A Martial Odyssey

When Yi Ping opened his eyes, he found himself looking the glaring light of the heavens and by the aromatic grasses that were around him.

He was startled by the affectionate cries of a dozen maidens that were surrounding him, everyone was trying to talk to him excitingly at the same time!

"Yi Ping! Ping'Er, you're awake!"

The Universal Old Man could be heard saying over his top, "Look at this scene! We are his brothers yet we cannot even be the first to greet him!"

The Celestial Liege was heard, "He is my worthy opponent. How can he die just like this?"

Aiel was overheard saying, "Men, go away!"

Yi Ping was wobbly as he touched his head, "How long have I been unconscious?"

Xian'Er smiled gently as she touched his face gently, "It has only been just a little while."

Yi Ping was startled as he looked around him; the surroundings were serene and there were grasses and flowers everywhere!

Lingfeng kicked him gently, knowing what he was thinking. "It has miraculous appears shortly after the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity. It was a pleasant surprise to us as well. It is really so beautiful…"

Yi Ping touched his forehead as he muttered, "I have reached the Ninth Immortal Positioning now…"

Alice smiled gently at him as she extended a hand to lift him up, "I am curious. How do you feel? What exactly is the Ninth Immortal Positioning?"

Yi Ping looked up at the Goddess Celestial Alice, "Ziyan…"

This Maiden Ziyan was actually the Goddess Celestial Alice. She was the first immortal that Yi Ping had met even though at that time he was not aware who she was.

Alice asked shyly, "Yes?"

Yi Ping halted for a while before he smiled weakly, "Nothing…oh yes, you ask about the Ninth Immortal Positioning? It is actually the Heavens and Earth as one. It is what you have instructed me in the past…"

All of a sudden Alice gave him an embrace as she fell onto him, her eyes were beaming as she murmured. "Yes, you have truly become one with the heavens and the earth. It is easily said than done and you have done it."

Nuwa laughed, "As far as I know, he is only the forth to attain the Ninth Immortal Positioning, unless I have missed anyone in my long sleep!"

The Great Khan Heavenly King was curious to ask, "Only three? Who are they?"

Nuwa yawned softly but she replied him nevertheless, "They are naturally the Great Rift God Xuan Yuan, the World Ruler Fu Xi and the Great God Pangu. Are you thinking that you can be one of them? I can tell you, you can dream on. This is something that even millions of Desolate Immortals have tried but failed and I am not even saying they can even hope to attain to the Eighth Immortal Positioning!"

The Great Khan Heavenly King looked down shamefully but he was not the only one. The Jade Emperor and the other Heavenly Kings were all shifting uncomfortably. That was because after they had witnessed the descend of the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity, they were all stunned by its ferocity and they were all asking the same question, "The Ninth Immortal Positioning seems impossible to overcome. Is it even possible for us to attain to the Eighth Immortal Positioning?"

Nuwa gleefully said, "Hmph, the lot of you can't even imagine all the ten dimensional space and how it is related to the Immortal Positioning. The Great God Pangu is the first one that could comprehend the imaginable into the surreal space…"

Xian'Er panicky interrupted, "Lady Nuwa, you are revealing too much of the secrets of Heavens and you will only harm them."

Nuwa turned flustered as she panicky said, "Did I say something?"

She smirked coldly as she stared with cold malevolent at the Great Khan Heavenly King, "Very well then, I shall obliterate you first so that you will not reveal Heavens' secrets…"

The Great Khan Heavenly King took panic steps backward as he said panicky, "No wait! I didn't hear anything at all!…"

Xian'Er said quietly as she interrupted Nuwa, "That is enough, Lady Nuwa."

As sudden as the cold malevolent had stirred, it was gone in the next instant. She quickly smiled as she groaned, "That reminds me of something that I have to do."

All of a sudden, she raised her fist and knocked against Yi Ping's head, stunning everyone!

Han Lin gasped out, "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill him?"

Yi Ping coughed out weakly as he looked blankly at Nuwa, blinking his eyes…

All the other maidens were surrounding Yi Ping protectively now!

Lingfeng shot Nuwa an angry glance, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Xian'Er asked gently, "Lady Nuwa, why did you hit Yi Ping for?"

Nuwa hummed coldly, "Why are everyone panicking for? He deserves a lesson!"

Yi Ping blinked at Nuwa, "I did something wrong?"

Nuwa pretended to be upset, "What else? Let me tell you. Why didn't you consume the Fire Sanctorum Pill and the Immortal Quintessence Pearl? Do you know that these two divine pills can protect you against the elements?"

Yi Ping stared weakly at the Nuwa, "I didn't know and you didn't tell me earlier…"

Youxue felt wobbly as she stared at Nuwa in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell Yi Ping earlier?"

Everyone was staring at the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa and they were all thinking the same too!

Nuwa blinked at them as she rebuked them gently, "I didn't? Shouldn't you all high immortals have any common sense to tell? Alas, I forget. Our divinity has such a wide gap that it is impossible for anyone of you to think the same as me. Oh well, never mind then!"

