A Martial Odyssey

Xian'Er had recalled that she had taken a sympathetic look at the toddler and said to the Jade Emperor back then, "This is the Dark Emperor Robe. I shall bestow it to him. He will be a warrior-god among men."

The Jade Emperor was startled for the Dark Emperor Robe was an ancient desolate artefact that was difficult to even exercise control so he hurriedly said, "No need…"

She replied, "You fear for him or you fear that he may not be capable of wielding mastery over it?"

The Jade Emperor heaved softly, "He is my only kin. I just want him to lead a peaceful life…"

She said, "Life and death is predestined. Everyone has their callings. Since I have granted him the Dark Emperor Robe then that is his destiny. Whether he can wield mastery over the ancient desolate artefact depends on him. Moreover…"

She seemed to look at the starry stars that were far away, "…moreover since I have foretold that he will have descendants after him therefore you shouldn't worry too much. That is enough said of the secrets of the heavens."

The Jade Emperor smiled weakly, "He…he is my only child with Qie'Er…"

She hummed softly, "Normally it is impossible for immortals to have any children. You are the first. Perhaps he is really destined for something greater."

She had stopped short of telling the Jade Emperor that this toddler was actually the Great God Pangu incarnate as she sighed in her heart, "If he can become the Great God Pangu then I am no longer relevant because he won't be able to remember me…"

She moved her fingers rapidly to divine as she thought, "Hmmm….the Goddess Celestial Alice seems to be his destined one…the Goddess Theocracy. Very well then I will give them a helping hand. I shall give ownership of the Stellar Sanctuary to the Goddess Celestial Alice…"

She looked at the Jade Emperor, "At the end of the nine thousands immortal years, a great calamity will befall to the Three Known Realms. What it is, I do not know for sure. But the Stellar Sanctuary will descend to the Celestial Realm at the start of the nine thousands immortal years. This will continue for a cycle of a thousand immortal years. Afterwards, you must hurry to the Stellar Sanctuary.

The Jade Emperor was startled!

"This…" he was stunned at this revelation!

He had heard that whoever could succeed to the top of the Stellar Sanctuary would take on the mantle of the Great God Pangu and be the next Great God Pangu!

She nodded gently, "When that time comes, whoever can reach the very top will be the successor to the Great God Pangu and become the supreme ruler of the Three Known Realms. You are free to go there."

The Jade Emperor asked in a trembling manner, "Your divinity, this honor belongs to you and not to me…"

She smiled gently, "Soon the Great Goddess Fantian will be no more."

She did not tell him that her golden body will be housed in the Stellar Sanctuary itself and she knew not to the answers that were in the 100th floor of the Stellar Sanctuary.

The Jade Emperor was stunned as he stammered, "Nothing will happen to your divinity…"

She shook her head, "But first, you have to enlighten the mortals and the beasts of the lower realm. You have to teach them the way to ascend to the Celestial Realm as Celestials and Divine Beasts. This monument task will be in your hands. In time to come, the other immortals will descend to the lower realms too. You must never reveal who you are till the last days."

The Jade Emperor sighed softly, "So shall it be then…"

He closed his eyes to ask, "How long must I wait?"

At that time he did not know that he had to wait a million years for ten thousand immortal years was equivalent to one million years in the Mortal Realm!

He had a long, long million years to cultivate himself!

The Great Goddess Fantian resonated as she rode away on a nine golden tail golden phoenix, "Does anyone know my grieving heart? My creations, my children are killing each other. If after ten thousand years they are still unable to repent then my sacrifice will be in vain."

As Xian'Er was recalling the past, she was suddenly approached by the Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Heavenly Pagoda King!

Yi Ping, Xian'Er, Nuwa and all the others readied a defensive stance immediately!

The Avant-garde Heavenly King and the Formosa Heavenly King had already stepped defensively in front of Xian'Er as they shouted almightily at the same time, "Don't you dare to be disrespectful to the Great Goddess Fantian!"

