The Romantic Cultivator

Multiple lightning bolts were now streaking across the dark heavens, causing thunders that shook the mountains with its resounding aftershocks every now and then.

Not to mention the rain that was now pouring heavily.

More than thirty cultivators were now making a beeline to the summit in this terrible thunderstorm.

Among them were Yuan Ji, Ling Feiyue, Saint Wu Heng and his group of thirty cultivators from the Burning Heavens Pavilion.

It was now a competition to the top of the summit, amidst the raging thunderstorm that threatened to strike the cultivators.

Almost immediately a barrage of lightning bolts had swept the vicinity and five cultivators had instantly lost their lives. These five cultivators were all fourth realm cultivators and they were ‘killed’ instantly.

It did not take long for Saint Wu Heng and his six golden celestials to overtake Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue.

Saint Wu Heng laughed jovially, “Although you have the courage but your skills are still lacking. This is the power disparity that is between us. In this lifetime, you will never be able to become a seventh realm golden saint. Whether it is skill, attainment or luck, I am all above you…”

All of a sudden a flash of lightning had exploded behind him and two of the golden celestials that were in his group were flung down the cliffs.

Saint Wu Heng frowned lightly as he shouted to the rest of his company, “Don’t worry, they won’t die. Their golden bodies will be able to take the impact of the lightning. We mustn’t slow down.”

As he said that, he and his small group of golden celestials had already leaped far away from Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue.

He was smiling wryly to himself in the rain, “This Li Yuan is just so and so. That Ling Feiyang as well. They are only slightly better than the fourth realm cultivators of my group but performed worse than my other golden celestials. They should be only at the initial tier of the fifth realm level. They actually have such audacity to mess around with the Burning Heavens Pavilion. What fools they are!”

All of a sudden there was a brilliant flash in the heavens above and Saint Wu Heng did not dare to be careless as he knew a big one was incoming.

So he shouted hastily to the group of golden celestials that were behind him, “Everyone! Raise your profound strength to your highest level and don’t be careless! Brace for impact!”

No sooner had he finished speaking, a shower of lightning bolts had struck the ground below, striking Saint Wu Heng and several of the golden celestials at the same time. Only two of the golden celestials got lucky and were unscathed.

Saint Wu Heng was protected by his powerful profound aura when the furious white lightning had struck him furiously and exploding the ground around him into a small pit.

“Arghhhhh!!!!” He could not resist shouting out loud. In this way, he could also increase his pain threshold as he endured the tremendous shock of the lightning bolt.

After a while, he began to collapse breathlessly on his knees. As expected, he had survived the powerful onslaught of the lightning bolt.

He turned around to check the two golden celestials that were struck at the same time as he was. One was also on his knees and he was breathing hard. However the other one had been fried to a charred remain.

The two unscathed golden celestials inhaled heavily as they muttered at the same time, “He didn’t make it.”

Their expressions were woeful and they were ashen.

When they had said ‘he didn’t make it’, they meant to say that he had died permanently. His heart could not take the shock of the powerful lightning bolt that had just struck upon them.

Saint Wu Heng examined his soul sea and was relieved that he had only lost 1/6th of his profound strength.

He smiled, “This lightning is nothing.”

Then he quickly rose to his feet and shouted to his group, “What are you all waiting for? Let’s hurry up and don’t let that Li Yuan catches up to us! He isn’t too far behind us!”

When he had said that, the other two golden celestials that were flung off the cliffs earlier had returned to rejoin the group.

Saint Wu Heng smiled to them, “Good. You are all back now. Let’s go!”

In no time, Saint Wu Heng and the five other golden celestials were speeding up the mountains again. Their destination was the summit where the exit portal was.

All of a sudden a powerful fork of lightning had thundered with a tremendous thunderclap, shaking the heavens and the earth as it flashed its brilliant light behind them and they could hear loud screams from the mountains below.

Saint Wu Heng smirked, “Poor Li Yuan. He must have been struck by the lightning.”

Without further ado, he was back on the move again.

