A Martial Odyssey Book 3: The Stellar Sanctuary – Chapter 42

Dual Divine Harmonizing!

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King had already flashed toward Yi Ping with a burning malevolent aura, “But first, you got to return me my sword!”

Yi Ping was already grasping the two Celestial Alices in his hands and he had been staring at the Fantian Sovereign Sword for some time as he wondered, “I have already handling two swords in my hands, do I have a third hand to handle another sword?”

But when the Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King had suddenly attacked Yi Ping, he simply combined the Celestial Alice into one again and grabbed the Fantian Sovereign Sword!

The Fantian Sovereign Sword felt surprising light in his hands and as the Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King closed in to him, he began to display his Perfect Swordplay with his dual wield swords!

Alice and Youxue nodded to each other as they actually stepped aside for Yi Ping and the Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King to fight it out with each other!

As Yi Ping lifted his swords forward in a whirling torrential slashes, white and gold streaks sped around him as he clashed furiously against the Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King! 

Yi Ping had only unleashed a torrential of 24 slashes before he stopped; it was because the Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King was not able to withstand his hits and had already slammed onto the ground with the thunderous impact, stunning everyone!

It was because not only did this duel ended quickly but they had all noticed that Yi Ping was fighting with his eyes closed! 

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King coughed out blood as he trembled weakly, “You have won…you have won…if you don’t end me now, you will surely regret it later!”

But Yi Ping simply said, “You may go but for this Fantian Sovereign Sword, you can’t take it away. Even if I would like to return to you, you know that it is impossible for I have already divine harmonized with it.”

Youxue laughed softly, “Ping’Er, you can divine harmonize with two divine swords? What is the Sanctorum Manifesting ability of the Fantian Sovereign Sword?”

Yi Ping smiled weakly, “Later I will tell you…”

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King got up weakly as he stared at Yi Ping, Alice, Isa before looking at Yong Le, “Alas! I have truly lost and two of my sworn brothers are also no longer around…”

He looked at Yi Ping as he bowed with his hands respectfully, “I have never respected anyone before in my life, not even the other Heavenly Kings or the Jade Emperor! But today I am truly convinced!”

All of a sudden he gave a martial shout as he mustered his martial power as he flashed toward to the corpse of the two other Heavenly Kings as he lifted them up, “ “Even if you have died, I will never allow anyone to defile your bodies further…”

He turned to look at Yong Le, “Farewell!”

Yong Le was stumped as he quickly said, “Have you forgotten how I have helped you to overcome the Jade Pagoda Heavenly King?”

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King hummed coldly, “I have not forgotten. In return, I have helped to deliver his heart to you! We are only in here together because we want to make use of you to reach the top of the Stellar Sanctuary…”

He paused for a while to laugh aloud, “But we have overestimated ourselves too much. If we can form an alliance then won’t the other Heavenly Kings make their own alliances? Moreover…”

He turned to look at Yi Ping with a soft sigh before continuing, “Moreover, with the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa being loose in the Stellar Sanctuary, there is not a chance to reach the very top. So farewell!”

Yong Le said coldly as he waved his silver fan, “What if I refuse to let you go? Do you think that you can escape from our encirclements at your current condition?”

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King hummed coldly, “You can try but trust me, it won’t be easy!”

Yi Ping said quietly, “Old Senior, you can leave in peace! I will cover your back!”

The Sovereign Cloud Heavenly King smiled as he nodded, “Farewell, Immortal Hero!”

As he walked away, he turned around to appraise Yi Ping again before whispering almost audibly, “Or should I call you the Great God Pangu…”

He gave a smile before he turned around once again to display his movement swiftness skill! 

Yong Le shouted, “Stop him!”

But none of his men made a single move!

Yong Le shouted, “Are all of you rebelling against me? How dare you!”

An Immortal among the bystanders said coldly, “My Lord, have you forgotten that the duels between Yi Ping and us have not ended yet? If you still cannot send a good representative forward then we may consider that you have conceded instead!”

