Tales of Herding Gods

The sky was like a burning scroll with Fu Riluo at the center. The places that were touched by the flames turned into ashes, and soon half of the land was burned. When everything to the top of Qin Mu’s head was burned, the sky was cleaned out.

The devil world disappeared and another world appeared in his eyes.

Qin Mu didn’t look at Fu Riluo who was walking over, but around himself. Pitch black tall towers stood up ahead like a forest in the gray fog. Numerous devils were akin to hard-working ants hurrying to and fro, forging huge machines to attack the city. There were also some devils practicing to fight.

Only when Qin Mu saw the dim and broken sun hanging in the east did he let out a sigh of relief.

He was still in Supreme Emperor Heaven; the devil world that Fu Riluo had shown him was simply terrifying. He really didn’t want to stay in that place of destruction.

The sun of Supreme Emperor Heaven was god-forged, and its light wasn’t intense, unable to get rid of the devil qi in the devils’ territory. The little light that shone onto Qin Mu’s body was also cold, not warming him up in the least.

The world that Fu Riluo had shown him had been merely an illusion.

“Senior Fu Riluo shouldn’t have spent so much effort to kidnap me just to show the bitter history of his people?” Qin Mu looked away and said solemnly, “You guys should know that your bitter history has nothing to do with me, however, you had invaded Supreme Emperor Heaven and pushed the bitterness onto the human race, now that has something to do with me.”

Fu Riluo came to his side and said slowly, “Is Little Friend Qin so sure that he’s a human?”

Qin Mu’s gaze flickered. “What is Fu Riluo trying to say? Why don’t you make yourself clear?”

“You are a devil.” One of Fu Riluo’s faces looked straight at him and spoke. “Furthermore, you are a devil of extremely high quality. Your bloodline might even be higher than mine!”

Qin Mu was stunned and pointed at the devil with a chortle. He laughed until he couldn’t catch his breath.

Fu Riluo didn’t say anything and just waited for him to finish laughing. When he could laugh no longer, he slowly said, “Has no one ever told you that you are a devil?”

Qin Mu straightened his back and exhaled deeply. He said with a smile, “Someone had indeed said that before. When I was young, I had met a devil god sealed in Doom Suppression Palace that told me I was a devil. However, he said that to trick me, wanting to steal my body to break free of the seal, so what does Senior Fu Riluo want from me?”

Fu Riluo walked forward, and his neck turned. The back of his head shifted to his left side and he said, “I’m not trying to trick you. Even though half of what we devils say is fake, the other half is true. When that devil god wanted to seize your body, he told you that you are a devil to gain your trust. It had been the truth.”

Qin Mu suddenly melted, and his body became a black shadow that moved over the ground.

His speed was extremely fast, and he sprinted a hundred miles in a flash.

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief and walked out from the black shadow state. He then heard Fu Riluo’s voice. “You might not believe it, but don’t you feel your vital qi flowing smoothly when you execute the mudra of the devils, without any obstruction at all?”

Qin Mu was stunned. When he looked around, he saw that he was not far from Fu Riluo. It was just that now he was on the left instead of behind.

“For you to be able to learn the divine arts of the devil race so easily and execute them without obstruction, there’s only one explanation—you’re also a devil!” Fu Riluo said with a smile.

Qin Mu rose into the sky and executed Heaven Pilfering Divine Legs to the limits and broke through the air.

After a moment, he saw Fu Riluo in front of him, and his expression couldn’t help changing drastically. He hurriedly turned around and sprinted away.

After a moment, he found himself returning back, sprinting on the right of Fu Riluo.

Qin Mu paused and fell from the sky, sinking into the ground. When he moved quite a distance underground, he popped his head out to see that he was behind Fu Riluo.

He was still near the towers, and Fu Riluo was walking at a steady pace.

“However, you’re also human, so you’re skilled in cultivating the divine arts of the human race as well.” Fu Riluo’s voice came from the front. “You’re half human and half devil, so you are able to easily master the divine arts of the two races. I pity a talent like you, which is why I invited you here.”

Qin Mu patted the dirt on his clothes and sneered. “Respectable king, your method of inviting someone is quite unique.”

He stopped trying to escape and followed after Fu Riluo. When the devil heard that he no longer called him senior but changed to respectable king, one of his faces smiled.

The two names might have looked unintentional, but they were actually well thought out. Calling the other a senior was to let the other party know that he was a junior, and a senior laying hands on a junior’s life was disgraceful.

The title of respectable king was also a thought out response. It was how the devils addressed Fu Riluo, and Qin Mu was placing himself on the level of a devil to lower Fu Riluo’s guard.

Of course, these kind of small tricks were of no use against Fu Riluo.

“The devils aren’t like those of humans who have vast and rich lands, blessed by heaven. We devils are from Youdu.” Fu Riluo signaled for him to follow and began speaking. “There were so many damned souls in Youdu that their grievances and devil nature gave birth to the ancestors of the devil race. They were the devil gods that carried evil thoughts from heaven and earth, giving birth to the devils when they reproduced with one another.”

Qin Mu was slightly stunned, not understanding why he was being told all that.

“After the devils were born, they weren’t viewed highly by Youdu and got chased out by Earth Count. That’s why my devils were vagrants from the moment we were born and were forced to find a place to settle themselves. We were not welcomed by the other races, so the places we could pick were usually treacherous. However, even like that, we still survived. Yet…”

His other face turned around and said, “Yet our world sank from destruction, and for the survival of our race, we had no choice but to invade Supreme Emperor Heaven. Actually, the reason I’ve come to find you is to find a method for humans and devils to live together. When I first saw you, a thought took root in my mind!”