Barely a while later, lightning were flashing brilliantly from the heavens as it rained down its heavenly thunderbolts on his group.

Saint Wu Heng was struck another time while a golden celestial had vanished from the scene.

“I told all of you to use your full profound strength. If you have used your full profound strength to resist the lightning, you will still be standing! He is only lucky that he is being sent back to the entrance of the trials.” Saint Wu Heng angrily said.

With that he had sped further up.

Soon they had reached a steep mountain cliff.

Some of the golden celestials were muttering, “We have to climb this steep cliff?”

Saint Wu Heng hummed coldly, “It is only a short climb. Use all your profound strength into your lightless profound art.”

All of a sudden the whole heavens had turned white and several forks of lightning could be seen forming into a super big chain.

Saint Wu Heng shouted to everyone, “Brace for impact! Raise your profound aura to your highest limit!”

A series of golden auras had burst forth from Saint Wu Hei and the four remaining golden celestials.

It was all too timely as the encompassing chains of lightning changed course in the heavens to flash down onto all five of them with a tremendous burst of raw profound power that immediately sundered the earth below them!

Everyone was flung upside down and tossed into the air as they fell in awkward positions on the ground as the dust, fires and smog flew in all directions.

Saint Wu Heng coughed out blood and he was a little dazed. He had survived and had used up more than two third of his profound strength.

He turned his head around to check his group; he saw the charred remain of a golden celestial and a badly shaken golden celestial.

“Where are the other two?” Saint Wu Heng asked slowly.

The badly shaken golden celestial was actually a sixth realm golden supremacy. She had turned completely ashen and her voice was hoarse, “They have all returned to the entrance of the trial…”

She took the courage to stammer nervously, “Saint Wu, can I turn back? I am…afraid.”

Saint Wu Heng said coldly, “Once we climb up to this steep cliff, we will be almost at the summit. Come. With me around, you won’t die.”

The golden celestial began to smile awkwardly as she cast a look at the charred body of her fellow protégé. It was as though she was saying, “With you around, two had already died.”

“Saint Wu Heng, I don’t have much profound strength anymore…” She was almost pleading behind him.

“Fine. Then you shall climb slowly. I shall go ahead first. I mustn’t lose to that Li Yuan.” Saint Wu Heng said nonchalantly.

With that he had exercised his profound strength to exercise his lightless profound art as he shot up the steep cliff like an agile lizard.

No sooner was he half-way up, multiple forks of lightning had flashed in the heavens above and were forming into several arcs of chain lightning that were all targeting him at the same time!

Saint Wu Heng yelled aloud in howling pain when all the lightning had struck him at the same time as he fell from the steep cliff!

After landing with a tremendous impact on the mountain slope below, he began to convulse in great agony as the aftershocks of the lightning bolts continued through his body.

The chains of lightning had also exploded onto the steep cliff and had sent several huge boulders weighing several tons onto the other golden celestial that was below. Voided of almost all of her profound strength to resist the falling boulders, her golden body easily crumbled under the weight of the heavy boulders.

When she had ‘died’, she actually had a pleasant smile on her countenance as she was quite relieved that it was the boulders that had killed her and it was not the lightning that may have the chance to take her life away.

She was actually content that she would be sent back to the entrance of the trials.

Saint Wu Heng was flung quite a distance away from the steep cliff and was safe from the falling boulders.

Slowly he regained the use of his body and stopped convulsing. “I’m a saint! The most powerful cultivator of the seventh realm level. How can I be defeated by mere lightning?! With my determination and willpower, I will surely overcome this lightning trial. No matter how many times the lightning has struck me, I will not give up…”

All of a sudden he saw two looming shadows that were fast approaching and his divine sense told him that it was actually Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyang.

“They had actually come this far? They didn’t die earlier?”

As soon as Yuan Ji saw him, he said coolly. “Look who is here? So it is Saint Wu Heng. Guess he didn’t get much further than us.”

Saint Wu Heng was on his feet immediately as he turned to face Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyang with an unpleasant look.

