Chapter 52: 52
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Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue had now reached the iron pagoda. From afar, it looked like a small tower but now they were now looking at a massive tall iron tower that were five times as tall as any pagoda that they had ever seen.
Moreover there was only a massive iron gate that was in front of them and it was shut tight.
In front of the iron gate was a black stele that had runic characters crafted into it.
Without prompting, Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue quickly lay their hands on the black stele and they realized that this iron gate could only open if the rest of the cultivators had arrived.
This was actually the real second trial.
Yuan Ji took a quiet look at Ling Feiyue before saying, "I guess that we need to wait for a little while."
The black stele had indicated that the gate of the iron pagoda would only opened once 50% of the cultivators that had entered the Lotus Sword Mansion had made it through the second trial portal.
This 50% need not have to come from the original path that they had taken. Whenever a new trial level was entered, several paths from the lower level would converge. As long as the 50% criteria of any of the paths could be met, the gate of this iron pagoda would swing open.
Yuan Ji said to Ling Feiyue as he sat down in a meditating pose, "Since we have the time now, we ought to cultivate to replenish our lost profound strength. Although the spiritual force here is fairly weak, we will still be able to recover faster than most of our competitors here."
All of a sudden he had noticed that Ling Feiyue was looking intently at him, "Is there something on my face?"
Ling Feiyue smiled as she shook her head lightly, "No. I'm just thinking that you look much better without that ugly beard of yours."
All of a sudden Yuan Ji was clearly offended and he was frowning, "I am the head of the four beautiful bearded cultivators, so how can I be without my beard…"
"Do you know that we have conspired with the Manor Lord Li Yi of the Fluttering Winds Manor to set you up?" She interrupted quietly.
Yuan Ji inhaled slowly before he heaved a soft sigh, "I know. I had only recently known about it. His beard is a fake. Even Xue Qianxue's secret recipe of growing a beard is a story that is made up by all of you."
Ling Feiyue chuckled jovially, "You have even found out that the recipe is a fake? Let me guess. Did you ask Xue Qianxue for that recipe when you have met her recently?"
Yuan Ji refused to answer her and instead he frowned, "Who bright idea is this?"
"Xia Jiajia. She conspired with Xue Qianxue and I. Even that silly Li Yi has thought that the recipe is real and that was why he had agreed to conspire with us to trick you."
"Jiajia's idea?" Yuan Ji frowned even more and he was rubbing his chin, "Isn't she a bimbo?"
In his heart she was still a bimbo and when he had thought of that, he was secretly smiling.
It was because he had remembered that Xia Jiajia had given him a divine sword for his precious sword and she could be flattered by him so easily that she had even given him the position of elder. She had to be a bimbo for doing such things…
Ling Feiyue was now laughing to and fro and her jovial laughter was like music, "You actually call her a bimbo? She is actually smarter than any one of us. We have all been played by her."
Yuan Ji: …
"What is her purpose for doing so?" Yuan Ji sighed softly. He really could not figure out.
Yuan Ji had suddenly noticed that Ling Feiyue was staring intently at him again and he had soon staring at her beautiful alluring eyes too.
For quite some time, they were staring at each other and were not speaking.
Yuan Ji's heart was pacing fast as he thought, "She is too sinful to look at. I can't believe that I will be staring at the Goddess Ling Feiyue and I didn't get slaughter by her."
He was gulping his saliva and her allure was too irresistible.
Finally he focused all his willpower to say quietly, "I have another alias now. I'm now Yuan Ji the Palace Master of the Emperor Hall Sect."
All of sudden Ling Feiyue gasped as she took a step back, "You're that idiot that stole from the Hundred Flower Divine Palace and even got a personal challenge from the Divine Palace Master of the Hundred Divine Palace?"
Yuan Ji smiled bitterly, "So that's what everyone is saying behind my back now. The Mystic Eye Sect sure can spread the news in such a rapid time."
Ling Feiyue continued to gasp as she shook her head, "Ji Yuan, don't go. You can never be able to defeat the Divine Palace Master. The cultivation practice of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace is superior to anything in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity and there are at least three divine skills that are unique to the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. Even the Evil Cultivation Palace steers clear of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. This is one celestial sect that you cannot afford to mess up with."
Yuan Ji sighed softly, "I have to go. Because if I don't, everyone in the Five Heavens Peaks will be slaughtered by the Hundred Flower Divine Palace."
He muttered silently, "Yan'Er and Chengxi won't be able to escape too."
It was because Hua Wuwu had placed her profound signatures on the three of them.
Although Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue looked like innocent lovely dolls but he knew that they were only acting most of the time. They had even dared to confront all the saintesses of the Celestial Orthodox Sect without any fear.
He was very sure that they had some trump cards to make their escape or else they would not dare to be so bold. Or they were actually concealing their most powerful martial profound arts.
Ling Feiyue turned around and she was trembling lightly, "Come to my Spirit Blue Moon Sect. I'll give you a safe haven."
Yuan Ji was startled and was secretly touched. But he knew that he had to decline her offer. It was because he knew that he would only bring destruction upon her Spirit Blue Moon Sect. Moreover as far as he knows, there was only one great saint level in the entire Spirit Blue Moon Sect and that was Ling Feiyue herself.
Because of him, she was willing to risk her cultivation and her entire celestial sect?
So he merely said, "I may not lose. I still have four months to improve myself."
Ling Feiyue said woefully without turning back, "Without divine profound arts and cultivation cheats against a powerful celestial sect that have plenty of divine profound arts and cultivation cheats, you're courting your own death. I've even heard that the Hundred Flower Divine Palace has a celestial grade divine sword, the Hundred Flower Divine Sword. That divine sword alone can suppress any seventh realm saints with great impunitive."
