The Romantic Cultivator

The entrance of the cave was shaped into a monstrous beautiful sculptured dragon mouth.

Ji Yuan used his sword hilt to tap it gently before saying, "This is made of silver celestium stone stabs."

Celestiums are the densest stones in the Celestial Realm. There are two types of celestiums. Silver celestiums which are white in color and gold celestiums which are golden in color. It is often used in the palaces of the rich celestial clans and as treasury walls due to its ability to absorb shock.

Gold celestiums are three times denser than silver celestiums and are often called the 'indestructible stone' and are often used to seal off important passages. But at the same time, it is far more precious than silver celestiums and cost a 1000 times more than silver celestiums due to its scarcity.

At the same time, silver and gold celestiums can also be refined into fine metals known as Pure Celestiums to be used in precious swords and divine swords.

Shui Qingqing nodded, "This is man-made. But who will build something so grand below the desolate mists?"

Ji Yuan smiled weakly, "Let's ignore it and find a way up."

"Are you a beardless chicken? We are going in together." Shui Qingqing shot a taunting look at him.

Ji Yuan: …

Who is a chicken? And you even call me a beardless chicken?

"Listen." Ji Yuan frowned. "In my dictionary, there is no such word as fear…"

Shui Qingqing interrupted him with a giggle, "Then let's go in. Hurry!"

Ji Yuan: …

"I haven't even finished speaking yet…"

As they had entered the cavern, Shui Qingqing was giggling and was flickering her thumb as she made a ticking sound.

Ji Yuan frowned. "Can you stop making that sound? What if you alert a desolate monster? Is this the first time that you are out in the fraternity?"

There was a flush look on Shui Qingqing as she replied awkwardly. "How do you know that?"

Ji Yuan rolled his eyes. Her reply was too honest…

Then she added bashfully. "When I am nervous, I will flicker my thumb. Sorry about it. This is the first time that I am exploring the cave alone."

"You're not alone. I am here with you." Ji Yuan coolly said.

"But you are not a real man, so that doesn't count." Shui Qingqing smiled playfully.

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

"I am not a real man?" Ji Yuan frowned.

Shui Qingqing laughed, "Yea, that's right! Because…"

"Because I am a beardless old goat and a eunuch. I know." Ji Yuan helped her to continue.

Her constant mocking of my beardless self is beginning to irritates me…

Shui Qingqing was giggling jovially. "And plus you are injured and I may be the first that will be protecting you later."

"Right…" Ji Yuan rolled his eyes. He just remembered that he had not purged out the profound energies that was afflicted on him by Lu Yinxuan. How the heck did her power level increase so rapidly earlier?

He did not know that Lu Yinxuan had invoked her immortal profound strength in a bid to kill him. Although she did manage to deal a grievous injury on him but she had failed to kill him.

After doing a quick check of the cave, they found out that the cave was vast and had many passages.

All of a sudden Shui Qingqing pulled his arm to say. "Come and let me take a look at your injuries."

Ji Yuan mocked her, "You don't have to check. I am indeed injured and I can't purge the profound energies that are afflicting me anytime soon. But if you can give me a week or so, I will recover. If you're thinking of attacking me then you may be mistaken…"

"Shut up and sit down first." Shui Qingqing rebuked him lightly as she felt his pulses.

For some unknown reason, Ji Yuan had really sat down.

"You won't be able to help me." Ji Yuan frowned. "I'm afflicted by sword profound energies. Even a high level sword energies practitioner like myself can't do a thing, there is little you can do for me. It is not something any internal divine profound art can do to help me. I have to use my sword energies to slowly neutralize it. But that process will take me one or two weeks…"

All of a sudden Shui Qingqing had slapped him hard on his back and he could suddenly feel that the wanton energies that were within him had completely dissipated!

Shui Qingqing inhaled softly and her eyes looked a little dazed. "Look! It is done!"

Ji Yuan was somewhat startled as he felt his profound strength returning to him and he could feel the smooth flow of his profound energies. "Haha. I have really recovered. Thank you…"

All of a sudden he had noticed that Shui Qingqing had dozed off with her fingers on her forehead as she sat in a meditating pose.

"This…" Ji Yuan

Bai Qianfeng whispered to his ears. "She had used her divine profound art on you and had gone into a deep sleep to recuperate. If I'm not wrong, this divine profound art of hers must have drained all her profound energies."

Ji Yuan smiled awkwardly. "Isn't she a little too trusting..."

A few hours later, Shui Qingqing had finally opened her dreamy eyes. "Alas, you are still around?"

Ji Yuan smiled weakly. "Thank you for your aid. After you have helped me, I should at least stay around for a while to keep watch over you."

Shui Qingqing smiled righteously, "You had helped me when I was falling down earlier. This is really nothing at all."

Ji Yuan laughed. He was beginning to like this maiden for her frankness but he was also a little fearful for her because the fraternity was a treacherous place and there will be many cultivators who will try to make use of her innocence.

"What is the profound art that you had used on me earlier?" Ji Yuan asked her curiously.

Shui Qingqing popped in a profound pill as she answered, "This is my Divine Exaltation Art. It is a…" Then she giggled for a while before she continued. "Actually I shouldn't be sharing with you because you are not from my sect but on account that you have protected me while I was invalid and because you are a friend, I can be a little gracious. This is actually a supreme profound art."

