Tales of Herding Gods

The Numinous Sky Hall had an austere atmosphere.

This place was originally the North Celestial Heavens of the High Emperor Era, and the Numinous Sky Hall was where the ministers would discuss affairs during High Emperor Court Meetings; thus, the space in the main hall was vast.

Now, this main hall had thousands of gods of all sizes, and they were all looking nervously at the ‘man and woman’ competing with their zither skills in the hall. They were afraid of being hit by the aftermath.

Zither sounds rang in the hall, and the ones playing the zither were a scholar who had a donkey behind him and Red Deity Qi Xiayu, who had clouds tinged with sunset hues behind her, which looked like feathers of a phoenix.

One was in the east, one was in the west, and there was nobody around them. Even the strongest half-gods were standing far away from them.

These two people played their zithers, and Scholar had abandoned all restraint. The zither continuously swirled around her, and it was as if Scholar had grown countless arms. Moving her fingers up and down, she displayed astonishing techniques. In terms of temperament and fingering, she was already perfect and flawless!

On the other hand, Qi Xiayu looked calm and composed. She didn’t have as many techniques as Scholar did, and instead, she had a simple and plain mood. Yet, her temperament was filled with such boundless emotions!

Scholar’s attainments in technique were unparalleled, and even Qi Xiayu couldn’t be compared to her. She could be considered to be the perfect example of temperament, but in terms of emotions, she was far inferior to Qi Xiayu. Even though her zither notes also had emotions, they didn’t have a myriad of changes like Qi Xiayu had.

Both of their zither notes attacked each other, and the space around them could be seen slowly warping. Sometimes it was stretched, while other times it could become thin layers of membrane. Space seemed to become notes that could be seen with the naked eye as they continuously danced around them.

Over time, Scholar was no match for her. Her four arts had reached the height of being unrivaled in the world, but her natural lack of emotions had restrained her from advancing one step forward.

The four great heavenly teachers of the Founding Emperor Era all had their achievements and what they were good at. However, Scholar’s nature had a flaw, and so she was inferior to Qi Xiayu who dared to love and hate, having a vast amount of emotions.

Her inferiority gradually showed, and suddenly, the donkey behind her stood up to transform into a donkey devil king. Opening his mouth, he started braying loudly, and it was extremely piercing to the ears.

Both women’s notes were messed up, and they held down onto their zithers.

That donkey’s bray was so piercing that all of the strong practitioners couldn’t help frowning and covering their ears.

In the hall, no matter if it was half-gods or the gods, all of them looked at these two people in fear. They were also slightly afraid of that donkey.

Luckily, the battle between the zithers was aimed at each other. If it were aimed at them, there would be a great number of casualties among the strong practitioners in this hall.

However, there were also six to seven people who didn’t have a change in expression. Their cultivation and abilities were high, and they weren’t afraid of Scholar or Qi Xiayu.

“Hahahaha, I’ve still lost!”

Scholar put away her zither and bowed to Red Deity Qi Xiayu. “Red Deity’s abilities are indeed extraordinary. After so many years, you are still able to be better than me.”

“Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi is polite.”

Qi Xiayu got up to return the greeting. Her gaze wavered as she was also rather afraid of her. She wasn’t willing to fight to the death with her and said with a smile, “We have fought before Mother Earth has even appeared, aren’t we making a fool out of ourselves?”

Scholar’s gaze swept past these thousands of strong practitioners, and she said with a smile, “Envoys from the extraterritorial celestial heavens, Sword God of High Emperor, subordinates of Mother Earth, as well as Red Deity and Heavenly Teacher of Founding Emperor, all of us are gathered here and reached here after great effort through a journey filled with danger, yet the owner isn’t here. What is this logic?”

Qi Xiayu was slightly indolent, and she looked around with a smile. “That’s right. I heard rumors that Mother Earth has been dead for a long time, and now she has suddenly appeared again with the Primordial Realm resurfacing to the world. Furthermore, she also summoned her old subordinates. Even though I’m Red Deity of the celestial heavens, I had still served Mother Earth in my early years, so how could I not come and pay my respects? It’s a pity I still can’t see Mother Earth.”

Suddenly, her gaze landed on Bai Qu’er, and she saw her wearing plain clothes with a sword behind her back. She was looking over as well.

Qi Xiayu felt guilt in her heart, and hurriedly avoided her gaze.

Her gaze met with a one-armed man with a divine knife on his back, and he bowed slightly.

Qi Xiayu nodded her head gently and thought to herself, ‘Divine Knife Luo is here, and this means other strong practitioners of the celestial heavens are also here. Mother Earth is indeed dead, so could it be the celestial heavens laying out a trap with Mother Earth’s name to lure all these people here to capture them in one fell swoop?’