Yuan Ji had turned ashen immediately and he was muttering, "A celestial grade divine sword. That is as good as calling it an immortal weapon already…"
"Look who we have here?" Someone shouted out loud, interrupting Yuan Ji's thoughts.
A group of twenty odds cultivators were seen approaching the iron pagoda.
Yuan Ji turned to look at the newcomers before he smiled weakly, "So it is Third Young Master Jian Menghao."
Indeed it was Third Young Master Jian Menghao and his fellow protégés from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor.
Jian Menghao turned to his group to laugh, "Look at me. I don't even know the name of this little fish that is talking to me now."
Third Young Master Jian Menghao and many of his fellow protégés in his group were all suddenly inhaling heavily. It was because they had suddenly noticed a most astonishing maiden was standing behind Yuan Ji.
Ling Feiyue had turned around when she had heard the approach of the newcomers.
This caused Jian Menghao to laugh a little less crude as he turned to say politely, "Maiden may I know your name? I'm the Third Young Master Jian Menghao from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor."
Ling Feiyue displayed a soft chuckle and her beautiful smile was soul catching to all the onlookers who could only watch her in awe and that included Yuan Ji.
"So it is the third young master of one of the twelve great sects and one of the seven major orthodox clans. This maiden here is humbled. Unfortunately, it is inconvenient for me to tell you my name in the presence of my lord here. He won't be happy."
Yuan Ji was startled. My lord in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity would mean she was telling them that he was her husband.
Jian Menghao was perplexed. It was because he had been monitoring Yuan Ji before he had entered the trial and this peerless goddess was nowhere to be seen. Therefore she must have met him during the trial.
He had to admit secretly that this hateful fellow was actually quite good looking but of course he was nothing compared to his own looks of course.
"Did he hook this peerless goddess up while they are in the trial together? He must have bedded her already in order for her to call him out so intimately."
When he had thought that this hateful fellow was also the one that Xue Qianxue was willing to see, he grew even angrier.
Therefore he had turned to stare coldly at Yuan Ji, "Do you know that you are such a hateful fellow?"
Then he turned to say to the peerless goddess, "Maiden, stay out of this. This vile villain has committed endless evils and many a fair maidens had fallen into his hands. Today, I shall deliver you from his despicable hands."
"Everyone, kill him!" He ordered his group.
Yuan Ji was startled that this Third Young Master Jian Menghao was actually such a ruthless fellow to trump up false charges against him and that he had even ordered his men to attack him without any provocations.
Immediately Yuan Ji was surrounded by five golden celestials and twenty cultivators.
He took a quick look at Ling Feiyue who was smiling enticing at him. She was all smiles and gave no indication that she would be lifting her hands to help him. As a matter of fact, she had walked further away from him.
He thought, "This new 'consort' is so unreliable to her 'lord'. For a moment, I was actually so touched by her earlier gesture."
With a soft sigh, he had unsheathed an ordinary sword with his left hand.
From the profound auras that were displayed by his opponents, he had quickly gauged that two were of the sixth realm golden supremacy level, three were of the fifth realm golden celestial level and the rest were fourth realm cultivators.
One of the golden supremacies sneered at him, "Don't blame us. We have our orders. We will make sure that you are punished justly for offending our Third Young Master Jian. You are not displaying your profound aura?"
Yuan Ji sighed softly, "Do you really think that I'm afraid that I will be scared of you?"
"What a joke…"
"He is already on his way to meet his maker and he can still joke with us…"
One golden celestial said warily, "Be careful everyone. The fact that he is here earlier than us mean that he is not weak…"
Jian Menghao interrupted them as he shouted with great contempt for Yuan Ji, "Aim for his heart and don't let him live!"
Yuan Ji was frowning now. Actually if a cultivator had lost their consciousness during the trial, they would be sent out of the trial and may not die. But if their hearts were pierced or if the cultivators got swallowed whole by a desolate beast then they may die.
Right now, it was not a simple matter of just ending his trial opportunity but also his life.
"What are you all waiting for? Get him!" Third Young Master Jian Menghao shouted.
All of a sudden all the cultivators were attacking Yuan Ji at the same time!
Swoosh!
There was a flash of light from Yuan Ji's sword and the sixth realm golden supremacy who was talking earlier was killed instantly.
Everyone was startled.
But before they could react, Yuan Ji had taken the life of yet another sixth realm golden supremacy with another blinding flash of his sword.
All of a sudden Third Young Master Jian Menghao had noticed that the profound animus that was being mustered by the profound strength of this hateful fellow was at the seventh realm level.
This was not lost on the rest as well but at the same time they had all a bewildered look. It was because even if it was a saint level cultivator, it was not possible to kill a sixth realm golden supremacy with a single strike.
"Saint!"
"He is a saint…"
"Be careful everyone!"
The rest of the cultivators were panicky now and they were all attacking Yuan Ji with everything that they had got. It was because they did not want to lose their lives.
"Profound Heaven Sword 5th Rank!" A golden celestial shouted as a wave of charged profound power flashed toward Yuan Ji but no sooner had he released it, it was deflected casually by Yuan Ji and a nearby cultivator was killed.
Dozens of swords were flashing in a tightly sword array against Yuan Ji but Yuan Ji was still able to deflect their attacks.
"Profound Heaven Sword 6th Rank…" Another golden celestial had just shouted and had displayed the powerful sword stance of the 6th Rank of the Profound Heaven Sword but before he could aim at his target, Yuan Ji had swung his sword arm and had cut off his head with a flash.
