Tales of Herding Gods

The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage traveled out of the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge. Qin Mu stood up and looked out from the carriage, taking in the stream of flames that stretched out for millions of miles. It was incredibly gorgeous.

In the skies, one could see the sun that was a short distance from the ground. Flames flew out from the center of the sun, resembling vermillion birds with their wings outstretched as they flew past the earth.

There were also some gods with bird heads and human bodies that were traveling through the flames. They stretched out their vast wings and flew about, and there were long flames that constantly fell from the skies.

To the human race, such a place was definitely as terrifying as hell itself. Yet, to the god race that lived in the South Pole, it was extremely pleasant and comfortable to them.

Qin Mu furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at the gods who were flying after the streams of sun flames. They weren’t of the Vermillion Bird God Race but were the gods from the celestial heavens.

Also, although the flames that fell from the sky came from the sun, they weren’t solar prominences. Instead, they were created by attacks towards some unknown things. The gods had made use of their divine arts to borrow the power of the sun in creating these attacks!

‘It greatly resembles the divine art of the Great Sun Sovereign!’

Qin Mu felt his heart jolt a little. ‘The Great Sun Sovereign, Dan Fenglai, is a disciple of Ancestral God King. Ancestral God King’s divine weapon Celestial Venerable Yu should be in Xuandu, and Great Sun Sovereign can’t possibly have come here. Then, who does this great army that can control the power of the sun belong to?’

The corners of his eyes twitched, and suddenly, the sky was lit up. Yet another enormous sun had descended upon the skies of the South Pole from the outer heavens, and countless giant palaces flew out from within the sun, resembling a castle that was streaming gold liquid!

The sounds of drums could be heard, and tens of thousands of gods stood before the palaces as they crushed downwards onto the South Pole.

Those palaces were as huge as god cities, and they flew down towards the skies of the South Pole. The bottom of these god palaces and halls were like giant seals, and with a great buzz, countless rays of light shot out from beneath these palaces!

Qin Mu saw that the rays descended like a curtain, and they imprinted downwards on the South Pole, crushing it until the lands trembled violently. Tens of thousands of mountain ranges instantly uprooted from the ground, transforming into imprints!

This scene was inexplicably grand, and yet, it also made one extremely uneasy.

Not far from the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge, there were many gods with bird heads lined up neatly who were guarding this bridge.

When the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage sailed out from the bridge, it immediately alarmed those gods, and a god immediately came forward to make inquiries. The dragon qilin went towards him and said, “Celestial Venerable Mu has come to visit South Deity. Brother, what’s going on here in the South Pole?”

Upon hearing the title of Celestial Venerable Mu, the god official dared not be careless and hurriedly replied, “Reporting to Celestial Venerable, South Deity has rebelled. The celestial heavens have sent the army here to quell the rebellion. At present, the various local officials are currently attacking the South Pole. I’m here under orders to guard the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge so that the rebels of the South Pole won’t be able to escape by the bridge.”

Qin Mu was greatly shocked, and he quickly took a step forward and cried out, “South Deity Zhu Que has rebelled? When was this? Are you sure she has rebelled?”

The god official jumped in shock and hurriedly kowtowed on the ground, shivering in fear as he replied, “South Deity Zhu Que led an army to seize the divine weapon of the celestial heavens by force. She rebelled and created chaos, holding the celestial heavens in contempt. The celestial heavens were enraged and thus sent troops here to quell the rebellion. I’m also only doing things under orders…”

Yan’er couldn’t help but panic, and she was about to flap her wings to fly off when Qin Mu sent a stream of consciousness to trap her as he said gently, “Yan’er, the situation now is still unclear. Be patient for now and wait for me to ask around first.”

He frowned. South Deity Zhu Que was definitely not an ancient god who liked to do things with brute force like West Deity Bai Hu. On the contrary, based on the few short interactions Qin Mu had with South Deity, she knew when to attack and when to retreat, and she was also extremely smart. When the situation was unclear, she would definitely not have done something like this!