The hall had a mix of good people and scumbags, no matter if it was the half-gods or gods, they all had their aims. They weren’t simple.

Qi Xiayu even saw numerous terrifying existences among the half-gods. Even though their abilities were inferior to hers, their numbers weren’t few. They were all people that were hard to deal with.

Outside the hall, there were even countless half-gods lined up neatly. They waited quietly outside the Numinous Sky Hall as though they were soldiers waiting for inspection.

Suddenly, a voice came out from the back of the hall. “Sorry to make everyone wait for quite a while, Mother Earth will arrive shortly.”

The reputable, strong practitioners in the hall looked towards the sound, and from where the voice came from, several young girls walked around a screen and escorted a girl out.

That girl had delicate features and rosy lips. First, only half of her face could be seen as she walked out from the screen with the women, but when she turned her face, everyone’s hearts stirred, and they exclaimed to themselves, “What a beauty.”

The halo behind the girl’s head wavered slightly as she greeted everyone. “Back then, my teacher, Mother Earth, suffered severe injuries and had no choice but to seal the Primordial Realm. Now that the Primordial Realm has resurfaced, my teacher has summoned everyone forward to regroup our old force and make a comeback.”

“My teacher? This girl is Mother Earth’s disciple?” Everyone’s hearts were shaken.

Qi Xiayu looked at that girl and said with a smile, “There’s no harm in waiting a while. However, why didn’t I know that Mother Earth has taken in a disciple? Mother Earth never takes in disciples, and even the High Emperors of North Celestial Heavens were at most her sons and daughters. You, the disciple, puzzles me slightly.”

The girl gave a slight smile and said, “Mother Earth originally didn’t take in disciples, but after she was severely injured the previous time, she took me in as her disciple. Red Deity was just someone who pulled my master’s carriage back then, what would you know?”

Qi Xiayu held back her anger and said with a smile, “When Mother Earth is out, I’ll settle this with you.”

Bai Qu’er asked gently, “This sister, how can you prove you are Mother Earth’s disciple?”

That girl looked at her and said with a smile, “So it’s Sword God Bai of the fake dynasty. This halo behind my head is a blessing from Mother Earth, blessing me from never aging, never dying, and endless prosperity. Is that proof enough?”

Bai Qu’er looked at the halo behind her head, and she couldn’t differentiate real and fake.

“Just the halo alone isn’t enough to determine if you are real or fake.”

Divine Knife Luo suddenly opened his mouth to speak. “Mother Earth’s divine arts are remarkable, and she’s one of the ancient gods with the most complicated Dao and skills. Even His Majesty is full of respect for Mother Earth. Have you learned Mother Earth’s divine arts?”

That girl looked at him and said with a smile, “So, it’s One-armed Divine Knife Luo of the fake dynasty. The thirty-six Great Dao of Mother Earth, I am rather skilled in all thirty-six Great Dao.”

Scholar smiled and said, “Words aren’t proof.”

That girl said, “Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi of the fake dynasty, please don’t be impatient, so what if I’m real or fake? When Mother Earth is here later, and everyone sees the true Mother Earth, won’t you know if it’s real or fake?”

Scholar’s heart shook slightly. ‘She even knows about me? I’m a person from the Founding Emperor Era, and at that time, Mother Earth should have been long dead and the Primordial Realm should have been sealed. Only the Great Ruins is left. How would she know me? She doesn’t seem old, and her cultivation isn’t too high. She’s not an old monster, so she can’t know about me. She said South Dynasty, the extraterritorial celestial heavens, and Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens as fake dynasties, could she come from that High Emperor Celestial Heavens from Mother Earth? Could Mother Earth still be alive and looking at what happened to the Founding Emperor Era quietly from underground?’

Suddenly, a dragon-headed half-god said solemnly, “I’ve personally seen Mother Earth being killed. Her corporeal body was severed, and her heart was pierced through, it’s impossible that she’s still alive. Also, this small sister, impersonating Mother Earth to call us here is a crime punishable by death.”

That girl looked at him and said solemnly, “So, it’s Ancestral Dragon King. Mother Earth was attacked and suffered heavy injuries, but as one of the most ancient and worthy ancient gods, how could she die just like that? Ancestral Dragon King, can you imagine Earth Count or Heaven Duke being killed?”

