Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 225: Hanging Painting To Drive Evil Away

Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem

Fire clouds grew under the dragon qilin’s feet as he rose into the sky and ran out of the valley. Wanderer Qing Yu sat down and raised his hand to smack forward. Lightning surged forth instantly, and countless bolts of lightning coiled in the air like a green dragon which rushed towards the dragon qilin.

Wanderer Qing Yu suddenly vomited blood, and his palm trembled. The thunder in palm missed its target and blew a huge hole in the mountain in front of the dragon qilin.

Qin Mu was shocked. The power from the divine arts of these existences of the Celestial Being Realm was astonishing despite them being injured. If his group got hit, they would definitely die miserably.

Lu Wenshi, Arhat Pu Shan, and the rest stood up shakily, forced to vomit blood. They couldn’t help feeling a lingering fear as they had all underestimated the Great Devil God Xiongpi that Qin Mu had summoned, which resulted in all of them being severely injured in one blow. If Daoist Ku Ye had not interfered with Qin Mu’s summoning once, the Great Devil God Xiongpi would actually have been even stronger. If that happens. At that time, all of them would not have been enough to kill it!

”Shall we give chase?” Lu Wenshu asked in a low voice.

At this moment, Daoist Ku Ye sat in the lotus position. With his breath shallow, he smiled miserably. ”This Old Daoist will not be able to subdue devils with fellow Dao friends. My life-force has been broken by that devil, this mortal flesh is no longer useful…”

Everyone was sorrowful.

Daoist Ku Ye chanted softly, ”Life is but a withered leaf, falling gently on the Yellow Springs at its end. Fellow Dao friends, you must execute that Heavenly Devil Cult Master. I want to see him on the road to the underworld. I shall go first…” When he was done, he departed this life.

Lu Wenshi cried out loudly, ”Take care, Dao friend! We will definitely send this devil to meet you!”

Arhat Pu Shan sighed deeply, with evident disappointment and frustration. Placing his palms together, he said respectfully, ”This life is but a mortal flesh, which you should shed to meet Rulai. Godspeed, Dao friend.”

”Godspeed!” Wanderer Qing Yu said while shedding tears.

Luo Sanpo said, ”That dragon qilin’s footsteps are very fast. We need to catch up soon; otherwise, it will be bad if he will summon a second devil god!”

Lu Wenshu murderous spirit was awakened. ”He won’t have the chance! There are even stronger existences waiting on the road ahead!”

Even though he had said so, everyone suppressed their injuries and consumed spirit pills to heal them somewhat as they rushed in Qin Mu’s direction.

Qin Mu took out a white bone altar and placed it on the dragon qilin’s back as he tried to summon the second devil god. However, since the dragon qilin was sprinting, the journey was slightly bumpy, and it was easy for the talisman treasure to shine on the wrong rune on the devil god sculpture. If a rune was wrong, everything he did would be wasted, so he could only give up.

Qin Mu checked, but there were no injuries on his body. Hu Ling’er was also not injured. The dragon qilin had thick skin and flesh as well as dragon scales to protect him, so he hadn’t gotten hurt, either. Only Dutian Devil King was a little deformed from the beating.

Qin Mu used Vermillion Bird Vital Qi to scorch the body red hot before adjusting the deformed limbs. Dutian Devil King was so ashamed that he kept silent. Being despised by Great Devil God Xiongpi and getting stepped on by him was a great humiliation.

Qin Mu distinguished the terrain and took out Eternal Peace’s geographical map for comparison. He let out a sigh of relief and said, ”This place is already close to Great Ruins. With dragon qilin’s leg power, I reckon we can make it to the border in another half a day. However, it’ll be impossible to go past Secret Waters Pass.”

After getting chased, the route had already deviated away from Secret Waters Pass. He was also very far from Eternal Border Pass.

”What I can do now is to take the passage which my cult has used for smuggling.”

Qin Mu thought for a moment. There was a God Broken Mountain Range between Great Ruins and Eternal Peace. Mysterious Pearl Crossbows were lying all over that mountain range, and anyone who tried to cross its borders would be shot down.

Mysterious Pearl Crossbows operated automatically and were rumored to have been created under the decree of a god. Anyone who crossed God Broken Mountain Range—no matter if they went through the mountain or over it—they would be shot to death.

Heavenly Devil Cult had once run smuggling operations and had a passageway through God Broken Mountain Range which passed by Lonely Mountain Ridge Canyon, allowing one to go to and fro from Great Ruins and Eternal Peace. There were two Mysterious Pearl Crossbows there that had been destroyed by Heavenly Devil Cult; however, the inn owner of Border Dragon City had said that the passage had been abandoned for many years.

