Secrets of the Eclipse and Axis Goddess
Ouyang Feipeng the Windy Blade hummed coldly, “Will a martial exponent be so careless as to trip just like this?”
The Goddess Celestial Alice was flabbergasted, “Yi Ping, you really trip on me…intentionally?”
Lingfeng the Heaveness warned her solemnly, “You think too much. I know him better than anyone. He is a really clumsy fellow.”
Yi Ping sighed softly as he took a glance at Maiden Ziyan. He really did not know who she really was but he was secretly glad that she had survived that fateful aftermath when the Astronomic Stellar Formation had collapsed.
Slowly he regained his composure as he thought, “Isn’t that what I have come for? To know if she will be here? Even though I do not really know who she really is but somehow I can feel that when the Stellar Sanctuary has appeared again and if she is still alive, she will surely be there. I got my answers now…”
To the surprise of everyone, Yi Ping jumped down from the platform as he bowed respectfully. “I will take my leave now. I have no wish to enter the Stellar Sanctuary…”
The Goddess Celestial Alice was startled as she thought, “He is leaving?”
The other celestial practitioners were startled too but for entirely different reasons!
The session that the Lord Supreme was conducting was still in progress. This was considered to be an insolent disrespect for the Lord Supreme and counter to the martial etiquette of the martial clans.
Also, Yi Ping had already interrupted the session by outraging the modesty of ‘Maiden Ziyan’. The first time that he had erred, many of the highly attained celestial practitioners would still find it amusing. But when Yi Ping had declared his intention to leave the session in progress, it was considered to be too insolent for most of the celestial practitioners!
And Yi Ping had boldly declared that he was not interested in entering the Stellar Sanctuary. In this hall, not a single celestial practitioner believed it! The martial treasures of the Stellar Sanctuary and an opportunity to explore the Stellar Sanctuary were a life-long ambition of all the celestial practitioners!
For the weaker celestial practitioners even if they were fearful of the Stellar Sanctuary, they knew that the first few floors of the Stellar Sanctuary were actually relative safe and therefore posed no threat to their lives.
To be able to witness the descend of the Stellar Sanctuary and to be led into the higher floors of the Stellar Sanctuary by the powerful Holy Ascension Sect, would anyone give up such a god given opportunity? This led most of the celestial practitioners to conclude that Yi Ping was trying to warn either the Martial Deviant Clan or the Celestial Aiel Sect!
The Lord Supreme said unhurriedly as his thunderous voice rumbled throughout the vast Gold Ascension Hall, “You want to leave? Do you know who I am? Do you think that you can leave just like this without asking for my permission?”
Yi Ping smiled bitterly but he was firm, “I have almost finished my business here. I should leave now but…”
He sighed softly.
The Lord Supreme thundered mightily and the entire hall began to reverberate with his martial shout and could feel his extraordinary martial force bursting forth like a tidal wave, “Why are you here for if it is not to ally with the Holy Ascension Sect or for the Stellar Sanctuary? But what? You still have something unfinished to do?”
The Northern Tyrant thought, “This is my chance to impress the Lord Supreme and to increase my prestige among these celestial practitioners. Moreover, I still have a debt to settle with this Yi Ping!”
So he shouted at Yi Ping, “Insolent young man! That is the Lord Supreme, the protégé leader of the Holy Ascension Sect that you are addressing!”
The Deadly Wanderer sighed as he said aloud, “Young man, you should apology immediately. Then you may have a chance to live.”
Unlike the Northern Tyrant, he was impressed with Yi Ping therefore he tried to warn him.
Feng Mantian who disliked Yi Ping from the start said aloud, “He has a strong contempt for the Holy Ascension Sect. At the foot of the mountains, he even claims that he was even more superior to the Lord Supreme!”
That was a blatant lie of course! His true aim was to discredit him and to turn even the neutral celestial practitioners against him!
The Northern Tyrant seemed to have sensed it and therefore he decided to fan the burning flames. It did not matter if Feng Mantian was telling the truth or not. If there were two different independent witnesses that shared the same account, then either it was the truth or it was sufficient enough to cause doubts to the listener!
Therefore he said aloud, “When I had visited the Tranquil City six months ago, that was what he had said to me as well!”
Shen Xingyue was aroused with burning rage when she had heard that. It was obvious that they were slandering Yi Ping! They just did not want to let Yi Ping leave this hall alive!
