[Automatic Casting]
Qi Yun clenched his five fingers together, tightly holding the [Hundred Stars King Clasp] in his palm.
The warm, smooth texture carries a cool, icy touch reminiscent of stars, spreading from between your fingers.
With a slight thought, the Law Technique Panel in my Sea of Consciousness, which only I could see, appeared, with ancient characters rippling like water.
The next moment.
The pure and powerful stellar Dao intent accumulated over countless years within [Hundred Stars King Clasp] surged into the panel like a bursting dam!
The line of text on the panel that read "[Ominous Star Shines High]" suddenly shone brightly.
The progress bar, which had been almost at a standstill and progressing slowly, began to tremble.
In the blink of an eye, the progress seemed to be propelled by an invisible hand, speeding through the final stretch of the journey and crashing violently through the top.
[Automatic Law Technique updates complete. This is a minor version update; Law Technique effects have been adjusted as follows.]
[Ominous Star Shines High (10.0): Added auto-cast mechanism, Law Technique cost reduced to 10%, Law Technique power reduced to 10%]
The ancient characters slowly came to a stop, revealing a simple, back-to-basics quality between the lines.
"Automatic casting?"
Qi Yun raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He originally thought that the 10.0 transformation would, like before, once again raise the limits of power and range.
Immerse yourself in the new version of the Law Technique's core.
A moment later, the surprise on his face gradually faded, replaced by a complex expression that was a mixture of realization and amusement.
"Wow—it really is fully automatic!"
It turns out that once [auto-casting] is enabled...
The [Ominous Star] that is based on the concept of the celestial sphere no longer needs him to be constantly distracted by controlling, aiming at, and activating it.
It will be endowed with a logic based on Qi Yun's own Divine Sense perception and judgment of friend and foe.
Automatic locking!
Automatic attack!
Never stop!
"Although the power has been reduced to one-tenth, the consumption has also been greatly reduced, and the mental effort required to control it has been saved----" Qi Yun's eyes shone brightly.
He looked down at his palm; the [Hundred Stars King Clasp] had lost all its luster, turning into a cloud of grayish-white dust that fluttered down between his fingers.
"However, some preparatory work needs to be done before that."
Qi Yun murmured to himself, and the tiny space beneath his feet, temporarily supported by the [Northern Defense Grand Formation], quietly dissipated.
With a flicker of his body, he appeared dozens of miles away in another, even deeper and more hidden ley line.
"First, we need a safe place."
Qi Yun pointed his fingers like a sword, drawing them in the air. Wherever his fingertips passed, deep blue, almost ink-colored array patterns appeared out of thin air, quickly drilling into the surrounding rock walls and underground, spreading and connecting.
In the blink of an eye, a complex array covering an area of a hundred feet in radius, with a deep and mysterious aura, was formed.
[The Twenty-Four Qi Penetrating Illumination Diagram].
This is a spirit-gathering array that Qi Yun mastered when he was in charge of constructing the [Northern Defense Grand Formation].
Once this diagram is completed, the chaotic Spiritual Qi and the malevolent energy emanating from the depths of the earth's veins within a radius of hundreds of miles will be silently activated, absorbed, and transformed by the diagram.
It continuously replenishes his consumed Law Power.
Sitting cross-legged at the core of the formation, Qi Yun naturally conjured a black jade futon beneath him, formed from the fusion of pure earth energy and stardust.
He formed a mysterious mudra with his hands in front of his chest, resembling an inverted star, and his aura completely calmed down.
"So----"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips as he spoke softly, his voice echoing eerily in the sealed crevice. "Fellow righteous cultivators who have traveled from afar—"
It's going to rain.
The moment the words left his mouth, a buzzing sound filled the air!
Deep within Qi Yun's Purple Mansion, the Dao Foundation [Great Luo Heaven] trembled slightly.
An invisible, mysterious fluctuation instantly reached the dark silver [Ominous Star] hanging high in the sky.
[Ominous Star Shines High - 10.0] -- Activated!
Lifeless Valley, an area shrouded in pale golden Buddhist light.
Three Buddhist True Person, dressed in moon-white robes and each with a faint halo of wisdom above their heads, stood in a triangular formation.
They are from Fang Hai.
I have come here at the invitation of the Southern Yin Dynasty to reform this great demonic land in the Northwest.
"Huijue, that star power hasn't appeared for a long time."
The young monk suddenly spoke, his tone tinged with uncertainty.
"I haven't felt anything for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
The old monk, known as Huijue, nodded slightly, his fingers slowing their movement as he turned the prayer beads, a thoughtful expression appearing on his aged face. "I share this feeling."
Perhaps the demon who activated the star magic lacked Law Power, or perhaps he had other plans.
The middle-aged monk interjected, "In any case, this is a chance to catch our breath."
We should quickly join forces with our fellow Daoists thirty miles away. With everyone's combined strength, perhaps we can—"
His words came to an abrupt end.
Because at that very moment—
Above the three of them, the perpetually gray "sky" suddenly lit up with dozens of tiny, almost imperceptible dark silver spots without warning!
The seemingly random distribution of light spots subtly enveloped the area where the three were located, as well as the possible directions they might dodge!
That wasn't a pillar of stars, but rather—
A shower of stars!
"Not good!"
The old monk Huijue's expression changed drastically. His usually calm eyes suddenly became sharp as an eagle's, and he flicked his prayer beads.
One hundred and eight Bodhi seeds simultaneously emitted a great light, transforming into a solid, thick golden light shield with countless tiny swastika characters flowing across its surface, firmly protecting the three of them!
Almost at the very instant the light shield took shape, sizzle! sizzle! sizzle! sizzle!
