Tales of Herding Gods
Chapter 1451: The Path Is Long

Qin Mu looked at the primordial spirit of Heaven Duke in the Nine Hells Stage, and hope could still be seen in his eyes. He really hoped that Heaven Duke could walk out of the Nine Hells Stage, which proved that his comprehension of the Heavenly Dao was extremely deep. He hoped that even the Nine Hells Stage couldn't lock his Dao heart!

Only then would Heaven Duke be the Heaven Duke with a heaven's heart, not a Celestial Venerable Hong ruled by his desires!

Only then would he exhaust all his strength to protect Heaven Duke's life!

However, the primordial spirit of Heaven Duke didn't manage to walk out of the Nine Hells Stage as he wished.

The Dao heart wasn't as easy to cultivate as people imagined. If one wanted to cultivate the Dao heart, not only did they need powerful magic power, but they also needed to experience the world's Great Dao.

Heaven Duke lived in Xuandu, and he was too tall and too far away. He also resisted the Heavenly Dao, so his Dao heart wasn't as strong as Qin Mu had imagined.

Heaven Duke was still suppressing the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao and didn't let it attack Qin Mu. This gave Qin Mu a glimmer of hope.

However, as the pain from the Nine Hells Platform grew deeper, Heaven Duke also found it harder to resist the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao.

Tian Shu, Butcher, Luo Wushuang, and Zhe Huali gripped their knives tightly and stared at their surroundings. Beads of sweat mixed with blood flowed down their foreheads. They no longer hurried Qin Mu because as long as he made up his mind, he would rarely change it.

They were Qin Mu's friends and family, and they understood everything he had done.

Suddenly, Qin Mu dispersed Nine Hells Stage, and the pressure of the Heavenly Dao in the surroundings also dissipated.

The bodies of the four people softened, and they almost knelt on the ground. Qin Mu still made a change and made a compromise. He didn't push himself to the end.

"He's worried about our lives."

Butcher held onto Heaven Knife to prevent himself from falling down. He thought to himself, 'If Mu'er was here alone, he would probably use his life to gamble that Heaven Duke won't walk out of Nine Hells Stage. However, with us by his side, he doesn't dare to gamble. In his heart, our lives are as important as Heaven Duke's.'

Qin Mu closed his eyes and didn't look at the primordial spirit of Heaven Duke walking over.

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit came to his side, and he still looked like the white-bearded old man that Qin Fengqing had chased all over the Qin word land back then. He had a kind expression and smiled. "Celestial Venerable Mu, the obsession in your heart is too deep."

Qin Mu suddenly opened his eyes and revealed a smile.

He took out a brush and paper and spread them out on the ground. He bent down and started to write. Soon, he drew a roll of Nine Hells Platform on the paper and hurriedly rolled it up before handing it to Heaven Duke.

Heaven Duke was slightly stunned and caught the painting.

"Dao brother, don't open it now. Open it after I leave."

Qin Mu smiled. "In that case, even if the Heavenly Dao wants to attack me, it won't be able to."

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit asked, "What will happen if I open this painting?"

"Just like before."

Qin Mu didn't hide anything and said, "You will be locked up by Nine Hells Platform and fall into it. You will feel the pain of your Dao heart."

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit asked, "What if I don't open this painting and destroy it instead?"

"In that case, I shall stay far away from Xuandu and stop you from seeking death."

Qin Mu said solemnly, "I will also persuade Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable You, Divine King Lang Wo, and Founding Emperor to leave together so that you can fulfill your wish!"

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit asked again, "If I open this painting, will you stop me from begging for death and not let me break free from the restraints of the Heavenly Dao?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "I will do my best to stop the ten Celestial Venerables, but I won't stop you from seeking death. There's a difference between the two. If you open this painting, you will still be my Dao brother. I will do everything I can to help you!"

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit muttered to himself for a moment before accepting the painting scroll. "Let me consider."

Qin Mu's divine treasure realm spread out and swept Butcher, Tian Shu, and the rest out.

