Tales of Herding Gods

The dragon qilin and Yan’er waited until Qin Mu had calmed down before going forward.

“Cult Master, how are your injuries?”

The dragon qilin examined Qin Mu and noticed that his vital qi had stopped leaking and that his complexion was much better. The dragon qilin probed, “Is your life still in danger?”

“It seems to be better, only that my newly born soul is still very weak. My earlier loss of vital qi was also too great. While my life may be out of danger, I haven’t returned to my prior peak condition.”

Qin Mu inspected himself and said, “My soul is like a newborn child, so it’s still very dangerous for me. However, my spirit embryo is incomparably strong. I expect I’ll need some time to cultivate and restore the balance.”

Yan’er let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Since Young Master’s soul was just born, how old are you?”

Qin Mu thought it over in detail and burst out laughing. “Going by my corporeal body, I am now 32 years old, but based on my soul, I was just born. I have only existed in this world for a day, I’m still a baby! Strange, this is strange!”

The dragon qilin and Yan’er both laughed.

Yan’er said, “Today is a big day, the day Celestial Venerable Mu was born.”

Qin Mu shook his head, strange emotions rising within his heart.

He had lived for 32 years, but today was the day that he was actually born. It felt strange.

His cultivation was still far from his peak state. Even though he had solved the problem of survival, he was only left with one-fifth of his original vital qi because his earlier exhaustion was too great. This could be considered a substantial loss.

Moreover, he didn’t know which stage his cultivation was at, as the seven great divine treasures within the cultivation system of divine treasures were unable to measure his present self. He was unable to compare himself with other divine arts practitioners.

What troubled him most was that, due to only being left with his spirit embryo, he was unable to perform his former techniques perfectly.

Be it the Emperor’s Throne Realm Techniques he had learned or the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique he had created, the circulation of vital qi was extremely sluggish and disordered.

When Qin Mu was in his dream earlier, he had experimented within the dream world countless times. Finally, entering the path through dreams, he changed and improved the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique so that he could survive.

He had used the improved Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique to destroy the celestial palace and the various great divine treasures. Finally, he achieved the groundbreaking feat of bestowing a divine soul, and from it, a new life.

However, even with the improved Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, he was still unable to cultivate!

The improved Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique was built upon the cultivation system of the seven great divine treasures, and he now only had a Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. Not to mention, his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure was different from the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasures of the rest of the divine arts practitioners and gods.

The techniques of divine arts practitioners and gods were built on the foundation of divine treasures and celestial palaces. If the foundation was destroyed, they wouldn’t be able to use the techniques anymore.

The only thing that was still executable was Brahma Buddha’s Boundless Calamity Sutra. This was because Old Buddha’s technique was a philosophy of the mind. To be able to enter the path through dreams, one had to rely on their mind. Only, when one wanted to raise their cultivation within a dream, they had to rely on the cultivation system of divine treasures.

He could use this technique to enter the dream, but he was unable to cultivate within the dream world.

Qin Mu tried to execute his divine arts and heaved a sigh of relief. He still had the power of his divine arts, so he hadn’t entirely lost what he had learned and comprehended previously.

If that had been the case, it would have been very time and effort consuming.

He entered the dream again. Within the dream world, there were countless mini Qin Mus burrowing out of his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and the heart of his brows again. Some even burrowed out from his hair.

Within the world of bubbles, these dainty Qin Mus were solemnly discussing how to adapt to the new Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, speaking in a language that the dragon qilin and Yan’er didn’t understand.

A mini Qin Mu stood on high ground, gesturing with vital qi. He was constructing Qin Mu’s Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure and marking out the vital qi’s circulation paths. He then shook his head and shouted loudly, “Ji gu! Ji gu ji gu!”

The rest of the mini Qin Mus revealed cold smiles and whispered to each other, saying, “Ji ji gu gu! Ji gu ji gu!”

That mini Qin Mu was incensed and immediately executed a technique that he created. A few moments later, he suddenly spurted out fresh blood.

The rest of the mini Qin Mus laughed. “Ma ha ma ha!”

Another dainty Qin Mu got on the high ground, planning to push off the blood spurting Qin Mu. However, the blood spurting Qin Mu still had one more breath. He held onto his sleeves tightly and said with a weak breath, “Ji gu…”

“Ma ha!”

The other mini Qin Mu threw him off and excitedly constructed his own Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure technique, displaying it to the countless mini Qin Mus below. He shouted loudly, “Ji gu! Ji gu ji gu!”

