Tales of Herding Gods

Luo Xiao was extremely puzzled. He caught up and said, “This is a very dangerous place, and we can’t simply walk in casually. It’s best if I lead the way!”

Qin Mu blocked him and smiled. “Dangerous? From what?”

Luo Xiao was slightly stunned. Strangely, after they entered the Grand Primordium Divine Stone mine, they didn’t encounter any of the rumored dangers. On the contrary, it was abnormally quiet.

‘Could it be that the chiefs were just making casual remarks and, in fact, there aren’t any dangers in the mine?’ He was puzzled.

Gu Xiao and Da Hong walked side by side. The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage followed them at the rear. Yan’er stood on the treasure carriage with her lantern, illuminating their path.

Da Hong turned back and smiled. “Brother Mu, Brother Luo, please keep close.”

Qin Mu had no choice but to catch up. Luo Xiao hesitated and said, “I still want to take a look and see whether there are spirits of my ancestors in the depths of the void…”

Gu Xiao turned back and smiled. “The nineteenth void is guarded by the void beast mother, and your consciousness is unable to penetrate the nineteenth void. Old Brother Luo, there’s no need to be impatient.”

Luo Xiao thought about it and believed this must be the case. The void beast mother was strong and powerful. When his consciousness reached the nineteenth void, it would be detected by her and be consumed.

Around them, rays of light wandered between the grass and trees. Luo Xiao looked around and muttered, “Strange, this place is exactly like the chiefs described, but why isn’t it dangerous? This place is the Grand Primordium Divine Stone mine. When the consciousness in the mine encounters people’s thoughts, it will turn into illusions one after another. Even the most powerful masters of creation might fall for it…”

Qin Mu’s gaze landed on the backs of the two walking in front. He reminded him, “Maybe there are powerful existences that can suppress the mine.”

Luo Xiao was astonished. His gaze landed on the golden coffin in front as he said solemnly, “What you’re saying is, the person in the golden coffin is so powerful that he can suppress the mine? Who would have such a level of cultivation? Could it be…”

His eyes brightened as he clapped his hands abruptly. “I know, it’s the Grand Emperor! His corpse is in the golden coffin!”

He said excitedly, “I heard from the chiefs that the Grand Emperor died in the battle of the Blood Rust Zone. It has to be that the ancient Celestial Emperor was worried he would come back to life, so he ordered his men to suppress his corpse here! The Grand Emperor is finally dead!”

Gu Xiao’s voice traveled over from the front, and he faintly said, “The Grand Emperor possesses the most powerful consciousness in history. How could he die? I heard, during the battle of the Blood Rust Zone, the Grand Primordium Origin Stone in the heart of his brows shattered, but he didn’t die. After which, he became a miserable stray dog, hiding from place to place in a state of anxiety.”

Da Hong laughed. “I have also heard that Celestial Emperor defeated the Grand Emperor through dishonorable methods. The one that shattered the Grand Primordium Origin Stone wasn’t Celestial Emperor but the wife of the Grand Emperor, Divine King Gong Yun. Also, Celestial Emperor burned his bridge after crossing it. He killed Divine King Gong Yun after he defeated the Grand Emperor in order to maintain his image.”

Luo Xiao blinked his eyes and smiled. “My two brothers, where did you hear all of this? Even I, a master of creation, am not aware of this. My village elders and chiefs haven’t mentioned this before.”

The two didn’t answer but continued walking forward.

Luo Xiao was suspicious.

After a long time, they finally arrived beside the eight ancient gods’ corpses.

They floated up in the air and came to the side of the golden coffin.

Gu Xiao and Da Hong both looked at the golden coffin with a faint gaze, but they didn’t say anything.

Qin Mu and Luo Xiao walked over as the dragon qilin followed behind. Yan’er continued to stand on the carriage, carrying her lantern.

Da Hong smiled faintly. “The ancient Celestial Emperor brags that he is a just and righteous person. Yet, he made use of the Grand Emperor’s wife, Gong Yun. He must have promised her a lot of things, like the survival of her people. However, to maintain his reputation, he had to kill Gong Yun. Not just her, he would have had to get rid of the eight ancient gods who delivered the coffin here.”

He raised his head and looked at Gu Xiao with scorn. “The Grand Primordium Divine Stone mine was the best way to kill off these eight ancient gods. Celestial Emperor was originally an egg from this mine, so he understands how terrifying this mine is. When he ordered the eight ancient gods to bring the coffin here, he was actually using the power of the mine to kill off these insiders!”

Gu Xiao gave a sound of acknowledgment and said plainly, “I heard that the Grand Emperor was ruthless and cruel. He was worried that the masters of creation might produce another Grand Emperor and thus decided to kill off his and Divine King Gong Yun’s tribe, even planning to exterminate every master of creation. His wife, Gong Yun, was so heartbroken that she had an affair with Celestial Emperor and had a son.”

Da Hong’s pupils contracted. “The Grand Emperor was indeed betrayed by Gong Yun. However, even after she shattered his Grand Primordium Origin Stone, he didn’t hurt her. On the contrary, Celestial Emperor betrayed Gong Yun and killed her!”

