Tales of Herding Gods

“Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher that plows the fields?”

Qin Mu couldn’t wait to see the heavenly teacher and suddenly recalled something. “Saint Woodcutter is acclaimed as a saint, are all heavenly teachers saints?”

“Not at all.”

Elder Angler shook his head and said, “Among the four heavenly teachers, only he can be called a saint.”

Qin Mu was slightly stunned, and he said, “But among the four heavenly teachers, Teacher Woodcutter’s cultivation is the weakest, right?”

Elder Angler seemed to have a smile that was yet not a smile. “If a saint is judged by how high one’s abilities is, there would be saints everywhere in Founding Emperor Era. Woodcutter becoming a saint isn’t because of his cultivation, but because of his outstanding works and ideas. He set in stone the foundation of Founding Emperor Era for twenty thousand years, and he was the head of the four heavenly teachers. It’s a pity it was only twenty thousand years.”

Qin Mu was about to ask more, but Elder Angler focused on fishing and didn’t continue talking about the other heavenly teachers.

‘Why would Teacher Woodcutter become the head of the four great heavenly teachers? Who is the other heavenly teacher?’

Qin Mu suppressed the doubt in his heart and executed Soul Guide to call back the souls of the moon herders from Youdu. The countless skeletons of the moon herders stood up one after another.

The dragon qilin trembled and hurriedly buried his head in the ground, not daring to look.

Yan Jingjing went up and gently consoled him. “Big doggy, don’t be afraid; they’re all dead, so they won’t do anything to you.”

Suddenly, a messenger of death hurried over on a paper boat, and a cold wind blew over. He came to the Gate of Heaven Influence, but he didn’t pass through it to go to the world of the living. He shouted loudly, “What trouble are you creating this time? Can I just have a moment of peace?”

Qin Mu hurriedly greeted and said, “Official Sovereign, I can’t bear to see these righteous people laid out here in the wild. Therefore I’ve invited their souls back to bury themselves in the ground. After they bury themselves, I’ll let them return to Youdu. Pardon me, pardon me!”

The messenger of death’s expression softened, and he looked at Elder Angler who was currently fishing the moon. He seemed to be restraining fear. “Qin Fengqing, I’m also not an unreasonable person, but you can’t keep wanting people from my Youdu time and time again. When you do it like this, it makes it hard for me to answer to Earth Count! The souls of these people, quickly return them after you’re done! Earth Count will still record this on your head.”

Qin Mu let the moon herders dig their own graves, and he said to the messenger of death across the Gate of Heaven Influence. “Emperor Yanfeng has a small booklet that records how many heads he has beheaded, could Earth Count have a small booklet too? Official Sovereign, how many tally marks are there in Emperor Yanfeng’s book?”

The messenger of death sneered and said, “I don’t know about the others, but I know yours isn’t just a small booklet, it’s so thick!”

He stretched out his arms and showed an example. “These are all your glorious achievements!”

Qin Mu’s face instantly turned black.

Numerous moon herders had already dug their graves and inscribed them properly. They sat in their own tomb, and the skeletons greeted Qin Mu one by one. “Thank you, Human Emperor!”

Qin Mu returned the greeting and said, “May all righteous warriors rest in peace.”

The skeletons of the Moon Herders laid down, and their heroic spirits flew up. Their spirits passed through the Gate of Heaven Influence and went back to Youdu. Qin Mu paid his final respects and waved his hands, closing up the tombs.

The messenger of death said, “I won’t pursue today’s matter. I’ll just take it down as one mistake.”

Qin Mu walked among the tombs, and he looked at the names on the tombstones. He heard his words and turned around to reply, “The war in Supreme Emperor Heaven, the Life and Death Book in the hands of the Mingdu’s visitors, summoning countless devils and devil gods’ souls back into their skeleton. How big is that mistake? Has Earth Count recorded them down?”

The messenger of death was slightly stunned and didn’t say a word.