So she cried aloud, “Feng Mantian, Northern Tyrant!”
In an instant, she had already drawn out her Blue Heavens as she attacked the Northern Tyrant with a blue flash!
The Northern Tyrant had barely evaded her attack when Feng Mantian who was at the opposing end of the hall was flung to the side in disbelief as a mighty thunderclap exploded mightily when he raised his long sword and palm against Shen Xingyue who had appeared next to him!
Almost immediately, six celestial practitioners who were from the Northern Tyrant’s side had joined the battle but before they could took just a few steps forward, Shen Xingyue had appeared in front of them and had exploded their vicinity with the martial force of her Big Dipper Hands!
The Northern Tyrant and the six celestial practitioners had immediately raised their martial power as they took a few steps backward; it was because this martial force was really too imposing!
But before they could wait for the martial force to be receded and seized the opportunity to attack, there were dozens of blue flashes; three of the celestial practitioners were slashed and had received sword wounds!
Thousands of celestial practitioners were on their foot immediately and another dozen celestial practitioners had joined the battle array!
Feng Mantian shouted to the other Ascendant celestial practitioners, “What are you all waiting for? She has attacked another Ascendant practitioner and has started a fight in the sacred hall of the Golden Ascension Hall. Stop her!”
At Feng Mantian’s commands, dozens of Ascendant practitioners had all joined in the fight!
But before the dozens of Ascendant practitioners could even move to stop Shen Xingyue, Yi Ping had interrupted them as he exchanged blows with them while shouting, “Xingyue, that is too impulsive of you!”
Shen Xingyue had just caught a blow from Ouyang Feipeng who had also joined in the fight and had stumbled backward next to Yi Ping, was smiling. “Who is the real impulsive one? I can’t let you handle this alone. They are obviously creating conflicts with you. Even if you can endure this, I can’t allow this!”
Yi Ping smiled bitterly at her reply while he raised the Celestial Alice and displayed the Ultrapowerful Force at the same time, just in time to neutralize several bursts of martial force that were rippling in his direction!
Lele, Lie Qing, Youxue, Youxue, the Universal Old Man, Lingfeng, Yixian and the Stellar Heaven Fairy were startled that Shen Xingyue had the audacity to attack Feng Mantian and the Northern Tyrant in the presence of the Lord Supreme!
Lie Qing smiled coldly as she raised her Perpetual Darkness, “Let’s go and aid them!”
Lingfeng was looking at Yu’Er and Mei’Er who were standing at the throne seat with the Lord Supreme as she muttered, “Why didn’t they act? Why didn’t they stop everyone from attacking Yi Ping and Shen Xingyue?”
The Ascension Goddess interrupted suddenly as she whispered, “Wait! Wait and see first!”
Lingfeng said, “Maybe she is right.”
Lele said unhappily, “If we don’t aid her now, Yi Ping and Shen Xingyue will surely be in danger. Is that what you want to see? Or is this the time for the two of you to remove your rival in love?”
The Ascension Goddess shook her head as she said, “The powerful celestials have not stepped in yet. The Lord Supreme and the other Supreme Celestials have not stepped in yet. Look at their expressions. Also, have you ever seen the true sword arts of Shen Xingyue yet? When is the last time that you have seen her so serious? Don’t you want to find out her true martial strength?”
Yunzi asked, “You mean, she is never serious and is concealing her true martial strength?”
The Ascension Goddess nodded slowly as she asked, “What do you think of my martial skills?”
Everyone was silent. They did not want to praise her but they knew in secret that the Ascension Goddess was a formidable opponent!
The Ascension Goddess said quietly, “Even for me, I may not necessary be her match. The Fiery Phoenix possesses several epitome techniques. That is not all. She is picked to be a Supreme Celestial for a reason. She is not just fast…”
Youxue hummed coldly, “Even if we don’t give them a lending hand, Maiden Ziyan over here will surely aid them. So why worry?”
The Goddess Celestial Alice smiled coldly, “Why should I? He wants to be a hero, so be it. I won’t want to miss the opportunity to enter the Stellar Sanctuary.”
That was not true. She was actually observing the movements of the dozens of the more powerful celestial practitioners that were in this hall. Earlier, when she had flashed her divine sword she had already counted who were the ones that had divine swords in their hands and knew who her opponents were going to be. As for those opponents that did not possessed divine swords like the Immortal Saint of Swords, she had also taken notice of them. It was because they were too calm and their state of divinities meant that they were a threat to her!
