The Romantic Cultivator

The next day Yuan Ji had led Li Ye, Ji Hao, Jin Yuyun, Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue to a deserted part of the mountains.

Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue seemed a little unhappy with him. It was not because he had suggested a hunting expedition but because he had spent the night with Ye Chengxi and Shangguan Yan. Therefore they felt a little lonely in the night…

Yuan Ji seemed to be constantly checking the ground before he grinned, “We are going down the desolate mists. Do you have the courage to descend the mountains?”

Everyone was stunned.

Xue Qianxue was startled, “Yuan Ji, are you sure? Is this a known trail? We are going on an experiential training?”

Yuan Ji laughed, “Nope. I have never been down here before. Therefore I don’t know how perilous it will be.”

Ling Feiyue asked curiously, “Why are we going down the dangerous desolate mists? It is too risky. We may lose our lives.”

She was not afraid but she was afraid for Li Ye, Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun. It is because there is little spiritual force below the desolate mists, making recovery and cultivation nearly impossible. Moreover the spiritual auras in the Five Heavens Peaks are just average and therefore the desolate auras below the desolate mists will be dense.

Yuan Ji said slowly, “The appearance of a high ranking desolate beast will always mean that a rare spirit plant will be spawning in its vicinity.”

Ling Feiyue shook her head as she pointed at Li Ye, Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun. “You are going to let these kids go with you to the desolate mists below? You just need Qianxue and I. There is no need to bring these kids along.”

Li Ye, Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun were all stunned. They had just been called kids by Ling Feiyue…

But in front of a great saintess, they were indeed just kids.

Li Ye immediately said, “Well, I am not afraid. I’ve always wanted to explore the desolate mists below.”

“I have actually gone down the desolate mists dozens of times in the past. What is there to be afraid of?” Ji Hao chuckled and he was looking extremely casual. In front of Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue, he was just pretending to be indifferent. He just forgets to mention that in the past when he was venturing below the desolate mists, he was always accompanied by a dozen golden celestials and hundreds of protégés of the Profound Heaven Sword Manor.

Even Jin Yuyun was saying, “Entering the desolate mists is like taking a stroll. I have also done that countless times.” Like Ji Hao, she had neglected to say that she was accompanied by many high level cultivators of the Mystic Profound Pavilion.

Xue Qianxue shook her head lightly, “Do you know that this is actually the wrong timing? There will probably be many high level desolate beasts that are lurking below at this time.”

She was not wrong and she had finally realized that Yuan Ji was playing with everyone’s lives now. When rare spirit plants are spawning, it will attract the attention of the high level desolate beasts.

It was becoming very clear to them what Yuan Ji was hunting now and she was a little afraid. It was because a rare spirit plant that can attract a seventh rank epic demonic beast may also attract several similar high level desolate beasts too.

Goodness knows how many more high level desolate beasts may be coming up of the desolate mists in the coming days or even on the way!

Yuan Ji patted Li Ye and Ji Hao on their shoulders. “That’s the spirit! Follow me tight. I will take good care of the two of you.”

Jin Yuyun stammered, “What about me?”

Yuan Ji chuckled as he stroked Xiaobai, “You will have the protection of these two great saintesses here.”

Li Ye and Ji Hao exchanged a quiet look with each other. They were actually thinking if it may be safer with the protection of the two great saintesses rather than with Yuan Ji who looked a little unreliable.

Yuan Ji shrugged his shoulders, “Since everyone is agreeable to explore the mountains below then let’s make a move.”

Xue Qianxue, Ling Feiyue: …

–

–

–

In less than an hour, Yuan Ji had already found a trail below the desolate mists.

As they moved below the mountains, their visibility dropped drastically. While they could still see one another but they could not see too far beyond and had to rely on their divine sense to alert them of the dangers.

Ji Yuan said coolly, “Be careful to watch your steps. The trail is steep here. You don’t want to fall to your deaths below.”

