A Martial Odyssey

Ye Yin and Yi Ping had quickly followed the sniff of cool air until they had reached a burning cavern.

The air was thick with fumes and it was suffocating.

Yi Ping was sweating heavily and he was feeling the burning pressure of the burning formation. He had become solemn, "Are we reaching the end soon? The intensity of this formation seems to be increasing rather than lessening!"

Even Ye Yin had lost her earlier conviction, "I don't know…"

Yi Ping had turned around to look at the rest of the groups. Half of them were now struggling to walk weakly.

Yixian, Youxue, Yu'Er and Mei'Er had displayed the Divine Emerald Skill as they kept the burning flames from scorching the rest of the group.

The group was struggling to resist the suffocating heat of the fires with their internal strength with varying degree of success. The ones with weaker internal strength would sweat more.

At this moment even though Yi Ping was sweating profusely, his breathing was normal and he was as alert as ever!

Lingfeng cast him a miserable look, "Why is that you don't seem to be affected much, am I right?"

Yi Ping smiled weakly, "Who says so?"

The Goddess Celestial Alice smiled, "At least you are faring better than most of us. If I am not wrong, the kirin blood in his veins has rendered him better in resisting the heat than many of us."

Lingfeng asked her, "Then what about you? You are barely sweating at all."

The Goddess Celestial Alice smiled weakly, "You have no idea how miserable I am feeling now."

The rest of the group was quiet. It was because their entire focus on the circulation of their internal energies channels to resist the fiery and suffocating flames of the Divine Purgatory Fire Formation!

Yixian said, "Ping'Er, I think we are reaching the epicenter of the formation now. I am sensing a strong killing emanation that is coming from that cave."

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa smiled wryly, "It seems that this cool air is nothing but a ruse to lure us and is generated when the inner formation began to move. Everyone be careful. The epicenter of the formation is the most formidable and also the most dangerous."

Ye Yin cursed softly, "I am sorry! It is all my fault…"

Yi Ping said gently, "Ye Yin. Don't take it too hard. All of us have no idea either."

Xingyue nodded, "That is right. None of us know better so don't take it to heart. Ping'Er, shall we turn back now?"

Yi Ping smiled bitterly, "It is too late now. We are completely surrounded by the fires now except for this cave…"

Indeed the purgatory fires were now blazing all around them!

Youxue smiled as she raised her divine sword in a brilliant flash as she slashed to and fro against the purgatory fires. Immediately the fires began to extinguish!

Everyone was startled!

Yi Ping was startled, "Xue'Er, you can extinguish the fire?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa exclaimed with a hopeful look, "It seems that her Divine Nine Cauldron Sword is able to extinguish even the purgatory fires."

Youxue nodded, "It appears to be the case. I am just experimenting. If the Divine Icefire Skill is able to render myself invulnerability to the purgatory fire then I suspect that the Divine Nine Cauldron of which my divine skill is originated may be able to contain the purgatory fires. It seems that I am not wrong."

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa nodded, "Right. It is after all an immortal artefact from the chaotic desolate era. While I don't expect the purgatory fire to affect it but I didn't know that it is able to contain the purgatory fire."

Lingfeng smiled, "Then let's hurry and get out of here!"

Yi Ping said, "Wait Lingfeng. Why don't we barge into this cave?"

Lingfeng looked at him with a reprimand look, "Did the heat make you crazy?"

Yi Ping rubbed his nose, "There are two ways for us to escape from this formation. One is to find a way out while the second way is to destroy the epicenter of the formation itself. We are so close now to the epicenter now. Why don't we destroy the epicenter of the formation and in no time we will be out of here?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa laughed jovially, "That is what I am thinking too. So let's barge into that cave!"

Lingfeng panicked said, "Wait a minute. What will be in that cave?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa pondered briefly before she smiled, "It is an Infernal Demon Beast."