Lonely Mountain Ridge Canyon was the only way Qin Mu could enter Great Ruins.

”The pursuers shouldn’t know about this passage.”

Qin Mu roused his spirit and suddenly burst out laughing. ”It’s so hard to just go home for New Years, it’s almost like there’s a whole army charging at me!”

He had learned martial arts from the people in the village and also inherited their positive attitude. Even though he had met countless ambushed on the way, he still maintained a positive attitude. Affected by his emotions, the dragon qilin and Hu Ling’er were also more relaxed.

The sky turned dimmer in time, and the surroundings became even more desolate. After traveling for quite a long time, not a village could be seen.

”Barging into Great Ruins at night is definitely a sure death path. I have to wait for morning to come.”

They got closer and closer to Great Ruins. From their current position, they could already see the black figure of God Broken Mountain Range, which was like a high wall stretching from the earth to the heaven in front of them.

The God Broken Mountain Range which stretched for god only knows how many thousands of miles was incomparably difficult to cross even without Mysterious Pearl Crossbows.

Qin Mu was thinking of finding a place to settle when the light of a lamp caught his attention below. It was a village which had lighted up their lamps when night fell.

”Young master, be careful of a trap.”

Dutian Devil King sneered. ”We can’t see a village in a radius of a thousand miles, yet one popped out here of all places. Naturally, it’s a trap.”

Qin Mu said, ”Fatty Dragon, continue walking, ignore it.”

The dragon qilin stepped on the fire clouds and continued to head towards God Broken Mountain Range. After a dozen miles, another light came from a village near the border. The lamplight there was dim, and there were only a dozen houses.

The arrangement of the houses and the position of the light given by the oil lamp was exactly the same as that small village’s earlier!

Qin Mu’s pupil contracted slightly, and he said solemnly, ”Continue walking.”

The dragon qilin continued forward and saw that village after walking another dozen miles. The houses, lights, and all the arrangements were exactly the same, without any changes!

The dragon qilin felt something was wrong and ran forward with all its might. After traveling hundreds of miles, they met over a dozen such villages, and all their arrangements were the exact same!

The God Broken Mountain Range also seemed as far as before. After sprinting a few hundred miles forward, they should have already reached the bottom of the mountains by now, but the distance between them never seemed to change!

”This person is not ordinary, he can fold the space.” Dutian Devil King was completely disheartened. ”Rascal, you can’t escape.”

”We’ll enter the village!” Qin Mu said ruthlessly.

The dragon qilin and Hu Ling’er jumped in fright. Truly angry, Qing Mu growled, ”I shall kill whoever dares to block my way home for New Years! Enter the village!”

The dragon qilin descended, and his body shrank, returning back to normal. Qin Mu jumped off the dragon qilin’s back while Hu Ling’er hung around his neck like a scarf made from fox skin. Dutian Devil King followed behind him and looked around with his four faces cautiously.

Qin Mu walked towards the village entrance and saw that this village was very normal. There were flagpoles at the entrance, and under them were the stone stumps for horses. The village was very serene, with a dog barking at them, looking very fierce with its snarling teeth.

The fox on Qin Mu’s neck secretly opened her eyes and scared the dog. The wooden door opened up and an elder walked out while raising an oil lamp. The dog came to the back of the elder and grew courageous again, starting to bark once more.

Qin Mu had a gentle expression and greeted the other, ”I was passing by when I saw your treasured land. The sky is turning dark and there’s no place for me to rest around here, so Heaven took pity on me by letting me meet elder. Could elder accommodate us by giving us a place to rest?”

”Heavenly Devil Cult Master is too courteous.”

That elder had long and narrow facial features with his white eyebrows drooping lowly. ”The village is very small, but we have many empty guest rooms. If cult master doesn’t despise it, he can find a house to rest in.

The fox fur on Qin Mu’s neck exploded as it trembled uncontrollably.

Dutian Devil King and the dragon qilin were astonished. This white-eyebrowed elder didn’t even bother to cover anything and referred to Qin Mu as Heavenly Devil Cult Master. It was obvious he had no intention to hide and disdained covering up the truth.

Their act of going in circles on the spot was probably the doing of this elder!

Qin Mu said his thanks and asked, ”Elder, how many people are in this village?”

The white-eyebrowed elder said, ”Currently there’s only a human and a dog; however, I have hung lamps in each and every one of the rooms. In a bit, the villagers will hurry over, and when that time comes, there will probably be a grand celebration which will be quite noisy. Heavenly Devil Cult Master please don’t turn your back away. All of us are just coolies, people who sell our lives for labor and don’t know any etiquette. May Heavenly Devil Cult Master pardon us.”