Ling Feiyue was watching the swordfights with keen interest; she knew that Ji Yuan was good but she had never seen him at his best. This fight allowed her to observe him because there were more than twenty lethal swords that were aiming at him at the same time.
It seemed to her that Ji Yuan had a weak profound aura and had a poor defense. Or to put it this way, he was actually allocating most of his profound strength to his sword as profound power to have the maximum impact. Therefore his sword strikes were at least 30% stronger than his same level opponents.
At the same time Yuan Ji had purposely attacked the two sixth realm golden supremacies first before they had realized that he was a real threat. Now that he was facing only three fifth realm golden celestials and twenty fourth realm cultivators, he would have an easier time.
Although it appeared that Ji Yuan still had a disadvantage because he did not have an inexhaustible profound strength but this group of attackers was fighting against a saint level cultivator with insane recovery rate.
Therefore without any high level cultivators to support them in their wolf-pack tactics, they were doomed from the very start. Moreover they were unwittingly fighting against a Sword Saint.
With every blink of an eye, one cultivator after another began to fall to the ground and vanished into the thin air as they were being sent out of the trial.
Finally the last of the fifth rank golden celestial had also fallen and the remaining cultivators were quickly cut down by Yuan Ji.
Now it was only Yuan Ji as he grinned at Third Young Master Jian Menghao, "It is only you now."
Jian Menghao was stammering panicky, "Hero…I mean Saint…can we talk it over?"
Yuan Ji grinned, "Sure we can. If you can humbly beg me by addressing my name nicely, I will spare you."
Jian Menghao was stunned. It was because he had disdained this hateful fellow and did not even know his name at all.
"I guess you don't even know my name so here you go…" Yuan Ji said as he swung his sword.
All of a sudden Jian Menghao had evaded his strike by jumping backward hastily.
Before Yuan Ji could make another strike against him, Jian Menghao had committed suicide by slashing himself on his throat and followed up by jumping off the cliff.
Ling Feiyue was giggling, "You are such a badass. You have forced him to commit suicide."
Yuan Ji was frowning, "He thought that I may aim for his heart and therefore he will rather commit suicide to exit the trial than having to face the possibility of getting killed. He is quite smart."
"Although he is smart but he has completely disgraced the Profound Heaven Sword Manor!" Ling Feiyue chuckled.
Then she was gasping softly, "Although I am at the upper sacred saint level but I may not be able to kill these two sixth realm golden supremacies outright even with a divine sword in my hand. Yet you have used an ordinary sword and you can accomplish it in such a clean manner."
Yuan Ji answered with a weak smile, "I was just lucky that they were not expecting me to attack them and moreover they were not exactly strong fighters."
"Lucky? I don't think so. Do you know that the Profound Heaven Sword art is ranked third in the Sword Art Ranking and the first supremacy that you had killed was actually Gongsun Zan. He is actually one of the top thirty swordsmen in the entire fraternity. He won't be so foolish to let you make a sneak attack at him."
Ling Feiyue chuckled softly before she continued, "You seem to have recognized him too. This, I am very sure. Because I notice that your eyes have been following him right from the very start."
She turned to look at him with an endeavoring look, "Your sword broke through his profound defenses. I saw his sword shifted suddenly by half an inch by a mysterious force just before you kill him."
Then she lowered her voice as she chuckled, "Although it appears that you had imbued your sword with profound power but what really kills him was your sword energies attack. You are able to use profound power and sword energies simultaneously? Is this your real trump card?"
Yuan Ji was now frowning. It was a bad mistake to have her around to observe his duel and her eyes were really too sharp.
"Also, you are only using your left hand. The Sword Saint Ji Yuan that I know is a right hander. I must be really wary of you when I am fighting you again." Ling Feiyue chuckled beautifully as she winked at him.
Yuan Ji: …
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Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue had now reached the iron pagoda. From afar, it looked like a small tower but now they were now looking at a massive tall iron tower that were five times as tall as any pagoda that they had ever seen.
Moreover there was only a massive iron gate that was in front of them and it was shut tight.
In front of the iron gate was a black stele that had runic characters crafted into it.
Without prompting, Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue quickly lay their hands on the black stele and they realized that this iron gate could only open if the rest of the cultivators had arrived.
This was actually the real second trial.
Yuan Ji took a quiet look at Ling Feiyue before saying, "I guess that we need to wait for a little while."
The black stele had indicated that the gate of the iron pagoda would only opened once 50% of the cultivators that had entered the Lotus Sword Mansion had made it through the second trial portal.
This 50% need not have to come from the original path that they had taken. Whenever a new trial level was entered, several paths from the lower level would converge. As long as the 50% criteria of any of the paths could be met, the gate of this iron pagoda would swing open.
Yuan Ji said to Ling Feiyue as he sat down in a meditating pose, "Since we have the time now, we ought to cultivate to replenish our lost profound strength. Although the spiritual force here is fairly weak, we will still be able to recover faster than most of our competitors here."
All of a sudden he had noticed that Ling Feiyue was looking intently at him, "Is there something on my face?"
Ling Feiyue smiled as she shook her head lightly, "No. I'm just thinking that you look much better without that ugly beard of yours."
All of a sudden Yuan Ji was clearly offended and he was frowning, "I am the head of the four beautiful bearded cultivators, so how can I be without my beard…"
"Do you know that we have conspired with the Manor Lord Li Yi of the Fluttering Winds Manor to set you up?" She interrupted quietly.
Yuan Ji inhaled slowly before he heaved a soft sigh, "I know. I had only recently known about it. His beard is a fake. Even Xue Qianxue's secret recipe of growing a beard is a story that is made up by all of you."
