Tales of Herding Gods

"But I'm not the only one who can do that."

Celestial Venerable You gently pushed the Life and Death Book in front of him and said softly, "You can also do this, Celestial Venerable Mu. You were once the Son of Youdu, and you can also control the power of the Youdu Life and Death Book. Not only can you control this power, you can also decide the life and death of countless lives."

"I can also do this?" Qin Mu's gaze landed on the golden page.

The Life and Death Book was just a simple golden page that lay flat on the table. There were no flaws or markings.

Celestial Venerable You said, "If you execute the Great Dao of Youdu, you will be able to control this power."

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment and stretched out his palm to execute the Great Dao of Youdu. His palm landed on Earth Count's Life and Death Book.

Suddenly, he jumped up like a frightened rabbit and retracted his palm. He looked at the Life and Death Book in fear.

Just as his palm landed on Earth Count's Life and Death Book, he suddenly saw countless lives and countless gods under the control of the Life and Death Book!

The moment he executed the Great Dao of Youdu, he sensed that he could decide the life and death of all living beings and the gods in the heavens, controlling their fate!

Qin Mu walked around the stone table and looked at the Life and Death Book on the table from time to time, his eyes flashing with devil nature.

This Life and Death Book seemed to have an invisible magic power that was abnormally strong. It tempted him, and countless voices whispered in his ears, tempting him to pick up this thin golden book and control this power that could determine the life and death of countless lives!

Qin Mu panted heavily. The devil nature in his Dao heart was stimulated by the Life and Death Book!

As long as he grasped the Life and Death Book, he would possess the most terrifying power in this world!

He could wipe out everyone's Life and Death Divine Treasure, and the lifespans of half-gods and all lifeforms after the beginning would be limited. Even if they cultivated to the god realm, they would still face life and death!

If he did that, it would be a huge blow to the current celestial heavens!

The celestial heavens was the common interest of gods and devils.

These gods and devils had long lived as long as heaven and earth. They protected the celestial heavens, allowing the celestial heavens to rule more territories, preventing future generations from rebelling. They were actually protecting their own interests.

The ten Celestial Venerables were merely the representatives of these gods and devils.

If these gods and devils couldn't live forever, this community of interests would collapse and fall into chaos!

This might not be able to threaten existences like the ten Celestial Venerables, nor could it threaten those strong practitioners who were proficient in the path of creation. However, the power of the celestial heavens would definitely decline on a large scale.

When these gods and devils became divine arts practitioners, he could borrow the power of the Life and Death Book to become Earth Count that ruled all life!

Qin Mu, who controlled the Life and Death Book, could change the lifespan of these people as he pleased. He could even kill them with a wave of his brush!

He could even threaten the gods of the celestial heavens to force them to submit to him!

Unknowingly, Qin Mu's vital qi transformed into dark devil qi, dyeing his celestial palace black and turning his divine treasure realm into a dark domain!

What was even more terrifying was that the World Tree in his divine treasures had also transformed into a tree of darkness. Under the influence of the terrifying power, all of his Great Dao turned black!

His aura burst forth, and it caused Benevolent Saintly King Equal to Heaven's manor to sink into darkness. Not only that, the darkness quickly invaded Earth Count's horns, causing the flowing magma river to stop burning and freeze the ghost river!

Celestial Venerable Ling frowned slightly and was about to speak when Celestial Venerable You raised her hand to stop her.

Celestial Venerable Ling was astonished. She looked at him and shook her head.

The devil nature around Qin Mu became more intense, and the area covered by the darkness became wider. The darkness even completely covered Earth Count's incomparably astonishing horns.

His face was also swallowed by the darkness, and only his eyes flickered with devil light. The intense devil light made his face light up from time to time, making him look even more sinister!

'As long as I get the Life and Death Book!'

Qin Mu's voice was filled with the devil nature of the darkness, and his Dao heart was twisted. The primordial spirit behind him also sank into the darkness like a devil king standing upright in the pitch black night!

'As long as I get the Life and Death Book, I can crush the power of the ten Celestial Venerables and destroy the celestial heavens. Everyone will submit to me!'

"As long as I get this golden book, I will have the most awe-inspiring power. I will have no restraints. I can become the ruler of desire, the king of the dark world! No, the king of the entire universe!"

