Tales of Herding Gods

“Hai, old nemesis!”

At the source of the Surging River, a group of ghosts made up of handsome men and pretty girls were floating about, leading the tens of thousands of residents of the Great Ruins to the river bank. There, they bumped into another group of men and women who were also taking the migrants to the river bank.

Amongst the group of handsome men and pretty women ghosts were several old men and old women. Upon seeing the youths in front of them, who were of varying heights, sizes, and appearances, the ghosts couldn’t help but beam with joy. They all started to tease them, laughing and saying, “The d*mn old ghosts of the Hall of Human Emperors are out here looking all decent-like today!”

These youths with unique appearances were the past generations of human emperors of the Hall of Human Emperors. Qi Kang, Yi Shan, Second Ancestor, Third Ancestor, and the others had entered the depths of the Great Ruins when the massive Celestial Venerable Yu and the gods of the celestial heavens descended. They had gone to search for the residents of the Great Ruins to escort them from the Surging River to Eternal Peace.

When they arrived here, they happened to bump into the ghosts of the past generations of Heavenly Devil Cult Masters. These ghosts were also escorting the residents of the Great Ruins to Eternal Peace to seek refuge.

Yi Shan was short, small, and fat, and he placed both hands on his hips and sneered. “We are d*mn old ghosts? We’re all living well now, it’s you Heavenly Devil Cult fellows that are the d*mn old ghosts! None of you even have your corporeal bodies, so what are you all doing wandering about like this? Leave these people to us, you all better hurry back to Fengdu to save your own lives!”

Qi Kang laughed coldly. “Without your corporeal bodies, you might just die without even knowing how it happened!”

“Pah, pah! Children’s words carry no harm! Go knock on wood, knock on wood!”

The cult masters of the Heavenly Devil Cult all burst out laughing. “Silly brats of the Hall of Human Emperors, us dead people are very magnanimous and wouldn’t stoop to your level. Smelling the sour and foul stench of you living fellows makes us nauseous.”

The Hall of Human Emperors and Heavenly Devil Cult bickered with each other, each side spitting at the other relentlessly.

They were originally the overlords of Fengdu and had always fought with each other. Even when they were still alive, they had already found each other to be nuisances. Only when the human emperor took out the Human Emperor’s Seal would the cult masters of the Heavenly Devil Cult become less riotous.

But when the Human Emperor’s Seal wasn’t used, they would fight and bicker with each other.

Young patriarch hurriedly stopped them, saying, “Everyone is here to help the residents of the Great Ruins, stop bickering so much. There are battles everywhere now in the Primordial Realm, so it’s more important for us to escort these mortals to safety.”

Fifth Ancestor sneered. “Wen Yuan, you are all dead ghosts, how will you all be able to transport so many people?”

The spirits of the Heavenly Devil Cult Masters all started to laugh, and each of them executed techniques, replying in unison, “We have the Five Demons Transferring Technique, teleportation formations, and techniques to move on land, flee on water, and even move mountains. With the past generations of cult masters working together, we could transport millions of people, much less tens of thousands of people! You fellows of the Hall of Human Emperors are stupid, fat, and dark, and the techniques of the Hall of Human Emperors are also stupid, fat, and dark, what kind of abilities can you all have?”

The many human emperors laughed, each executing their own divine arts. One took out a single leaf and blew on it, transforming it into a green ship that was hundreds of yards long. Another shook his body and transformed into a long dragon, while yet another grew clouds at his feet, allowing the mortals to stand on top of them. The various divine arts executed made everyone’s eyes dazzle.

The Heavenly Devil Cult Masters looked at each other incredulously.

“These stupid, fat, and dark fellows relived another life, and their divine arts actually became even more intricate.”

They transported the residents of the Great Ruins, traveling along the river. Along the way, the two parties continued to spit at each other, bickering nonstop.

The young patriarch wasn’t able to do anything and could only let them be.

Along the way, when they bumped into the gods and devils of the celestial heavens, the human emperors and the Heavenly Devil Cult Masters ceased their bickering. If they outnumbered the enemy, they would attack them together, the human emperors going against them head-on while the cult masters used dirty tricks. If they were outnumbered by the enemy, they would execute the teleportation divine art and transport the residents of the Great Ruins to safety.

The journey so far was quite safe, it was just that the Primordial Spirits of the Heavenly Devil Cult Masters were growing duller and duller.

“You all have left Fengdu for too long.”

