A Martial Odyssey

Yixian the Celestial Fairy raised both her hands and stood up, displaying a defense stance. This defense stance was a lot more difficult to her than other times as she had to divert most of her internal strength to maintain her balance and to battle the furious vortex that was threatening to blow her to the whirling dark heavens above.

Yi Ping was panicky when he saw the huge fireball trekking down from the skies as he gave a martial shout and tried to hasten his steps amidst the hurricane winds!

Yixian was startled as she turned and saw his shadowy figure in the hazy windstorm, "Ping'Er, why are you here?!"

But her attention soon returned to the fiery fireball that was above her.

As the fireball drew close, Yixian and Yi Ping could feel the fiery heat and the suffocating pressure of the huge. The ground below them was shaking violently and fissure cracks appeared on the ground as the fireball fell!

Yixian was terrified when she saw the fireball but her will was resolute. She was determined to do her very best and she quickly regained her composure.

She did not dare to be careless as she quickly displayed the Divine Emerald Skill to the ninth level, the Absolute Defense Stance. With some difficulty, she managed to raise her internal strength to its zenith and raised the level of the Divine Emerald Skill to the tenth level in a nick of time as the fireball had impacted directly over her, sending multiple smaller fireballs in many different directions!

As the fireball exploded and imploded over her, the ground beneath her gave way as the sheer pressure of her fireball and her Divine Emerald Skill collided violently!

Just when she thought that she could not withstand the sheer collision anymore, the shattered fireball began to break apart and flew in all directions and most of the fireballs were eventually sucked into the dark vortex above.

Yixian was startled as she thought curiously, "It seems that the dark vortex above me is also indirectly helping me? If there isn't the powerful wind vortex above me, I doubt very much I can hold the fireball in place with just my martial skill alone. Is the Divine Calamity a test of one's courage and resolute?"

In the end, she had only suffered a few minor burns but was otherwise unscathed.

Yi Ping was almost swept forcefully aside when the huge fireball impacted upon Yixian. He displayed the Asper Continuum Horizon Hands with his martial power, imploding and deflecting the smaller fireballs with multiple forceful blows when it flew towards him!

The huge fireball had exploded with a thunderous impact, stirring the dust like a huge mushroom and sending flurry of burning windforce in all directions!

When the dust had cleared, Yi Ping was relieved to see that Yixian was still standing but she was gasping breathlessly. She was otherwise unharmed but the shock that she had received was evidenced in her…

Yixian was aware all of a sudden that Yi Ping was standing beside her.

Yixian said, "Ping'Er, why are you here? You shouldn't have come. It is very dangerous. I can sense that this is just the start. Move away quickly!"

Yi Ping said with a soft sigh, "Xian'Er, I know I won't be much help but if you were gone, I don't have the courage to live too. I really want to brave through this with you."

Yixian saw the determination in his eyes and knew that he would not listen. She did not have much strength to protest either. She simply closed her eyes to recuperate as much as possible while waiting for the next calamity to happen.

She simply said, "Be very careful!"

Yi Ping said, "I will. Don't worry about me. Don't let me be your distractions. I will look out for myself. I am not the target of the divine calamity."

They began to hold hands as they resisted the furious winds with their internal strength together.

The ground below them was rumbling loudly and tremors could be felt nonstop.

At this moment, the skies grew even darker and ominous.

Purple lightning began to streak across the dark clouds and the sounds of thunder grew even louder. Purple lightning bolts were flashing and striking the ground all around them, zapping and stirring up dust storms all around them!

At the same time, the relentless powerful winds that were generated from the dark vortex were also increasing in fury and attempting to pull them toward it!

Yixian had turned paled, "Ping'Er, this is the lightning calamity. You must leave immediately. The shockwave of the lightning is able to hit the surroundings. You will be in grave danger!"

