Tales of Herding Gods

Gongsun Yan was feeling a little reluctant, but all she could do was send Qin Mu off.

“He said his roots are here. He is indeed a tree… When can my phoenix nest attract phoenixes?” The girl looked longingly into the future.

Qin Mu arrived at former Imperial Preceptor Jiang Baigui’s manor. The Imperial Preceptor’s wife was teaching Jiang Yunjian how to cultivate the paths, skills, and divine arts. They also had a young daughter of five years old named Jiang Qingzhou.

“Sister-in-law, Junior Brother won’t be trapped in the great prison for too long.”

Qin Mu guided Jiang Yunjian in cultivation, imparting Celestial Venerable Yu’s Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure and the Celestial River Divine Treasure techniques to him. He then told the Imperial Preceptor’s wife, “Don’t worry, he’ll be back. In the meantime, I will have people send food and clothing so that you and the children don’t have to worry. Just focus on teaching and guiding my nephew and niece well.”

The Imperial Preceptor’s wife gave her thanks, but she had some doubts. She asked, “Why are there only two divine treasures? What about the others?”

Qin Mu laughed. “We have to wait for someone to create them, then we’ll know. I hope it will overturn my divine treasures. If Yunjian is able to open up these two divine treasures in the next few years, that would be very impressive. Let him train. I’ll come back next year and find him a silly teacher.”

The Imperial Preceptor’s wife didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Silly teacher? I wonder who Cult Master is referring to…”

…

Qin Mu reached the outskirts of the capital city, where he saw new cities being built outside the existing city, one every thousand miles. They were meant to give people a place to stay and were still very plain and simple, only suitable for resting.

Also, there were divine arts practitioners opening up farmland, doing irrigation work, and arranging transportation. These tasks couldn’t be hurried but were ironically the most urgent.

Qin Mu had found the elders of Disabled Elderly Village. Apothecary was leading many scholars to work on the farmlands, using the art of creation to plant crops and hence holding off pressing needs, while Mute and some others were rebuilding the manufacturing factory. As for Village Chief and the rest, they also had their own respective jobs.

Apothecary inspected Qin Mu’s body and laughed. “Nothing serious. You should eat and drink and go wherever you want to go.”

Qin Mu said, “I’m fine, Village Chief and the rest are always worrying.”

Apothecary watched him as he left. Village Chief said, “Apothecary, I didn’t hide the matter of the Overlord Body from you, so you cannot hide things from me. How is Mu’er’s condition?”

Apothecary hesitated and shook his head. “Not too good. His Undying God Consciousness is very strong, but it’s not strong enough to reach the level of everlasting. He is like a weak candle in the wind and could be extinguished at any moment.”

Village Chief was stunned.

Apothecary said, “I also felt a source of life gestating in his body, as though something was growing—a different kind of power from the art of creation. There is hope, a budding hope. Whether his body can break out of the cocoon, I’m not sure.”

Village Chief was silent for a while before he said, “Suddenly, I hope that the Overlord Body is real…”

Qin Mu found Yan Qiling again, who said, “I have to go back to the celestial heavens, back to His Majesty’s side. I am unable to remain in the lower bound.”

Qin Mu said, “Your master’s wife asked me to take care of you before she died…”

“You should take care of yourself!”

Yan Qiling smiled ambiguously and said, “Even though Celestial Emperor doesn’t wish for you to die, there are still many people who are hoping for your death. Although the Primordial Realm has fallen into the hands of the celestial heavens, Celestial Emperor is unable to completely control the great army of the celestial heavens who have taken over the Primordial Realm. The big shots of the Heaven Alliance will never let Celestial Emperor swallow up the Primordial Realm, and they will definitely plant an unknown quantity of eyes, ears, and powers. You are without a soul now, so they will destroy your consciousness, and you will die. You may be a treasure to Celestial Emperor, but not to them.”

It appeared that she had heard many rumors and had some inside information. “The Primordial Realm already has gods and devils who plan to deal with you, so you have to be careful. Farewell!”

Qin Mu waved goodbye.

Zhe Huali walked over and looked deeply into Qin Mu’s eyes. He then asked, “Cult Master Qin, for Eternal Peace as it is now, is there hope?”

“As someone who entered the path through knives, you shouldn’t ask this question.”

Qin Mu said, “You have disgraced your demon knife by asking that.”

Zhe Huali laughed. “I was only worried about you. If you are alive, I believe Eternal Peace can be saved and that there is still hope. However, if you die, I’ll leave this place and never return.”

Qin Mu laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, you will forever be tied to this land.”

Zhe Huali laughed loudly as he left.

Qin Mu left the capital city atop the dragon qilin’s head. Yan’er was feeding the dragon qilin spirit pills as the sky gradually darkened. When the darkness arrived, Qin Mu took the opportunity and pulled out an artifact left behind by Ling Yushu. He executed the Soul Guide, helping Ling Yushu gather his broken soul.

