Tales of Herding Gods

“I survived and lived on this ship for a very long time, but I still died from old age?”

Qin Mu was dejected. He had a strong sense of defeat.

He didn’t believe the words of the tiny human in the lantern originally, but after the series of unpredictable incidents that had happened since he stepped onto the ship, he was left with no choice but to believe in his words.

Didn’t that mean that no matter how hard he tried, he would be unable to escape the predestined fate of dying on the ship?

No matter how much he struggled, he just couldn’t escape from the ship. No matter how hard he tried to deduce, he would be unable to solve Celestial Venerable Ling’s divine art, not even by the time he died?

Dragon Rearing Sovereign’s heart was collapsing, and he turned limp on the ground. Tears filled his eyes, and he muttered, “How are we going to leave this d*mn place? Heaven and earth changes, the unchanging constant, what is the meaning of the unchanging constant of thirty-six people?”

He suddenly felt a chill down his spine, and he sank into great fear. “Isn’t that what the crazy old dragon is mumbling? Why did I repeat his words? Could I really be him?”

Qin Mu took a glance at him and frowned. He forced a smile and said, “So how many times have we boarded this ship? Why don’t we have any memory of boarding this ship previously?”

The tiny human in the lantern said, “This ship will reset the time and space thirty-six times in a cycle. We will appear in different years, and after thirty-six resets, we will return to the starting point, which is the instant the fog burst forth. The people who boarded the ship in this period will not have their memory, but they will board the ship over and over again, dying over and over again before boarding the ship once more.”

Village Chief suddenly said, “In that case, how did you manage to retain your memory of the cycle?”

The tiny human said, “I am also not clear.”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred. “That old dragon howling with grief seems to have his memory of the cycle as well. However, he seems to have gone crazy. What’s going on with him? Who is he?”

The tiny human in the lantern said, “He is Dragon Count. Like me, he didn’t fade into the void when the fog burst forth.”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign let out a sigh of relief when he heard his words. “So it isn’t me…”

Village Chief suddenly thought of the crux. “On this ship, other than you and Dragon Count, who else didn’t fade into the void?”

The tiny human was slightly stunned, but he didn’t answer.

Village Chief narrowed his eyes and glanced at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu also narrowed his eyes. The sword pellet in his taotie sack secretly flew out, and the Carefree Sword flew out from the sword pellet. The handle of the sword faced Village Chief.

Vital qi poured out from the tip of Village Chief’s fingers and coiled around the handle of the Carefree Sword. He said with a smile, “Heaven and earth changes, the unchanging constant of thirty-six people. The unchanging constant will not change along with the reset of time and space. This ship will go through a cycle after thirty-six resets, and the unchanging constant of thirty-six people means that thirty-six people will not be reset, they will not fade into the void.”

Qin Mu said, “According to this deduction, every time the ghost ship time travels, one person will survive. The first time, when the fog burst forth, Dragon Count survived. Dragon Count was then the first observer, but he couldn’t accept what he was seeing, so he became crazy. Every time he meets someone, he tells others about the unchanging constant of thirty-six people. The unchanging constant isn’t just a number, it means that thirty-six people won’t be changed by the reset. Since Dragon Count survived during the first reset, how did you manage to survive?”

Village Chief held the sword in his hand, and he said faintly, “The ghost ship stops in thirty-six different years, and every year there will be different people boarding the ship, but only one person will survive. Lin Xiao, when did you board this ship?”

Qin Mu said, “When we boarded this ship, you took the initiative to come over when you saw me take out the commander’s seal. You sat in the lantern and easily gained our trust so that we wouldn’t suspect you. We were clueless about this ship and needed you to guide us. Because of that, we would obviously trust you without any question, and that would be the simplest and most effective method. What so-called darkness under the lamp? The darkness under the lamp can bluff many people, but you can’t bluff the old and experienced.”

Village Chief held the Carefree Sword behind his back, and the other hand clutched a sword technique in front of his chest.

It should be a sword in front and the sword technique behind so that the sword technique couldn’t be seen, making the sword skill even more mysterious. However, he did the opposite.

Countless sword lights flowed around him, and Sword Picture took shape to shroud the surroundings. Even the tiny human in the lantern was shrouded in the sword picture.

