Tales of Herding Gods

“King Yama wants to punish you? What have you done?” In Hall of Wen Yuan, the past cult masters all frowned greatly, and Cult Master Zu Yang asked, “Is the thing you did big or small? If it’s big, why don’t we revolt?”

The other cult masters were instantly excited and started to plan on how to revolt and rouse the other dead people in Fengdu. They even thought of a few slogans for the revolt.

Qin Mu hurriedly said, “It isn’t a big matter. It’s just a small matter so there’s no need to revolt. In the battle when we blocked off the gods of High Heavens on God Broken Mountain Range, I seized the primordial spirits of a few people who died in battle from Fengdu and revived them.”

The past cult masters became silent. After a moment, Cult Master Hu Jun slapped his thigh and said, “Where were we at? Right, right, the flags used for the revolt! I feel we should use flags of the martial god…”

Qin Mu smiled and said, “Just a small matter…”

“Small matter? Seizing people from Fengdu is a small matter?” Numerous cult masters turned to look over at him with anger in their eyes and sneered. “Snatching people at the Bridge of Helplessness scared even us shitless; we thought Youdu had come to attack us! This is definitely not a small matter, and King Yama is going to behead you!”

“If it was a small matter, we would ignore it and let King Yama take you, so he can give you two slaps on your buttocks before releasing you. But this is a huge matter which endangered the whole of Fengdu, so revolt is the only way out now!” Si Yuanwei said.

Outside the hall, God Chi Xiu’s voice rang out once more, a little more impatient now. “Cult Master Qin, if you don’t come out, I’m going in!”

The young patriarch suddenly said, “Cult Master Qin, why did King Yama didn’t punish you directly and let you roam around the city freely? If your crime is really severe, shouldn’t you be guarded tightly in the prison?”

When he asked this, everyone came to a sudden realization—Qin Mu didn’t look like a prisoner was supposed to look. Instead, he could still visit his friends and family in Fengdu and even give them a beating.

“Before King Yama punished you, who else did he see?”

Qin Mu nodded. “He dealt with Xing An and Shaman God Kui. Xing An was released by him and Shaman God Kui was to be studied by numerous ghost kings because of his Youdu spells. King Yama also wanted to study the divine arts of Shaman God Kui so he let me out first.”

“In that case, the thing you have done is small.” The young patriarch smiled. “I know that what Xing An is big, but King Yama still released him. Shaman God Kui is a god of Youdu so the things he did should be even worse. Since they were punished first, this means that their crimes were above yours. Your crime is much smaller than theirs. Follow God Chi Xiu. King Yama won’t give you trouble.”

Numerous cult masters nodded and said, “Just go. If King Yama wants to kill you, we’ll go seize the execution grounds and the passage to reincarnation!”

Qin Mu relaxed and walked out of Hall of Wen Yuan. God Chi Xiu stood on the head of a stone lion pruning his feathers. When he saw him coming out, he pulled out his beak from his feathers and said, “Follow me.”

Qin Mu went over while asking, “Senior Chi Xiu, King Yama is summoning me—”

“Don’t talk, you have the smell of a living person,” Chi Xiu said. “I hate people that still have breath. If you breathe your last, your words will be much more pleasant. Also, King Yama is not summoning you, he wants to interrogate you.”

They came to Hall of King Qin, and Qin Mu looked at the front of the hall. There was a pile of flesh fighting and struggling as Xing An still couldn’t give up the corporeal body parts of other people. It was evident that he was reluctant to give up his own path.

‘Even a wise man like Xing An finds it hard to give up the benefits he had attained. As a result, he’s blinded by greed.’

He couldn’t help shaking his head. By being indecisive, Xing An was delaying his life, but it was no surprise. He had been collecting other people’s body parts diligently his whole life to take them for his own. Making him give them up now was to make him give up his path and deny his entire life; it was indeed hard to accept it.

The greater the achievements and the willpower of a person were, the harder it was for them to change themselves and their understanding. It was hard to admit one’s own mistake.

“The sky is turning bright!”

Suddenly, mournful shouts came from Fengdu City, and Qin Mu hurriedly took a look at the source of them. He saw huge beasts lying on roofs of the halls and looking up at the sky while shouting. “All homes and all cities be careful! The sky is turning bright!”

In Fengdu City, the roaming souls filled the sky as they scrambled in all directions. On the land, numerous awe-inspiring gods and devils were running left and right, trying to find places to hide.

Qin Mu was slightly stunned and asked, “God Chi Xiu, what happens when the sky is bright?”

God Chi Xiu was unconcerned. “The sun is coming out. They have to hide or else the fire of pure yang from the sky will burn them. This sun is different from the one you see outside.”

Qin Mu was bewildered. Suddenly, the darkness withdrew rapidly and the foggy Fengdu became incomparably bright!

It was his first time seeing the city in the day, and he saw the streets that were bustling with gods and devils suddenly become cold and cheerless. All of the inhabitants had shut their doors, and the roaming souls had delved into the abyss. The huge beasts on the hall’s had all hid inside, and the entire Fengdu had become quiet instantly.