Another Immortal said coldly, “We are forced to join you only because you have the backings of three of the Heavenly Kings but it seems that you are now on your own!”

This Immortal was even more blunt than the others! 

Yong Le hummed coldly, “Don’t forget that I still have five hundred fighters here and that I have eaten the heart of a Heavenly King!”

Yet another immortal scoffed, “What is the point of consuming the martial essence of a Heavenly King when your state of divinity is still at a lowly state?”

And yet another immortal said among the bystanders, “My vows to my clan come first. That is to exterminate the dark practitioners!”

Yong Le turned ashen. These Immortals were all indeed rebelling now that the Heavenly Kings were no longer around. He cursed silently at their double standards!

He turned to look at the six other leaders of their respectively clan, “What are you waiting for? Hurry and volunteer yourself or your fighters for the duel!”

The Skylord Jun said wryly, “We are still waiting!”

Lie Qing had already stepped forward as she stroked her long braided hair, winking at the celestial clans on the side of the Martial Deviant Clan, “I will be the next challenger. So who is going to be my challenger?”

Yi Ping gasped out, “Qing’Er, be careful…”

Lie Qing fingered with her Eternal Light as she laughed softly, “I am a mere Golden Celestial. There is nothing to be afraid of, am I right?”

Yu’Er, Mei’Er, Lele and all the maidens were laughing and whispering among themselves!

Yong Le shouted, “She is just a Celestial and not an immortal. What are you afraid of? If you can defeat her, you can have her divine sword! Are you afraid of a mere maiden?”

An old celestial who was the elder of the Heartless Manor had stepped forward with his long sword raised as he said coldly, “Then let me be the challenger!”

Immediately there were several shouts of encouraging praises from the crowd that was with the Martial Deviant Faction!

This old celestial was Old Sword Sage Ning who was also a powerful sword practitioner. When he saw that his opponent was just a mere Celestial, he was quick to step forward as he looked covetously at her divine sword!

He could see that the divine sword that was in her hands was truly a fine divine sword!

The Lord Supreme quickly warned aloud, “He is one of the super exponents of the Celestial Realm and is not to be underestimated!”

Even the Immortal Saint of Swords was also warning, “His sword techniques are no less comparable to mine!”

The Universal Old Man grumbled, “Isn’t that giving too much praise to your opponent? Maiden Lie Qing is not weak either!” 

The Immortal Saint of Swords laughed softly, “We shall see!” 

Old Sword Ning said coldly, “I am Old Sword Sage Ning, elder of the Heartless Manor.”

Lie Qing appraised him with a smile, “And I am the Heavenly Temptress, consort to the Lord of the Tranquil City!”

Yi Ping began to flush slightly as he had suddenly noticed that the other maidens were all looking at him as they whispered behind his back! 

He immediately thought, “Qing’Er, you are intentional poking fun at me. Why did you introduce yourself as my consort? Alas! I will settle this with you later…”

But all of a sudden he stopped because he had suddenly noticed that Lie Qing was winking at him as though she was challenging him to settle this score with her later!

Old Sword Sage Ning said coldly, “My swordplay is the Lethal Heartless Swordplay. My sword energies is capable of hurting from a feet away. Don’t blame me if you have any mishap later!”

He proceeded to lift his sword and immediately, piercing cold sword energies began to envelop his sword!

Lie Qing appraised this Old Sword Sage Ning as she too, lifted her sword up as she displayed the sword energies of the Fatal Masterstroke. Her sword energies display was even more stunning than Old Sword Sage Ning as ringing humming sound began to vibrate around her and the grasses that were beneath her had suddenly all turned to tiny ashes! 

Old Sword Sage Ning had suddenly turned ashen; it was because even though they were still standing far away, he could already feel the piercing sword energies of her divine sword!

Lie Qing looked at the Old Sword Sage Ning with her mesmerizing eyes, “Are you waiting for me to attack or are you going to attack first?”

