Tales of Herding Gods

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

That old bull took a look at him before taking a glace at the dragon qilin who was cowering behind him. He couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “Blockhead can’t beat me, so you’ve found yourself a helper. No matter which helper you have, you can’t do anything to me. Are you here to stand up for blockhead?”

“Blockhead?”

Qin Mu was slightly stunned. ‘Could he be referring to Fatty Dragon?’

“Dao brother, if Fatty Dragon had offended you earlier, I seek your pardon.”

Qin Mu continued to uphold his etiquette and asked, “May I ask if Farmer is around?”

That old bull scratched the scales on its belly, and they were dragon scales. Only then did Qin Mu notice that the old bull was indeed similar to the Chancellor Ba Shan’s green bull. Both of them seemed to be breeds of dragon, and they were both covered in muscles.

However, the green bull loved to eat peony, liked flowers and plants, and loved to show off his muscles. On the other hand, the old bull before him was carrying a water pipe to smoke and drank tea on the side.

‘Could this old bull be somehow related to the green bull?’ he thought to himself secretly.

The old bull gave off a puff of smoke and took a glance at him. “You look young, so you shouldn’t know who my old master is. Who are you, and why are you looking for my old master?”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “I’m the disciple of Heavenly Teacher Woodcutter, one of the four heavenly teachers of Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens. I’ve met Fisherman as well, and there are still two heavenly teachers I have yet to meet. Could Dao brother please introduce him to me?”

“Old master is just a farmer; what else is there to see?”

That old bull poured away the tobacco and said, “Some days ago, a woodcutter came to find him and got injured by him. He has been lying in the smelly ditch outside the village for a month without moving. Since you are his disciple, you can just call me senior brother, there’s no need to call be Dao brother.”

“A woodcutter?”

Qin Mu jumped in shock. “Teacher Woodcutter is injured? He hasn’t moved for a month? Which village?”

The old bull stood up, and his forehooves landed on the ground. He swished his tail and said, “Let me bring you there, but you can forget about pulling him up. Old master said to let him rot in the ditch, and whoever dares to pull him out will have to suffer three punches from old master. Old master’s three punches can even open up three holes in the sky!”

Qin Mu called the dragon qilin to follow up, but he seemed to be unwilling to tag along. He was afraid of the old bull, but the old bull had quite a big heart. He said with a smile, “Big dog, there’s no need to be afraid of me, you are still young. When you grow up, you can easily press me down and beat me up.”

The dragon qilin’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Just kidding.”

The old bull drank up the tea on the stone table and with a sweep of his tongue, both the teacup and teapot vanished. He continued to walk ahead calmly. “You are too young, even if you cultivate another thousand years, I can still fight three of you with one hoof. I’ve fought countless true dragons and qilins, much less a small child like you. Our village is right in front; it’s a small mountain village.”

The dragon qilin hung his head down in disappointment.

Qin Mu said with a smile, “Senior Brother Bull, even though Fatty Dragon is still young, you can’t underestimate him. I’ve imparted him Ancestral Dragon Supreme Mystery Technique, it’s a technique on Emperor’s Throne, and his cultivation is improving at godspeed. He might just be able to surpass you in the future.”

“My name is Niu Sanduo.”

The old bull swished his tail and said, “It’s not whether the technique is strong or weak; it lies in whether it’s yours or not. His technique isn’t his, and he still has the bloodline of a qilin. Ancestral Dragon Supreme Mystery Technique should be a technique of the dragon race, am I right? He can only cultivate half of it, and the other half is full of flaws. It would be a wonder if he’s able to defeat me. If you don’t carve out your own path, cultivating any technique is just a waste of time.”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred slightly. ‘The horizons of this Senior Brother Niu Sanduo surpassed numerous gods, look like Heavenly Teacher Farmer is truly the Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher, to be able to train even a bull to such an extent that he is not inferior to a ruler of a world such as Fu Riluo.’

They arrived at a small mountain village in the Great Ruins, and it was a six to seven-mile journey from the fields.

Qin Mu examined the scenery of the mountain village and saw the small mountain village had limpid waters and verdant hills. It was beside a mountain and had fresh spring water flowing down from above. There were a hundred villagers in the village, but there wasn’t a stone statue at all.

“Take a look, see if the one lying in the ditch is your teacher or not.” The old bull swayed his buttocks and walked into the village.

Qin Mu went to the ditch at the village entrance and indeed saw a man lying face up in the smelly ditch. He got soaked by the smelly water until his face was turning white.

Waves of stench emanated out from the ditch and could cause one to retch. The man who was dressed like a woodcutter had his arms and legs broken. From the looks of his body, numerous other bones seemed to be broken as well. Only his skull seemed to be intact.

Qin Mu looked for a moment, and the man lying in the ditch finally noticed him. He flipped around and buried his face in the smelly water. On his head were even a few pieces of decomposed cabbage and stabbed in his buttocks was a cleanly gnawed chicken bone.

Qin Mu squatted beside the smelly ditch and said calmly, “Why has teacher fallen so miserably as to be floating in a ditch like a capsized ship?”

Saint Woodcutter splashed as he flipped around and even his stubbles were white from being soaked too long. He said slowly, “The weather was unpredictable, the wave too huge, and thus the ship capsized.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “Can teacher get out from the ditch?”

“My bones are all broken, and my cultivation is sealed; I can’t even struggle.”

Qin Mu asked again, “Does teacher have a grudge with Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher?”

Saint Woodcutter said, “We were never on good terms.”

