Tales of Herding Gods

First Ancestor was in a slight daze. It seemed as though he still hasn’t recovered from the series of attacks Qin Mu had given him. However, Second Ancestor and the rest knew that he was acting like that because Qin Mu didn’t want to learn his technique and divine arts. Simply put, First Ancestor was wondering at Qin Mu’s rejection.

His original intention was to motivate Qin Mu, and let him discover more of his potential before teaching his own technique and divine arts to him.

Qin Mu was indeed motivated by him and risked his life to transfer himself into Supreme Emperor Heaven. He went through hardships and escaped death several times. Qin Mu’s technique finally entered the path and this allowed him to have the ability to be a match for him on the same realm. If it was anyone else, they would all find it difficult to return from Supreme Emperor Heaven alive. The dangers within were simply beyond anyone’s imagination.

However, after Qin Mu had invested so much, he only used a phrase ‘not worth my time’ to reject his technique and divine arts.

Was he in disdain of learning his techniques and divine arts? Or was he in disdain of how he had conducted himself and handled affairs?

Maybe it was both?

The past human emperors looked at each other before finally looking at Second Ancestor. They all stretched their fingers out and poked him in the waist.

Second Ancestor Human Emperor walked forward unwillingly. Without giving a damn, he said, “Old man— Bah! You look even younger than me! Master, Human Emperor Qin has his own pride. If you didn’t destroy our blood, sweat, and tears; and crushed my skeleton and tombstone, he wouldn’t have acted that way to you. Stop being full of remorse. If he doesn’t want to learn, you can teach them to me.”

First Ancestor Human Emperor gave him a look and shook his head. “I gave you eight hundred years, yet you could never learn it. I have already lost hope for you. I feel Human Emperor Qin, who has the overlord body, would at most take a few months to learn it.”

Second Ancestor Human Emperor turned and walked back furiously. “How insulting. I’m not going to persuade him anymore. Anyone who likes to bother with him can go! With this attitude, he deserves to be beaten to death!”

The other human emperors looked at one another in dismay.

First Ancestor walked over. His earlier bewilderment and disappointment were all wiped away. “This is Jade Brightness Palace, one of the thirty-six palaces. Even though you are all human emperors, you have only come to its surroundings, which is the area of Hall of Human Emperors. Let me bring you all to the true Jade Brightness Palace. Follow me.”

All of the human emperors were puzzled. He was depressed a short while ago and now he was going to bring them to Jade Brightness Palace. They really didn’t know what First Ancestor Human Emperor was thinking.

However, First Ancestor Human Emperor wasn’t wrong. Even though they had frequently come to Hall of Human Emperors when they were still alive, they didn’t know much about it. They could feel that the space of Hall of Human Emperors wasn’t just limited to this land that they were seeing, but every time they tried to walk into the fog to explore, they would be brought back to the front of Hall of Human Emperors as they walked.

Even if they flew or ran at full speed, it was the same result every single time—Hall of Human Emperors would just appear in front of them. No matter which direction they headed, it was always a loop.

During that time, they realized that someone had used great magic power to fold up the space surrounding Hall of Human Emperors. That person didn’t want to let others discover the secrets of Hall of Human Emperors, and this person could only be First Ancestor Human Emperor.

First Ancestor Human Emperor definitely had his own reason for trying to hide Jade Brightness Palace, so what was the reason for him to open up the palace now?

First Ancestor Human Emperor brought them to move forward. “Jade Brightness Palace is not a place of high authority, however, it was also an extremely sacred place in Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens. This is a place of education and there are four heavenly teachers that took appointments here. Back then, when the calamity first broke out, I was seeking knowledge here.”

Second Ancestor thought for a moment and said, “Does one of the heavenly teachers have the appearance of a woodcutter? Heavenly Saint Cult’s Founding Master thinks that he is a saint.”

First Ancestor Human Emperor nodded. “He is one of them. Back then, when the calamity broke out, he left Jade Brightness Palace to go to the frontlines and develop strategies for the battle. After a change had happened in Jade Brightness Palace, he thought I had died. When he realized that I didn’t join the battle and had escaped instead, he had ignored me ever since.”

“A change happened in Jade Brightness Palace?”

All of the human emperors were curious. Third Ancestor Human Emperor asked, “First Ancestor, what was the change that had happened?”

