Tales of Herding Gods

The dragon qilin really wanted to be as calm and composed as Qin Mu—to adjust and turn his body around in a carefree manner, smacking his own bottom with his tail, and leisurely stroll out of this place. However, the dragon qilin’s four legs were quivering, and his tail was starting to be not of his own.

Normally he could whip his tail up with ease, but now his dragon tail was a little numb, and only half of it could be raised up—the other half of it drooped on the ground.

The dragon qilin took three months to carry Qin Mu over, making the long journey by foot from River Tomb to this place. He had only just found his footing, and now everything was already over.

Only, was it really possible for them to return home just like this?

The dragon qilin’s legs were still weak, and there was a silence permeating the surroundings—it was incredibly stifling. The gods and devils that surrounded the palace of Mahakala were high and mighty, their corporeal bodies and faces radiating divine rays in the darkness. Only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard, and no one spoke up.

The dragon qilin finally turned himself around, doing his best to tell himself to be stable and not to take an infirm step and end up rolling down the mountain from the palace of Mahakala. Despite this, he was unsure if he could even prevent that from happening.

On the two sides of the stone pathway were the huge corporeal bodies of the gods and devils. They looked as though they were carved from meteorites, their forms and bodies were grotesque, and their faces were even more sinister looking. They stared at Qin Mu and the dragon qilin with fierce expressions.

The dragon qilin lifted his feet and was about to walk down the stone steps.

‘Or possibly roll down…’ he thought to himself.

At this moment, smoke spewed out of the nostrils of a devil god that was standing on the dragon qilin’s left side. The devil god’s huge palm reached towards the devil god weapon that was at his waist.

The other gods and devils all made their own moves as well—the tremoring sound of divine weapons and devil god weapons could be heard.

The dragon qilin finally composed himself, the muscles all over his body gradually tightening as he prepared to rush out of this place with explosive might whenever the time came.

Just previously, the dragon qilin was feeling a little anxious, yet now that he had to fight for his life, he no longer had any other thoughts—if they wanted to escape, he would have to put his whole heart into escaping.

On this matter, he was adept.

At this very moment, a voice emerged from the palace of Mahakala. “Hold on.”

Upon hearing this, the gods and devils of the northern heavens successively lowered their palms.

Qin Mu pat the dragon qilin on the forehead. Instantly, the dragon qilin understood his intentions, and he stopped in his tracks, turning around.

Qin Mu looked straight at the ancestor of the devil path who sat within the palace.

In the palace, Mahakala stood up and said, “Overlord Body of Eternal Peace truly lives up to his reputation. The northern heavens have suffered an overwhelming defeat. You have won fair and square.”

Qin Mu revealed a smile. “The gods of the northern heavens have laid down the Pact of Little Earth Count with Heavenly Teacher Woodcutter and Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi. If they went back on their word and tried to kill me, they would have already become corpses at this moment.”

The gods and devils that surrounded the palace of Mahakala started to yell angrily one after the other, asking him to shut up.

Mahakala’s expression darkened, and he spoke coldly, “You’re the ones who should shut up!”

His voice forced the angry yelling and scolding sounds of these gods and devils down directly. They weren’t able to say anything to that.

Mahakala slowly moved forward, the black sun behind him followed along, swallowing up all the lights within the palace.

Very soon, he was at the front of the palace.

Qin Mu looked at this ancestor of the devil path carefully. He had heard stories regarding Mahakala’s origins.

It was rumored that Mahakala was the first devil god born of Youdu. Youdu was the place where the dead went after death, so when death existed in this world, Youdu was also born. Earth Count carried the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and was thus born. He was in charge of death, punishing evil and rewarding the good.

However, even Earth Count had to follow the law of Youdu, and he couldn’t do things purely based on his own judgment.

As more and more souls came to be within Youdu, negative emotions like the resentful thoughts and greedy thoughts of the dead began to give rise to the horrifying demonic nature of Youdu. There were also incomplete broken souls and spirits that wandered about the dark within Youdu, and thus the demonic nature of Youdu grew exponentially day by day.

