Tales of Herding Gods

"The location of the World Tree and the Ruins of End is eternal in the universe."

The old man said, "After confirming the location of the World Tree and the Ruins of End, with reference, we can match the distribution of the Dao Tree in the sixteenth era to the ultimate void in the seventeenth era. With these, it shouldn't be difficult to find Tai Yi's location."

Qin Mu nodded his head, and his mind was at ease. He said with a smile, "Finding Tai Yi should be easy. Tai Yi should have a way to wake up the paralyzed one. Once I solve this forest of tablets, I will be able to save the paralyzed one."

Even though he said it in a relaxed manner, the old man and the old woman both knew the difficulty.

Tai Yi wasn't suppressed here, so he must have been suppressed somewhere else. Tai Yi had broken the restriction here, but not there, so Qin Mu had to break it.

"This trip might be dangerous, let Little Shang accompany you."

The old man said, "Even though Little Shang achieved the Dao through killing, he isn't someone who willfully kills. With him following you, young master's journey will be less dangerous. Furthermore, he is familiar with the distribution of the trees and can help young master find Tai Yi faster."

Qin Mu nodded. It shouldn't be too difficult for him to bring Shang Jun out of here.

"Then…"

He looked around and smiled. "Can everyone tell me whose Dao Tree the eighth Dao Tree is?"

Including the pig and paralyzed man, there were only seven people in the village, but there were eight Dao trees. It was obvious that there was an eighth person besides these seven people.

That woman said with a smile, "Young master is joking again. There's only us here, where is the eighth person?"

Qin Mu was astonished and looked at the others. The girl with the braid said, "There's indeed no eighth person here."

The pig head on the plate said, "We won't lie to young master, there's indeed no eighth person here. Not only is there no eighth person, there's also no eighth Dao Tree."

The old woman's heart stirred slightly, and she hurriedly said, "Young master kept talking about eight Dao Trees earlier, could it be that you aren't bluffing us?"

Qin Mu couldn't help laughing. "I've already told you guys that I'm a kind and benevolent person, so how would I lie to you guys… Wait a minute, don't you know there are eight trees in your village?"

The old woman nodded with a grave expression.

The others nodded as well, and the atmosphere was slightly oppressive.

The old man said, "All along, we thought Young Master was bluffing us, that's why he said there were eight trees. However, in our eyes, there are only seven trees here, and the only ones suppressed here are the seven of us."

Qin Mu had a bad feeling and asked solemnly, "You guys can't see the eighth tree?"

Everyone shook their heads.

The atmosphere became even more oppressive.

Qin Mu could see the Dao Tree because the eye in the heart of his brows was truly powerful. It could even see through the chaos, yet they didn't have such a powerful divine eye.

That girl suddenly smiled and said, "Young master, you're joking, right? Don't scare Yaya…"

The pig head on the plate suddenly shivered, and its two pig ears stuck to its eyes. However, it revealed a line and looked around secretly.

Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he retracted his sword Dao. The pig god instantly felt that the sword injuries that had prevented his corporeal body from recovering had vanished, and he hurriedly put his corporeal body back together.

Qin Mu said with a smile, "Most likely, my algebra was taught by Martial Arts Heavenly Teacher Guan Cha, so I calculated wrongly. I can bring a person out of here, and if I bring all of you out, I will need to solve the forest of obelisks. I don't have the ability to do so yet, so I can only trouble everyone to stay here. When I have enough power, I will come back to solve the forest of obelisks and save everyone."

The old man walked to the bottom of a tree with a worried frown. He said with a bitter smile, "My reason for staying here is to protect the paralyzed one. If the paralyzed one doesn't wake up, I can't leave. Even if young master breaks the monument forest, I can't leave this place."

He sat on a rock and lit his cigarette, puffing on it. His blurry eyes looked at Qin Mu from time to time.

The old woman trembled as she came to another tree and chuckled. "Old monster, I'll stay here to accompany you." She sat down and lazily basked in the sun. She raised her hand to take off the hairpin on her head.

Shang Jun walked out of the village and said, "I'll wait for young master outside the village. Young master, don't delay for too long."

