Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 917: A Meeting Akin to First Love

Translator: Atlas Studios | Editor: Atlas Studios

Qin Mu was a little confused. On the ghost ship, Celestial Empress and Jue Wuchen were buried in the same coffin and guarded by the eight dragons. It couldn’t be wrong, he saw it with his very own eyes!

Yet, this lady named Yun Chuxiu in front of him looked exactly the same as Jue Wuchen!

Was there really someone in this world that was born exactly the same as Jue Wuchen?

‘Impossible!’

‘Jue Wuchen is a perfect body created by Celestial Venerable Ling as a weapon to seduce the ancient Celestial Emperor. He, who was famed for his shrewdness, died under her beauty! No one would look exactly like her!’

‘Could this lady named Yun Chuxiu be Jue Wuchen from the ghost ship?’

All sorts of thoughts flooded Qin Mu’s mind uncontrollably. ‘I was only able to escape from the ghost ship because I did a lot of research into Celestial Venerable Ling’s divine art. In addition, I also had some understanding of the unchanging divine art and the power of the four deities and all of the Feathered Forest Guards’ generals’ power before I could escape the ancient ship. Besides me, who else could accomplish that?’

Although he appeared calm, internally, he was in shock when observing the kneeling Yun Jianli.

Could this Yun Jianli have some power unbeknownst to gods and demons? Was he able to enter the ghost ship and extract Jue Wuchen?

Nevertheless, time seemed to be running out.

His big senior brother, Wei Suifeng, was currently on the ghost ship, and Qin Mu had tried to rescue him before coming to the celestial heavens. Should Yun Jianli have boarded the ghost ship after that, he couldn’t have been Wei Suifeng’s opponent.

Even if he could rescue Jue Wuchen from the ghost ship, he couldn’t have returned to the celestial heavens so quickly.

After all, the phoenix ship that Qin Mu took was the fastest divine weapon in the world today!

Considering how Yun Jianli wasn’t a god, even if he had such a fast ship, he couldn’t have such great magic power to utilize this precious artifact.

‘What if he went to the ghost ship before Wei Suifeng did and took Jue Wuchen away then? Celestial Venerable Yun and Celestial Venerable Ling had good ties, and more than half of the Yun family had documents relating to Celestial Venerable Ling’s unchanging divine art.’

Qin Mu’s gaze moved from Yun Jianli’s body as he thought, ‘Even if Yun Jianli took Jue Wuchen, it’s impossible that he could keep her alive. After all, Jue Wuchen is just a body of Celestial Empress, and rescuing a body would be useless to him. Unless it was Celestial Empress herself?’

He looked down at the bowing Yun Chuxiu, and his eyebrows jumped as he moved forward to lift both of them up. He laughed and said, “Get up. Our age is similar, so there’s no need for such formalities.”

Internally, it was as if his heart was filled with fierce waves as he continued to theorize. ‘If it’s Celestial Empress, it’s possible. I once tried to summon the soul of Celestial Empress from her corpse, but I only discovered that she wasn’t dead yet. She also sensed my presence. It’s likely that when she heard that I was going to the celestial heavens, she formed an idea to extract Jue Wuchen. If that’s the case, the lady within the body would be Celestial Empress, and she would be the puppet of Celestial Empress! But…’

More and more thoughts emerged in his mind. ‘Then, why did ancient Celestial Emperor order Green Deity of the Eastern Sky to drown Wei Suifeng? He was trying to exchange Wei Suifeng for the ghost ship in a clear attempt to obtain the bodies of Celestial Empress and Jue Wuchen, wanting to use them against today’s Celestial Empress. Unless the person inside Jue Wuchen’s body is the ancient Celestial Emperor?’

His brain was about to explode from the limitless possibilities present and his inability to deduce the truth as a result.

Yun Jianli and Yun Chuxiu rose as Qin Mu smiled and invited them to take a seat. He excused himself with a smile. “It’s my first time here, and I have nothing here. Having to borrow shelter, I have neglected both of you.”

Yan’er observed the back of Qin Mu’s neck curiously and saw that the goosebumps on it had multiplied. In addition, she saw cold sweat dripping down his neck, another clear indicator of his nervousness.

‘Young Master’s forehead doesn’t sweat while the back of his neck does. Who did he learn this from?’ Yan’er wondered.

Yun Jianli swiftly replied, “Celestial Venerable, you imparted your skills to the masses, giving them a chance to achieve their dreams of becoming a god, an unrivalled merit of yours. I’m merely here upon the command of my ancestor to plead guilty to you, Celestial Venerable.”

Shocked, Qin Mu asked, “Celestial Venerable Yun’s command? What crime did he commit?”