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess smiled weakly, "What do you mean by that it is just an Infernal Demon Beast? I don't want to mess with that thing!"

Just as Yi Ping wanted to ask for the description of the infernal demon beast, the fire began to burn with increasing fury!

The Goddess Celestial Alice smiled weakly, "It is too late now. It has come!"

Indeed a blazing fireball had burst forth from the cave and exploded in front of them!

Yi Ping quickly unsheathed his Fantian Sovereign Sword and the Celestial Alice Divine Sword as he parried the exploding fireballs hastily!

The Celestial Fairy Yixian quickly displayed the Eternal Heavenly Tears with her Divine Emerald Force via the Absolute Defense as she sent the flying fireballs away from the group!

A gigantic fire salamander had emerged from the fire and ashes; its presence was towering and terrifying!

No sooner did it appear, it began an earthshattering roar as it sent dozens of fireballs to spin from its mouth in all directions with maddening speed!

Yu'Er and Mei'Er immediately raised their divine swords to display the Divine Emerald Force to dissipate the fireballs!

The Lord Supreme raised his fingers to dissipate a fireball with his martial force while the Immortal Saint of Swords displayed his white and black swords!

Immediately the Lord Supreme turned ashen as he coughed out a bout of blood!

The Universal Old Man exploded a fireball with his Ultrapowerful Force as he stumbled a few steps back with startled shock, "It is…formidable…"

The Skylord Jun punched a fireball away from the Universal Old Man as he said solemnly, "That is right. Brother, it is dangerous to even touch these fireballs. The Infernal Demon Beast is enveloped by an aura of demonic Fire and these fireballs are the very essence of its demonic fires. It is far stronger than the purgatory fires that are here!"

The Fiery Phoenix Xingyue had immediately raised her Blue Heavens with lightning speed as she flashed through the bursting fire blitzes as she mustered her Divine Rejuvenation Force, dissipating fireballs after fireballs!

She thought, "My sword is able to parry these demonic fireballs so effortlessly? Or rather, it is absorbing these demonic fireballs?"

Youxue raised her sword with her Divine Emerald Force and exploded a chain of fireballs that had descended onto her, saving Han Lin and the Goddess Aiel!

Han Lin gasped weakly, "Thank you…"

The Goddess Aiel coughed weakly, "I can't see properly with these fumes all around me…"

Han Lin collapsed on her, "Mistress…you are an immortal…you suppose to use your senses…"

The Goddess Aiel smiled weakly, "Han Lin. Do you know that when the body is weak, it will also affect your senses?"

Han Lin coughed softly, "Mistress, no wonder our Celestial Aiel Sect is so weak…"

The Goddess Aiel said exasperatingly, "What do you mean?"

Han Lin smiled weakly, "Because our great leader here is always so weak…"

The Goddess Asura raised her staff protectively over Han Lin and the Goddess Aiel as she said solemnly, "This is not the time to joke around. We have got a formidable opponent to fight now!"

Yunzi had raised the White Phoenix Divine Sword and displaying it into a flying sword as it burst through several chains of fireballs and her sword had pierced through the forehead of the Infernal Demon Beast, sending it into an enraging howl that stirred up the fumes and fires around them with an even greater fury!

Lie Qing had displayed twelve hovering blue wisps around her and raising the sword energy level of her Eternal Light Divine Sword as she stood coolly onto the ground, withstanding one explosive fireball after another!

Yi Si called out panicky behind her, "Aunt Lie Qing!"

Lele halted her, "She will be alright. We will be safe behind her."

Yi Si gasped, "But…you are not helping her?"