What could the rest of them do but to smile weakly at her?

The Western Paradise Heavenly King was growling, "What does this have to do with common sense? Did someone just give us a slap on our face?"

Yi Ping quickly bowed with his hands, "Senior, Nuwa really don't mean it. She is always careless with her choice of words…"

The Western Paradise Heavenly King growled again but he did not pursue further. Because he could see that the other Heavenly Kings were looking weakly at him as though they were all saying to him, "Even if this is an insult but what can we do? Can we fight her? She is a Desolate Immortal of the Eighth Immortal Positioning and she can whack us anytime."

It was not impossible to defeat her, given that there were so many of them but they had to sacrifice half of them. The real question was; who was going to be the sacrificial lamb first? Obviously none of them wanted to be one therefore the majority of them had chosen to keep quiet over it!

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess smiled, "Of course our Sister Nuwa didn't mean that."

She had treated the injuries of the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa previously and Nuwa had regarded her as her good sister. Therefore Nuwa did not mind at all when she called her as her Sister Nuwa.

Yi Si nodded, "Sister Nuwa really did not mean anything!"

Nuwa cursed softly to herself, "Oh crap! I really forget to mention it to Yi Ping. Luckily, he has pulled through the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity or I would never forgive myself."

She quickly tried to change the topic as she turned to Yi Ping, her expression was so composed that it seemed that nothing had happened. "And secondly, why did you rush at that Heaven Sundering Demon?"

Yi Ping was startled as he asked, "I am not supposed to?"

Nuwa sighed softly, "Of course you are not supposed to! You are supposed to subdue the Divine Calamity with your intense meditation and resolute will!"

Yi Ping blinked rapidly, "I am supposed to do that?! I really did not know that…"

Nuwa heaved a heavy sigh, "I wonder how you become a practitioner by being so reckless!"

Xian'Er smiled weakly, "Lady Nuwa my sister, you can't fault him. He has only been a practitioner for less than six years."

Nuwa stared in disbelief at Yi Ping and everyone could see that her jaw almost dropped, "What the hell…really? How is it possible? Do you know how long each divine stage it takes to ponder over its full mystery?"

Yi Ping smiled weakly as he stole a glance at Xian'Er and Lingfeng, "I didn't want to be a practitioner in the first place…"

Except for the Jade Emperor, the other Heavenly Kings were all staring at Yi Ping with their jaws opened as they were filled with disbelief and astonishment!

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess quickly smiled as they said quickly, "We have always known you are the Great God Pangu…"

They were startled by each other when they had exclaimed at the same time. It was because they had decided that it was never too late now to butter to Yi Ping. No matter if he was the Great God Pangu, the fact that he was an immortal of the Ninth Immortal Positioning made him the strongest immortal now. It was not a fluke or luck that he could defeat all the Heavenly Kings so easily. They simply had to admit he had outclassed all of them!

Lie Qing yawned softly as she stroked her braided hair, "All the actresses seem to have emerged suddenly."

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen smiled weakly, "I don't lie. That is my innermost feeling all this while. It is just that it is not convenient for me to voice it out."

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Queen was also smiling weakly, "That is my exact sentiments as well…"

Lele gave her a playful tease, "Oh yes? I still remember you try to bully our Yi Ping!…"

Yi Si protested weakly, "Mum! Big Sister, she is really nice to us all!…"

Lele laughed softly as she shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever. I am the Great Empress of the Immortal Realm. I can be forgiving, you know!"

The Lord Supreme said all of a sudden, "Yi Ping…"

Yi Ping had noticed that the Lord Supreme was extremely solemn and so were the Immortal Saint of Swords, the Universal Old Man and Lingfeng!

The Immortal Saint of Swords sighed softly, "Let me…"

Yi Ping was perplexed as he quickly asked, "Is there something wrong?"

The Immortal Saint of Swords roared with laughter as he looked to the heavens, "Something is wrong! But we have good news for you. We have finally unraveled the last stumbling block to our present divinity and may very soon ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

Yi Ping was surprised and so were the others, "You have finally unraveled the ultimate block and can ascend?"

He looked at Lingfeng, "Really?"

Lingfeng nodded, "Indeed and it is all thanks to you."

Yi Ping was startled, "What does it have to do with me?"

The Universal Old Man laughed jovially, "You know, all these years, we have puzzled over this last stumbling block to ascend to the Immortal Realm. Even though our attainment tells us that we are long overdue but no matter how hard we try, the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity refuses to descend. We are the last of the Ancient Celestials but even for us, we are helpless. But now, we can finally sense the throbbing energy of the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity."

Yi Ping was startled as he quickly asked, "The Heavens Sundering Divine Calamity will now descend on you?"

The Universal Old Man laughed, "Our Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity won't be as fierce as yours. It is probably just the Purple Lightning Calamity but even then, it is enough pain for us to overcome."

