Tales of Herding Gods

Qing Ya had sent Qin Mu from the tiny dragon village before using her vital qi to wrap around the true dragon’s nest to send it a thousand miles to the youth’s side. While doing so, she asked Elder Qing Huang, “Old Ancestor, why did you send Brother Qin away so fast? Isn’t he a descendant of Founding Emperor?”

The other villagers were also curious and all crowded up to hear the answer. “Old Ancestor has said that you and Founding Emperor once swore to live and die together, so it was truly unreasonable to chase away Brother Qin.”

Elder Qing Huang gave them a stare. “How was I being unreasonable? Back then, Founding Emperor and I had sworn to live and die together, but it was mostly me that was suffering and him constantly benefitting at others’ expense! Founding Emperor brought his family to Carefree Village to be carefree and threw his terrible mess to us while he himself lived without any concern. He wants me to clean up his shit? In his dreams!”

Qing Ya and the rest looked at one another in dismay.

Elder Qing Huang grew angrier with each word he spoke. “Never seen me speak vulgarities before? I was the most famous expert of vulgarity in Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens. I once even scolded a bull god to death! Founding Emperor left behind a terrible mess and many Dao friends are waiting for him to make a comeback, but what’s next?”

He turned his back on the fishing net and walked out of the village with a hint of anger in his voice. “Until now, he still hasn’t shown his face. How many of our brothers’ hearts have turned cold? This Qin Mu is his one hundred seventh descendant, but a fallen feather of a phoenix is inferior even to a hen dragon.

“The name of one hundred seventh descendant is merely a title. Which one hundred seventh descendant of an emperor is still a prince? Such far off descendant of a true dragon is even inferior to a long worm! If Founding Emperor wants to ask me out of the mountain, he will have to come out of Carefree Village to do that personally; otherwise, even if the crown prince comes, I won’t bother with him!”

Everyone followed him and came to a cold pond.

Elder Qing Huang threw the net into the water, but he didn’t pick it back even after a while. After some time, he said, “This Qin Mu has some abilities but they’re still not enough. Far from enough… His motive for coming here was to take back the commander’s seal and learn Ancestral Dragon Supreme Mystery Technique, and I gave him both of them. The bloodline of us green dragons no longer owes him anything. We no longer owe Qin Family anything…”

Qing Ya and the rest didn’t say a word, but a middle-aged man coughed once. “Old Ancestor, if you don’t pull out the net, all the fish are going to escape.”

Elder Qing Huang kept muttering to himself. “This Qin Mu is a young fellow who is used to creating trouble. I’m very accurate when judging people and will never make a mistake. His temper is similar to that of Founding Emperor back then; they both can’t sit still and like to create trouble while fiddling with things. I’m worried that if you guys follow him, you’ll be in danger. We have lived in this village for twenty thousand years, and even though life is very plain, we are living peacefully…”

“Old Ancestor, the fish have really escaped!” Qing Ya said nervously.

“Even though that Founding Emperor fellow is very hateful and I had to always to be afraid for my life when being around him, I miss that time. When I reminisce about it, my heart grows warm. And my eyes become moist…”

Qing Ya dove into the cold pond with a plop and brought a huge scarlet red fish out after a moment.

Elder Qing Huang still didn’t stop muttering to himself. “Why would I miss that time? Could I have become old… No, I can’t let you guys out of the village. This Qin Mu is crafty looking and I could see at first glance that he’s full of mischievous ideas!”

The villagers of the dragon village spewed fire to roast the fish after leaving Elder Qing Huang beside the pond. Since they were a distance away, Qing Ya said, “I think that Brother Qin has delicate features and looks quite handsome. With his big, clear eyes, he doesn’t look like a bad guy…”

“Don’t talk so much. Old Ancestor is waging a war between Man and Heaven. In addition, Old Ancestor is a vulgar person by nature. How could he have anything nice to say?” the middle-aged man said in a low voice.

“Uncle Yan, has Old Ancestor really scolded a bull god to death before?” the young people all asked in curiosity.

The middle-aged man Qing Yan hesitated for a moment before nodding. He whispered, “He was a true god who got scolded for three days and two nights straight, and there wasn’t a single repeated vulgarity that came out from Old Ancestor’s mouth. The bull god could retaliate neither verbally nor physically, so he was angered to death just like that. Rumors said that the blood he had vomited formed a river, and he cried for three days before taking his last breath…”

Everyone was startled and turned back to look at Elder Qing Huang who was still muttering to himself in a daze beside the pond.

“There’s devil nature within this mischievous brat, a devil nature that’s so deep that even Earth Count had to suppress him. Earth Count usually only suppress great evils so he’s indeed nothing good… However, this little brat learns things pretty quickly, and he has his own ideas, which makes him a talent. But if he likes to create trouble so much, it’s easy for him to dance into death’s embrace…”

While the young people of the dragon village ate the roasted fish, Qing Ya asked with puzzlement, “Is Old Ancestor praising Brother Qin or scolding him?”

Elder Qing Huang still continued to wage war. “I can’t let the younger generations waste their lives away with me here. Maybe letting them out of the village would not be a bad thing…”

Everyone finished the fish and left the ground covered in fish bones.

Elder Qing Huang finally finished his battles and shook off the water from the net. He prepared to pull it out and said with a smile, “Qing Yan, we shall eat roasted fish tonight. After we finish eating, I permit you guys to take a walk around Great Ruins.”

Qing Ya and the rest cheered before dispersing.

Elder Qing Huang was stunned for a moment before just shaking his head.

…

Jiang Miao changed into a youth that looked somewhat similar to Qin Yu. He followed Qin Mu while cultivating Ancestral Dragon Supreme Mystery Technique. He executed all kinds of moves and divine arts, training his body continuously. He was very hard working.