Qin Mu was without a soul, but he still had his cultivation abilities and his knowledge and horizons. Soon, he gathered Ling Yushu’s soul.

Ling Yushu’s soul stared at Qin Mu from among the gloomy clouds, and Qin Mu said, “Your Majesty, The Messenger of Death will rush over to guide you towards Youdu. Please do not hate Emperor Yanfeng, he was only thinking of Eternal Peace.”

Ling Yushu continued to stare at him, his body faintly discernible. “I could never compare to my younger sister. She, like my father, has a drive that I have always lacked. When he called me up that day, I knew that he was going to sacrifice me to protect Yuxiu. However, I was willing.”

At this moment, within the darkness, a thread of light shone over. Elder Messenger of Death was steering his paper boat from Youdu towards them, guiding Ling Yushu to board the boat.

Ling Yushu remained staring at him, not willing to board.

Qin Mu said, “What unfulfilled wishes do you have?”

“Stay away from my younger sister!” Ling Yushu said.

Qin Mu’s face darkened as Elder Messenger of Death shined a light on Ling Yushu, taking him away. Ling Yushu stood on the boat and shouted, “You either marry her now or stay away from her! If I find out that you have been flirting around, I will haunt you after I become a ghost! Haunting you every day in your dreams!”

Elder Messenger of Death got off the paper boat and tossed him a jade pendant out of nowhere. Qin Mu was slightly stunned. He saw that there was a “Qin” word on the surface of the jade pendant. It was the jade pendant that hid the Qin word land.

“Your elder brother has left Youdu. He and your parents have gone to Carefree Village. There, Founding Emperor can protect him.”

Elder Messenger of Death said, “He will be safer there, so there is no need for Earth Count to worry about him. According to Earth Count, he is already a competent Little Earth Count. Following by your side, he grew quickly. This jade pendant is the horn of Earth Count, which was originally used to suppress him. The jade pendant is also what allowed you to be inextricably linked to Youdu. Earth Count said that this jade pendant is for you.”

Qin Mu took the jade pendant and examined it carefully. He saw that the Qin word land in the jade pendant was empty except for some mountains, the abyss iron that he plundered from the Ruins of End, and Mistress Yuanmu’s crystal coffin.

Heaven Duke, Earth Count, Crimson Emperor, Great Sun Sovereign, Old Buddha, and the rest were gone.

Qin Mu sighed ruefully as he took out a silk ribbon, coiled it, and hung it around his neck.

“Heaven Duke and Earth Count have gone back, while Great Sun Sovereign also went back to Youdu. As for Crimson Emperor, he returned to the floating world after he found Crimson Light Son of God. Brahma of the Buddha Realm has woken up from his sleep and took away Old Buddha.”

Elder Messenger of Death said, “The Slaughter Cauldron is an object that belonged to Ah Chou Earth Count. Earth Count said that he’s not Ah Chou anymore but that you are. Hence, the Slaughter Cauldron is for you. Maybe it will help you tide through a few difficult encounters in the future.”

He kept on looking at Qin Mu. After some time, he suddenly bowed. “Celestial Venerable Mu, take care!”

Qin Mu returned the courtesy.

When he straightened his body, Elder Messenger of Death and the ghost ship had already disappeared without a trace.

“Don’t try to circulate your vital qi, it will damage your consciousness.” Elder Messenger of Death’s voice traveled from the other world.

Qin Mu coughed violently and felt his divine treasures shaking fiercely as he coughed. It was also hard to stabilize the Undying God Consciousness.

After some time, the divine treasures became calm. However, he still felt his vital qi leaking.

Without a soul, the corporeal body was like a tree without its roots. Even the Undying God Consciousness was unable to restrain the enormous vital qi within his body, resulting in its slow leakage.

Brahma Buddha’s Boundless Calamity Sutra could slow down this leakage, but no more than that.

If Qin Mu had cultivated to the Emperor’s Throne Realm, he could have perfected the Undying God Consciousness like Crimson Emperor. Then, even without a soul, he could survive for a long time. However, he was unable to achieve this.

He could only rely on the Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness and the Boundless Calamity Sutra to stabilize his consciousness, preventing it from dispersing.

Qin Mu sat on the dragon qilin’s large head, closing his eyes to rest. Unknowingly, he fell asleep. The dragon qilin floated forward aimlessly, from night to day and day to night.

Qin Mu woke up occasionally, eating the delicious meals that Yan’er prepared. These were pleasant and content days.

…

Today, a crescent moon rose in the sky. Within the moonlight, there was a woman extending an invitation, so the dragon qilin ran onto the moonlight. This crescent moon was the horn of the sky map, and there was a moon place inside.