Next, white light became red as an incomparably huge sun blazing with flames rose in the horizon. In an instant, flames came from the east, surging over like the flowing sea that flooded the sky and covered the earth. All the streets were filled, and all the palaces and houses were drowned out.

The blazing fire of pure yang swallowed up the cities of Fengdu, the blazing heat almost warping the space!

Qin Mu bathed in the fire of pure yang and saw flesh, blood, and meridians gradually appearing on his skeleton body. Looking down, he could even see the five viscera and six bowels in his ribs!

Meanwhile, when he looked into the window of the hall where the gods and devils were hiding, their flesh and blood were gradually fading away, revealing white bones!

The true fire of pure yang was harmless to him, but the corporeal bodies of the gods and devils of Fengdu could be burned while their souls and primordial spirits could be incinerated!

In the east, the huge sun became hotter and hotter until it was bright red. Incomparably huge palace halls could be faintly seen on the sun, and in front of them were giant drums. Valiant gods and devils were beating the drum frantically, sending the true fire of pure yang from the sun into Fengdu.

On the sun, there were ten thousand sacred halls, ten thousand drums, and ten thousand giants that were beating the drums frantically. True fire was spewed out and flooded Fengdu!

“This is…”

Qin Mu’s mind trembled. He suddenly heard a shriek and turned back to look. He saw the big ball of flesh that was Xing An being burned by the true fire of pure yang. Dozens of faces distorted as they struggled and shrieked in pain.

The many bodies were fading away after being burned by the true fire, revealing Xing An’s true body.

Xing An was also in unbearable pain. At that moment, he suddenly jumped up and splashed into the River of Helplessness. The fog in the river under the bridge churned as monsters moved to swallow him.

“Xing An?”

Qin Mu quickly came to the side of the river. The fog became thicker to defend against the flames of the sun so he couldn’t see any traces of Xing An.

“He fell into Youdu.” God Chi Xiu flapped his wings. The true fire of pure yang was ineffective against him, but he still hurried them. “Faster, King Yama is still waiting for you!”

Qin Mu composed himself and followed him into Hall of King Qin.

Inside it, King Yama was still clad in a black cape. His face and body were hidden in the darkness. Qin Mu looked around but didn’t see any of the ghost kings.

“Chi Xiu, you may go now.” King Yama sat on the throne in Hall of King Qin, so his voice came from high above.

“Understood.” God Chi Xiu left Hall of King Qin.

On the throne, King Yama flipped through a book which rustled. Only he and Qin Mu were left in, and he seemed to be perfectly fine from the rising sun.

Qin Mu was anxious, but could do nothing. After a while, King Yama stood up, and the light in Hall of King Qin became dim. Qin Mu instantly felt as though he was shrouded in darkness.

“Are you from Carefree Village? Who is your father?”

Qin Mu was slightly stunned, not understanding why he suddenly asked that. “My father is Qin Hanzhen, my ancestral hometown should be Carefree Village, but I wasn’t born the—”

“Qin Hanzhen?” King Yama stared blankly at him as he said in a low voice, “Has it come to the generation of Han? Yu, De, Chang, Ming, Han, Feng, Huan, Zhen. The Qin of your generation should already be more than a hundredth generation.”

He picked up the book he was reading and searched for the Han word. “Han is the hundredth and sixth generation, Feng is the hundredth and seventh generation. Your original name isn’t Qin Mu, since there should be a Feng word in your name.”

Qin Mu nodded, but he didn’t say his original name.

After meeting Grandmaster, he realized how dangerous it was to say his real name. With a person like King Yama who controlled Fengdu, it was even more dangerous.

Even though there was Hall of King Qin and King Yama had the family history of Qin, Qin Mu still had to be careful.

“It’s right that you didn’t tell me your name. The world is indeed abnormally dangerous,” said King Yama. “My surname is also Qin, but it was given to me. I’m adopted. I was originally nothing at all, an orphan that was alone and had nobody to rely on. His Majesty allowed me to enter the family register of Qin Family so my name is on it.”

Qin Mu understood. He said he wasn’t originally from the Qin Family, but he was conferred the surname Qin and taken in as an adopted child.

“It’s been a long time since I saw a visitor from Carefree Village.” King Yama walked to him at the front of the hall. Looking at the Fengdu being bathed in flames, he said, “I had originally thought His Majesty would come back to this place from Carefree Village, but I never expected that even after waiting for twenty thousand years for him I would still not have seen him. Only his hundredth and seventh descendant has come. When you used that Youdu divine art to seize a few souls from me, I noticed that your appearance looks similar to that of His Majesty which was why I didn’t stop you.”

Qin Mu still had some doubts and probed. “What you mean is Founding Emperor is still alive?”

King Yama’s face was shrouded in the black robe, and even the most intense flames couldn’t penetrate into the darkness under it. “His Majesty is still alive. After Carefree Village was opened, he led the last gods out of this world, preserving his strength for a counterattack. His Majesty is powerful and wise, so he knew that danger was approaching long before it came, so he had ordered me to open up Fengdu, making a place for the gods that couldn’t leave in time to hide until the day we will rise again. This wait has lasted for twenty thousand years… You said you weren’t born in Carefree Village earlier, so where were you born?”

Qin Mu was silent for a moment before saying astringently, “Youdu.”