Youxue sighed softly, “You are really heartless to say so. For the past three months, Yi Ping has been burning joss sticks every single day in memories of you. The main reason why he has come here is to find out if you still alive. Now that he knows, he has no more business here.”
The Goddess Celestial Alice was startled as she thought, “I am the reason that he is here? I am also here because if he survives, he will surely be entice by the martial secrets of the Stellar Sanctuary and will be here. That is why I am here…”
All of a sudden, the noisy Golden Ascension Hall had become muted except for the outcries of the wounded as the dust settled!
More than thirty golden and crimson eyes celestial practitioners were all moaning on the ground, including Ouyang Feipeng who was muttering with disbelief!
They did not receive lethal wounds but were nevertheless temporary floored on the ground!
Shen Xingyue had grabbed Feng Mantian and the Northern Tyrant, throwing them in front of Yi Ping as she demanded. “Quickly apologize to him or you will be sorry!”
Feng Mantian laughed coldly, “You may have beaten us but do you think you can get away from here?”
The Northern Tyrant smirked coldly, “What if I refuse? Do you think the Lord Supreme will let you off just like this?”
Yi Ping was not paying attention to Feng Mantian and to the Northern Tyrant. Instead he was bewildered why there were only thirty odd opponents; this made this fight too easy for Shen Xingyue and him!
Many of the celestial practitioners were looking at the handsome young man who seemed to be surrounded by righteousness and the angelic delicate maiden in red dress who had just beaten twenty celestial practitioners in just a blink of an eye, seeming so effortlessly!
The feat that the angelic delicate maiden did was not something that could be achieved so easily!
Even Yi Ping was dazzled by her movements as he thought, “How is it possible for Xing’Er to attack all her opponents with such a precise accuracy while on the move? If she fails to defeat her opponents or meet with a much more powerful opponent then she will be at a disadvantage…”
Indeed, her dazzling attacking speed halted many of the celestial practitioners who were preparing to jump down from the platform as they realized that she was not an ordinary opponent that they could be able to fight as they adopted a wait and see approach first!
The Immortal Sword Blitz Sage was gasping, “She is really quick. Finally I have found a worthy opponent for me to fight! I wonder how her speed attacks fare against my speed techniques…”
Shen Xingyue raised her Blue Heavens in a slow swirling motion as dozens of multiple blue hues appeared and vanished instantly, caused by the blue reflection of her Blue Heavens!
The Immortal Saint of Swords had rose up as he clenched his fists, “She has not only divine harmonized with the Blue Heavens but she is also able to bring out the full potential of the Blue Heavens…”
Mei’Er laughed softly; her voice had a strange allure that seemed to bring the attentions of all the celestial practitioners to her. “Maybe you should get yourself a new celestial name as the Blue Phoenix instead.”
She turned to the Lord Supreme to say, “She is the Dark Enchantress but is now known as the Fiery Phoenix. She is also the youngest Ascendant to overcome her Divine Calamity and to join us as a celestial practitioner. She was also the chosen mistress of the Perpetual Darkness but unfortunately she had lost it during the Divine Descendant. As you can see, she is now the mistress of the Blue Heavens…”
Yi Ping cried out aloud as he grasped the Celestial Alice with trembling hands, interrupting her. “Mei’Er, Yu’Er. You don’t have to be afraid of the Lord Supreme! I am not asking you to forsake your vows but we should be together! Moreover that is just your past life and past life does not exist!”
Feng Mantian also took out the opportunity to call aloud to all the elders and masters of the Holy Ascension Sect, “My protégé masters and elders! You have heard him! If we do not give him due lessons, he will surely think that the Holy Ascension Sect is afraid of him. This will only fuel the arrogant of these dark celestial practitioners!”
But still the Lord Supreme was quiet as he listened patiently, so did Old Venerable Vanquisher Sage and Reverend Sword Pilgrim.
Yu’Er said quietly to the Lord Supreme, “I am afraid that in terms of battle visualization and speed attacks, there are few celestial practitioners in the entire Celestial Realm that can match her now. She seems to have awakened much earlier than we have expected…”
Shen Xingyue exclaimed aloud, “Yu’Er, you don’t have to be afraid of the Lord Supreme! Does it matter now? If they want us to be dead, then our vows will mean nothing at all! Between my vows to the Ascension Sect and to Yi Ping, I will pick Yi Ping!”