Dozens of slender, hair-like rays, each over ten feet long, yet condensed to the extreme of purity, arrived in an instant, their sound of tearing through the air faint yet sharp, landing on the golden light shield!
There was no earth-shattering collision, no dazzling explosion.
There was only a series of dense, chilling, muffled "thump-thump" sounds.
With each ray of starlight that fell, the solid golden light shield trembled slightly, and a small dent, shimmering with dark silver stardust, appeared where it was struck.
Although the power of a single starburst is more than ten times weaker than the previous star pillars that were hundreds of feet thick and capable of crushing mountains.
However, their numbers are too large and the frequency is too high!
"How could this star power have become so dense?!" the middle-aged monk frowned and hissed.
The phantom of Skanda behind the young monk roared, and the phantom of the Vajra Pestle swept across, scattering a shower of stars.
But the light emanating from the phantom itself dimmed at a visible rate.
The old monk Huijue's Huijue was extremely solemn. He could feel that the Law Power he was using to support the [Vajra Devil-Subduing Ring] was draining away at an unprecedented rate!
Although the individual power of this meteor shower is weak, its continuous impact is far more terrifying than the powerful but limited-number strikes of the previous star pillars!
The former can rely on defense to withstand attacks and look for opportunities.
The latter, however, is exhausting to deal with, and a slight misstep can lead to a complete collapse!
"We cannot hold our ground! Change formation and break through!" The old monk Huijue made a decisive decision, spitting a mouthful of Essence Blood onto his prayer beads. The golden light shield suddenly expanded, temporarily forcing the rain of stars back several feet.
Taking advantage of the moment, the three transformed into Flowing Light and sped towards their designated rendezvous point.
However, they had barely moved when...
Above them, in the hazy gray sky, were the lines that corresponded to the front, flanks, and even the retreat route behind them.
At the same time, even more new, dark silver spots lit up!
A new, more intense, and more precise shower of stars has already anticipated their movements and been laid out in advance!
It was as if a pair of indifferent eyes had already seen through all their reactions.
Similar scenes were playing out almost simultaneously throughout Lifeless Valley.
A sword True Person had just used his exquisite swordsmanship, "Star River Rolls Backward," to force back three Devil Cultivator from the Northwest who were attacking him.
The aftershocks of the Sword Qi still lingered in the void, leaving behind a dazzling trail of flames that lingered for a long time.
Before he could catch his breath, dozens of fine starlight beams fell from above, causing his subsequent sword moves to falter. The counterattacking Devil Cultivator seized the opportunity, and he was nearly injured.
A True Person skilled in talisman arrays is rapidly setting up a series of interconnected "Five Elements Inversion Bewildering Formation" in an attempt to trap and kill the two demons who are tracking him.
As soon as the three array flags were planted, a deluge of starlight descended from the sky, striking several nodes of the array patterns that were not yet fully connected. The clash of Law Power power caused the array flags to explode on the spot, and the backlash made him groan and stagger backward.
Even more remarkably, two powerful True Person, one righteous and one demonic, who were locked in a fierce battle with their energies intertwined, suddenly noticed a shower of stars falling from above.
Seven or eight out of ten paths are aimed at that righteous True Person.
Occasionally, one or two Devil Cultivator would be "accidentally" injured, but they would only glide past the protective spiritual light without causing any pain or itch.
"This... this Ghost Star Technique even discriminates against its users?!"
The Devil Cultivator was taken aback at first, then let out a strange laugh and launched an even more frenzied attack.
His opponent, the righteous True Person, was so angry he almost vomited blood. He had to deal with the powerful enemy in front of him while also having to deal with the harassment of the star rain. For a time, he was in a state of chaos and danger.
The entire Lifeless Valley was enveloped by this torrential rain.
The righteous and True Person were so disturbed that they jumped up and down in anger!
Meanwhile, their opponents, the Devil Cultivator of the Northwest, could launch attacks with even greater impunity, thanks to the "favoritism" of this "star rain."
As one side gains and the other loses, the balance of power shifts.
It began to tilt towards the northwest at an unprecedented speed.
Deep within the fissures of the earth's veins.
The [Twenty-Four Qi Penetrating Illumination Diagram] operates silently, transforming the mixed energies gathered from all directions into a gurgling spring, nourishing the figure sitting quietly in the center of the array.
Qi Yun's eyes were slightly closed, his expression calm and undisturbed.
His mind had almost completely relinquished control over the [Ominous Star].
In fact, he could even let go completely.
The 10.0 version of [Ominous Star Shines High] has become a system in itself, requiring no further attention from him.
His attention was instead focused on himself and on the Origin of Beginnings nurtured deep within the Great Luo Heaven.
He could clearly sense that the karmic calamity in Lifeless Valley, which he had intensified, was constantly fermenting and evolving.
Strands of even purer and more profound "beginning" Dao intent were being drawn from the the Unseen and gathered together, slowly merging into the bluish-gray light cluster.
The color of the light seemed to have deepened slightly.
Although still weak, the trend is encouraging.
"As expected, personally stirring up trouble has a completely different effect than watching from the sidelines," Qi Yun realized.
At this moment, he is both a chess player and the most active piece on the chessboard.
Every move he makes directly influences the course of the game, creating new causes and effects.
And the "beginning" of these causes and effects becomes the best nourishment for the [Origin of Beginnings].
"Not fast enough----"
Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes, and deep within them reflected the chaotic and tragic battlefield scenes that the [Ominous Star] had seen through the sky.
"We've finally found you."
Upon seeing an area where the [Ominous Star] could not shine, Qi Yun slowly put his hands behind his back.
"World-Suppressing Army ----"