“My ancestor, in an attempt to save the commoners from disasters, was forced to assume the identities of Celestial Venerable Mu and Celestial Venerable Qin. Using those names, he rallied the people in order to build the Heaven Han Celestial Heavens and attain a lifeline for the commoners. Hence, he left behind a command to his descendants that if they were to meet Celestial Venerable Mu, they were to plead guilty to him and Celestial Venerable Qin!”

Yun Jianli rose before he kowtowed again, saying, “My ancestor already met Founding Emperor and pleaded guilty to him. Nevertheless, they couldn’t find Celestial Venerable Mu. Today, I’m lucky enough to finally meet Celestial Venerable Mu. As the unfilial son of the Yun family, I hereby plead guilty to Celestial Venerable Mu on behalf of my ancestor!”

Qin Mu’s heart was moved, and he asked rhetorically as he rose, “What crime did Celestial Venerable Yun commit? There’s no need for such formality, please rise.”

Yun Jianli continued to kowtow as he said, “Although you don’t blame me, I still carry the burden of my ancestor’s words and thus need to pay my formalities.”

He insisted on finishing his formalities before he rose.

Qin Mu invited him to take a seat as he subtly interrogated him behind a smile. “I met your ancestor Celestial Venerable Yun here, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him in detail. Where did your sister Yun Chuxiu come from? I heard from Brother Qi that your family’s bloodline has been passed on by one son only, with each generation comprised of only one son.”

Yun Jianli had an elegant vibe and the demeanor befitting a son of the Yun family. Although he was the sickly master, he had an abnormal charm. He replied, “Chuxiu is a sworn sister that I have recognized recently. Her surname is Yun, though she isn’t part of the Yun family. I observed that she was extraordinarily clever and able. In addition, she lived alone, so I recognized her as a sister to facilitate care.”

Yun Chuxiu said, while smiling, “I heard that my brother wanted to pay his respects to Celestial Venerable Mu, so I came along. I didn’t expect Celestial Venerable Mu to be so young.”

Every frown and every smile of hers was so enthralling that people couldn’t help but imagine all types of fantasies in their minds.

Her smile felt different for Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi. Qin Mu, due to his strong consciousness, his guard, and Granny Si’s heavy influence, was influenced little by it.

However, Qi Jiuyi imagined more from that one smile of hers. Inside his mind, scenes of befriending her, falling in love with her, and becoming her partner unwittingly appeared.

As the faint yet melodious music reached his ear, he imagined, in that very instant, a scene of their children running around their legs.

It was only when Yun Chuxiu stopped speaking that his imagination ended.

His heart was beating rapidly and chaotically, while his face was completely red. It was as if this was his first love.

Qin Mu glanced at him and coughed.

The coughing sound was akin to a loud bang in the mind of Qi Jiuyi, shattering his emotions and feelings.

Qi Jiuyi was shocked as he reflected on what just happened. ‘This is my first time meeting her, but my heart was affected so heavily! She is so beautiful that I can’t rein in my feelings!’

Qin Mu laughed. “Sister Chuxiu and Brother Jianli would make a great couple. It’s a pity that you ended up as siblings.”

Yun Chuxiu’s face turned mildly red, which contained the shyness of a young lady as she glanced at Yun Jianli.

Yun Jianli accommodated him, saying, “What a funny joke, Celestial Venerable. As a person about to die, I don’t dare to hinder Sister Chuxiu’s future. In addition, I already have a family with a son. Speaking of which, are you about to get married?”

Qin Mu was weak, but he laughed heartily and replied, “Brother Jianli, I too am about to die. If you don’t mind, both of you can call me Cult Master Qin like Brother Qi. There’s no need to call me Celestial Venerable. To be truthful, I just celebrated my 33rd birthday.”

Yun Chuxiu was shocked as she laughed, which she tried to cover up. “Celestial Venerable, you are younger than me by a couple of years!”

Upon seeing her bearing, Qi Jiuyi once again heard the enchanting music and imagined the romantic scenes with her.

Qin Mu’s cough brought him back to reality. Qi Jiuyi’s forehead was swarmed by cold sweat as he thought, ‘I’m done for! My heart is finished! Although Si Youyou from the Primordial Realm is also beautiful, she never tempted others. However, this lady turned her beauty and her charm into weapons!’

Qin Mu looked at Yun Jianli and carried on with the conversation. “I have heard that when Yun family members cultivate to the Divine Bridge Realm and attempt to enter the God Realm, they will suddenly die. Considering Celestial Venerable Yun was the pioneer of the Divine Bridge God Realm, why do his descendants have such bad luck?”

Yun Jianli sadly replied, “I don’t know about this. Generations of the Yun family have hired countless famous doctors and divine beings to examine the illness, yet they cannot find anything. Actually, I cultivated to the Divine Bridge Realm five years ago, I just don’t dare to finish it.”

