Wandering Gods of Day and Night
Chapter 282 - 194 Armored Horse Divine Weapon

Chapter 282: Chapter 194 Armored Horse Divine Weapon

The three tattoos on the Puppet Taoist’s body acted like aura amplifiers, magnifying the Heavenly God Aura emitted by Zhou Xuan’s "Ginkgo Heart" several times over.

The torrent-like aura rampaged through the small two-story building, but as long as it flowed past Zhou Xuan, it would slow and trickle, becoming absurdly docile.

Zhou Xuan’s bones and flesh were nourished by the aura, and the exhaustion, discomfort, and various inefficiencies within his body were gently smoothed away by the Heavenly God Aura.

"Comfortable."

If it weren’t for noticing that Li Chengfeng was almost rolling his eyes back, he might want to indulge a little longer.

Zhou Xuan reached out to wipe the blood drop off his brow, loosening the connection between himself and the Puppet Map.

Li Chengfeng finally felt as if a thousand-pound load had been lifted from him. He pushed himself up from the floor and wiped away the tears staining the corners of his eyes.

He hadn’t cried voluntarily—it was merely a physiological reaction to extreme discomfort.

"High Priest, I feel like I just saw the God of Suffering and Calamity."

As Yun Ziliang had described, the upgraded version of the "Fake God" was no joke. Not only could it deceive the Bone Elder Association, but even a True God descending might stand frozen, pondering whether this was one of its avatars.

"Old Li, the Heavenly Official of the Bone Elder Association wants you dead, but the God of Suffering and Calamity wants you alive. What do you think—should you die or should you live?"

"I should live!"

Li Chengfeng harbored no doubts about Zhou Xuan’s abilities. However, like the great majority of Tangkou disciples, he firmly believed that "Incense Fire determines everything."

No matter how brilliant one’s methods might be, with low incense levels, there were insurmountable gaps that forever remained beyond reach.

But now,

Zhou Xuan had revealed to him that, beyond Incense Fire, countless possibilities still existed.

"High Priest, henceforth you are my one true God."

He had devoted his whole life to the Bone Elder. The Bone Elder wished him dead,

but after linking with Zhou Xuan for just a few days, Zhou Xuan was determined to make him live.

Who was his one true God now required no further deliberation.

At this moment,

the lingering traces of faith in the Bone Elder Association’s Heavenly Official and the God of Suffering and Calamity were completely purged from his heart.

The Blood Well and its future High Priest had become Li Chengfeng’s sole allegiance for the rest of his life.

...

"Some people cannot be evaluated purely by their Incense Fire."

In the Bone Elder Temple,

The Painter and the Music Master paused their work, sipping yellow wine as they chatted.

For several days, the two had been decorating the Bone Elder Temple, yet this did not mean they were oblivious to external developments.

In fact,

they saw things more clearly than most within the Bone Elder Association.

To them, whether it was the death of Lu Yusheng or the fall of the Stele King, everything traced back to one individual—Zhou Xuan.

The Painter was the Bone Elder’s first Divine Office, "Si Chen," while the Music Master held the role of "Zhong Guan."

Presently, the Music Master and the Painter found themselves divided in their opinions regarding Zhou Xuan.

The Music Master said, "From the Zhou Family’s Great Nuo, countless Nuodai emerged. They cultivated Incense Fire in nine Tangkou halls. When the Incense Fire level was low, they might stir some commotion, but once the Incense Fire rises, they can no longer progress, making it impossible for them to become truly formidable."

"Some people cannot be evaluated by their Incense Fire," the Painter countered. "In the Metropolitan, people saw Lu Yusheng stepping out while clutching his severed finger, followed later by Zhou Xuan and Gu Ling leaving simultaneously. That severed finger of Lu Yusheng’s was most likely cut by Zhou Xuan."

"From the time Zhou Xuan became a Nuo God and was unearthed from his coffin by Lord Jian’s Divine Arrow, judging by the timeline, it’s improbable that he cultivated to the stage of three Incense offerings."

"Yet with such a vast gap in incense levels, he dared to sever Lu Yusheng’s finger. This audacity—past Nuodai never possessed this."

"Audacity comes at a cost," the Music Master remarked.

"But audacity is intrinsic to a Nuo God." The Painter shook his head and said, "Lao Le, don’t forget, a Nuo God represents the Fate God. Under the Heavenly Vault and Earth, all living beings ultimately cannot escape fate."

"To wield fate while simultaneously being controlled by it—boldness that transcends fate prevails; weakness invites fate’s devouring."

"Perhaps Zhou Xuan’s boldness will enable him to cultivate nine Tangkou halls."

The Music Master was unwilling to accept the Painter’s assessment of Zhou Xuan and walked toward the temple wall, saying, "No one has ever cultivated nine Tangkou halls; it hasn’t happened in the past, nor will it in the future. This is destiny—it’s part of the Law of Destiny."

The Painter chuckled. He knew debating further would be meaningless. His confidence in Zhou Xuan’s future was merely his own faith.

Similarly, the Music Master’s skepticism toward Zhou Xuan’s prospects stemmed from his own convictions.

Faith is not the true future.

Moreover, the "future" itself is constantly changing.

The Painter had previously grasped part of the Time Law.

He understood very well that time was divided into four broad segments:

the past, the present, the future, and a scarcely-known segment—chaos.

Every choice made in the present influenced the future.

However, the forces shaping the future,

weren’t limited to the present,

but also included the past and chaos.

It wasn’t just personal futures that were evolving; the deepest secrets of this continent, of the heavens and the earth, were also in flux.

Take, for instance, the talismanic script—it preserved its writings not as static truths but as words subject to revision and change. Yet this cyclical transformation occurred slowly, very slowly,

unless... someone modified something within the Time Law...

The Painter once again picked up his Danqing Brush and stepped toward the temple wall, continuing his labor—a task tied to devotion toward the God.

Many Tangkou halls merely performed superficial acts of reverence for their Alien Ghosts and Gods. Their devotion was only skin-deep, leveraging sacrifices and incense offerings to crudely satisfy their gods’ demands.

Yet for the Painter and Music Master,