The Romantic Cultivator

Inside the Empyrean Warrior Labyrinth;

Ji Yuan and his group (Ling Feiyue, Little Princess, Bai Qianfeng and Shui Xisi) were now walking cautiously into the valley.

The valley was extremely dark and there were burning lava everywhere.

There were many paths so they just took a random path.

The footprints of the cultivators that were ahead of them seemed to have all completely vanished; it was because these cultivators had purposely displayed their lightless profound arts to conceal their tracks.

Ji Yuan saw that there were many fire moss that were on the ground and the entire valley looked like an underground cavern due to the dark smog that was rising from all the burning lava.

"We must tread carefully and take care not to fall into the lava." Ji Yuan said to the maidens who giggled at his words of caution.

As he said that he began to poke with his sword at all the fire moss that were in front of them and exploded the fire moss into nothingness with a burst of his sword energies.

"Ji Yuan, what are you doing? Are you bored?" Ling Feiyue frowned.

Even Shui Xisi was giggling. "Don't do that! You are definitely too bored!"

"Maybe Ji Yuan is thinking that the fire moss is an enemy. Do you have to be so cautious?" Little Princess laughed.

Ji Yuan frowned. "I am actually never a caution person."

"Then what are you doing?" Little Princess returned an amused look.

"I'm leaving nothing to chances." Ji Yuan explained.

Ling Feiyue was laughing to and fro. "May I know what the differences between these two actions are?"

Ji Yuan replied sheepishly. "I sense danger from these fire moss and that why I'm destroying them. That doesn't mean that I am being cautious. These fire moss are a threat to us."

Shui Xisi said weakly. "It is the same…"

Ji Yuan smiled weakly, "It is not the same. Cautious means taking precautions care while taking no chances means ending the problem."

Ling Feiyue muttered with a soft chuckle. "These fire moss are not a threat my lord."

Bai Qianfeng shrugged her shoulders; she has always known that Ji Yuan will act weirdly sometimes so she decides to keep quiet over it.

Little Princess chuckled as she marched off. "Ignore him and let him do as he pleases."

A short while later, the group had entered between two cliffs and everyone except for Ji Yuan was quite upset that their paces had been slowed down so much because of Ji Yuan relentless attacks on the fire moss that hindered their path.

It was like Ji Yuan had something against the fire moss...

"Ji Yuan!" Ling Feiyue was exasperated as she finally lost her cool to rebuke him.

But Ji Yuan did not seem to mind at all because Ling Feiyue really had a soft voice.

She really can't scold people at all. Her voice is too gentle…

Somewhat Ji Yuan was secretly grinning whenever Ling Feiyue was scolding him because it just made him felt glad to see her weak rebuke stirring his emotions; it was because he knew that Ling Feiyue really loved him and that was why she had dared to rebuke him. Actually he did not really mind the gossip part that these maidens were constantly engaging but why the topic must always be him…

All of a sudden Shui Xisi who was always taking the lead gave a great gasp. "There is something here…"

Immediately Ji Yuan, Little Princess, Ling Feiyue and Bai Qianfeng flashed ahead and were startled to see the body of a dead cultivator that was covered by fire moss; these fire moss were like a red slime that were covering the dead cultivator, leaving nothing but a pile of golden skeleton.

"What the heck is this thing?!" Ji Yuan was startled as he quickly brandished his sword to destroy the red slime.

Bai Qianfeng gasped. "This is the Immortal Blood Slime. It can mimic anything that is deep red and yes, it often pretends to be a fire moss. This cultivator seems to have stepped on the red moss thinking that it is just a harmless moss on the ground but it is actually a pit that is dug by this Immortal Blood Slime."

Little Princess shook her head in disbelief. "But he is a golden celestial. How can mere slime kill him? Surely he can escape from the pit easily?"

"The Immortal Blood Slime has the ability to seal the profound strength of the cultivator if its slime covers anyone. This cultivator was unfortunate to completely fallen into the pit and has his entire body covered by the slime. Therefore he can't use any of his profound strength at all."

Bai Qianfeng inhaled weakly as she slowly recalled this monster. "Also, you can't use your divine sense to sense it as it is able to conceal its own profound aura."

Ji Yuan, Little Princess, Ling Feiyue and Shui Xisi: …

Soon they were all on their way again but with a minor adjustment.

"Ji Yuan! There is a fire moss…"

"And here…"

"Here too!"

