Tales of Herding Gods

Many humans had already moved to the protective range of the Heaven Han Celestial Heavens, yet some human gods didn’t bring many humans with them.

“They don’t trust us. They claim that we are fooling around and ignoring the gods’ arrangements, which we will be punished for.” Those gods felt hopeless.

Celestial Venerable Yue was perplexed. “Don’t they know that they will become sacrifices eventually if they stay in God Emperor Lang Xuan’s territory?”

“They do, but they are used to it. They claimed that was how their ancestors lived.”

“Oh.”

Celestial Venerable Yue went to find Qin Mu but found the dragon qilin adjusting the carriage. Qin Mu and the young man called Luo Xiao had boarded it already. The girl called Yan’er put the lantern on the carriage before running towards her to kowtow to her several times.

Celestial Venerable Yue was frightened and tried to get her to stand. She couldn’t, so she looked at Qin Mu as if she was begging for help.

Qin Mu smiled. “You will understand in the future.”

Celestial Venerable Yue came to the carriage’s side and asked, “You’re planning to leave?”

Qin Mu nodded. “God Emperor Lang Xuan won’t strike out against humans temporarily. My last visit to the Lang Xuan Divine Palace shocked him for at least a thousand years. Although he can’t do anything to me, he can use the celestial heavens’ power against me. Thus, I shall leave as to not implicate you all.”

Celestial Venerable Yue asked, “When will you return?”

Qin Mu was stunned, and he smiled. “As Celestial Venerable Mu, I probably won’t return soon. However, as Celestial Venerable Yun, Celestial Venerable Yun will always stay here.”

Celestial Venerable Yue was visibly perplexed. After a long while, she said, “But, Celestial Venerable Yun isn’t you.”

Qin Mu waved goodbye from the window. “Don’t alert others. We will meet again.”

The carriage drove towards the celestial river. It became smaller and smaller in Celestial Venerable Yue’s gaze as it went further and further away. Eventually, it was gone.

Suddenly, Celestial Venerable Ling’s cheerful voice was heard. “Yue, Yue! Come over! I’ve calculated it! The reason that my hairpin went missing wasn’t that someone stole it. It was because there was a hairpin from the future!”

She was so excited that she almost went crazy.

After hearing her, Celestial Venerable Yue became more and more melancholic. At that moment, a ship drifted down from the celestial river. Celestial Venerable Yun jumped down with some of his followers. He saw the cheerful Celestial Venerable Ling and asked, “Why are you so happy, Sister Ling?”

Celestial Venerable Yue looked at Celestial Venerable Yun multiple times. She examined the entirety of him multiple times as she walked around him.

Celestial Venerable Yun was intrigued by her actions as he stood there awkwardly.

Celestial Venerable Yue blinked and asked, “Brother Yun, did you encounter a treasure carriage pulled by six heavenly dragons heading towards the celestial heavens?”

Celestial Venerable Yun nodded and said, “Yes, I did. It passed by my ship. I was wondering whose luxurious carriage it was. Using six heavenly dragons as leg speed is terrifying! If it had nine heavenly dragons pulling it, it would probably be a being on the level of the four deities going on patrol!”

“You really saw the carriage?” Celestial Venerable Yue was pleasantly surprised.

Celestial Venerable Yun nodded again and said, “Let’s not talk about it. I went to see Celestial Venerable Huo, and he has his own idea. He probably won’t go along with ours. I also got some news from him. Celestial Venerable Hao is about to re-emerge. Celestial Emperor plans to let him build a celestial heavens of the half-gods in the Primordial Realm to rule over the half-gods beneath the heavens. We have to prepare for this. Have you guys set up the celestial heavens?”

Celestial Venerable Ling suppressed her excitement, walked over, glanced at Celestial Venerable Yun, and coldly said, “You’re finally willing to return to your real form?”

Celestial Venerable Yun was perplexed.

Celestial Venerable Ling said, “Don’t always work using the face of Celestial Venerable Mu. You might fall as a result.”

Celestial Venerable Yun became more confused. He didn’t care much about it though due to Celestial Venerable Ling’s weirdness. He immediately went to see Dao Ancestor and asked, “Dao Ancestor, I have a not so mature idea. Can your algebra analyze Great Daos?”

At the same time, the celestial heavens’ ambassador arrived at the Lang Xuan Divine Palace with Celestial Emperor’s decree. It read, “The emperor says that Celestial Venerable Mu bullied and humiliated the descendants of the ancient gods. He is extremely ferocious and evil in his violation of the heavenly laws. If you hold the grand sacrifice, the ancient gods of the five elements will naturally head down to capture him.”