Qin Mu sneered and said, “Even Earth Count is afraid of Mingdu’s Black Deity? Mingdu is just a part of Youdu? When Black Deity took a part of Youdu for Mingdu, Earth Count didn’t dare to let out a fart. The visitors of Mingdu used the Life and Death Book to summon countless devil souls and sacrificed those souls to destroy Luofu Heaven and Supreme Emperor Heaven. Earth Count didn’t even dare to let out a fart!”

The messenger of death was furious. “What do you mean didn’t dare to let out a fart?”

Elder Angler’s ears twitched, and he tightened his grip on his pole, ready to save him anytime. He thought to himself and said, “Son of Qin doesn’t appreciate the gravity of things, this messenger of death is a clone of Benevolent Saintly King Equal to Heaven, and he is disrespectful to him. Furthermore, he even disrespects Earth Count, Official Sovereign Equal to Heaven probably won’t let him off…”

Qin Mu’s expression changed to a smile. “I’m just saying Earth Count is too cowardly, at least say something.”

“What’s called cowardly?” The messenger of death was still furious.

Qin Mu hesitated and kept quiet.

Elder Angler was extremely nervous, and the muscles on his back were all taut. His nerves were as taut as a bowstring as he thought to himself. ‘The second time he’s disrespectful to Earth Count, Official Sovereign Equal to Heaven definitely won’t hold himself back!’

After a moment, the messenger of death sighed. “It’s not a question about Earth Count’s abilities but of his readiness. Mingdu’s powers are nothing to Earth Count but the powers of the celestial heavens, now that is too huge.”

Qin Mu pouted. “Aren’t you still bullying me? You have huge stacks of my mistakes, but what about Mingdu’s mistakes? Could Earth Count be preying on the weak and afraid of the strong?”

The messenger of death was speechless from anger and burst into laughter after a moment. “I won’t quarrel about this with you. Earth Count is fair, and he won’t record a few things in his small booklet because the celestial heavens are powerful. He also won’t make your small booklet thick because you don’t have any background. The reason why you have a big booklet is that you have truly done too much evil.”

“My brother did those things; how could you put it on me?”

Qin Mu shook his head and said, “If the visitors of Mingdu comes to Eternal Peace and use the Life and Death Book to awaken the dead and sacrifice them, what can Youdu do? What can Earth Count do? Would Earth Count even dare to let out a fart?”

The messenger of death was furious. “You still dare to speak vulgarly!”

Qin Mu gave a pained expression and said disappointedly, “Isn’t Earth Count a little too heartless if he can uphold fairness but is being so mean to me instead. I think I should let my brother return to Youdu…”

The messenger of death looked at his expression from across the door, and he suddenly smiled. “Heaven Duke has given you another layer of seal, so you can’t let him out, stop trying to trick me!”

Qin Mu unveiled the willow leaf and revealed his third eye. The messenger of death immediately saw another pupil in the pupil of this third. That was the eye of another person peeking out curiously.

Elder Angler slightly turned his head over and looked curiously at Qin Mu’s third eye. He even forgot to reel his line back.

He really wanted to see if there was the Seal of Earth Count inside, if there was a clone of Heaven Duke, and if there was the consciousness of Crimson Emperor and Brahma Buddha hiding inside his eye.

If the messenger of death wasn’t there, he would have tunneled into Qin Mu’s eyes and paid his respect to those seniors.

The messenger of death’s expression changed drastically. “Cover it up! Cover! Let us take it as I’m scared of you. Let me think first…”

Qin Mu pasted the willow leaf back properly.

The messenger of death walked to and fro on the small boat, and he looked very troubled. He wanted to enter the realm of the living to talk things out, but since it wasn’t night time, it wasn’t good for him to appear.

Qin Mu waited quietly, and after a moment, Elder Messenger of Death said with a sigh, “Alright then. Hand your Life and Death Book to me, and I will imprint a divine art on your the Life and Death Book to suppress the other party’s Life and Death Book, will this do?”

Qin Mu said seriously, “Official Sovereign, instead of giving the man a fish, wouldn’t it be better to teach the man how to fish? Wouldn’t it be better if you teach the divine art to me?”

