The Romantic Cultivator

The battle in the mountains quickly thundered furiously.

Shui Xisi and Shui Qingqing were fighting against Yin Xiong and they had the upper hand.

Ji Yuan, Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin were fighting against Yin Wei and the Sagess Mei. However, they had the lower hand. It was because Yin Wei and the Sagess Mei were both peaked great saints. Moreover they were quite a formidable fighter.

The Sagess Mei had quickly stepped in with her half-step celestial sword to fight off Ji Yuan. Even though Ji Yuan had an immortal sword and a sword spirit now, he had thought that he would have an advantage over the Sagess Mei.

He was wrong!

The Sagess Mei was actually a more competent fighter than the Sagess Alyssa and she had dismantled all of Ji Yuan's attacking strokes with ease. In fact, Ji Yuan had never met a cultivator that could fight with such tenacity like her.

It was not only Ji Yuan that was surprised but the Sagess Mei as well. It was because she was known as the Battle Goddess Mei and she could not believe that her lightning strikes were not able to gain a single advantage over Ji Yuan.

She cursed silently; this Ji Yuan is too fast. So far, we have both hit each other a few times but it was nothing grievous. He had both profound power and speed…

On the other hand, Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin were having a difficult time handling a single Yin Wei. It was almost a repeat of their previous fight against him!

Ji Yuan saw that too and he had to occasionally intervened to help them against Yin Wei. But he was not able to aid them for long because he had a superior foe (the Sagess Mei) that was constantly on his toes.

The whole mountain was now echoing with the sounds of their sword fights and destructive profound energies.

After several rounds of fierce fight; Ji Yuan, Zhao Songjin, Han Yuchi, Shui Xisi and Shui Qingqing were quickly put to the run with Ji Yuan and Shui Xisi covering the retreat of their group as they fled down the mountains!

The five of them virtually sped down the mountains with the Sagess Mei, Yin Wei and Yin Xiong hot in pursue!

Ji Yuan continuously displayed several bursts of sword energies as he sent rocks to fall onto his pursuers.

After a while, they had their first break as Shui Xisi shouted to everyone. "Into the desolate mists!"

Using that narrow window where Ji Yuan had won them valuable time, they instinctively know what to do as they quickly sheathed their divine swords into their spatial rings to conceal their profound auras.

The five of them were all panting heavily as they looked at one another with weak smiles.

Ji Yuan rolled his eyes when he saw Shui Xisi, Shui Qingqing, Zhao Songjin and Han Yuchi were all swallowing some profound pills as they rested their heartbeats at the same time.

He had only one word to say; can you give me some of your profound pills to replenish my strength?

Shui Xisi frowned. "We have five of us and yet we are unable to handle the three of them? What is wrong with your side?"

Ji Yuan smiled bitterly. "We have two peaked cultivators on our toes. Naturally it is not easy."

Zhao Songjin lowered her eyes, "I am too weak. Yin Wei knows my weakness pretty well while I don't even know half of his."

Han Yuchi heaved a soft sigh. "I may be a great saintess but my profound strength is incomparable against Yin Wei."

Shui Qingqing muttered. "Only Envoy Sisi here is a peak great saintess…"

"Qingqing, why are you here?" Shui Xisi was suddenly frowning.

Shui Qingqing lit a beaming smile. "I have found my mother consort and sister!"

When Shui Xisi had heard, she was stunned and so was Ji Yuan.

"Your mother and sister?" Shui Xisi turned to look at Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin. There was a rumor that Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin were mother and daughter but that was never proven.

Han Yuchi inhaled softly before she nodded quietly. She had never expected that Qingqing would reveal her background the moment that she was asked.

Shui Qingqing has always been very frank with her Matriarch Palace Mistress and she did not think that this was a great secret that she ought to hide.

"So you have found your mother consort?" Shui Xisi said with a sense of loss. She had always regarded Shui Qingqing as her daughter and was saddened that she had found her birth mother. After all she had found her as a baby.

This would mean that their relationship would not be the same as before.

Shui Qingqing giggled softly, "Yes. Really!"

Then she took a curious look at Ji Yuan, "Brother Li Yuan. Or should I call you Brother Ji Yuan. Why didn't you tell me who you are when we are together?"