Human Emperor Qi Kang continued, “Patriarch Wen Yuan, you should all return. If you continue to drag this out, your souls will disintegrate.”

Young patriarch shook his head, and before he could even say anything, Zu Yang, Yu Lian, Si Yuanwei, and the other cult masters all started to chide him noisily, making Human Emperor Qi Kang feel dizzy from all the noise.

Suddenly, corpses of divine dragons and gods and devils floated about the surface of the river. The dragon palace at the bottom of the river was shattered. Evidently, the great army of the celestial heavens had come to attack the Surging River Dragon Palace. Those gods and devils should be the celestial troops and generals who had died in the battle.

There was still some divine fire burning on the surface of the river, and it couldn’t even be extinguished by the river water.

There were damaged ships at the shores as well. The celestial troops and generals probably clashed with the strong beings of the dragon race, and there were great casualties there too.

The cult masters of the Heavenly Devil Cult possessed the corpses of these celestial troops and generals. They danced about and had all sorts of strange forms. Following that, they surrounded a large celestial heavens ship and started to do carpentry noisily.

They were deft and actually managed to repair the celestial heavens ship very quickly while the human emperors looked on with shock.

The Heavenly Devil Cult Masters stood at the head of the ship and executed their techniques, transporting the people onto the ship.

“You’re all blessed!”

They beamed. “We are the great army of the celestial heavens, and you are all our prisoners. We are escorting you all!”

The ship took flight, traveling east, the flag of the celestial heavens army flying high. Along the way, they saw more and more celestial heavens battleships tunneling out of the void from within the blood rays that were released from the countless sacrificial offerings of flesh and blood. The sights only made their hearts grow heavier.

They met a group that was migrating, and the ones who were escorting the mortals were divine arts practitioners from the Heavenly Saint Academy.

A scholar from the Heavenly Saint Academy told them, “We were only able to make it here alive with the help of a spirit named Ling Jing.”

“Where is Daoist Ling Jing?”

The scholars were silent.

They carried these refugees on board and continued on their journey. Along the way, they came across a young Daoist who was leading people from the Great Ruins, and they were moving with great difficulty. The young Daoist was Dao Master Lin Xuan.

“Stinky Daoists, they are even more nausea-inducing than the stupid, fat, and dark human emperors!”

The Heavenly Devil Cult Masters viewed the Dao Master of the Dao Sect with contempt, but they still allowed Dao Master Lin Xuan to lead the refugees on board the ship.

“You can send these people to the peach forest of my Dao Sect Academy.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan removed his Dao crown from his head, and it was full of blood. He then continued, “Within the peach forest is Celestial Venerable Yue. Although she doesn’t get involved in worldly affairs, the peach forest can protect their safety. You can also send them to Clear Sky Heaven. Clear Sky Heaven is a branch of the celestial heavens’ Dao Sect, and it’s still quite safe there. I have already ordered the disciples of the Dao Sect to head to Clear Sky Heaven and have told them to escort the people near the Surging River to Clear Sky Heaven to hide from the disaster of war. There are twenty-four kingdoms of gods in Clear Sky Heaven, which should ensure their safety.”

“This Daoist isn’t that bad.”

Cult Master Si Yuanwei admired him greatly, and she smiled. “As the Dao Master, your willingness to sacrifice your life by coming out here shows that you have a good conscience. Did you come out alone?”

“There were two of us.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan continued, “There is still Daoist Cha.”

“Where is he?”

Dao Master Lin Xuan pressed his lips together. “He stayed behind to destroy the path and said that he would catch up with us when we made it further out. He also said that if he didn’t manage to catch up with us after two hours that we didn’t have to wait for him.”

“When did this occur?”

“Six days ago.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan put on his Dao crown and continued blankly, “He probably took a different route and missed me, I didn’t continue to wait for him. Or perhaps, he has already reached the peach forest. He runs very fast.”

The group didn’t inquire further.

They continued to move forward, and the people within the ship grew in numbers until it was almost full. Although the celestial heavens ship was enormous, it wasn’t possible for it to contain every single one of the refugees.

Suddenly, the ship started slowing down. Human Emperor Qi Kang walked to the head of the ship and asked, “What happened?”

Cult Master Yan Ji’s hand trembled slightly as he pointed to the front. There, dozens of ships spanning several miles in length were stopped mid-air, and on the ships, there were thousands of gods from the celestial heavens who were currently taking breaks.

