the blood here were actually huge rivers of lava!

There were strange pieces of broken stars and strangely-shaped clouds in the sky. Those clouds should be the traces left behind by the divine arts.

When Qin Mu stepped on the ground, he noticed that the earth had completely hardened. No plants could grow here. Suddenly, a gust blew by and he saw an unforgettable sight. The bones of numerous people had turned into a lump of bones as they got swept by the wind, rolling past in front of him.

A moment later, numerous huge white bone balls tumbled around randomly in front of him as they got blown away by the gusts.

When the wind finally stopped, those white bone balls stopped as well and scattered on the ground.

Next, broken souls came out from those white bones. They floated around like will-o’-the-wisps. Many faces could still be seen, but their bodies were all tattered, missing arms or legs.

When the wind picked up again, the broken souls quickly flew back into the bones as those skeletons tried to run to avoid the gust. However, as they ran, they got swept up by the wind and started tumbling. Numerous white bone hands grabbed each other and they gathered into a huge white bone ball that got blown away by the wind.

Qin Mu had never seen or heard this kind of strange sight before.

‘These broken souls should be the souls of these lifeforms that had died here. Because their souls aren’t complete, Youdu doesn’t take them in and let them roam the world.’

Qin Mu thought to himself. ‘They don’t have anything to rely on, so they have to enter the skeletons. Only by entering the skeletons could they feel they are still alive?’

“I think I’m going to die.”

Behind him, Sakra Buddha’s breath was weak as he said in a decrepit tone. “Red Deity of the Southern Heaven Qi Xiayu’s abilities are too high. A single tune from her is enough to take my life. I think I’m about to die. Little Friend Qin, you shall move on by yourself…”

“Okay!”

Qin Mu said without hesitation, “After you die, I shall bury you and be on my way. Does Buddha wants to be buried or be cremated?”

Sakra Buddha stared with his eyes wide open and said furiously, “I haven’t died yet and you are already thinking of burial and cremation?”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “Even though I haven’t cultivated Sakra Scripture for long, I know how powerful this technique is. Both corporeal body and primordial spirit are top-notch and unbreakable, so even though it’s inferior to an Emperor’s Throne technique, it isn’t far from it. Buddha has cultivated for so many years, so how could you be killed with one tune?”

Sakra Buddha blinked his eyes, his face paling as he said, “To protect you, I had no choice but to take Red Deity Qi Xiayu’s zither notes head-on. My life force is already shattered—”

“Red Deity Qi Xiayu’s divine art had crossed the space and came chasing over, so it had already erased the energy that was shifting mutually. The power of the divine art had already been halved by that wave of energy.”

Qin Mu analyzed and continued, “Therefore, what Buddha had faced was just the other half of the power. This power is still not enough to threaten Buddha’s life, right? Besides, I have heard the tune Red Deity had played before. It’s quite a famous zither song. The name of this song is called ‘The Phoenix Seeks His Mate’.”

Sakra Buddha continued to blink his eyes and said weakly, “What phoenix seeks his mate? I’ve never heard that song before…”

“There is a beautiful woman, I saw her and cannot forget. If the whole day I don’t see her, thinking of her leads to madness. I’m like the male phoenix flying, soaring and roaming, over four seas searching for my female phoenix. But unfortunately, that beautiful woman is not at this eastern wall. Taking up the qin as a substitute for words, I intend to unburden myself of these true feelings. On what day will I see your acceptance of a betrothal, and relieve my restless anxiety?”

Qin Mu sang loudly, his hands stroking through the air. Even though there was no zither or strings under his hands, his vital qi transformed into strings of a zither and gave off notes that were the same as the tune Red Deity Qi Xiayu had used to chase them!

