The light of the Thirty-Three Heavens had yet to fade completely.
Layer upon layer of phantom heavens stretched like thirty-three tiers of steps, from the summit of Mount Buzhou into the unknowable depths of the Great Dao's source.
Di Jun stepped forward, and his Sage's pressure spread in every direction like an invisible tide.
Crimson-gold Light of the Sage flowed ceaselessly around him, bathing half the heavens in the hue of pure yang.
He had only recently attained Sagehood. The perfect, restrained aura surrounding him still carried the lingering resonance of his breakthrough, and every breath stirred a response from the Heavenly Dao Laws.
Taiyi followed close behind, the Chaos Bell slowly revolving above his head. Each flicker of the chaos runes on its surface released a terrifying aura capable of suppressing the ages.
Kunpeng and Baize stood on either side. Kunpeng still wore his blue-gray robe, his narrow eyes slightly narrowed as he swiftly calculated the balance of strength between the two sides.
Baize was the most composed of the Ten Great Demon Marshals. Even facing the assembled gods of the Divine Dao, he retained his gentle, scholarly bearing.
Ji Meng, Yingzhao, Fei Lian, Jiu Ying, Shangyang, Qin Yuan, Ci Tie, Guiche, Qiongqi, and the other Demon Marshals each led their own elite troops.
Hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers and generals stood arrayed within the Zhoutian Star Dou Great Array's curtain of starlight, their demonic aura surging skyward, blotting out the heavens and the sun.
Three hundred and sixty-five Star Banners snapped in the Starry Sky. The star charts on their surfaces resonated from afar with the real stars above the Nine Heavens, drawing the power of the stars from every direction like a gathering tide.
Di Jun's gaze slowly swept across the gods of the Divine Dao.