Tales of Herding Gods Chapter 1840: The third story of Miluo was the language of primordial chaos and the Runes of primordial chaos

The inquiries of men were frequently vague and nonsensical.

Xuanji paid them no mind, fully aware that he was no wizard.

He was merely a man who had attained a comprehension of the ‘Dao’.

The ‘Dao’ had captivated him.

Throughout these days, he devoted himself to profound meditation. The World Tree was immense, acting like a gargantuan vessel. Utilizing the World Tree to perceive the Great Dao of heaven and earth, he pursued fundamental and pure principles.

His insights grew increasingly deep. The Dao he grasped began to vibrate in harmony with the World Tree and the natural Dao of the universe. It was an incredibly magnificent sensation.

While his understanding expanded, he found himself unable to articulate the Dao he had gained whenever he attempted to share it with others.

The Dao was so wondrous that it defied all verbal description.

Transcribing the Dao was even more challenging. No script could accurately depict it, not even the specific Dao he had personally realized.

He sought to forge a new language capable of describing the Dao. These words would enable the world to truly perceive and grasp the Dao.

On that day, every denizen of the lower world would become like a wizard, wielding extraordinary power. They would be liberated from bondage, no longer forced to serve those in the upper world or live in fear of enslavement.

As they descended from the higher realms, an increasing number of great wizards pursued them. Their power intensified, forcing Xuanji to lead Susu into hiding.

The base of the World Tree was vast, comprised of thousands of leaves. Upon every leaf and branch dwelt the people of the lower world. As Xuanji and Susu traveled from one realm to another, his mastery of the great path—sustained by the World Tree—became more refined and his journey more profound.

With the passage of time, the vocabulary and symbols he devised to represent the Dao reached maturity.

Influenced by him, Su Su and Huang Yang slowly began to uncover the marvels of the ‘Dao’. Much like wizards, they started to command incredible supernatural abilities.

Huang Yang even gained the ability to shift into a man with goat horns. He possessed immense strength, capable of moving mountains and reclaiming seas, resembling a demon king of legend.

Most peculiar of all, the World Tree itself seemed to be developing its own consciousness.

It became increasingly difficult for those from the upper world to hunt them. The rate at which Xuanji’s power escalated was beyond belief.

In truth, wizards could also enhance their strength, but their progression was through growth rather than comprehension.

Wizards were of the divine bloodline, the progeny of gods. Their might originated from the potency of their godly blood, increasing as that bloodline awakened.

As young wizards matured and their bloodlines stirred further, their power would naturally rise.

Xuanji, however, was a different case entirely.

The way this “wizard” advanced was staggering. Within a few short years, even the most formidable great wizards of the upper world met their end by his hand!

The power of this young “wizard” grew so unfathomable that it even disturbed the ancestor wizards within the ancestral temple.

Only twelve ancestor wizards existed in the upper world. These figures were the primary generation of ancient gods, born with divine blessings and immortality.

They were the individuals who stood closest to the gods themselves.

Xuanji and Su Su eventually halted at a small mountain village on the fringes of the lower world. Looking toward the edge of existence, they beheld the massive head of Miluo.

The God’s eyes were shut tight, remaining closed as if he were lost in a profound slumber.

Miluo was of such a scale that legends claimed a century passed every time he blinked. A person’s entire life, from birth to death, spanned only a single movement of his eyelids.

Lately, the number of slaves forced to construct Miluo’s palace had dwindled. The conflict between Xuanji and the wizards of the upper world had drawn the rulers' focus away from the construction project.

Because of this, the people of the lower world enjoyed a few years of respite and joy.

The mountain village was modest, and the two travelers along with their sheep stayed for a night. Xuanji remained focused on his tireless quest to create a language and script. During this time, the sky began to grow dim.

Dark clouds rolled in from the horizon, stretching from east to west like a black curtain draping over the heavens.

The villagers paused their labor, standing tall to watch the approaching darkness. Hundreds of grand magi, clad in black robes, were marching toward their home.

The atmosphere turned pitch black and the air grew still.

Suddenly, a howling gale erupted, forcing the trees surrounding the village to bend back all at once!

A biting cold suddenly gripped the air.

A young wizard stepped out from the massive group, adjusted his collar, and entered the village to approach Xuanji.

Susu and the yellow goat grew visibly anxious. Even they could sense that this particular wizard was unlike any they had faced before.

Xuanji was muttering to the ground, which bore the texture of the World Tree’s leaves. The youth seemed far more interested in the earth beneath him than the approaching wizard.

“Are you Xuanji?”

The young wizard stood before him. Susu stepped in front of Xuanji to protect him, but the wizard merely smiled. “I have heard that you are a child abandoned by God in the lower world.”

Xuanji looked up and gave him a brief glance.

“However, the lower world has no need for a wizard.”

The young wizard’s smile remained. “You are faced with two paths: join us or perish. Do you understand why?”

Xuanji rose to his feet and shook his head.