Zhu Santong carried his own Dao Tree and said with a smile, "No discord, no concord. I, Old Zhu, have wrongly blamed young master in the past, please forgive me. I shall go and plant my tree first."

The girl held her Dao fruit and bounced to her Dao Tree with a smile. "I still have to hang my Dao fruit on the tree."

The woman sighed. "I originally wanted to treat young master to a meal, but so many things have happened. Young master, I need to tidy up the clothes of the paralyzed one. Once the clothes are washed, I'll hang them on the paralyzed one's Dao Tree to dry."

She picked up the basin and went to the paralyzed man's Dao Tree to hang his clothes on it.

After doing all of this, the woman went to the tree beside the old well and took out a club to knock on the other clothes.

At the village entrance, Shang Jun stood under his Dao Tree, and the veins on his hands popped out. He only had half a knife left, and even though it had been severed by Qin Mu, it didn't affect his abilities much.

The girl popped her head out from the crown of her Dao Tree and stared at Qin Mu's actions nervously.

The old man smoked a water cigarette while the old woman combed her hair. Zhu Santong planted his Dao Tree and transformed into a black wild boar that used its nose and tusks to dig at the soil, tamping it down. However, its small eyes rolled around.

The woman, on the other hand, knocked on her clothes from time to time, but she forgot to add water.

In their eyes, Qin Mu moved his feet and came to an empty space. There was nothing there, but Qin Mu raised his hand and gently stretched it forward.

Everyone instantly became nervous. Suddenly, Qin Mu seemed to have touched something.

The eighth hidden Dao Tree!

Just as Qin Mu's fingertip touched the Dao Tree, six figures suddenly rose up!

The girl pounced down from the tree like a swallow copying water. Her body stuck close to the ground, and with a tap of her toes, she flew up. She bit the tip of her tongue, and blood spurted out. She smeared it on the Dao Fruit in her hand, and the Dao Fruit shone brightly!

The woman raised her gavel and moved her feet. Her body spun like the wind as she shouted repeatedly and swung her gavel at the place where Qin Mu had touched!

Zhu Santong roared furiously and pulled out the Dao Tree he had just planted, transforming into a black wild boar that could support both heaven and earth. He stood up and swept the Dao Tree towards the place where Qin Mu was pointing!

At the same time, Shang Jun's broken knife, the old man's water pipe, and the old woman's hairpin attacked at the same time!

The six of them executed their full power, and their power wasn't inferior to when they attacked Qin Mu earlier!

They knew very well that they only had one chance to strike. This Dao Tree that had been hidden between them had been hidden for billions of years without being detected by them. This showed that the other party's abilities were truly unfathomable!

If the other party was on guard, they probably wouldn't be able to do anything to him even if they joined forces!

Therefore, with this strike, they had to destroy the opponent's Dao Tree, destroy the opponent's Dao fruit, and destroy the opponent's Dao!

Boom!

An incomparably violent ripple spread out, and a storm swept over. Qin Mu, who was standing beside the Dao Tree, had his clothes fluttering in the wind as he was forced back continuously!

Qin Mu retreated all the way and resisted this strong impact. When the storm dispersed, he saw that he had already retreated outside the village.

He opened his third eye and saw that the Dao Tree was still standing there motionlessly. There was no one around it.

Qin Mu was astonished and searched carefully. He saw the girl hanging on his Dao Tree, one of her feet was exposed, and she was still clutching her Dao fruit. She had fainted.

The woman fell into her own well and grabbed onto the gavel tightly. The gavel stuck at the mouth of the well.

Shang Jun was sprawled out on his back under his Dao Tree. The web between his thumb and index finger that was holding the knife was bleeding, and his eyes were blank. The broken knife in his hand had already shattered, and the handle had turned into fragments.

The old woman's hairpin was stuck in the heart of her brows, and her breath was weak. The old man's water pipe was broken, and his head hit the huge rock he often sat on, causing him to bleed.

Meanwhile, Zhu Santong's fangs were all broken, and he fainted while hugging his Dao Tree.

Qin Mu was stunned. In that short instant, the six great Dao successors were all defeated and injured!