However when he had turned to stare at them, he was quite startled. It was because except for their wet clothing, they did not look like they had been struck by the lightning.

Saint Wu Heng immediately said coldly, “No wonder you have dared to challenge me in this trial. You must have some lightning protection artefacts. But remember, whoever reaches the summit first is the final victor.”

With that he had mustered his remaining profound strength as he sped up to the steep cliff again.

As soon as he mustered all his profound strength, arcs of lightning in the heavens were formed in an instant. Several strokes of lightning bolts were then flashing and striking the steep cliff where Saint Wu Heng was at.

Saint Wu Heng were struck by several lightning bolts and his charred body was now falling lifelessly from the steep cliff.

Yuan Ji sighed softly, “Whether it is skill, attainment or luck, I am all below you but you are the one that is dead now.”

Ling Feiyue turned to look at Yuan Ji with a light frown, “You have killed a Saint from the Burning Heavens Pavilion. Congrats, you are now the enemy of the Burning Heavens Pavilion. It is one thing to cause the death of a sixth realm cultivator but he is a saint and elder of the Burning Heavens Pavilion.”

Yuan Ji shrugged his shoulder as he replied, “Luckily, I have reported that I’m from the Spirit Blue Moon Sect. They will be looking for you to seek their vendetta instead of me.”

Ling Feiyue hummed coldly but she could not resist the urge to smile, “You’re such a badass. You are framing my sect for your bad deeds. I really feel that you are a bad guy and an unorthodox cultivator in reality.”

Yuan Ji laughed jovially, “I’ve actually learn it from you. Who is the one that has framed me a hundred years ago? This is payback time.”

Ling Feiyue sighed softly, “Why do I have such a badass friend?”

Yuan Ji smiled, “Because this is your bad karma.”

Ling Feiyue took a look at her surroundings as she said, “It seems that we are now the only group left. Your plan really works as intended.”

Yuan Ji nodded as he rubbed his chin. “It actually works better than intended.”

The plan was actually for them to use less profound strength than Saint Wu Heng and his group. They would allow Saint Wu Heng and his superior cultivators to catch up with them. In this way, they would be a natural attractor to the lightning storm on their behalf.

“Let’s go up this steep cliff now.” Yuan Ji smiled. “We will climb slowly of course.”

𝑜𝑣𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

Ling Feiyue had a look of admiration as she stood behind his back. “If I have not met Ji Yuan, my fate will be like the group from the Burning Heavens Pavilion.”

Before long, they had climbed the steep cliff.

Two hours later, they had reached the summit.

By now their divine swords were burning hotly, having been struck by lightning all too many times.

In front of them now were two portals, one green portal to return to the entrance of the trials and one blue portal to go to the next level.

Ling Feiyue was beaming with delight. In the past, she had come very close to completing the fourth trial but had never actually completed it.

Even though she was a high level cultivator but this trial was in the territory of the orthodox cultivators. Therefore she could only rely on her own strength to get as far as possible.

She was now looking quietly at Yuan Ji. For the past few days, she had got to know him more and more. The Ji Yuan that she was curious a hundred years ago had slowly become etched in her heart after he had ‘accidentally’ touched her bosoms.

Although one part of her heart had felt guilt toward him and that was why she had placed a huge bounty on his whereabouts after she had learnt that Xue Qianxue had placed a bounty on him.

At that time she did not know why she was so irrational but now she firmly knows why.

Yuan Ji was rubbing his chin as he looked at the portal without turning his head to talk to Ling Feiyue, “So great saintess. Which one of the two portals will you be picking?”

No answer.

Yuan Ji turned his head around only to see Ling Feiyue was looking at him with a most alluring smile. He was so startled that he was stammering, “I am not a portal. Why are you looking at me in this manner?”

His eyes were suddenly beaming as he drooled, “Very wet now…”

Ling Feiyue was gasping softly as she quickly put her arms around her, “Who asks you to turn back?! Turn your head back immediately! Don’t turn back until we have gone to the next level!”