Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 96: Sword Treading Mountains And Rivers

Translator: Ninetales Editor: Fish Creek

Village Chief's vital qi flew out and gradually turned into arms and legs. He gently got off from the stretch and with a wave of his hand, Junior Protector Sword instantly flew out from Qin Mu's hand and landed in his 'hand'.

This elder gaze became blurry as if he had sunk into an old memory.

Zhnng—

A sword drone sounded out as Junior Protector Sword floated in the sky. The sword seemed to move very slowly and the moves it made were clearly defined. Sword flick, sword smear, sword hack, sword wave, sword parry, sword poke, sword jab, sword curve, sword cleave, sword intercept, sword sweep, sword shave and sword raise. All he used were the most basic sword moves but what was different was that Village Chief had put these basic sword moves together and displayed a bizarre way to use the sword.

Sword Treading Mountains And Rivers.

Under his sword skill, the sword light revealed an up and down silhouette which was majestic like mountains and rapid like rivers. The sword light and the shadow actually formed vast mountains and billowing rivers forming the picture of mountains and river!

The first form of Village Chief's sword skill was already incomparably complicated. It had the imposing atmosphere which unfolded on a magnificent scale like mountains, clouds, and rivers!

These were the mountains and rivers reflected by the light and shadow from the sword!

As the secrets of the sword changed irregularly, the mountains and rivers were changing as well. This old man manipulated the sword and sang with a hint of zeal and sorrow.

"With the imperial strategic advisers in tents and the armed fierce generals at the borders! It's a good time to go to war. Can the gods be cut down?"

"Say: Can!"

"On this day with the incense tripod on the high build, he shall tread the mountains and river with his sword. Everyone in the city sang harmoniously, receiving the gods coming for congratulations!"

His sword moved slowly in consideration for Qin Mu to see the path of his sword skills. Even though it was slow, the majesty of his sword skill was still unleashed in great detail while the pointers were given.

Qin Mu concentrated on memorizing. Village Chief's sword skill may be complicated but even the most complicated sword skill was formed from the most basic sword moves, as long as he had mastered the most basic moves, he would be able to learn it no matter how complicated the sword move was.

When Village Chief had demonstrated this move once, Qin Mu had already memorized down the sword skill. He used numbers to memorize, for example, sword stab was one, sword smear was two, sword hack was three so on and so forth.

He only needed to remember the order of the numbers then he could memorize the most complicated sword skill in the shortest time.

This was also due to Village Chief's thoughtfulness. For the past two to three years he had never imparted sword skills to Qin Mu and only made him practice the most basic sword moves daily. This was to let him unleash the power of the most basic sword moves to its maximum potential.

With an incomparably solid foundation, it became much simpler and easier for him to learn the complicated sword skill.

Qin Mu closed his eyes and reviewed the order of numbers for Sword Treading Mountains And Rivers. He then changed the numbers into sword moves and reenacted them in his mind over and over again.

After some time, he then used qi to manipulate sword and controlled Junior Protector Sword to slowly execute the sword skill Village Chief had taught him.

His execution was extremely bitter, weird, awkward and clumsy. He had to stop time to time to recall carefully.

However, when he executed it the second time, it was much smoother for Qin Mu. However, he still needed to stop once in awhile to think.

When he executed it for the third time, he could execute the whole set of sword moves smoothly and easily. However, he was still unable to execute Village Chief's sword skill which was like rivers and mountains and close to a divine art.

Qin Mu practiced over and over again, having stronger and stronger control over Sword Treading Mountains And Rivers.

Not long after, Granny Si had prepared lunch and called him over to eat. Even when eating, Qin Mu would use his vital qi time and time again to hold his chopsticks and practice on the dining table.

When night came, he would practice a few more times before going to sleep and he was also training his sword in his dream.

This continued on for over ten days and he finally comprehended the crucial point in Sword Treading River And Mountains!

The meaning of a book presents itself after reading it a hundred times and it's the same for sword skills. Qin Mu had practice Sword Treading Mountains And Rivers far more than a thousand times!

He knew this move in his heart thoroughly and when he executed it this time, a divine light suddenly flashed through and he felt his vital qi fusing perfectly with his sword. With tall mountain range like dragons and the flowing river hanging down, his sword skill was rapidly executed, painting out a scroll of mountains and rivers using the light and shadow of his sword.

The sword light was retrieved back into the mouth of the fish dragon with a rush, then the sword picture of mountains and rivers in front of him gradually disappeared.

Qin Mu was stunned. In the end, he had still mastered this sword skill.

"Mu'er, you've grown up."

Village Chief gave a smile and said, "From today onwards, you're an adult and not a child anymore. You can walk out of Disabled Elderly Village and Great Ruins to make your way in the world."

Granny Si was leaning on the door and when she saw the sword picture appearing and disappearing, she had an indescribable feeling in her heart.

"Mu'er, you've grown up." she smiled.

Qin Mu stayed in the village for a few more days and learned Heaven Pilfering Sun Switching Hand from Cripple. When he had finally learned Heaven Pilfering Sun Switching Skill, it was finally time for him to leave the village.

Granny Si had prepared his luggage for his trip which was a very huge backpack. A lot of stuff which Qin Mu deemed unnecessary was stuffed in the backpack and Granny Si also transformed Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scriptures into a white glove for him to wear.

Drinking down the farewell wine, Qin Mu finally made his way out of the village. Looking back, he could see all the nine villagers of Disabled Elderly Village standing at the village's entrance. Even Village Chief had materialized both of his legs and stood there.

Qin Mu ran back and hugged Old Ma before hugging Cripple. He hugged everyone once. Then he moved back two steps and kowtowed three times to Granny Si. After having done this, he turned and left.

"Mu'er, if you can't win then you must run!"

Cripple shouted, "There's poem in the distance but more foulness!"

Old Ma waved, "You must be strong! If you are bullied, you must fight back and not give in!"

Butcher raised his Pig Slaughtering Knife, "Don't disgrace us disabled elderly! Chop whoever bully you!"

"Be a gentleman!"

"If you can't win you can poison him!"

"Ah ah, ah ah ah!"

…

Qin Mu turned his head back and waved while giving off a radiant smile.

Not long later, he had come to the valley of Doom Suppression Palace. Devil ape was currently cultivating as he did breathing exercises with a monk staff upright beside him.

Devil ape had become all the more sturdy and full of power, his cultivation becoming even more profound. Cultivating Old Ma's fist skills and the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique which Qin Mu had taught him, he wielded the monk staff nimbly and looked more and more like a demon monk which grew black hair all over his body.

Old Ma's fist skills and khakkhara monk staff were all originated from Buddhism, and even though Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique wasn't from Buddhism, it was very suitable for devil ape to cultivate. Therefore devil ape had unknowingly carried an air of Buddhism around him which was like the guardian deity of the Buddhist law.

"What a demon monk! If I could make a monk robe for big fella and give him a string of prayer beads which were as big as human heads, it would look even more like the guardian deity of Buddhist law!"

Qin Mu exclaimed in admiration and woke devil ape up. "Big fella, I'm leaving to go far away… I'll have to leave home and it might be quite some time before I can return."

Devil ape scratched its head, "Far?"

Qin Mu nodded, "Far."

Devil ape scratched its head again and looked at the beast herd in the valley. He suddenly gave a loud roar and the dragon elephant who was guarding the beast herd deep in the valley immediately scrambled and sprinted over, wagging its tail in an attempt to curry favor.

Without explanation, devil ape started to press this behemoth down on the ground and pummeled it. The badly battered dragon elephant gave off miserable shrieks yet it didn't dare to retaliate.

"Guard!"

Devil ape pointed to the beast herd in the valley and gripped its fist tightly. Flexing his arm, his muscles popped out like mushrooms, each as big as an umbrella, "Eat, die!"

Feeling extremely wronged, the dragon elephant sprawled on the ground and nodded repeatedly.

Devil ape pulled out his khakkhara monk staff and hammered its chest, "I, go."

Qin Mu shook his head, "Far."

Devil ape pointed at itself, "I, big. You, small."

Qin Mu shook his head again, "I, strong. You, weak."

Devil ape flew into a rage and stammered, "T-talk, to you, r-really… tiring!"

Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He shook his head again, "I'm entering the human's territory this time. It's not as big as Great Ruins and there are vicious people everywhere. It would be too conspicuous to bring you around. When you can transform yourself into a human by cultivation, you and I shall explore the world together. Furthermore with dragon elephant being so savage, if you leave him here, he will still stay well behaved for the first few days but he will definitely eat all your little friends in the valley later. In addition to dragon elephant being so dumb, it would be great trouble if he releases the old devil in Doom Suppression Palace."

Devil ape was helpless and could only nod its head. Dragon elephant had an expression of grievance. Wedging its tail and wiping its tears sadly, it felt that it seemed to have been pummeled for nothing?

Qin Mu waved his hand and walked out of Doom Suppression Palace.

"Young'un—"

Devil ape jumped onto the mountain cliff and waved its hand with great strength, "Return, early!"

Qin Mu came to the waterfall at Jade Cloud Valley and saw Hu Ling'er holding on to a few books and explaining the scriptures to the other foxes. She was currently talking about the advantages and the few foxes were obsessed in listening.

Qin Mu walked over and Hu Ling'er quickly placed the ancient books to one side. The other seductive foxes also immediately stood up and paid their greetings in unison, "Greetings Young Master Mu." Their voices were loud and crisp.

Qin Mu returned their greetings and said, "There's no need to be too polite. Ling'er, I'm here to bid farewell. I'm going to travel far and head to Eternal Peace that's outside Great Ruins. I'm afraid I won't be back in three to five months."

The white fox's eyes sparkled and immediately ran into the grass hut. Packing her things up, this little fox carried a little backpack and quickly came out while smiling, "Sisters, all of you can stay here to cultivate, Young Master Mu and I are going out to explore the world. Let us be off!"

The little fox's backpack was a hundred times smaller than Qin Mu's backpack and looked very dainty when she carried it.

"Big sister, are you drunk again?"

A fox asked vigilantly, "The people outside are very evil. They would skin us to make clothes."

Hu Ling'er smiled, "There's no problem with Young Master Mu around."

Qin Mu's head started to ache, "Ling'er, this isn't playing house, it's very dangerous. Stay here and accompany your sisters."

Hu Ling'er smiled, "The Great Demon King had forced me to marry him but I dislike him being ugly so this is a good chance for me to avoid marriage. My sisters can also cultivate while I'm not around and quickly throw away their beast bodies to transform into humans."

Qin Mu shook his head, "I can't bring devil ape and I also can't bring you."

Hu Ling'er blinked her eyes innocently, "Big fella is so dumb, how is he as intelligent as me? Furthermore, someone would need to take care of young master's food and accommodation right? I don't want to marry Great Demon King, so does young master bear to send a fox to the tiger's den?"

Qin Mu was helpless and said, "If you must follow, you'll have to listen to me and don't make any trouble."

"Okay!"

Beside Surging River, Qin Mu offered a few incenses and started to sing Worshiping The River God. Not long later, River Carriers swam over and after feeding the River Carrier, a human and a fox stood on the back on the River Carrier to go downstream, sailing past the fresh green hills and the bird songs in the secluded valleys.

Qin Mu looked toward the side of the river as Disabled Elderly Village flashed by his eyes. Granny Si was still at the village entrance waving her hands at the youth.

"Mu'er, don't be seduced by the vixens outside… Wretch!"

Beside Qin Mu, the little white fox sat earnestly and spat out her tongue at Granny Si.

At this moment, an old monk came to Doom Suppression Palace. On his head were mounds of flesh and he was wearing yellow kasaya as he strided over the valley. When he saw devil ape practicing Thunderclap Eight Strikes, he involuntarily stopped in his footsteps and exclaimed in admiration.

Devil ape immediately stopped as the old monk smiled, "You have cultivated pretty well and you walked the path of our Buddhism. It's just that you didn't receive the true teachings. I shall impart this technique entirely to you, if you're fated to, you will be able to learn it."

Devil ape was bewildered and asked, "Bald, who?"

"Are you referring to me?"

The old monk was amicable looking yet he also looked solemn as he smiled, "I'm the one in charge of Great Thunderclap Monastery whom they called Rulai. I'm not really bald. Have a touch. I had cultivated my hair into flesh."

Devil ape stretched out his huge hands and touched his head, crying out in astonishment, "Bald, hair!"

The old monk smiled, "You've practiced my fists and took my staff, therefore, our fate had arrived. I had thought that my staff had landed into a youth's hand, therefore, I'm here to enlighten him. It seems I have no fate with him and the fate lies with us. Come, let me impart Rulai's Mahayana Sutra to you. When the fate comes in the future, you can come to Great Thunderclap Monastery to look for me."

Devil ape seemed to understand and not understand at the same time.