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen was the first to speak as she looked hesitating at the Jade Emperor, Nuwa, Xian'Er, Yi Ping, the Western Paradise King and the rest of the group, "We…we really do not know if the Jade Emperor or the Western Paradise is saying the truth that you are the Great Goddess Fantian. We have never met her before but you give us a familiar feeling…"

The Heavenly Pagoda King looked at Xian'Er as he began to tremble. He seemed to be anguish as well as he heaved a long sigh, "Only the Great Goddess Fantian can divine harmonize with the divine sword the Heavenly Tear Divine. We all know that the Great Goddess Fantian had given her life to give us a chance to repent and to stop us from killing each other…"

He turned around to cast a long look at Old Man Xuantian, Yun Dingzhong, the Crescent Heavenly King, the Great Khan Heavenly King, the Undeniable Heavenly King, the Heavenly King of Furies and the Marshal Heavenly King, "Even though some of us have already become Dark Asuras, she still give them the chance to repent. Even though some of us claim to fight for the common good of the immortal realm but their lofty ambitions to dominate over the immortals are unmistakable."

He paused to say weakly, "I can't say I am a saint either. Or maybe I am simply bowing to your strength. We have come to surrender…"

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen grabbed his hands as she looked melancholy at everyone but all of a sudden she raised her voice to say firmly, "But we will never bow down to bullying and power. We will not join the company of the Dark Asuras. What do you say?"

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess and the Ancient Heavenly Sage King looked at each other at the same time and they were thinking the same thing; that the Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Heavenly Pagoda King seemed to be very close…

Lord Judas the Western Paradise Heavenly King laughed jovially as his laughter shook the vicinity, "Good, good! You have come to surrender yet you don't want to bow to us! What guts!"

He raised his golden rod to slam on the ground hard and immediately, a powerful burst of martial force exploded outward with a terrifying thunderous force!

The Heavenly Pagoda King lifted his eyes to stare at him, "I shall not be intimidated! If you want a fight with us so shall it be. I can promise that it won't be easy to defeat us. Even if we can't defeat you, we will make sure that you will use up plenty of your strength. By then, some others will take advantage of your weakness. Especially with a large group such as yours, soon you may even fall into infighting to obtain the one and only Flower of Life!"

Yi Ping bowed respectfully with his hands as he said gently, "I am Yi Ping! The Western Paradise Heavenly King doesn't mean it. You are naturally welcome to join our group!"

The Western Paradise Heavenly King laughed jovially, "Indeed! Indeed! Welcome, welcome!"

The Heavenly Pagoda King looked at Yi Ping hesitatingly but his spirit was soon stirred by his righteous air. He had never seen anymore with his aura before!

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen was equally startled too. The moment that Yi Ping had spoken, they immediately knew that he was sincere in welcoming him and that a mysterious force seemed to be drawing them to him!

What was more; this Yi Ping still looked extremely rejuvenated compared to the majority of the practitioners here. This was really hard to believe because they knew that he had actually fought with a dozen heavenly kings earlier, including the two of them!

In the Pangu Monument the practitioners must be careful not to use up their strength too fast. It was because none of them could replenish their strength here!

Now that they were looking at him closely, they began to feel his imposing presence and were a little afraid of him. It was because Yi Ping was standing within arm reach of them and it was really easy to take them by surprise given his superior air.

The Heavenly King of Furies who was standing close to Yun Dingzhong and Old Man Xuantian spat loudly, "Cowards!"

Xian'Er smiled serenely to the Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Heavenly Pagoda King, "Welcome to the group."

Yi Ping said to the Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Heavenly Pagoda King, "We are all friends here. By joining us, you are a friend too. As long as you don't betray our trust, you are free to leave when you see fit."

When Yi Ping said that, almost all the maidens that were his consorts were all nodding enthusiastically at the same time too!

The Nirvana Heavenly Queen and the Heavenly Pagoda King were secretly startled at the unanimity of this group and they knew immediately that this group was almost wholly in support of this Yi Ping!

This Yi Ping seemed extremely charismatic and no doubt, he was the leader of this group!

Even the Heavenly Pagoda King was genuinely impressed by his charisma and martial skills. But he decided to take issue with him as he looked at the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa, "She is a Desolate Immortal and our ancient enemy. You should exercise caution and be wary of her."

