Tales of Herding Gods

“Xing An!” Pangong Tso shivered and forced out a smile. “Old Brother Xing An, long time no see. We are all old friends, and the last time you asked me about Qin Mu’s location, I even drew a painting for you. It was quite good, right? With our friendship, I believe you don’t have any ill intentions toward me, right?”

Xing An sat down on his chest and sneered. “Qin Mu! Qin Mu again!”

He clenched his teeth, and murderous intent swept through the ruins, scaring the strange beasts into cowering on the ground.

Pangong Tso’s heart fluttered violently, and he asked in a trembling voice, “Brother Xing An also suffered in his hands?”

“Suffered?” Xing An laughed. “How would I suffer at his hands? He has too many elders in his family. I miscalculated, and it resulted in an encirclement. I had no choice but to retreat and avoid the cutting edge.”

Pangong Tso rolled his eyes; it was obvious that Xing An had suffered a loss. He had been chased away by Qin Mu’s elders and had no choice but to escape and hide at a place near West Earth, not daring to show himself.

He didn’t know that Xing An wasn’t as weak as he imagined. The other was incomparably strong and had severely injured Blind, Deaf, Cripple, Granny Si, Emperor Yanfeng, and the rest of the great experts. Over ten people of cult master level had been heavily injured in just one move from him. If it wasn’t for Qin Mu poisoning him, they would have all been wiped out!

Even when he was poisoned and severely injured, he was still able to avoid Butcher, escaping all the way from Eternal Peace to where they were now. His toughness was even above the gods of High Heavens!

“As for the Grandmaster, I don’t have any interest.” Xing An took a glance at him and shook his head. “When you cultivate your corporeal body or primordial spirit to godhood, I might be a little interested in you. You and I are friends after all, and you have also given your two arms to me as a present. I won’t lay my hands on you. What happened to your leg? This sword wound…”

He suddenly caught Pangong Tso by the leg and gave a gently twist to it. The buck’s leg that was just attached was instantly removed.

Pangong Tso endured the pain, not daring to say anything.

Xing An looked carefully. “A sword wound left behind by the sword skill of that Qin! You must have met Great Divine Physician Qin Mu and got your leg cut off by him.”

Beads of sweat rolled down Pangong Tso’s forehead, and he croaked out with a forced smile, “I was chased by Qin Mu and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor. When I was careless, the Qin brat managed to sever half of my leg. Old Brother Xing An, if you want to take revenge on the Qin brat, I got a good chance for you.”

“I need your help to take revenge on him?” Xing An shook his head. “If I wanted to kill him, there’s no one in the world who could protect him! Where is he? I’ve heard Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor is also an expert, so I could take some things from his body on the way.”

Pangong Tso smiled. “I don’t know where the Qin brat is now, but I know where he’s going. He plans to go to Yin Mountain to find my master’s primordial spirit. Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor follows him closely, so he will definitely come as well.”

Xing An was instantly interested. “The primordial spirit of your master? You once paid your respect to me and almost took my life. The apparition of that god is the primordial spirit of your master?”

Pangong Tso’s heart tightened, and he immediately said, “I was forced to do so; it was as the saying goes ‘ if you don’t fight, you won’t make friends’. If I hadn’t fought with Old Brother Xing An once, how would I have had the chance to know brother?”

Xing An smiled. “The primordial spirit of your master, I would like to collect it very much.”

Pangong Tso was thinking of baiting him into danger and making him fight with Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor so both of them would suffer. “If Old Brother Xing An took a liking to it, feel free to take it. It’s just that… Old brother, this leg of mine, could you…”

Xing An jumped into his chest. “Great Divine Physician Qin snatched quite a bit of my collection so not much is left. Just use the buck’s leg for now. When I kill Divine Physician Qin and Imperial Preceptor, it won’t be a problem to give you a divine leg.”

Pangong Tso could only pick up the buck’s leg and reattach it again. This time, he did it more carefully to prevent any hidden ailments. ‘Xing An is petty and might not be willing to give me a divine leg when the time comes. However, when he and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor fight each other, his collection will be mine!’

The dragon qilin carried Qin Mu back to Great Ruins at a speed that was as fast as lightning. After two days, they saw the strange beasts in the surroundings gradually lessen, but there were more villages and monks walking to and fro.

When they saw him riding the dragon qilin overhead, they all stopped and looked at him with strange gazes.

“Cult Master, why are they looking at us?” The dragon qilin was puzzled.

Formation markings swirled in Qin Mu’s eyes when he looked down at the monks. How were they monks? In his eyes, they were clearly fiendish great demons!

He looked at the villagers in the streets. They had a thriving population and were also great demons with all kinds of different faces.

Suddenly, Qin Mu heard a bell ringing from far away. It sounded very melodious.

Qin Mu’s heart stirred. “We are near Little Thunderclap Monastery.”

He jumped off the back of the dragon qilin and began to walk on his feet. The monks which had been staring at them then turned their heads away.

The dragon qilin was bewildered. “Cult Master, why aren’t they staring anymore?”

“All lives are equal,” Qin Mu said in a low voice

The dragon qilin was still puzzled. “I carry Cult Master to work for my meals. If all lives are equal, who is going to refine spirit pills for me to eat?”

Qin Mu burst out laughing. After a moment, they passed by Little Thunderclap Monastery, and Qin Mu exclaimed endlessly.

Little Thunderclap Monastery was built by Little Rulai who was a demon monk from Great Thunderclap Monastery, a disciple of Rulai of that time. His cultivation realm was extremely high and his abilities were remarkable. But he didn’t become Great Thunderclap Monastery’s Rulai, and he was indignant so he fought his way out to found Little Thunderclap Monastery in Great Ruins.

