Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 904: When Fake Is Considered Real, What Is Real Becomes Fake

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Yan Shaoqing looked around his surroundings and was alarmed. Not far from him, guards were transporting the treasured blood of gods and devils and replacing the big wooden basin.

Beside him, monsters were breeding and crawling out of the blood river, quietly moving onto a prisoner’s body to suck his blood.

Yan Shaoqing retracted his gaze. Qin Mu was beside him, speaking with Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng. His face was full of smiles, as though nothing had happened.

The dragon qilin laid beside Qin Mu’s feet and was sleeping soundly. On top of his head stood a round and chubby green sparrow, who was pruning her feathers in utter boredom.

Yan Shaoqing narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly, “Celestial Venerable, the time for visiting is up, you should leave!”

Qin Mu said, “Your Majesty, Junior Brother, please stay here safely for now. In the future, there will be a day where you are able to leave. I bid you farewell.”

“Take care!” Emperor Yanfeng and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor said their goodbyes.

Qin Mu returned the courtesy. Yan Shaoqing had been following behind him all along, watching him very closely in case he pulled any tricks.

Outside the prison, Yan Shaoqing once again inspected the runic lock on the wooden door. This time, he was more detailed but was unable to find anything strange.

He didn’t care about sending Qin Mu out of the city and immediately flew back to his Judgment Throne Hall to check his official booklet, heaving a sigh of relief when he found his writings in the booklet. He then went forward to send Qin Mu out of the city.

Outside the city, Qin Mu turned and smiled. “Left Assistant Minister, there’s no need to send me further.”

Yan Shaoqing bowed and said, “Farewell, Celestial Venerable…”

He was stunned. The words he spoke were exactly the same as the previous time when he was made a fool of by Qin Mu’s consciousness divine art!

Yan Shaoqing broke into a cold sweat, and his divine art surged forth as he shouted, “Break!”

The world again lost color, turning into black and white, which in turn faded away as the real world was presented. Yan Shaoqing widened his eyes and examined his surroundings, breaking into a cold sweat.

He realized that he remained standing in the great prison, not far from the guards that were changing the wooden basin for blood collection. Monsters were born from the blood river, secretly crawling into the cages and onto the prisoners’ bodies to suck blood.

The dragon qilin remained fast asleep, Yan’er continued to prune her feathers, and Qin Mu was still talking to Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng.

Large drops of sweat appeared on Yan Shaoqing’s forehead, and he said hoarsely, “Jiang Baigui, are there flaws hidden in the Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness that you imparted to me?”

Within the cage, Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor turned his head. His gaze was empty, and he seemed to be in a daze. He looked like a zombie, and his mouth moved as though he was a puppet. “The divine arts of the celestial heavens are old and obsolete. The flaws aren’t solely from the Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness, they also come from Left Assistant Minister. You were born too early. From today’s perspective, the paths, skills, and divine arts that you have learned in the past are incorrect. For instance, your divine treasures.”

In the other cage, Emperor Yanfeng turned his head around. He had the same empty dazed eyes, and his mouth was opening and closing. “The divine treasures that you cultivated in the past were the Spirit Embryo, Five Elements, Six Directions, Seven Stars, Celestial Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge Divine Treasures. However, the divine treasures of Eternal Peace’s reform are very different. You have already cultivated to Numinous Sky Realm. Because your realm has been fixed, you are unable to change your divine treasures foundation. Since your realm is already so high, there is also no need to change your divine treasures foundation. Therefore, the flaws in your techniques remain.”

Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor said emotionlessly, “This is also the case for Crimson Emperor’s Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness, as it is cultivated through the Divine Bridge. Compared to the present-day techniques of Eternal Peace, it contains major flaws.”

Emperor Yanfeng revealed a simple and honest smile. “The Three Primordial Spirit Undying God Consciousness that Imperial Preceptor imparted to you was unadulterated. However, the Undying God Consciousness he imparted was Crimson Emperor’s Undying God Consciousness, not the Celestial River Divine Treasure’s Undying God Consciousness.”