She had heard from Lele and Lie Qing that among all the Divine Calamities, the lightning Calamity was the most feared. It was sometimes called the Divine Triple Lightning as it would strike three times before it could cease. Each time a lightning had struck, the next one would be even more deadly than the last!

Yi Ping looked gently into her eyes and he placed his hands on her shoulder, "Xian'Er, you focus on the incoming lightning calamity. I will use my martial power to steady you. Don't bother about me…"

Yixian knew she could not persuade Yi Ping in time and if she did not have sufficient preparation, she would cause both of them to be killed instantly. Therefore, she lifted her martial power once again and formed the 'Absolute Defense Stance' as she braced herself for the incoming lightning calamity.

All of a sudden, a white streak of lightning thundered and landed right in front of the Celestial Fairy! This lightning bolt had appeared out of the blue and descended so fast in a blink of an eye that if she did not prepare herself, she would surely be electrified instantly.

As the lightning bolt struck her 'Absolute Defense Stance', the impact was so thunderous that Yi Ping thought that they would perish immediately!

Yixian's fingers were trembling as she barely deflected the force of the lightning bolt. She turned around and asked, "Yi Ping, are you alright?"

Yi Ping had felt a surge of electricity energy bursting through him. It was as though his heart would burst at that time. He immediately inhaled and exercised the Divine Revelation to control his heartbeat.

He said, "Xian'Er, I am alright. My joints feel a little stiff. Is it over?"

Shui Yixian lifted her martial power again and shook her head, "If the divine calamity ceased, then the winds will die down as well. But it is not ceasing and in fact blows even stronger."

Yi Ping turned pale immediately. In the past he would never have believed that fire and lightning would descend from the skies and would descend upon a person so vengefully as though it had a will on its own!

Both Shui Yixian and Yi Ping tried to raise their martial powers as much as they could to brace themselves for the next calamity attack. It was an effort to muster their martial power as they were also using the bulk of their martial power to resist the threatening forceful winds that could at any time uproot them from the ground and sucked them into the dark vortex above them.

A bigger and blue lightning bolt thundered and zapped towards Yixian.

It struck the invisible barrier created by her 'Absolute Defense Stance' and this time she screamed and fell onto the ground. It was as though there was no resistance between her 'Absolute Defense Stance' and the wicked blue lightning bolt.

Yi Ping too, was thrown onto the ground as he felt the terrifying power of the blue lightning bolt!

There was small sparks of fire and burning smell around them.

But Yi Ping quickly struggled to stand as he called out panicky, "Xian'Er, are you alright?"

Yixian was also gasping, "Yi Ping, how are you?" In her most critical moment, her one and only concern was Yi Ping and not herself. She grabbed his hands and held him onto the ground as she could feel his vanishing martial power. It was to prevent him from being spiraled away to the dark vortex above as the strong violent windforce did not cease its furies; instead it was growing stronger every moment!

Yi Ping had suffered severe burning as the lightning bolt had passed through Yixian and through his body!

As Yixian called out to him, he quickly recovered his senses. "Xian'Er, I am alright." He exercised his martial power again and steadied himself as he said weakly to Yixian. "You must concentrate, I am really alright."

Yixian looked woefully at him, "Yi Ping, I…"

It was because she had discovered that the Divine Emerald Skill could only halt the power of the lightning bolt so much and could not prevent it from piercing her. Just when the blue lightning bolt passed through her, she had felt a severe shock but that shock was quickly alleviated by another force; Yi Ping had drawn away much of the power of the lightning bolt with his martial power.

And now, Yi Ping was reaching his limit; his heart would not be able to take anymore shock and to handle the burning temperatures of another lightning bolt.

Yi Ping reminded her, "Xian'Er, you must concentrate. I think the third lightning is coming!"

Yixian reluctantly turned her back from him and after a great deal of difficulty raised the 'Absolute Defense Stance' again. Her fingers were trembling, her footing was not steady and even her body was swaying!

But she knew that Yi Ping had suffered even greater injuries than her.