Ji Yuan smiled weakly, "At that time I was erm…a wanted man?"

Shui Qingqing suddenly turned to Shui Xisi to ask. "Mmm, why are the two of you together?"

Shui Xisi, Ji Yuan: …

Shui Xisi had a flushed look, "We are not together. We have only happened to meet."

"Yeah!" Ji Yuan panicky said. "I was only taking a walk in the mountains when I erm…encounter Envoy Sisi. Then we have heard of a commotion."

Zhao Songjin casually said as she took a curious look at Ji Yuan and Shui Xisi. "It seems to me that the two of you are more than just friends."

Ji Yuan, Shui Xisi: …

All of a sudden they had noticed that they were leaning closely to each other.

Shui Xisi quickly rebuked Ji Yuan. "Are you trying to take advantage of me? Back off!"

Ji Yuan pretended to protest. "Can't you see that we have five of us here and we are cramping in this narrow space?"

All of a sudden Yin Wei voice could be heard above them. "Ji Yuan! Songjin! I know that you are still in the vicinity. Do you really think that you can hide below the desolate mists and we will not dare to follow you in?"

"Ji Yuan! Where is your martial honor? Or are you a chicken? Come and fight with us!" Yin Xiong was also shouting.

The Sagess Mei laughed. "Don't be too hard on them, alright? We only want Ji Yuan. If the four of you are willing to surrender him then we will promise to let the rest of you go. How about it? If you are able to help us to get Ji Yuan then I will promise you that the Evil Cultivation Palace will be your allies in the Warrior Empyrean Labyrinth."

Ji Yuan immediately rolled his eyes to look at Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin. "Don't believe them. We're on the same side…"

Zhao Songjin interrupted quietly. "We didn't say anything about betraying you. Why are you panicking?"

Shui Xisi was smiling. "Maybe they are right. If we surrender Ji Yuan to them…"

Shui Qingqing panicky said. "Don't! Ji Yuan is a nice guy!"

Ji Yuan rolled his eyes. He knew that Sisi was only putting on an act in front of everyone to show them that they were not together.

Nice acting though, he thought.

Shui Xisi smiled as she replied to Shui Qingqing, "Well, if my Palace Mistress says so then. I can only abide by your orders." In the eyes of everyone, Shui Xisi was the Envoy Sisi and not the Matriarch Palace Mistress as she had wanted to hide her identity from the others. That was why she was pretending to be submissive toward Shui Qingqing.

Shui Qingqing was immediately delighted as she had thought that she had managed to convince her Matriarch Palace Mistress. She did not know that Shui Xisi was only faking her act.

Ji Yuan whispered. "I think that they will not let us off so easily. So we need a plan."

Han Yuchi asked curiously, "You have a plan?"

Ji Yuan said gravely. "We need to change our battle setup."

Everyone: ???

Ji Yuan said, "Since Envoy Sisi is the strongest cultivator here, she ought to square off with that Sagess Mei."

Shui Xisi chuckled softly, "You! Are you still a man?"

Ji Yuan frowned. "I am actually a maiden."

Shui Xisi: …

"Alright, back to our battle plans." Ji Yuan said as he looked at Shui Qingqing, Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin. "I need the three of you to hold off Yin Xiong while I take care of Yin Wei…"

"No! I will take care of Yin Wei myself!" Zhao Songjin insisted.

"Same here." Han Yuchi said firmly. "Why don't you take care of Yin Xiong while we take care of Yin Wei instead?"

Ji Yuan frowned. All these maidens just did not want to co-operate with him…

"The reason why I am putting you against Yin Xiong isn't because I'm expecting the three of you to kill him. Just hold him off while I fight with Yin Wei so I can kill him. Even if I put the three of you as a group, you won't be able to kill him. Did you see how he is able to evade my attacks earlier? He is a super opponent and above your league to handle."

Zhao Songjin gasped softly. "You want to kill Yin Wei? Why?! You have a feud with him?"

Ji Yuan growled. "I have my own reasons for doing so. I don't need to explain to you." He was trying to kill Yin Wei for Little Princess or at the very least, wounded Yin Wei so that he won't be able to be a threat to her.