That half-god pondered for a moment. “I can’t. But I saw it, Mother Earth was clearly dead…”

That girl said with a smile, “What you see with your eyes might not be the truth. Mother Earth is still alive, and after cultivating for these tens of thousands of years, she has finally recovered from her injuries and can summon everyone over today. Everyone can choose not to believe me, the disciple of Mother Earth, but when the true body of Mother Earth comes forth personally, you will have no choice but to believe…”

Right at this moment, a laugh suddenly came from the outside of the hall. “This sister, you are the disciple of Mother Earth? How do I not know my master Mother Earth has taken in a female disciple?”

Everyone turned to look back, and Scholar’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What has this kid came here for? He truly doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth!’

The donkey behind her revealed an astonished expression and asked with a low voice, “Hwee hwee?”

Scholar nodded and suppressed his anger. “Hwee! That’s his voice! That rascal, how dare he impersonate Mother Earth’s disciple to mingle in here?”

And when Bai Qu’er heard this voice, her body froze, and she revealed a look of disbelief. She turned back and looked out of the hall with a dazed look while muttering under her breath. “Your voice… your voice has appeared again, this isn’t a hallucination…”

The divine knife in the knife sheath behind One-armed Divine Knife Luo was giving off low hums. It was incomparably excited.

Luo Wushuang was also incomparably excited, and he looked out of the hall. He laughed softly to himself. “Forty thousand years, I’ve waited for you painstakingly for forty thousand years. Your voice, I’ve never forgotten it. Whenever I swing my knife, your figure always appears in my mind, your voice always rings beside my ears…”

In front of the gate of the Numinous Sky Hall, a qilin-headed half-god was pulling onto a shiny rope and leading a behemoth into the hall.

That behemoth was half-dragon and half-qilin, looking rather handsome and formidable.

Meanwhile, on the dragon qilin’s huge head, a woman was carrying a wooden sword in her hands. There was sunlight hanging around her body, and the sunlight was like colorful phoenixes and flowing flames.

There was also a woman who had a wavering halo behind her head. In the halo was a small sapling, and in her arms was a horsetail whisk. She had traits that were free from vulgarity, and she was leaning on the shoulder of a youth.

Behind the youth was a boy servant with layers of light behind his head, and a huge cauldron was hovering up and down inside.

Meanwhile, that youth seemed slightly languid and looked at that young girl in front of the Emperor’s Throne in the Numinous Sky Hall with a smile that was yet not a smile. He didn’t get up from the dragon qilin’s head and just smiled. “By right, I should call you senior sister, but it’s a pity my master didn’t take you in as her disciple. Who are you?”

In the Numinous Sky Hall, commotions broke out, and there were discussions everywhere.

The water qilin saw so many sacred gods, and he started to shiver. His legs were slightly wobbly as he braced himself to lead the dragon qilin towards the Emperor’s Throne. ‘The celestial heavens, this is High Emperor Celestial Heavens, and the Emperor’s Throne is right in front, the place where Celestial Emperor sat! Where is my luck coming from to be able to come so close to the Emperor’s Throne…’

The dragon qilin yawned and looked around. He stretched out his tongue and licked his lips, looking ferocious and mean. He thought to himself, ‘Thousands of strong practitioners over here, and each one of them could easily beat me to death. However, even if the sky collapses, there’s Cult Master…’

In front of the Emperor’s Throne, that girl was astonished, and she couldn’t react for a moment.

The dragon qilin came to the front of the Emperor’s Throne and stopped.

Qin Mu stood up and looked down at this girl from above. He said with a smile that was yet not a smile, “Senior sister, could you give me an explanation?”

The astonishment on that girl’s face gradually faded, and she burst out in laughter. “Heavenly Saint Cult Master of Eternal Peace Empire, Qin Mu Qin Fengqing, when have you become Mother Earth’s disciple? How mischievous of you.”

Scholar clenched her fist and took down a small bag from the donkey’s back. She thought to herself, ‘Looks like I have to lend a hand to save this kid. How daring of him to impersonate anybody, getting completely expose right off the bat! At least change your appearance…’

“I’m fake?” Qin Mu laughed loudly.

“You are fake.”

Behind him, Luo Wushuang’s voice rang out word for word. “My old friend from the High Emperor Era, do you remember that night when you severed an arm of a youth with your sword?”

Qin Mu turned back, and his gaze landed on Luo Wushuang. He then searched among the young people in Spirit Elite Guards, and he saw that they were all men and women with one arm.

Yet, he still found Zhe Huali, and his heart sank. ‘Fu Riluo, you have still rebelled…’

He shifted away from his gaze and ignored Luo Wushuang.

At this moment, he saw another girl that looked very lonely in the crowd.

Both of their gazes met, and everything around Qin Mu seemed to vanish. It was as if he had returned to that night where he laid beside this girl to wait for the break of dawn.