“When the foundation is weak, the earth will tremor and the mountains will shake!”

“I begin with the flaws in your techniques!”

“If there are flaws in the techniques, there will be flaws everywhere in the divine arts.”

“The way to break my divine art is to destroy the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, open up the Celestial River Divine Treasure, and re-cultivate!”

…

In the cages, Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng provided the explanation by conversing among themselves.

Yan Shaoqing’s consciousness burst forth as he shouted fiercely, “Destroy my cultivation? I’m a Numinous Sky Realm existence, only half a step away from Emperor’s Throne. The magic power of my cultivation surpasses yours by leaps and bounds. Just going by cultivation alone, it’s sufficient to crush all of your divine arts. No matter how remarkable your divine arts are, they are unable to restrain me!”

“Break!”

Boom!

There were violent tremors as the colors of the world faded again.

Yan Shaoqing looked like he was being dragged out of water, his whole body drenched with sweat. He was still standing in front of the cages with Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng inside. The dragon qilin was fast asleep, and Qin Mu was talking to Emperor Yanfeng and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor. It was as though time had flowed back to this moment, unchanged.

“Just break!”

Yan Shaoqing quickly executed his consciousness divine art and shouted angrily, “Let’s find out whose divine art is faster!”

He madly executed his divine art, and the colors of the world faded over and over again. Every time, before the new world could be formed completely, it was hit by another impact. At that moment, space had collapsed into disorder, and cracks increasingly appeared in this discolored world.

In the end, Yan Shaoqing executed a thousand divine arts in a flash. He had exceeded the limits of this world, causing the entire world to fall apart!

Yan Shaoqing panted heavily and looked around.

He saw Qin Mu standing in front of the cages, his face filled with astonishment and fear. Countless monsters and guards in the great prison had been knocked out from the impact of Yan Shaoqing’s consciousness divine art.

The dragon qilin by Qin Mu’s feet was also knocked out by the impact of his consciousness and was in a coma, with only the chubby green sparrow remaining awake.

Yan Shaoqing reached out and grabbed Qin Mu. He was in a rage as he shouted, “You are a Celestial Venerable, so I’m not going to kill you. Please leave this place immediately!”

He used his vital qi to pick up the dragon qilin and dashed outside. The green sparrow flapped her wings and followed him, shouting, “Put down Young Master, or I will be rough with you!”

Yan Shaoqing ignored her, sending Qin Mu out of the great prison and White Bone City. Only then did he put Qin Mu down and coldly say, “Celestial Venerable Mu, farewell. I hope I won’t see you again!”

Qin Mu laughed. “You aren’t able to take a small joke. You imprisoned Tian Shu Heavenly King in the Imperial Gate Divine Knife for millions of years, and I was also trapped there for a long time, but did I get mad?”

Yan Shaoqing’s expression darkened, and he returned to his great prison and arrived in his Judgment Throne Hall, raising his pen to write down the details of Qin Mu’s visit.

He heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he felt uneasy and ran towards the wooden door of the great prison. He thought, ‘Have I really broken through his Undying God Consciousness? Let me check, I’m unable to tolerate any mistakes.’

When he arrived in the depths of the great prison, his body suddenly turned stiff. He saw a few guards taking out wooden basins filled with god blood and changing them out with new basins. In the blood river by the side, monsters were born, burrowing into the cages to suck blood.

Yan Shaoqing’s body felt cold as he struggled to walk forward to take a look. He saw the dragon qilin sleeping in front of Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng’s cages. On top of the dragon qilin’s head, a bored green sparrow was pruning her feathers.

And Qin Mu was in front of the cages, talking with Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng.

Yan Shaoqing shook his head, feeling giddy as his legs became heavy. He could only hold onto the cages for support.

“What is happening here?”