Nuwa took offend as she said coldly, "Empty talks are cheap. Why don't you try to get me…"

Yi Ping smiled gently as he tapped her, "I don't believe that the Lady Nuwa will harm the innocents. Just because she is a Desolate Immortal then we must get rid of her? Then what is the difference between us then? The compassionate Heavens see no separation between us. What is evil and what is good?"

He turned to the Heavenly Pagoda King to say, "Her nature is good. I will surely watch over her in all her days and will not allow her to harm any innocents."

The Heavenly Pagoda King kept quiet as he shifted uncomfortably…

But for Nuwa, she was flushing lightly and she was absolutely delighted as she thought, "Did he say he will watch over me all of my days?"

She said shyly, "Yi Ping, I will punish only the evil-doers!"

She was literally on cloud-nine! And anything that Yi Ping was saying now, she would agree!

The Goddess of Mercy Gusu Xiang muttered something incoherently, "…You…"

Xian'Er turned to look at the Heavenly Pagoda King and the Nirvana Heavenly Queen before saying to the Jade Emperor, "Yi Ping is the true Great God Pangu. He is the one that we are all been waiting for. Whether you believe or not, is up to you."

The Jade Emperor was startled as he looked at the Goddess Asura, the Heavenly Pagoda King, the Nirvana Heavenly Queen, the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess, the Western Paradise Heavenly King, Ancient Heavenly Sage King, the Avant-garde Heavenly King and the Formosa Heavenly King for answers…

Asura replied coolly, "I have no doubt that Yi Ping is the destined Great God Pangu to be."

The Western Paradise Heavenly King said firmly, "I believe the Great Goddess Fantian. If she says so then it must be the true!"

The Avant-garde Heavenly King and the Formosa Heavenly King were hesitating as they looked at each other. Even though they firmly believed that Xian'Er was the Great Goddess Fantian but they dare not acknowledge the Great God Pangu recklessly!

Lingfeng had a look of annoyance in her eyes as she cursed softly, "Idiots! All of them!"

Yi Ping secretly whispered to her, "Lingfeng calm down! What does it matter?"

Lingfeng whispered back to Yi Ping, "I can't take it lying down. In their hearts, whoever can reach the floor 100th level first will inherit the Great Pangu Force and be the next Great God Pangu.

They are all hoping to be the next Great God Pangu and his successor. That is why they refuse to acknowledge you as the Great God Pangu! You are the real Pangu-incarnate and you are standing in front of them now. They have eyes yet they are so blind as not to recognize Mt. Tai! This is really too ridiculous!"

Nuwa who could eavesdrop on them also mused, "Let me knock some sense into them…"

Yi Ping whispered weakly, "It doesn't matter. Don't take matters into your own hands. I am alright. Learn from Alice…"

The Goddess Celestial Alice whispered gently, "I am just holding it back. The truth is that I feel the same way as the Heaveness too."

Yi Ping was a little speechless as he whispered resignedly, "It really doesn't matter. Just help me to keep a watchful lookout for Lele and the rest. I am really afraid for them. We are still in a dire situation and we don't know what our enemies are planning…"

All of a sudden, his secret dual celestial thoughts were interrupted by a white brilliant flare that had just burst out from Lele!

Yi Ping began to gasp, "This is…"

Yi Si gasped aloud, "Mother!…"

She had not seen her mother for two decades and was really happy to find her parents again. Even though she was a little disappointed that her mother seemed a little callous towards her but she did not put it into heart. It was because she was a celestial practitioner herself and had a cool attitude to events around her or else it would be impossible for her to overcome her divine calamity!

Imagine her surprise when she found her parents again and found out that her father was now married to several consorts while he was in the Celestial Realm!

She had thought, "Um, can a Celestial really marry? If he cannot overcome the emotions of his heart, it is impossible for him to achieve enlightenment and he may even invite destruction when his next divine calamity has descended upon him…"

It was because she knew from her grandfather that her father had only married once and that was only to the Celestial Fairy, the Emerald Mistress of the Eternal Ice Palace. The reason why her mother never got married to him was because they had to purify their hearts of all emotional distractions or it would be fatal to them when their divine calamities descended upon them!

