Tales of Herding Gods

Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor frowned and looked at the battlefield. There were numerous will-o’-the-wisps that were messengers of death carrying lanterns. The boats carried the souls that had died in battle toward Youdu.

If they didn’t let the messenger of death bring Qin Mu away and tried fighting, so many messengers of death would probably turn Supreme Emperor Heaven into a white land!

He looked at Qin Mu and muttered to himself irresolutely.

“I’ve been to Youdu twice already. The first time I was lured in by Dutian Devil King…”

“I was the one who saved you and sent you back to the world of the living,’ said the elder from behind the lantern.

Astonished, Qin Mu looked over. He still couldn’t see the man’s face however.

“The second time, Grandmaster, Fatty Dragon, White Bat Brothers, and I fell into Youdu together, and we survived again.”

Qin Mu composed himself and walked out of the flying ship. He came to the small boat and turned back to wave at everyone. He said with a warm smile, “Youdu isn’t as dangerous as you guys imagine it to be. I’m going to talk about the cause and effect of the forty-eight thousand souls being back, and I’ll be back once it’s done.”

The dragon qilin opened his mouth, wishing to speak, but he gave it some thought and suppressed the urge. ‘Cult Master is being foolish. How is Youdu not dangerous? There are strange monsters everywhere, and there is even Saturn Star Sovereign, that terrifying monster… However, my position is now in danger as well. I look bad with Brother Tiger for comparison, so it’s best if I don’t talk. Otherwise, if Cult Master blows up now, I won’t be able to get any more spirit pills again.”

The black tiger god took a step forward and was about to talk, but Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor raised his hand to stop him. He shook his head and said, “Does Cult Master want to leave his corporeal body behind?”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred slightly, and he instantly understood what the other was trying to say—Imperial Preceptor wanted him to leave his corporeal body behind. If Qin Mu couldn’t return, they could cast Soul Guide to seize his soul back by force.

“Imperial Preceptor doesn’t have to worry.” Qin Mu plucked the young dragon from his ear and sent it away before waving at everyone. “It’s safer for me to bring my corporeal body along. I shall borrow this little dragon once I’m back from Youdu.”

Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was slightly stunned, not understanding his intention. While he wondered about it, the small boat sailed away leisurely and vanished into the darkness. The young dragon flew back onto the ship and ran to Qin Yu to coil around his body.

“Why didn’t Cult Master leave his corporeal body behind?” Puzzled, Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor kept muttering under his breath. “If a few gods executed the spell Soul Guide at the same time, we should be able to summon his soul back from Youdu…”

Qin Mu stood on the small boat and looked around. He saw boats full of souls in the darkness, all sailing towards the depths of Youdu. Their lanterns were very dim, and from far away, they looked like stars moving through a pure black sky.

King Yama had once told Qin Mu to go to Youdu at least once if he got the chance. This was why he had rejected Imperial Preceptor’s suggestion.

King Yama wasn’t clear with his words, but Qin Mu could still detect that his birth in Youdu wasn’t simple. Earth Count’s summon was a rare chance, so he might even discover the secret of his birth.

The little boat floated at a very fast speed, but he couldn’t feel its movement while sitting inside. He could only see the dim world rushing past him.

Qin Mu’s heart trembled. He had boarded the boat in Supreme Emperor Heaven, and he could see it disappearing into the distance.

While in the boat, he saw numerous other worlds. From magnificent ones, small boats with lanterns came sailing out without end.

Looking from far away, the dark sky in those worlds and the faint lamplight brought wild and fanciful thoughts. He couldn’t help fantasizing about those worlds, the stories that were unfolding there on a magnificent scale. Maybe they were of melancholy and hidden bitterness, maybe of heroism, or just human emotions.

“It’s actually the fourth time you are in Youdu.” At the bow of the boat, the messenger of death hung his lantern and turned around to face Qin Mu. He said in a steady voice, “You were born in Youdu so this is the fourth time.”

Qin Mu’s interest was aroused and he asked, “Senior, I have no memory of when I was born, so may I ask if senior could tell me about it?”

“When you were born, you created quite a commotion and shook all the worlds in Youdu. In the end, most of the big shots came to an agreement to exile you.”

Qin Mu examined the face of the elder in detail, but he still couldn’t see his true appearance.

“Thus, you were exiled. As for what happened afterward, I don’t know,” the messenger of death said slowly.

Qin Mu was stunned and burst out into laughter. “When I was born, I was definitely a small baby, so how could I have caused a huge commotion? And for the big shots of Youdu to exile a baby, isn’t it a bit too much?”

“It’s already very generous,” the messenger of death said steadily/ “In my eyes, us exiling you after all you’ve done was already very generous of us. After you were out, those big shots were so happy they celebrated for days.”

“What exactly did I do?” Qin Mu was even more puzzled. “What could an infant do?”

The messenger of death didn’t answer. The small boat sailed into a world and went through it. After a moment, they came to a small world inside it.

Qin Mu raised his head and looked at the sun, moon, and the five elements as well as the stars in the sky that were abnormally beautiful. They shone with multicolored lights.

There was also a divine bridge in the sky with a primordial spirit in the shape of a god.

“This is the divine treasure of a strong practitioner of Divine Bridge Realm!” Qin Mu was astonished. “We have entered the divine treasure of a strong practitioner.”