The rest of the Qin Mus observed it, nodding and praising, “Ji gu!”

That dainty Qin Mu executed the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure technique. Suddenly, his body exploded, his blood spurting in all directions. He then fell to the ground and died.

The many dainty Qin Mus beneath the platform laughed heartily. “Ma ha ma ha!”

The dragon qilin and Yan’er had grown used to such scenes and didn’t find it strange. However, Yan’er was curious about the mini Qin Mus in Qin Mu’s dream world. She stood outside the dream world, laughing at the various ways these little people died.

These dainty Qin Mus created and experimented with techniques, which became a myriad of strange and mysterious ways for them to die.

There were still more dainty Qin Mus burrowing from Qin Mu’s mind. They continued to experiment, not fearing death.

They had their own unique language, which Yan’er was unable to understand. However, these mini Qin Mus were able to communicate smoothly, ensuring the circulation of messages.

The dragon qilin carried them, continuing forward. Eventually, they reached the Surging River, where they heard the sound of gushing river water and crashing waves.

At this moment, from the top of his head, the dragon qilin heard a commotion made up of strange noises. Countless dainty Qin Mus in the dream world were running around in joy, cheering. They were throwing up a dainty Qin Mu, catching him and throwing him up again as they cheered.

“Sister Yan’er, what happened?” the dragon qilin asked hurriedly.

Yan’er spoke excitedly, “Young Master has created his own technique!”

The dragon qilin quickly stopped. Vital qi picked up Qin Mu, who was sleeping soundly, and placed him on the ground. Within the dream world that was circling around him, there were mountains and seas of corpses. Countless dainty Qin Mus had died—a tragic scene indeed.

However, the rest of the mini Qin Mus were cheering excitedly, throwing a little fellow high into the air. That dainty Qin Mu’s face was filled with pride as he allowed himself to be thrown by the numerous Qin Mus beneath him, delight and satisfaction swelling in his heart.

Suddenly, all of the dainty Qin Mus panicked and scattered in four directions. The one dainty Qin Mu that had established merit earlier had no one to catch him when he fell, so he landed with a thud onto the ground and stood up angrily. “Ji ji gu gu!”

These mini Qin Mus ran around frantically like headless flies, crying and wailing before they suddenly disappeared. The mini Qin Mu that established merit earlier also panicked and ran around madly. All of a sudden, he fell prone on the wall of the dream world, thumping it with both fists as he cried and pleaded the outside Yan’er for help.

Yan’er couldn’t help but save him. However, as she reached out, the dream world dissipated with a “bo” sound. All of the dainty Qin Mus were gone.

Qin Mu opened his eyes and sat up, making himself comfortable. He smiled as he said, “I experienced countless calamities in my sleep. Finally, I have completed my technique.”

Yan’er was still feeling pity for the dream world’s dainty Qin Mu and was depressed. She showed her displeasure to Qin Mu and said, “After you woke up, those pitiful dainties died. Don’t ever think about me feeding you again!”

Qin Mu executed his new technique without the worry of qi deviation. His vital qi was extremely smooth, and his newly born soul was constantly growing and becoming stronger, making him very happy.

Upon seeing him in a good mood, the dragon qilin asked, “Cult Master, are you able to impart your technique to others?”

Qin Mu shook his head. “It’s too difficult. To reach where I am, I walked the path that is most suitable for me. If one wants to master my technique, they have to cultivate until the Celestial River Realm and study the unchanging divine art. In addition, they need to be proficient in algebra and the art of creation. Not only that, they have to master Brahma Buddha’s Boundless Calamity Sutra, and their attainments in the Martial Dao and Sword Dao have to surpass ordinary men. All in all, no one is able to master my technique.”

The dragon qilin quietly heaved a sigh of pity.

“However, the technique created by Celestial Venerable Yu is more suitable for the masses.”

Qin Mu said, “Except that the requirements to comprehend it are rather high, so it would be difficult to promote and popularize. Have we reached the Surging River?”

The dragon qilin said, “Surging River Academy is just up ahead.”

They arrived at Surging River Academy and saw that it had long been taken over by the gods of the celestial heavens. They were carrying out large scale construction and building luxurious palaces, and many dragon gods and gods from the river had been captured as slaves and were being made to work laboriously.

They had already built a magnificent sprawling god city. When Qin Mu arrived, the slaves were using their blood to imprint formations on the god city’s surfaces. The palaces within the city, with the blessings of the formations, rose towards the sky.

These divine palaces and throne halls were restrained by chains, as they would fly off into the sky otherwise.