Qin Mu executed his Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, and with every circulation, Eight Voices of Ancestral Dragon would ring once. With the endless dragon roars, he continuously refined his body.

The two of them walked toward Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge; their speed wasn’t too slow.

Qin Mu refined Jiang Miao a few Water Element Divine Vitality Pills to replenish his energy when he was tired from cultivation. Jiang Miao wasn’t picky, but the taste of Water Element Divine Vitality Pills wasn’t good. However, it was compatible with his vital qi so he ate them and even praised Qin Mu’s craft.

Qin Mu thought of the dragon qilin and gave a silent sigh. Right then, he suddenly stopped and looked around. Jiang Miao hurriedly did the same and asked with curiosity, “Cult Master, what’s wrong?”

Qin Mu pondered over it before saying, “I feel something closing in fast, but if I try to focus on it, I don’t see anything. Strange. Could I have been wrong…”

He continued to head forward. After they had walked far into the distance, a medicinal peony flower suddenly floated over like smoke before transforming into Pangong Tso. He looked like himself, just that he had a deer leg.

‘The brat could actually detect me. My cultivation has clearly risen drastically, but he still discovered me. The improvement of this brat’s cultivation isn’t slow either. He even has a small brat that looks to be a dragon beside him. The brat is truly a lucky bastard, to receive the assistance of a true dragon… It might even be that he’s kidnapping and selling true dragons! Someone is coming!’

While Pangong Tso was thinking, his ears caught a sound, and his body shook to transform into a huge tree. Two eyeballs appeared on its branches.

Whoosh.

A bunch of green dragons whizzed past him while riding on a violent gale. The sight stunned him—the shortest of the green dragons were some hundred fifty yards long. The group seemed to be chasing after Qin Mu.

Whoosh!

The violent gale rushed over, and the dozens of green dragons stopped in the vicinity of Pangong Tso. The shortest dragon shook her body and transformed into a young girl in green. She checked the surroundings and said, “He just left so he shouldn’t have gone far! We will be able to catch up to him in a bit!”

Suddenly, the biggest green dragon coiled around that tree that was Pangong Tso and stared at him. “There’s something strange about this tree.”

Pangong Tso didn’t dare to be impudent and hurriedly revealed his true form. He smiled apologetically, “Senior dragons, might you guys be chasing after a youth called Qin Mu? This junior saw a fierce-looking man escaping into that direction. He even had a kidnapped dragon youth beside him.”

“You saw him?” Qing Ya was surprised and delighted. She asked in a hurry, “Where has he went?”

“Junior can lead the way for seniors. That fellow will definitely not have any way to escape!” Pangong Tso said righteously.

Everyone was overjoyed and smiled at him. “If you can lead us to him, it’ll save us the trouble of tracking him.”

Pangong Tso acted politely and swiftly hobbled ahead to lead the way. He smiled. “The brat is very slippery and he runs fast. However, he can never escape from me. Everyone, please follow me!”

Numerous green dragons transformed into young men and women along with the middle-aged man Qing Yan. They followed Pangong Tso who was tracking Qin Mu.

…

Qin Mu and Jiang Miao’s speed was rather fast, and they could soon see the light rising from Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Energy. The two of them increased their speed and reached a city. Qin Mu gathered some herbs and said, “When we return to Supreme Emperor Heaven, you will have to follow Qin Yu since I promised him to only borrow you for a few days.”

Jiang Miao looked at him with a troubled expression. “In the past, my intelligence had yet to awaken, so I had followed him, but how could I still do the same and coil around him? Cult Master, can you go and talk to him? I still owe him gratitude, so it isn’t easy for me to speak.”

Qin Mu pondered over it, then said with a smile, “I borrowed a young dragon from him and now am returning him a man; I also can’t speak about this stuff. Tell him yourself.”

Jiang Miao frowned.

They came to Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge, but Jiang Miao dillydallied, willing to enter. Qin Mu smiled at him. “When we reach Supreme Emperor Heaven, I will ask for you two to become sworn brothers, how about that?”

Relief flooded Jiang Miao, and he smiled back at Qin Mu. “In that case, thanks for the trouble, Cult Master.”

The two of them were about to enter Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge when Pangong Tso suddenly hobbled over in a strut. He laughed out loud. “Cult Master, what a small world, I trust you have been well?”

Qin Mu’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “So it’s Grandmaster. Do you still remember when you stood behind my back and tried to harm me. What did I tell you then? The next time I meet you, I’ll take your head. How do you want to die?”

“You’re doomed and you still want to take my head?” Pangong Tso sneered at him. “Look who is behind me.”

Qing Yan, Qing Ya, and the rest of the strong practitioners of the dragon village walked out. Qing Ya waved her hand at Qing Mu excitedly and said with a smile, “Brother Qin, Old Ancestor permitted us to leave the village!”

Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted. He hurriedly said, “Elder Qing Huang allowed you guys to leave the village to gain experience? Truth be told, my Heavenly Saint Cult is currently in need of people…”

Pangong Tso was dumbfounded, then his expression changed to one of terror. He couldn’t help exclaiming inside, ‘This guy didn’t just kidnap one young dragon, but a whole bunch of them! This is bad, this is bad… There’s no time to lose, time to flee!’

Just as he was about to go, a middle-aged man appeared behind him.

Qing Yan’s huge hand pressed down on his shoulder as he smiled down at him. “Brother Qin, this little Dao friend should be your friend, right? It’s all thanks to him that we were able to find you so quickly.”

Qin Mu looked at them with a smile that wasn’t really a smile. “I indeed have to thank Grandmaster! Brother Yan, seize him, this guy is a god at escaping!”