Tales of Herding Gods

Qin Mu ate the peach with a sullen face as he walked into the Dao Sect Academy. He turned around and looked back, the thousand miles of peach blossoms remained, the flowers swaying in the spring breeze.

The girls in the peach forest also remained, hiding in seclusion.

Qin Mu knew that Celestial Venerable Yue wouldn’t remain in this forest forever. If there was an opportune moment, she would definitely come out of seclusion.

The peach blossom forest was a special heaven—it existed in the Primordial Realm. This meant that Celestial Venerable Yue still bore unwillingness to give up the secular world. She had the desire to return, and she was yet to be completely cut off from the emotions of the world.

Her taking Qi Xiayu in as a disciple was proof of this.

As her disciple, Qi Xiayu would enter and travel the secular world on her behalf—she symbolized Celestial Venerable Yue’s desire to return to the secular world.

Even more curiously, Qi Xiayu was recommended to Celestial Venerable Yue by South Deity Zhu Que, and so she could also be considered to be South Deity Zhu Que’s disciple.

As such, this was an interesting situation.

“Qi Xiayu is the disciple of both South Deity and Celestial Venerable Yue. Both of them have trained her well, allowing her to become a strong practitioner of the Emperor’s Throne. Having undergone multiple betrayals, she grew from a leader of the phoenix race under Mother Earth to the Red Deity of the Southern Heaven.”

Qin Mu chewed on the peach until only the kernel was left. His gaze flickered as he revealed an amused smile and thought, ‘The Guardian Pavilion of the celestial heavens is in possession of the jade scroll runes of South Deity Zhu Que. Evidently, there have long been plans to replace South Deity Zhu Que. In response, South Deity Zhu Que started to groom a successor during the High Emperor Era, eliminating the previous Red Deity first and then training her successor to become the next Red Deity. When the celestial heavens decide to kill her, she will then fake her own death and escape, allowing Red Deity Qi Xiayu to inherit her power. She will lose nothing while hiding in the shadows.’

Qin Mu blinked. Sister Zhu Que, standing at the head of the ship on the celestial river in her red clothing, was unexpectedly sly.

Blind didn’t return to Dao Sect Academy—it seemed that he was fearful of Miss Yan’er and thus decided to escape.

In regards to his safety, Qin Mu was unworried. Blind had a burning curiosity, but it was already extremely rare to cultivate god eyes and god mind’s eyes; moreover, his attainments in formation skills were second to none in the Eternal Peace Empire. As long as he didn’t seek death on purpose, he wouldn’t be in danger.

Celestial Venerable Yu wasn’t very interested in algebra, yet he still managed to learn most of it in the past few days. The dragon qilin was better than him, while only the water qilin kept dozing off in class.

Qin Mu requested for dismissal from Dao Master Lin Xuan. “Dao Master will require the assistance of an expert to break through the Divine Bridge Realm and open up the Celestial River Divine Treasure. If you are unable to find such an expert, go to Surging River Academy and look for First Ancestor Human Emperor, he has this ability.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan expressed his thanks, “Cult Master, please don’t worry. The sect master of Clear Sky Heaven should have this ability as well. Where do you intend to go after leaving the Dao Palace?”

“I intend to head to Li River Academy, Jade Capital Academy, River Tomb Academy, Imperial College, and the other academies to take a look and to study the results of the reform over the past years.”

Qin Mu looked around and continued in a low voice, “When the seal of the Primordial Realm broke, both the real and fake Mother Earth emerged and battled against each other, resulting in great losses on both ends. This is why there hasn’t been any movement from either. However, one of them is supported by the ancient Celestial Emperor, while the other is an ancient god—neither of them will remain quiet for long, they are simply waiting for the appropriate moment. When both Mother Earths act up again, the Dao Sect will not be able to stop them, and even the Eternal Peace Empire won’t be able to withstand this. If the Dao Sect is in danger, Dao Master should lead the scholars into the peach forest to ensure your safety.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan replied, alarmed, “Cult Master, did you find anything out of the ordinary when you entered the peach forest?”

