Chapter 532: Forging on the Battlefield (First Update, Requesting Monthly Votes!)
On the back of the Black Tiger God, Sang Hua was extremely nervous. This was the enemy's lair. Had the Black Tiger God already betrayed them by bringing them here?
"Still, he is a deity. There's no need for him to trick us here. If he wanted to kill us, he could just capture or eat us outright."
Even so, her heart remained tense.
After all, this was the enemy camp!
The demon race had existed in the Grand Emperor Heaven for ten to twenty thousand years. In Sang Hua's memory, demons were always vicious and cruel, committing every evil imaginable. Falling into their hands, even dying would be a relief!
And now, they were right in the middle of the enemy camp.
She looked around. Countless demons were watching them covetously from all sides. The sheer number of celestial demons was staggering, like lurking beasts ready to pounce at any moment and tear them to shreds!
Cold sweat beaded in Sang Hua's palms. Her gaze landed on a demon god and could not look away.
That demon god was bare-chested, his skin lacking normal human texture. Instead, it was covered in swirling flame patterns that coiled around his entire body.
His eyes were also extremely eerie, like two flickering flames dancing in their sockets. When he noticed her staring, he smiled. "Little girl, I've seen you before. Your family died by my hand, didn't they?"
Sang Hua clenched her fists, her eyes burning with fury, but she said nothing.
Qin Mu glanced at that demon god, his pupils contracting sharply. He recalled his first encounter with Sang Hua. That night, celestial demons had attacked the city. Sang Hua's father had gone to resist the demon gods and was surrounded. One demon god had broken into Sang Hua's home, killing most of her family.
The scene had been horrifying. Though he couldn't see Sang Hua's face at the time, he could feel the terror and rage of that long-braided girl.
Qin Mu had hidden with her, helping her escape.
Back then, Qin Mu and Sang Hua were in two different worlds. He hadn't clearly seen the demon god's face, but now, from Sang Hua's expression, he could confirm that the bare-chested demon god before him was the one who had slaughtered her family.
"The architectural style here is very similar to our Great Ruins. I saw many relics from the Kaishui Era in the Great Ruins, and they resemble these palaces quite a bit."
Qin Mu suddenly smiled. "Sang Hua, sister, maybe your Grand Emperor Heaven has some connection to our Great Ruins."
He wanted to distract the girl, but Sang Hua was too preoccupied to hear him clearly.
The Black Tiger God interjected, "The Grand Emperor Heaven was originally part of the Kaishui Emperor's domain, the first of the Thirty-Three Heavens. So the architectural similarities aren't surprising."
"The Grand Emperor Heaven was part of the Kaishui Emperor's domain?"
Qin Mu's heart pounded violently. "What are the Thirty-Three Heavens? Hasn't the Kaishui Era already ended?"
The Black Tiger God looked puzzled. "The Kaishui Era ended? When did that happen? The Kaishui Emperor is still alive! How could the Kaishui Era end? As long as the Kaishui Emperor lives, the Kaishui Era will never end!"
Qin Mu's mind was in turmoil, his heart racing wildly. The Kaishui Era hadn't ended yet!
This news was too shocking!
But then he recalled his experiences in the Great Ruins and the City of the Dead. The Heavenly King Temple's statue of the Heavenly King had followed the Kaishui Emperor's decree to ride the Dragon Qilin and kill the Dragon King. The King of Hell in the City of the Dead had also mentioned that the Kaishui Emperor had gone to the Land of No Worries.
Both events hinted that the Kaishui Era might not have ended!
But hearing the Black Tiger God say it outright still left him utterly stunned.
"Qin Mu, your mind is unsettled. That's bad for the fight ahead."
The Black Tiger God's voice turned stern. "Your mental cultivation isn't strong enough to begin with. Steady yourself!"
Qin Mu, still dazed, asked, "What fight?"
"We're here!"
The Black Tiger God suddenly stopped, shook his body, and dumped both Qin Mu and Sang Hua to the ground. As they landed, the Black Tiger God's form shifted, transforming into a tiger-headed, human-bodied deity. He looked down at them, frowned, and called out loudly, "Master, these two are useless! Their minds are in chaos! If you send them to fight, they'll probably lose miserably!"