The prior sky map that covered Eternal Peace was destroyed by the flames of battle, leaving only scattered formations.

Qin Mu and the rest stayed at the moon palace for a period of time. All the while, his vital qi was leaking, and his cultivation was decreasing with each passing day.

The primordial spirit was the combination of spirit embryo and soul. His spirit embryo originally stood on the celestial river, very close to the Southern Heavenly Gate. Now, without a soul, it was difficult to restrain his magic power. Therefore, the spirit embryo gradually moved further from the Southern Heavenly Gate.

From the perspective of his spirit embryo, the Southern Heavenly Gate had become obscure and hazy.

The girl in the moon palace said to him, “Please stay, I can take care of you for life.”

Despite that, Qin Mu chose to leave. He laughed and said, “Life is full of uncertainties, I can’t hold you up.”

The girl stood before the moon palace and shouted, “I don’t care, I have already waited for 40,000 years, I don’t care at all!”

“But I care.” Qin Mu waved at her before turning to leave.

After coming down from the moon palace, he seemed dispirited for a while. His vital qi leaked faster, and his spirit embryo had fallen from the celestial river to the Builder Tree, with the descent showing no signs of stopping.

If the descent continued, next would be Youdu, then the Life and Death Divine Treasure.

…

Today, Qin Mu was suddenly full of vigor, with his prior depression swept away. He executed the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique to cultivate, but that caused his vital qi to leak even faster!

Qin Mu immediately stopped, his mouth chanting some phrases. At the side, the dragon qilin and Yan’er were listening. What Qin Mu was chanting were cultivation tricks and techniques of all types—not forming any system. It was as though he had fallen under the devil’s influence.

After two days, when Qin Mu fell asleep, the dragon qilin and Yan’er saw a shapeless bubble coming out from the heart of his brows. Many dainty Qin Mus burrowed out of his head, chattering inside the world of bubbles using an incomprehensible language.

These Qin Mus each cultivated different techniques—Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness, Anasrava Creation Mysterious Scripture, Ancestral Dragon Supreme Mystery Technique, Sakra Scripture, Sacred Secrets of Heaven and Earth Heart, Martial Arts Heavenly Technique, Youdu Devil Dao, Dark Mo Jia Sutra. There were even some dainty Qin Mus cultivating the Boundless Calamity Sutra, creating an even smaller world of bubbles within the world of bubbles!

“Fatty Dragon, what is he doing?” Yan’er asked.

The dragon qilin gave it some thought and said, “Cult Master is deducing the possibility of his survival, searching for a path of survival from countless possibilities.”

“Fatty Dragon knows so much,” Yan’er praised, giving him a spirit pill as she continued to observe the Qin Mus in the world of bubbles nervously.

Within the world of bubbles, she saw the dainty Qin Mus dying one after another in various ways. It was a horrible scene to watch.

Some were in the middle of cultivating when their consciousnesses disappeared, dying with their tongues out. Some suffered from qi deviation. Suddenly, there was an explosion resulting in a loud bang. Some died in their dreams, while some suddenly caught fire and were burnt to a crisp!

The mini Qin Mus in the world of bubbles were decreasing. After more than 10 days, the world of bubbles was littered with corpses. However, there was a dainty Qin Mu who stubbornly survived. Although his breath was weak, he was smiling.

Suddenly, the world of bubbles exploded with a “bo” sound and disappeared. Qin Mu opened his eyes, waking up from the dream with a yawn and a smile. “Sister Yan’er, I’m hungry again.”

Yan’er hurriedly prepared a meal, and Qin Mu went back to sleep after he ate.

The dream world again transformed into bubbles, and many dainty Qin Mus once again burrowed out of his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. These Qin Mus didn’t try to look for a path of survival but solemnly gathered together and chattered in a language that was incomprehensible.

Following this, these tiny people cultivated sword skills within the dream world, fighting one another. Sword skills burst forth one after the other, and very soon, many dainty Qin Mus died fighting among themselves.

“Fatty Dragon, what is Young Master doing?” Yan’er asked.

The dragon qilin was unable to comprehend what he saw. He shook his head and said, “I don’t understand either.”

Yan’er narrowed her eyes, holding on to the food, not feeding him the spirit pills.

The dragon qilin hung his head in disappointment.

Finally, a ray of sword light appeared. The remaining mini Qin Mus unexpectedly swung their swords and cut open Qin Mu’s dream world, attacking the outside from within the dream!

Qin Mu suddenly woke up from his dream and rose to his feet. The dainty Qin Mus had disappeared.

“Strong I may be, but hesitant I was when facing calamity!”

Qin Mu pulled his sword and let out a loud roar, suddenly plunging his sword into his divine treasures and celestial palace!