Qin Mu nodded his head and stood up. He walked towards the village and said loudly, “Founding Emperor’s One Hundredth and Seventh Descendant Qin Mu Qin Fengqing, seeks an audience with Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher!”

The farmers in the village stopped what they were doing and look at him. An old, big, sturdy yet slightly short farmer was currently brushing the hair on the old bull’s neck, and his ears twitched when he heard what Qin Mu said. He also turned to look at him.

Qin Mu brought the dragon qilin into the village, but there were no sounds in the surroundings. There were only a hundred people staring at them.

The dragon qilin’s heart was beating wildly as he followed closely behind Qin Mu with quick steps. He suppressed his voice and said, “Cult Master, this village is strange, other than that old farmer, there are no elderly or children; they are all young people…”

Qin Mu smiled as he looked forward. He walked towards the old bull and the robust yet short farmer while explaining softly, “Fatty Dragon has grown up, you have started to notice such details. It is indeed strange that this village doesn’t have any elderly and children.”

“Could the old bull have eaten all of them?” The dragon qilin shuddered.

Qin Mu took down the willow leaf on the heart of his brows and gave a sweep at the surroundings. He shook his head and said, “Of course not. The reason why there is no elderly is that none of them can grow old. How could gods age?”

“Gods?”

The dragon qilin jumped in shock and looked timidly around him. There were a hundred people staring at them. Could everyone in the village be a god?

‘Cult Master’s teacher is truly tired of living for daring to come here to pick a fight!’ the dragon qilin thought to himself secretly.

In Qin Mu’s third eye, the divine treasures and celestial palaces of the villagers appeared, and their divine bridges were complete. The divine bridges stretched out from their divine treasures and reached the celestial palaces.

And among the celestial palaces of the villagers, abnormally tall and majestic primordial spirits stood in the depths of the celestial palaces. He couldn’t see the accurate location where the primordial spirits were standing at, but he could see that the person with the lowest cultivation was also on Jade Pavilion!

He looked at that old farmer, but he couldn’t see his cultivation. He also couldn’t see through that old bull either!

“Looks like what the old bull said is true, Fatty Dragon won’t be able to fight him even if he cultivates another thousand years.”

Qin Mu stuck the willow leaf properly and walked to the front of the old bull and the old farmer. He bowed and greeted, “Founding Emperor Qin Family Son Qin Mu pays my respects to Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher.”

The wrinkles on the old farmer’s face were very deep. His black skin gave off a red glow, and it looked like he had to suffer from the harsh weathers daily. The tendons in his arms were also raised high, and his finger joints were thick and seemed to be full of strength.

His eye sockets were sunk in, and his eyelids were hanging down. He continued to brush the hair of the old bull, and his voice was loud like a bell. “There is no Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher here; we are all farmers. You have found the wrong person.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “Since Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher isn’t willing to admit your identity, can I bring back my teacher, who is the person in the ditch?”

That old farmer clenched his fist tightly, and rumbles of thunder burst forth. Qin Mu raised his head, and the sky suddenly became dark. Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled as streaks of lightning tore through the sky. One could faintly see a fist that was like a black mountain appearing in the sky above.

“If you want to bring the old fraud away, take three punches from me first!”

That old farmer took a glance and shook his head. “But your body can’t take it.”

Qin Mu composed himself and pulled back his gaze. “Heavenly Teacher is the one with the strongest martial power among the four heavenly teachers, would you cause trouble for a junior of the Qin family?”

That old farmer opened up his fist and continued to brush the hair of the bull. He said indifferently, “Is the bloodline of Founding Emperor remarkable? Back then, there were also evil-doers among the sons and daughters of Founding Emperor, and I’ve killed a few of them. The first among the four great heavenly teachers isn’t me, so what use is martial power? It’s still inferior to that person in the ditch that only knows how to use his mouth.”

Qin Mu’s heart jumped, and a drop of cold sweat appeared on his sideburns. To even dare to kill the sons and daughters of Founding Emperor directly?

The Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher was truly daring!

“What does Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher need to let Teacher Woodcutter off?”

Qin Mu suddenly said righteously, “The martial world has rules of the martial world, and the imperial court has the rules of the imperial court. Since I’ve come to the martial world, let us go by the rules of the martial world! Junior Qin Mu is here to save my teacher, may Heavenly Teacher lay your terms!”

That old farmer raised his drooping eyelids and chuckled. “Rules of the martial world? Very well! I want to see how much talking big can teach you! The wretched woodcutter relied on talking big to become the number one among the four great heavenly teachers; you shouldn’t have just learned how to talk big from him, right?”

Qin Mu laughed loudly, and his clothes flapped without any wind. “I’m ashamed to say, but ever since junior started my cultivation journey, I’ve always solved my problems with fists. I have fought my way over, and I’ve never lost to anyone!”

The old farmer examined him and burst out in laughter. “You haven’t even cultivated out your martial soul, and your fists have vital essence but no spirit; you are merely a fellow that hasn’t achieve the Dao yet your words can shake the heavens. Come, open up the Bullfighting Palace!”

In the mountain village, the farmers stood up and roared in unison as they punched out together.

Behind the village, the mountain moved horizontally, and space got ripped open to reveal a majestic celestial palace. The celestial palace sat among a piece of vast heaven.

The world opened up with the sun, the moon, and the radiant stars hanging high up in the sky. There was actually quite a sizable country inside.

“Let’s go to the Bullfighting Palace, the rules of the martial world!”

The old farmer chuckled. “Regardless of Life and Death!”

Qin Mu’s scalp crawled, and the dragon qilin secretly turned around. He planned to slip away, but his tail got stomped by Qin Mu, almost scaring him to death.