At that moment, the two of them didn’t care about Luo Xiao, Qin Mu, and the rest. Clearly, given how things had progressed, they had already determined each other’s identities and decided to have a showdown to battle to their deaths!

Luo Xiao was stunned. He shook his head and asked Qin Mu, “Are the human race and demon race so ancient? They seem to know about the things that happened during the ancient primordial era.”

The corners of Qin Mu’s eyes twitched. He was resisting the urge to beat him up and make him smarter.

Da Hong and Gu Xiao extended their arms and grabbed the coffin, preparing to open it.

Qin Mu took a step back.

The coffin was opened by the two. However, they remained looking at each other, not wanting to miss each other’s expressions.

Qin Mu gritted his teeth, unable to suppress the curiosity in his heart. He summoned his courage and peered into the coffin.

The coffin was huge, and the woman inside was a giant. She laid inside with her eyes shut, as though she was sleeping.

The eye at the heart of her brows had been dug out by someone. There was a dark red patch across her chest, which should have been the fatal wound that killed her. Without her eye at the heart of her brows, the power of her consciousness divine arts was greatly weakened.

She died at the hands of someone close to her. The one who killed her must have had a close relationship with her, hence being able to dig out her eye when she was unguarded, causing her power to decrease substantially.

That person was very kind to her and had her groomed after her death. She was dressed in the most gorgeous clothes, with a phoenix crown on her head, looking like a dignified empress.

There was a flower in her hand. Even now, it hadn’t withered, and it was still held close to her chest, blocking the fatal wound precisely.

Da Hong chuckled. “My three brothers, Celestial Emperor deserves to die. Am I right?”

Qin Mu felt a chill down his spine. He stepped back and coughed. “Brother Luo, let’s go find the spirits of your ancestors!”

Luo Xiao wanted to go forward. “I haven’t seen Divine King Gong Yun before. I would like to take a look first…”

“Don’t!”

Qin Mu was furious and dragged him away.

Luo Xiao got a fright and laughed. “Brother Mu, you are the most junior brother, but you lecture me as though I’m your son. If you don’t want me to take a look, I won’t. Why do you have to be so fierce?”

At that moment, Da Hong’s voice traveled over. “Celestial Emperor, hehe, or should I call you Tai Chu? Back then, when I dug you out together with the Grand Primordium Origin Stone, I detected an extremely powerful lifeform in the egg. A lifeform more ancient than us, the masters of creation.”

Luo Xiao was stunned. Suddenly, he shuddered several times, his face revealing a look of disbelief.

“I detected your strength. However, it wasn’t yet the time for your birth. If you continued to remain in the Grand Primordium Divine Stone mine, sooner or later, you would have absorbed the mine’s power and become incomparably powerful.”

Da Hong continued, “At that time, I thought of borrowing your body, but I suppressed that. After gaining the Origin Stone, I became arrogant, thinking I had no reason to fear you and could only be stronger than you! Hence, I raised you like a son. In order for you to be born, I even had humans perform sacrificial offerings for you.”

He chuckled. “It’s a pity that I underestimated you.”

Gu Xiao said plainly, “You asking the humans to perform sacrificial offerings for me is like tugging at a sapling to help it grow. You had ill intentions and wanted to use the power of sacrificial offerings to control me, grooming me to become your weapon. How could I not understand your plans? When I was growing in the egg, I had already comprehended the various rules of Great Dao, absorbing the power of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. I was born with great intelligence. However, you took away the Origin Stone and stunted my growth. Hence, I made use of the masters of creation’s power to help me grow, absorbing the necessary nutrients.”

Luo Xiao felt a chill down his spine. He quickened his pace as he walked towards the outside of the mine.

Gu Xiao continued, “Grand Emperor, this isn’t your real body, so how powerful can it be? You merely borrowed the body of a lowly demon. Even if you know about what happened in the past and have seen Gong Yun, what can you do?”

“It’s sufficient to kill you.”

Da Hong said plainly, “Aren’t you using a reincarnated body? You have reincarnated into a human. In order to have frequent secret meetings with Mistress Yuanmu, you have arranged to become the heavenly master of the Southern Sect. This human body of yours, how powerful can it be?”

Gu Xiao said indifferently, “In that case, what are you waiting for?”

Qin Mu immediately felt two terrifying tremors from the mine, causing one to shiver in fear. He hurriedly shouted, “I can’t help! If I die here, no one…”

“Got it!” Da Hong and Gu Xiao’s voices traveled over at the same time, shouting in rage.

Behind them, those two terrifying tremors subsided slightly.

Qin Mu heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Fatty Dragon, Yan’er, get up on the carriage! Brother Luo, you too!”

After everyone boarded the carriage, the dragon qilin cracked his whip as the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage galloped at full speed towards the outside of the mine.

The moment the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage charged out of the mine, an abnormally ferocious divine art rippled over. Qin Mu looked back and saw that Da Hong had removed his hands from his sleeves!