"Here please…"

Soon Ji Yuan was helping them to mine clear the path until he got annoyed. "I've never asked anyone of you to walk so fast. How come all of you are asking me to vanquish the fire moss…why can't you do it yourself?"

Ling Feiyue giggled. "That is because you have an immortal sword. Our divine swords seem unable to kill it in a single hit…"

"That is right." Little Princess agreed completely. "And we need to use our power profound arts to enhance our sword. We will lose too much of our profound strength…"

Ji Yuan pointed at Shui Xisi and Bai Qianfeng, "You have an immortal sword and you have a celestial sword…"

"Plus you are a sword energies practitioner so it is easier for you to extinguish the fire moss with your sword energies." Shui Xisi pointed out as she protested immediately.

Ji Yuan: …

Ling Feiyue panicky pointed at a fire moss on the ground. "Ji Yuan, there is a fire moss here. Quickly vanquish it immediately. Who knows if it will peep and attack us under our skirts…"

Ji Yuan took a look at the tiny patch of fire moss. "This fire moss is just a tiny patch. It is not a threat at all…"

"Better safe than taking an unknown risk." Little Princess warned cautiously.

Shui Xisi quickly added. "This is a trial. You will never know if we will be killed like that poor cultivator. Maybe it is an extremely deep hole that can pull our leg underneath it. Didn't Qianfeng say we can't use our divine sense to know if it is safe so it is better safe than sorry."

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

"This is too cautious and a waste of time…" Ji Yuan pointed out.

Ling Feiyue insisted. "It isn't about being cautious. This fire moss is obviously a threat and must be exterminated."

"And you are the one that volunteer to kill the fire moss in the first place too!"

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

After a few hours of slow walk and killing a dozen Immortal Blood Slimes along the way, they had finally found the entrance of a cave with a black stele that was along the cliffs.

"Ji Yuan, you are a hero…"

"You're our darling…"

Ling Feiyue touched the black stele and smiled. "We have found the trial tomb! Come! Let's go in now!"

Ji Yuan suggested with a weak smile. "Can we rest? I'm erm…expended too much of my profound strength while using my sword energies…"

"You a great saint and have a strong recovery…"

"Don't be a wuss…"

"Let's go in. I hate this smoky and creepy place…"

"And slimes too…"

And all four of the maidens had walked into the tomb and they seemed to be extremely united on that, leaving Ji Yuan behind to scratch his poor head.

"Now who is the leader…" he muttered slowly.

-

-

-

In the settlement camp of the Blue Phoenix Sacred Sect;

Jiajia was weeping in her main tent.

She was alone because she did not want anyone to see her breaking down; it was because she had just received news that her Xiao Ruan had just been killed and the immortal core of her divine beast had been ripped by a powerful cultivator.

This cultivator had raided her secret base when it was at the weakest moment, killing many of her protégés from the Hundred Flower Divine Palace including two great saints.

Xiao Ruan was her blue firebird companion since she was still a baby and she had many fond memories when she was growing up with Xiao Ruan. When her mother consort the Great Goddess Alice asked her to choose a gift, she had chosen Xiao Ruan over the powerful immortal sword that was used by her mother consort.

Someone so powerful had appeared out of the blue and leaving behind no traces.

Her entire body was trembling; she had never broken down like this manner before. Someone had outwitted her.

Even though it appeared that the Evil Cultivation Palace had suffered a great loss and that even Yin Xiong had been killed but Jiajia had suspected a powerful influence behind the Evil Cultivation Palace. Things were going on too smoothly and she already had an uneasy feeling.

Someone smarter than her or even more cunning seemed to be the mastermind behind the scene and that someone had even sent a cultivator that was even more powerful than an epic ninth rank divine beast.

Moreover the cultivator also had an immortal sword.

It was all too obvious that an immortal cultivator was involved.

But somehow this immortal cultivator did not seem to have his immortal strength restricted and was able to massacre everyone that stood in his way.

What type of a powerful immortal cultivator was the attacker and who was the mastermind…

The mastermind obviously was not interested in Xue Qianxue.

So was the mastermind and the Evil Cultivation Palace a single entity or two entities?

Jiajia knew that she got checkmated literally.

Slowly she dried her tears before whispering with a trembling voice into the communication array. "Evacuate the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. Our mountains have been discovered by our enemies…"