Lele smiled as she fingered with her long black scythe and the Divine Echo Divine Sword, "Young lass. No but. Just watch. Lie Qing is more formidable than your father. She just did not want to display her true martial level. Have you seen her Twelfth Level of her Invincible Divine Force? Here is your chance. "

Yi Si smiled weakly as she looked at her mother as she thought, "My mother calling me a young lass when she don't look much older than me. It is hard to believe when Grandpa had told me that my mother is actually four centuries old…"

She looked at the iron grip of her mother's long black scythe and at her divine sword. She knew that the weapons that were in her mother's hands were extremely heavy. Her grandpa had told her that Lele's specialty was her dual swords and that her long black scythe was made of black celestium metal and contained two curved swords. It was several times heavier than steel and only a highly accomplished internal strength practitioner could wield that long scythe.

This was confirmed by her father who had told her that his dual wielding skill was actually taught by Lele and Yunzi at the same time when they were alone in a valley.

Lele had also never stopped training her formidable Celestial Force for a single day!

Yi Si knew that her mother's Celestial Force was formidable because the first thing that Lele had requested from her daughter was to test her martial skills!

She was expecting her mother to praise her but instead she got a rebukes, "Too weak and you need more guile."

These few days, she must admit that she certainly learnt more techniques and strokes than in her entire lifetime!

Lie Qing had suddenly turned around to smile at her, stroking her long braided hair as she laughed mesmerizing. "I have thought that these fireballs will be painful. If I know that these fireballs will be so weak, I will not display the full martial level of my Invincible Divine Force."

Yi Si muttered, "Aunt Lie Qing, you are so formidable…"

Lele raised her hands to dissipate one fireball with her Celestial Force as she smiled, "That is nothing. Our Celestial Force is certainly better than her Invincible Divine Force. After all, I can ascend as an Immortal and she can't."

Lie Qing growled, "Sister, are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

Yi Si panicky said, "Please don't fight over such little things…"

Another heavenly figure flashed next to her. It was the Celestial Fairy Yixian. She said gently to her, "Yi Si, don't worry. They will be alright."

Lie Qing smiled, "Sister Xian'Er! How times flies! I still remember that time when Lele, Youxue, You and I have fought in the Tranquil Sect and cause the entire building to collapse!"

Yixian smiled, "I remember it. That is fun."

Lie Qing laughed softly, "I wonder what will happen if we fight for real?"

Lele laughed jovially, "Count me in. Anyone that ain't fighting for real is a tortoise then!"

Yi Si stared at them with stunned expression…

The Ascension Goddess Ye Yin evaded the fireballs effortlessly as she cursed softly, "No chatting in the middle of a serious fight or you will surely get yourself killed!"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa had jumped next to the Infernal Demon Beast as she raised her fingers to smack it hard with an explosive impact!

She laughed, "I am the second to hit it…"

Yunzi cried out, "Now the chance!"

Yi Ping had raised his entire martial strength to the Eighth Positioning as he displayed dozens of explosive ambidextrous strokes on the infernal Demon Beast!

Even though the fiery hide of the Infernal Demon Beast was as hard as steel but the full throttle attacks that were afflicted by Yi Ping caused it to howl aloud in pain!

At the same time the rest of the group had all displayed their finest attacks as they surrounded the Infernal Demon Beast in the next split second!

As Yi Ping stumbled backward, he had merged the Fantian Sovereign Sword with the two Celestial Alices, immediate the newly merged divine swords seemed to double in length!

Lele gasped, "Ping'Er, you can merge your Fantian Sovereign Sword with the Celestial Alice?!"

There were several mutterings from the group!

Yi Ping thought to himself, "The last time that I have displayed the new merging of the Fantian Sovereign Sword with the Celestial Alice was against the Guardian Divine Naga. But before I could know the full awakening of my divine swords as one, I was knocked out by the Guardian Divine Naga. This time round, I can finally test my divine swords to the fullness…"

Just as he had taken a vital breath to circulate his entire martial power, the Infernal Demon Beast was completely annihilated by the combined attacks of the Goddess Celestial Alice, the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa, the Fiery Phoenix Xingyue, the Goddess Isa, the Goddess Asura and the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess!

And almost immediately the fiery fires around them began to die down!