Ling Feiyue chuckled jovially, "You have even found out that the recipe is a fake? Let me guess. Did you ask Xue Qianxue for that recipe when you have met her recently?"
Yuan Ji refused to answer her and instead he frowned, "Who bright idea is this?"
"Xia Jiajia. She conspired with Xue Qianxue and I. Even that silly Li Yi has thought that the recipe is real and that was why he had agreed to conspire with us to trick you."
"Jiajia's idea?" Yuan Ji frowned even more and he was rubbing his chin, "Isn't she a bimbo?"
In his heart she was still a bimbo and when he had thought of that, he was secretly smiling.
It was because he had remembered that Xia Jiajia had given him a divine sword for his precious sword and she could be flattered by him so easily that she had even given him the position of elder. She had to be a bimbo for doing such things…
Ling Feiyue was now laughing to and fro and her jovial laughter was like music, "You actually call her a bimbo? She is actually smarter than any one of us. We have all been played by her."
Yuan Ji: …
"What is her purpose for doing so?" Yuan Ji sighed softly. He really could not figure out.
Yuan Ji had suddenly noticed that Ling Feiyue was staring intently at him again and he had soon staring at her beautiful alluring eyes too.
For quite some time, they were staring at each other and were not speaking.
Yuan Ji's heart was pacing fast as he thought, "She is too sinful to look at. I can't believe that I will be staring at the Goddess Ling Feiyue and I didn't get slaughter by her."
He was gulping his saliva and her allure was too irresistible.
Finally he focused all his willpower to say quietly, "I have another alias now. I'm now Yuan Ji the Palace Master of the Emperor Hall Sect."
All of sudden Ling Feiyue gasped as she took a step back, "You're that idiot that stole from the Hundred Flower Divine Palace and even got a personal challenge from the Divine Palace Master of the Hundred Divine Palace?"
Yuan Ji smiled bitterly, "So that's what everyone is saying behind my back now. The Mystic Eye Sect sure can spread the news in such a rapid time."
Ling Feiyue continued to gasp as she shook her head, "Ji Yuan, don't go. You can never be able to defeat the Divine Palace Master. The cultivation practice of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace is superior to anything in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity and there are at least three divine skills that are unique to the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. Even the Evil Cultivation Palace steers clear of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. This is one celestial sect that you cannot afford to mess up with."
Yuan Ji sighed softly, "I have to go. Because if I don't, everyone in the Five Heavens Peaks will be slaughtered by the Hundred Flower Divine Palace."
He muttered silently, "Yan'Er and Chengxi won't be able to escape too."
It was because Hua Wuwu had placed her profound signatures on the three of them.
Although Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue looked like innocent lovely dolls but he knew that they were only acting most of the time. They had even dared to confront all the saintesses of the Celestial Orthodox Sect without any fear.
He was very sure that they had some trump cards to make their escape or else they would not dare to be so bold. Or they were actually concealing their most powerful martial profound arts.
Ling Feiyue turned around and she was trembling lightly, "Come to my Spirit Blue Moon Sect. I'll give you a safe haven."
Yuan Ji was startled and was secretly touched. But he knew that he had to decline her offer. It was because he knew that he would only bring destruction upon her Spirit Blue Moon Sect. Moreover as far as he knows, there was only one great saint level in the entire Spirit Blue Moon Sect and that was Ling Feiyue herself.
Because of him, she was willing to risk her cultivation and her entire celestial sect?
So he merely said, "I may not lose. I still have four months to improve myself."
Ling Feiyue said woefully without turning back, "Without divine profound arts and cultivation cheats against a powerful celestial sect that have plenty of divine profound arts and cultivation cheats, you're courting your own death. I've even heard that the Hundred Flower Divine Palace has a celestial grade divine sword, the Hundred Flower Divine Sword. That divine sword alone can suppress any seventh realm saints with great impunitive."
Yuan Ji had turned ashen immediately and he was muttering, "A celestial grade divine sword. That is as good as calling it an immortal weapon already…"
"Look who we have here?" Someone shouted out loud, interrupting Yuan Ji's thoughts.
A group of twenty odds cultivators were seen approaching the iron pagoda.
Yuan Ji turned to look at the newcomers before he smiled weakly, "So it is Third Young Master Jian Menghao."
Indeed it was Third Young Master Jian Menghao and his fellow protégés from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor.
Jian Menghao turned to his group to laugh, "Look at me. I don't even know the name of this little fish that is talking to me now."
Third Young Master Jian Menghao and many of his fellow protégés in his group were all suddenly inhaling heavily. It was because they had suddenly noticed a most astonishing maiden was standing behind Yuan Ji.
Ling Feiyue had turned around when she had heard the approach of the newcomers.
This caused Jian Menghao to laugh a little less crude as he turned to say politely, "Maiden may I know your name? I'm the Third Young Master Jian Menghao from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor."
Ling Feiyue displayed a soft chuckle and her beautiful smile was soul catching to all the onlookers who could only watch her in awe and that included Yuan Ji.
"So it is the third young master of one of the twelve great sects and one of the seven major orthodox clans. This maiden here is humbled. Unfortunately, it is inconvenient for me to tell you my name in the presence of my lord here. He won't be happy."
Yuan Ji was startled. My lord in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity would mean she was telling them that he was her husband.
Jian Menghao was perplexed. It was because he had been monitoring Yuan Ji before he had entered the trial and this peerless goddess was nowhere to be seen. Therefore she must have met him during the trial.
