Tales of Herding Gods

Chapter 900: Mother Earth’s Growth Rings

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Mother Earth’s voice came from the stone coffin hanging down from the flower. Her voice was very weak, yet it was filled with extreme anger. “You knew that it was the Ancient God Celestial Emperor that attacked me? You knew that he was still alive?”

Qin Mu had a calm expression as he waited for her to calm down.

He took the chance to examine that stone coffin in detail. It was the emperor coffin belonging to one of the North High Emperor Celestial Emperors, he had seen it in the earthly palace before.

He didn’t know how Mother Earth’s broken soul was able to escape from the hands of the Ancient God Celestial Emperor or how she had managed to find the emperor coffin.

When the disaster struck, Celestial Venerable Hao had controlled the strongest weapon to fight with Mother Earth, and Qin Mu borrowed Mother Earth’s power to severely injure that strongest weapon. Qin Mu later took the chance to return to the Primordial Realm.

Afterward, he was discovered by the god army of the celestial heavens and got surrounded. Only when existences on the Emperor’s Throne like Qi Xiayu and Son of Heaven Yin appeared did they force him to abandon his soul and let his brother, Qin Fengqing, return to Youdu.

Only later, when Ancient God Celestial Emperor controlled the strongest weapon to descend and stab the Primordial Tree into the Primordial Realm, did he know that Mother Earth was already dead.

As for what had happened during this period, he didn’t know. He could deduce that it was Ancient God Celestial Emperor who had personally descended and chased Celestial Venerable Hao away, killing Mother Earth.

He was truly impressed at how Mother Earth could allow a broken soul to escape amidst such a dangerous and urgent situation.

Mother Earth already had nothing left, and the power under her had either died or escaped. There were still countless races under Mother Earth, as well as heavens that got invaded, turning into slaves and prisoners.

Even so, he was still fearful of Mother Earth.

A centipede could die, but it could never fall down. As the strongest ancient god born from Yuandu, even if only her broken soul was left, she was still someone he couldn’t fight against.

The coffin hanging down from the flower was the emperor coffin of North High Emperor Celestial Emperor, and he didn’t know if there was still a corpse inside or not.

The Mother Earth inside the stone coffin finally calmed down, and she said indifferently, “Celestial Venerable Hao retreated, and Ancient God Celestial Emperor wielded the strongest weapon in the celestial heavens to kill me ruthlessly. Even though he was very powerful, relying on that weapon, it wouldn’t be easy for him to kill me. In the end, he had to rely on his ultimate art, and only then did I know it was actually him!”

She became agitated once again. “Hehe, back then, he reincarnated into the Primordial Realm and married that woman named Jue Wuchen. Never did he expect that Jue Wuchen was someone from the Heaven Alliance. The Heaven Alliance surrounded him, and I just looked on without making a move. Never would I expect him to be alive after that! Once he used his ultimate art, I recognized him. He was here to seek revenge, to seek revenge on me!”

“Ancient God Celestial Emperor’s soul didn’t disperse entirely, and he became one of the heads of the Heaven Alliance. I only learned about this later on.”

Qin Mu stared at the stone coffin and said, “Mother Earth has intercepted me so that I can revive you once again? Truth be told, I am no longer Son of Youdu.”

“But, you are still the indestructible Great Wizard.”

Mother Earth’s voice came from the stone coffin. “Nearly all of the ancient gods know about your reputation, and they know you possess the ability to revive ancient gods.”

Qin Mu shook his head and revealed a sorrowful look that felt like the falling leaves in autumn. He had a depressed and indifferent atmosphere around him, as though he had seen through the mortal world. “I no longer have a soul or spirit, so I have no way to revive you. It’s useless even if you block my path, my life won’t last much longer. Coming out this time was merely to find a place with verdant hills and limpid waters to bury myself.”

Yan’er tilted her head and examined Qin Mu. The round and chubby bird raised her claw and rubbed against her beak while thinking to herself, ‘Young Master can lie without changing his expression at all, it’s obviously not something he has learned for only a day.’

Mother Earth was silent. After a moment, the stone coffin opened up.

Qin Mu’s scalp crawled. Yan’er examined Qin Mu’s neck, and she immediately saw the skin behind his neck shivering as goosebumps rose up. It was obvious that he was very nervous.

However, what was even more curious was that even though Qin Mu was so nervous, his breath and blood flow didn’t change at all. He had clearly put in great efforts to ensure he didn’t reveal any weakness.

‘Who did Young Master learn this from?’ She was rather puzzled.

A lump of green light flowed in the stone coffin. It was like water but also like light, and it was extremely gentle.

That lump of green light didn’t fall into the river. Instead, it circled around the stone coffin. Soaked within the light, Qin Mu could faintly see a strand of soul.

The green light appeared, and Qin Mu instantly felt the aura of an incomparable lifeforce bombarding him in the face. His spirit couldn’t help becoming refreshed.