Ji Yuan was dumbfounded. "Really?"

He had only known one supreme profound art so far and that was the True Sacred Saint Profound Art that Ling Feiyue was practicing.

Profound arts are divided into several tiers; standard, superior, divine, supreme and miracle.

Shui Qingqing nodded with beaming eyes, "But I am not so proficiency in it. Maybe one day when I have mastered to the highest level, it may even become a miracle art."

Ji Yuan: …

"Miracle profound arts do not exist." Ji Yuan was frowning.

He suddenly had a bad idea so he asked. "Heh. Since I'm your friend, you can tell me the characteristics of this profound art of yours?"

Shui Qingqing lifted her finger to swing a big no in front of him. "It is my sect's unique skill. Even if you are a friend of mine, I can't tell you."

Ji Yuan smiled weakly. I thought that she will be gullible enough to tell me. At least, she still has some common sense…

"Since you are well now, why don't we explore this cave?" Shui Qingqing.

"What if I say no?" Ji Yuan made a feeble protest behind her.

"Come." Shui Qingqing did not even bother to heed to his protest.

Ji Yuan: …

He turned to look at Bai Qianfeng who pretended to sleep in his arms, not caring what his decisions will be.

Xiang Li was giggling in his soul sea, "You should follow this pretty maiden."

"Oh well…" Ji Yuan began to tail after Shui Qingqing. "On account that you had just helped me…"

Shui Qingqing had suddenly halted her steps as she inspected the passages before saying coolly, "This is so interesting. Do you see it?"

Ji Yuan frowned. "What is so interesting about these passages? I don't see anything special about it."

Shui Qingqing was also frowning but at him. "There are eight passages in here and it is arranged into the eight array celestial formation. I can sense the hidden arrays even from here. Did you sense it?"

"No…" Ji Yuan replied rather sheepishly. Arrays and formations simply aren't his forte.

Shui Qingqing raised her fingers as she probed with her divine sense. "Alas. This celestial array is a little hard to break. It seems to be a highly advance array and one wrong step and we will be doomed inside."

She paused to add. "You must know that this type of celestial array can slowly drain us of our profound energies and cause us to be drained inside. Even though we are all golden celestials but without spiritual energies, we are as good as the lowly cultivators and we will need food and water. Therefore, we need to find the life gate in order to advance."

Ji Yuan said, "Since you know that we are facing an array, surely you can find the life gate easily?"

Shui Qingqing furrowed her beautiful light eyebrows. "You must know that there are more than 3600 major celestial arrays, big and small. Moreover these celestial arrays can even evolve into other celestial arrays. Some of the celestial arrays even have an array or even multiple arrays within an array depending on the proficiency of the creator. Therefore it is not easy to identify the type of celestial arrays that we will be facing, much less find the life gate."

Then she smiled bitterly at Ji Yuan, "If this is a celestial or immortal killing array and we have walked inside by accident then we may well doomed ourselves without even realizing it. Therefore I need some time to at least peel off the surface of this celestial array in order to find a clue."

Ji Yuan laughed, "This sounds so complex to me already. However I got a suggestion."

"What is it?" Shui Qingqing was suddenly hopeful as she looked at him.

"Let's leave this place and go up." Ji Yuan grinned.

Shui Qingqing: …

Shui Qingqing: …

Shui Qingqing: …

"Hmph! You are just a beardless coward." She hummed at him.

"It is better than getting ourselves killed. After all, I still have a long life to go." Ji Yuan replied weakly. Why am I struck with her? I don't want to get myself killed for no reason at all…

Shui Qingqing ignored Ji Yuan as she took out several profound treasures including a profound compass. "I am going to spend some days and even months to find a way to break this celestial array. Why don't you go to one side to meditate first?"

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

Ji Yuan: …

All of a sudden Ji Yuan felt like fainting on the spot. I don't have days or months to stay here with you…

Moreover you may get your direction wrong and get us killed too…

Shui Qingqing had suddenly taken out a manual and she was browsing it. "Let me see…"

When Ji Yuan saw her taking out a manual to do a last minute search, he knew that her proficiency in arrays is just so and so. He was beginning to feel panicky…

All of a sudden Bai Qianfeng hit his chest lightly with her paw and pointed to a fifth passage.

Ji Yuan stared at Bai Qianfeng who divine whispered to his ears. "I can navigate this array even with my eyes close. This is actually an immortal array and is called the Sleeping Dragon Immortal Array. She won't be able to break it."

"Qingqing, come with me." Ji Yuan was suddenly grinning as he walked toward the fifth passage.

This gave Shui Qingqing a startle. "Where are you going? I haven't even find the way yet."

Ji Yuan laughed, "I happen to be a breaker of this immortal array. I have suddenly realized that this is actually the Sleeping Dragon Immortal Array and I know how to navigate us safe and sound through it."

Shui Qingqing quickly flipped her manual, "Sleeping Dragon Immortal Array? Wait. Let me try to find the walkthrough…"

But when she saw that Ji Yuan had already walked into the fifth passage, she panicky kept all her profound treasures except for the array manual as she hastily followed him. "Wait for me! Don't leave me alone here…"

As she caught up with Ji Yuan, she asked him curiously. "How did you know that this is an immortal array and not a celestial array?"

Ji Yuan grinned. "That is because I'm a genius."

Both Bai Qianfeng and Xiang Li rolled their eyes when they had heard him.