Tales of Herding Gods

Boom—

The celestial palace collapsed, and the Numinous Sky Hall behind Jing Baichuan also crumbled. He stretched out his palm, seemingly wanting to stop the celestial palace he had cultivated from crumbling. Instead, his body fell along with the destroyed celestial palace.

Eventually, all of the celestial palaces disappeared, turning into the spirit energy and force of heaven and earth, leaving only the corpse of Jing Baichuan, which fell onto the ruins of the Endless Clouds Palace.

Qin Mu stepped forward and lifted up Yu Chudu, who was among the ruins. He said solemnly, “Yan’er, don’t leave any survivors, not even their souls. I don’t want Celestial Venerable Hao to trace it back to me.”

Upon hearing his order, Yan’er got excited. She turned into a dragon sparrow and pounced on those four strong practitioners at the Jade Capital Realm. At the same time, the dragon qilin jumped onto the ship and charged towards the gods and devils on it.

Yu Chudu was out of breath and unable to stand up. He could only sit on the ground as he bowed at Qin Mu. “Many thanks to Celestial Venerable Mu…”

Qin Mu laughed. “Just call me Senior Uncle.”

“Senior Uncle…” Yu Chudu was bewildered.

Qin Mu gave a faint smile and was about to speak when, suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind him. Her voice was pleasant as she faintly said, “Celestial Venerable Mu, you’ve killed Celestial Venerable Hao’s disciple. Are you not afraid to die?”

“In that case, why did Heavenly Master not stop me?”

Qin Mu turned around and looked at Bai Yujing, who was standing nearby. “Que Feiyin, it’s been a long time since we met. Is that jade pendant still on your primordial spirit?”

Bai Yujing was dressed from head to toe in white, different from the red clothing she used to wear in her previous life. Her figure was graceful and elegant like fine white jade, and her skin was as soft as snow.

She met Qin Mu’s gaze with a complex expression. She raised and then lowered her hands, seemingly in a dilemma.

“Celestial Venerable Mu, I’m the third heavenly master of the celestial heavens. Logically, I should arrest you and bring you to justice. However, you’re also the benefactor who saved my life. Without your jade pendant, I might still be an ignorant girl getting killed by Son of Heaven Yin over and over again.”

Bai Yujing sighed, her breath smelling of orchids and irises. “I discriminate clearly between grudges and gratitude. I won’t pursue the matter this time, treating it as though nothing has happened. I can even help you hide this from Celestial Venerable Hao. Celestial Venerable Mu, we’ll part ways here…”

When she turned to leave, Qin Mu smiled and said, “Que Feiyin, do you remember your master?”

Bai Yujing trembled slightly and stopped walking.

Qin Mu continued talking, saying, “Don’t you want to know about your reincarnation muddle-headedness? About why Son of Heaven Yin would want to kill you over and over again and then allow you to reincarnate? Did that vermillion bird feather make you recall anything?”

She took out the vermillion bird feather and stared at the Vermillion Bird Scared Fire in a daze.

The heart of Qin Mu’s brows opened, and deep in the pupil of his eye, rows of runes of ancient primordial Great Dao on the egg of Celestial Emperor Tai Chu glowed, converging into sight. The Qin word land shook as the Youdu Great Dao rippled, rushing into the Grand Primordium Origin Stone at the center of the Qin word land.

The Origin Stone combined the Dao of Tai Chu with the Youdu Great Dao, gradually raising the power of his third god eye.

Qin Mu used the eye at the heart of his brows to look at Bai Yujing. Instantly, he saw the experiences and encounters of this female emperor’s entire life.

From her birth to her becoming a divine arts practitioner, then becoming a god. He could see how she cheated death time and time again, avoiding Son of Heaven Yin’s ambushes. He also saw the period during the Founding Emperor Era, where her reputation shook the world, ambushing Son of Heaven Yin.

Qin Mu’s gaze pierced deeper, looking at all her previous lives, looking back upon how she died each time.

Bai Yujing was still standing there. Suddenly, she tossed away the vermillion bird feather and smiled as she turned around. “Celestial Venerable Mu, I don’t want to know. I’m simply me, the one and only me! In this world, there’s only one Bai Yujing!”

Her lovely hair fluttered, cutting off Qin Mu’s line of sight. She then turned and left, walking off in a carefree manner.