Even his soul seemed to be cheering and was very excited.

“I was the Primordial Tree to begin with, and when I was born, I was rooted in this kind of light liquid. I don’t know what it’s called, so I named it Vast Mist Primordial Liquid.”

In the whirlpool of green light, the broken soul of Mother Earth seemed to be slightly reluctant. “The reason I was able to survive two destructive calamities is this Vast Mist Primordial Liquid. Most of the Vast Mist Primordial Liquid from the primordial times has been used up, and only this much is left.”

Drops of the primordial liquid flew out from the stone coffin, and the green light shone out. There were fish swimming in the river, and when the fish leaped out from the river surface, they were extremely happy. The fish that leapt out from the water could be seen growing at a rate visible to the naked eye. They became larger and larger, and when they landed back in the river, they had already turned into behemoths that were over ten times larger than before!

Suddenly, an incomparably intense demonic air poured out from a huge fish that was dozens of yards long!

That demon fish controlled the demonic air, moving it towards the origin liquid. Before it could even get close, its body had already grown to be three hundred yards long. Long and bony spikes that were like spears grew out its body, and it exploded when it flew near the Vast Mist Primordial Liquid, causing its flesh and blood to splatter in all directions.

The other demon fish on the river surface also exploded, creating an extremely bloody and terrifying scene!

The aura of gods and devils even came from the dam of the Surging River. Those aurae were from those corpses of gods, devils, and dragons. At this very moment, those corpses were transforming abnormally at a rapid speed, reanimating. They opened their eyes, which shone with a green glow, and rose up from underwater to pounce at the Vast Mist Primordial Liquid!

For a moment, this section of the Surging River became extremely active.

Those corpses also didn’t manage to touch the primordial liquid, yet their bodies had already grown to terrifying stages, finally exploding from the pressure!

The smell of blood on the river surface was acrid.

That drop of Vast Mist Primordial Liquid flew to Qin Mu’s face, and the dragon qilin was the first to be unable to withstand it. His corporeal body started to grow furiously, and his dragon claws grew to twenty yards long. His scales grew even larger as well, shining with the reflections of people. Even his mane was furiously growing longer and longer!

Yan’er could still control herself, but her gaze was fixated on that drop of primordial liquid. It looked as though she wanted to swallow it down badly.

Qin Mu sealed all of his pores and tried his best to control his corporeal body. However, his blood, flesh, and bones were all growing furiously as well. Even his hair was growing rapidly, and the art of creation that he was so proficient in couldn’t suppress the growth!

That drop of Vast Mist Primordial Liquid flew into the heart of his brows and tunneled into his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. Even though it was only a tiny drop, it had transformed into the size of a lake when it entered his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. With green light rippling, it landed under the feet of his spirit embryo.

Qin Mu instantly felt vigorous lifeforce filling up his spirit embryo. Even though his soul and spirit were still very weak, they were growing rapidly as they absorbed the energy from the Vast Mist Primordial Liquid.

His primordial spirit leaped up and sucked in all of the energy in the Vast Mist Primordial Liquid greedily. Qin Mu tried executing the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, and the growth of his primordial spirit was even more astonishing!

“The Vast Mist Primordial Liquid can maintain one’s soul and spirit, making them undying. I have used this primordial liquid to protect my own broken soul. Celestial Venerable Mu, even though you don’t have a soul, you can borrow the primordial liquid to strengthen your spirit, allowing your spirit to become an undying primordial spirit!”

Mother Earth’s broken soul said, “In this way, you won’t die because you don’t have a soul, and you also won’t need to find verdant hills and limpid waters to lay yourself to rest anymore.”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred, and he looked at the rest of the primordial liquid in the stone coffin. “Mother Earth, even so, I don’t have the ability to revive you. My ability now is too weak. Truth be told, I’m only left with one-fifth of my vital qi cultivation.”

Mother Earth was silent for a moment, and then another drop of primordial liquid flew out, still flying into his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. She said, “This drop of Vast Mist Primordial Liquid is for you to recover your cultivation.”

Qin Mu sighed and said, “Mother Earth is still too stingy. So what if I recover my cultivation, I’m no longer the Son of Youdu. Earth Count and Heaven Duke have also abandoned me, they feel that I no longer have any worth. My abilities are weak, and they won’t lend their power to me. If they don’t lend their power to me, I can’t revive you. Why doesn’t Mother Earth give me more primordial liquid, allowing my abilities to be on par with Son of Youdu? Let them feel that I’m still worthy of being used by them so that it will be easier for me to borrow their power.”

Mother Earth’s broken soul laughed cynically and said, “It’s not that I’m reluctant to give it to you, it’s you who isn’t able to withstand the energy of the primordial liquid. These two drops of primordial liquid are already enough for you to digest for dozens or even hundreds of years! If I give you more, your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure won’t be able to seal it. If the power of the primordial liquid invades your bloodstream, just a wisp will blow your body into pieces!”

