Tales of Herding Gods

People escaped with their families as the human divine arts practitioners used their divine arts to move people who couldn’t.

The celestial river fell, and human gods used their bodies to lift it up. Some couldn’t hold it up and were pulverized, so new gods came to lift it with their shoulders to provide an opportunity for people below to escape.

The gods of the Heaven Han Celestial Heavens flew out and flew up and down the river. Celestial Venerable Yun, Celestial Venerable Yue, and Celestial Venerable Ling led the gods to do whatever they could to lift the celestial river and halt the torrential flood.

Their cultivations were powerful, but they could only delay the fall, not put it back into the sky.

Constantly, gods were crushed to death. Even Celestial Venerables couldn’t withstand the heavy pressure of the celestial river. Celestial Venerable Yun and the others did all they could to allow people to have more time to escape.

“Somebody needs to dig out a canal.”

Celestial Venerable Yun hollered, “Yue, you’re skilled in spatial divine arts. You will dig a canal. As long as you do so and put stretches of the celestial river in it, we don’t have to worry about flooding!”

Celestial Venerable Yue put down the celestial river, and with its pressure, everyone else’s shoulders sunk.

Celestial Venerable Yue used her divine arts to fracture the earth and dig out a canal hundred of miles wide to the east.

The gods immediately began to put the celestial river into the canal. The water instantly became more gentle as it flowed to the East Sea along the canal.

The gods who put the celestial river down rushed north to help other gods.

Celestial Venerable Yue worked hard, splitting open the mountains blocking the celestial river. A river was carved out of the land, and the canal grew in length. Even though she was a Celestial Venerable in the Emperor’s Throne Realm, she got tired and had to rest as well.

Her disciples took over, and some even collapsed out of exhaustion.

After a dozen days, they finished half of it. Sections of the celestial river were put into it as it flowed along the canal.

“What about upstream?”

Celestial Venerable Yue asked during her break time, “Which Celestial Venerable is holding up the section upstream?”

Celestial Venerable Yun looked at Celestial Venerable Ling and was in a daze. Celestial Venerable Ling was holding up the celestial river too, but she wasn’t in charge of upstream.

“I’ll go take a look upstream,” he said.

He was tired too, and he slowed down a lot. However, he saw too many human gods with their bodies almost crushed on the way. Yet, they still held the celestial river up high to prevent the flood from descending.

Some gods died of exhaustion, yet they still stood there. Even in death, their persistence held their body up.

“Who’s upstream?” Celestial Venerable Yun asked people who were running away.

“I don’t know. It’s a god with three heads and six arms. I don’t know its name,” people told him.

Celestial Venerable Yun went further upstream. At that moment, he saw an imposing figure lifting the celestial river with six arms. He bent his body, and his heads were tilted. His skin almost burst open, and his god blood almost became a river. Nevertheless, he held on.

Celestial Venerable Yun arrived and was touched.

At that moment, he saw fog rising on the celestial river. Beneath the surface, a giant boat was sailing, its long dark figure moving towards the figure holding up the celestial river.

It was a ghost ship.

Celestial Venerable Yun was stunned.

Although Qin Mu was muddleheaded, he saw it too. Wei Suifeng likely came to find him out of concern over his safety.

The dragon qilin and Yan’er got the Glassy Sky Pagoda and likely returned to the ghost ship before him, which caused Wei Suifeng to be worried.

It was natural, for they were brothers. Wei Suifeng was worried that he would die in the past.

The ghost ship rose as it broke up and onto the water’s surface.

“Leave! Big Brother, leave!”

Qin Mu’s three heads shouted, “Don’t bring me back, I have to carry this river!”

Beneath the surface, a murky and blurry voice came. It should have been Wei Suifeng talking. It was just that the ship was in another time and space, so the sound couldn’t be transmitted there.

The fog thickened as it approached Qin Mu. Qin Mu was losing consciousness as he said, “Big Brother, give me some time! I’ll return myself!”

The murky voice became louder. The voice from another space and time was weird, but the ship rose and the fog thickened.

The ship was passing through time and space to reach this era.

“I can’t leave yet…”

Qin Mu’s vision became even blurrier as he became more muddleheaded and mumbled, “I can’t leave. If I do, the flood will be unleashed, and countless people will die…”

At that moment, he vaguely saw a figure helping him lift the celestial river. A strange yet familiar voice entered his ear. “Celestial Venerable Mu, I’ll carry this. You can leave now.”

Qin Mu looked up and saw Celestial Venerable Yun taking over the celestial river and the weight.

With that, his body fell backward. At the same time, the ship burst out of the water with a loud roar, and the fog drowned the falling Qin Mu.

Qin Mu’s body disappeared as he appeared on the ghost ship.

On it, Yan’er held up the falling Qin Mu and got him to lie on the boat.

The dragon qilin attended to him immediately.

Celestial Venerable Yun couldn’t help but feel excited when he watched the large ship in the fog.

“Celestial Venerable Mu!” he shouted towards the ship.

When his voice reached the ship, it became hoarse ringing. Qin Mu struggled to stand up, and he got to the front of the ship with Yan’er’s help. They looked at each other through the fog.

“Celestial Venerable Yun!”

Qin Mu shook around. He signaled to Yan’er that he needed no help as he adjusted his clothes before greeting the man lifting the celestial river across the fog. “Dao Friend!”

Celestial Venerable Yun couldn’t hear him properly, but he saw him greeting him and how his lips were moving. He engaged in lip reading and replied, “Forgive me for being unable to return the greeting! Will we meet again in the future, Dao Friend?”

Qin Mu looked at his lips, hesitated, and shook his head.

“That’s a pity!”

Celestial Venerable Yun was stunned. He continued, “I really want to meet you and talk to you in detail!”

“Me too!”

Qin Mu clenched his fists. He pointed at his heart with his thumb and shouted, “I really want to talk to you too!”

“You said we won’t meet again. Is that because I will die?” Celestial Venerable Yun asked.

Qin Mu opened his mouth but didn’t speak.

Celestial Venerable Yun understood him. He looked up into the sky and at the blurry ship, then laughed. “That’s great! Dao Friend Mu, I’ll dominate the past, and you’ll dominate the future!”

Qin Mu understood him and cried. He shouted, “Do you have wine, Big Brother?”

Wei Suifeng grudgingly said, “Why are you drinking when you’re injured?”

Although he said that, he retrieved some brilliant booze that he had hidden on the ship. He gave it to Qin Mu and said, “Drink it. This is beautiful booze given to me by Celestial Emperor. I didn’t dare to drink it, but the booze also became an unchanging substance. After you finish it, it’ll return.”

Qin Mu opened the jar, and the aroma flooded out.

He lifted the jar and, with heroism flooding through his chest, said, “I’ll toast you, Dao Friend Yun!” After he finished, he drank it all.

“Okay!”

Celestial Venerable Yun laughed. “I don’t have booze here, so I shall drink from the celestial river instead!”

He opened his mouth and drank the celestial river water.

After Qin Mu finished, he smashed the jar. He was tipsy.

Celestial Venerable Yun also seemed to be drunk too. He laughed and said, “Dao Friend Mu, return! I’m here!”

Qin Mu bowed and said, “Thank you, Dao Friend! Take care!”

“Take care!”

Celestial Venerable Yun bowed slightly too. “I’ll give the future to you, Dao Friend!”

He straightened up his waist, and the fog receded. The ghost ship was gone.