Bai Yujing came to the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge, then looked back and smiled. “Celestial Venerable Mu, I’m not South Deity! If you want me to become South Deity, then you’re making an enemy of me!”

She placed her palm on the sacrificial altar of the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge and walked into the light. “Celestial Venerable Mu, Celestial Venerable Hao has lost his disciple, and White Deity has lost his beloved general. They will definitely come forth to investigate. I can buy you some time, but it’s best that you leave now.”

The Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge collapsed as her figure disappeared!

“She really is a smart girl…”

Qin Mu looked at the collapsed altar and muttered, “Should I wake her up to let her become South Deity, or should I not wake her up and let her continue to be Bai Yujing?”

He picked up the vermillion bird feather and studied it for a long time.

Behind him, Yan’er killed the four strong practitioners of the Jade Capital Realm and immediately helped the dragon qilin kill the gods and devils on the ship that was under White Deity.

Qin Mu looked at the vermillion bird feather and thought, ‘Waking up the god soul of South Deity is equivalent to killing Bai Yujing. However, isn’t Bai Yujing South Deity? Even if South Deity Zhu Que is awakened, Bai Yujing’s memory won’t disappear and will become a part of South Deity’s long memory…’

Yan’er flew over and chirped, “Young Master, the deed is done! Where’s my mother?”

Qin Mu handed the vermillion bird feather to her and said, “Yan’er, your mother didn’t want to be South Deity. She was too clever and guessed that she was the reincarnation of South Deity from my words. However, she feels that being Bai Yujing or Que Feiyin is better. She thinks that if she awakens the memory of South Deity, that would mean the end for Bai Yujing and Que Feiyin.”

Yan’er was a little confused and muttered, “But Bai Yujing, Que Feiyin, and South Deity Zhu Que, are they not her?”

Qin Mu put away the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage and helped treat Yu Chudu’s broken bones. “Bai Yujing has broken the Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge. She wants to delay Celestial Venerable Hao and White Deity’s arrival here, but she also doesn’t want us to return to the celestial heavens. She’s more worried that I’ll let her die again to revive the soul of South Deity.”

Yan’er still didn’t understand and muttered, “But, they are all her…”

Qin Mu couldn’t help but think of Qin Fengqing. His experience was similar to Bai Yujing’s.

Back then, Qin Mu had thought that he was himself, the one and only him. However, he discovered that he was the second consciousness born from Qin Fengqing’s corporeal body.

He was just a consciousness born accidentally. It wasn’t only his corporeal body that wasn’t his, but his soul as well.

All he had was his consciousness.

Later, Qin Mu dug his eye out and was reborn. Only after that did he have his own soul.

How was Bai Yujing’s experience similar to his? Bai Yujing’s experience was even worse. She was reincarnated for nearly 200 lifetimes, always struggling to survive, forcing herself to become smarter.

Naturally, she would find it hard to accept that she wasn’t herself but the reincarnation of South Deity.

“Disciple Nephew, are you able to walk?” Qin Mu asked after he was done attending to his injuries.

Yu Chudu stood up and moved around twice. He realized that the injuries on his body had recovered. The same couldn’t be said about the injuries suffered by his primordial spirit. Qin Mu’s creation technique could heal the flesh but wasn’t as good at healing the wounds of primordial spirits.

“I can walk, Senior Uncle…”

Yu Chudu hesitated and examined Qin Mu. “I never heard my master mention that I have a senior uncle…”

“You have two senior uncles. I’ll tell you more when we have time.”

Qin Mu gave a flick, and the old gods that were guarding the Endless Clouds Palace fell asleep. Their memories were tampered with by him, with the memory of seeing him and the rest wiped. He then smiled and said, “Let’s go. We can’t use the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage anymore, as it will definitely leave a trace and be spotted by others, and Celestial Venerable Hao would know that it was me who killed his disciple. Disciple Nephew Yu, do you know of any shortcuts that can allow us to leave here and return to the celestial heavens quickly?”

“Senior Uncle, the closest route would be from White Earth Hope Prefecture, which is the Central God Prefecture of the nine prefectures. There’s a Spirit Energy Mutual Shift Bridge there that leads to the White Deity Celestial Palace. If we walk from the starry sky, I’m afraid it’ll take fifty or sixty years to reach the celestial heavens.”