Youdu monsters were born from such fate. These monsters didn’t have much consciousness and were formed from the filthiest and most vile thoughts that had merged with the devil qi of Youdu.

These monsters cannibalized each other, eventually becoming devil gods.

Mahakala was a devil god that was born of this. He was the first devil god of Youdu, and like the Son of Youdu, he too had something extraordinarily special.

He was born before Dragon Han, with the Dragon Han Celestial Heavens having yet been built then. It was still an extremely ancient and uncivilized era.

After the appearance of Mahakala, then there was the devil race.

There were also some who said that in its true sense, the devil race was actually the daughter of Earth Count. The devil race that was known in the world was merely a fake devil race. However, there weren’t many who held this perspective.

The devil race venerated him as the ancestor of the devil path, the ancestor of the thousands of devils, the ruler of the devil race. In actuality, the real first ancestor of the devil path and of the devil race should be Earth Count. However, Earth Count had few descendants, and thus the devil race was, in fact, created by Mahakala and the successive generations of devil gods who were later born of Youdu. There wasn’t much relation with Earth Count.

Mahakala was the first devil god born of Youdu, so it was only natural for him to be revered by the devil race to such an extent.

Qin Mu noticed that Mahakala actually shared some similar physical attributes to Earth Count—he too had two curved and long bull horns. However, because he didn’t turn around, Qin Mu couldn’t tell if he too had a bull’s tail like Earth Count.

“You’re all audacious.”

Mahakala looked around, feeling a bit pained. “Laying down the Pact of Little Earth Count and still intending to not honor it, you’re truly audacious. Do you all not know that Wen Tiange is one of the four great heavenly teachers of Founding Emperor and has the nickname Sleazy Wen? If he proposes a gamble, you directly reject it so that you won’t lose. If you accept it, you’ll definitely lose. You were all scheming against Eternal Peace, thinking that it was easily obtainable, but he was also scheming against the northern heavens! What should I do about it?”

Around the palace of Mahakala was nothing but absolute silence.

Mahakala sighed. “The three hundred and sixteen heavens of the north were painstakingly conquered by the soldiers under me. Yet, just because you were greedy for a momentary gain, we will have to give up the northern heavens to another. Sleazy Wen truly has great strategies!”

“Can we break the pact?” a devil god asked in a quavering voice.

Mahakala glanced at him, and the devil god’s face turned ashen.

“Breaking the pact means facing Little Earth Count directly.”

Mahakala continued indifferently, “Although I’m not afraid of him, breaking the pact would definitely ruin my reputation and honor. I would be mocked for being untrustworthy. From the ancient and uncivilized era until now, the devil race grew stronger day by day under my rule, yet the devil race ultimately still cannot achieve meteoric success. In hindsight, it’s probably due to the fact that I used to be too cunning in the past, always going back on my words. Now that I’m successful, I should make some changes.”

His gaze landed on Qin Mu. Smiling slightly, he said, “Overlord Body of Eternal Peace, do you dare to accept my offer for a gamble?”

Qin Mu looked up at this high and mighty Emperor’s Throne powerful being and probed, “If I don’t accept Mahakala’s gamble, what will you do?”

“I definitely cannot give up my three hundred and sixteen heavens of the north. I will just have to let Little Earth Count eat them.”

Mahakala continued resolutely, “Throwing away the lives of these fools, I can still groom other gods and devils to rule the heavens.”

Qin Mu revealed a smile. “If I were you, I would do that too. These rulers of the various heavens, they are just servants who help Mahakala guard the heavens. If they die, they die. It’s the population that’s the most important. Only with such a massive population can there be endless geniuses born of it, and you will be able to groom even more powerful individuals. That way, Mahakala’s rule will be stable.”

Mahakala laughed. “So, are you going to accept it?”

Qin Mu replied calmly, “What would Mahakala like to bet on?”

“Bet on me not breaking the pact. If you win, the three hundred and sixteen heavens will belong to Eternal Peace.”