”Not a problem, not a problem.” Qin Mu bid farewell to the white-eyebrowed elder and came to the center of the village. He chose the biggest courtyard and said, ”Elder, please return. We will stay here.”

The white-eyebrowed elder beamed at him. ”Have a good night, Heavenly Devil Cult Master.”

”Thanks for your blessing.”

Qin Mu pushed opened the door, and the smile on his face immediately vanished. He said quickly, ”Don’t speak and enter the main room to sleep. No one shall open their eyes!”

The dragon qilin and Hu Ling’er didn’t understand what he meant. Dutian Devil King said, ”This old thing has ill intentions…”

Qin Mu made a convenient pluck, and Dutian Devil King became motionless. Qin Mu opened the door to the main room and threw the machine on the floor and shut all of its twelve eyes.

The dragon qilin squeezed in while breaking the wooden door, both of whom collapsed to the ground.

The dragon qilin wanted to say something, but Qin Mu did a shush action and signaled for him to close his eyes. Hu Ling’er got down from Qin Mu’s neck and climbed onto the dragon qilin’s back to shut her eyes.

Qin Mu opened up his taotie sack and took out a scroll. He closed his eyes and nailed a painting on the wall so it faced the entrance.

”Grandpa Cripple said that this painting is of Village Chief in his early years and it can drive away evil. Let’s see if Grandpa Cripple lied to me or not.”

He lay down and turned his body to the entrance, his eyes staring wide open.

All of the surroundings were silent.

After a while, the sound of footsteps came from outside, and he heard a somewhat familiar voice which seemed to belong to Lu Wenshu. ”Senior Qing Shan lighted the lamps in the night to summon us over, so could it be that you have found Heavenly Devil Cult Master?”

A woman said, ”We are ashamed to say that we weren’t able to kill him even after all the chasing and Daoist Ku Ye even suffered under his treacherous hands, dying by a devil god he had summoned.” This seemed to be the voice of Wanderer Qing Yu.

The white-eyebrowed elder spoke next., ”Heavenly Devil Cult Master is sleeping in the village.”

”Senior Qing Shan is still the best! Let me go and kill him right now!”

”There’s no hurry, let us wait for our other fellow practitioners before taking his life and celebrating this great victory!”

…

A moment passed, and there was another dozen footsteps. When everyone heard that Heavenly Devil Cult Master was in the village, they couldn’t resist cheering and laughing as the weight lifted off their shoulders.

There were sounds of people drinking outside, with the lamps brightly lit all around them. It was obvious that these strong practitioners were celebrating.

”Even though Heavenly Devil Cult Master’s abilities aren’t strong, he has many tricks up his sleeves and is truly difficult to deal with. I’m ashamed to say it, but we were injured and almost killed by the devil god he had summoned.”

”Getting rid of this devil today will be considered as returning justice to the world. Come, cheers!”

”Senior Brother Feng Qiwu is here? Come, come, let us celebrate ridding the world of this devil!”

…

The lights outside were very bright, and the shadow of the window frames in Qin Mu’s house flickered non-stop. The weather was very cold, and Qin Mu could see Hu Ling’er shivering, so he stretched his hand to place it on her little tummy.

Hu Ling’er turned her head back, and Qin Mu hurriedly stretched out two fingers to cover her eyelids.

Outside, many experts who had intercepted Qin Mu were rushed in one after another from all places, and the laughter grew louder as they exchanged cups of wine and celebrated. After some time, they heard the white-eyebrowed elder say with a laugh, ”Everyone, the night is late, it’s time to send Heavenly Devil Cult Master on his way.”

Hu Ling’er trembled as she heard the door to the courtyard creaking open. However, she didn’t dare to open her eyes.

Lu Wenshu walked into the courtyard first, smiling. ”Heavenly Devil Cult Master is actually asleep, deep asleep…”

Suddenly, his head slid off his neck without any warning, and his corpse collapsed to the ground. A great expert of Celestial Being Realm had died just like this.

”There’s an expert in the courtyard! Brother Lu was killed!”

Commotion broke out outside the courtyard, and a boom was heard as the strong practitioners broke through the wall of the courtyard and barged in. Flames blazed around their bodies, and behind them were the apparitions of gods with aura overflowing into the sky.

Just as they landed on the ground, their heads suddenly slid off their necks. Even though they all had great abilities, they still died inexplicably.

It was as if there was a formless god swinging his formless sword in this courtyard, severing the heads of whoever dared to barge in!