First Ancestor Human Emperor ignored his question. He continued leading them forward. Suddenly, the fog faded away and a magnificent sight appeared before their eyes. A community of celestial palaces was in front of them. There was row upon row of buildings every five steps, and row upon row of pavilions every ten steps. Scenes of springtime were everywhere.

The bright and beautiful buildings were like sixteen-year-old beauties and the winding corridors of the palaces meandered like ribbons. The scent of books and papers wafted out from the doors, and they seemed to hear faint sounds of scholars reciting.

The human emperors were bewildered. There seemed to be no signs of wars at all. There was not even a hint of destruction by any divine art.

The palaces, buildings, pavilions, and pagodas were all incomparably fresh as though they were recently constructed. There were no signs of corrosion over time.

This was something that was impossible.

Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens was already destroyed, and traces of war could also be seen outside Jade Brightness Palace. There were burnt lands and countless graves of gods that had died in battle, so how was this place untouched by the flames of war?

First Ancestor Human Emperor didn’t say a word. He led them forward and they passed by a huge hall. There were numerous praying mats in the hall, and young men and women were currently sitting inside. They raised their heads while looking forward, as though they were listening to a lecture.

The hearts of all of the human emperors trembled violently. These young men and women looked vivid and lifelike, but they could see that they had already died for countless years!

In front of the hall was a god that had the bearing of a scholar. He had one hand raised and a smile on his face, as though he was currently giving a lecture about the marvel of divine arts to the youths below him.

This god was also a corpse and there was no breath from him at all.

“The corporeal bodies are not decomposed. What’s going on?” Human Emperor Qi Kang asked in a low and hoarse voice.

No one replied to him.

First Ancestor Human Emperor continued to walk forward and they followed him in a hurry.

On the journey, they saw even stranger sights. Around the corner, they saw a little girl that had two ponytails, and she was fixed in a state of running. She was chasing after a black-colored divine hound, and that black hound seemed very mischievous. It led the little girl to chase it and even had a naughty glint in its eyes. The little girl had a smile on her face, as though she was clapping her hands and saying something.

However, this little girl and this divine hound were both frozen in the past. They had both died in that instant, and their final actions had been preserved right before they died.

All of the human emperors looked around as they became more and more shocked.

Not far away, there was a god that had the appearance of a scholar, and in front of him stood a young maiden. The maiden was carrying several books in her arms while looking up to the scholar, as though she was asking the teacher some difficult question.

There were also a few youths that were cultivating divine arts in the courtyard. Two of the youths were currently in a duel. They had athletic postures and mudras were being formed under their hands. It seemed like they were executing a kind of mudra divine art. Beside them, a few youths stood. They were smiling and had their heads together, as though they were discussing who was stronger.

All of the human emperors pulled back their gazes and suppressed the tremors in their hearts. They continued to follow First Ancestor.

The more they saw, the more shocked they became. The time in this place seemed to have stopped. There was no sound at all. Everyone here seemed to be in suspended animation, maintaining their final action right before they died.

Silence.

Indescribable silence.

It was a deadly silence that suffocated them!

“Those who had entered Jade Brightness Palace to learn are all outstanding talents among the younger generation of the celestial heavens. When the calamity broke out, the next generation of Founding Emperor Era were all destroyed in an instant.”

First Ancestor Human Emperor said with a blank expression, “The person who had attacked this place had used the divine arts of Youdu. Only a single divine art erased all the hope of Founding Emperor Era. I had escaped by luck and I didn’t even dare to look back. I fled in a panic. I thought my Dao heart was strong enough and no one could make me feel fear. However, when I saw so many friends—so many youths and gods dying—I crumbled there and then…”

All of the human emperors were silent. When facing such an abrupt change that was inconceivable, it was hard for anyone not to crumble.

“I escaped. I was at a loss. I felt panic and fear like a dog that had lost my family.”

First Ancestor Human Emperor said in a harsh tone, “I encountered the army of the celestial heavens that had come to rescue us, but I was completely frightened. I didn’t join them and I continued running. When I came back to my senses, I had nowhere to escape. Where could I go? Therefore, I turned back and found my way over, then—”

His face became slightly contorted, the pain in his heart couldn’t be imagined. He took a few heavy breaths. “Then I saw their corpses. I was supposed to be fighting with them. I was supposed to die here with them. But I escaped. I lived on, but they are forever buried here…”

His shoulders trembled as he tried to suppress his tears. “I lingered here and there was no more reason for me to live. I wanted to die with them. At that moment, I saw numerous races that were escaping for their lives. There were some divine arts practitioners that were helping a lot of ordinary people to evacuate, so I took them in and protected them until I could find a place for them to settle down.

