This voice sounded sudden and full of power. It clearly came from afar, yet it felt as if it echoed right in their ears, making the ears of Qin Mu, who had already transformed into a reindeer, ring.
He turned toward the source of the sound. On a distant cliff stood several silhouettes. From the foot of the mountain to the cliff was a distance of about six or seven li. Qin Mu could not see their faces clearly, but anyone who could transmit their voice from that far away and sound so crisp was certainly no ordinary person.
Granny Si, with a basket on her arm, smiled and said, “Heavenly Devil? What Heavenly Devil? This old woman is just an ordinary person living by the river, and this little deer is just an ordinary deer I raised…”
“Mu’er, run!”
Hearing Granny Si’s voice, Qin Mu was startled and wanted to speak but could not make a sound. He did not want to leave; he was worried that Granny Si would be in danger.
“An ordinary person by the river? Your voice is so powerful and can be heard so clearly in our ears; an ordinary old woman could not possibly do that.”
From the top of the cliff, an old but resonant voice laughed coldly, “Moreover, there is no way we, the Five Elders of Lijiang, could mistake the Heavenly Devil Creation Art. Flaying skin to make clothes, a thousand transformations—such vile methods are clear as day to us, and you still wish to deny it?”
Another elder on the cliff said in a deep voice, “The Heavenly Devil Creation Art turns humans into cattle and sheep, then brings them to the market to be slaughtered and sold. Haven’t you people done such things often? Many seniors from our righteous sects were even turned into cattle and sheep by you devils, plowing fields and eating grass for the rest of their lives! Your tricks cannot fool us!”
Another elder’s voice sounded full of compassion, “A deer is also a living creature, yet you simply flay it and refine its soul into a demonic object. If we do not kill you, who knows how many more lives will perish by your hands. If not you, who else should be killed?”
Granny Si twisted her finger between the eyebrows of Qin Mu, who had been turned into a deer, pulling out a silver needle, and whispered, “These damn old geezers won’t be able to do anything to Granny, but if you are here, Granny will still have to divide her attention to protect you. Run quickly, run back to the village!”
Qin Mu hesitated no longer; he immediately turned and bolted. He had been transformed into a deer, and at first, he thought his movements would be restricted, but only after running did he realize he was overthinking it. Not only did turning from a human into a deer not make him feel uncomfortable, but he could actually run incredibly fast, as if he were born a deer.
“Little devil child, you still want to escape? Letting you escape, wouldn’t that bring disaster to the world? Five Disciples of Lijiang, this time I brought you out to gain experience. Right now, that deer is your test target; kill it and bring its head to me!”
“Understood!” Five bright and clear voices of young men and women blended together, answering in unison.
Several figures on the cliff moved, leaping down from the top, and sprinting down the cliff at a speed surpassing a galloping horse. Upon reaching the bottom of the cliff, the waterfall and mountain stream formed a deep pool of water. Shockingly, the five of them stepped on the water, running across the surface to chase after the reindeer that Qin Mu had transformed into.
Granny Si’s heart sank. “Spirit Bodies! Their comprehension of the Lingtai Divine Treasure is not weak; Mu’er is not as fast as them, he will definitely be caught!”
Just as she was about to intercept them, four figures from the cliff dashed down and in a flash landed around her, while one more person still stood upright on the cliff arrogantly, refraining from coming down.
“The Five Elders of Lijiang are famous figures in the Southern Borders. What are you doing in the Great Ruins?”
Granny Si’s eyes darted around, seeing the four elders surrounding her from all four sides, she chuckled, “These Great Ruins are extremely dangerous; aren’t you afraid of losing your lives here?”
A black-bearded elder, one of the Five Elders, said coldly, “We heard the Great Ruins is a hiding place for villains. Some monsters and devils who cannot survive outside hide here, so the five of us brought our disciples here to subdue demons and eradicate devils.”
“Who is the demon, who is the devil, and who will subdue and eradicate whom is not yet certain.”
With one hand carrying the basket and the other pulling a pair of scissors from it, Granny Si put on a dim-sighted expression and smiled, “This old woman hasn’t stretched her muscles in a long time, but fortunately, my abilities from the past haven’t entirely faded. Do the five of you also want me to turn you into clothes?”
“Demon, how dare you be arrogant in front of us? Do you deserve to act so arrogantly?”
The four Elders of Lijiang shouted, moving their bodies, and then darted crisscrossing each other to attack Granny Si.
At this moment, Qin Mu, who was running with all his might toward Disabled Elderly Village, heard the roar of thunder rumbling from behind; the thunder was accompanied by blinding lightning that illuminated the mountains, much brighter than the sunlight!
He looked back and saw a tremendous wave of qi explode where Granny Si stood. The explosion lifted grass and rocks, and even several massive boulders weighing a thousand jin were hurled away by the sudden storm, howling as they were sent flying outward at breakneck speed!
“Will Granny be alright…”
Qin Mu’s heart felt heavy. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps on the surface of the river, and he saw a young man and woman sprinting swiftly across the water!