God Emperor Lang Xuan’s expression changed. “We have to use a blood sacrifice to get the ancient gods of the five elements to head down?”

The ambassador said, “That’s what the emperor meant. Celestial Venerable Mu is a human Celestial Venerable with great divine arts. Nobody beneath the heavens can surpass him in that. His divine art skills can only be defeated by Great Daos. If you want justice, you have to get the ancient gods of the five elements to head down.”

God Emperor Lang Xuan was visibly perturbed.

There were many ancient gods, but they were often not in the Primordial Realm. Instead, they lived far away in outer space. One had to perform a blood sacrifice for them to come.

That meant sacrifices.

The ancient gods of the five elements were born from Great Daos. They were extremely strong, and they occupied a higher status than the 28 old ancient gods. Although God Emperor Lang Xuan was better in combat, his comprehension in Dao paled in comparison to theirs. It was the correct move to get them to subdue Celestial Venerable Mu.

When the Dragon Han Celestial Heavens was formed, Celestial Emperor invited the four deities of the ancient gods into the celestial heavens to secure his rule. Thus, he built the four celestial palaces of the Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise for them to live in.

The four poles of the four deities were given to the 28 old ancient gods to rule after.

They were all ferocious and evil beings. They were split into four. Seven of them stayed in the West Pole of White Tiger. Seven stayed in the South Pole of Vermillion Bird. Seven stayed in the North Pole of Black Tortoise. The last seven stayed in the East Pole of Green Dragon.

These 28 ancient gods stayed in the four poles to secure them. They were powerful local officials that held the four poles.

The ancient gods of the five elements were Saturn Sovereign, Mars Sovereign, Mercury Sovereign, Jupiter Sovereign, and Venus Sovereign. They controlled even stronger Great Daos.

Saturn Sovereign controlled the path of death and was the ancient god of death. Mars Sovereign controlled the path of plague and was the ancient god of plague. Mercury Sovereign controlled the path of killing and punishment and was the ancient god of war. Venus Sovereign controlled the path of fortune and disasters, while Jupiter Sovereign controlled the path to life and sacrifice.

Saturn Sovereign and Mars Sovereign resided in Youdu and were the local officials Celestial Emperor used to restrain Earth Count. Mars Sovereign and Venus Sovereign resided in Xuandu and were local officials used to restrain Heaven Duke.

Jupiter Sovereign was closest to the Primordial Realm, as he resided out of it.

They had countless disaster gods beneath them. One had to host a grand sacrifice for their descent.

The half-gods fed on humans and other races’ Postcelestial lifeforms, while the ancient gods fed on half-gods and Postcelestial races. One had to have enough sacrifices to get the ancient gods of the five elements to come to the Primordial Realm.

Some of the chiefs of the half-gods said, “God Emperor, we have a lot of humans unwilling to move in our territories. Besides them, we have various slaves of other races that can be used as sacrifices too.”

God Emperor Lang Xuan said, “Use them for the blood sacrifice to get the ancient gods of the five elements to descend. If it isn’t enough, attack the other races of the Primordial Realm and capture some slaves!”

Finally, the sacrificial altar was complete, and the sacrifices were placed on it.

God Emperor Lang Xuan held the blood sacrifice, and instantly, blood light rose into the clouds to taint the sky blood red. The five stars in the light grew larger and closer. However, there was a layer between them, suggesting that they were in another world.

Those five stars had thousands of palaces and throne halls accompanied by countless gods and devils.

On Mars, there were gods and devils with the heads of cows that stepped on twin dragons.

On Saturn, there were gods and devils with the bodies of snakes.

On Jupiter, there were gods and devils with the bodies and feet of birds that stepped on green dragons.

On Venus, there were gods and devils with the heads of tigers that wielded bronze axes.

On Mercury, there were gods and devils that had crimson hair and the bodies of a snake. They wielded tridents.

The gods and devils on the stars of the five elements absorbed the power from the blood sacrifice in a wild fashion.

“Nephew, you didn’t offer many sacrifices.”

The five stars grew closer, appearing in the skies of the Primordial Realm, but they didn’t enter it. The sacrifice was clearly not enough to get them to descend.

Saturn Sovereign laughed. “You offered too little in terms of souls, blood, and essence. They are second-rate too. Why be stingy? Why not sacrifice your descendants? I have been drooling over them.”

God Emperor Lang Xuan clenched his teeth, bowed, and said, “Uncles, Celestial Venerable Mu is causing trouble in the world. He violated the heavenly laws and insulted the gods, which is basically an insult to every uncle here. Please descend.”