The Goddess Aiel gasped, "Wow. We have won? Just like this?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa said, "I have expected that this Infernal Demon Beast to be much tougher than this. Alas, maybe it is tough when I was still in the Seventh Immortal Positioning but now I am at the Eighth Immortal Positioning…"

Xingyue smiled angelically, "I have expected a much tougher fight than this too."

The Universal Old Man heaved a soft sigh of relief, "Luckily it is done over quickly…"

The Lord Supreme and the Immortal Saint of Swords nodded wearily, "Indeed…"

Mei'Er laughed jovially, "I almost got fried…"

Lingfeng said coolly as she stole a glance at Yi Ping, "It seems that someone here isn't too happy about it."

Yi Ping smiled weakly, "I am not. It is just that I did not expect the fight to end so soon…"

Lingfeng laughed softly, "Look at your disappointed face. You seem to be eager to show off something."

Yi Ping smiled weakly as he looked at the Goddess Celestial Alice, the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa, the Goddess Isa, the Goddess Asura and the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess who had all displayed the Seventh or the Eighth Immortal Ranking…

Yixian who can read his heart nodded gently, "It does seem that our group is a little overkill now…"

The Goddess of Mercy Xiang smiled, "That is right. Overkill. Probably the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa alone is sufficient. Look at the way she smacked that Infernal Demon Beast on its face. I can't even cause that monster to flinch a bit."

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa looked a little sheepish, "I can sense that someone wants to protect all of you. This is the first time that I seem to enjoy a battle so much. You know. Unless it is necessary, I can't be bothered with using my full strength."

Yi Ping smiled weakly when he remembered how the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa had killed an impossible to kill Heavenly King with just a single hit.

The fires had suddenly vanished and a shimmering blue portal had appeared!

Lingfeng gasped, "The next exit has appeared!"

The Goddess Celestial Alice nodded, "It seems that destroying the epicenter of this formation has deemed us worthy to go to the next level. What a stroke of luck!"

All of a sudden there was a rumbling in the air as a scarlet orb had suddenly sprung forth from the ashes of the dead Infernal Demon Beast and it was spinning in mid-air!

This spinning orb was spinning furiously and it appeared that it was ten times hotter than even the Infernal Demon Beast!

Yi Ping gasped aloud, "What is that?!"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa gasped, "That is the Infernal Orb! Only in extremely circumstances can it appear. Probably one in a million chances and there aren't so many Infernal Demon Beasts in the first place. Whoever can seize this Infernal Orb will be able to gain a thousand years of attainment to ascend to the Immortal Realm straight away!"

Everyone was gasping!

Yunzi asked, "So what happens if an Immortal gets it?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa smiled, "If I can get it, then maybe I may even reach the Ninth Immortal Positioning and will be invincible! Or even ascend to the Great Beyond!"

The Universal Old Man, the Immortal Saint of Swords, the Lord Supreme, Han Lin, the Goddess Aiel and many others were now looking at this Infernal Orb!

But no one dare to make a move!

Yi Ping looked at the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa and Yixian, "So I guess the question is who will be the one that get it?"

Yunzi said, "I don't believe that the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa isn't tempted by it. But why is that all the immortals here did not seem to be moved by such a great treasure?"

Skylord Jun smiled weakly, "That is because you have only heard of the beneficial effects and not the bad effects. None of us here have any confident of absorbing this Infernal Orb. If we fail to absorb this Infernal Orb then we will surely turn to ash. This is too huge a risk to take."

The Goddess of Mercy Xiang replied, "Indeed. Whatever it is, we have to leave it here. Let the foolish one take it instead…"

The Goddess Celestial Alice nodded, "Indeed. Temptation is also part of the trial. We should simply ignore it. There are many who believe that they can take this power and live. Pride comes before the fall. Let the wise be wary."

All of a sudden everyone turned ashen as the Infernal Orb flew with startling speed towards Xingyue!