Zhao Songjin was suddenly looking at Ji Yuan in a different light and there was an invisible flush on her countenance. She was silently thinking; it isn't a secret that I have to marry whoever is able to kill Yin Wei. Is he trying to kill Yin Wei because he is interested in me?"

She had this conclusion because she is the Sacred Maiden of the Celestial Orthodox Sect and the Celestial Orthodox Sect is one of the seven major orthodox clans with considerable resources. Therefore for political reasons or personal reasons, she is actually a highly sought cultivation partner.

All of a sudden there was a stir in her once dead heart as she looked at Ji Yuan. Actually he isn't that bad looking and is a notch better than Jin Yilong. Moreover he is a more capable fighter and cultivator than Jin Yilong and Zhan Zhong. His only minus was, he was dead poor unlike Jin Yilong and Zhan Zhong.

"So, is everyone agreeable to the new battle tactics?" Ji Yuan said impatiently.

Zhao Songjin averted her eyes shyly, "Up to you!"

Shui Xisi smiled. "I will be fighting against that Sagess Mei who has a celestial sword. What if I am hurt?"

Ji Yuan: …

Sisi, this isn't the time to joke…

"You have an immortal sword while your opponent only has a half-step celestial sword. Clearly you have an advantage here…" Ji Yuan growled.

"Maybe my opponent has a secret trump card that we do not know?" Shui Xisi smiled.

"Well, good luck to you then." Ji Yuan began to ignore her.

Shui Qingqing was watching their conversations intently and she was thinking. "It's no wonder why my Matriarch Palace Mistress did not like Ji Yuan at all. Now I've finally know why. He is so rude to her and even gives her orders. Alas, I wish that Ji Yuan will be able to get into her good books…"

All of a sudden there was a shout from above them. "Ji Yuan! Are you a chicken? You are really a beardless chicken!" It was Yin Wei and he was taunting him.

Ji Yuan frowned unhappily and his undying fighting spirit was aroused by the insults that were heaped by Yin Wei.

Shui Xisi who was eager to fight back so she asked impatiently, "We will retaliate back now?"

Ji Yuan shook his head. "Not yet. Currently we are at a disadvantage below and we don't know if there is an ambush above. Therefore we need to check their positions first."

Shui Xisi smiled weakly. "Do we have to go through all these troubles? Just charge."

"Yea and get killed? No way!" Ji Yuan shook his head with a bitter look at Shui Xisi. "We need a plan."

Actually Ji Yuan always had a plan in whatever little things that he did. When he had successfully breakthrough to the seventh realm level, his plan was to regrow his beard.

When he had learn that the Emperor Hall Sect was oppressing his Orthodox Sword Sect, he had already formed a plan to infiltrate the Emperor Hall Sect. To Fairy Ye Chengxi and to the others who did not know him well, it appeared that he did not have a plan and was even foolhardy to challenge the powerful Emperor Hall Sect alone.

But they did not know that Ji Yuan actually had a heart of a lion and he was fearless in his tenacity.

Although he is lecherous and liked Jiajia but he had resisted the temptations to acknowledge her when he had learnt that she was the Palace Mistress of the Emperor Hall Sect even though she was his ex-girlfriend.

If he was not cautious, he would have lost his life many times over in the treacherous fraternity of the cultivators.

But at the same time, he had the heart of a lion and he was never shy from seeking trouble for his enemies.

To the four elders of the Emperor Hall Sect and to the others, he was a low level cultivator that were stupid enough to walk into a tiger's den and he would ultimately pay the price for it. But to Ji Yuan, he was like taking a calculated walk and he was undeterred by dangers.

That was why he had always told Fairy Ye Chengxi, "If you have never tried, how do you know?"

Therefore he did not think that he would be in serious danger while he was at the Emperor Hall Sect even though all four of the elders were all stronger than him, at least stronger than him until he had regained his profound strength fully.

However at that time he already had the recovery rate of a half-step saint. Even if he could not outfight them, he could run away anytime he wanted.

Most of the time his tenacity would see him through his plans.