She had often wondered what was it to be like to fall in love but her grandfather warned her severely, "The Celestial Stage of Emotion is the hardest stage to overcome. Even if you are able to overcome it, it doesn't mean you can fall in love. The celestial stages are a cumulative of your enlightenment and only get increasing difficulty as your divinity increases. One wrong step and your entire attainment will be ruined!"

She had asked, "Didn't grandpa once told me that the practitioners are able to Dual Celestial with each other?"

The Jade Emperor laughed, "They are able to exchange their sentiments through the Dual Celestial Practice but this was actually more like a spiritual exchange. That is why your parents never got married. The practitioner of the celestial art is lonely, very lonely. Also, once they overcome their first divine calamity and become a true practitioner, it is quite impossible for them to have any children thereafter."

He seemed to hesitate for a while as he looked at Yi Si, "Quite…impossible…the descendants of the true practitioners are often failed practitioners… "

He muttered, "Lele…where are you now? Are you well?"

He smiled all of a sudden to Yi Si, "You are as beautiful as your mother. Don't blame your parents. They have a greater destiny to pursue. There is still a realm above the Celestial Realm, a realm of the immortal fairies and the immortal sages. Someday, I hope to go there…again…"

Yi Si asked, "Again?"

But the Jade Emperor did not reply her.

Yi Si had never faulted her parents for abandoning her. In fact after getting to know her father, she knew that the incident had accidentally left behind a thorn in their hearts. And her father was a sentimental hero. The very reason that her father married many of his lifelong companions was because they simply had been through too much together. In the end, they had no way of knowing if they could pull through their next battle therefore he had finally caved in to give them an accounting for it was obvious that many of them had too much distractions in their hearts. It was akin to choosing the lesser of the evils…

At the moment, Yi Si had turned ashen because she instinctively knew that their opponents may be making their moves very soon so she stepped panicky forward but the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa had all of a sudden restrained her by catching hold of her shoulder as she whispered, "Wait!"

Xian'Er said hurriedly, "She is entering the final metamorphosis stage with the Flower of Life."

Yu'Er and Mei'Er gasped softly when they saw that Yi Ping was already gripping his divine swords. They immediately knew that Yi Ping was about to take action soon!

Yi Ping secretly whispered to Lingfeng, Xian'Er, Nuwa and Alice. "We need to get ready soon…"

Lingfeng whispered with a soft laugh, "Ping'Er, you are so wise now. I would have warned us too even if you did not try to do so!"

Nuwa nodded as she secretly whispered back, "These dark heavenly kings! They are not taking it lying down by being timid cats over there. Since they can't obtain the Flower of Life directly, they are simply waiting for Lele to disarm the formidable celestial formations before they make their moves!"

Xian'Er nodded, "Especially Yun Dingzhong and Old Man Xuantian…"

Yi Ping was trembling lightly as he whispered anxiously, "That is right. I won't allow them to touch Lele!"

All of a sudden the unconscious Lele began to jerk violently in mid-air, gasping aloud as nine beaming lights burst out from her entire body as slow shockwaves began to shake the entire vicinity thunderously!

Almost immediately when the imposing prismatic walls that were around Lele seemed to be dissipating, everyone was rushing forward at almost the same time!

Yi Ping brandished his divine swords with a ringing resonant of brilliant light as he raised his entire martial power to shout thunderously, "Now!!!"

Yun Dingzhong croaked with dark malevolent, "The Flower of Life has materialized through her!"

Old Man Xuantian laughed wickedly as his martial force increased a tenfold, "The first to seize her will lay claim to the Flower of Life!…"

The Crescent Heavenly King, the Great Khan Heavenly King, the Undeniable Heavenly King, the Heavenly King of Furies and the Marshal Heavenly King were not slow either.

They had all unleashed their martial powers to its zenith and their objective was very clear; to obtain the Flower of Life at all costs!

The Heavenly King of Furies was shaking with fury as he struck the Marshal Heavenly King who was the nearest to him with a thunderous hit, "Get away! I shall be the first one to evolve to a higher being with the Flower of Life!"