The youth stroke his zither and sang loudly, abandoning all restraint. “…How can we entwine our necks like mandarin ducks? How can we flutter about, and together soar? Lady phoenix, lady phoenix: come with me and nest, be supported, breed with me, forever be my wife. Exchanging affection in a physical way will harmonize our hearts; at midnight if you follow me who will know? Our wings together will rise, fluttering as high we fly. If you are unmoved by my feelings, it will cause me misery—”

The tune of the zither surrounded both of them and lingered around for a very long time. A lot of skeletons got attracted by the sound of his zither and his song. They surrounded them and listened attentively. Some of the skeletons even started dancing to his song.

Qin Mu scattered his vital qi and said, “The Phoenix Seeks His Mate is written by a man for a woman. The lyrics is about a man persuading a woman to elope with him. They had a one night stand in the past, and the man wanted this woman to remember this love affinity fondly, abandoning everything to leave with him.”

Sakra Buddha was silent. He suddenly sat up and pat off the dirt on his body. He waved his hand to chase away the skeletons that were eavesdropping at the side. “What are you guys looking at? What’s there to look at? Go away, go away. Little Friend Qin, Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens has a total of thirty-three heavens. Supreme Emperor Heaven is the first heaven. This is the second heaven, Supreme Brightness Heaven. The thirty-three heavens are actually linked with one another. Now that we are in Supreme Brightness Heaven, we aren’t far from Supreme Emperor Heaven—”

As if he hadn’t heard him, Qin Mu continued to say, “I learned this song from Grandpa Deaf of my village before. Grandpa Deaf is one of the best in terms of knowledge in my village, so what he taught me will never be wrong. However, Red Deity Qi Xiayu should be a woman, right? This song is written by a man, so it’s a bit weird for her to be the one playing the tune. On top of that, there seemed to be an obvious grudge in this tune of hers. It doesn’t seem to be used for killing people. Instead, it’s used to scorn the person who had written this song…”

All of the injuries on Sakra Buddha’s body suddenly healed. He took a step forward and said, “If we continue to walk up Supreme Brightness Heaven, it will be Pure Brightness Heaven. If we go up some more, it will be Dark Embryo Heaven. Back then, this place was extremely luxurious…”

Those skeletons that were chased off craned their necks, like a bunch of curious alpacas popping their heads over.

Qin Mu persisted and kept explaining, “This song is played by a woman and even used to scorn the person who wrote this song. In that case, the person Red Deity Qi Xiayu is scorning is—”

“What exactly do you want?” Sakra Buddha suddenly turned around and asked furiously.

Qin Mu jumped in shock and immediately shut his mouth. Those skeletons also quickly ran away, rattling their bones.

Sakra Buddha sneered and walked forward angrily. “I have already let go of all of my worldly desires, so don’t mention the past! I have already let go long ago. She’s the one who couldn’t let go and keep pestering me. She got hold of information that can be used against me and has come to kill me straight, is it my fault?”

Qin Mu held back his smile and followed behind him. Sakra Buddha sneered and said, “She’s clearly the one who is narrow-minded, I can’t be blamed. When I haven’t entered buddhism in my early years, I had that period of romance. I thought I could live together with her, and forget about the fights between the celestial heavens and Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens. How could I help when she is reluctant to give up her position and leave with me? When we met on the battlefield, how many brothers and sisters of mine had she killed? Such a ruthless woman. This is why I have cut off all ties with her!”

Qin Mu chased away those skeletons burning with curiosity as Sakra Buddha sighed. “The reason why the reaction of the celestial heavens is so fast is because she still holds a grudge against me and thought I betrayed her. If her divine art had killed me just now, it’s alright. She won’t be chasing after me anymore. However, since she didn’t kill me, this means she will definitely give chase. Her speed is unrivaled, so I can’t run away with you. This was why I acted as if my injuries were too severe, to let you leave without me. Yet you just had to tear through my lies, Little Friend Qin. Sometimes, it’s not too good to be too clever.”

Qin Mu was silent for a moment and asked, “Can you escape from Red Deity’s pursuit?”