Well, most of the time. He did not know at that time Jiajia and Qianxue had studied him so well that they had long recognized him. There is a saying, knowing your enemy is half the battle already won. It was originally their ruse to nail him and to meet him. That was why his tenacity had failed in front of them because they were all focusing their attention on him.

However, they actually did not have any bad intentions for him.

But because Ji Yuan was super cautious that he may have offended Xue Qianxue by accident that he immediately took the steps to protect himself and his Orthodox Sword Sect. After all, anyone that had dropped into Xue Qianxue's bath tub and touched her boobs would also think they would be dead next.

And he had even touched Ling Feiyue's boobs thinking she was a man.

Next, he had even watched a secret duel between Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue, hence breaking the martial protocols at that time and that was another death knell to him.

He had always been lucky but somehow, he had run into a series of bad luck ever since he had met Jiajia, Qianxue and Feiyue.

That was why his cautious part refused to acknowledge Jiajia until he had found out what her intentions were. He was actually not stupid enough to trust her completely although one part of him was trying to plead for Jiajia's innocent. And of course he wanted to appear in front of Jiajia with his beautiful beard as well but that was another part of the story.

Ji Yuan repeated. "We need a plan first. And we need to know their positions first."

Shui Xisi giggled. "How are you going to know their positions?"

Ji Yuan laughed softly as he called out. "Xiang Li. I need you!"

Immediately a spirit entity had hovered around Ji Yuan with a soft chuckle. "Big Brother, I am here!"

When Shui Qingqing, Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin saw Xiang Li, they were quite startled that Ji Yuan actually had a sentient spirit entity!

Han Yuchi was stammering. "You…actually have a sentient spirit entity?!"

Spirit entities are rare enough. Sentient spirit entities are as rare as celestial swords!

Not even Jiajia or Sisi have a sentient spirit entity!

Ji Yuan said to Xiang Li, "Go and help me to check on their positions so that we can plan our next move."

Xiang Li giggled and she immediately vanished silently up the mountains.

Han Yuchi turned to look at Ji Yuan, "Is that really a spirit entity?"

Ji Yuan frowned. "What do you mean? Of course Xiang Li is. Can't you see?"

Han Yuchi and Zhao Songjin exchanged a weak smile before Han Yuchi continued. "Spirit entities are part of the cultivators' soul sea and can be manifested by the profound animus of the cultivator. There are no spirit entities that can fly away from the cultivator because there are no cultivators with a profound animus that have twice the length of an arm. In short, you can't extend your soul sea away from your main body."

Shui Xisi was also looking at Ji Yuan, "She is right. Did you just send Xiang Li to do the scouting for you?"

Ji Yuan growled. "You mean it isn't possible?"

Zhao Songjin muttered. "Of course it isn't possible and it is in fact impossible. Even the spirit entity of our Sacred Maiden Profound Art is just hovering above us and is more impressive than most of the other spirit entities. But we can't send it out like this. Spirit entities are part of the profound animus to empower the profound strength of the cultivator through auras. That is how spirit entities work."

Shui Qingqing was nodding quietly too. "Yes, no one can send spirit entity in this manner."

Ji Yuan frowned immediately as he said bitterly to everyone. "Come on. It sounds like I am the stupid one for not knowing this. Do you think that I am the all-knowing MC in many cultivation fake stories that get all my knowledge from the air? I wish I can but this isn't my forte. I am only a…"

"A poor and uncouth cultivator plus a sword cultivator from the Five Heavens Peaks." Shui Xisi giggled as she interrupted.

Ji Yuan laughed proudly. "Precisely."

Shui Qingqing was sighing sadly. My Matriarch Palace Mistress really did not like Ji Yuan at all and she is poking fun at him for his background…

She did not know that Shui Xisi and Ji Yuan were only teasing each other and Ji Yuan did not have any inferior complex. He was actually quite proud that he was from the Five Heavens Peaks because without his old master that trained him in that place, he would not have become a Sword Saint and what he was today.

Ji Yuan was a sword cultivator. There were thousands of cultivation methods and knowledge in the Celestial Realm and it was impossible to study all of it. Moreover it was so hard to obtain even a single spirit entity that most cultivators would never do any research on it.