A Martial Odyssey - Volume 3 - Chapter 64

The Flower of Life



The other side of the passage was bright and they were enticed by the beautiful glows of the white monument walls. It was as though they had entered another world within a world!

And on the white monument walls were beautiful circular inscriptions that resembled plants and flowers but were all intertwined together. 

Yi Ping gasped out in astonishment, “Where are we?”

Lie Qing laughed softly, “We are inside the belly of the Great God Pangu!”

Yu’Er and Mei’Er were giggling too as they eyed Yi Ping. The loveliness that was expressed for Yi Ping was unmistaken to everyone.

Xingyue thought, “I can’t believe that the aloof Eclipse and Axis Heaven Goddesses in the past have the heart of a young maiden now. Correction, they are really young maidens…”

She knew that they had recollected their past memories. They were still their aloof self in front of Xingyue and Ye Yin but once they were around Yi Ping and Xian’Er, they were Yu’Er and Mei’Er again.

Xingyue sighed softly in her heart, “Perhaps, I should follow their example…”

“Xingyue!”

Xingyue was startled when Yi Ping had suddenly called her name, “Um yes?”

Yi Ping asked, “Look at this place! Isn’t it beautiful? You seem to be distracted?”

Xingyue smiled weakly, “Yes, it is beautiful…”

All of a sudden Lie Qing stood rigid as she raised her voice, “Wait a minute everyone! Stop!”

Everyone was startled by her as they all stopped in their tracks immediately. 

The Universal Old Man laughed jovially, “Maiden Qing’Er, what is it?”

Yi Ping, Nuwa, Xian’Er, Alice, Asura and all the rest had quickly scanned their surroundings but they could nothing amiss. 

They were surrounded by tall white megaliths on all sides that measured 40m, arching each other 40m apart. On a closer inspection, it seemed that there were in fact eight different passages that were branching out in all directions instead of one!

Youxue and Yunzi were startled as they realized the grand deception of this place. They were paying Yi Ping more attention and were only paying scant attention to their surroundings. Moreover they had just entered this passage and did not think that anything would be amiss. 

Ye Yin blinked her eyes as she looked at Alice, Xian’Er, Nuwa and the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess as she asked, “There seem to be no dangers. What do you think?”

Nuwa yawned softly, “There is nothing here. If there is someone here or a hidden formation, I will be able to know immediately. There is nothing to worry about.”

Xian’Er looked at Youxue and Yunzi who were all looking blankly at their surroundings.

Lele laughed softly, “If even Yunzi and Youxue who are knowledgeable in the arts of traps didn’t see anything amiss here, Sister Qing’Er must be too overly too anxious!”

Yi Ping asked Lie Qing gently, “Qing’Er, is something wrong?”

Even Alice was looking perplexed and Asura was furrowing her brows…

Lie Qing immediately tugged Yi Ping by his sleeve as she looked at her surroundings, “Ping’Er, I have seen this place somewhere before.”

Yi Ping was startled, “You have? When and how?”

Lie Qing said, “I have seen this setting in an old manual that is in my collection in the past.”

Lele asked, “Sister Qing’Er, really?”

Lie Qing smiled, “Remember that I am also a celestial practitioner. During my time, knowledge of the celestial practice is still remembered vaguely. My clan has many celestial practice related manuals and scrolls. One of the scrolls in my clan’s secret library has a scene of this.”

Yi Ping asked curiously, “But we are inside the Stellar Sanctuary. How is it possible for your clan to come in possession of a scene in the Stellar Sanctuary?”

Xingyue, Xian’Er, Lele, the Lord Supreme, the Universal Old Man, Lingfeng, the Immortal Saint of Swords, Ye Yin and all the rest were looking at each other. Whether it was in the most ancient of the sects in the martial fraternity or high up to the Ninth Heavens of the Celestial Realm, no one had ever come across such a thing. 

Xian’Er asked, “Qing’Er, can you tell us more then? What is in that scroll? Can you still remember what it is?”

Alice was looking perplexed as she turned to look at the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa, “A scene of the Stellar Sanctuary will actually be found in the lower realm? I find it hard to believe.”

Nuwa smiled gently, “Don’t look at me like this. How could I know anything about this?” 

Yi Ping added, “Qing’Er, then can you tell us more if you are able to remember?”