Old Sword Sage Ning had virtually broken into a cold sweat as he stammered, “You are a junior. I shall give you the benefit of three strokes…”

Lie Qing giggled softly, “Three strokes? Did you say three strokes? I was actually hoping for more. Oh very well then…”

All of a sudden her divine sword began to envelop with twelve hovering burst of sword energies as she displayed the second technique of the Flawless Energies Sword, the Slashing Crucifixion!

Yi Ping was looking excitedly at Lie Qing as he gasped to himself, “She has actually merged her Invincible Divine Force with the Flawless Energies Sword! I wonder if I am able to fight her…”

He had already made up his mind to challenge Lie Qing later!

Old Sword Sage Ning had taken a step back and he was trembling as he witnessed the physical sword energies that had gathered around her sword!

He gasped, “She has actually progress to the sword energies level of attaining the physical form of the sword energies…the divine stage of the formless becoming the form…”

Even Alice, Isa, Xiang and Asura were all gasping!

Lie Qing smiled, “I am going to disperse my sword energies to you now. Are you ready to receive my first stroke?”

Looking at the number of sword energies that had already formed and that was only the first stroke, Old Sword Sage Ning immediately bowed with his sword to say. “I…concede!”

He lowered his head in shame as he quickly returned to his followers!

Lie Qing asked, “So it seems that I have won? And without a fight! So it seems that we have already won a second time! One more to go!”

Yong Le was hoping mad as he shouted furiously, “You are all useless! Anyone else?”

Priest Xun the protégé leader of the Brilliant Access Clan who had previously fought with the Goddess Isa looked nervously at the direction of the Goddess Celestial Alice, the Goddess Isa, the Lord Supreme and the Immortal Saint of Swords as he said hesitatingly to Yong Le, “I think we have better give it up. We may have the numbers but many of us are seriously wounded. With the guidance of three Heavenly Kings, we are lucky to make it this far. Out of two thousands, barely seven hundred have now remained…”

He looked nervously at the three hundred Immortals that were all giving their group a hostile look. It was as though they were all waiting to rip their group apart once this duel had ended! 

As Yong Le stared coldly at Yi Ping and his group, he began to realize that he was suddenly in a dire situation that was totally unfavorable to him!

As a master schemer, he was not stupid to quickly realize his situation once he had cooled down! 

So he smiled bitterly, “If we give up this duel then can we have a safe passage?”

Alice said coldly, “So you are afraid now?”

Yi Ping said quietly, “There are plenty of undesirable deaths today. Can we let them go?”

Alice sighed softly as she lowered her gaze, “If the Immortal Hero wants to let them go so be it then!”

She looked at the other immortals, “Are the whole lot of you agreeable?”

Skylord Jun hummed coldly, “That is too cheap for them. The deaths of my fellow Immortals have to be avenged but I am willing to put it aside for only today since the Immortal Hero has made this request!”

All the other Immortals were all incessant muttering, “Only for today! We will abide by the request of the Immortal Hero!”

Yi Ping was only too relieved for he did not want to see any more deaths for today so he quickly said, “You may go in peace now!”

Yong Le immediately turned around to march off!

All of a sudden Yi Ping had leapt behind Yong Le as he shouted, “Hold it!”

Yong Le turned ashen as he froze in his tracks!

He tried to ignore Yi Ping but he had suddenly realized that he was no longer able to take a second step forward. It was as though he was being held in place by an invisible force!

Yi Ping said, “If you value your lives, it will be wiser to find a place to seek shelter rather than advance into the higher levels of the Stellar Sanctuary. If you continue on your ascend, you will surely lose your lives!”

He paused to sigh, “And don’t ever bother Yang Min anymore. She has already left the Martial Deviant Clan. If you continue to bother her then I surely won’t let you off!”

Aiel was gasping to herself, “He still remembers Yang Min even at this point? But their present state of divinity is now so vast…”

She of course did not know that Yi Ping was the sentimental type that never forgets about anyone!

Yi Ping said, “Now go!”