The Fiery Phoenix Xingyue was startled but that did not affect her reflexes as she raised her Blue Heavens instantly to block the incoming Infernal Orb!

But to her stunned shock, the Infernal Orb flew straight into her body, seemingly not affected by any energy force or physical obstacles!

Yi Ping was shocked as he shouted panicky, "Xing'Er!"

Xingyue coughed out a bout of blood as she stumbled backward slightly!

She quickly exercised her strength with her Divine Rejuvenate Force but found a countering force that was convulsing within her!

She thought panicky as she coughed blood again, "What is happening…"

"Xingyue!" Everyone was calling her name!

Yi Ping was about to step forward to assist Xingyue when the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa stepped in to stop him, "Yi Ping, please step aside first."

Ye Yin gasped aloud but just as she was about to assist her, the Goddess Aiel had stopped her immediately!

Aiel said, "Everyone step aside! She is afflicted by the Infernal Orb. None of you will be able to help her save for two."

Yi Ping said panicky, "Which two?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa immediately exclaimed aloud, "Maiden Lie Qing and Maiden Lele, quickly exercise your Invincible Divine Force and the Celestial Force to help her to amalgamate the Infernal Orb or her life will be in mortal danger!"

Lie Qing gasped, "Me?"

Lele was equally startled, "I will be able to help her? If I can, I will surely help her."

The Goddess Aiel did not waste a moment notice and had immediately helped Xingyue to get into a meditating position before she inserted several long golden needles into her vital channels!

Her expressions were solemn; the transformation of the Goddess Aiel into an attentive and solemn lady startled many, including Yi Ping. When she was serious, this was her countenance!

Yi Ping was panicky and he had turned ashen!

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa said, "The Celestial Force is an internal art skill that can dissipate and absorb the forces while the Invincible Divine Force was an internal art skill that can bind the forces. If it is used at the same time, these two divine skills will be able to neutralize the Infernal Orb that is within Maiden Xingyue. However, this requires the perfect ordination of the two practitioners since these two divine skills are the nemesis of each other as well."

Lie Qing asked, "So what if we fail?"

The Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa replied coolly, "All three of you will surely die!"

Yi Ping was stunned!

Lele smiled coolly as she had already stepped next to Xingyue and the Goddess Aiel, "So what are we waiting for?"

Lie Qing smiled wryly, "So you are challenging me?"

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess said weakly, "Why is that I am sensing that they are not working with each other?"

Yixian smiled gently, "Not to worry. They are really close sisters. And they are bonded to each other. I have full faith in them."

Lie Qing smiled as she raised her palm, "Lele, are you ready?"

Lele too had raised her palm, "Sister Qing, I am ready!"

The Goddess Aiel said quickly, "I will count to three. Lie Qing, you will position in front while Lele you will position yourself at the back. I will help to monitor the situation. Alright?!"

Lie Qing replied immediately, "Got it!"

Lele said quickly, "I am ready!"

All of a sudden the Skylord Jun said aloud, "Look! The exit is closing!"

Indeed the shimmering blue portal appeared to be shrinking!

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess said quietly, "If we miss this exit, we have to find another exit. This is going to be tough. And there is no telling that this attempt will be a success."

All of a sudden the Goddess Aiel snapped, "Be quiet! If the exit is going to be closed so be it! Don't disturb us now!"

The Goddess Celestial Alice, the Goddess Asura and the Goddess Isa looked at each other; this was the first time that they had seen the Goddess Aiel ever losing her patience and throwing a temper!

Even Yi Ping was startled as he thought, "Is she the same Goddess Aiel that I know?"

The Universal Old Man, the Lord Supreme and the Immortal Saint of Swords were also startled. It was because the Aiel that they had known was usually docile and could not throw her temper!

The Goddess Aiel had tapped Xingyue behind her neck to hold her upright as she said sharply, "One, two, three…"