“That is right!”
It was the Ascension Goddess. She had appeared next to her and was smiling at her, “That is interesting isn’t it? Between the two vows, we have to pick one. But breaking any of our vows will doom our divine practice.”
Yunzi, Youxue, Lingfeng, the Stellar Heaven Fairy, Lie Qing, Lele and Yixian had appeared beside them and they were smiling!
At this moment, they should be afraid and in secret, they really were but they had found courage in one another!
Even the Universal Old Man had leapt down from the platform to join them!
Yi Ping was startled, “Everyone…”
Lele laughed softly, “I have never expected that our last battle will be in this hall, surrounded by thousands of celestial practitioners. But…”
She lowered her voice shyly, “But I will accompany you no matter what. I already know the risks in coming here. Whether you have screwed up this gathering doesn’t matter to me. It is going to be an inevitable one way or another.”
Yunzi nodded, “We have never expected the Holy Ascension Sect to be forgiving towards Ye Yin or Shen Xingyue. But we are going to do what is right and give them an accounting!”
The Ascension Goddess laughed as she grasped her Despairing Heaven but she turned solemn almost immediately, “Yi Ping is my celestial partner now. A fact that is undeniable. I just want some quiet time with him, far away from any conflicts. Is that wrong to ask for something this simple? After all that I have done for the Holy Ascension Sect?”
To her surprise, the Lord Supreme said. “You have done nothing wrong.”
All of a sudden, he roared with laughter as he asked Yi Ping. “So you are Yi Ping? Good, good, good!”
He had said ‘good’ three times in a row!
The Lord Supreme stroked his long beard, “But I am still not going to let you go as you please. That is because you are my son-in-law. So how will I let you leave just like this without preparing a banquet for you first? You are really an impressive and fine match for my two daughters!”
All the celestial practitioners were stunned at what they had just heard!
Yi Ping was the son-in-law of the Lord Supreme?!
Feng Mantian and the Northern Tyrant broke into cold sweat! If Yi Ping was the son-in-law of the Lord Supreme, then that means that they got themselves into a fine fix!
Feng Mantian immediately muttered, “Great Hero Yi Ping, please put a few good words for me…”
Even the Northern Tyrant was smiling bitterly, “I didn’t know that you are the son-in-law of the Lord Supreme or else even if I have ten lives, I would never dare to offend you…”
Old Venerable Vanquisher Sage was laughing, “Finally the Eclipse and Axis Heaven Goddess have ascended to the Celestial Realm. This is the day that the Lord Supreme and I have been waiting for hundreds of years!”
To the Lord Supreme and Old Venerable Vanquisher Sage, it may have taken them hundreds of years but for the Eclipse and Axis Heaven Goddess, it had actually taken them thousands of years as they meditated their state of divinity in the lower realm!
Yu’Er and Mei’Er had both broke into smiles at the same time!
Yu’Er winked at Yi Ping and the rest of the group, “My significant other and my sisters. Sorry to give you such a scare. But this is supposed to be a secret even in the Ascension Sect. But now…”
She said shyly to Yi Ping while looking at the Lord Supreme, “We want to tell you only after this congregation has ended but it does not matter anymore now.”
The Ascension Goddess and Shen Xingyue were both looking at each other with stunned expressions; they knew that the Eclipse and Axis Heaven Goddess had a special position in the Ascension Sect and may even be Ancient Celestials but this was something that they had not been expecting!
Lingfeng was stunned as she looked at the Universal Old Man; they were both thinking of the same thing. How was it possible for Ancient Celestials to have children? If the Ancient Celestials were able to have children, then this Celestial Realm would long be populated by the first generation celestials and not the second generation celestials!
Only the second generation celestials were able to have children but their offspring were not able to become a celestial practitioner simply because of the fact that the first divine tribulation of the celestials, the Divine Calamity did not exist in the Celestial Realm!
Without the cleansing fire of the first divine tribulation, few mortals were able to withstand the second divine tribulation, the Divine Wrath!
The only way for them to become celestial practitioners were extraordinary luck, extraordinary circumstances or eats the hearts of the celestial practitioners to become a dark celestial practitioner!
Meanwhile, the Goddess Celestial Alice was trembling lightly as she murmured. “How is it possible…how is it possible…this cannot be. It can’t be right. It must be a lie…Destiny decides everything and this is impossible to happen. This goes against the providence of heavens and all the beliefs that I know…”