The man and woman stepped on the river water without sinking. The speed at which they stepped and lifted their feet was truly incredibly fast, even far exceeding his running speed; before the river water could even soak their insteps, the two had already dashed far away!
“These two have achieved what Grandpa Cripple calls treading on water waves. Right now, I still cannot do it; their strength is greater than mine!”
The man and woman stepped through the waves in the middle of the river, rapidly overtaking Qin Mu, running from the river toward the riverbank; it seemed they planned to intercept him up ahead.
Qin Mu looked back; there was still one more person chasing him from behind, while two others were sprinting quickly across the mountains on his left. Their figures occasionally leaped out from the dense forest, running along the treetops with the swooshing sound of the wind. However, they could not sustain it for long and quickly had to land to catch their breath.
Even so, they would soon catch up to Qin Mu and cut him off from the front.
“I cannot let them intercept me! I have to be faster than them to return to the village and ask Grandpa Cripple and Grandpa Ma to save Granny!”
Qin Mu gritted his teeth, avoided the riverbank, and bolted diagonally into the forest.
If he continued running along the riverbank, he would definitely be intercepted. The two people in the middle of the river were too fast, while the two running in the forest were slightly slower; therefore, entering the forest was the only way to escape.
“Little devil child, you and that great devil killed a deer to concoct a demonic object; don’t even think about escaping!”
Just as Qin Mu dashed into the forest, one of the two men trying to intercept him in the woods suddenly increased his speed and passed the other person. However, he was still a step too late and was breached by Qin Mu, who was in the form of a deer.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be able to run away!”
Up ahead, the man and woman looked calm. The woman chuckled, her dress fluttering in the wind as she suddenly sped up, leaping and flying among the trees to chase the deer in the forest. The man, meanwhile, was in no rush; he gave a signal to the other three to fan out and encircle Qin Mu.
Qin Mu ran frantically, but he completely failed to shake off these five people. Not only could he not shake them off, but he was also being forced by them away from Disabled Elderly Village, gradually heading deeper into the Great Ruins.
He had lived in Disabled Elderly Village for fourteen or fifteen years, and the farthest he had ever gone from the village was no more than ten li. But now he had gone too far; the surroundings were becoming increasingly unfamiliar and desolate, to the point where there was no longer even a path.
Suddenly, Qin Mu saw a valley ahead filled with peach blossoms, and there was a herd of deer living in that peach forest. He immediately ran in that direction and blended into the herd of deer.
Swoosh—
A breeze carrying a sweet fragrance blew by. The woman with the fluttering dress landed on the ground, then frowned as she saw the herd of deer ahead.
“Senior Martial Sister, where is that little devil child?” Figure after figure landed, and a young man about Qin Mu’s age asked.
The woman jutted her lips forward and said, “He blended in with the deer herd.”
“Kill all these deer!”
The several young men and women charged into the herd, drew their swords, and ruthlessly slashed at the reindeer. Although the reindeer were very fast, they were not faster than Spirit Bodies that had trained for a long time.
These five youths were Spirit Bodies, and all of them had already become martial artists; their strength was not weak. Even though the herd of reindeer scattered in panic, it was hard for them to escape the pursuit of the five, and very quickly, the deer were slaughtered one by one.
“Didn’t you say that deer are also living creatures?”
Suddenly, from amidst the chaotic herd of deer, a human voice rang out: “Granny only killed one deer, yet you are massacring a whole herd; why do you still call us the demonic path?”
“Over there!”
The woman’s eyes lit up. She focused her energy into her sword; White Tiger qi flowed into the longsword, radiating a metallic aura in all directions. The sword left her hand and shot out, slashing toward Qin Mu amidst the fleeing deer herd!
Qin Mu turned and sprinted, but the sword actually changed direction abruptly as well, continuing to thrust straight at him!
“What kind of martial art is this?”
Qin Mu’s mind went blank. “Is this a Divine Ability? It doesn’t seem like it. Grandpa Butcher said that a Divine Ability is when martial arts are trained to the absolute limit, but this woman’s martial arts are far below those of Grandpa Butcher and the others…”
The sword struck from behind. Qin Mu, in the form of a reindeer, swerved almost flat against the ground, only managing to dodge with great difficulty. In the instant he evaded, he caught a glimpse of the flash on the sword and noticed a thin thread on the sword’s hilt. One end of the fine thread was connected to the sword, while the other end was in the woman’s hand.
This fine thread was like silk and difficult to notice.
—-Thank you for the tips from so many book friends, thank you for the red banners from everyone, thank you to the silver lord uc deep breath, thank you for all your love! The QQ group for Qidian readers of The Tale of the Herder God: 600290060, you must use a Qidian account to join; QQ group for non-Qidian readers: 424940671, non-Qidian readers can join this group, let’s gather and chat about the plot~ Still having trouble finding the latest chapter? Recommended public account: r/d//444 or search online for the hot article “when searching, don’t forget to remove the “/” symbol or you won’t find it”, there are beautiful ladies here who will help you find books and chat with you excitedly.