Yan’er could only restrain herself, transforming into a green sparrow and perching on his shoulder as she walked back and forth, whispering, “My mother, she…”

Qin Mu raised a hand, letting her stand on top of his fingertip as he signaled for her to stop talking. He turned to the god official and asked gently, “The divine weapon that is used to suppress the South Pole, which Celestial Venerable does it belong to?”

“It’s Celestial Venerable Huo’s divine weapon.”

The god official continued, “Celestial Venerable Huo guards the South Pole.”

The corners of Qin Mu’s eyes jumped, and he repeated in a hoarse voice, “Celestial Venerable Huo?”

The god official nodded.

Qin Mu composed himself. “Celestial Venerable Huo has come down personally?”

The god official replied respectfully, “Celestial Venerable Huo descended here personally to retrieve the divine weapon and battle South Deity. They have already fought all the way to the restricted zone of the South Pole. Apart from the great army under Celestial Venerable Huo, Red Deity of the Southern Heaven has also led her troops here as back up. The Divine Guards of the celestial heavens are also on their way here. I heard that the Celestial River Navy is also almost here.”

The corners of Qin Mu’s eyes twitched uncontrollably. Celestial Venerable Huo had come personally, and there were also the two great Divine Guards with two hundred thousand gods and devils who were most likely all-powerful existences of the Jade Capital Realm and Numinous Sky Realm. In addition to that, the Celestial River Navy was arriving. It seemed that Celestial Venerable Huo was here to take down the South Pole in one sweep this time around!

As he was in thought, there were yet again more suns that had been forcefully dragged down to the skies of the South Pole. The strong magnetic forces twisted space as thousands of gods and devils descended from the skies and flew towards the South Pole to battle with the gods and devils of the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace!

‘But why is Red Deity Qi Xiayu of the Southern Heaven here as well?’

Qin Mu felt perplexed. Red Deity Qi Xiayu was a disciple that Celestial Venerable Yue had secretly groomed. Not only was she a disciple of Celestial Venerable Yue, but she was also the disciple of South Deity Zhu Que. She was a spy that the two women had planted within the celestial heavens.

It was impossible for Red Deity Qi Xiayu to ever betray South Deity.

Her personally leading the great army of the Southern Heaven there, it was all very strange.

However, Celestial Venerable Huo had always hated evil with a passion and had always viewed ancient gods to be the enemy. If he were here to kill South Deity Zhu Que, he would definitely not hold back!

‘Celestial Venerable You once said that Celestial Venerable Huo is no longer the Celestial Venerable Huo of the past. Could it be that he has really changed?’

He felt some unease in his heart, and Yan’er, who was on his fingertip, had almost scratched off his finger. Qin Mu endured the pain and continued to ask, “How many days have passed since Celestial Venerable Huo went down to quell the rebellion?”

The god official replied, “It has already been four days.”

Qin Mu felt his heart jolt violently, but he replied calmly, “South Deity rebelled and created chaos, so I shall personally head down to suppress the rebellion. Dragon Pi, let’s go.”

The god official hesitated for a moment before replying, “Celestial Venerable, the battlefield up ahead is incredibly dangerous. It would be better if Celestial Venerable remained here.”

Qin Mu gave a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Am I the Celestial Venerable, or are you the Celestial Venerable?”

The god official jumped back in fear and hurriedly waved his hand, commanding the heavenly soldiers and generals around them to clear a path for him.

Qin Mu returned to the carriage, and the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage sprinted towards the restricted zone of the South Pole. The restricted zone was the birthplace of South Deity Zhu Que, so if Celestial Venerable Huo had fought his way there, it was likely that South Deity Zhu Que was in great danger!

“She can’t be so stupid, it can’t be…”

Qin Mu put Yan’er down. The little green sparrow anxiously leaped and flew about the carriage, constantly sticking her head out to look out the window.