Lie Qing took a deep breath as she looked at everyone, “That is not really a hard thing at all. That is because that scroll contains the secret intricate formula of the Invincible Divine Force. However, no one is able to decipher it at all as the secret intricate inscriptions of this Invincible Divine Force are mostly made up of symbols.”

Nuwa immediately interrupted, “Huh? Why will a martial skill of a lowly practice contain a map of the Stellar Sanctuary?”

The Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess smiled weakly, “The Invincible Divine Skill is also a celestial skill. The Western Paradise Heavenly King practices the Invincible Divine Skill.”

Nuwa yawned softly, “What Invincible Divine Skill. We see about that…”

Lie Qing ignored her casual remarks as she focused on explaining, “In that scroll is a drawing of 21 pillars on all sides. If you count from the start here to the 11th pillar, that will be the epicenter of these pillars. Even though there are 3 pillars in close proximity here, there are actually five others such pillars beyond this row of pillars too.”

Nuwa gasped all of a sudden, “Pillar to pillar is 40m and there are 21 pillars on the left and right. And 5 others? Isn’t that 40 pillars at all the outlaying perimeter?”

Even the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess froze into place as she turned ashen immediately, “Is this the…”

Nuwa nodded as she gasped softly, “That is the Flower of Life.”

Yi Ping asked, “The Flower of Life? What is that?”

Nuwa picked a pebble and drawn one circle in the middle and joined six circles around it before extending six more circles around it and another six more circles!

Alice gasped, “It is really the Flower of Life!”

Nuwa said quietly as she looked at Xian’Er, “This is more than that…”

Xian’Er nodded as she looked at Yi Ping before looking at everyone, “That shape is also the shape of the 19 domes of the Ancient Fortress of the Desolate Immortals. I have seen it in the surreal reality of my dreams when I am the Fantian. I have seen it having a large circle in the middle and encircling it are six three smaller rows of encircling circles. The three smaller circles can also form into bigger circle like the one in the middle…”

Nuwa interrupted softly, “Which forms seven big circles encircling each other…”

Lele laughed jovially, “This is such a headache. I am now seeing circles!”

Yi Si tugged her as she whispered to her, “Dearest mother, I think they are on something important.”

Lele chuckled softly as she whispered back to her daughter, “They have nothing important except for trouble.”

Alice, Asura, Skylord Jun and the Goddess of Mercy Xiang were already saying to the group, “The Flower of Life is said to be the highest epitome of the immortal practice. It represents the key to unlock the Seventh Immortal Stage.”

Mei’Er could not resist saying aloud, “Since Asura, Alice, Isa and the Sacred Embodied Heavenly Goddess have already attained the Seventh Immortal Ranking now then it is useless to these high goddesses. What is so mystical about the Flower of Life?”

Yu’er looked at Xian’Er, “Mistress, you have already attained the Eighth Immortal Staging, am I right?”

Xian’Er nodded, “The Flower of Life hints of nine immortal practice in its petal and a final tenth ultimate immortal rank. The Great God Pangu must have left this subtle hint in his great monument as a hint to something else.”

Lingfeng snapped her fingers, “So if we are to follow these pillars to the epicenter then we may find a hint to that something?”

Ye Yin the Ascension Goddess smiled as she winked at Yi Ping, “That will be interesting. So what are we waiting for?”

That was a dare. 

Yi Ping knew that Ye Yin was unafraid of anything. He smiled back to her but he continued to remain stoned as he stared at the rows of pillars in front of them.

The Universal Old Man probed, “Ping’Er, what is wrong?“

Yi Ping immediately turned around as he smiled weakly as he stole a glance at Lie Qing, “We still do not know why a map of these pillars can be found in the lower realm. This is indeed weird. It is like someone else has either been here to record what is here or has witnessed the scene here and has somehow recorded it.”

Lie Qing smiled, “How should I know? It is for the Great God Pangu to find out.”

All of a sudden she turned solemn, “The Invincible Divine Clan is a secret celestial clan. Maybe my clan patriarchs had copied it from the celestial clans. We don’t need to think too hard for now. Let’s go and take a look first. It is just a little walk.”

Nuwa had already proclaimed, “There are no hidden formations or monsters in this place. Let’s go and have a look first!”

She seemed particularly excited and energized as she flashed to and fro as she urged everyone to be on the move!

Yi Ping nodded as he looked at everyone, “In that case, I guess we take a look first and see if there is anything there. There may be nothing or it is just a coincidental.”