Very soon, they saw the dark shape of a large desolate beast that was making the way to the top; their divine sense immediately warned that it was a fifth rank profound desolate beast!

A fifth rank primordial desolate beast is already more than what most fifth realm cultivators can handle. A fifth rank profound desolate beast is naturally stronger than most fifth realm cultivators and even sixth realm cultivators can be killed by it.

Yuan Ji turned to Li Ye, Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun to say, “The three of you. Go and settle it.”

Jin Yuyun stammered, “Then what about the three of you? If the three of you join in then this beast can be killed in no time!”

Yuan Ji hummed, “We are conserving our strength.”

Ji Hao was panicky, “Father, didn’t you say you will protect us?”

Yuan Ji shrugged his shoulders before he returned an indifferent look, “I lie.”𝑂𝓋𝑙xt.𝗰𝐎𝚖

Ji Hao: …

Jin Yuyun murmured, “Can I not go? I’m a maiden…”

Yuan Ji interrupted her coldly, “Celestial Jin Yuyun, don’t forget your golden celestial title. In a fight there is a no man or woman.”

Jin Yuyun panicky looked at Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue, “Saintess Xue…Saintess Ling…please help me to say a word.”

Xue Qianxue hit Yuan Ji lightly, “Yuyun is still so young. Spare her this time round.”

Yuan Ji smiled, “Sure she can stay behind but for the next fifth rank profound beast, she will need to fight it alone.”

Xue Qianxue, Jin Yuyun: …

Everyone else: …

Jin Yuyun hummed softly before she charged with her divine sword at the fifth rank profound beast!

Ji Hao was stunned as he quickly raised his divine sword to join her.

Li Ye was not slow either as he charged headlong at the beast.

Ling Feiyue turned to whisper to Ji Yuan, “This is not an ordinary fifth rank primordial desolate beast but a profound desolate beast! They may be in danger. What are you doing? One is your daughter-in-law and the other is your son.”

But Yuan Ji replied nonchalantly, “You mean they are actually so weak?”

Ling Feiyue, Xue Qianxue: …

Only Bai Qianfeng who was in Yuan Ji’s arm had the nonchalant look as him. She used to be a desolate immortal and in her world, the strong had always disdain the weak. So she felt it was not wrong for Yuan Ji to suggest that they were weak.

This desolate beast was huge; easily twice the size of an ordinary height cultivator and this monster was quickly alerted to the approach of Jin Yuyun, Ji Hao and Li Ye.

The huge jaws of this desolate beast which resembled a crocodile split open to reveal another layer of terrifying looking jaws. It literally had a mouth within a mouth.

As for its body, it was slender and heavily muscled like a giant dire wolf. But now four protruding razor whips began to grow out of his body as it rotated all around, felling trees and smashing rocks to bits whenever the razor whips landed a hit.

The razor whip was so sharp that it could slice any cultivator that was below the fifth realm level into half!

Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun were panicky fighting it while Li Ye was startled by the fierce ferocity of this desolate beast.

Ji Hao barely parried a whip attack for Jin Yuyun before he was sent flying backward.

“Ji Hao!” Jin Yuyun panicky called out after him.

Li Ye had slashed the body of the desolate beast but to his horror, the wounds were quickly regenerating and his attacks were quickly rendered futile.

As he evaded the monster attack, he had also cut off one of its whips but it quickly regrew another new whip.

He began to shout angrily to Ji Hao and Jin Yuyun, “The two of you have divine swords in your hand while I don’t even have a precious sword. What are you doing? Please attack or we will all be dead!”

Jin Yuyun was actually in tears as she quickly displayed her sword art in front of her to fend off the attacking whips as she covered Ji Hao. “Palace Master Yuan, please help us…”

Ji Hao coughed out a bout of golden blood as he tried to get up. Although he had successfully block the whip attack but he was also injured by the desolate force of the whip. “Yuyun, I am safe now. Don’t worry…”

Xue Qianxue shouted, “I am going to help them now! They can’t win at all…”

“Me too!” Ling Feiyue called out after Xue Qianxue.