He had to admit secretly that this hateful fellow was actually quite good looking but of course he was nothing compared to his own looks of course.
"Did he hook this peerless goddess up while they are in the trial together? He must have bedded her already in order for her to call him out so intimately."
When he had thought that this hateful fellow was also the one that Xue Qianxue was willing to see, he grew even angrier.
Therefore he had turned to stare coldly at Yuan Ji, "Do you know that you are such a hateful fellow?"
Then he turned to say to the peerless goddess, "Maiden, stay out of this. This vile villain has committed endless evils and many a fair maidens had fallen into his hands. Today, I shall deliver you from his despicable hands."
"Everyone, kill him!" He ordered his group.
Yuan Ji was startled that this Third Young Master Jian Menghao was actually such a ruthless fellow to trump up false charges against him and that he had even ordered his men to attack him without any provocations.
Immediately Yuan Ji was surrounded by five golden celestials and twenty cultivators.
He took a quick look at Ling Feiyue who was smiling enticing at him. She was all smiles and gave no indication that she would be lifting her hands to help him. As a matter of fact, she had walked further away from him.
He thought, "This new 'consort' is so unreliable to her 'lord'. For a moment, I was actually so touched by her earlier gesture."
With a soft sigh, he had unsheathed an ordinary sword with his left hand.
From the profound auras that were displayed by his opponents, he had quickly gauged that two were of the sixth realm golden supremacy level, three were of the fifth realm golden celestial level and the rest were fourth realm cultivators.
One of the golden supremacies sneered at him, "Don't blame us. We have our orders. We will make sure that you are punished justly for offending our Third Young Master Jian. You are not displaying your profound aura?"
Yuan Ji sighed softly, "Do you really think that I'm afraid that I will be scared of you?"
"What a joke…"
"He is already on his way to meet his maker and he can still joke with us…"
One golden celestial said warily, "Be careful everyone. The fact that he is here earlier than us mean that he is not weak…"
Jian Menghao interrupted them as he shouted with great contempt for Yuan Ji, "Aim for his heart and don't let him live!"
Yuan Ji was frowning now. Actually if a cultivator had lost their consciousness during the trial, they would be sent out of the trial and may not die. But if their hearts were pierced or if the cultivators got swallowed whole by a desolate beast then they may die.
Right now, it was not a simple matter of just ending his trial opportunity but also his life.
"What are you all waiting for? Get him!" Third Young Master Jian Menghao shouted.
All of a sudden all the cultivators were attacking Yuan Ji at the same time!
Swoosh!
There was a flash of light from Yuan Ji's sword and the sixth realm golden supremacy who was talking earlier was killed instantly.
Everyone was startled.
But before they could react, Yuan Ji had taken the life of yet another sixth realm golden supremacy with another blinding flash of his sword.
All of a sudden Third Young Master Jian Menghao had noticed that the profound animus that was being mustered by the profound strength of this hateful fellow was at the seventh realm level.
This was not lost on the rest as well but at the same time they had all a bewildered look. It was because even if it was a saint level cultivator, it was not possible to kill a sixth realm golden supremacy with a single strike.
"Saint!"
"He is a saint…"
"Be careful everyone!"
The rest of the cultivators were panicky now and they were all attacking Yuan Ji with everything that they had got. It was because they did not want to lose their lives.
"Profound Heaven Sword 5th Rank!" A golden celestial shouted as a wave of charged profound power flashed toward Yuan Ji but no sooner had he released it, it was deflected casually by Yuan Ji and a nearby cultivator was killed.
Dozens of swords were flashing in a tightly sword array against Yuan Ji but Yuan Ji was still able to deflect their attacks.
"Profound Heaven Sword 6th Rank…" Another golden celestial had just shouted and had displayed the powerful sword stance of the 6th Rank of the Profound Heaven Sword but before he could aim at his target, Yuan Ji had swung his sword arm and had cut off his head with a flash.
Ling Feiyue was watching the swordfights with keen interest; she knew that Ji Yuan was good but she had never seen him at his best. This fight allowed her to observe him because there were more than twenty lethal swords that were aiming at him at the same time.
It seemed to her that Ji Yuan had a weak profound aura and had a poor defense. Or to put it this way, he was actually allocating most of his profound strength to his sword as profound power to have the maximum impact. Therefore his sword strikes were at least 30% stronger than his same level opponents.
At the same time Yuan Ji had purposely attacked the two sixth realm golden supremacies first before they had realized that he was a real threat. Now that he was facing only three fifth realm golden celestials and twenty fourth realm cultivators, he would have an easier time.
Although it appeared that Ji Yuan still had a disadvantage because he did not have an inexhaustible profound strength but this group of attackers was fighting against a saint level cultivator with insane recovery rate.
Therefore without any high level cultivators to support them in their wolf-pack tactics, they were doomed from the very start. Moreover they were unwittingly fighting against a Sword Saint.
With every blink of an eye, one cultivator after another began to fall to the ground and vanished into the thin air as they were being sent out of the trial.
Finally the last of the fifth rank golden celestial had also fallen and the remaining cultivators were quickly cut down by Yuan Ji.
Now it was only Yuan Ji as he grinned at Third Young Master Jian Menghao, "It is only you now."
Jian Menghao was stammering panicky, "Hero…I mean Saint…can we talk it over?"
Yuan Ji grinned, "Sure we can. If you can humbly beg me by addressing my name nicely, I will spare you."
Jian Menghao was stunned. It was because he had disdained this hateful fellow and did not even know his name at all.
"I guess you don't even know my name so here you go…" Yuan Ji said as he swung his sword.
All of a sudden Jian Menghao had evaded his strike by jumping backward hastily.