“I searched for a long time. Finally, I found the place where the celestial heavens had landed. They were grateful to me, and these people that were exhausted from running used the last of their treasures to refine a Human Emperor’s Seal. They made a vow that every generation would remember what I’ve done, and will never dare or want to betray. However, they didn’t know that I wasn’t the human emperor that they wanted. I was just an army deserter that was scared out of my wits!”

He laughed at himself and shook his head. “The circumstances created a hero, but I didn’t want to become a hero. I didn’t want to become a human emperor. They pushed me up to this position.”

Second Ancestor said, “So afterwards, when you took me in as your disciple and threw the Human Emperor’s Seal to me, it’s because you think you aren’t worthy of this Human Emperor’s Seal?”

First Ancestor Human Emperor nodded his head.

He came to the front of a nine-storied building and looked up at it. “This is Jade Brightness Pavilion. There are numerous techniques and divine arts of Founding Emperor Era that are better than Supreme Emperor Heaven’s. All of you can go in and learn whatever you want.”

He then sat on the stone steps of Jade Brightness Pavilion with a sorrowful look. He looked at the familiar faces of people who had long died in front of Jade Brightness Pavilion. Even though twenty thousand years had passed, he could still call out their names.

Second Ancestor Human Emperor and the rest didn’t walk into Jade Brightness Pavilion. Instead, they looked at him.

Suddenly, Second Ancestor asked in a bitter voice, “Master, since you have better techniques and divine arts, why didn’t you impart them to me? Why didn’t you impart them to the people of the world? Do you think those people that you had saved were all ordinary people? Poor people that are not worthy of the techniques here?”

He couldn’t help questioning him loudly as he sneered. “That’s right, you are the human emperor that’s revered by all of the races. We are just poor and ordinary people that you have saved. We can’t be compared to your noble bloodline. You are a prince that’s high above, we aren’t worthy of your technique! If you wanted to impart, you would have done so twenty thousand years ago, so why didn’t you?”

He couldn’t hold back the bitterness in his heart. He raised his voice. “Did you know that after you left, I fought High Heavens alone? I struggled to fight and almost died a few times in their hands. But all you have given me is that shitty seal. I held on because I felt I was the human emperor and I should be doing something for humanity! You could have taught me! You could have taught me!”

First Ancestor was stupefied.

Second Ancestor pointed at the past human emperors and said furiously, “These people, they also inherited that shitty seal of yours. They gave up their dreams for you, to fight their entire lives and put all their effort into this! A lot of them never married, never had children, never had descendants… and all of that is because they were afraid the identity of Human Emperor would implicate their descendants. They were afraid that having a romance would hold them back from the responsibilities of a human emperor. But what about you? You’ve hidden yourself away your entire life and hid for twenty thousand years— You have let us down!”

First Ancestor Human Emperor’s body trembled. He shook his head. “I can’t impart. There’s only a few people left from Founding Emperor Era. If I impart to you, all of you will become a threat and will be wiped out.”

He raised his head, his eyes filling with tears. “If I imparted to you, I will be harming all of you. I can’t…”

Second Ancestor was stunned. After a while, he said bitterly, “Now that we’re already dead and only our primordial spirits are left, what’s the point of you imparting them to us now?”

First Ancestor buried his face in his elbows. He said in a hoarse voice, “There are a lot of corporeal bodies left in Jade Brightness Palace. They had died too fast, so their corporeal bodies are preserved. You— All of you can just possess them and revive yourselves. Human Emperor Qin needs you. Only he is worthy of becoming the human emperor… Go! Go! Don’t let me see you all!”

Second Ancestor and the rest of the past human emperors fell into a daze. All of a sudden, Second Ancestor knelt down. “Teacher!”

The other human emperors also knelt down and when they raised their heads, First Ancestor Human Emperor had covered his face and left.

“Will First Ancestor be back?” Yi Shan asked.

Second Ancestor had heavy emotions in his heart as he said, “He might have seen hope on Human Emperor Qin, but he doesn’t want to see us possess his old friends. I don’t know if he will be back. If he comes back and saw our faces, it might remind him of his old friends…”