The messenger of death took out a notebook and flipped it open. He found a name and said, “Han Zhen, your lifespan is over. I will fetch you after three days, settle what you need to do.”

The primordial spirit on the bridge looked down with a dim gaze. “I understand. Thank you, Messenger of Death, for giving me three days’ time.”

The messenger of death nodded. His small boat sailed out of the small world and returned to Youdu. He continued to head forward.

“Once a person is born, they make a pact with Earth Count for their souls to go to Youdu after their lifespan runs out. The messenger of death that was going to inform you had planned to enter your Life and Death Divine Treasure to tell you about Earth Count’s orders, but who would’ve known that he’d be blocked by the treasure on your body. That’s why I had no other choice but to go to the world of the living to find you. The longer this matter is delayed, the worse it will be for you.”

Feeling even more bewildered, Qin Mu asked with a smile, “I’m on Six Directions Realm so my Life and Death Divine Treasure hasn’t even opened yet, so how could the messenger of death enter it?”

“To you, it may be shut, but to the messengers of death, they are all open. When we enter a person’s Life and Death Divine Treasure to send information, it’s like giving them a dream,” the messenger of death said. “However, we were blocked by the treasure on your body and couldn’t enter your dream.”

Qin Mu took out his jade pendant and asked, “The treasure you keep mentioning, is it this jade pendant? Where did it come from? Does it have some curse?”

“Wear it properly. Don’t take it down,” the messenger of death admonished him in a hurry.

Qin Mu could only hide it back under his clothes.

The messenger of death was still wary and took out a yellow joss paper to stick it on Qin Mu’s face. He took down the lantern and shone it on the surrounding darkness. “Which Dao friend is lying low in the vicinity?”

Qin Mu poked two holes in the yellow joss paper and looked around. Everything was dark, and he couldn’t see anything.

Suddenly, the light of the lantern fell on a slimy body. It moved quickly, and its scales reflected all kinds of lights which soon vanished.

The messenger of death muttered irresolutely for a moment before sneering. “He is someone Earth Count wants to meet so don’t try anything; otherwise, you won’t be able to pay for your crimes!”

Soft laughter came from the surroundings of the boat as strange devil eyes lighted up. Those eyes were huge and surrounded the whole boat.

“Earth Count wants to see him so we won’t obstruct. After all, we also live in Youdu and seek a place under the name of Earth Count. However, we also have masters and have received an order to find him.”

Voices came from all directions, followed by strange laughter. They were like worms crawling in one’s body and speaking as they gnawed on the bone.

“Sovereign Equal to Heaven, you’re General Governor of Heavenly Talismans, an Official Sovereign of Youdu, so we should be somewhat respectful to you. However, you covered his face to prevent us from seeing his face and learning his identity. So how are we going to answer our master? Remove the yellow talisman and we will let you take him away!”

The messenger of death sneered, and the eyes suddenly closed and vanished. A boat came sailing over. It had an elder carrying a lantern that lit up the surroundings.

In the darkness, numerous slimy bodies slithered away from the light.

Qin Mu’s gaze flickered, and he saw more and more small boats sailing toward them. They overlapped with their boat, and the messengers of death also did the same. In the blink of an eye, some sixty-seventy boats and messengers of death overlapped to become one!

“Now we won’t have to worry about them,” he said.

“Who were the ones who stopped us?” Qin Mu asked immediately

“Gods and devils planted by the celestial heavens.” The messenger of death shook his head. “A bunch of fellows who reap things they did not sow.”

Qin Mu fell into his thoughts as the small boat continued to sail forward. Finally, he saw Earth Count once more. Of course, it wasn’t the complete form, just the horns of nine bends.

Layers of worlds formed them. The closer the boat went, the bigger the two horns looked, forming incomparably huge lands on them. Countless volcanoes erupted to connect the lands together.

The paper boat traveled through one, and Qin Mu saw countless souls moving with difficulty through a world of magma.

The boat sailed leisurely, and he didn’t know how much later and how many planes of Earth Count’s horns they had passed before they came to a stop. There was no heart palpitating hell in that piece of land, just a cluster of majestic palaces.

The small boat descended and stopped in front of them. The palace hall had a name in the language of Youdu, and Qin Mu looked over. He instantly knew the meaning of the words there—Manor of Benevolent Saintly King Equal to Heaven.

The messenger entered the hall and said, “This is my manor. Your body is too small so Earth Count can’t meet you directly. Wait for a moment, Earth Count’s clone will come and question you.”

Qin Mu checked the murals in the manor while waiting. They portrayed various myths and legends.

Suddenly, magma flowed out from the center of the hall, and the floor became bubbling magma. It swirled, and a pair of twisted horns rose up, followed by the whole body of Earth Count that was over thirty yards tall.

The messenger of death bowed and took out a book. “I’ve brought Qin Fengqing. All the evils he has done is recorded in this book, may Earth Count go through it.”

Qin Mu hurriedly came closer and saw that the book was terrifyingly thick. He hurriedly said, “I didn’t do all of those things in the book! I’m just eighteen years old, so how could I have done so many bad things?”

The magma Earth Count took the book and flipped through it to check. Divine lights blazed in his eyes as he said, “The things recorded here are not the things you have done in the world of the living, but in Youdu. Is the jade pendant I made for you still around? I could feel the seal loosening recently.”