Tales Of Herding Gods | Chapter 906 - Xu Shenghua of West Earth
West Earth.
A huge city dashed past in front of Qin Mu. He was stumped and quickly shouted, "Are you Sister He Yiyi?"
The city slowed down. At the top of the city stood a few gods, and they popped out their heads and said, "This is the carriage of White Deity City, not your so-called sister. Who are you?"
Qin Mu said, "Celestial Venerable Mu. May I ask whether High Heavens Academy has returned under White Deity?"
A god at the top of the city said, "High Heavens Academy? Are you referring to High Heavens? That power isn't under White Deity City. There is someone called Qi Jiuyi over there, a disciple of Red Deity Qi Xiayu. Red Deity negotiated with White Deity, agreeing to split West Earth between them. Red Deity also gave half of South Earth to White Deity… Who did you say you are?"
"Celestial Venerable Mu." Qin Mu smiled.
Those gods came to their senses and looked at each other, speechless.
Qin Mu asked, "In that case, how do I get to High Heavens Academy?"
Those gods talked for some time before one of them said, "Celestial Venerable, please look over there where the heaven is pale green. That is the High Heavens. When you get there, you can ask for the exact location of High Heavens Academy."
Qin Mu gave his thanks as the dragon qilin headed in the direction of the High Heavens. He said, "I used to think the High Heavens was a mysterious place, supervising all movements in the Great Ruins and Eternal Peace. Now I realize that it's just one of the Primordial Realm's many heavens, not amounting to anything significant."
The dragon qilin said, "Cult Master, you used to be a small divine arts practitioner, thinking that the High Heavens was a gigantic, terrifying creature. Now that you are Celestial Venerable Mu, High Heavens is nothing much to you."
Qin Mu laughed. "Fatty Dragon is getting wiser. You have grown too."
Those gods watched them as they left, then faced each other blankly. A god asked, "Celestial Venerable Mu has arrived at West Earth of the Primordial Realm. Should we notify White Deity City?"
"He's going towards Red Deity. If our White Deity City's strong practitioners intercept him midway, wouldn't we offend Red Deity?"
An older-looking god maturely said, "Moreover, he is a Celestial Venerable. Who dares to touch him? Just let him be."
Those gods agreed, and the huge city started moving again, dashing off as thick smoke rolled.
Over the course of his journey, Qin Mu had met many of these flying cities on land. They were fast and were used as transportation by the gods and devils of West Earth to move about quickly. They served as a convenient way to transport armies around to quell rebellions.
"This is the spell of True Heaven Palace. However, True Heaven Palace came from the extraterritorial celestial heavens."
Qin Mu lowered his voice. "True Heaven Old Mother is a true god of the extraterritorial celestial heavens. She is now likely to be under White Deity."
Because West Earth had High Heavens and True Heaven Palace, the flames of war they experienced weren't as horrifying as Eternal Peace. Here, people could still maintain their basic living needs.
When Qin Mu arrived at the territory of Red Deity, he discovered it was better governed than White Deity's territory. Here, the people of West Earth lived and worked in peace, no different from the past.
Some of the little girls saw him and unexpectedly recognized him, so they took the initiative to call out to him.
"High Heavens Academy is gone, there is only the High Heavens Divine Sect. The sect master is Xu Shenghua, who used to be the grand chancellor of High Heavens Academy."
Those girls told him, "As for Qi Jiuyi, he is doing even better. He holds the sect master of the High Heavens Divine Sect in disdain. Now, he lives within the temporary imperial residence of Red Deity. He is a young master of West Earth, controlling half of West Earth's gods and devils, very impressive!"
The dragon qilin excitedly said, "Qi Jiuyi is my younger brother!"
"Xu Shenghua is indeed smart. He changed High Heavens Academy to High Heavens Divine Sect, hence transforming it into a sect."
Qin Mu exclaimed in admiration, "When a man like him puts his mind to cultivation, he improves by leaps and bounds. When he puts his mind to feelings, he's extremely emotional. When he puts his mind to the ways of the world, he becomes a smooth and slick person. Compared to me, he isn't far behind…"
He bid farewell to the girls after learning the location of the High Heavens Divine Sect and Red Deity's temporary imperial residence, continuing on his way towards the High Heavens Divine Sect.
The High Heavens Divine Sect was the High Heavens Academy of old, and it was situated beside Red Deity's temporary imperial residence. The temporary imperial residence was established in the sky, so the High Heavens Divine Sect was set up in the vicinity of the True Heaven Palace.
After a few days, the dragon qilin arrived at the High Heavens Divine Sect. He immediately abandoned Qin Mu and charged towards Red Deity's temporary imperial residence in the sky. He exclaimed, "Cult Master, I'm going to visit my sworn brother!"