Qin Mu gave a mental command, and the windows of the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage clanged loudly. Then, along with the four walls, they disappeared into the body of the carriage so that the outside world could be seen unrestricted.

The six heavenly dragons were also transformed into their complete forms, becoming hundreds of miles long. The carriage grew in size as well, giving off brilliant lights and spectacular color. The carriage traveled through the skies with an impressive display of power.

“Yan’er, don’t worry.”

Qin Mu continued to reassure the anxious little green sparrow, “Your mother is almost as cunning as I am. Since she has rebelled, then she must have her own intentions. Moreover, I’m the Invincible Great Wizard. Even if she’s really dead, I can revive her.”

Yan’er stopped jumping about and transformed into the form she had as the little girl servant by Celestial Venerable Yue’s side.

Qin Mu thought for a moment before taking out Celestial Venerable Yue’s lantern and handing it over to her. “This is from Celestial Venerable Yue. It’s for you. You should carry it so that it can protect you. We are entering the battlefield, and there may be stray attacks from any side. You shall protect the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage.”

Yan’er suppressed the anxiety in her heart and carried the lantern while she stood before the shaft of the carriage. The light from the lantern resembled ripples as they washed out in all four directions, completely enshrouding the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage.

There were powerful divine arts that constantly came attacking from the skies and the ground, but when they reached the surrounding of the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage, they vanished on their own once they touched the light from the lantern. Following this, the divine arts would reappear thousands of miles away and explode in a shocking manner.

Even when they came across the flowing flames from the sun along the way, upon meeting the light from the lantern, they would also vanish on their own.

Furthermore, even the palaces that flew out from within the sun, once they came into contact with the light from the lantern, they would reappear a thousand miles away in the next instant. Nothing was able to come near the carriage.

This lantern was a precious artifact that Celestial Venerable Yue had handed to Yan’er to give to Qin Mu so that he would be able to protect himself in the Great Void. Qin Mu didn’t use it then. Now that he had seen the wondrous use of this lantern, he couldn’t help but exclaim and praise Celestial Venerable Yue’s remarkable abilities.

The lantern guarded the carriage, and it moved on without stopping. Yan’er guided the dragon qilin whilst the dragon qilin controlled the reins to command the heavenly dragons.

The six heavenly dragons roared continuously, and with their roars came the sound of rolling thunder alongside lighting, and their speed increased steadily.

It was just that the South Pole was incredibly vast, and the restricted zone was extremely far away. To sprint over would take at least a day or more.

At this very moment, Qin Mu heard faint musical sounds that were coming from up ahead. He hurriedly stood up and looked into the distance.

He saw a phoenix ship sailing in from beyond the skies. The enormous bow of the ship pierced through the atmosphere, and the phoenix ship flapped its wings. Countless heavenly soldiers and generals from the Southern Heaven controlled smaller ships and slid down from the phoenix ship. From these ships, countless feather swords flew out and sliced forwards along the land and mountain ranges as though trying to plow through them!

Where the feather swords passed by, the mountains and rivers were all torn apart!

The corners of Qin Mu’s eyes jumped about. The gods and devils under Red Deity of the Southern Heaven were actually attacking the South Pole so ruthlessly. This was unlike what he had expected!

Red Deity Qi Xiayu was definitely a genius in leading troops. At the end of the High Emperor Era, she had personally led her army into battle and slain the previous celestial heavens’ Red Deity of the Southern Heaven!

The battle prowess of her army was extremely formidable, and with them personally coming forth to wage war, wherever they passed by would surely leave few survivors!

“Fatty Dragon, go near the phoenix ship!”

Hearing this, the dragon qilin hurriedly controlled the direction of the carriage, and the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage moved nearer to the phoenix ship. The general who was guarding the phoenix ship was a woman, and behind her, there was an apparition of the nine-headed phoenix primordial spirit, which looked extremely formidable. From afar, she cried out, “Dare I ask if it’s Celestial Venerable Mu aboard the carriage? Celestial Venerable, please hold your steps!”