He laughed loudly, and his face contorted. His hands trembled, and he was about to grab the Life and Death Book.

"I will become the cruelest tyrant in the world, the strongest emperor of countless worlds. My position will be even more stable than Celestial Emperor Tai Chu, and my methods will be even crueler than those of the ten Celestial Venerables! No one will dare to resist me, and everyone will live an ignoble existence under my tyranny! The ten Celestial Venerables will also be powerless to resist me!"

"My power will pass through the sixteen long rivers of chaos and shroud the darkness in the sixteen universes. I will rule the prehistoric times, and the six young masters of Miluo Palace will submit to me!"

When his palm was about to touch the Life and Death Book, he suddenly pulled back his hand at lightning speed. Qin Mu's face revealed a look of terror, and he retreated continuously. He shook his head and said, "No! I can't do that! If that's the case, I'll be the ten Celestial Venerables, I'll be those ancient gods! I can't do that…"

The darkness that shrouded the horn of Earth Count gradually receded, and light appeared again in Benevolent Saintly King Equal to Heaven's manor.

Qin Mu's face was gradually lighted up by the light that he was giving off. The celestial palaces and celestial heavens behind his head also gradually emerged from the fading darkness, and his primordial spirit also appeared.

The World Tree was still in darkness, but gradually, the darkness retreated from the treasure tree.

Qin Mu clenched his fists and stopped looking at the Life and Death Book. His clothes were drenched in sweat as though he had just been fished out of the water.

"What a heavy devil nature."

He closed his eyes and tried his best to resist the temptation of the Life and Death Book. He muttered, "I can't do this, no one can do this. If I do this, the human race will have no hope."

Qin Mu seemed to be talking to them, but he also seemed to be talking to himself. "The ancient gods that are immortal and indestructible will become the eternal rulers. Humans and other Postcelestial races have short lifespans. Even if they can cultivate to the god realm in a short hundred years, they will inevitably die, and they won't be able to retain their high-end combat power. On the contrary, they can bless the ancient gods and use their longevity to gather countless followers. They will make the world devoid of gods and return to the rule of the ancient gods. How many people died back then to overthrow the rule of the ancient gods…"

Celestial Venerable Ling said, "When the Heaven Alliance was founded, the purpose was to overthrow the rule of the ancient gods."

Qin Mu let out a shaky breath and opened his eyes. His gaze became bright again, and he said, "The lifespan of humans is limited, and the lifespan of half-gods is longer than that of humans. Even without the ancient gods, it's hard for humans to turn defeat into victory with their limited lifespan. Celestial Venerable You, open up the Life and Death Divine Treasure and greatly increase the lifespan of divine arts practitioners, raising their lifespan to eight hundred years! Celestial Venerable Yu opened up the celestial palace, allowing people to have unlimited lifespan. Only then did you open up the path to the rise of humans."

He shook his head and said, "Breaking off everyone's Life and Death Divine Treasure isn't an improvement, it's a regression! Mortals can become gods through cultivation, and this motivates divine arts practitioners to cultivate continuously and improve. If there's no such motivation, many people will lose their motivation. This is not acceptable!"

Celestial Venerable You looked at the Life and Death Book and said, "Celestial Venerable Mu, you have passed Earth Count's test. If you resist the invasion of the devil nature in the Life and Death Book, you can inherit Earth Count's power and become the new Earth Count. Your Dao heart is very strong, so you can use this power well."

Qin Mu's gaze landed on Earth Count's Life and Death Book. This Life and Death Book was a huge killing weapon, but he shook his head. "I can successfully resist the devil nature of the Life and Death Book this time, but I might not succeed the next time. The Life and Death Book actually has a master long ago, and this person isn't me."

He had originally hoped to steal the Life and Death Book and remove the people of Eternal Peace and Carefree Village from it. This way, even if the celestial heavens controlled Youdu, they wouldn't be able to wipe out the human race.

Yet now, he knew that he wasn't someone who could control the Life and Death Book.

'The power of the Life and Death Book is too strong, and the implications are too great. It can only land in the hands of the real Earth Count…'

Qin Mu's gaze moved away from the Life and Death Book with difficulty, and he said, "I'm not the real Earth Count. I'm afraid I'll do something stupid if I control the power of the Life and Death Book."

