Tales of Herding Gods

“This is Xing An, the saint before Imperial Preceptor,” Qin Mu roughly introduced Xing An to everyone. They were nervous, especially those of the girls. Si Yunxiang, Hu Ling’er, and Ling Yuxiu had seen Xing An before and knew how powerful and terrifying he was.

They had seen him in the battle at Granny Si’s manor, the place where Heavenly Saint Academy now stood. Half of the experts in the world were injured by Xing An, including Emperor Yanfeng!

He had beaten all those experts into acceptance, and even with so many of them around, no one could handle Xing An. In the end, they still had to rely on Qin Mu’s dose of supplement to force Xing An to have no choice but to retreat.

And now, this murderer was sitting right beside them, so it was impossible for them to not be nervous. Even though Imperial College had gathered all the strongest existences in Eternal Peace and there were even a couple who had patched their divine bridges among the first ranking high officials, Xing An was still the strongest existence in the world!

If he wanted to kill them, no one could stop him, not even the gods in Imperial College!

Qin Mu smiled. “As a saint that appears once every five hundred years, Xing An is a senior and it’s a good thing that he wants to know more about our Heaven Alliance. Everyone, there’s no need to be nervous.”

Even though he said so, Qin Mu’s face was deathly white. It was obvious that he was also extremely nervous.

Xing An’s target was obviously him. As the strongest practitioner of the previous generation, Xing An had his own way of doing things, and he would never lay hands on the younger generation. Even if he wanted to, he would wait for them to grow up and reach the god realm in a certain aspect before making his move to take that body part.

But Qin Mu was an exception, for he had offended him too many a time.

First, it was the battle at Heavenly Saint Academy where he used a supplement to make him experience fleeing in defeat while being chased by Butcher. Xing An had been forced to escape to Great Ruins and spend a very long time to heal his injuries.

Second, quite a number of pieces from his collection had been snatched away by Qin Mu, and it was the most annoying part.

Afterward, it was the battle at Little Thunderclap Monastery where Qin Mu had actually stolen his whole chest and seized all his property!

If that wasn’t enough, Qin Mu had even brought him to Fengdu and made him lose face under the influence of the living realm of the dead. He almost couldn’t return alive.

All of that had naturally counted on Qin Mu’s head!

It was already beyond expectations that he didn’t kill Qin Mu without saying a word.

One had to really admire his attainments in the frame of mind for being able to maintain his elegance even after meeting Qin Mu. The trip to Fengdu had crumbled his Dao heart, and his frame of mind was still very weak, but even so, it still surpassed those of many of the people present.

Qin Mu, Wang Muran, Xu Shenghua, and Dao Master Lin Xuan explained everything together, describing how they had calculated the meteorological phenomenon and how thick the sky was. The surroundings of the bonfire were silent, and even Xing An was speechless as he looked at it.

The bonfire roasted the red dragon carp king until fish oil started to emanate and drip into the flames. The oil sizzled and a fragrance rose into the air, whetting their appetite.

“Minister Qin, are you here to severely punish them? Why have you started to eat here? You have the crime of lying to your ruler, off with yo—”

Emperor Yanfeng walked over with a wine jar, his voice holding a hint of intoxication. But when he saw Xing An opposite Qin Mu, he immediately sobered up and turned to leave!

Xing An looked at him indifferently. “Emperor, it’s best for you to sit down and talk, or else the lives of your grand chancellor and princess will just go poof.”

Emperor Yanfeng carrying the wine jar braced himself to turn back. He then sat down beside the bonfire and forced out a smile. “Brother Xing An, you had left in a hurry the previous time and I had lain on the bed for almost twenty days.”

Xing An’s expression was calm. “I lay for four months.”

Emperor Yanfeng handed the wine jar over to him, his gaze flickering. “However, in these few days of not meeting, I have already crossed the divine bride and become a god. Brother Xing An still has not yet reached this step, right?”

Xing An took the wine jar and said, “I have been laying low in Floor of Heavenly Records and flipping through all kinds of classics, studying Great Divine Physician Qin’s space algebra model over and over again. Cultivating to god is no trouble for me, but I still require a year.”

He raised his head to drink the wine while Emperor Yanfeng stared at his throat. He wanted to attack, but he never found the chance.

Qin Mu and the rest were astonished. Xing An had been hiding in Floor of Heavenly Records for the last couple days, but no one had noticed. This made cold sweat roll down their foreheads.

Xing An put down the wine jar and said, “However, Your Majesty cultivating to god realm or not isn’t a problem to me. Even if you cultivated to god realm, you still aren’t my opponent and just a fake god. Your cultivation is at most slightly denser than before, but you didn’t make any advancement in your paths, skills, and divine arts.

“By calling your civil and military officials, Duke Wei and Grand General of Heavenly Strategies over who’ve become gods, you would have a chance against me. However, Imperial College and your capital city would be finished.”

Veins popped out on Emperor Yanfeng’s forehead before going away. He smiled and said, “What were you guys talking about?”

“Heaven Alliance,” Xing An said, “They discovered that the sky is a hundred thousand miles high and a thousand yards thick, so they formed Heaven Alliance. They plan to unravel the mystery and pierce apart this fake sky.”

Emperor Yanfeng scolded them with a smile. “Fooling around, you are all children that like to create trouble. I also know about this incident as Huo Shanling had reported this to me. When I heard Heaven Alliance, I almost jumped in shock, thinking you guys were planning to overthrow me!” When he finished saying that, he laughed loudly.

His laughter didn’t manage to travel far. Instead, it reverberated in the surroundings and caused the qi and blood of everyone around the bonfire to rise.

