Tales of Herding Gods

Qin Mu used a lot of time and effort to refine the poison. It was multi-composite, requiring him to refine it numerous times. He had no first make hundreds of basic poison pills, then use them to feed venomous creatures, for example, venomous worms, toads, and various insects. Once they were ready, he used them as fertilizer for poisonous mushrooms and grass.

He did it numerous times, until he managed to refine a couple poisonous eggs which he planted into the bone marrow of the two legs. Those poisonous eggs would not dissolve on their own, but when bone marrow began producing blood again, their shells would break, and the poison inside would flow into all parts of the body through the bloodstream, spoiling the person’s divine treasures, breaking his primordial spirit, and wiping out his soul.

Qin Mu had just finished refining the strange poison and saving some poisonous eggs for backup when Si Yunxiang brought him news. “The elders and experts skilled in Five Demons Transferring Technique have arrived.”

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief and said solemnly, “Please invite them.”

Si Yunxiang invited the people of Heavenly Devil Cult over, and Qin Mu surveyed them. He saw that numerous people of Heavenly Devil Cult were indeed generals in the army, for they had rushed to him without even wasting time to take off their armor.

Five Demons Transferring Technique wasn’t an extremely powerful spell, and it wasn’t mainstream. It was a spell of the lowest professions, but in reality, even the weakest spells contained unimaginable power.

There were no good and bad spells. The crucial point lay in only how one used them.

If Qin Mu wanted to fight his way into the courtyard of Fragrance Well, then even if his people had learned the most powerful spell divine arts, even if they were on Divine Bridge Realm and ready to make sacrifices, they might not be able to stop God Bai Xi from activating Five Thunder Pot.

Yet the lowest Five Demons Transferring Technique could move Five Thunder Pot away without anyone having to die.

“Gentlemen!” Qin Mu bowed and greeted them. “We can only succeed this time; no failure is allowed. Otherwise, once the lightning covers Eternal Peace, I don’t know how many people will die miserably! Whether or not we succeed, we will have to see everyone’s abilities!

The cult member hurried to return the greeting. “All part of our duty. We don’t dare to accept Cult Master’s greeting!”

Qin Mu straightened his back and said solemnly, “North, south, east, west, and middle—five great thunderclouds are in Five Thunder Pot, and there are fire bell divine weapons in the thunderclouds. Even if it’s just simply moving this divine treasure, we have to be extremely careful not to activate the power within it. Does anyone have any understanding of the five great thunderclouds?”

Everyone looked at one another in dismay. An elder stepped out of the ranks and said, “Cult Master, I have some understanding in regards to the five great thunderclouds and the fire bell divine weapons. I have wandered around in my early years and come across a strange book in the Black Tortoise Temple of Great Ruins. On it was recorded some anecdotes about North Deity.”

Qin Mu’s expression changed slightly. Great Ruins again.

“The five great thunderclouds and fire bell divine weapons are treasures forged by North Deity,” the elder who spoke was Elder Si Gong of Heavenly Devil Cult. “North Deity is also known as Black Tortoise Great Deity and is skilled in thunder spell divine arts. The five great thunderclouds and fire bell divine weapons are his masterpieces and possess extreme power.

“In Black Tortoise Temple of Great Ruins, that strange book was carved on the back of a black turtle. Its whole body was made out of foundry iron, and it was extremely difficult to flip through it. I had managed to open two pages and read some records. Founding Emperor had once held a banquet and invited North Deity, who called thunderclouds to run through all the worlds, and Founding Emperor couldn’t help exclaiming endlessly about it. As for what that strange book means, I don’t know.”

Qin Mu was astonished. North Deity and Founding Emperor? There was a connection between them? North Deity had once been invited by Founding Emperor as a guest?

“In the book, some of the marvels of North Deity’s five great thunderclouds were mentioned, and I had researched some thunder spells after that.”

Elder Si Gong took a breath and then continued, “Great Thundercloud Spell has been long lost, but there’s Little Thundercloud Spell in Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scriptures, and it is what I cultivate. Even though I only saw two pages of that strange book, it allowed the cultivation of my Little Thundercloud Spell to improve greatly, so I reaped quite the benefit. If Cult Master can believe me, let me be in charge of this five demons transfer!”