Elder Messenger of Death shook his head and said, “Brat, you are digging a pit for me to jump into, I would be a fool to trust you. If I teach you the divine art, you will use it against those fellows from Mingdu, and with your personality, you will definitely spread this divine art throughout the world until everyone learns it. When that time comes, the value of my Youdu’s divine arts would be no different from a cabbage.”

Qin Mu blushed and revealed a shameful look. He took out his Life and Death Book and handed it over. “Official Sovereign is wise.”

“Of course I’m wise.”

Elder Messenger of Death turned around and executed the divine art to imprint it on the Life and Death Book. He then turned back and handed the book back. “Don’t summon the souls from Youdu if there’s nothing serious, it’s pretty terrifying! I don’t know if it’s you or it’s your brother who is summoning the souls to eat? Also, the one that’s fishing the moon, your idea is very dangerous. It’s best to drop it, or else his brother will grab onto your head to start gnawing!”

He boarded his boat and left.

Qin Mu dispersed the Gate of Heaven Influence and sighed in relief. He flipped through the Life and Death Book and checked the divine art Elder Messenger of Death left behind.

Elder Angler muttered, “The Official Sovereign Equal to Heaven is so straightforward in his words? Grab my head and start gnawing? Son of Qin, is your older brother very fierce?”

Qin Mu nodded his head repeatedly. “Super fierce! You must never provoke him!”

Elder Angler hooked up a moon, and his primordial spirit started to smooth the moon out with its palm, turning the moon to the size of a plate. He asked indifferently, “Take a look, how is my strength?”

Qin Mu praised, “Heavenly teacher’s might is unrivaled, and your abilities are very powerful. You are much stronger than Teacher Woodcutter.”

Elder Angler asked, “Can I provoke your older brother like this?”

Qin Mu scratched his head and said, “When I was thrown to be trapped in the eye by my older brother, I saw the clone of Heaven Duke and the clone of Crimson Emperor beaten until they were submissive.”

Elder Angler’s expression turned ashen, and he didn’t speak anymore. He focused on hooking up the moons; however, the arm that was usually incomparably stable was trembling slightly.

Qin Mu continued to examine the divine art on his Life and Death Book. The book was originally as bright as a mirror, but a bunch of runes that seemed to be all mixed up and chaotic covered it.

The runes were all very complicated, and they were akin to indecipherable handwriting. However, when one looked, they could see something else.

Incomparably complicated rune structures hid under the outer layer of indecipherable handwriting, and some markings seemed to stretch down endlessly from the top of a heaven raising pillar. Other markings were tangled and complicated, looking like a web. There were even some runes that flowed and transformed continuously, flashing with various colors.

Qin Mu had never seen such gorgeous and complicated divine arts before, and it drew him in. He moved closer and closer to the Life and Death Book as he tried to see more of the structure inside and comprehend the divine art completely.

Yan Jingjing couldn’t pull the dragon qilin’s head out from the ground, so she could only walk over to him. “Brother that herds cows, that big doggy of yours doesn’t dare to…”

Yan Jingjing had a blank expression when she saw Qin Mu’s head suddenly vanish!

At that moment, Qin Mu’s head had already entered the Life and Death Book, and the book was only a piece of incomparably golden plated paper. Qin Mu’s head popped into the golden paper, and yet nothing came out from the back. It was like his head had vanished entirely!

Yan Jingjing jumped in shock, and she hurriedly went up to tug on Qin Mu’s sleeves. Qin Mu popped his head out from the Life and Death Book and asked puzzledly, “Sister Jing, what happened?”

Yan Jingjing was finally relieved at seeing he was fine. “Big doggy doesn’t dare to come out.”

Qin Mu snuck a glance and saw the dragon qilin’s head still planted in the ground with his buttocks facing upwards. He was still shivering from fear.

“Fatty Dragon, time to eat,” Qin Mu said.

The dragon qilin pulled his head out in a hurry and pounced over like a bolt of lightning. He took out a face basin and placed it in front of Qin Mu while he squatted down and stared at the face basin obediently.

When he didn’t see any spirit pills falling into the basin after a while, he raised his head to look bewilderedly at Qin Mu while swaying his thick dragon tail.