The Romantic Cultivator



The one hour of grace was quickly up.

All of a sudden, the entire platform was shaking violently and the mountains seemed to be moving as well. 

To the startled surprise of Ji Yuan and the rest of the champions, a breathtaking black mountain had rose from the ground and they could see a large iron gates in front of them.

On the two sides of the iron gates, was a statue of a black winged dragon with three horns. 

Ji Yuan gulped as he stared at the giant monument black mountain in front of the platform, "This must be the Dream Dungeon of Tenebris…"

Many of the cultivators were all nodding and they were all looking excitingly at one another. 

The Trial Spirit thundered above them, "The fourth trial begins now. You have 5 days to reach the end point of the Dream Dungeon of Tenebris and it is on the third level."

Tian Ao was grinning to the rest, "The profound aura of this place is too heaven-defying. We should be able to find more profound treasures here than in the black pyramid trial."

Shui Xisi giggled when she had heard them and asked Ji Yuan, "So what do you got in the last trial? I know you too well. You must have risked your life for something heaven-defying."

Ji Yuan said bitterly, "Nothing."

Then he shouted to his team as he walked away from her, "Let's go!"

Shui Xisi cursed him behind his back, "Selfish! You just don't want to share with me!"

Their team quickly lined into their formation and they sped toward the black mountain.

Although the huge iron gates look close to them but it was a good 30 miles away.

But to these cultivators, it took them only less than 1 hour to speed across the mountain paths and when they had finally reached this black mountain, they were stunned by the grandeur of the iron gates which was a good 50m in height.

It was monstrous and even the statues of the two black dragons were a good 20m in height! 

Ji Yuan frowned when he saw the iron gates. "I wonder why the hassle? Can't the stupid Trial Spirit just send us directly into the Dream Dungeon of Tenebris?"

Hua Yunzi said gently, "It is like the first trial. Those not strong enough to enter the Dream Dungeon of Tenebris can choose to remain here until the end of the trial and be disqualified. Once again, it may be a most dangerous place."

Ji Yuan was surprised that Hua Yunzi had taken the initiative to talk to him.

So he asked her softly, "Maiden Yunzi, how are you since we have last parted?"

But she merely turned her head away, "I'm fine…"

All of a sudden, the two gigantic black dragons had come to life and they were two 7th rank profound beasts!

This interrupted Hua Yunzi and also startled Ji Yuan as he quickly armed himself with Xiang Li from his immortal scabbard.

The 6 cultivators in front of him had all displayed their profound aura and had flashed to attack the 2 black dragons.

Even Hua Yunzi and Xie Hongyu that were next to him had displayed their profound aura before arming themselves with their divine swords to flash ahead.

Only Shui Xisi who was behind was casually walking to Ji Yuan with a giggle but she did not bother to help them.

It was because these two powerful black dragons were too easy for her to handle and she did not want to show her trump cards too early.

And moreover, the 8 cultivators that had flashed to attack the black dragons had all fiercely displayed their profound aura and they were all great saints and great saintesses.

Ji Yuan was stunned; since when did great saints become so common that they seemed to grow on trees and all the cultivators in his team were all at the upper sacred saint level! 

A 7th rank profound beast can easily kill a 7th cultivation realm great saint. 

Moreover, these black dragons seemed to have an impervious armor too as well as sharp talons that were filled with intense profound might that rocked the ground around them.

But these 8 great saints and great saintesses were no ordinary cultivators and they did not cultivate only behind close doors; they were all battle hardened cultivators that have survived to the final trial of the Empyrean Warrior Labyrinth and up to this point as well.

They split themselves into two main teams and each team began to unleash their powerful profound arts on the black dragon that they were fighting without even getting hit.

In just a short while, these black dragons were slaughtered by their divine swords and their profound power.

Ji Yuan did not even need to do anything but stared weakly at the combat strength of his team as he muttered to himself: These freaking cultivators are all so strong…

He had actually wanted to join in the battle to help them and that was why he had armed himself with Xiang Li. 

But before he could recover his surprise of witnessing their combat ability, they had already slaughtered the 7th rank profound black dragons. 

He could only say weakly to them, "Erm, good job."

Hu Butao the bulky cultivator shouted to him from the battle scene, "Great Saint Ji Yuan, you don't mind if we collect some loot first, right? Is there anything that you need from these two corpses?"

Ji Yuan weakly shouted back, "No need. Please go ahead."

And he watched them quickly collected the dragon's scales, horns, saliva, tongue, eyes, spines, dragon veins, talons and other important parts of the black dragon's corpse.

And they did not even quarrel over the valuable loot but barter if they really need it. 

They seemed to know who had contributed the most and so who should get the loot entitlements. 

Even Hua Yunzi was there as she collected the dragon scales, sparing the more valuable parts to the main contributors.

The dragon veins were the most valuable and they got two; this was divided by the old cultivators Tian Ao and Huo Mingdi that contributed the most to the battle. 

Huo Mingdi even asked Ji Yuan, "Great Saint Ji Yuan, you sure you don't want the dragon vein? It has many uses like increasing your cultivation strength too."

Although Ji Yuan was thick skin but he was too ashamed to ask for a share of the loot so he said, "It is alright."

But secretly he was actually drooling in his heart and it would be felt by Xiang Li and Anyang.

Even Shui Xisi was giggling when she saw his awkward look.

She whispered to Ji Yuan, "Do you regret putting them in front now?

Ji Yuan: …

The 8 cultivators were quickly done with looting the corpses of the two black dragons and they also quickly barter with one another or paying for the other parts that they needed.

Ji Yuan saw that Hua Yunzi seemed to take a portion of the black dragon's heart and she was also collecting many of the black dragon scales.

He thought curiously: Is she making an armor from it or what?

He did not know that Hua Yunzi was really making a profound vest for her unborn child who was Ji Yuan's unborn child as well.

This unborn child was Hua Yunzi's secret and she had currently suppressed the growth of her child because she was still in the Empyrean Warrior Labyrinth. 

This unborn child was everything to Hua Yunzi now and she was collecting all the possible profound treasures that she could find in the Empyrean Warrior Labyrinth before leaving. 

Ji Yuan had walked to the black iron gate now and he saw that the profound seal had already been removed; killing the two black dragons also released the profound seals on this huge iron gate.

He asked to make sure, "We shall all be entering the Dream Dungeon of Tenebris now. So, if anyone has any regrets, you can choose to stay here."

But all the cultivators were smiling without any fears.

Shui Xisi urged him with a jovial chuckle, "Ji Yuan, let's hurry inside now. Maybe we can complete this trial in 1 day instead of 5 days."

Ji Yuan rolled his golden eyes sheepishly as he looked with disbelief at Shui Xisi, "This isn't a game, you know."

------------------------------

Author Note:

1. I'd really appreciate it if the readers can contribute power stones to this story as a show of support even if you are reading from other websites. Your spirit stones are crucial for motivations and releases. Also, it means alot me/ story, Many love and thanks! ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)

2. Ji Yuan really got a strong team this time round, or is it?