But all of a sudden Yuan Ji had swung his sword in front of them and said coldly, “Stay where you are. None of you shall help them.”

Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue were startled as they quickly took a step back. They had never seen Yuan Ji giving them such a cold look before!

Yuan Ji turned around to shout with great sarcasm, “Ji Hao! Are you fit to be my son? Your mother is a Sword Saintess and your father is a Sword Saint but you are just a trash.”

“Celestial Jin Yuyun! Where is the haughtiness that you have dared to display when you tried to challenge my Chengxi? Chengxi is also a fifth realm cultivator but she is never proud. But she can single-handedly kill a fifth rank profound beast. What about you? You are now scared off your pants now, am I right? So you think you are better than Fairy Ye Chengxi? Dream on!”

“Elder Li Ye. I thought you are strong enough to challenge sixth realm golden supremacies? What? Without a divine sword in your hand, you feel that you are unable to win now?”

“The three of you are such a disappointment and is such a loser! So you can only brag when your opponent is weak? Where is your courage now?”

Ji Hao yelled aloud as he displayed his Profound Heaven Sword, “Yuyun my dear, watch your steps. I am going for an all-out attack now.”

“No! I will cover you and Li Ye!” Jin Yuyun cried aloud as she displayed her gale force attack to send a wind blade across to the desolate monster to distract it and successfully allowing Li Ye to roll to safety.

Li Ye stammered, “Um, thanks…”

All of a sudden the three of them were co-coordinating their attacks together.

The battle with this fifth rank profound beast took almost an hour to conclude. Finally they had emerged the winners as the three of them collapsed onto the ground with bloody wounds all over.

“We have won?!” Ji Hao was staring blankly at the foggy sky above and his head was in a spin.

Jin Yuyun coughed out a bout of golden blood as she mustered all her profound strength into her profound aura in a bid to close her wounds. Among the three of them, she had received the heaviest injuries.

She muttered, “I am still alive…”

“Darn. This beast almost got me…” Li Ye was laughing all of a sudden. “But I’ve survived.”

Ji Hao laughed, “We have survived…”

All of a sudden the three of them were extending their right hands to salute one another.

“We’ve all survived!” They laughed together.

All of a sudden a shadow was cast over them and was saying, “Not bad. The three of you actually can kill a fifth rank profound beast together.”

It was Yuan Ji and he had suddenly appeared over them with a grin.

The three of them were startled. Due to the intensity of their fight, they had totally forgotten that Yuan Ji, Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue were watching their fight.

Yuan Ji said quietly to them, “I want the three of you to know that you aren’t as weak as you think you are. You are only strong because you’re willing to fight and not because you are relying on the others to fight your battles for you.”

Then he was smiling, “This victory rightfully belongs to the three of you. The three of you should give one another a big pat on your shoulder. In the future, the lives of your protégés will be yours to protect.”

Ji Hao, Jin Yuyun and Li Ye nodded with a loud cry together as they raised their hands together. “We will remember this day!”

Jin Yuyun was giggling, “Although I am beaten up so badly but I feel that this is the first time that I am so proud of my own victory.”

Ji Hao nodded slowly as he heaved a deep sigh, “In the past whenever I was in a trial, it was always my followers that clear the path for me…over time, I had lost my courage. Today, I feel that I have found my courage to live for myself again…”

Li Ye was laughing too, “Well I know that I can’t win this desolate beast alone but we did it together. I feel I am now much stronger than ever.”

Then he looked at Yuan Ji and laughed, “So if we really can’t win this beast, Palace Master will step in to save us, am I right?”

Yuan Ji laughed, “No, I will let the three of you die together. Haha!”

Ling Feiyue, Xue Qianxue: …

Li Ye, Jin Yuyun, Ji Hao: …