Tales of Herding Gods

The most frivolous one was Blind, and he usually liked to show off his literary excellence with poetry. Yet, after Butcher walked out of his crazed state and recovered his previous splendor and began to show off, Blind was basically out of the show.

Unity of will was an impregnable stronghold. Even though they would only preserve a few god cities under the impact, everyone had their spirits roused from hearing Butcher and Qin Mu’s bold singing voices. The divine arts around them were like an indestructible god city that.

First Ancestor Human Emperor’s Heaven and Earth Mudra had transformed into the sky and land of the god city, as well as its four walls. The gods were the generals that strengthened the walls while Qin Mu and the tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners were soldiers standing on top of the walls, defending against the invasion of the enemy.

They connected their qi and blood, and their divine arts linked up with one another to defend against the terrifying power.

Everyone felt the incomparably terrifying pressure. Some people even had the blood vessels in their body explode. Blood flowed out of them and turned them into bloody people. Some had their tendons ripped and their skin split, while others had their bones broken. However, no one backed off, not even with both of their hands broken. After all, they still had their primordial spirit and could still execute divine arts.

Finally, the first wave of impact—which was the most terrifying—was over.

First Ancestor Human Emperor’s legs suddenly buckled and he fainted onto the ground. Many pairs of arms grabbed him and didn’t let him fall to the ground. Instead, they placed him down gently.

Even though there were many divine arts practitioners and gods, First Ancestor Human Emperor withstood more than ninety percent of the pressure for their safety. He was a strong practitioner of God Execution Stage, surpassing the other gods by leaps and bounds. Even if everyone combined their power, it was still far inferior to his.

Qin Mu and Apothecary went forward to examine his injuries and helped treat him. Meanwhile, the other gods surrounded them and continued to block the aftermath.

At that moment, Supreme Emperor Heaven was like a hell covered in lava. Lava rained down from the sky along with black-colored ashes and flaming rocks the size of mountains.

Hot winds were blowing at speeds a hundred times faster than sound, turning lava into huge overflowing waves that rolled past everything in their way.

When the ground trembled, it caused the volcanoes to erupt from under the sea of lava. It resulted in pillars of fire that reached hundreds of thousands of miles into the sky.

The sky had long broken apart, and the shattered pieces of space that shone with multiple colors no longer had any thickness. They flowed in the sky with a strange light. Some just flew at a rapid speed as though they were the sharpest blade, one which could slice anything they passed.

The breathable air was nearly exhausted, and toxic gas which could corrode their lungs filled every breath of polluted air. Even if they held their breath, the poison could still seep into their skin.

Xing An opened his chest and took out a handful of seeds. He gave the seeds a gentle blow, causing grass and willow trees to grow around them.

The rather peaceful piece of land they protected had a radius of six to seven miles. It had become one of the few pure lands in Supreme Emperor Heaven that had not turned into a world of lava. That was the reason Xing An was able to use creation divine arts to grow grass and trees, purifying the air.

Rulai Ma gently pushed his palms apart, and the pure land rose. The grass and trees floated to the back of his head and landed inside the apparition of the twenty heavens. He used the rays of buddha to nourish the only remaining greenery.

Clean air started to emanate into the surroundings, and everyone gasped for air greedily.

“We can’t continue like this.”

Using their buddha rays, Rulai Ma and the rest of the monks formed a huge barrier of light to protect everyone. “Even if we use creation techniques, we can’t last too long here. The sky will become black sooner or later. Without any light and with the non-existent spirit energy, our cultivation will deteriorate over time. We will eventually turn into skeletons here.”

Xing An closed his chest and suddenly said, “Cult Master Qin, you should have a way to build another Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge, am I right?”

Qin Mu and Apothecary were working together to suppress First Ancestor Human Emperor’s injuries. “Impossible. Even though I have enough materials, the sacrificial altar over at the Great Ruins shattered at the same time as the sacrificial altar over here. The spirit energy pouring over crushed the two sacrificial altars at the same time, and without the altar in Great Ruins, I can’t construct the mutual shift bridge.”

Xing An frowned and looked at the shattered sky. He shook his head and said, “The gods might be able to survive, but they will slowly become weaker. However, the divine arts practitioners won’t survive for long. They are all burdens, so let’s just abandon them.”

There were still tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners in the surroundings, and their hearts turned cold when they heard his words.