A god flew towards them and shouted out from afar, “Who do you serve under?”

Everyone on the ship was instantly at a loss and didn’t know what to do.

The god flew closer and shouted out again, “Who is your chief general?”

“What should we do?”

Human Emperor Yi Shan croaked out in a hoarse voice, “Shall we just fight it out?”

At this very moment, suddenly, the sound of a bugle horn resonated from the ships, and a golden armored god shouted out loudly, “The tracks of the Son of Youdu have been found! White Deity has mobilized us to go and subdue him! Follow me!”

The god that was closing in on them hesitated for a moment before he immediately returned to one of the ships. The enormous ships broke through the air one after the other and left.

Everyone on the ship broke out in a cold sweat.

“Who is the Son of Youdu? Such a grand line-up and it actually required the celestial heavens’ White Deity to mobilize the army of the celestial heavens to go forth and kill him?” Second Ancestor mumbled.

“It’s Cult Master Qin.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan continued, “When I was at Supreme Emperor Heaven, I heard people addressing him as Son of Youdu.”

The many Heavenly Devil Cult Masters laughed. “As expected of the current generation cult master of our sacred cult, his reputation is truly impressive!”

The past generations of human emperors also broke out into laughter. “What has this got to do with your Heavenly Devil Cult? He is clearly the current generation human emperor of our Hall of Human Emperors!”

They started to bicker again, and Dao Master Lin Xuan hurried them. “The peach forest is just up ahead. Let’s hurry up and go over.”

He mumbled to himself, “Maybe Daoist Cha has already arrived at the peach forest and is waiting for me there.”

The group was a little perplexed. There seemed to be something off about the state of mind of this Dao Master.

Young patriarch stepped forward. Reaching out, he removed Dao Master Lin Xuan’s Dao crown. A broken sword was stabbed into Lin Xuan’s hair bun, and it pierced deeply into his brain.

Blood flowed out of the Dao crown again.

Young patriarch stopped the other cult masters, putting the Dao crown back onto Lin Xuan’s head properly. “Don’t remove it. If you remove it, he will die. If it stays there, he can still be saved if we find someone skilled in the art of healing.”

The ship continued along towards the peach forest. The thousand miles of peach blossoms were very eye-catching. When they arrived at the now empty Dao Sect Academy, Lin Xuan went to search for Daoist Cha, but he didn’t find him.

They let the people of the Great Ruins walk down from the ship and enter the peach forest.

The skies were dim at present. Suddenly, a light came from within the peach forest. The refugees followed the light and moved forwards, disappearing in the depths of the peach forest.

“Eternal Peace’s Jade Face Poison King is skilled in the art of healing, I will take him to the Jade Face Poison King!”

Human Emperor Qi Kang carried Lin Xuan on his back and said, “Everyone, take care!”

Everyone bowed. “Take care!”

Human Emperor Qi Kang sprinted as though he was flying, frantically racing all the way and only reaching the Surging River after six to seven days. After he arrived, he stepped along the waves of the river to continue down it. In the skies, countless enormous ships flew by, and suddenly, a few of the ships stopped in mid-air.

Human Emperor Qi Kang hurriedly hid in a dark corner. He saw the ships lowering countless chains, and following it, an enormous cage was hung out from between the ships, the chains rattling about noisily.

“My name is Wei Suifeng, my name is Wei Suifeng!”

Within the cage, an imposing god had his body locked in place by chains, which penetrated his corporeal body, his primordial spirit, all of his divine treasures, and even his celestial palaces!

“Shut up!”

A formidable godly awe came from one of the ships, and a voice that was filled with an imposing aura said coldly, “Wei Suifeng, you made contact with Celestial Venerable Ling before, and you even have possession of her hairpin. You have been holding on to the hairpin for so long, researching Celestial Venerable Ling’s divine art. Your body and primordial spirit must have experienced some sort of change. Using you to trade for the ghost ship, there are no losses in this deal, right?”

Human Emperor Qi Kang hid in the darkness, and he watched as the figure within the cage shouted out, “My name is Wei Suifeng!”

Human Emperor Qi Kang was taken aback. “This fellow called Wei Suifeng, he seems to be yelling at me to tell me that his name is Wei Suifeng. What could this mean?”

At this very moment, he saw that beneath the Surging River under his feet, there was an enormous ship sailing by slowly.

“My name is Wei Suifeng!” the mad man in the cage shouted at him.