Qin Mu had never seen this kind of sword skill before.

Village Chief had imparted the Nine Forms of Sword Picture to him before, but his current sword skill should be a new Sword Picture that Village Chief had created after becoming a god.

His Sword Dao had reached an all-new height.

“And we, are the old and experienced.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “We, the Disabled Elderly Village, never want to hurt anyone, but when we interact with others, we always keep an eye out! In that case, Lin Xiao, are you the one who brought Jue Wuchen on the ship?”

The tiny human stood up from the door sill. He looked at the flowing sword light outside before pulling back his gaze. He stared at the sword technique in front of Village Chief.

“Why does Commander say so?” he asked softly.

“After Celestial Emperor died, Celestial Empress had to get rid of Jue Wuchen so that whatever she had done wasn’t revealed. However, the corporeal body of Jue Wuchen was still of use to her, so she needed to preserve it for times of emergency. Since she had to get rid of Jue Wuchen and her body, and yet preserve them at the same time, the best place was this ghost ship.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “She would be a big figure at that point, so it wasn’t good for her to do this kind of thing herself. Thus, she needed a confidant, a person she trusted to do this for her. This person brought Jue Wuchen’s corporeal body onto the ghost ship and opened up Celestial Empress’ coffin to put Jue Wuchen inside. Yet this person couldn’t leave the ship and is definitely still on the ship. To protect this secret, they need to ensure that everyone who comes onto this ship can’t leave.”

Village Chief said, “They must be the most active person on the ship. When new people board the ship, they would be the first to jump out and send them to their deaths. Or else, they would make them unable to leave the ship and remain here to accompany them.”

“The first one to jump out was you. You are the one who found us according to the commander’s seal,” said Qin Mu.

The tiny human in the lantern sighed. “Why would such a clever person have such a dumb mount? This dumb dragon is the reason I underestimated you guys. You guys are dumb as well.”

He said coldly, “You should have attacked me when you suspected me instead of saying it out loud. If you guys ambushed me, you might have had a chance at survival, but now you can only die.”

Right at this moment, light burst forth once more. In front of Qin Mu’s eyes was white light, and he couldn’t see anything!

The ghost ship had reset the time and space again!

“You guys are right, I was the one who brought Jue Wuchen onto this ship and entombed her with Celestial Empress. I also opened up Celestial Empress’ coffin. What you didn’t know is that the people that enter this ship experience reset after reset and that their bodies and primordial spirits will gradually fade into the void.”

In the light, Village Chief’s Sword Picture burst forth, and this was the Sword Dao that Village Chief had comprehended after he had become a god. As the old sword god of Eternal Peace Empire, he had walked even further on the Sword Dao. He was also the first true god on the Sword Dao in Eternal Peace Empire!

His sword skills were inferior to Qin Mu, but in terms of power on the Sword Dao, even Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was inferior to him!

The power of the Sword Dao burst forth, and even in the light, the apparition formed by the twelfth form of Sword Picture could still be seen clearly.

That was a tourmaline of the firmament, and the sword picture was like a mudra, the mudra was like the sky, and the sword light was like a net of the heavenly law. With horizontal and vertical heavenly might, they thrust and weaved through one another!

In the lantern, the small sun suddenly burst forth, and the firepower of the sun scattered recklessly to melt the sword light. Light shone down to burn a huge hole in the sword picture.

“Eternal Peace Sword God, it isn’t that I’m no match for you. In fact, my power is something you can’t imagine!”

The lantern flew quickly into the distance, and the tiny human’s voice came from far away. “However, in this place, the stronger you are, the faster you will fade into the void! When I delivered Jue Wuchen here, I discovered this, so I immediately killed my companions and severed my own cultivation! The sun in my lantern was transformed from my cultivation that was severed away. Hehe, if you want to live on, you need to do what I did and kill the other people that boarded the ship with you while also severing your own cultivation. Otherwise, you will fade into the void as well…”

The light vanished.

Village Chief pulled the sword back and handed the sword handle to Qin Mu. His flapping clothes calmed down.

Qin Mu didn’t take the sword and just said solemnly, “Village Chief, what this Lin Xiao said probably isn’t real, he might be lying to us to trick us into fighting the other strong practitioners to the death.”