That gave her the resolute to muster her struggling internal strength as she was determined not to let Yi Ping come to further harm!

The winds grew even stronger and lightning streaked across the skies continuously! It was as though heavens were testing the limits of their endurance!

Yi Ping mused as sweat covered his entire face, "If the divine lightning did not strike now, we will die of exhaustion first!"

Indeed, he was right.

Yixian had broken into cold sweat as she struggled to maintain the 'Absolute Defense Stance'. She dare not cease the flow of her internal power for the Divine Lightning would strike at any time!

Yixian said gently, without losing her enchanting demeanor, "If we can survive this last tribulation then we can survive! Ping'Er, please hold on!"

Yi Ping said weakly, "Xian'Er, you must hold on too…"

All of a sudden, a purple lightning bolt, more powerful than the two previous lightning bolts flashed with a brilliant purplish light upon them!

As soon as Yixian saw the lightning bolt, she immediately lifted all her martial power to its zenith and Yi Ping did the same too!

Yi Ping saw that Yixian was losing her strength rapidly so he supported Yixian with his left hand to root her onto the ground and used the remaining of his martial power to display the Asper Divinity Horizon Hand as he clashed with the incoming purple lightning bolt!

All of a sudden and at the same time, there was another brilliant bolt of light from the other part of the sky that struck the purple lightning bolt!

There was a brilliant clash of explosion and binding flash of light as the ground beneath them exploded thunderously!

Yi Ping and Yixian were both flung across the platform!

The roaring winds suddenly died down and the dark clouds suddenly dispersed. It was as though it had never happened!

The cloudy skies had three opening as three rays of brilliant white light seemed to descend gently upon the fallen Yixian.

Yi Ping was convulsing as he could feel a gentle calming force entering his body!

His first thought was, "Am I about to become a Celestial? We have overcome the Divine Calamity?"

But when he had thought of Yunzi, Youxue and Lingfeng who had not overcome the Divine Calamity, he felt a terrible sadness as he recalled the lingering memories of the White Sage.

If he was a Celestial, then he would not be able to aid them in the future. It was an outcome that he did not want to see.

Not wanting to be separated from them, he did not hesitate at all as he rejected the Divine Force that was entering his body…

As he got up weakly, he saw that Yixian was already standing quietly beside him.

She was smiling at him…

Her eyes had turned crimson and now she had a divine air around her that was similar to Lele, Lie Qing, Yu'Er, Mei'Er and Shen Xinyue.

Yixian was looking at the golden sword that was thrust into the ground. It was enveloped by a golden halo and it had landed exactly at where they were standing just a moment ago…

She muttered, "This sword has just saved our lives by absorbing the lightning. I wonder what it is. It just appeared out of the blue from the heavens above…"

Just as she was pondering this question, she was greeted by joyous cries as everyone had run out of the cave excitedly!

Lele was already hugging her as she said excitedly, "You have now awakened as a Celestial! Congratulation Sister! I know that you will surely overcome the Divine Calamity! What's more, you have just overcome the Divine Three Lightning! That's one of the most dreadful Divine Calamities that can happen. I almost faint from fright when I saw it!"

Lie Qing, Yu'Er and Mei'Er were swiping the tears away from their eyes.

Lie Qing and Lele were particular excited. It was because Yixian had finally overcome the Divine Calamity on her first attempt, a tribulation that they had failed in their first attempt. That failure had caused their confident to plummet and they were afraid that the same fate would be met by Yixian too.

Shen Xinyue was gasping as she pointed at the golden sword that was thrust into the ground, "That is the Heavenly Earth Sword! This sword is the pinnacle sword of the Celestial Star Formation and it is the only celestial sword that can unleash the Universal Force and withstand the Divine Calamity!"