Qin Mu nodded and said, “The power of Little Thundercloud Spell is not insignificant, and since Elder Si Gong cultivates this spell, why don’t you exchange some pointers with me? Tell me about your understanding in regards to Little Thundercloud Spell.”

Elder Si Gong told him about the art which he had comprehended in front of everyone, and Qin Mu listened to it carefully, corroborating it with his own Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scriptures. When Elder Si Gong finished talking about that did he talk about his understanding regarding it.

Ever since he was young, Qin Mu had received pointers from the nine elders of Disabled Elderly Village. The height of his horizons had long ago reached a height that ordinary people couldn’t hope to reach.

On top of that, he’d had other opportunities, like Woodcutter’s imparting scriptures, the grooming of Qin Hanzhen on the treasure ship, comprehension in Great Thunderclap Monastery, comprehension of Dao Sword on the stone tablet, comprehension in Little Jade Capital, and peeking into Imperial Preceptor comprehending Dao in Qingmen Pass. Even though his horizons couldn’t be said to be number one in the world, there were not many who could surpass him.

Little Thundercloud Spell was one of the spells in Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scriptures, and the rock on which Woodcutter had imparted his teachings already had a deep explanation of this spell. With the pointers of Deaf, this great scholar, and his own understanding, that of someone who was the great master who founded Six Directions Primordial Spirit, giving pointers to Elder Si Gong on thunder spells was no problem for him.

Qin Mu lectured and everyone looked as though they were intoxicated. They gained their own comprehension.

After Elder Si Gong heard everything, he couldn’t help admiring Qin Mu. He was completely won over and praised, “Cult Master is a genius, a natural born sacred cult master.”

Even though Qin Mu was young, had just hit sixteen years old and his cultivation was still on Six Directions Realm, his knowledge was great, and the depth of his understanding could already win over a divine bridge practitioner like him.

“Comprehend in detail. We will have to move Five Thunder Pot in a few days.” Turning around then, Qin Mu asked Si Yunxiang, “Where is the emperor now?”

“He just reached Serene Prefecture, which is still over ten days of journey from here,” Si Yunxiang said. “His Majesty’s plan is for Cult Master to delay for ten days. If you can’t do that, you need to at least get him eight days. At that time, he will fire the cannon from five thousand miles away and kill Bai Xi.”

Qin Mu shook his head. “Bai Xi won’t give us eight days. He will make a decision in three to five days’ time. How’s the battle in God Broken Mountain Range?”

Si Yunxiang frowned. “That place is already destroyed, and the aftermath of the divine arts can be seen everywhere. Even so, experts of Celestial Being Realm still can’t go inside. The emperor has ordered the soldiers at Eternal Border and Secret Waters to retreat, abandoning Secret Waters Pass to prevent them from being dragged into the fray. As for the outcome of the battle…” She shook her head. “The emperor has ordered the generals of the two passes to go forward and investigate, but there are still no news. No one… has walked out as of now.”

Qin Mu’s heart squeezed, and he let out a shaky breath. His gaze became sharp. “In that case, after solving this matter with God Bai Xi, I will go over there personally. I want to see them if they are alive or their bodies if they are dead! Elder Si Gong, I’ll give you guys two days. Prepare as soon as possible. We won’t wait for the emperor anymore!”

Elder Si Gong and the rest were awed. They immediately went to practice how to cast the spell with a hundred people. To make a hundred people cooperate seamlessly and execute the same technique without messing up and activating the power of Five Thunder Pot in two days was very difficult. However, time was running out, so they had no choice but to practice more.

Suddenly, the divine arts practitioner guarding the courtyard of Fragrance Well came to report. “Cult Master Qin, the god has invited you!”

Qin Mu’s spirit moved slightly and he rose to head over to the courtyard of Fragrance Well. God Bai Xi’s complexion was much better; it was evident that he had refined pills to treat his own injuries, so they were much lighter. His cultivation had also become a lot healthier.

However, he had chopped off one of his legs, so it was impossible for him to escape. Because of that, Qin Mu was afraid he would fall into depression and active Five Thunder Pot, beside which he spent all of his time.