Before Yuan Ji could make another strike against him, Jian Menghao had committed suicide by slashing himself on his throat and followed up by jumping off the cliff.
Ling Feiyue was giggling, "You are such a badass. You have forced him to commit suicide."
Yuan Ji was frowning, "He thought that I may aim for his heart and therefore he will rather commit suicide to exit the trial than having to face the possibility of getting killed. He is quite smart."
"Although he is smart but he has completely disgraced the Profound Heaven Sword Manor!" Ling Feiyue chuckled.
Then she was gasping softly, "Although I am at the upper sacred saint level but I may not be able to kill these two sixth realm golden supremacies outright even with a divine sword in my hand. Yet you have used an ordinary sword and you can accomplish it in such a clean manner."
Yuan Ji answered with a weak smile, "I was just lucky that they were not expecting me to attack them and moreover they were not exactly strong fighters."
"Lucky? I don't think so. Do you know that the Profound Heaven Sword art is ranked third in the Sword Art Ranking and the first supremacy that you had killed was actually Gongsun Zan. He is actually one of the top thirty swordsmen in the entire fraternity. He won't be so foolish to let you make a sneak attack at him."
Ling Feiyue chuckled softly before she continued, "You seem to have recognized him too. This, I am very sure. Because I notice that your eyes have been following him right from the very start."
She turned to look at him with an endeavoring look, "Your sword broke through his profound defenses. I saw his sword shifted suddenly by half an inch by a mysterious force just before you kill him."
Then she lowered her voice as she chuckled, "Although it appears that you had imbued your sword with profound power but what really kills him was your sword energies attack. You are able to use profound power and sword energies simultaneously? Is this your real trump card?"
Yuan Ji was now frowning. It was a bad mistake to have her around to observe his duel and her eyes were really too sharp.
"Also, you are only using your left hand. The Sword Saint Ji Yuan that I know is a right hander. I must be really wary of you when I am fighting you again." Ling Feiyue chuckled beautifully as she winked at him.
Yuan Ji: …
Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue had now reached the iron pagoda. From afar, it looked like a small tower but now they were now looking at a massive tall iron tower that were five times as tall as any pagoda that they had ever seen.Moreover there was only a massive iron gate that was in front of them and it was shut tight.In front of the iron gate was a black stele that had runic characters crafted into it.Without prompting, Yuan Ji and Ling Feiyue quickly lay their hands on the black stele and they realized that this iron gate could only open if the rest of the cultivators had arrived.This was actually the real second trial.Yuan Ji took a quiet look at Ling Feiyue before saying, "I guess that we need to wait for a little while."The black stele had indicated that the gate of the iron pagoda would only opened once 50% of the cultivators that had entered the Lotus Sword Mansion had made it through the second trial portal.This 50% need not have to come from the original path that they had taken. Whenever a new trial level was entered, several paths from the lower level would converge. As long as the 50% criteria of any of the paths could be met, the gate of this iron pagoda would swing open.Yuan Ji said to Ling Feiyue as he sat down in a meditating pose, "Since we have the time now, we ought to cultivate to replenish our lost profound strength. Although the spiritual force here is fairly weak, we will still be able to recover faster than most of our competitors here."All of a sudden he had noticed that Ling Feiyue was looking intently at him, "Is there something on my face?"Ling Feiyue smiled as she shook her head lightly, "No. I'm just thinking that you look much better without that ugly beard of yours."All of a sudden Yuan Ji was clearly offended and he was frowning, "I am the head of the four beautiful bearded cultivators, so how can I be without my beard""Do you know that we have conspired with the Manor Lord Li Yi of the Fluttering Winds Manor to set you up?" She interrupted quietly.Yuan Ji inhaled slowly before he heaved a soft sigh, "I know. I had only recently known about it. His beard is a fake. Even Xue Qianxue's secret recipe of growing a beard is a story that is made up by all of you."Ling Feiyue chuckled jovially, "You have even found out that the recipe is a fake? Let me guess. Did you ask Xue Qianxue for that recipe when you have met her recently?"Yuan Ji refused to answer her and instead he frowned, "Who bright idea is this?""Xia Jiajia. She conspired with Xue Qianxue and I. Even that silly Li Yi has thought that the recipe is real and that was why he had agreed to conspire with us to trick you.""Jiajia's idea?" Yuan Ji frowned even more and he was rubbing his chin, "Isn't she a bimbo?"In his heart she was still a bimbo and when he had thought of that, he was secretly smiling.It was because he had remembered that Xia Jiajia had given him a divine sword for his precious sword and she could be flattered by him so easily that she had even given him the position of elder. She had to be a bimbo for doing such thingsLing Feiyue was now laughing to and fro and her jovial laughter was like music, "You actually call her a bimbo? She is actually smarter than any one of us. We have all been played by her."Yuan Ji: "What is her purpose for doing so?" Yuan Ji sighed softly. He really could not figure out.Yuan Ji had suddenly noticed that Ling Feiyue was staring intently at him again and he had soon staring at her beautiful alluring eyes too.For quite some time, they were staring at each other and were not speaking.Yuan Ji's heart was pacing fast as he thought, "She is too sinful to look at. I can't believe that I will be staring at the Goddess Ling Feiyue and I didn't get slaughter by her."He was gulping his saliva and her allure was too irresistible.Finally he focused all his willpower to say quietly, "I have another alias now. I'm now Yuan Ji the Palace Master of the Emperor Hall Sect."All of sudden Ling Feiyue gasped as she took a step back, "You're that idiot that stole from the Hundred Flower Divine Palace and even got a personal challenge from the Divine Palace Master of the Hundred Divine Palace?"Yuan Ji smiled bitterly, "So that's what everyone