He pulled out a large spear from his sleeves. Interestingly, although his sleeve wasn’t more than a foot long, the spear was more than three feet long.

The spear wasn’t complete. The usual divine spear had a straight body, but his spear was crooked and meandering, like a dragon.

The spear was refined by the dragon veins of the ancestral court’s ancestral dragon. As he stabbed out with his spear, incomparably loud dragon cries resonated in everyone’s ears!

The file in Gu Xiao’s hands also transformed at the same time, turning into the shape of a sword. The surface was densely covered with tiny dots. When the file revealed its true form, it became an imperial sword, which symbolized Celestial Emperor’s domination over the universe!

The tiny dots on both sides of the sword had transformed into countless imprints of strange writings and symbols, covering the entire body of the sword. Those were Great Dao imprints!

When Gu Xiao was filing his nails with his file, no one could make out the real form of the sword. They weren’t aware that the neatly placed tiny dots were actually Great Dao imprints!

There were close to 2,000 types of imprints on the sword, representing the blessings given to Celestial Emperor from 2,000 ancient gods during prehistory, as well as their submission to him!

As the treasure sword clashed with the ancestral dragon divine spear, Dao sound resonated. It sounded as though millions of ancient gods were singing together, using their Great Dao to support their powerful emperor!

Above the golden coffin and the eight ancient god corpses, the two terrifying figures exchanged their first set of blows.

The ripples traveled quickly over to Qin Mu and the rest. Yan’er dodged behind the carriage, merging her primordial spirit and corporeal body together to transform into the Dragon Sparrow Engulfing The Sky form, protecting the carriage.

Boom—

She grunted as blood dripped from the corners of her mouth. Her corporeal body and primordial spirit were severely damaged within an instant, causing her to revert to her original form, a fat girl.

The pressure of this terrifying shockwave was so intense that this 350-pound girl ended up being plastered onto the back of the treasure carriage, moving forward along with the carriage. The six heavenly dragons tried to hold down the treasure carriage with all their might but were suppressed by the frightening power, forcing them back.

Since they were using too much of their power, their skin was cracked open by their large veins, causing them to bleed.

Qin Mu made a stroke as his teleportation divine art exploded, transforming into a big circular ring that blocked out the rippling effects of Da Hong and Gu Xiao’s divine arts. However, his teleportation divine art was smashed instantly.

Qin Mu twirled his fingers repeatedly, drawing big circles in succession. Within these circles, countless teleportation runes flew out, forming teleportation divine arts one after another. As one ring was shattered, another one took its place, helping Yan’er resist the shockwaves of the divine arts.

Luo Xiao immediately controlled the void beast and placed him behind the treasure carriage. However, it was also being pressured until it was forced back.

Finally, the first shockwave was over. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. As they looked into the distance, they realized that the treasure carriage was pushed hundreds of miles out.

“Da Hong isn’t Gu Xiao’s match.”

Qin Mu’s god eyes were peerless and could see what was happening in the mine. Da Hong was injured. Compared to Gu Xiao, he was slightly weaker due to his demon race corporeal body.

Although it was the groundbreaking first demon, when faced with Gu Xiao and his imperial sword that was powered by the Great Dao, he suffered a huge loss from the first exchange of blows.

Gu Xiao’s sword couldn’t be referred to as a sword but a type of Great Dao weapon. As the sword moved, close to 2,000 ancient gods of all sizes stood behind him, neatly placed. Among them were apparitions of majestic existences like Earth Count, Heaven Duke, and Mother Earth!

“I have been searching for you all these years. I’m unable to put my heart at ease when you’re still alive.”

Although Gu Xiao spoke nonchalantly, his sword light was frightening, forcing Da Hong to spread the two wings on his back and fly up into the air. Da Hong said plainly, “In order to lure you out, I was willing to reveal the location of the ancestral court and banter with Celestial Venerable Mu. I can also resist the urge to search for the rest of the masters of creation! My objective is here, to humiliate and kill you in front of Gong Yun!”

“You really think you can defeat me?”

Da Hong laughed heartily. Suddenly, the sky became extremely bright, and a humongous void beast mother squeezed out from the layers and layers of void. Its eye was as bright as a million suns.

“The later generations view the Dao as supreme and visualization as declining and outdated. Celestial Emperor, I know this body might not be your match, unable to beat any Dao you pull out from your body. However, in the ancestral court, you aren’t my match.”

The voice of Da Hong traveled over from the mine. The void beast mother had squeezed out of the void, its body becoming smaller and smaller as it charged towards the mine!

That immensely powerful void beast mother was shrinking its body. The void beasts could change their size at will. They could swallow the sun and the moon, and they could also become as small as a mustard seed.

It was so powerful that it ignored the power of the Grand Primordium Divine Stone mine, charging directly inside!

“The most powerful void beast mother submits to the strongest master of creation! The void beasts here are her offspring!”

Da Hong’s voice contained both joy and mockery. “Tai Chu, this is why I chose to battle you here!”