“Little friend, there have been many guests recently, eh.” The horn on God Bai Xi’s head glowed and rings of light slid down from the tip of it, flowing through his whole body.

Qin Mu examined the light, and his heart moved slightly. It was shaking up the god’s corporeal body, forcing the spoiled blood out. It had to be a kind of body refinement technique which could make the body recover quicker.

Before that, God Bai Xi had been beaten up quite miserably so he didn’t even have the possibility to escape for his life. But now that some of his cultivation had started to recover, he was trying to recover the strength of his corporeal body as well.

“Those that came are all just small figures and can’t threaten a god like you. Is that true?” Qin Mu said with a smile, “I can see that your abilities are recovering quite fast, and it makes me worried. I’m afraid that you will go back on your promise. I’ve already waited for some seven days, and I don’t think there’s a point to wait for much more. It’d be best if we signed the Pact of Earth Count, and there’s no better time than now, so why don’t we do it today?”

“What promise? Did I have a promise with you? Hahaha!” God Bai Xi laughed, and his voice was like thunder, ringing throughout the entire city. “I’m joking. Look at your pale face, it’s completely white. Since you have already waited for some seven days, why don’t you wait some more? Didn’t you say you wanted to attach a divine leg for me? I haven’t connected it yet, so when I have both legs again, we shall sign the Pact of Earth Count!”

Qin Mu’s face changed slightly, and he said coldly, “Your abilities have already recovered so much, so if I attach your leg and you activate Five Thunder Pot and run, won’t I have to bear the sin of having allowed you to wipe out countless people in Eternal Peace? Your leg can wait. Let’s do it after we sign the Pact of Earth Count!”

God Bai Xi placed his palm on Five Thunder Pot and beamed at him. “You are called Qin Mu, right? I asked the divine arts practitioners around here, Heavenly Devil Cult Master Qin Mu. But you are also Human Emperor, someone truly powerful to have broken one of my legs. Xu Shenghua went to find you, but he never returned, so you should have gotten rid of him. This is no wonder though, how could he fight against you? Come over, attach my leg, and we can talk then. Otherwise, I will activate this Five Thunder Pot immediately!”

Qin Mu’s face changed drastically and he shouted, “Divine flood dragon king!”

Watery light pulsed behind him, and the divine flood dragon king appeared with a bow, “Divine flood dragon king is right here. What do you command, Your Majesty?”

God Bai Xi sneered. “Don’t fool around, Cult Master Qin. My hand is still on Five Thunder Pot.”

The corners of Qin Mu’s eyes crinkled, then like spring wind and rain, the stern expression on his face vanished and he laughed loudly. “Senior Brother Bai Xi is indeed powerful, I’ll help you attach your leg back. Divine flood dragon king, there’s no need to be nervous. Come man, bring up the medicine I refined! Senior Brother Bai Xi, where’s the leg you have chosen? Take it out.”

God Bai Xi threw the shorter leg over and said with a smile, “The length of this leg is not suitable. Take out the other two legs, and I’ll choose again.”

The smile of Qin Mu’s face froze, frowning a little.

God Bai Xi stood on one leg with a smile on his face as he said leisurely, “Does Cult Master Qin have any opinion?”

Qin Mu took in a long, deep breath, then took out the other two divine legs while gritting his teeth tightly. “No, I don’t. Senior Brother Bai Xi, please choose!”

God Bai Xi took a look at him and laughed when he saw that Qin Mu’s face was black. “Young man still can’t remain calm.” His magic power poured out and he swept up the two divine legs. He examined them in detail, but didn’t discover Qin Mu doing anything to them. “I’ll choose this one. Divine Physician Qin, help me attach it.”

“May senior brother lie down,” Qin Mu said with barely held back anger.

God Bai Xi lay down with his palm still on Five Thunder Pot. He said leisurely, “Don’t try to play any tricks. If my hand just makes a slight move, Five Thunder Pot will explode, and it’ll be even easier for the thunderclouds to destroy the world. The treasure of North Deity could turn even Founding Emperor’s empire into Great Ruins, so what chance does Eternal Peace stand… hehe!”