Tales of Herding Gods

West Deity had changed out of her battle attire. Her original armor didn’t reveal much, just two large eyes. Now, Qin Mu could finally see her face.

Her clothes were white, embroidered with tiger heads from golden threads, and on her head was a royal headdress, which was embroidered with the picture of two tigers supporting a hydrangea.

The usual royal headdress had two black gauzes that stuck out on the sides like two little wings. However, for her royal headdress, it was her ears that were on the sides instead.

It was because she had nowhere to place her pair of tiger ears except to simply have them penetrate through the sides of the headdress. Her furry ears twitched from time to time, looking very alert.

The cheeks of this ancient god were round and chubby, with some baby fat. Her sleeves were wide and long, with her hands hidden inside. Her skirt was short, only covering seven inches above her knees. Nothing was worn on her legs, except for a pair of shoes with tiger heads.

Qin Mu finally understood why her skirt was so short. It was because she had nowhere to place her tail. Occasionally, it would straighten up behind her, sometimes rising above her shoulders, looking very agile.

If this tail had eyes, it would be probing around and inspecting its surroundings.

It was the first time Qin Mu had seen such an adorable ancient god. Moreover, one that was one of the four great deities of the ancient gods.

The status of the ancient gods was extremely high. Even the grass gods of Mother Earth enjoyed a frightening level of status. The status of the four deities of the ancient gods was even higher!

Although the present status of the ancient gods couldn’t be compared to the past, they remained the supreme existences that ruled the four poles of the universe!

Qin Mu had seen three of the four deities of the ancient gods. Qing Long had the bearing of an emperor. Although Xuan Wu was restrained, his might and power were extraordinary. South Deity Zhu Que may like to inquire about the private matters of others, but she displayed the graceful bearing of a great deity of the ancient gods in front and behind others.

Only this West Deity was like a little girl that hadn’t grown up.

Qin Mu had a strange expression. He thought to himself, ‘I’m afraid that West Deity is the little sister in every ancient gods’ heart.’

West Deity walked over and smiled. “It feels much better taking off my armor. Celestial Venerable, this way, please.”

As she smiled, she revealed a pair of tiger fangs.

Qin Mu followed her and saw that her tail was pretty restless. At times, it would coil around her waist, and at times, it would climb onto her shoulders. There were even times when it would sweep across the branches and plants beside them.

‘I didn’t see her tail when she was in her armor. I wonder where she hid it.’

Qin Mu stared at the white tiger tail, thinking to himself, ‘If only I could touch it…’

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to touch it. However, she was a great deity of the ancient gods. It would be inappropriate if he touched her without asking.

Yan’er, however, didn’t have such reservations. She bounced to the front and touched West Deity’s tail.

West Deity chuckled as her tail propped up Yan’er’s chin. “Little girl, I’m your aunt, how could you provoke me?”

Yan’er transformed into a little green sparrow. She flew and landed on the pointed end of the tail, asking curiously, “Aunt recognizes me?”

“Of course I recognize you. Your bloodline is unique, I could recognize you with one look.”

The pointed end of West Deity’s tail came to her shoulder, placing Yan’er there. Her tail was gently stroking this little green sparrow’s head. Yan’er was so comfortable that she fell asleep, her head tilted as she snored.

West Deity brought them up the Jade Pavilion to admire the view. The Jade Pavilion of the White Tiger Celestial Palace was different from what Qin Mu imagined. There were many smelting tables lined up along the Jade Pool. The furnaces here operated day and night, causing the air around the place to be hot.

Qin Mu inspected these smelting tables and said in shock, “These are the specifications of the Heavenly Works from the Founding Emperor Era. Has Founding Emperor been here before?”

“Yes, he has been here before.”

West Deity spotted a giant wooden pillar and immediately flew over. Her two hands reached out from her sleeves, revealing sharp tiger claws. She scratched the wooden pillar with lightning speed. After which, she rested lazily on top of that wooden pillar. “Founding Emperor brought along a handsome young man named Li Youran. He was extremely charming and mesmerized the girls in my palace. The smelting tables here were designed by him. When I said there shouldn’t be any forging by the Jade Pool, these girls protested. Therefore, I have no choice but to allow them.”

She looked rather helpless. “There are plenty of divine metals and beautiful jade in the West Pole, and I’m the ancient god of war. Building these smelting tables wasn’t a bad idea. In any case, we will have uses for them. This Li Youran was sent by Qin Ye to learn forging and smelting from me. However, my technique is about absorbing the gold qi, and he was unable to master that. On the contrary, I learned some divine weapon forging techniques from him. However, I’m not as proficient as him.”

Li Youran was Sakra Buddha, Heavenly King of War of the Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens.

His abilities weren’t considered strong among the four great heavenly kings and could even be regarded as the weakest. However, his reputation as Heavenly King of War was well deserved.

It would be very difficult for Mute to surpass him in the path of forging. However, Mute and Blind were cooperating to incorporate the consciousness divine arts of the masters of creation, creating the techniques of microscopic forging.

If their research was successful, they could surpass Li Youran in the path of forging.

The female Heavenly Workers who had headed off to repair the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage were now hauling the carriage back. They placed it by the Jade Pool and began to survey and map out the structure of the carriage.

Qin Mu and West Deity stepped forward to take a look. They saw that these strong-bodied women were skilled with their techniques and dexterous with their hands. Clearly, they had been trained by Sakra Buddha Li Youran.

Qin Mu was very satisfied. ‘Grandpa Mute would like them very much if he saw them.