Indeed, Qin Mu felt that his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure was starting to reach its limit, and if he gained another drop, the energy in the primordial liquid would burst apart the space of his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure and seep into his body.

Even gods and devils would explode from the aura of this primordial liquid, let alone him.

“In that case...”

Qin Mu’s palm flipped, and his fingers grasped onto four small jade bottles. He poured out the dragon saliva in the bottles and asked, “Will it do if they are stored in these bottles?”

Mother Earth was silent once more. After a moment, her voice came from the stone coffin. “Your small bottles won’t be able to withstand it.”

Qin Mu’s hands moved up and down to imprint countless runes on the jade bottles. “Is this seal enough?”

“No.”

Qin Mu added dozens of seals one after another and revealed a hopeful look. “What about now?”

“No!”

Qin Mu was troubled and turned to look at Yan’er, who immediately executed her magic power and applied a green dragon seal on the bottles. As the green dragons surrounded the jade bottles, she applied another vermillion bird seal.

Qin Mu asked hopefully, “What about now?”

Mother Earth fell into silence once again and only spoke after some time. “One bottle.”

Qin Mu was disappointed. Just as he was about to speak, Mother Earth said sternly, “One bottle, no more haggling!”

Qin Mu could only use his vital qi to control one jade bottle and have it fly into the coffin. The jade bottle was filled to the brim with Vast Mist Primordial Liquid, and Qin Mu hurriedly stored it properly and carefully.

“How long do you need to recover to your peak state?” asked Mother Earth.

Qin Mu replied, “A hundred years or so.”

Snarls came from the emperor coffin as a majestic emperor’s corpse walked out from the darkness behind the primordial liquid. The corpse was snarling furiously.

“As short as ten years!” Qin Mu said firmly.

That emperor’s corpse from High Emperor stared at him with a cold gaze, and Mother Earth’s broken soul that was in the primordial liquid snorted. “I shall only give you ten years. After ten years, if you don’t revive me, I shall let my son bathe Eternal Peace in blood!”

The stone coffin closed with a bang and shut the emperor’s corpse and the primordial liquid back inside. Then, that huge flower started to close up.

“Hold it!”

Qin Mu hurriedly said, “Mother Earth, as of now, my cultivation still hasn’t recovered. If I’m killed, wouldn’t your efforts be wasted? Mother Earth, please grant me a suitable weapon.”

That huge flower stopped closing, and Mother Earth’s furious voice came from the stone coffin. “You are half-dead now. Instead of hiding yourself honestly and digesting that primordial liquid, are you actually thinking of drawing attention to yourself and seeking death?”

Qin Mu said righteously, “Now that I don’t have worries about dying, I plan to head right to the celestial heavens...”

Bang—

The stone coffin suddenly burst open, and the head of the emperor’s corpse that was as big as a mountain snarled at Qin Mu with its ferocious mouth wide open. Qin Mu, Yan’er, and the dragon qilin weren’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth!

Qin Mu’s face wrinkled up from the current of stinky breath, and he lost his footing. Behind him, the Surging River exploded, and the flow of the river was nearly cut off!

After the emperor’s corpse snarled, its head shrunk and continued to stare ruthlessly at him.

“You plan to go to the celestial heavens?”

Mother Earth said in exasperation, “Why don’t you just die?”

Qin Mu’s expression didn’t change, and he just said, “I have to make a trip to the celestial heavens. Just like Mother Earth said, I’m the indestructible Great Wizard, so even if going to the celestial heavens is dangerous, the ancient gods in the celestial heavens will protect me. In addition, my identity is that of Celestial Venerable Mu and founding elder of the Heaven Alliance, so I’m actually very safe. However, it’s easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to avoid a stab in the dark. I still don’t have a suitable weapon. My sword pellet is only a spirit weapon and not a divine weapon...”

The emperor’s corpse shrunk back into the coffin, and after a moment, it walked out again. In its hand was a straight wooden rod that was ten yards long.

“You only have this wooden rod?” Qin Mu revealed a disappointed expression.

The emperor coffin suddenly closed, and Mother Earth said with a cold tone, “This is the core of the Primordial Tree, one of the strongest divine weapons in this world. Take a good look at its growth ring!”

Qin Mu looked at the tip of the wooden rod and saw countless circles that were densely packed. Just as he was about to count them, the huge flower closed, and the emperor coffin sank back into the root of the Primordial Tree. The roots that stretched across the Surging River rapidly retracted and vanished without a trace!

“How stingy, so afraid that I’d ask for more treasures...”

Qin Mu shook his head and counted the rings in detail. After a long time, he still hadn’t finished counting them.

The dragon qilin couldn’t resist asking, “Cult Master, what number are you on now?”

“I’ve already counted five million rings, and that’s not even ten percent...”