“The one within the peach forest is a friend of mine, they bear no ill intentions.”

Qin Mu didn’t elaborate further. “In the coming days, Dao Master should send people to start gathering mortals from all over the world. We should be prepared when both the Mother Earths act up again. It would be meritorious if more people could be saved.”

Qin Mu took his leave.

Dao Master Lin Xuan looked to the peach forest and thought, ‘An old friend of Cult Master Qin? He certainly has a wide circle of friends.’

Qin Mu left the Dao Sect Academy and headed towards the southern border. Peach kernels dangled all over the dragon qilin’s head. The dragon qilin sensed that the girl beside Cult Master was still slicing peaches and feeding him.

Qin Mu was so full he released continuous burps. Upon finally finishing Yan’er’s stash of peaches, he let out a sigh of relief. “There’s nothing else to feed me with, is there?”

Yan’er quickly said, “I’m fast, I will fly back to the peach forest and pluck more for you, you don’t have to wait for me!”

Qin Mu immediately held on to her hand and begged, “Good sister, please stop feeding me. I really cannot eat anymore. I will make you some spirit pills, you can feed them instead.”

The dragon qilin, water qilin, and Celestial Venerable Yu revealed expressions of anticipation.

Qin Mu concocted over a dozen cauldrons of spirit pills in one shot, categorizing them and organizing them carefully. He pointed out to Yan’er which ones were for the dragon qilin, which were for the water qilin, and which were suitable for Celestial Venerable Yu, stating, “Don’t overfeed them, they’ll grow fat.”

Yan’er took the spirit pills excitedly. Only god knows where she kept them, but they would reappear in her hands with a flip of her palm.

She hopped between the dragon qilin and water qilin, feeding the three of them busily. Happiness filled her heart, and she felt a sense of fulfillment that she had never experienced before.

Qin Mu watched this scene and grimaced. ‘It won’t take long before the three of them grow as round as balls… The spirit herbs in my taotie sack are also running out, we should find a city to stop by and replenish the herbs.’

Days passed, and Qin Mu had completely used up his spirit herbs. The Eternal Peace Empire of today was simply too vast. Qin Mu was unable to locate any cities along the way, so they could only continue hurrying along their journey.

Yan’er couldn’t sit at ease now that she was no longer able to feed them. Qin Mu quickly assured her, “In just over ten days, we will reach Li River Academy. There, we will be able to purchase more herbs. Sister Yan’er, please bear with it a little longer.”

After a couple of days, Yan’er could bear it no longer. She transformed into a little green sparrow and flew off as she cried out, “I will go look for food, go on without me, I will catch up with you soon!”

Qin Mu was unable to stop her in time. He could only watch as the little green sparrow quickly flew off into the boundless divine mountains and disappeared amidst the divine rays.

Qin Mu had no choice but to let the dragon qilin continue on their way.

Soon after, the sky suddenly darkened. The group raised their heads only to see a large bird with green wings swooping over. Its wings spanned for miles, and it had razor-sharp claws that looked as though they were forged out of metal and stone. Gripped in its claws was a formidable-looking devil god.

The devil god was more than 100 yards tall and seemed to be a powerful half-god. However, now that he was caught and immobilized by the green bird, he wore a dejected look on his face, as though merely waiting for death to come.

The group was dumbstruck by this sight.

Yan’er’s voice emerged from the beak of the green bird, she cried out, “I found food! Fatty Dragon, you have the biggest appetite. Open your mouth, I will drop this in your mouth!”

The dragon qilin opened his mouth, but upon realizing that he wouldn’t be able to stomach it, he shook his head quickly. “Sister Yan’er, I eat spirit pills, how could I eat meat? Moreover, this devil god is still alive, it’s not cooked…”

The green bird folded its wings and landed, rolling the devil god on his back with a single sharp claw. “Wait, it will be cooked shortly.”

She opened her beak—divine flames raging in her mouth—ready to grill this devil god well-done.

Everyone was stunned at this.