Qin Mu straightened his back, and his gaze fell on Xing An’s body. He said indifferently, “I’ve been to Supreme Brightness Heaven before, it’s in the sky above Supreme Emperor Heaven. There’s a passageway there that could lead to the Great Ruins. Supreme Brightness Heaven and Supreme Emperor Heaven are also connected so we can go over there from here. We can then move ourselves to the Great Ruins afterward, and no one will have to die.”

Xing An said, “However, we will only slow ourselves down if we bring along these people. Furthermore, we gods will still have to protect them. In this doomsday world, we will only have our power exhausted even faster if we protect these divine arts practitioners. I suggest is we travel light.”

His gaze swept over everyone and he said, “Maybe we should kill a batch first and turn them into jerky. Then we can replenish our nutrients when we are hungry.”

Everyone felt their hair standing on ends, and they didn’t dare look at him.

Qin Mu said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “Xing An, in my eyes, you are also a burden. If you don’t want to become a burden, think like a normal human being. Help when you are required to help and just do your job. You aren’t the leader of us all so don’t try to speak like a leader.”

Xing An frowned.

Village Chief coughed and said calmly, “Xing An, you should have a lot of jerky in your chest, right?”

Blind stroke his Divine Spear Long Tuo and the black dragon was as soft as a cat. It slithered under his rough hands while giving off cracking sounds; it was very comfortable. Blind said with a smile, “Maybe we can turn Old Brother Xing An into jerky and fill our stomach on the way.”

Cripple was full of courage this time and chuckled. “Let’s chop off his two legs first!”

Xing An said calmly, “Old Sword God, your four limbs are gone now, and you aren’t my match. Even if this Dao Brother Pang Yu joins and all of you come after me at once, I’m not afraid.”

Apothecary asked curiously, “What are you saying? Say it once more.”

The corners of Xing An’s eyes twitched, and after a moment, he slowly said, “I’ll do my part on the journey.”

Qin Mu looked at First Ancestor; his injuries were very heavy. He couldn’t wake up right away, and since his body was heavy, he had to be carried by True God Pang Yu.

The other divine arts practitioners could travel on the sea of lava, as stepping on lava wasn’t difficult for them. The only thing the gods had to do was defend against the terrifying hurricanes and the lava waves for them!

A hurricane that had a speed a hundred times that of sound could easily blow away any divine arts practitioners. Poisonous gas and flaming rocks the size of mountains could easily injure them heavily or kill them.

That was why the gods needed to guard the outer layer.

“Volcanoes would erupt underwater from time to time, that will be slightly difficult…”

Qin Mu muttered to himself. There were volcanoes everywhere under the sea of lava, and the eruptions of these volcanoes were equivalent to a strike from a god. He could only imagine what the outcome would be if the terrifying power hit the divine arts practitioners.

“Sword God and I will deal with the volcanoes.”

Xing An suddenly said, “His sword skills plus my divine arts will be enough to suppress the volcanoes.”

Qin Mu nodded his head and assigned everyone responsibilities. He said solemnly, “Gentlemen, Supreme Emperor Heaven is already destroyed. It’s hard to part from your homeland, but living is more important. Maybe in the future, we can come back here again and quell the disaster. However, we must leave now!”

Sang Hua knelt and kissed the ground, rubbing her face gently on the earth. The other divine arts practitioners also knelt to the ground, kissing and embracing it.

The divine arts practitioners of Eternal Peace looked at them silently. The love for one’s country was hard to experience during times of peace. Only during moments of calamity could one’s love be invoked.

After a moment, everyone stood up with gods guarded around them. Each of them executed great magic power to freeze natural disasters. Others stepped on the sea of lava that had become calm, trying their best to follow the people in front.

The sea of lava was scorching, and the air was terrifyingly hot. Even with Rulai Ma’s buddha rays, it was hard to cool down the air.

“Seal all your pores and preserve the water in your body!”

Qin Mu shouted, “Those with flying divine arts, don’t fly. Save some vital qi, as the journey is very long! Divine arts practitioners with higher realms, protect the junior brothers and sisters that are in a lower realm!”

He walked forward, and Cripple took out a compass. The compass was very ancient with many angles on it. It should be a treasure that Cripple had stolen from somewhere. He saw the needle on the compass spinning randomly, and it couldn’t differentiate the direction at all.

Cripple let out a sigh and kept the compass. He examined the surroundings, and the sea of lava was everywhere. The only thing that could dictate the direction was the Luofu Heaven stabbed in the Supreme Emperor Heaven.

Dao Master Lin Xuan and a bunch of old Daoists were trying to use stars to determine the direction when Daoist Cha suddenly said, “There are no stars in Supreme Emperor Heaven so how are we going to determine the direction?”