Emperor Yanfeng was astonished and hurriedly stopped. He had planned to use his laughter to lure Grand General of Heavenly Strategies and the rest up, but he hadn’t expected that even after cultivating to god realm, Xing An’s magic power would still surpass his by so much and be able to form a strange force field. His laughter was trapped in a small space, making it difficult for him to transmit any sound.

His cultivation was incomparably dense, so his laughter alone had shaken Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu until they puked blood. He thus had no choice but to stop.

Xing An took a glance at Ling Yuxiu and said, “Emperor, don’t be cocky so soon, for it’s dark under some lamps. Your princess is a hero and is making friends, being the leader among the younger generation in various sects and clans. She will become a person who will be preeminent in the region.

“Heavenly Devil Cult Master, Dao Master, High Heavens, Little Jade Capital, Buddhism—all these future leaders are friends with her, and once her power is set, you will have no choice but to give up your position to her. You are only looking at the world, but you can’t see her who’s by your side.”

Emperor Yanfeng was unconcerned. “Senior brother, forget about sowing discord between us father and daughter. Could Senior Brother Xing An be interested in Heaven Alliance?”

Xing An shook his head and said, “I’m only interested in the sky being a thousand yards thick and not Heaven Alliance.”

“In that case, is Senior Brother Xing An here to kill me?” Qin Mu asked.

Xing An shook his head again. “Originally, I had indeed wanted to kill Great Divine Physician Qin as I had suffered time and time again under your hand. My chest was stolen, my property seized, and I indeed hated you to the core. However, as I read the books in Floor of Heavenly Records, saw your divine bridge’s space algebra model, heard your lectures in Imperial College as you imparted your sword skills and even founded Secrets of Three Primordial Spirit Assembly in just a few days, I suddenly had no more intention to kill you. Instead, I gained some respect for you.”

His gaze was snow bright, and his expression was calm. He stared straight at Qin Mu as he praised him. “Everyone here is heroes, and the divine arts, paths, and skills founded in these few days surpass the advancement in divine arts, paths, and skills in the past few hundred years. I treasure all of your talents so I’m leaving you guys alive. The world in the future will definitely be very interesting. I anticipate all of you to grow up well, and I’ll hunt you then. This would be the most meaningful thing.”

The expressions of Xu Shenghua, Wang Muran, and the rest flickered.

Wang Muran then said indifferently, “Senior Xing An views himself highly and treats us as his possessions, but under the same realm, you would only be inferior to us! Does senior have the guts to fight us on the same realm?”

Xing An’s gaze was strange, but he shook his head. “There’s no need for that. You guys are not my match on the same realm. Among those of you here, maybe Great Divine Physician Qin and Xu Shenghua of High Heavens alone could be. Other than the two of them, the only other person who could match me on the same realm in Eternal Peace is none other than Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor.

Wang Muran’s complexion turned snow white.

Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was the opponent he wanted to defeat and take revenge on for the death of his master. When he heard Xing An saying that only three people could be a match for him, and Wang Muran was not among them, despair couldn’t help growing in his heart.

Qin Mu, on the other hand, was at ease. Even though Xing An was weird and his character was unreasonable, he always kept his word, which was worthy of respect. When he said he wouldn’t make a move, then as long as one didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t make a move. His life was safe.

“Is Senior Brother Xing An thinking of going to the sky to have a look?” Qin Mu asked. “My Grandpa Butcher had once gone up, but he went there in a hurry so he only took a glance at the numerous formations and gods. Senior Brother, your body parts can never be taken back and have been lost in Fengdu. There is also nothing in the chest anymore. However, there are numerous gods in the sky so you can go there to collect some limbs.”

Xing An was unmoved. “I’ll have to go to the sky sooner or later, but I have not come for the heaven but a person. Heavenly Devil Cult, Dao Sect, Buddhism, Little Jade Capital, High Heavens, and even Eternal Peace Court—all of you have extremely great power so you can help me find that person.”

He didn’t let anyone have the chance to refute and continued. “The person I want to find was born on the eight of the twelfth lunar month seventeen years ago. It was first year of the sixty-year cycle, twelfth solar month, midnight. With everyone’s abilities, especially those of the emperor, it shouldn’t be hard to investigate and pick out some people from this time, right? Once everyone agrees to do this for me, nobody will need to die.”

He smiled and tore himself some more fish, soaking it in the wine jar before sending it to his mouth. His expression was calm when he said, “Otherwise, it will be hard to say how many will survive in this capital city. I won’t kill everyone here, but the lives of everyone else in Imperial College and the capital will have to depend on everyone’s sincerity.”

Cold sweat rolled down Emperor Yanfeng’s forehead, and he said, “Alright! I’ll help you find everyone in this empire born at this time! After it’s done, I wish for Senior Brother Xing An to keep to himself for a period of time!”

Xing An looked around and smiled slightly. “Other than the emperor, are the others not going to do their best?”

Qin Mu let out a shaky breath and said solemnly, “Heavenly Saint Cult will also help Senior Brother Xing An to find that person.”

Dao Master Lin Xuan nodded and said, “My Dao Sect will be in charge of the territories under Dao Sect.”

The devil ape also didn’t keep quiet. “Excellent!”

Xu Shenghua hesitated for a moment before saying, “Since West Earth has already been annexed into Eternal Peace, I can go back to High Heavens and take a look. But if I will succeed or not, I can’t really say.”

Xing An clapped his hands and said with a smile, “In that case, things will be much easier. Great Cult Master Qin, if you are free, why don’t you stay by my side and nurse my body.”

Cold sweat rand down Qin Mu’s forehead, and he immediately said, “I still have things to do! I need to do a big business!”

Xing An didn’t mind that and kept on smiling. “In that case, I can stay beside you too. Your Majesty, you can fall back now.”