The lavishness of Little Thunderclap Monastery was actually no inferior to that of Great Thunderclap Monastery. As a matter of fact, it might even surpass it. There were strange peaks and lofty mountain ranges with precipitous cliffs. On the mountain peaks, stone statues pasted with gold stood upright. Temples and monasteries of all sizes were flourishing with incense, and there were practitioners of Buddhism coming forward to pay their respects to Buddha all over the place.

The smoke of the incenses lingered among the mountains, filling the sky as incense clouds.

It was Qin Mu’s first time there, and he knew he had once pushed down Little Rulai’s buddha statue so he planned to take a detour. But at that moment, he heard a familiar voice which cried out in astonishment. “Why is Cult Master Qin here?”

Qin Mu looked toward the speaker and couldn’t help being stunned. He smiled. “Brother Xu is also at this place? What a coincidence!”

Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan each carried a backpack and were following behind a big and fat monk. Qin Mu was astonished. The fat monk’s physique was extraordinarily tall and sturdy. He was none other than Little Thunderclap Monastery’s Little Rulai!

He had once seen Little Rulai in a village of Great Ruins when Little Rulai invited Daoist Ling Jing to a battle. They fought fiercely in the night, and Qin Mu had been right beside them!

Little Rulai had a plump head and big ears. His appearance was out of the ordinary, and he was very courteous to Xu Shenghua. He was invited both of them to be guests, and when he looked at Qin Mu, the latter only felt a snow white light which was Little Rulai’s gaze.

“So it’s Cult Master Qin.” Little Rulai’s voice boomed like thunder. “You are a guest from afar, so even though Cult Master Qin and I have grudges, I have to be hospitable to you. Cult Master, please come up the mountain to chat.”

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment. “Senior brother is too courteous. I have something urgent to do so I need to make a trip to Yin Mountain…”

Jing Yan smiled. “Young Master Qin is going to Yin Mountain? We are just coming back from it. Young master and eminent monk met in Yin Mountain and reaped big benefits.”

Qin Mu was astonished and looked at Xu Shenghua. The youth nodded and said, “Yan’zi and I roamed around until we came to Yin Mountain. We saw eminent monk there subduing the primordial spirit of a devil god. He was stuck in a stalemate so we went forward to assist and subdued it by a fluke. Why is Cult Master Qin going to Yin Mountain?”

Qin Mu’s mind trembled violently, and he cried out, “You guys subdued a primordial spirit of a devil god in Yin Mountain? Did this primordial spirit call itself Shaman God Kui?”

Little Rulai was astonished. “Cult Master Qin’s divine strategy and wonderful planning have already reached such an extent? Old monk encountered that devil trapped on Yin Mountain. When I saw countless damned souls lingering around him, I knew it was my task and my heart of enlightenment was moved, thus I made my move. But little did I know that even though that devil was suppressed by someone, he still had remarkable abilities, nearly absorbing me a few times. Luckily Young Master Xu came by and used the spell of High Heavens to assist me.”

Qin Mu suddenly laughed out loudly. “In that case, I have no need to go to Yin Mountain. Truth be told, I was also planning to subdue the primordial spirit of that devil god. Since Rulai invited me, l shall go and be a guest. Sorry to disturb!”

Little Rulai looked at him and asked, “Everyone calls me Little Rulai so why didn’t Cult Master Qin add little?”

Qin Mu smiled. “Rulai is a realm. Once you reach it, there’s no big or little.”

This eminent monk was pleased. “Cult Master has the heart of Buddha. If you convert to Buddhism, you will definitely become Rulai in the future. Please.”

Qin Mu followed them up the mountain. Looking at Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan, he smiled and said, “Husband and wife sure are living the life, roaming the world for scenic tours. Not like me, living a life of hard work, running here and there. Have you two cultivated Primordial Spirit Guide?”

Jing Yan’s face became slightly red, and she gently nodded.

Qin Mu laughed loudly.

“Primordial Spirit Guide was founded by Cult Master, right? It has indeed allowed me to advance tremendously. From Primordial Spirit Guide, I founded a complete Six Directions Realm’s technique and advanced another step further. Now, I have already paved a passage between Six Directions and Seven Stars, these two great divine treasures, turning them into one divine treasure, “Xu Shenghua said leisurely.

Qin Mu’s heart trembled violently, and he looked at Xu Shenghua. After a moment, he let out a shaky breath and praised him, “As expected of the fake Overlord Body, you are just a little inferior to me.”

Xu Shenghua smiled. “The change in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth from merging Seven Stars and Six Directions into one is no inferior to that of Primordial Spirit Guide, right? Cult Master, your Overlord Body might just be the beta.”

Qin Mu smiled lightly and said leisurely, “Even though I didn’t manage to merge the two great divine treasures, I created the eighteenth sword form during this time.”

Xu Shenghua’s pupils contracted.

Little Rulai looked at the two men, and his mind trembled. “Not long ago, old monk felt two changes in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Could it be due to two benefactors?”

…

In Yin Mountain, a sword light flew over, and Pangong Tso dropped to the ground. He grabbed his left leg and rolled around in pain while sweat rolled down his brow like rain.

“This is the price for lying to me,” Xing An said indifferently. “Your master’s primordial spirit is not here. Grandmaster, get another buck’s leg for your other leg and walk like that from now onwards!”

Pangong Tso hissed through his teeth while enduring the pain, “My master’s primordial spirit has been seized by others! However, it is still around. As long as I execute my shaman spells, I will be able to sense its direction!”