The dragon qilin quickly stopped the carriage.

Qin Mu sat within the carriage and asked, “Is Red Deity on the ship?”

The female general bowed. “Her Majesty Red Deity has already made her way to the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace to suppress the rebellion. She isn’t on the ship.”

Qin Mu waved his hand, and the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage continued on its way. After some time, he finally saw the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace.

The Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace was the most ancient celestial palace. Right now, it had already been torn apart, and countless halls had already collapsed. Massive architecture descended from the skies like big mountains and crashed towards the ground.

At this moment, there was a massive nine-headed phoenix that was flapping its wings and tearing apart the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace. Its nine heads spewed rays of light in all directions, and they swept out towards the gods and devils of the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace.

On one of the heads of the nine-headed phoenix, Qi Xiayu stood barefooted with a zither in her arms. Her sleeves were flowing about, and her fingers danced around. The musical notes from the zither were like the sharpest sword energy that cleaved downwards, and they massacred every single strong practitioner from the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace who was coming at her.

All around her, corpses descended like rain, and she was matchless.

Around her surroundings, there were also many goddesses flying around as they cried out and executed their divine arts to kill the remaining survivors. At times, they transformed into their human form to execute divine arts, and at other moments, they returned to their phoenix form to fly about.

Amongst the strong practitioners of the Emperor’s Throne, Red Deity Qi Xiayu’s battle prowess was definitely not inferior to Black Deity Son of Heaven Yin!

“Young Master…” Yan’er turned around to look at Qin Mu with a pleading expression.

Qin Mu grit his teeth. He was truly unable to determine what Red Deity Qi Xiayu was trying to do.

“Red Deity!”

Qin Mu sent a stream of consciousness that transformed into a loud explosive sound. Red Deity Qi Xiayu turned her head around to look, and with a tap of her toe, one of the heads of the nine-headed phoenix beneath her feet shook and transformed into another Qi Xiayu. She flew towards the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage and bowed. “I pay my respects to Celestial Venerable Mu.”

Qin Mu’s gaze was filled with complex emotions. Qi Xiayu had sent a clone to pay her respects while her original body was still attacking the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace with no sign of any intention to show mercy.

“Red Deity, the heavens have the virtue of loving all living beings. Where it is possible to let people off, one should spare them. There’s no need to be so ruthless,” Qin Mu said gently.

Qi Xiayu looked deeply at him. Suddenly, her original body trembled and transformed into eight phoenixes. They extended their wings and flew across the skies above the Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace, enshrouding it in blazing flames. This extremely ancient celestial palace was melted, and countless gods perished under the phoenix’s sacred fire!

The eight phoenixes gathered and fused together, transforming into an eight-headed rainbow-colored phoenix. It changed its direction and flew towards the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage, and with a swoosh, it disappeared into the body of the Qi Xiayu that stood before Qin Mu. Behind Qi Xiayu, the nine-headed phoenix flapped its wings, and the skies were covered with fiery light!

The nine-headed phoenix primordial spirit folded back its wings and gradually disappeared.

Yan’er looked towards her angrily as she gritted her teeth. “When you were young, it was I who fed you until you grew up! How dare you treat me like this!”

Qi Xiayu boarded the carriage, then stood before them and bowed. “Celestial Venerable, the reason South Deity sent the princess away immediately when she was born, does Celestial Venerable still not know why? In this Vermillion Bird Celestial Palace, there’s no longer anyone on her side. I’m also merely taking the opportunity to do her a favor.”

Qin Mu replied, “Then where is South Deity?”

“Within the restricted zone.”

Qi Xiayu raised a finger to point in the far distance. “If Celestial Venerable makes it there in time, you might be able to see her one last time.”