Sakra Buddha shook his head and said, “Her ship can travel through boundless worlds without obstructions. Her advantage in speed is number one in the world, how I escape her? I plan to go in the opposite direction and pass through the thirty-three heavens of Founding Emperor to hide. She will retreat if she can’t find me. I can’t bring you along with me, you will definitely die.”

Some ships could travel through all the worlds and Qin Mu had seen this kind of ship before. Paramita Ark that was made by the Heavenly Works God Race was one of those ships. Also, the ship that belonged to his father, Qin Hanzhen, was that kind of ship as well—it had sailed from another world into the sky above Great Ruins.

As Red Deity of the Southern Heaven, it was no surprise to have such a ship.

Qin Mu nodded his head silently and said, “Bringing me along will also burden you. Buddha, let’s part here.”

Sakra Buddha nodded in return and said, “She will reach this place very soon. I need to leave you as soon as possible. Do you have a way to return to Supreme Emperor Heaven?”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “At most, I will just build another Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge. I’m more worried about you.”

Sakra Buddha’s speed increased and he pointed to the east. His voice moved further along with him. “If you head there, you should be able to find the road to Supreme Emperor Heaven!”

His figure quickly left into the distance and gradually vanished.

Qin Mu opened his eyes and felt that his eyesight was recovering. He stuck the golden willow leaf back on his third eye. When he revealed his third eye, he didn’t dare to execute Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, so it was best that he stuck it on during normal times.

He walked towards the east and saw the place deserted. There were no living lifeforms to be seen and there was a bunch of white bone balls that got blown everywhere. Whenever the wind stopped, those skeletons followed him like curious alpacas. The more daring ones even touched his clothes and pinched his cheeks.

Qin Mu ignored these spirits as he headed east. Suddenly, he heard zither tunes coming from the sky.

It was the tune of The Phoenix Seeks His Mate. Even though it was a song of courtship and love, it brought along sorrow and hatred.

The dim sky suddenly became bright as a ship that grew pairs of phoenix wings came sailing from another world. It appeared in the sky of Supreme Brightness Heaven. The tune of the zither had come from that ship.

Qin Mu was quite entranced by the music. At this moment, a terrifying consciousness came sweeping in all directions. It spread along the desolate land, flowing in Supreme Brightness Heaven like a flood!

When this wave of consciousness swept past Qin Mu’s body, it paused slightly before flooding over him. It didn’t lay its hands on Qin Mu.

The ship flapped its pairs of phoenix wings and left with a beautiful arc across the sky. They didn’t chase Qin Mu and went towards the direction where Sakra Buddha had left.

Red Deity Qi Xiayu was not concerned about taking down Qin Mu. She was only interested in Sakra Buddha.

“What story does Sakra Buddha have with her? Maybe they are the main characters of their own story…”

Qin Mu saw the flying ship sailing away. After settling his heart down, he refined his technique and continued to head east. The divine treasures of the devil path appeared behind his back and he tried to fuse his Seven Stars Divine Treasure with his Six Directions Divine Treasure into one.

After walking for some time, he still couldn’t see an end to Supreme Brightness Heaven.

Suddenly, Qin Mu stopped walking. He saw a majestic god city that stood upright there. This god city was bustling with people. There were gods standing at a high place, looking alertly in the surroundings.

Qin Mu’s body trembled slightly as he examined the surroundings. The dilapidated Supreme Brightness Heaven had disappeared and what replaced it was a Supreme Brightness Heaven that had yet to fall under the war!

Qin Mu looked at the terrains in the surroundings and his mind was blown. With those mountains that had crumbled standing up again, and the god city that had been destroyed reappearing fresh, the terrain here was actually the same as those on one of the maps Heavenly Saint Cult Founding Master had left behind!

And what that map pointed at was this god city!

“Big senior brother is a person who existed after Founding Emperor Era had ended, so he couldn’t have drawn a terrain before Founding Emperor Era was wiped out. He couldn’t have pointed out this god city that had already ceased to exist! That’s not right, something is wrong…” Qin Mu’s mind was in a flurry.