Heaven Duke's primordial spirit saw them off, and his gaze landed on the scroll that was rolled up. After a moment, he put the scroll aside and didn't open it. However, he would look at it from time to time.

Outside, the will of the Heavenly Dao was controlling his body to fight with Celestial Venerable Hong and the rest. Celestial Venerable Yue, Lang You, and the rest were trying their best to stop him. Both sides fought until the sky collapsed and the earth cracked. Only this place was relatively quiet.

He stood there silently with a lump of heavenly fire crystal floating on his palm. The crystal continued to grow and spin, and the surface of the crystal reflected the faces from different angles.

He only needed to flick his finger to burn the painting and destroy Qin Mu's divine art. However, he never made a decision.

Qin Mu carried Butcher and the rest out of Heaven Duke's body, and his feet paused. A Paramita Divine Boat appeared under his feet and carried them into the layers of void, far away from the battlefield.

After a long time, the Paramita Divine Boat sailed out of the void and dispersed.

Qin Mu sat in the void and watched the battle between Heaven Duke, Celestial Venerable Hong, and the rest from afar, speechless.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he stood up and seemed to have nothing on his mind. He took out all kinds of herbs to refine spirit pills to treat the injuries of Butcher, Tian Shu, and the rest, removing their Dao injuries.

The four of them looked at each other and didn't say anything.

Qin Mu treated their injuries and examined them in detail. He only stopped after confirming that they didn't leave any hidden ailments.

Zhe Huali finally couldn't resist asking, "Heaven Duke didn't open that painting of yours?"

Qin Mu shook his head and said indifferently, "No."

Luo Wushuang suddenly said, "It's impossible for Heaven Duke to open that painting. If you help him, you will only stop him from escaping the control of the Heavenly Dao! In order to escape the control of the Heavenly Dao, he set this trap, so why does he need to break his own trap?"

Tian Shu nodded and said, "One-Armed is right. An existence like Heaven Duke is too close to the sky and too far away from the ground. He doesn't have our thoughts. Call Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable You, and the rest, we should go. There's no need for us to fight to the death for Heaven Duke, not to mention he doesn't appreciate it."

Qin Mu hesitated.

Butcher said, "Why don't we wait a little longer?"

Qin Mu revealed a smile. "In that case, let's wait a little longer."

The five of them sat down quietly to recuperate their breathing and waited quietly.

Qin Mu was still paying attention to the battlefield when the corners of his eyes twitched. He saw Celestial Venerable You, Lang, and Celestial Venerable Yue getting injured one after another. He sighed and stood up. "There's no need to wait. Let's inform them to retreat from Xuandu."

Butcher and the rest also got up silently and followed him to the battlefield.

At that moment, Celestial Venerable Hong led the other Celestial Venerables to attack Heaven Duke again, causing him to suffer more injuries. Even if he had the power of the Great Celestial Heavens and boundless power, he wouldn't be able to escape death in the main battlefield of Xuandu!

Qin Mu and the rest approached Celestial Venerable Yue and the rest. Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable You, and Divine King Lang were trying their best to stop Celestial Venerable Hong and the rest, but the results were minimal.

"Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable You, Lang, stop!"

Qin Mu's consciousness rippled, and he transmitted his voice to the three of them. "There's no need to continue…"

Suddenly, his body trembled violently, and he looked at Heaven Duke in disbelief.

He felt that the painting was opened, and the divine art of Nine Hells Locking The Dao Heart was activated!

On Heaven Duke's spirit platform, Heaven Duke's primordial spirit looked at the Nine Prison Lock Technique that had been activated. Thorns grew on the Nine Prison Platform and touched his Dao heart.

"The path of cultivation is long, and the path of transcendence is arduous. Perhaps searching up and down is the right path."

He jumped into the Nine Hells Stage, and intense pain came, sealing his Dao heart!

Qin Mu laughed loudly, and he was full of energy. With his long knife, he carried Butcher and the rest towards Celestial Venerable Huo, who was attacking Celestial Venerable Yue!