Sang Hua, still shaken from seeing the demon god who had nearly wiped out her family, could barely compose herself. Qin Mu, too, was reeling from the Black Tiger God's revelation. Both were in a poor state.
But the Black Tiger God's words snapped them back to reality. They looked ahead and felt a chill.
Before them stood a series of intricately arranged palaces. These palaces were bizarre—they were bathed in raging flames yet remained undamaged. The flames seemed to emanate from the palaces themselves, burning them nearly transparent. From the outside, one could see the interior arrangements.
The palaces themselves emitted flames, and the light from those flames illuminated the city as bright as day!
Above the palaces, deities and demon gods faced off against each other. Qin Mu immediately spotted the Woodcutter Sage, with many deities standing behind him, including Sang Hua's father.
Opposite them was another demon god, but he didn't look demonic at all. Instead, he seemed refined and cultured, except he had no ears.
Where his left ear should have been, there was a face, and where his right ear should have been, another face.
Qin Mu couldn't see behind him, so he didn't know if there was a face on the back of his head.
A series of halls surrounded a thick black pillar, several zhang in diameter. The pillar looked like a black tower, slanting into the vast plaza.
An impossibly large axe was also embedded in the plaza, its handle nearly as thick as the black pillar.
Only then did Qin Mu realize it wasn't a black pillar or tower—it was a massive spear.
This black spear crossed paths with the Woodcutter Sage's axe, both standing upright in the plaza.
These two weapons were so enormous that cracks spread across the ground beneath them.
"Enter the arena."
The Black Tiger God urged, "When the ones ahead of you die, it'll be your turn."
Qin Mu and Sang Hua walked forward to the edge of the plaza. Around them, a few young cultivators, covered in blood, were catching their breath. They still wore armor, suggesting they had just come off the battlefield.
On the opposite side, there were also young cultivators, but they were demons, also fresh from battle and nursing wounds. They looked fierce and battle-hardened.
"Master, I've brought them." The Black Tiger God bowed to the Woodcutter Sage in the air.
The Woodcutter Sage asked, "Why are they so unsettled?"
The Black Tiger God quickly replied, "Master's junior's mental cultivation is too weak. When he heard it's still the Kaishui Era, he lost his composure."
The Woodcutter Sage shot him a glare, and the Black Tiger God's long ears instantly flattened against the back of his head, obedient and silent.
The Woodcutter Sage looked at Qin Mu, only to see him rummaging through his gluttonous pouch. He pulled out a piece of black iron and poked it into the flames spilling from one of the palaces.
The Woodcutter Sage frowned. "Unsettled mind and a restless nature. Can he be useful? Have I misjudged him? There's no room for such curiosity and recklessness on the battlefield..."
The black iron in Qin Mu's hand immediately caught fire, quickly becoming too hot to hold. He dropped it, and the piece of iron hit the ground, still burning. In the blink of an eye, it melted into a pool of molten metal.
The molten metal continued to burn, and within a single breath, it turned to ash.
"No wonder this place is called Li City. This fire is actually Li Fire!"
The Woodcutter Sage frowned again as his junior's surprised voice broke the silence. "Not just Li Fire—there's demon fire too!"
The Black Tiger God couldn't help but remind him, "This place was captured by demons. The Li Fire hides demon fire, used by the fiends to ambush others! Don't touch things recklessly, or you'll burn to death. By the way, how did you know there was demon fire in the Li Fire?"
"Li Fire has high heat and is great for forging. It can easily melt black iron, but it won't burn it away completely."
Qin Mu explained, "Demon fire has a terrible corrosive nature, but its temperature is low. The black iron melted because of the Li Fire, and it was burned away by the demon fire."
His eyes suddenly lit up, startling the Black Tiger God. He said excitedly, "Demon fire can also be used to refine spirit weapons, and Li Fire is divine fire for refining! This trip was worth it—my sword pellet can advance further!"
The Mute had taught him the secrets of smelting, and he knew the uses of every type of flame. Seeing these two kinds of fire now, he grew excited and immediately took out a large iron plate and stand, along with a heavy black iron hammer.
"Brother Tiger, you don't know this, but my sword pellet has already reached the state of wrapping around a finger. The next step is to make it flow like water. I've never found a superior flame until now!"