"Be careful not to anger Qi Jiuyi, or else he will roast and eat you!" Qin Mu shouted.
The dragon qilin shouted, "Don't worry, we have a Pact of Earth Count. We won't ask to be born on the same day but hope to die on the same day. Sister Yan'er, are you coming?"
Yan'er immediately flew over and said, "Young Master, I will accompany Fatty Dragon, in case he really ends up being eaten!"
Qin Mu shook his head as he arrived at the High Heavens Divine Sect. Xu Shenghua immediately came forward to welcome him after hearing that he had come. "Cult Master, we haven't seen each other for a few years. You've lost a lot of weight. How is everything with Eternal Peace?"
Qin Mu said, "It's difficult to explain in a few words. I came to see if you and West Earth had endured and survived. Seeing that you and the people of West Earth are safe, I can rest easy now."
"It's all thanks to Qi Jiuyi. Without him, West Earth would have faced great calamity."
Xu Shenghua said, "Although West Earth has relationships with the High Heavens and True Heaven Palace, if the celestial heavens wanted to destroy West Earth, they wouldn't care about these relationships. Qi Jiuyi is the disciple of Red Deity, and it's because of him stepping in that we managed to protect West Earth."
Upon hearing about Red Deity Qi Xiayu, Qin Mu fell silent.
When the celestial heavens circled and suppressed him, Qi Xiayu was among them. The four deities attacked together, forcing him into a desperate situation, giving him no other choice but to leave his elder brother.
He had never spoken of the pain he endured when his soul was cut off. The pain was a hundred times worse than a knife scraping one's bones!
However, the most painful thing to him was that, after severing his soul, he had to leave his elder brother Qin Fengqing, forsaking their brotherhood and no longer being the son of Qin Hanzhen and Princess Consort Zhen.
He was just a walking corpse.
Red Deity Qi Xiayu had played a part in all of this.
Xu Shenghua didn't know about his predicament, nor did he know the amount of pain and suffering he had endured.
The people of West Earth also didn't know about the pain endured by Eternal Peace. This calamity had withered Eternal Peace's population from over 10 billion to a few billion. Some died when they were trying to escape, and many were captured by gods and devils to be eaten. Others were harmed by demons and monsters, and even more of them were taken as slaves.
The survival rate was one out of ten. This was the situation Eternal Peace was facing at the moment.
An incredibly prosperous and thriving country was now on the verge of annihilation.
Moreover, this was the result after Eternal Peace's divine arts practitioners and gods tirelessly fought back, trying to save the people. If they didn't, the death toll of Eternal Peace would be much higher. Those who survived would become livestock held captive in pens, waiting to become slaves or be eaten.
This was why Qin Mu showed up at Eternal Peace's capital city to resist Green Deity of the Eastern Sky and the ancient Celestial Emperor.
He had to use his name as Celestial Venerable Mu. If he hadn't, what awaited Eternal Peace wouldn't just be a catastrophic disaster!
"I came to visit you because I plan to leave the Primordial Realm and head towards the celestial heavens to help Eternal Peace find a path of survival."
Qin Mu smiled. "You didn't return to Eternal Peace over these years. Paths have been cut off, and news hasn't been communicated. You haven't been in touch with the results of Eternal Peace's reform. Before the disaster, I traveled to various academies to master the result of Eternal Peace's reform. I don't know whether I will survive my trip, so I wish to impart the results of Eternal Peace's reform to you."
Xu Shenghua was stunned and smiled faintly. "The celestial heavens? Let me come with you."
Qin Mu was touched, but he shook his head. "You can't go. The reform of Eternal Peace can't be wiped out. If I am killed in the celestial heavens, at least you will be around to continue the reform. Although your Overlord Body is beta, it's only slightly inferior to me. If Eternal Peace has you, we will still be able to pass down our wisdom."
Xu Shenghua wanted to say more, but Qin Mu bowed to the ground and said, "Dao friend, please!"
Xu Shenghua quickly helped him up and said, "I won't go with you, but you have to be careful."
Qin Mu revealed a smile. "I will be careful. Brother Xu, do you still remember the bet we made in the past? Whoever solves the problem of opening up the seventh divine treasure will be the alpha."
Xu Shenghua smiled faintly. "What a coincidence. Not long after you left, I managed to comprehend many different methods of opening up the seventh divine treasure. Finally, I chose the best one. All along, I have been waiting for you. Unexpectedly, calamities descended upon us, severing our connection with Eternal Peace."
Qin Mu narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's write out our solutions to opening the seventh divine treasure and see whose is better."