His voice was still slightly hoarse. "The Life and Death Book can't fall into the hands of the celestial heavens. Celestial Venerable You, Earth Count must have his reasons for choosing you to manage the Life and Death Book."

Celestial Venerable You's gaze landed on the Life and Death Book. After a moment, he put it away and said, "I'm also not the good host of the Life and Death Book. After Earth Count handed the Life and Death Book to me, he hoped that I could succeed him. However, for the past million years, I have also been resisting the invasion of the devil nature of the Life and Death Book. At that time, it was Earth Count who helped me suppress the devil nature. If Earth Count died…"

He didn't continue.

If Earth Count died, no one would be able to help him suppress the devil nature of the Life and Death Book. How terrifying would Celestial Venerable You, who was controlled by the devil nature, be?

"Why don't we destroy the Life and Death Book?"

Celestial Venerable Ling said, "Just destroy this evil treasure."

"It can't be destroyed."

Celestial Venerable You shook his head and said, "The Life and Death Book is a treasure formed from the combined bodies of the 64 Great Dao of Youdu. Unless you can destroy these 64 Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, only then can you destroy it."

Celestial Venerable Ling also fell silent. She was also unable to destroy the 64 Great Dao of Youdu.

"After you guys kill Earth Count, I might be controlled by the Life and Death Book."

Celestial Venerable You said, "If that's the case, let me die in battle with the Celestial Venerables of the celestial heavens."

Qin Mu frowned and suddenly got up with a smile. "Wait for me here for a moment, I'll be back soon."

He left in a flash and suddenly returned with a smile. "Lend me your paper boat!"

Without waiting for Celestial Venerable You's reply, he jumped onto Celestial Venerable You's paper boat and left.

Celestial Venerable Ling looked at the Life and Death Book on the table and said, "Will I be controlled by the devil nature?"

Celestial Venerable You shook his head and said, "You don't understand the Great Dao of Youdu, so you can't execute the power of this Life and Death Book. Only when the Life and Death Book falls into the hands of someone who is proficient in the Great Dao of Youdu can it unleash its power."

Celestial Venerable Ling stopped talking and waited quietly.

After a long time, Celestial Venerable You said, "Ling, it's very comfortable talking to you."

Celestial Venerable Ling said, "It's easy to talk to you."

Not long later, the paper boat whooshed over. On the small paper boat stood a huge weird baby with a huge head. It was trying its best to shrink its legs and squeeze onto the boat.

Qin Mu stopped the ship, and the big-headed baby jumped down, shaking Benevolent Saintly King Equal to Heaven.

"Brother, be gentle!" Qin Mu said solemnly.

Qin Fengqing looked around curiously and giggled. "Great Earth Count is really big, he should be able to eat for a long time."

Qin Mu brought him into the sacred king's manor. Qin Fengqing's body was huge, and he squeezed his way through the houses until they collapsed.

Qin Mu pointed at the Life and Death Book on the stone table and said with a smile, "Brother, look at this golden paper…"

Qin Fengqing stretched out his hand and pinched him. Qin Mu and Celestial Venerable You instantly became nervous and stared at him. As long as he was controlled by the devil nature of the Life and Death Book, the two of them would immediately suppress him!

Qin Fengqing was the embodiment of the devil nature of Youdu, and he was incomparably evil. If his devil nature was activated by the Life and Death Book again, he would probably be even more terrifying than when Qin Mu was controlled by the Life and Death Book!

Qin Fengqing shook the Life and Death Book and asked suspiciously, "This is the paper that Earth Count used to clean up his mess? You guys treat it like a treasure…"

He threw the Life and Death Book aside, and Qin Mu and Celestial Venerable You were astonished.

Celestial Venerable You hurriedly picked up the Life and Death Book and stuffed it into his hands. He said solemnly, "Little Earth Count, use the Great Dao of Youdu to activate this paper!"

Qin Fengqing took a look at him and chuckled. "You are the messenger of death? Strange, you have become younger…"

He tried to use the Great Dao of Youdu to execute the Life and Death Book, and it became brighter. However, what was weird was that Qin Fengqing wasn't invaded by the devil nature in the Life and Death Book. He was still a chubby baby that looked charmingly naive.

Celestial Venerable You had a blank expression as he said to Qin Mu, "When the two of you brothers separated, did you cut out your innocence and leave your evil and devilish nature to yourself?"