“West Deity, now that Eternal Peace has delegated forging as one of the foundations in building the country, we will have a need for these Heavenly Workers. If West Deity could send some of the West Pole’s Heavenly Workers to help out, I would definitely engrave it in my heart!”

The more Qin Mu looked at these girls, the more he liked them. “Eternal Peace is also quite successful in the path of forging. We have plenty of skilled craftsmen. If West Deity could send some female Heavenly Workers, they could complement each other’s strengths.”

West Deity shook her head and laughed. “You are trying to cheat me again! I have heard of Eternal Peace. You all are creating divine weapons for the celestial heavens. If I send my Heavenly Workers to Eternal Peace, wouldn’t I be helping to grow the power of the celestial heavens? This is considered giving supplies to the enemy!”

Qin Mu laughed. “West Deity, this is where your knowledge is shallow. From the complete collapse of the Founding Emperor Era until now, 20,000 years have passed. However, there has been no improvement in the forging techniques of the West Pole. In terms of scale, the forge of the West Pole is equivalent to three of Eternal Peace’s manufacturing factories. In terms of techniques, there are no significant accomplishments, merely carrying on what you have inherited during the Founding Emperor Era. Eternal Peace can build divine weapons for the celestial heavens, but it can also build these for itself. As long as there is continuous development, its scale will continue to grow, and its techniques will continue to get stronger!”

He smiled faintly. “I can make a bet with Your Majesty. The person to refine the path of forging until it’s able to imprint the void and become an everlasting Great Dao will be someone from Eternal Peace. It will never be Li Youran or someone from the West Pole!”

West Deity was skeptical. “Li Youran’s path of forging is peerless. What abilities does Eternal Peace have?”

Qin Mu reached out his hand, and a divine hammer flew into it. “The path of forging in Eternal Peace isn’t as simple as forging divine weapons. It can manipulate physics, hence creating a path of attack. I invite Your Majesty West Deity to draw out a divine weapon.”

West Deity clapped her hands, and a female Heavenly Worker took out a divine weapon.

Qin Mu swung his hammer towards that female Heavenly Worker. She got a fright and swiftly raised her divine weapon to block. There was a loud clunk as divine light filled the air.

That female Heavenly Worker was shocked. She hurriedly threw away that divine weapon and inspected herself, heaving a sigh of relief when she realized that she wasn’t injured.

West Deity had a grim expression. She walked forward and picked up the divine weapon that was thrown away, only to realize that the weapon wasn’t divine anymore but a weapon made from ordinary metal.

The blow from Qin Mu’s hammer had actually changed the structure of the divine hammer, changing it into an ordinary hammer!

She couldn’t help but shudder. Although the battle power of the Heavenly Workers wasn’t weak, they couldn’t match up to gods who were specialized in combat, be it divine arts or battle adaptability.

The female Heavenly Workers of the West Pole were like precious treasures. She would never send them to the battlefield, no matter what.

This blow from Qin Mu made her realize the power of Heavenly Works. It could forge divine weapons and also destroy the enemies’ divine weapons in one blow!

Back then, during the total collapse of the Founding Emperor Era, Li Youran led the Heavenly Works God Race onto the Paramita Ark, heading towards Carefree Village to seek refuge. In the end, they were attacked by the celestial heavens. The Heavenly Works God Race was almost completely slaughtered.

If the Heavenly Works God Race had techniques like Qin Mu’s, then that battle wouldn’t have been a one-sided massacre.

‘If the West Pole has such a big army of Heavenly Workers, we would be invincible and all-conquering. Galloping through the heavens, unstoppable!’ West Deity thought quietly.

Qin Mu threw away the hammer and said, “This is the result of the reform of Eternal Peace. This technique was created by two of my family’s elders. It hasn’t been perfected yet. West Deity, your people could also go to Eternal Peace to learn this technique and help Eternal Peace perfect it. This is the real Heavenly King of War, the real domination of battle!”

West Deity pondered for some time before saying sorrowfully, “This reform will undermine us, the ancient gods…”

Suddenly, her tears fell like rain. She choked as she said, “I’m an ancient god of war. I believe that this path of forging that you created will dominate wars, and I will be the first to be killed! I feel that I’m going to die…”

Qin Mu looked at her calmly and explained to her patiently, “Good sister… Earlier, you almost died at the hands of Celestial Venerable Hong, and I was the one who saved you. If I wanted to harm you, would I do that?”

West Deity hugged her tail and cried.

Qin Mu was put on a spot. He shouted, “Stop crying!”

West Deity raised her head while still hugging her tail, looking at him with tearful eyes. Qin Mu’s heart immediately softened as he said gently, “Don’t worry, I’m the Invincible Great Wizard. Even if you’re dead, I have the means to bring you back to life. Relax. Who knows, after you’ve died, you may be able to break free of the restraints of the ancient gods, gaining freedom! When that time comes, you’ll be able to grasp the path of forging. Who would be able to kill you then?”

“You swear!”

“I swear to Earth Count!”

West Deity turned from grief to joy as she stood up happily.

Divine King Lang Wo stood at the side, smiling coldly. She said indifferently, “Holy infant is pretty good at coaxing girls.”

Qin Mu said gently, “Sister Lang Wo…”

“Doesn’t work on me!”

Divine King Lang Wo turned around and stepped away. “I don’t trust that the great deity of the ancient gods would have such simple thoughts!”

Qin Mu’s heart tightened. The conflict between the ancient gods and the masters of creation was indeed the greatest problem in front of him.

Although there were conflicts between the ten Celestial Venerables, they weren’t as serious as the feuds between the ancient gods and the masters of creation!

He was treading on thin ice now. If he wasn’t careful, he could be facing eternal damnation!