Yong Le and his group felt compelled to leave as quickly as possible as though there was an invisible force that was driving them!

Indeed in just a few blinks of an eye, they had all disappeared from view!

Just as Yi Ping had turned around, he was startled to see that more than three Immortals, including the Skylord Jun had all fallen to their knees as they all said aloud at the same time, “We welcome the Great God Pangu back!”

Yi Ping was stunned as he looked at Alice before looking at Isa, Asura and Aiel who were all shrugging their shoulders!

Aiel was smiling, “It seems that all the Arhat Practitioners and the Zen Practitioners are all particular united today. A miracle has indeed happened today!” 

Yi Ping quickly said, “Please rise! I am not the Great God Pangu.”

The Skylord Jun said respectfully, “Even the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa has said that you are the Great God Pangu then you must be it. Moreover you are able to awaken the Fantian Sovereign Sword. So if you are not the Great God Pangu then what are you?” 

Yi Ping sighed, “Please rise. Or I will be upset!”

All the kneeling Immortals began to look at each other hesitatingly!

Alice said coolly, “If the Great God Pangu asks you to rise, why don’t you rise?”

All the kneeling Immortals began to stand up slowly as though they all did not want to be among the first to fully stand up!

Yi Ping said quietly to everyone, “Listen up. I am indeed not the Great God Pangu, at least not yet!”

Everyone was muttering and exchanging startled look as they looked at Yi Ping keenly!

Yi Ping looked up to the heavens as he continued, “If I am indeed the Great God Pangu then I will be able to reach the highest level of the Stellar Sanctuary. But I haven’t yet so I am not.”

Skylord Jun muttered, “Great God Pangu, you are too humble. Your righteous air and with your Seventh Immortal Positioning already marked you as the Great God Pangu…”

Yi Ping smiled as he looked at him intently before looking at Alice and Isa, “No, not yet. Just call me Yi Ping. I don’t mind at all…”

Skylord Jun smiled weakly, “It is considered too disrespectful to call the Great God Pangu by your name…”

Yi Ping smiled weakly as he seemed to ponder…

Han Lin giggled softly, “Why not the Immortal Hero for the time being?”

Skylord Jun and the other Immortals began to lit up as they called out, “Immortal Hero Yi!” 

Xiang was smiling sweetly at him, “Are you shy? Why are you stopping them for calling you the Great God Pangu? You are not being too honest, ain’t you?” 

Yi Ping smiled bitterly as he said, “Xiang, unless I can pass through all the trials to the very top then I can be considered to be the Great God Pangu. And if the others can too then they can be the Great God Pangu. For me, I really have no confidence at all even if I am able to reach to the very top!”

Xiang was mystified, “Why do you say that? If you are able to reach to the very top, surely you are the Great God Pangu!”

Yu’Er, Mei’Er, Xingyue, Ye Yin and all the maidens were all nodding as they said, “Surely that is the case!”

Yi Ping sighed softly as he looked intently at Lingfeng, Lele, Lie Qing, Alice, Yunzi, Youxue and the other maidens one by one, “You don’t understand. If I am the Great God Pangu, then I will not be here today as Yi Ping. If I am the Dark Chaos Lord then I may not be the Great God Pangu. That is because the Dark Chaos Lord had reached the very top level of the Stellar Sanctuary and he had failed. Not only had he failed but he had also lost his very life!”

Alice, Isa, Xiang and Aiel had suddenly turned extremely pale as they began to comprehend the graveness of Yi Ping’s reminder to them!

Yi Ping added solemnly, “I may fail again if I am somewhat able to reach the top again. That is because I may not be the Great God Pangu after all!”

Before everyone could recover from this revelation, Yi Ping said solemnly again. “I have a sudden thought. What if the entire Stellar Sanctuary is just a trap and bait for something else?”

Everyone was gasping with astonishment as they all looked at Yi Ping…

Yi Ping continued, “What if it is a bait to lure a power like the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa into it?”