Qin Mu was curious, asking, “I’m well-versed in medicine, could you open your divine treasure and let me examine it?”

Yun Jianli calmly opened his divine treasure, and Qin Mu observed it carefully. All he saw was that Yun Jianli’s divine treasures were normal, except for his Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, which was bigger than others. Other than that, there was nothing special.

Qin Mu’s eyes landed on his primordial spirit.

Yun Jianli’s primordial spirit was extremely powerful as it drifted energetically on the divine bridge. Qin Mu carefully examined his primordial spirit and failed to find any problems.

He gazed deeper than before, turning to look at Yun Jianli’s celestial palace.

Weng.

The back of Qin Mu’s head suddenly erupted in flames, forming a ring of flames. Within the ring was a huge eye of flames, which stared straight into the deepest part of Yun Jianli’s celestial palace!

Yun Jianli was shocked. The ring of flames behind Qin Mu’s head gave him the feeling that it was a gift from the ancient gods, but not exactly so.

‘As expected of Celestial Venerable, to produce such a level of divine arts that even I can’t understand it.’

His heart was filled with admiration as he said, “Celestial Venerable Mu, you’re only 33 years old, to have such an accomplishment at such a young age makes you terrifying.”

The ring of flames behind Qin Mu’s head gradually disappeared.

Within the heart of his brows, the third eye of his gradually opened and continued to inspect Yun Jianli to find the source of his problem. This eye of his was unique, a God Eye that was born recently.

Although Qin Mu didn’t find out the exact use of this God Eye, it did absorb his body’s blood, vital qi, and consciousness before being born. Additionally, it absorbed Earth Count’s horn and the Grand Primordium Origin Stone, which became part of the eye. Thus, one could imagine how extraordinary this God Eye must be.

Qin Mu’s God Eye fully opened and momentarily observed the source of Yun Jianli’s black qi.

The black qi of Yun Jianli’s eyebrow came from his consciousness. It rejected all other places within his body, including the primordial spirit, divine treasures, and vital qi. However, this was but the surface of it all.

Qin Mu used his God Eye to carefully observe it and saw a horrifying scene.

The bloodline of Yun Jianli was tangled up with countless strands of black qi, which reacted with Qin Mu’s third eye and allowed him to recount the history of such a bloodline.

Qin Mu’s third eye managed to see the memory of the bloodline.

The memory of the bloodline was unique, inherited generation after generation. It was just that seeing it wasn’t easy, for it was hidden.

It was the first time that Qin Mu discovered this use of his third eye.

He immediately saw the figure of another man within the black qi, which should have been Yun Jianli’s father. Shrouded within the black qi of his father, he saw Yun Jianli’s grandfather.

He traced the history of the bloodline, and the figures of young men appeared one after another. They were the Yun family’s ancestors, from Celestial Venerable Yun all the way until now. Countless ancestors of Yun Jianli were shrouded by this black qi, and as a result, they died at a young age, their souls dispersed.

From Celestial Venerable Yun until now, in a million years’ time, not one person from the countless generations of the Yun family had lived to the point of becoming a god!

Qin Mu traced the source of the black qi of the bloodline, and at the very end, he saw the moment that Celestial Venerable Yun fell.

He saw a figure shrouded in foggy black qi. This was likely the source of the Yun family’s troubles. It was probably why the bloodline of the Yun family was carried on by single sons only and why every generation of the Yun family failed to live long enough to become a god!

Suddenly, within his mind, the voice of Shu Jun appeared and said, “This youth was cursed. This curse lies deep within his bloodline, and as long as the bloodline exists, the same curse will be born. This is a curse set up by a master of creation. This type of curse will get stronger as his cultivation gets stronger too. When his consciousness reaches a certain level, he will die.”

Qin Mu’s consciousness trembled as he asked, “How do you break through this curse?”

“Give me more blood and consciousness, and I can teach you how to use the Grand Primordium Origin Stone to break such a bloodline curse!” Shu Jun’s voice echoed.

Qin Mu coldly laughed. “Shu Jun, whether Yun Jianli lives or dies, I don’t care. I still don’t know his motive and stand. I won’t save him just because he’s the descendant of Celestial Venerable Yun.”

Shu Jun pondered for a moment before pointing out, “The master of creation who poisoned him is very likely one of the Celestial Venerables.”

Qin Mu plainly asked, “Is that related to me?”

Shu Jun went silent once again and, after some time, said, “You help me search for this master of creation, and I will impart to you the technique needed to use the Grand Primordium Origin Stone to cultivate consciousness.”

QIn Mu cunningly proposed, “You impart the cultivation technique first and teach me how to use the Grand Primordium Origin Stone to break the curse on the Yun family bloodline, then I will search for that person for you!”

“You!”

Shu Jun was furious before he suddenly laughed and said, “Deal!”