Wandering Gods of Day and Night

The stars made their resolve to completely smash apart the already broken Monitoring Bronze Tripod, regardless of the painters and music masters blocking their way.

"Star Descent."

After silently reciting a single invocation, the stars began to channel the Power of Stars. His mane whipped against the air, faintly revealing the glimmer of starlight.

"A disciple of the Star Sect's Star Covering branch?"

Li Chengfeng, arriving tardily from the descent of the Divine Lantern, immediately recognized the details.

Li Chengfeng, the "Heavenly God Scholar" of the Bone Elder Association, was deeply versed in the hidden knowledge of Jing Country.

He had previously read ancient texts: the "Star Covering" Tangkou was divided into two factions. One faction, called the Star Sect, could wield the Power of Stars. The other, the Mist Sect, dispersed a mist capable of isolating most of the world's breaths and energies.

Wherever the mist spread became an invincible domain for Mist Sect disciples.

"The Star Sect? So that's what you call the lineage of the stars."

The stars had no fear of the numerous You Shen before them. While their numbers were significant, he was, after all, a master of nine incense fires.

"Painter, use fire to refine him," Li Chengfeng called out to the painter.

The painter didn't need the reminder. Already, he had formed Dao Yan Fire, a fiery mass ripping through space.

He activated the Space Law and instantly vanished, while the music master drew his ribs back to form an ancient zither. He plucked its strings, unleashing the Law of Music.

Li Chengfeng, on the other hand, prayed to the heavens.

"Gods and stars above, bring down Heavenly Fire upon this man."

A blazing flame arose from an untraceable source, rushing toward the stars, intent on burning away every inch of his body.

"Heartless Red Silk."

Shang Wenjun and Hua Qingying, as the First Master and Second Master of the Witch, unleashed a deluge of red silk that resembled a fiery crimson wave filled only with flower stamens, rushing and surging toward the stars.

The first assault to strike the stars was the Heavenly Fire summoned through Li Chengfeng's prayer.

The raging Heavenly Fire, capable of melting anything in the world, engulfed the stars' frame.

"Heavenly Fire sourced from prayers to the stars—how could it possibly harm me? I am the stars."

Ghostly-blue starlight soared from within the stars' body, and under its glowing embrace, he appeared as a serene, luminous azure lake.

The Heavenly Fire was effortlessly absorbed and neutralized by this pool-like form, leaving the stars nearly motionless.

The second wave of assault came from the witches' Red Silk cast by Shang Wenjun and Hua Qingying.

Thousands upon thousands of silky threads surged like a ruby tide, each strand rushing in a unique direction to pierce the stars.

The stars' starlight continued to shimmer, seemingly rendering his body illusory.

The stars, visibly standing before the crowd, appeared as intangible air or some kind of image.

The tens of thousands of red threads intertwined within his body but failed to exert any binding effects.

The stars strode forward, deeming the red silk insignificant.

"Out of my way."

His right arm, bolstered by even denser starlight, grew more transparent and pure, yet nobody would doubt that this world's most ethereal clarity hid a power capable of shattering mountains.

The music master stood unmoving before the stars' path to the Bronze Tripod. Aside from his mastery of eight incense fires, the courage fueling his stance came from his lifelong pride.

He never doubted his ability to master nine incense fires, nor did he doubt his capability to ascend the Heavenly Dome and slay the Old Gods.

This pride birthed a heroic resolve that led him to confront the stars' impending destruction of the Bronze Tripod with his own body.

"If you seek death, I shall oblige."

The stars' right fist blasted forward, aimed straight at the music master's chest.

With every inch his fist advanced, a colossal energy radiated outward from him like ripples, forcing Li Chengfeng, Hua Qingying, Shang Wenjun, and others to activate Incense Fire Divine Power to shield themselves from the shockwaves.

"Such powerful physical energy."

The music master locked his gaze on the stars, refusing to step back.

And at that moment, the painter, who had employed the Space Law, reappeared behind the stars. In his hands, he held a searing mass of Dao Yan Fire, aiming it toward the stars.

The stars' body, bolstered by starlight, achieved a duality of immense destructive power while being ethereal enough to disregard most attacks.

But "ignoring most attacks" did not mean "ignoring all attacks."

The fire in the painter's hands was one the stars did not dare to underestimate.

"Star Transformation."

The starlight surrounding the stars no longer appeared clear or ghostly blue under his control. Instead, it took on opaque, muted tones as though possessing flesh-like substance.

After the starlight scattered like countless motes of star dust, the lion-headed, human-bodied figure of the stars vanished.

Naturally, the painter's fiery assault also struck nothing but thin air.

"You've transformed into this starlight."

The music master, who had been observing the stars' incense-fire techniques, finally discerned their nature.

At present, he saw through two of the stars' methods.

Star Descent — The stars borrowed the Power of Stars to attain mountain-shattering strength while simultaneously rendering his body intangible.

Star Transformation — The stars' physical form dissolved into a pervasive glittering cloud, filling the room entirely.

How would the crowd contend with this room full of star dust, which spread like irritating particles?

Even if the painter tried to burn it away with Dao Yan Fire, he could only eliminate one cluster at a time.

Having activated the Star Transformation technique, the stars abandoned his prior brute-force tactics characterized by overwhelming physical dominance and crude battering methods.

He now adopted a more insidious approach.

Transformed into a myriad of star dust, he swept toward the Bronze Tripod like a locust swarm invading crops.

Each mote of star dust settling onto the Bronze Tripod caused only negligible damage—a dent the size of a grain of rice, perhaps, or a barely perceptible scratch.