The Lord Supreme laughed, "I reckon that if we were to make it out alive of the Stellar Sanctuary, then it won't be long before we will be visited by the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity!"

Yu'Er and Mei'Er were also startled. Mei'Er quickly asked, "Father, you are going to leave us soon? But we have only just met…"

Yu'Er forced a smile, "Separation is part of life. Mei'Er, don't be sad."

Mei'Er pursed her lips but her eyes were wet, "I…I am not sad!"

The Lord Supreme embraced Yu'Er and Mei'Er, "Cultivate hard. One day, we will be together again."

Yi Ping turned to Lingfeng, "Lingfeng, you are saying that the reason you can unravel the last stumbling block is due to me? I don't understand…"

Lingfeng smiled, "You should be happy for us. When I have ascended to the Immortal Realm, I am going to keep a watchful look on you."

But she quickly grown solemn as she said melancholy, "All these years, our practice leads us to cultivate our self by subduing the Divine Calamity through our intense meditation and resolute will. But after witnessing how you take the initiative to fight the Divine Calamity, we have an awakening. The very reason why the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity refuses to descend for us, is because if we stick to our divine practice, then none of us will be able to overcome the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity."

She smiled fondly at Yi Ping, her eyes were full of melancholy yet it was full of gladness and appreciation. "You have shown us an alternate practice that we didn't see…The highest level of divinity is to reverse the cultivation practice. Why didn't anyone of us see something as obvious as this?"

Yi Ping did not display gladness. Rather he asked solemnly, "Lingfeng, don't lie to me. What are the odds of you overcoming the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity?"

Lingfeng smiled alluringly, "Alright I won't lie to you. The odds of overcoming any Divine Calamity won't be higher than thirty percent because it is always scaling to your full potential. This odd is good enough for me. I have overcome numerous Divine Calamities even when you are not around. This, you don't have to worry for me…"

All of a sudden she gasped aloud!

It was because before she could finish, Yi Ping had pulled her into his trembling embrace as he cried out, "Lingfeng, Lingfeng…"

Lingfeng heaved a soft sigh, "What? You have suddenly become a crybaby. That is not the Yi Ping that I have known. Are you missing my kicks already? We have not parted yet, you know. Wait for me, will you? It will only be a short while…"

Yi Ping tightened his arms around her, "I will, I will. Don't you lie to me. You must come…"

Lingfeng broke down into tears as she whispered melancholy, "When did I ever lie to you, huh? You should be happy for me instead…"

The Lord Supreme looked a little lost at the scene. He managed a weak smile as he said aloud, "The Unmoving Mountains has the best spiritual ground to prepare against the Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity. Since all four of us are facing the same calamity at the same time, maybe it is wise that we overcome it at the same time."

Skylord Jun said solemnly, "And I will be in the Immortal Realm to watch out for your ascension omens and will be there to receive you in the First Heavens! That is my promise!"

Alice smiled gently, "I will be there too!"

The Goddess Isa, the Goddess Asura and the Goddess of Mercy all said at the same time, "And all of us too!"

The Goddess Aiel smiled, "I will be there too."

Han Lin sighed softly, "Mistress, you are an immortal…you are leaving me after this…"

Aiel growled softly, "You are supposed to face your Heaven Sundering Divine Calamity too. Aren't you glad?"

Han Lin lowered her glance, "I have no confident at all. I have never thought that one day, I would be able to ascend to the Immortal Realm…"

Aiel smiled, "Come on. Imagine this. You will be the first immortal of the Celestial Aiel Sect to fly up to the Immortal Realm. You did us all proud and your name will be forever etched in the annals of the Celestial Aiel Sect. You will be Han Lin, the first Dragon Practitioner to ever ascend…"

Han Lin interrupted softly, "This is not funny at all, Mistress."

The Universal Old Man heaved a heavy sigh, "This is what I have been always dreaming of. But why am I not glad at all?"

Ye Yin the Ascension Goddess said softly, "That is because you have a thorn in your heart now. You have to forget the Lady Winter Plum and regained your emotionless heart or you can forget about ascending."

She looked at Lingfeng and sighed melancholy, "The same goes for the Heaveness as well…"

Both the Universal Old Man and Lingfeng were trembling now…

Yi Ping was shaking furiously as he looked at the heavens above, "So, if we want to ascend, if we want to reach the realm of translucence, we must all be emotionless?"

Lingfeng murmured, "Yi Ping…"

Xian'Er said quietly, "The more emotional our hearts are, the more raging our Divine Calamities would be. This is a never changing rule for the practitioners. We must think light of parting, of deaths and sorrows…"

Yi Ping laughed coldly, "I have never thought of being an immortal. I have never thought of ascending to the heavens. I have never thought of becoming the Great God Pangu. I just want to be myself!"

He turned to Lele with melancholy sorrows, "So be it then. Lele, take us to the 100th level now. You can use my strength to transmigrate all of us to the 100th level. We are…coming to the end of the Stellar Sanctuary now…"