is saying behind my back now. The Mystic Eye Sect sure can spread the news in such a rapid time."Ling Feiyue continued to gasp as she shook her head, "Ji Yuan, don't go. You can never be able to defeat the Divine Palace Master. The cultivation practice of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace is superior to anything in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity and there are at least three divine skills that are unique to the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. Even the Evil Cultivation Palace steers clear of the Hundred Flower Divine Palace. This is one celestial sect that you cannot afford to mess up with."Yuan Ji sighed softly, "I have to go. Because if I don't, everyone in the Five Heavens Peaks will be slaughtered by the Hundred Flower Divine Palace."He muttered silently, "Yan'Er and Chengxi won't be able to escape too."It was because Hua Wuwu had placed her profound signatures on the three of them.Although Hua Wuwu and Hua Baiyue looked like innocent lovely dolls but he knew that they were only acting most of the time. They had even dared to confront all the saintesses of the Celestial Orthodox Sect without any fear.He was very sure that they had some trump cards to make their escape or else they would not dare to be so bold. Or they were actually concealing their most powerful martial profound arts.Ling Feiyue turned around and she was trembling lightly, "Come to my Spirit Blue Moon Sect. I'll give you a safe haven."Yuan Ji was startled and was secretly touched. But he knew that he had to decline her offer. It was because he knew that he would only bring destruction upon her Spirit Blue Moon Sect. Moreover as far as he knows, there was only one great saint level in the entire Spirit Blue Moon Sect and that was Ling Feiyue herself.Because of him, she was willing to risk her cultivation and her entire celestial sect?So he merely said, "I may not lose. I still have four months to improve myself."Ling Feiyue said woefully without turning back, "Without divine profound arts and cultivation cheats against a powerful celestial sect that have plenty of divine profound arts and cultivation cheats, you're courting your own death. I've even heard that the Hundred Flower Divine Palace has a celestial grade divine sword, the Hundred Flower Divine Sword. That divine sword alone can suppress any seventh realm saints with great impunitive."Yuan Ji had turned ashen immediately and he was muttering, "A celestial grade divine sword. That is as good as calling it an immortal weapon already""Look who we have here?" Someone shouted out loud, interrupting Yuan Ji's thoughts.A group of twenty odds cultivators were seen approaching the iron pagoda.Yuan Ji turned to look at the newcomers before he smiled weakly, "So it is Third Young Master Jian Menghao."Indeed it was Third Young Master Jian Menghao and his fellow protgs from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor.Jian Menghao turned to his group to laugh, "Look at me. I don't even know the name of this little fish that is talking to me now."Third Young Master Jian Menghao and many of his fellow protgs in his group were all suddenly inhaling heavily. It was because they had suddenly noticed a most astonishing maiden was standing behind Yuan Ji.Ling Feiyue had turned around when she had heard the approach of the newcomers.This caused Jian Menghao to laugh a little less crude as he turned to say politely, "Maiden may I know your name? I'm the Third Young Master Jian Menghao from the Profound Heaven Sword Manor."Ling Feiyue displayed a soft chuckle and her beautiful smile was soul catching to all the onlookers who could only watch her in awe and that included Yuan Ji."So it is the third young master of one of the twelve great sects and one of the seven major orthodox clans. This maiden here is humbled. Unfortunately, it is inconvenient for me to tell you my name in the presence of my lord here. He won't be happy."Yuan Ji was startled. My lord in the Desolate Celestial Fraternity would mean she was telling them that he was her husband.Jian Menghao was perplexed. It was because he had been monitoring Yuan Ji before he had entered the trial and this peerless goddess was nowhere to be seen. Therefore she must have met him during the trial.He had to admit secretly that this hateful fellow was actually quite good looking but of course he was nothing compared to his own looks of course."Did he hook this peerless goddess up while they are in the trial together? He must have bedded her already in order for her to call him out so intimately."When he had thought that this hateful fellow was also the one that Xue Qianxue was willing to see, he grew even angrier.Therefore he had turned to stare coldly at Yuan Ji, "Do you know that you are such a hateful fellow?"Then he turned to say to the peerless goddess, "Maiden, stay out of this. This vile villain has committed endless evils and many a fair maidens had fallen into his hands. Today, I shall deliver you from his despicable hands.""Everyone, kill him!" He ordered his group.Yuan Ji was startled that this Third Young Master Jian Menghao was actually such a ruthless fellow to trump up false charges against him and that he had even ordered his men to attack him without any provocations.Immediately Yuan Ji was surrounded by five golden celestials and twenty cultivators.He took a quick look at Ling Feiyue who was smiling enticing at him. She was all smiles and gave no indication that she would be lifting her hands to help him. As a matter of fact, she had walked further away from him.He thought, "This new 'consort' is so unreliable to her 'lord'. For a moment, I was actually so touched by her earlier gesture."With a soft sigh, he had unsheathed an ordinary sword with his left hand.From the profound auras that were displayed by his opponents, he had quickly gauged that two were of the sixth realm golden supremacy level, three were of the fifth realm golden celestial level and the rest were fourth realm cultivators.One of the golden supremacies sneered at him, "Don't blame us. We have our orders. We will make sure that you are punished justly for offending our Third Young Master Jian. You are not displaying your profound aura?"Yuan Ji sighed softly, "Do you really think that I'm afraid that I will be scared of you?""What a joke""He is already on his way to meet his maker and he can still joke with us"One golden celestial said warily, "Be careful everyone. The fact that he is here earlier than us mean that he is not weak"Jian Menghao