The dragon qilin looked towards Qin Mu. Qin Mu’s head started to hurt as he immediately responded, “Sister Yan’er, we don’t eat this.”

The green bird bewilderedly released the devil god and said, “It’s very delicious. When I was young, I ate this a lot. Why don’t you try it?”

The devil god shivered in fear, laying flat on the ground and not daring to move even an inch.

Qin Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Gods and devils aren’t part of our diet. Sister Yan’er, you don’t have to waste your efforts on our rations.”

The devil god’s gaze flickered as he tried to sneak off. Almost immediately, he was seized by one of the green bird’s claws.

Doubtfully, the green bird asked, “You really don’t want to eat this?”

Qin Mu, Celestial Venerable Yu, and the dragon qilin shook their heads in unison. The water qilin hesitated. He had the desire to eat, but since his master also shook his head—being unable to deviate—he had no choice but to shake his head in consensus, thinking to himself, ‘What a pity, I have never had the chance to eat gods and devils before…’

The green bird pecked on the devil god, picking him up and swallowing him down as the group watched on in fear. She transformed back into the green-clad dainty girl and leaped onto the head of the dragon qilin moodily.

Cold sweat rolled down the dragon qilin’s forehead profusely as he thought to himself, ‘Where exactly did Cult Master abduct this girl from? How formidable and brutal…’

Soon enough, the green-clothed girl flew off again and brought back many fruits to feed them. Although the dragon qilin and water qilin didn’t like to eat fruits, they forced themselves to anyway.

Finally, they reached the Li River Academy. It was located near the southern seas, and just a few divine mountains away was the territory of the remaining survivors of Crimson Light. They were an extremely powerful race, and as such, this area was considerably tranquil.

Qin Mu went to meet with Chancellor Ba Shan, and just as he expressed his reason for dropping by, he heard the miserable whines of the green bull, who was getting beaten up by the dragon qilin.

Qin Mu pretended not to hear it only to hear the water qilin beating the green bull this time. Celestial Venerable Yu sat before Chancellor Ba Shan tamely, also pretending that he heard nothing.

Chancellor Ba Shan ran out hurriedly and caught the dragon qilin and water qilin beating up the green bull together. His face darkened, and he turned around angrily. “Junior Brother, hurry up and break up this fight!”

Qin Mu and Celestial Venerable Yu promptly chided them and pulled them apart.

The green bull crawled up and yelled, “Just you wait! I will ask my godfather to come! You better stay here!” With that, he left angrily.

The dragon qilin and water qilin stood up, putting their hands on their waists and looking proud of themselves as they replied, “It doesn’t make a difference if you ask your godfather to come, even if you ask your grandfather to come, we will still beat you up!”

“I have long found this bull to be an eyesore. Always holding that peony in his mouth and scrunching his bull nose up to the sky!”

Chancellor Ba Shan sighed in relief, turning to Qin Mu. “You may not know this, but the Li River Academy is different from other academies. We are split into many different skills and factions here. There are my Battle Techniques Faction and Chancellor Yu Zhaoqing’s Nature Faction—even Crimson Light Son of God of the Creation Faction comes down to give lessons. These few days, Teacher Heaven Knife and Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher are here together to help forge the city defenses and teach martial arts and knife skills.”

“Grandpa Butcher and Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher Guan Cha are both here?”

Qin Mu was overjoyed to hear this news. Suddenly, he remembered something and probed, “So who exactly is the green bull’s godfather?”

The sound of the dragon qilin and water qilin calling out traveled indoors. The dragon qilin cried out, “Big Brother Sanduo, I didn’t know he was your godson. Please stop hitting me! Senior Brother Sanduo, do you remember how we smoked water pipes together… Big Sister, save me—”

As they were listening to the commotion, a white figure flashed by. A young girl of eight to nine years of age sprinted in and headed straight towards Qin Mu, her white fox tail bobbing around behind her. She suddenly sprinted to Qin Mu’s side, circling him as she transformed into a white fox and climbed atop his shoulder. A few of her tails wrapped around his neck, and she climbed onto his head, finally covering his entire face with the rest of the furry white tail.