Daoist Lin Xuan and the other old Daoists were astonished and disappointed.

The other people also wanted to determine the directions, but there were no stars in Supreme Emperor Heaven. Furthermore, when both worlds magnetic points collided it messed up the magnetic field with abnormal points, making it impossible to differentiate which was the right one.

There were also the dragon qilin, the big deer and numerous strange beasts that relied on the magnetic field to determine their location. However now, these magnetic fields were making the beasts dizzy.

“Everyone need not worry about the direction.”

Qin Mu took out some Buddha Vitality Crimson Chromium and wood from Plume Buddha Mother Tree. He said to Rulai Ma with a smile, “Old Ma, I need the most dexterous carpenter in the world.”

Rulai Ma revealed a smile and said, “It’s me.”

Qin Mu looked at Mute and said with a smile, “Grandpa Mute, I need the most talented blacksmith as well!”

Mute grinned, and half a tongue grew out from his mouth. “Ah!”

Qin Mu took out a paper and brush, doing calculation furiously, seeking accuracy. Not long later, he drew out a blueprint of a carriage and handed it to Old Ma and Mute. “To forge this compass carriage, the digits must be accurate to the position of Sha Na. Only then can we travel tens of thousands of miles without straying.”

Rulai Ma and Mute looked at the blueprints with grim faces, and after a moment Rulai Ma said, “We can give it a try!”

The two of them started to get busy. They forged every component and after some time constructed the compass carriage. There was a golden man formed from Buddha Vitality Crimson Chromium on the carriage, raising an arm to point forward. On the head of the golden man were three small humans, each holding a wooden club. In their center was a drum.

Qin Mu looked at Luofu Heaven and determined the directions first. He adjusted the hands of the golden man and called the dragon qilin over to pull the carriage. They all saw that no matter how the dragon qilin pulled the carriage, the hand of that golden man always pointed the same direction.

“Dao Master, I understand the logic of Cult Master Qin’s compass carriage. It’s relying on the rotation of mechanical bearing, gears, and wheels to make the golden man always point one direction.”

A young Daoist went forward to inquire with Dao Master. “However, what are the three humans and the drum on top of the golden man for?”

Numerous divine arts practitioners turned their ears to listen. They had been learning algebra for two years—and many of them learned from the Daoists of Dao Sect—so they were very curious about Qin Mu’s compass carriage.

Dao Master Lin Xuan said, “Those three small humans are used to calculate the mileage. Every hundred miles, the small humans should be moved by the gears and knock the drum once. As long as we calculate the number of drum beats, we will know the mileage.”

Everyone was astonished. “Why do we have to calculate the mileage?”

Dao Master Lin Xuan said, “Cult Master Qin wanted Heavenly Worker and Rulai to be accurate to the Sha Na position, but even so, there will still be a slight deviation. After the compass carriage travels ten thousand miles, the direction in which the finger of the golden man is pointing will have a slight deviation. I expect Cult Master Qin will adjust the direction of the golden man’s hand to the right by one Si digit.”

Everyone was astonished and Yu He muttered, “Is there a need to be so precise?”

“There is.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan wore a warm expression. “If there’s one Si of difference every ten thousand miles, there would be one Hao of difference every hundred thousand miles. We should be a hundred miles away from where we are supposed to go, and a difference after a hundred miles is not small. Cult Master Qin seeks perfection when he does things. When he wasn’t familiar with seeing the original suns Supreme Emperor Heaven had, he smashed them and got Imperial Preceptor to rebuild them. From that, we can see his character.”

‘He indeed smashed our sun on purpose!’ True God Pang Yu—who was carrying First Ancestor Human Emperor on his back—thought to himself indignantly.

When they walked about a hundred miles or so, a small human on the top of the golden man’s head struck down on the drum.

Everyone cheered. “It’s true!”

Dao Master Lin Xuan said with a smile, “This is the charm of algebra! It might look useless, but it’s everywhere. If anyone wants to learn even more in-depth algebra than taught at the schools in Eternal Peace, you can come to my Dao Sect!”

Old Monk Jing Ming took a glance at him and thought to himself. ‘Dao Master has learned bad things from Qin Mu, he’s starting to lure people to join Dao Sect. I need to tell Rulai, so we don’t get our disciples stolen.’

As they traveled ten thousand miles, the small humans beat a hundred times, and Qin Mu stopped. He opened the stomach of the golden man and adjusted the gears before continuing on their way.

Everyone admired Dao Master Lin Xuan even more.