Xu Shenghua agreed. They both turned away and started writing down their solutions.
Following this, they turned back to face each other again at the same time. Qin Mu wrote "Celestial River Divine Treasure", while Xu Shenghua wrote "Surging River Divine Treasure".
The celestial river was the Surging River, so there was nothing wrong with Xu Shenghua putting down "Surging River Divine Treasure".
They both stared at each other, and Qin Mu said resentfully, "I am sure that I opened up the Celestial River Divine Treasure before you. When I opened up the Celestial River Divine Treasure, strange meteorological phenomena occurred!"
Xu Shenghua said, "When I opened up the Surging River Divine Treasure, I faintly felt discernible ripples in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth as the Dao changed. Although it was faint, changes in the Great Dao are unable to escape my observation."
Qin Mu's heart jumped. When he was opening up the Celestial River Divine Treasure, he didn't feel a change in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth!
This showed very clearly that Xu Shenghua had opened up the Surging River Divine Treasure before him!
'Back then, I experimented with over 20 types of divine treasures, one by one, looking for the best divine treasure. This took up a lot of time. This fellow Xu Shenghua actually chose the most optimal one and didn't experiment with other divine treasures!'
Qin Mu finally understood why he was slower. His expression didn't change, and he smiled. "It is likely that we both opened up our treasures at the same time. When I opened up the Celestial River Divine Treasure, the strange phenomena was very frightening! This time, it shall be considered a draw. Let's compete again in the future!"
Xu Shenghua smiled faintly and didn't argue with him. He said to Jing Yan, who had hurried over, "Dear, Cult Master Qin and I need to cultivate in seclusion for a while. During this period, we will need you to send us our meals. However, for other matters, there is no need to disturb us."
Qin Mu bowed. "Sorry for troubling Sister-in-law."
Jing Yan smiled. "It's not difficult to send over meals. Please don't overexert yourselves."
"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, I will take care of your husband."
They then walked into a large palace hall. As Xu Shenghua gestured with his hands, countless runes flowed down from the top of the hall like light streams. It was as though the hall was being covered by a giant bell, effectively sealing the hall. He said, "Jing Yan knows my divine art and is the only one who is able to get in. Cult Master Qin, you can begin to impart."
Qin Mu yawned and smiled. "I will impart everything to you in my dreams." After he said this, he laid down on his side and fell into a deep sleep.
Xu Shenghua was shocked and laughed. "Is this the technique of Brahma Buddha? I have long heard about it, but I haven't seen it before."
He laid down beside Qin Mu and was soundly asleep after a while.
The darkness in front of Xu Shenghua was like a curtain. When it was pulled from left to right, bright and beautiful sunlight shone through.
Xu Shenghua raised his hand to block the piercing light rays, putting down his hands only after his eyes adapted. He walked through this radiant world and saw Qin Mu walking towards him, smiling. "Brother Xu is here. We can start to impart then."
"Us?"
Xu Shenghua was stunned when he saw many Qin Mus walking over, and soon, there were over a hundred Qin Mus. Behind them was a bustling scene, with many more Qin Mus gathering into a bunch. They were sitting down at their desks and writing energetically, penning down the results of Eternal Peace's reform.
Xu Shenghua was astonished and cried out, asking, "How long will this take?"
"It took me two to three years to master around 70 percent of the results of Eternal Peace's reform."
One of the Qin Mus raised his head and said, "You would also need two to three years. However, in my dream, you only need to catch a few winks. Let's begin!"
Xu Shenghua began to focus, putting his heart into learning.
In the meantime, Jing Yan came with their meals. She walked into the hall and saw the two of them lying on the floor, sleeping soundly. She couldn't help but shake her head as she placed a food basket beside them and left quietly.
Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua woke up, their stomachs rumbling with hunger. They quickly consumed their food.
After, Qin Mu wanted to wash the dishes. Xu Shenghua didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he said, "Cult Master, there's no need to force yourself. Put the tableware inside the basket, and my wife will come and collect them. Let's continue with our dreams."
Qin Mu nodded.
They laid down. However, Xu Shenghua got up after a while and said, "I'm unable to sleep if I don't wash the dishes. Come, let's wash them."
Qin Mu was unable to enter his dream as well, and he immediately got up and laughed. "I'm also unable to sleep. My mind will usually be restless if I don't wash the dishes."
They created clear water using the art of creation and washed the dishes. Xu Shenghua also mopped the floor of the large hall until it was clean. They could finally sleep after putting their minds to rest.
"I have no idea how Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng managed to spend their days in the great prison. It was so dirty…" Qin Mu mumbled as he gradually started snoring.