He was unable to breathe and dejectedly got down on his knees. He muttered, “Why are you still here? Why… My cultivation surpasses yours by leaps and bounds, so why am I unable to break through your divine art?”

The devil god that was imprisoned in the cage beside him suddenly opened his eyes with a stupefied expression, as though he was a puppet being controlled by someone. His mouth moved stiffly as he said, “Because your foundation is incorrect. The biggest reform of Eternal Peace is the foundation. Your foundation in runes, divine arts, and techniques is all wrong! If you want to break through this consciousness divine art, you need to destroy your cultivation!”

Yan Shaoqing was incensed, and he reached out and smashed the devil god into pieces.

In the cage in front of him, an imprisoned god suddenly opened his eyes and said blankly, “Yan Shaoqing, I was imprisoned in the Imperial Gate Divine Knife for many years. You have only been imprisoned for days, and you’re already unable to endure?”

Yan Shaoqing’s anger couldn’t be restrained as he killed the god.

A guard that was passing by him suddenly stopped, raised his head, and coldly said, “Yan Shaoqing, my divine art isn’t just the Undying God Consciousness, there’s also the Boundless Calamity Sutra. You are committing a major mistake in thinking that everything is an illusion created by my consciousness.”

Yan Shaoqing smashed the guard into pieces with one punch and charged towards Qin Mu.

Another guard stared at him with a strange expression. “Yan Shaoqing, I have discovered the flaws in your foundation and have planted the Boundless Calamity Sutra within your body. It’s very easy for you to break through, all you need to do is destroy your Divine Bridge.”

Yan Shaoqing’s face was black. He quashed the guard into the ground, turning him into a bloody mess.

Qin Mu raised his head and spoke emotionlessly, “What you are doing now is useless.”

Yan Shaoqing tore Qin Mu into pieces, and the world turned black and white. However, the familiar scene returned, and it was as though nothing had changed.

Yan Shaoqing was dispirited. He sat down on the floor and muttered, “There must be a way to solve this, a way that doesn’t require destroying the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure…”

He closed his eyes and racked his brains.

Countless days had passed, long enough for Yan Shaoqing’s hair to turn white, but he was unable to think of a solution.

Suddenly, a guard shouted from outside, “Judge Yan, the emissary of Mingdu is here!”

Yan Shaoqing was stunned but also exhilarated, and he laughed heartily. “I see! I was unable to solve your divine art by myself, but when met with an external force, your divine art will unravel on its own. Celestial Venerable Mu, you may be able to control me with your divine art, but now, with someone from the outside, it will become a variable in your divine art. As the number of people increases, so will the flaws of your divine art!”

He looked towards Qin Mu and saw that he, the dragon qilin, and the fat green sparrow had vanished without him realizing it.

However, Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng were still in their cages.

Yan Shaoqing became slightly at ease and laughed coldly. “It seems that they are gone!”

He headed out, preparing to welcome the emissary of Mingdu. However, the emissary had already arrived in the great prison, and his voice came over, saying, “Left Assistant Minister, the disciples from various great celestial palaces came here, wanting to deal with Celestial Venerable Mu, but they haven’t returned even after a long time. I was sent here to check on things.”

Yan Shaoqing came forward to greet the visitor and saw that it was Lou Yunqu, a disciple of Son of Heaven Yin. He hurriedly said, “Oh, it’s Old Brother Lou. The disciples of the various great celestial palaces have already been killed by the hand of Celestial Venerable Mu.”

He was quite close to Lou Yunqu.

Mingdu Heavenly King Tian Shu and Son of Heaven Yin were arch-enemies. Son of Heaven Yin wanted to personally deal with Tian Shu, but he escaped. Subsequently, Tian Shu severed the horn of Earth Count, and his corporeal body was grabbed by Earth Count, leaving him with only his primordial spirit. Hence, Son of Heaven Yin requested Yan Shaoqing to trick Tian Shu into the Imperial Gate Divine Knife, trapping him there.