Yixian smiled weakly, "Is that so? I wonder why it is here…"

Shen Xinyue was also pondering the same too, "I do not know but this sword is originally yours and it seems that the Heavenly Earth Sword is here to help you…"

She was interrupted by Mei'Er and Yu'Er who were embracing Yixian with soft cries of joy, followed by the rest!

Youxue was holding hands with Yunzi as they looked delightfully at the Celestial Fairy.

Xiao Shuai, Han Shaodong, the Three Sages, Shangguan Qingyun, Yan Nanfei, Huo Fu, Ji Wuzheng, Dugu Zhen and the rest of the maidens were crowding around Yi Ping and Yixian excitedly, expressing concerns and joyous applauds!

Lingfeng was secretly startled, "This is the Heavenly Earth Sword?"

She had silently raised her trembling fingers in its direction and was startled to find that the sword was indeed exuding vestiges of the Universal Force!

She was already thinking, "This is the secret key that the Celestials in Beyond have been searching for all these while?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the startled gasp of Lie Qing who was looking tenderly at Yi Ping, "Ping'Er, why aren't you a Celestial yet?"

Immediately, Shen Xinyue and Lele turned pale!

Shen Xinyue murmured with a surprise expression, "I have never heard of anyone that can reject the Divine Force of the Divine Calamity. You supposed to be a Celestial after overcoming the Lightning Calamity. This is not possible…"

Yi Ping was silent as he stole a look at Yunzi, Youxue and Lingfeng, "I just don't want to be a Celestial yet…"

Yunzi sighed softly but she was secretly glad…

Youxue was touched. She knew that he was doing it for her. If Yi Ping becomes a Celestial and if she did not in the future, they would be separated.

Lingfeng was looking at Yi Ping tenderly and her eyes were affectionate…

But Lele was obviously unhappy!

She said melancholy, "You may have given up the one and only chance that you could have to possibly awaken as a Celestial Sage. Goodness knows what are the consequences and implications that will be in the future?"

Yi Ping said weakly, "That's alright…"

Lele interrupted, "That's not alright. That is because from now on, Yixian and I will have to leave you to continue on our celestial progression or the consequences in the future will be dire for us!"

Yi Ping was startled, "Lele, Xian'Er, you are going? Where are you going?"

Lie Qing said quietly, "That's right. We are all leaving. That includes Yu'Er, Mei'Er and Shen Xinyue too. Even though Sister Xian'Er has now awakened but this is just the beginning. Most of us have not even cleared the first celestial stage yet. That is also the most critical stage that will determine our future progression and fate. That's why we must leave so that we will not be distracted by worldly attachments. If you have become a Celestial, you can come with us to continue training. But you have not and we cannot wait for you."

Shen Xinyue added softly as she eyed Yi Ping with soft tears, "I will wait for you. You must also persist, till we meet again."

Yi Ping was stunned as he muttered, "Must we part?"

Xiao Shuai and Han Shaodong were also startled and they had said aloud at the same time, "Xian'Er, you will be leaving us?!"

Yixian nodded uncomfortably as she stole a glance towards Yi Ping.

The Martial Sage stammered, "Xian'Er, I want to become a Celestial too. Wait for me. Don't go yet…"

Shangguan Qingyun was also stammering, "Xian'Er, you are leaving us so soon?"

Yixian sighed softly as she picked up the Heavenly Earth Sword, "If destiny allows, we will surely meet again."

Shen Xinyue said, "Be careful of the Dark Celestials while we are not around."

Lele emphasized, "Not all the Dark Celestials are from the Celestial Palace. Be careful of the heretic sects."

Yi Ping was startled, "Other than the Dark Celestials from the Celestial Palace, there are other Dark Celestials elsewhere?"

Shen Xinyue nodded, "There are many more Dark Celestials and Celestials than you think. The battles between the Dark Celestials and the Celestials have never ceased."

Lele had discreetly turned away and her eyes were melancholy. It was because she had been hiding a secret. She had long suspected that her grandpa had already turned into a Dark Celestial…