interrupted them as he shouted with great contempt for Yuan Ji, "Aim for his heart and don't let him live!"Yuan Ji was frowning now. Actually if a cultivator had lost their consciousness during the trial, they would be sent out of the trial and may not die. But if their hearts were pierced or if the cultivators got swallowed whole by a desolate beast then they may die.Right now, it was not a simple matter of just ending his trial opportunity but also his life."What are you all waiting for? Get him!" Third Young Master Jian Menghao shouted.All of a sudden all the cultivators were attacking Yuan Ji at the same time!Swoosh!There was a flash of light from Yuan Ji's sword and the sixth realm golden supremacy who was talking earlier was killed instantly.Everyone was startled.But before they could react, Yuan Ji had taken the life of yet another sixth realm golden supremacy with another blinding flash of his sword.All of a sudden Third Young Master Jian Menghao had noticed that the profound animus that was being mustered by the profound strength of this hateful fellow was at the seventh realm level.This was not lost on the rest as well but at the same time they had all a bewildered look. It was because even if it was a saint level cultivator, it was not possible to kill a sixth realm golden supremacy with a single strike."Saint!""He is a saint""Be careful everyone!"The rest of the cultivators were panicky now and they were all attacking Yuan Ji with everything that they had got. It was because they did not want to lose their lives."Profound Heaven Sword 5th Rank!" A golden celestial shouted as a wave of charged profound power flashed toward Yuan Ji but no sooner had he released it, it was deflected casually by Yuan Ji and a nearby cultivator was killed.Dozens of swords were flashing in a tightly sword array against Yuan Ji but Yuan Ji was still able to deflect their attacks."Profound Heaven Sword 6th Rank" Another golden celestial had just shouted and had displayed the powerful sword stance of the 6th Rank of the Profound Heaven Sword but before he could aim at his target, Yuan Ji had swung his sword arm and had cut off his head with a flash.Ling Feiyue was watching the swordfights with keen interest; she knew that Ji Yuan was good but she had never seen him at his best. This fight allowed her to observe him because there were more than twenty lethal swords that were aiming at him at the same time.It seemed to her that Ji Yuan had a weak profound aura and had a poor defense. Or to put it this way, he was actually allocating most of his profound strength to his sword as profound power to have the maximum impact. Therefore his sword strikes were at least 30% stronger than his same level opponents.At the same time Yuan Ji had purposely attacked the two sixth realm golden supremacies first before they had realized that he was a real threat. Now that he was facing only three fifth realm golden celestials and twenty fourth realm cultivators, he would have an easier time.Although it appeared that Ji Yuan still had a disadvantage because he did not have an inexhaustible profound strength but this group of attackers was fighting against a saint level cultivator with insane recovery rate.Therefore without any high level cultivators to support them in their wolf-pack tactics, they were doomed from the very start. Moreover they were unwittingly fighting against a Sword Saint.With every blink of an eye, one cultivator after another began to fall to the ground and vanished into the thin air as they were being sent out of the trial.Finally the last of the fifth rank golden celestial had also fallen and the remaining cultivators were quickly cut down by Yuan Ji.Now it was only Yuan Ji as he grinned at Third Young Master Jian Menghao, "It is only you now."Jian Menghao was stammering panicky, "HeroI mean Saintcan we talk it over?"Yuan Ji grinned, "Sure we can. If you can humbly beg me by addressing my name nicely, I will spare you."Jian Menghao was stunned. It was because he had disdained this hateful fellow and did not even know his name at all."I guess you don't even know my name so here you go" Yuan Ji said as he swung his sword.All of a sudden Jian Menghao had evaded his strike by jumping backward hastily.Before Yuan Ji could make another strike against him, Jian Menghao had committed suicide by slashing himself on his throat and followed up by jumping off the cliff.Ling Feiyue was giggling, "You are such a badass. You have forced him to commit suicide."Yuan Ji was frowning, "He thought that I may aim for his heart and therefore he will rather commit suicide to exit the trial than having to face the possibility of getting killed. He is quite smart.""Although he is smart but he has completely disgraced the Profound Heaven Sword Manor!" Ling Feiyue chuckled.Then she was gasping softly, "Although I am at the upper sacred saint level but I may not be able to kill these two sixth realm golden supremacies outright even with a divine sword in my hand. Yet you have used an ordinary sword and you can accomplish it in such a clean manner."Yuan Ji answered with a weak smile, "I was just lucky that they were not expecting me to attack them and moreover they were not exactly strong fighters.""Lucky? I don't think so. Do you know that the Profound Heaven Sword art is ranked third in the Sword Art Ranking and the first supremacy that you had killed was actually Gongsun Zan. He is actually one of the top thirty swordsmen in the entire fraternity. He won't be so foolish to let you make a sneak attack at him."Ling Feiyue chuckled softly before she continued, "You seem to have recognized him too. This, I am very sure. Because I notice that your eyes have been following him right from the very start."She turned to look at him with an endeavoring look, "Your sword broke through his profound defenses. I saw his sword shifted suddenly by half an inch by a mysterious force just before you kill him."Then she lowered her voice as she chuckled, "Although it appears that you had imbued your sword with profound power but what really kills him was your sword energies attack. You are able to use profound power and sword energies simultaneously? Is this your real trump card?"Yuan Ji was now frowning. It was a bad mistake to have her around to observe his duel and her eyes were really too sharp."Also, you are only using your left hand. The Sword Saint Ji Yuan that I know is a right hander. I must be really wary of you when I am fighting you again." Ling Feiyue chuckled beautifully as she winked at him.Yuan Ji:
