Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 341: Heart Pain

Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem

Dao Master Lin Xuan was the first to come back to his senses. He raised his hand to stop Qin Mu and said sincerely, "Cult Master Qin must hold his step! You have brought this golden book forward not to just let Little Dao read for three days; you're trying to hook me! Since you have already thrown the bait and I'm already hooked, why not sit down and discuss it in detail?"

The old Daoists all nodded and said in unison, "Discuss! There's nothing that can't be discussed!"

"We are all people who cultivate Dao, all qi cultivators, so there's nothing we can't discuss!"

"The righteous path or the devil path are still both paths, we are one family!"

…

Dao Master Lin Xuan invited Qin Mu to take a seat, and an old Daoist nun immediately went to boil some tea, which she served in a moment. Qin Mu drank it and smiled. "Wonderful tea, it's just a little inferior to that of High Heavens. What kind of tea is this, can I have some?"

"Can!"

The old Daoist nun grinned, revealing her few remaining teeth. "This is our Dao Sect's Heavenly Green Precious Fragrance. Only tea leaves that are produced by a tree that grows at Jade Void Spring can be called Heavenly Green Precious Fragrance. There are only three such trees, and only a few pounds are produced each year! How many pounds does Cult Master Qin want?"

Qin Mu placed the herb basket down and invited Village Chief to come out. He poured tea for him and asked, "Grandpa Village Chief, could you get used to this taste?"

"Heavenly Green Precious Fragrance has a light yet long lasting aftertaste, so of course I would get used to it!" Village Chief smiled. "Not even the emperor gets to drink this tea! In that case, let's have a pound first so we can drink this new tea at the beginning of next spring."

"Bring us one pound, I want the best quality one," Qin Mu said to the old Daoist nun.

She hurried away and came back with a huge bag of tea after a moment.

Qin Mu put it away and looked around before saying, "Dao Sect sure is poor."

An old Daoist hurriedly said, "We are not poor. We still had some property, but it was stolen by someone. Cult Master Qin, your golden book…"

"Oh, it's from my old Qin Family." Qin Mu placed the golden book to the side and said, "I and Dao Sect have some grudges, but I always wanted to come to apologize. However, I couldn't find the time. This trip today is to let Dao Master Lin Xuan read the book and hopefully resolve this grudge between us."

"Cult Master Qin, it's enough!" Dao Master Lin Xuan said firmly. "Grudges can be resolved, but the differences between our teachings are not the same thing. Even if we resolve our grudges today, we will fight again in the future because of our teachings, and more grudges will be created. Cult Master Qin, it's still better for us to talk about this golden book."

Qin Mu exclaimed in his heart at this thorough judgment and said, "Dao Master Lin's eyesight sure is deep, I'm truly amazed. In that case, let us talk about this golden book. It records three techniques which are Magpie Bridge, Mysterious Guide, and Divine Crossing. They are techniques used to connect the seventh divine treasure, the Divine Bridge. Everyone should be able to guess the reason why I brought this book forward."

"It indeed has techniques to patch the divine bridge!"

Numerous old Daoists and Daoist nuns' hearts were shaken. They were so excited they found it hard to control themselves.

Patching the divine bridge and breaking through the last obstacle to become a god was the dream of who knew how many people. Even the experts of Dao Sect were not exempt!

Cultivating into immortals meant nothing for the people of Dao Sect. It was merely a kind of excuse to console oneself.

Immortal was a title that came from Little Jade Capital, with which the experts of Dao Sect frequently interacted. The people there posed themselves as immortals, living on a mountain away from worldly affairs. They were even more tranquil and lofty than people of Dao Sect.

When the old Daoists and Daoist nuns took the first look at the golden book, they were immediately shaken by the Secrets of Magpie Bridge. They had immediately become aware that this was a technique to patch the divine bridge, and it was extremely intricate, which was why they didn't sleep, eat, or even rest for three days.

Once Qin Mu repeated what they thought, that this was three techniques to patch the divine bridge so it would connect to the celestial heavens, the experts of Dao Sect had an urge to snatch the book back.

However, looking at that armless and legless elder who could still drink tea at the side, they calmed down.

Three days ago, this elder who popped out from the basket had only given them a look, yet they had seen the extremes of sword skills.

When they saw the gaze of this elder, they felt like they were seeing a sword attacking toward them. They could neither avoid nor defend against this attack, so they had all averted their eyes instead.

They were all legends of Dao Sect, so even though they weren't at the level of Old Dao Master, they were all people of the cult master level with superior sword skills. Yet this elder made them feel that if they snatched the book by force, they would definitely die a miserable way.

Dao Master Lin Xuan's gaze flickered. His vital qi burst forth and arranged a model of heavenly cycle stars with algebra. "Cult Master, please solve this."

Qin Mu smiled, knowing that his attainments in algebra were being tested. If he knew nothing about algebra, Dao Sect could then raise their initial price. If Qin Mu had extremely high attainments and let Dao Sect know they were dispensable, only then would he make them willing to assist him.

"This is the technique of Great Heavenly Cycle Stars Heaven Chess Transformation." Qin Mu's fingers moved and dotted here and there on the heavenly cycle stars while he said rapidly, "Great Heavenly Cycle has three hundred and sixty-five stars, while the three hundred and sixty-sixth one in hidden inside. It's Celestial Emperor Jade Emperor Constellation. You didn't label Jade Emperor for me to solve the Jade Emperor's Star Number, right?"

Just as he said that, Qin Mu drew a star on the great heavenly cycle of stars with vital qi. "Jade Emperor's Star Number is right here!"

The hearts of all old Daoists and Daoist nuns in Jade Void Monastery shook, and they all looked at one another. 'Heavenly Devil Cult Master's attainments in algebra are extremely high; he solved it so fast! He managed to calculate Jade Emperor's Star Number so quickly, so the technique in the golden book shouldn't be too difficult for him. All he needs is time.'

Dao Master Lin Xuan dispersed his vital qi and asked in doubt, "Since Cult Master Qin can solve it, why did he still come to our Dao Sect?"

"I can solve it by myself, but it would take a very long time. I can't wait that long," Qin Mu said with a resolute expression. "I also need the experts of Dao Sect to help me calculate the space algebra model for a divine cannon. These two matters require many experts that are proficient in algebra. If Dao Sect is willing to assist me, then it will receive copies of the three techniques to patch the divine bridge and the space algebra!"

In Jade Void Monastery, everyone took in a deep breath as the place became silent.

Qin Mu put away the golden book and rose. "If Dao Master Lin Xuan is interested, there's no harm in waiting in Imperial College. I need to take a trip to Little Jade Capital and invite a few experts who are proficient in algebra from there. That's right, Dao Master Lin, could you gift me a Computational Canon of Mysterious Lady?"

"Small matter," Dao Master Lin Xuan said and passed one over.

Qin Mu put it in his taotie sack and expressed his thanks. He then said profoundly, "Your master, Old Dao Master, is also at Little Jade Capital, right? He doesn't have much time left. If we fixed these techniques of patching the divine bridge…"

Dao Master Lin Xuan's body trembled, but he didn't say anything.

Qin Mu walked out of Jade Void Monastery and called Xiong Xiyu and Xiong Qi'er, who were waiting outside, to go down the mountain.

Dao Master Lin Xuan let out a shaky breath and looked at the old Daoists in Jade Void Monastery. All of them were looking back at him as well.

Dao Master Lin Xuan suddenly rose and said solemnly, "Gather all the people that are proficient in algebra. We will go down the mountain and head for the capital."

"Think thrice, Dao Master!" an old Daoist immediately said. "Dao Master really wants to work together with Heavenly Devil Cult? Those people have the ambition of wild wolves, and the Heavenly Devil Cult Master of this generation is extremely talented. He also harbors evil intentions, having killed who knows how many of our senior and junior brothers in the capital city!"

Another old Daoist nun said, "Heavenly Saint Cult's Cult Master Qin is indeed much smarter and more ruthless than Li Tianxing, so he's harder to deal with as well! He most likely brought the golden book to lure us into a trap!"

"Our Dao Sect and Heavenly Devil Sect's grudge is deep, and this Heavenly Devil Cult Master is fearful. He's not a kind person. Dao Master, please think thrice!"

...

"We must go to the capital! And we must get the method to become a god!"

Dao Master Lin Xuan brushed his sleeves and said indifferently, "Fellow senior brothers, say no more. Cult Master Qin is right. Even if we don't assist him, he can solve the contents of the golden book by himself. What's more, Imperial College and Little Jade Capital also have people that are proficient in algebra, so calculating the space algebra model is merely a matter of time. If our Dao Sect is a step behind, we will slowly get farther and farther away, until we will be surpassed by Heavenly Devil Cult. We will fall in time!"

He turned around to pack his luggage. "Our Dao Sect requires its own god, a living god to protect it. In this world of huge changes, a sacred ground that doesn't change will have no way to survive!"

Numerous old Daoists didn't say anything and packed their own luggage. They picked out the outstanding disciples and prepared to head to the capital.

Suddenly, an old Daoist let out a world-shaking scream, "God damn it, who has stolen the leader's horsetail whisk?"

Another angry voice sounded out from another side of the mountain, "Who ate my fish?"

"Who stole my mountain and river screen? That's my precious treasure that I worked on for many years!"

"Who has seen my Universe Bay? It's a fake mountain that I refined after taking Universe Bay away."

"My hairpin was placed on the dressing table, who took it?"

…

Below Jade Void Mountain, Qin Mu passed by the mountain gate. The old Daoist guarding the mountain was standing at the straw hut. He returned Qin Mu's clothes to him and asked suspiciously, "Old Thief God has stolen our Dao Sect's treasure again?"

Qin Mu took back the clothes and shook his head. "I didn't see him on the mountain."

The old Daoist stamped his feet and said, "Crap! If you saw him, he could still be lazing around somewhere, but if you didn't see him, then that old scoundrel could have flipped the graves of our ancestors over and over again!" When he was done, the old Daoist called the big yellow dog over and led it up the mountain.

The big yellow dog was incomparably nimble as it jumped to the top. There, he sniffed around, and began barking, causing a havoc.

"If we don't go now, the experts of Dao Sect will slaughter their way down," Village Chief who was in the herb basket warned.

Qin Mu came back to his senses and hurried the dragon qilin, "Run quickly!"

The dragon qilin immediately sprinted away toward the majestic Kunlun Mountain Range.

After running for a long time, they finally left the Kunlun Mountain Range. With a worried expression, Qin Mu said, "I wonder if Grandpa Cripple was able to make it out…"

Before he could finish saying this, he saw Cripple sitting in the shade of a huge tree in front of them. He seemed to have been waiting for a long while.

Qin Mu was dumbfounded and wanted to say something, but Cripple suddenly leaped to his feet as though fire was burning his buttocks. He scrambled away and disappeared into thin air. A voice then came from the distance, "Mu'er, you guys shall go to Little Jade Capital first. I'll be right there!"

A huge dog landed nearby, and sitting on the back of it were a few old Daoists. Both male and female ones were full of killing intent.

The huge dog sniffed at the ground, and clouds grew under its feet. It rose into the sky and chased in the direction Cripple had left. Its speed was extremely fast, and it moved like flickering lights and passing shadows.

Qin Mu was stunned. He looked at the dragon qilin with a pleasant expression. "Fatty Dragon, can you catch up to that dog?"

The dragon qilin shook his head. "That fellow runs very fast, I can't catch up to him."

"It can run faster than you by eating shit!" Qin Mu said in a pained voice. "How dare you still have the face to eat spirit pills for all your meals!"