After the entire city was in the sky, it would be stable, becoming an important artifact of the celestial heavens’ rule here.

The Surging River was the celestial river, and it was plentiful in natural resources and very important to the Primordial Realm.

The ancient Celestial Emperor, who ruled the Primordial Realm, naturally placed a lot of importance on the Surging River, which was why he had sent a massive military force here.

Qin Mu saw Dragon Rearing Sovereign within the god city. This fellow actually became the head of a small group supervising the dragon gods and river gods, and he was currently performing his duties.

“Dragon Rearing Sovereign!”

The dragon qilin shouted, “Cult Master is looking for you!”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign heard him and turned his head. Upon seeing Qin Mu, he frantically ran over and greeted him, looking uneasy.

Qin Mu laughed. “There’s no need to worry. If you had betrayed me, you would have died miserably already. You submitted to the celestial heavens only to protect your life. Dragon Rearing Sovereign, how did you manage to survive?”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign had made a Pact of Little Earth Count with him, so he was heavily monitored by Qin Fengqing, who long viewed him as a food ingredient. If Dragon Rearing Sovereign betrayed him, he would be eaten by Qin Fengqing.

If Qin Fengqing hadn’t eaten him, that meant Dragon Rearing Sovereign hadn’t betrayed him.

Even though Qin Mu didn’t trust his older brother’s character much, he trusted his appetite.

Dragon Rearing Sovereign let out a sigh of relief and said, “When the great army of the celestial heavens attacked here, I led the dragon gods of the river to surrender. Many dragon gods planned to betray My Lord but died on the spot, inexplicably becoming corpses. Although I surrendered, I didn’t dare to betray My Lord. The great army of the celestial heavens saw a use for me and spared my life, allowing me to supervise the building of the god city.

Qin Mu asked, “Which god is guarding the Surging River?”

“The disciple of Green Deity of the Eastern Sky, Revered God Wu Ji.”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign said, “Green Deity of the Eastern Sky left the Primordial Realm and returned to the Eastern Sky after sweeping through and quelling the various races of half-gods, leaving Revered God Wu Ji to take care of things here. My Lord, please leave quickly. There are many here who are from the celestial heavens, a mix of good people and scumbags. Some have asked me about you, and their words were unpleasant.”

Qin Mu nodded his head lightly and smiled. “I have long heard that there are people within the celestial heavens who want to deal with me—Celestial Venerable Mu—and I am already prepared. There’s no need to worry.”

As he was speaking, they heard a cheerful voice. There was someone in one of the huge halls in the half-finished god city above them. He laughed and said, “Celestial Venerable Mu has traveled here from afar, and yet I failed to welcome you. Pardon me, pardon me! Celestial Venerable Mu, please come up for a chat.”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign’s expression changed slightly, signaling Qin Mu to quickly leave. Qin Mu laughed. “It’s fine. There are many who want to kill me. If I try to hide everywhere I go, how long will I have to hide? You can fall back first.”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign planned to persuade him further. However, Qin Mu laughed ambiguously. “Even if Green Deity of the Eastern Sky were here, he would have to show me some respect, not to mention his disciple.”

Dragon Rearing Sovereign said, “My Lord, the lackeys are even more difficult to deal with! The gods of the celestial heavens bear ill intentions, so why subject yourself to unnecessary humiliation? That Revered God Wu Ji isn’t anything good…”

Qin Mu waved his hand and stood on the head of the dragon qilin, flying towards the throne hall in the sky.

In front of the throne hall, Revered God Wu Jii, with a group of gods and a young and beautiful contingent, came forward to welcome them. He laughed. “Eternal Peace Overlord Body Qin, Dragon Han Celestial Venerable Mu, one of the three heroes of the reform. Even if my teacher were here, he would also have to greet you with respect.”

He bowed and greeted Qin Mu before glancing at the gods of the celestial heavens flanking him. He couldn’t help but fly into a rage, shouting, “You have seen Celestial Venerable Mu, why are you not greeting him?”

One god laughed coldly and said, “Overlord Body? Celestial Venerable Mu? He’s just a useless person, not worthy of a celestial god like me greeting him.”

Revered God Wu Ji was incensed and scolded him repeatedly, apologizing to Qin Mu, “Celestial Venerable Mu, these scum don’t know better. I hope a magnanimous man like you won’t take it to heart. Please, come inside.”

Qin Mu got off of the dragon qilin’s head and stood in front of him, smiling faintly. “It’s fine. After you, please.”