Fu Riluo’s face was incredibly sincere, and he suggested a very tempting idea. “If you could help me unite Supreme Emperor Heaven, I would let you rule the humans! Like that, the humans would be safe under your rule while the devils would be safe under my rule! Isn’t this the best of both worlds?”

His gaze was full of vigor when it landed on Qin Mu, anticipating his reply.

Qin Mu thought for a moment, then probed, “Respectable king, it is only half of what a devil says is true. Now, I would like to ask, which are the truths and which are the lies in the sentences the respectable king just said?”

Fu Riluo turned his neck and changed his face. This one was gloomy and said indifferently, “What do you think?”

Qin Mu smiled. “Respectable king’s suggestion is very good. Why don’t we do as what you’ve said?” Fu Riluo was stunned, but Qin Mu continued, “Supreme Emperor Heaven will be separated into two, and I will rule the human race while you will rule the devil race, and everyone will live peacefully. Respectable king, you can now hand all of the humans in your devil territory to me.”

Fu Riluo’s gloomy face stared straight at him, then there were two cracks. His neck slowly rotated around, and his third face appeared. It was green-skinned and had ferocious fangs. It looked both malicious and terrifying.

Qin Mu exhaled and said with a smile, “Now I know how many of respectable king’s words are true and how many false. Respectable king, your aim isn’t Supreme Emperor Heaven, but Great Ruins. This place is just a springboard for you. If I help you swallow Supreme Emperor Heaven, you will sacrifice it to enter Great Ruins!”

Fu Riluo gave a cold snort and brought him forward to the front of a broken cliff with a malicious expression. “Didn’t my disciple Fu Yuxiao die in your hands? I can put away this grudge and give you luxury, but you treat me like an idiot! Do you think Heavenly Teacher can stop me? Do you think those gods of yours can stop me?

Qin Mu walked up a few steps and looked down. His expression changed drastically.

In front of him was an abyss in which countless devils and humans were busy sculpting huge and majestic altars.

There were about a few hundred of them!

When Saint Woodcutter had summoned his friends, twenty-four stone statues had descended from Great Ruins. They had revived and become gods. Their twenty-four pyramid altars had looked quite magnificent in a line.

Yet now, below him were much more than twenty-four sacrificial altars!

There were a few hundred of them, and they were all going to summon devil gods!

The corner of Qin Mu’s eyes trembled, and he said in a hoarse voice, “It’s impossible for you to summon so many gods and devils! Even if the celestial heavens assist you, they wouldn’t give you that much power! You also wouldn’t dare to accept such a huge army of gods and devils!”

Fu Riluo shook his head. “I can invite the gods and devils of the Celestial Heavens down to the lower bound, but I indeed don’t dare to do that.”

Cold sweat rolled down Qin Mu’s forehead, and he immediately shook his head. “That world of yours has long been connected to Supreme Emperor Heaven, so there aren’t any more devil gods. If there were, they could come in directly.

“With the war ongoing for twenty thousand years, many of your devil gods must have died in battle. There aren’t many left, so there’s no need for so many sacrificial altars…”

Fu Rilup looked at him coldly. “Continue to guess. I’ll give you a way to survive if you guess correctly.”

Qin Mu’s heart shook violently, and he gripped his hands. He instantly knew what Fu Riluo was planning to summon.

“The ancestors of the devils, the devil gods born from the devil nature, grievances, and evil thoughts of Youdu! You’re planning to summon those things!”

Fu Riluo laughed loudly and looked rather pleased. “What do you think about this idea?”

Qin Mu composed himself and shook his head. “Respectable king has also come to a dead end, to even consider summoning them. With the characteristics of those devil gods, it wouldn’t end with just the elimination of the human race. The whole Supreme Emperor Heaven would be destroyed!”

“That’s why we are sacrificing Supreme Emperor Heaven.” Fu Riluo smiled, and the three faces spoke in unison. “We’re going to turn Supreme Emperor Heaven into the stepping stone to enter Great Ruins! However, I have an even better idea. I’ve heard you constructed a Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge. If you forge a few bridges like that for my people, I could spare your life.”

“Respectable king would dare to let me build bridges for his devils? Aren’t you afraid of me tampering with thm?” Qin Mu asked.

Fu Riluo’s expression changed slightly, and he said coldly, “So you are fixated on rejecting me?”

“Senior…” Qin Mu hurriedly said,

Fu Riluo swept his sleeves up and sneered. “Stop trying to act smart! There’s no use in calling me senior! I’ve treated you sincerely and think highly of your outstanding talent. Even Heavenly Teacher couldn’t come up with such a thing like Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge. But you did, so I pitied your talent and let you live this long! Do you really think I won’t kill you? When had my devils lost their reputation?”

His fierce aura erupted, and Qin Mu’s expression changed drastically. He couldn’t breathe from the pressure and hurriedly took a few steps back. With the last breath in his chest, he shouted, “Actually I’m from Carefree Village!”

Fu Riluo was about to kill him, but stopped when he heard what he had said. “You’re from Carefree Village? What proof do you have?”

Qin Mu’s face was flushed, and he couldn’t catch his breath.

Fu Riluo pulled his devil aura back, and Qin Mu gasped for breath. He took out the jade pendant and said, “I have the token of Carefree Village as proof! Respectable king, you should recognize it, right?”

Fu Riluo stretched his hand out, and the jade pendant broke free from Qin Mu’s grasp, flying into his hands.

Qin Mu’s heart beat furiously, but he suppressed it, forcing his heart rate to go back to normal. ‘King Yama said I can’t let the jade pendant leave my side, or bad things will happen. Now I can only rely on this to escape. I hope it works… Eh, how come the bad things aren’t happening yet? Could I be too close to the jade pendant?’