Mahakala continued, “If I win, the previous pact will be nullified.”

Qin Mu broke out in laughter. “I won’t gamble with you.”

Mahakala frowned. “Why not?”

“When I win, if Mahakala wants to break the pact, you will still do it without hesitation. If I lose, then the favorable circumstance that the two great heavenly teachers fought for will achieve nothing.”

Qin Mu laughed. “The three hundred and sixteen heavens, compared against the reputation of Mahakala, which is more important?”

Mahakala stared at him, and after a while, he replied, “The three hundred and sixteen heavens are more important. My reputation is worth nothing. In the last millions of years, I have long lost all my reputation!”

Qin Mu was full of smiles. “That’s why I’m not gambling.”

Mahakala’s brow furrowed deeply. Suddenly, he asked in a polite manner, “Dare I ask who your teacher is?”

Qin Mu replied with a straight face, “Sleazy Wen.”

Mahakala’s expression changed slightly, and he laughed out loud. “It really is him. No wonder you could see through my little trick. Since this is how it’s going to be, then we’ll change what we bet, we’ll bet on your life.”

He continued indifferently, “When you win, I’ll let you walk out alive in the thousand of miles surrounding the palace of Mahakala. Beyond this boundary, I’ll allow any of the gods and devils to come after you. If you lose, then you’ll die together with all the rulers of my three hundred and sixteen heavens.”

As he said this, the expressions of the various rulers of heavens changed in unison.

Mahakala was ruthless and decisive, and he bore a grudge against them for laying down the Pact of Little Earth Count with Wen Tiange without informing him prior. Now, it seemed he was determined to use their lives to break the Pact of Little Earth Count!

Qin Mu stayed silent. Looking around him, he couldn’t see what there was in the dark.

Mahakala laughed. “Are you looking for Wen Tiange that old sleaze? They haven’t entered the boundaries of the palace of Mahakala. If they step into the darkness, I’ll sense it.”

Qin Mu broke into a smile. “Has Mahakala decided to deal with me personally?”

Mahakala shook his head. “Logically, I should deal with you myself. However, I still want some face. The one who will deal with you will only be selected from my disciples or those who are no older than you are. You don’t have to worry.”

Qin Mu let out a breath of air, replying solemnly, “Then, Mahakala, please lay your terms!”

Mahakala laughed out loud, sweeping his sleeve and turning around, he said in a loud and clear voice, “Straightforward! Overlord Body of Eternal Peace, please wait for a few days. You can also stay to see the elites within my palace!”

Qin Mu walked down from the dragon qilin’s head, following him into the palace. He smiled. “Mahakala, you are my senior…”

Mahakala shook his head. “Senior, I’m not your senior. Your origins, I already know of it. You probably still don’t know that the four great provincial governors of Youdu are all my juniors.”

Qin Mu’s heart jumped, and he narrowed his eyes.

‘So that also means that Mahakala knows my identity as the Son of Youdu. So why must he insist on gambling with me?’

The dragon qilin followed behind him anxiously, looking to the two sides of the palace cautiously. He saw the lights waning, and there seemed to be countless monsters hiding amongst the shadows.

“I will give you extra food later,” Qin Mu said.

The timidness within the dragon qilin’s heart immediately vanished. He was now filled with courage, raising his head up high and lifting his chest, he walked forward with broad steps in an awe-inspiring presence.

Mahakala called for a demoness and gave his order, saying, “Let Overlord Body stay behind the palace. You must treat him well.”

The demoness complied, leading Qin Mu to the back of the palace and arranging a room for him. With a tender gaze, she said, “Young Master Qin is an honored guest. If you have any needs, you can always give me the order. I can do anything…”

She was good looking, her eyebrows like silk, and her gaze was somewhat fervent.

Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. “Sister can do anything?”

The demoness blushed bashfully, nodding her head gently.

Qin Mu handed her a prescription. “Sister, help me to refine a few hundred batches of spirit pills. Fatty Dragon, you’re in for a treat!”