Space warped as the Five Elements Star Sovereigns left Youdu, Xuandu, and outer space and descended on the sacrificial altar. They ate the sacrifices, causing chaos around the sacrificial altar. The sacrificed people and lifeforms of the other races ran, but to what avail?

After they finished, Mercury Sovereign said, “The emperor’s decree sent us here too. It’s expected of us to capture him. However, is the guy called Niu Ben with him?”

During the Jade Pool Meeting then, Niu Sanduo called himself Niu Ben. His divine arts were vast and strong, and he caused chaos in the celestial heavens. He injured countless ancient gods, causing some fear in the Five Elements Star Sovereigns.

God Emperor Lang Xuan bowed and said, “No.”

“That’s good.”

Jupiter Sovereign touched his lips and said, “Nephew, your descendants are tasty and plentiful. You won’t mind if I eat some, right?” After he finished speaking, he extended his hand into Lang Xuan Divine Palace and took some boys and girls out to feast on them.

God Emperor Lang Xuan was furious and surprised. He shouted angrily, and suddenly, Saturn Sovereign’s tail slapped his face, causing him to roll on the ground.

“Nephew, you are only the leader of the half-gods. Your power is ours. Your status and position are also ours.”

Mars Sovereign’s cow hooves stepped on his back while his Great Dao of Plague restrained him. He smiled and said, “What’s wrong with eating a couple of your descendants? Don’t forget who ruled the prehistoric universe!”

God Emperor Lang Xuan had some power, but he couldn’t resist nor face the ancient gods. He experienced the battle of the Blood Rust Zone and could even kill the head of the masters of creation by himself. However, even if he had infinite power, he couldn’t resist the ancient gods. He realized that a long time ago.

God Emperor Lang Xuan bowed down and said, “I was wrong. Please forgive me on behalf of my father.”

Mars Sovereign retracted his cow hooves and said, “I heard that you are East Deity’s son, so I have to give him face. I won’t be too harsh on you. Haha, to you, Celestial Venerable Mu’s divine arts cannot be broken, but to us, his divine arts are barely touching the edge of Dao. We will capture him. Prepare a meat banquet. We shall return soon!”

Whoosh—

Countless weirdly shaped gods and devils flew out of the five stars. The Five Elements Star Sovereigns each led an army that roared on while stepping on colorful dragons.

God Emperor Lang Xuan quietly crawled up and grimly watched the Five Elements Star Sovereigns leave.

“How does it feel to be humiliated, God Emperor?” Celestial Venerable Hao walked out of God Emperor Lang Xuan’s Numinous Sky Hall while smiling.

God Emperor Lang Xuan’s four faces showed embarrassment and anger as he asked, “Why do you humiliate me again, Celestial Venerable Hao?”

Celestial Venerable Hao watched the Five Elements Star Sovereigns far away and said, “Half-gods may be the ancient gods’ descendants and may possess incredible power, but half-gods’ power originates from the ancient gods. We know that to be true, but we don’t know why or how. Do you know why your power is useless against them?”

God Emperor Lang Xuan shook his head!

“Divine arts!”

Celestial Venerable Hao smiled. “Just because you control the attributes doesn’t mean you have divine arts. You have power and strength, but you don’t know where real divine arts originate. Real divine arts originate from Dao! I was hurt by Celestial Venerable Mu, and I laid in bed for a thousand years. I finally understood the source of his power. His divine arts had already entered the path!”

God Emperor Lang Xuan’s eyes expanded as he muttered, “Entering the path with divine arts…”

“You’re right.”

Celestial Venerable Hao walked in front of him and said, “It is that. You learned the celestial palace cultivation technique from me, but it’s still not enough. You have to understand the nature of divine arts too. Understanding it means understanding the nature of Dao, which will allow you to fully master your power. Why could Niu Ben beat up the ancient gods? He entered the path with divine arts. The power he held was unrivaled and enough to break the suppression of the ancient gods! We can have the same power!”

He revealed powerful confidence, leisurely saying, “During this thousand years, I slowly comprehended things while I laid in my sickbed. Now, I feel that I am close to entering the path.”

He turned around and said, “My father ordered me to head down to build the half-gods celestial heavens. I need your help. If you help me, I’ll teach you how to enter the path. If us half-gods can master it, the era of ancient gods will be gone.”

God Emperor Lang Xuan was moved as he asked, “Is entering the path so powerful? Then, wouldn’t the five elements ancient gods hunting down Celestial Venerable Mu be…”

Celestial Venerable Hao revealed a playful smile and said, “Celestial Venerable Mu may be strong, but he’s not strong enough to fight against the ancient gods. He may be a pioneer of divine arts, which I admire, but we can only send him to his doom.”