Lou Yunqu’s expression changed slightly, and he cried out, “The disciples of the various great celestial palaces are dead?”

Yan Shaoqing nodded his head.

Lou Yunqu stomped his feet and said, “How do I explain this? The disciples of the various great celestial palaces are dead here, in your place. You are in big trouble! Among them were a few of my junior brothers, the favorite disciples of my teacher, Black Deity!”

Yan Shaoqing didn’t seem to be bothered. “The celestial heavens haven’t completed the Emperor’s Throne consciousness technique, so the various great celestial palaces won’t dare to touch me before I have cultivated to the Emperor’s Throne Realm. Old Brother Lou, did you run into Celestial Venerable Mu when you were on your way here? He just escaped.”

Lou Yunqu shook his head and said, “I didn’t see him.”

Yan Shaoqing’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, “Old Brother Lou, since you are here on Black Deity’s orders, then you should have Black Deity’s decree? May I see it?”

Lou Yunqu laughed. “Since when has Left Assistant Minster been so careful? Is it possible that I’m Celestial Venerable Mu in disguise?”

Although he said that, he still produced the decree of Son of Heaven Yin.

Yan Shaoqing inspected the decree carefully. The handwriting was indeed Son of Heaven Yin’s, so he became slightly at ease.

Lou Yunqu said, “I clashed with Celestial Venerable Mu a few times, and I’m very familiar with his prowess. If he was here, it’s likely that he came to rescue Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng. Are these two still around?”

Yan Shaoqing said, “They are still in the great prison.”

Lou Yunqu walked forward to inspect, and he stood in front of the cages for a long time without moving. Yan Shaoqing looked at the cages and saw Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng inside. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Old Brother Lou, what’s the matter?”

Lou Yunqu’s face was pale, and he said hoarsely, “The two cages are empty, can you not see that? The two prisoners have escaped!”

Yan Shaoqing was stunned. He carefully examined Emperor Yanfeng and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor, and he couldn’t tell that there was anything strange.

He quickly opened the cages and touched Emperor Yanfeng and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor, feeling their bodies. He didn’t feel that there was anything out of place.

Yan Shaoqing’s mind was blown. “Even a genius of the Numinous Sky Realm like Tian Shu was drunk on the wine created by my consciousness divine art. Celestial Venerable Mu’s divine art planted itself within my divine treasures, making the empty air feel like a real person. Fallen… I have indeed fallen…”

He returned to his senses after a long time, then turned his head and realized that Lou Yunqu had left. Evidently, he had gone back to report the matter to Son of Heaven Yin.

Yan Shaoqing was completely disheartened, and he locked himself in a cage, quietly waiting.

Not long after, gods from the celestial palace on the crown of the Primordial Tree came to detain him. He was beheaded on the God Execution Stage by Celestial Venerable Yu, a weapon personally controlled by Celestial Emperor.

A knife light flashed past as the God Execution Mysterious Knife chopped off his head.

Yan Shaoqing’s head fell, his primordial spirit gradually withered, and his three eyes slowly closed as the world descended into darkness.

After a long time, he felt as though he was roused from a dream. He heard Qin Mu’s voice by his ear. “Left Assistant Minister, Left Assistant Minister!”

Yan Shaoqing quickly opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on the floor. Nearby, guards were towing wooden basins full of treasured blood and changing them out with fresh basins for blood collection.

Within the blood river, a monster was born, and it burrowed into a cage and attached itself to a prisoner’s body to suck blood.

In front of him, the dragon qilin was sleeping soundly, while the fat green sparrow was pruning her feathers. Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng were in their cages, bidding farewell to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu asked in concern, “Left Assistant Minister, how come you fell asleep? I’m done with my visit and am satisfied, so it’s time to leave.”

Yan Shaoqing sat on the floor in a daze. Suddenly, he let out an ear-piercing, wailing laughter. “It’s not real, nothing is real. Even what is happening now is fake!”