Qin Mu took out his sword pellet and said to the dumbfounded Black Tiger God, "Demon fire can burn away black iron, but it can't burn away refined gold essence. My sword is made from refined gold essence, mixed with divine gold and other treasures. Demon fire tempering will actually purify the impurities."
The surrounding deities and demon gods stared in shock as Qin Mu quickly set up a smelting station. He put on a set of black, oily leather aprons and arranged a row of flying swords on the station. He picked one up and thrust it into the flames.
*Clang.*
The sound of hammering shattered the tense atmosphere of Li City. Qin Mu focused intently on forging his spirit weapon, each strike delivered with complete concentration.
"Thresher!"
Sang Hua whispered, "Since when did you learn to forge treasures?"
Qin Mu didn't look up, modestly replying, "I studied it for over ten years. My skill in it is better than my mathematical achievements."
Sang Hua stuck out her tongue and watched him hammering. Her heart suddenly calmed, and her panic faded. Her father, seeing her there, frowned slightly and opened his mouth, but held back.
*Clang, clang, clang.*
Qin Mu continued forging without pause. Despite the presence of over a dozen deities and demon gods, the only sound was the rhythmic hammering, which grated on everyone's nerves.
Suddenly, the demon god opposite the Woodcutter Sage twisted his head, switching to a different face, and said amiably, "Fu Riluo finally meets the Heavenly Master of the former false Heavenly Court. Truly, meeting you is less impressive than hearing your name. This disciple of yours is quite interesting. Are you sure you want him to fight in your stead?"
The Woodcutter Sage's expression remained calm. "Forging the mind is like forging iron. He was unsettled, but he uses the hammering to polish his chaotic mind and find inner peace. This is a profound mental cultivation technique. Fu Riluo, you wouldn't understand?"
*Clang, clang, clang.*
Qin Mu continued swinging his hammer without pause, showing no sign of mental cultivation—just honest-to-goodness blacksmithing.
The Woodcutter Sage's eyelid twitched, and his face flushed slightly. *Why is he still hammering?*
Below, Qin Mu put away the forged sword and then took out another batch of flying swords to place in the fire.
A vein bulged on the Woodcutter Sage's forehead, but he forced it down.
Fu Riluo laughed heartily. "You can't get rid of me, and I can't get rid of you. So let the younger generation fight for us! Heavenly Master, if my side wins, you go back to sleep and dream your grand dreams. If your side wins, I'll cede Li City to you!"
The Woodcutter Sage hesitated, but the sound of *clang, clang, clang* continued as Qin Mu earnestly forged away.
Behind him, the City Lord of Mingyi whispered, "Heavenly Master, rest assured. The Grand Emperor Heaven also has talented youths, all with the potential of true gods. They won't be weaker than Fu Riluo's disciples."
The Woodcutter Sage glanced at Qin Mu, who was still hammering, and had no choice but to nod.
—Today's first update, requesting monthly votes! The Tale of the Shepherd God wants to climb the monthly vote rankings, and I hope all you big shots will provide firepower support!
Requesting all big shots to go all out!
I heard some people call me the chapter-cutting dog;
I heard some people got rich from the knives gifted by big shots;
I heard some people got voodoo dolls;
I heard some people caused pork to sell out;
...
*Thump.* House Pig kneels down. No, no, big shots, I'm really diligent! I'm not intentionally cutting chapters! I really don't mean to leave plots unfinished! I want to update five million words in one chapter until the end too! I'm as wronged as a dead pig!
Since The Tale of the Shepherd God was published six months ago, I've updated 1.28 million words, averaging 210,000 words per month and 7,000 words per day. Isn't that enough?
Even when I'm sick and take leave, I take the morning off and update two chapters in the afternoon. During the New Year, while my family cooked, chatted, and made dumplings, I was in my study typing.
The monthly vote list is a crucial ranking, related to the novel's future and financial prospects. Now, there are over 600,000 readers on Qidian alone, over 300,000 on QQ Reading, and hundreds of thousands on the web version. Here, I humbly ask everyone to support me for one month and help The Tale of the Shepherd God climb to the monthly vote list!
Thank you all!
The Shepherd in the Wild, Man Will Triumph Over Heaven!