Xian’Er nodded as she cast a look at Nuwa who was beaming excitingly, “That may be true.”

Lingfeng asked secretly via her Great Emptiness Translucence to Xian’Er, Yi Ping and Nuwa, “Why is the Great Desolate Goddess Nuwa suddenly so excited?”

Nuwa chuckled softly, “That is none of your business! Get out of my head!”

Lingfeng answered back, “Well, I refuse to. I like to see what you can do to me, humph!” 

Xian’Er answered gently, “Probably Nuwa is excited about learning the whereabouts of the Ancient Fortress. The Great God Pangu had cast it out of the Materialize Realm and segregated it into the Three Known Realms.”

Nuwa laughed softly, “Yes I am! Perhaps we can even bring back the Ancient Fortress!”

Yi Ping whispered solemnly, “That may not be a good thing. It is better for the Ancient Fortress to be where it is…”

All of a sudden his thoughts were interrupted by Alice who asked aloud, “Where is Isa?”

Everyone was startled. It was because indeed there was no sight of Isa anywhere!

Somehow they had lost sight of her!

Xiang said, “She didn’t enter this passage with us?”

Alice shrugged her shoulders, “Don’t ask me. I am not the last to have seen her. You are.”

Xiang looked perplexed, “She did not come with us? Why should she stays behind?”

Lele casually remarked, “Well, that Old Dragon Heavenly Sage is freshly dead. Maybe she wants to consume his heart and attain a higher immortal stage. That will be a nice shortcut.”

Yi Ping immediately turned ashen as he muttered, “No, she wouldn’t. That is the path of a Dark Immortal Practitioner and it is a path of no return…”

Ye Yin hummed coldly, “You wouldn’t be able to know the innermost heart of the others. Or there won’t be so many conflicts in the world.”

Yi Ping turned to Yunzi and Youxue, “Yunzi, Youxue, what do you think?”

Yunzi smiled, “I don’t know but we can always turn back to check.”

Youxue nodded, “Ping’Er. Since you are worried for her, why don’t we turn back now?”

Yi Ping nodded and just as he was about to storm back, he sensed a familiar feeling and he immediately knew that it was Isa. 

The higher cultivation practitioners in their group had also felt her presence and they were all looking at the passage where they had come from earlier. 

True enough, Isa had just walked into the passage; her golden hair and her long saddle sword, the Divine Constellation Sword were unmistakable in the distant! 

As soon as she was near to the group, she smiled. “What is wrong? Are you all waiting for me? Why are you all looking at me like this?”

Her face was glowing and she was spirited as she looked at everyone, “What is wrong?”

As she got closer, they could see that she was wearing the Dragon Silver Robe that belonged to the Old Dragon Heavenly Sage and that she was also carrying the Dragontooth Blade!

As she got near, she immediately tossed the Dragontooth Blade to Han Lin, “You may as well use this celestial sword first. It is an equal to the Green Dragon Sacred Sword.”

Han Lin was startled as she grabbed the Dragontooth Blade as she exchanged astonished looks with Aiel while muttering, “Um…thank you…”

Yi Ping heaved a soft sigh of relief, “I know that Isa wouldn’t….”

Isa winked at him, “What? You think that I will eat the heart of that filthy old man to increase my cultivation practice?”

Yi Ping immediately protested weakly, “I know you will not. Just thinking where you are going?”

Lele clapped her hands, “That is right…”

Isa smiled as she looked at the rest of the group, “Really? Why is that I seeing doubts and disbelief in your eyes? I am just wondering why on earth everyone is leaving two such wondrous treasures behind! If you don’t want them, I am claiming it!”

Aiel was heard muttering almost inaudible, “I want…I have forgotten…”

Even Youxue was heard heaving a soft sigh while the Skylord Jun was teething his teeth…

The Lord Supreme, the Universal Old Man and the Immortal Saint of Swords were also sighing softly…

That was because most of them had been distracted by Han Lin and Yi Ping earlier. Moreover, the death of the Old Dragon Heavenly Sage had taken them by surprise and the sudden union between the two main groups made them a little excited to get things moving!

Before they had known it, most of them were ushered to this passage in a fairly quick manner!

The Goddess Isa looked at them with a smile as she purposely showed off her newly acquired celestial robe, “What is wrong? So what are we waiting for now?”