"Eldest Young Master!"

The old man sat up shakily, his arms trembling. He tried his best to fill the tobacco pipe, but the water pipe broke and the smoke flowed out.

His voice was hoarse, and there was fear and anger in his eyes. "It's Eldest Young Master's Dao Tree! He has always been here! Hehe, this old schemer…"

Qin Mu looked around and his gaze suddenly landed on the sun hanging high in the sky.

That sun's firepower was blazing, and it had already burned for ten universe cycles. It was unknown how many billions of years it had been burning since the seventh era until now!

According to the law, the sun should have been extinguished long ago. Death, vaporization, and finally turning into the void. Yet, this sun was still alive until now. It was suspicious.

"Young Master isn't here."

Qin Mu suddenly said, "He only left his eyes and his Dao Tree here."

The old man struggled to get up and looked up at the sun in the sky. He sighed dejectedly and said with a hoarse voice, "I've been suppressed here for too long, and I can't be compared to him anymore. Hehe, I was as famous as him back then, but now I can't be compared to one of his eyes…"

He was very lonely.

Because of a promise, he had guarded the cripple for ten universe cycles. During these ten universe cycles, he had already neglected his cultivation and was far inferior to the Eldest Young Master who was as famous as him back then. One could imagine the disappointment in his heart.

Actually, Qin Mu could also see that the old man was honored as an old monster by the people here. He should have been a famous person in his era, so many people had heard of his legend.

Yet among all the people in this small village, he wasn't the strongest, it was Shang Jun.

Even though Shang Jun only had one Dao Fruit and one Dao Tree, his strength was already above the other people in the village!

This was also why Qin Mu wanted to bring Shang Jun away.

Qin Mu went forward and pulled out the hairpin from the heart of the old woman's brows to treat her injuries. He then patted the old man's shoulder.

The old man came back to his senses and said bleakly, "I can't send young master off."

The others struggled to get up and sent Qin Mu to the village entrance.

Shang Jun stood up with difficulty, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I don't have a knife anymore, so I'm afraid I can't help you much. Furthermore, my murderous nature is too strong, and I have many enemies. I will only bring disaster to you."

Qin Mu said with a smile, "What a coincidence, I also have a lot of enemies, probably even more than you."

Shang Jun hesitated for a moment, and Qin Mu looked at him with a calm expression. "Shang Jun, you have become timid by killing. The reason you are afraid of the outside world isn't because you lost to big young master, but because you are afraid of returning to the outside world."

Shang Jun was silent.

"Even if you achieved the Dao by killing and cultivated the 36 heavens of the Killing Dao, your Dao heart is still lacking."

Qin Mu's gaze was sharp, and he said, "You felt that the sixteenth era was destroyed in your hands, so you felt guilty and blamed yourself. You felt that you had no face to walk out of here. What sealed you and suppressed you wasn't big young master, but you found a cage for yourself and imprisoned yourself. You are no longer the Shang Lord who achieved the Dao by killing. Even if you walk out of here, you won't be able to imprint your Dao into the ultimate void and become a Daoist."

Shang Jun's voice was hoarse. "Then do you still need me?"

Qin Mu walked past him and smiled. "Of course I do. I need you to help me find Tai Yi, and I also need the sharpest knife in the world. You are no longer that knife, but I can grind you into that kind of knife. Follow me, and I can let you walk out."

Shang Jun followed him step by step like his shadow.

Soon, they walked into the forest of obelisks, and Shang Jun hid in his shadow. Their footsteps were the same, and they took a step forward at the same time. With the same rhythm, they gradually disappeared into the forest.

Outside the village, everyone watched the two of them disappear. Zhu Santong suddenly said, "The seventh young master of Miluo Palace is a strange person."

"He is indeed a strange person."

The old woman sighed. "He's clearly an enemy, but it's hard for people to hate him. Not only can't they hate him, they even want to be friends with him."

The woman smiled and said, "This is the first time I've seen such a strange person. It's a pity they got married. Otherwise, Yaya could have found a good husband's home…"

The girl spat and hid behind the tree, blushing.

Everyone laughed, and as they laughed, they coughed violently again.