“It is because of divine power.”

Continuing to smile, the young wizard explained, “A wizard’s power is a gift from God. It is the strength bestowed by the divine. As descendants of God, wizards are meant to rule over mortals. This is the essence of divine power. If mortals do not possess this power, they are meant to be ruled. If a mortal gains the strength of a wizard but does not become one of us, he must die. Do you know my origin, young man?”

Xuanji shook his head once more.

“I come from the summit of the World Tree, the dwelling of the gods. I come from the most ancient temple there.”

The young wizard said with a smile, “I am the first wizard ever born. My power rivals that of a god. Divine blood flows through me, and I can hear the tongue of the gods. I have come to invite you to the upper world to become a wizard and a ruler. Do you even know how the word ‘wizard’ is written?”

He gestured with his finger, “It represents those who dwell in the heights of the temple. Only the gods are above us. Come with me, and do not force me to destroy you.”

Xuanji shook his head again.

The young wizard’s patience was beginning to wear thin.

“Your strength is a facade. It is derived from bloodlines rather than yourself. You are nothing more than a container for the Dao within you.”

Xuanji observed him intently. “I am capable of teaching you how to master your own power. I have devised a tongue I call the Primordial Chaos Dao language, along with a script known as the Primordial Chaos Runes. Would you like to learn?”

Stunned for a moment, the young wizard laughed. “I am an ancestor of sorcerers, the very first among the Twelve.”

“That much is clear.”

Xuanji nodded. “You are indeed more powerful than the magi I have encountered. Yet you are just like them, merely borrowing divine strength. You appear impressive, but you are ultimately hollow.”

“Impressive but hollow?”

The young magus laughed. “I command the flames. With a single thought, I can ignite thousands of miles of infernos. I can fashion wings of fire to soar through the sky and even tread upon the sun's surface.”

He opened his hand to reveal a dancing sphere of fire. “My flames can liquify the toughest metals and melt mountains. They can even dissolve the heavens! Since you refuse the upper world, death is your only remaining option.”

As he spoke the final word, the hundreds of great wizards outside the village launched their assault. Their divine abilities flared, threatening to consume the entire village.

They intended to eliminate not just Su Su and Huang Yang, but every villager there.

Such was the brutality of the war between the classes.

If the lower world learned from Xuanji that they could achieve the power of wizards without the divine bloodline, it would shatter the authority of the upper world!

They could never permit such knowledge to exist!

Consequently, everything associated with Xuanji had to be eradicated!

As the grand magi outside began their move, the space surrounding Xuanji trembled violently. It was as if a new heaven had been birthed, drawing in all the magi stationed outside the village.

In terror, the grand magi watched as an infinite void expanded around them. Enormous stars and vast galaxies rushed past them into the distance. They soon realized they were drifting in the cosmic starry sky, the village completely lost to sight.

When they looked toward the center of this space, they saw only the back of Xuanji’s head.

They had once believed Miluo was the greatest God, but they now realized their error.

They were looking at the back of a divine head that was unimaginably massive!

Desperately, they unleashed their divine abilities. Some shamans grew into giants to run across the stars, others transformed into flaming beasts, and some flapped divine wings to escape!

The powers of these great shamans were vast and unique. However, just as they reached the edge of this layer of the heavens, a second layer manifested.

By the time they cleared the second, a third layer had already formed!

Back in the village, Xuanji reached out and touched the flame resting in the palm of the young ancestor shaman.

The shaman’s eyes widened. He looked behind Xuanji’s head and saw halos formed by layers of distorted heavens.

Those were genuine heavens, each representing an entire world!

Every great shaman he had brought was trapped within those layers, unable to resist!

* whoosh *

Behind Xuanji, the fourth, fifth, and sixth layers of heavens materialized in rapid succession. The great shamans caught inside slowed down, as if moving through thick sludge, their strength steadily draining away.

“I have found that thirty-six layers of void exist within this world.”

The moment Xuanji’s finger met the flame in the ancestor shaman’s hand, the heat intensified drastically. It quickly reached a point that even the ancestor shaman could not endure!

In agony, he tried to pull his hand away.

Xuanji, however, took the ball of fire and said calmly, “I have etched my Dao into these layers of void, creating these heavens.”

The fire surged upward, expanding until it resembled a sun hanging in the sky, radiating fierce power.

Behind his head, the heavens continued to multiply, encircling one another until they reached thirty-five layers!

“This is the Dao.”

Xuanji addressed the young ancestor sorcerer, “I once believed the upper and lower worlds could exist in peace. After hearing your words, I see I was mistaken.”

The sun in the sky blazed down, striking the young ancestor sorcerer directly.

He was instantly reduced to a pile of ash.

Xuanji brushed his hands together and remarked, “I understand now that the upper world will never permit the lower world to hold the Dao. Therefore…”

He turned his gaze toward the higher reaches of the World Tree. “In addition to taking the woman of your God, I intend to ascend to the upper world and cast down both you and your deities.”