“It should be right.” Village Chief raised his hands and looked at his skin. His corporeal body had become a little fainter.

Qin Mu’s heart trembled.

Village Chief said with a sigh, “The stronger the abilities, the faster one will fade into the void. In that case, the first one to fade into the void will be that emperor’s corpse that Feng Qiuyun carried over, followed by Ancestral Dragon King, Feng Qiuyun, Crimson Light Son of God, Luo Wushuang, and the few followers of Prince Qiu Ming. It will then be Dragon Rearing Sovereign and me. This ship and Celestial Venerable Ling’s divine art should already be alive. It would, of course, weaken the strong practitioners that pose the greatest threat. The greater the threat, the faster one will fade into the void. If we return to the main hall where Celestial Empress’ coffin is, we will have our answer!”

Qin Mu’s heart was heavy as the three of them returned to the main hall.

Eight dragons were still surrounding Celestial Empress’ coffin, but the emperor’s corpse in the emperor’s coffin had already vanished. Only an empty coffin was left.

In the mural, Feng Qiuyun’s figure was also becoming faint. Only the Mother Earth Primordial Sword was still considered normal.

“I’ve already started to fade into the void, so the others who boarded the ship must have too.”

Village Chief said, “Mu’er, there’s a very strong power in the heart of your brows, so you need to seal it up. Otherwise, you will fade into the void too! Only by being weak do you not pose a threat to this ship, and only then can you preserve your life! I’m old and experienced, trust me!”

Qin Mu took out the willow leaf and sealed his third eye. “Village Chief, sever your cultivation as well…”

“No need!”

Village Chief shook his head and revealed a smile. “If I sever my cultivation, who is going to protect you? Also, only one person can survive in a cycle. I need to preserve my cultivation. I need to ensure it’s you that is going to survive.”

Qin Mu’s mind was blank.

Village Chief patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “Now that Lin Xiao’s identity has been exposed by us, he will definitely tell this to the others and cause us to fight each other to the death. In order not to fade into the void, the others will lay their hands on us. If I sever my cultivation, you won’t be able to escape death. You are the smartest one in our village. Only if you become the final survivor can you solve the peculiar divine art on this ship, and only then can you rescue us from the void. Dragon Rearing Sovereign.”

He turned to Dragon Rearing Sovereign and said, “You also need to remember, fading into the void isn’t scary. As long as your lord is alive, he will be able to save you and me! Don’t try to have any thoughts of rebelling. Otherwise, I will be the first to take your life! If you want to live, the simplest way is to ensure your lord isn’t dead! After I fade into the void, you shall give it your all to protect your lord’s life, do you understand?”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign bowed with his fists together and said solemnly, “I understand! Dragon Rearing Sovereign will follow My Lord to my death!”

Village Chief walked forward and said solemnly, “Let’s continue to explore this ship, we need to find more clues before we fade into the void!”

As they walked forward and passed by the training field, they came to the army encampment. There were palaces of all sizes where the Feathered Forest Guards had resided.

The Feathered Forest Guards were the strongest gods in the Dragon Han Era. Therefore, it was natural that their treatment was extremely good.

Village Chief led them towards the most majestic palace hall, and that should be where Wei Suifeng had resided.

As the Left Commander of the Feathered Forest Guards, Wei Suifeng had an extremely high position, so he should have naturally lived in the most luxurious place.

The pillars of the palace in front had several lines of a poem engraved onto them. The words used were god writing, and the handwriting was very delicate. It seemed like a woman had written them.

Qin Mu read softly. “Flowers are not flowers, fogs are not fogs. Like shadowy appearances coming at midnight, leaving at first light. They come like a spring dream, but for how long? Parting nowhere to be found in the morning clouds.”

‘Isn’t this poem talking about time traveling in the fog?’

Like shadowy appearances coming at midnight, leaving at first light. It was the same when he time-traveled on the Surging River. There was only half a day for him to travel back in time. He would time travel at night and return during the day. If he time-traveled in the day, he would return at night.

‘These words were… left behind by Celestial Venerable Ling! She has come to this ship before! The marvel of her divine art is right in this poem!’