Ji Yuan was running across the beautiful meadows in a hurry and heading toward the white city that was sitting on top of the hill when he spotted a familiar sight.
And he was quite stunned.
It was because another bearded man in a toga was also running toward the same place and he looked delighted.
He had naturally recognized that bearded man to be Xiao Muhan of course.
And both men were suddenly staring at each other and shouting at almost the same time.
"Dang! Why are you here in this place?"
Ji Yuan quickly warned his friend, "Brother Xiao Muhan, listen to me. Quickly use your golden talisman. This is a most difficult trial and you are not going to complete it."
Xiao Muhan laughed coldly, "Brother Ji Yuan, are you trying to pull my leg? Why don't you use your golden talisman instead?"
Ji Yuan frowned, "My golden talismans were all stolen by the Trial Spirit of this trial."
Xiao Muhan: …
Xiao Muhan: …
Xiao Muhan: …
"Darn you, Ji Yuan! Can't you tell a better story than this? The Trial Spirit won't take anything away from the cultivators. This is not their way and they have their own mystic laws to follow."
Ji Yuan frowned, "Look at my eyes. Do you really think that I am lying to you? How long have you known me by the way?"
Xiao Muhan hummed coldly, "Precisely that I have known a drunkard like you for centuries and precisely I have been tricked numerous times by you that I know when you are not honest."
Ji Yuan: …
"I am serious now, Brother Xiao Muhan…"
Xiao Muhan waved his hand as he interrupted Ji Yuan, "Don't give me this crap of yours. Now you don't have the protection of the others and Maiden Yun Chi isn't here anymore. You can stop your playacting…"
"Do you think that Great Saint Ji Yuan here will be afraid of a mere saint like you?" Interrupted Ji Yuan coldly.
Xiao Muhan answered with equal coldness, "When I was a golden saint, you are still a mere sixth realm golden supremacy. What a joke."
Ji Yuan laughed, "When I am now a peaked great saint, you are still a mere golden saint of the lower tier. Are you still at the earth-step or have you managed to reach the heaven-step of your saint tier?"
Xiao Muhan warned Ji Yuan, "You may have won Yun Chi the last time but this time, I am going to seduce the Divine Consort for myself and to complete this SS Trial. My manliness got nothing to do with the status of my cultivation or yours."
Ji Yuan laughed aloud, "What a joke. I am the one that is going to seduce this Divine Consort and to complete this trial. And I am definitely more manliness than you…"
"Without your beard?" Xiao Muhan interrupted with a loud chuckle. "Ji Yuan, you are still as funny as ever."
Ji Yuan: …
"It isn't funny…"
Xiao Muhan stared at Ji Yuan, "Ji Yuan, what is wrong with you? Are you my brother or not? Give it up and go away! Burn your golden talisman!"
Ji Yuan growled, "There is nothing wrong with me. You are the one that is wrong!"
Xiao Muhan angrily said, "Of course there is something wrong with you. It is just that you have not realized it and I don't want to break your fragile heart."
Ji Yuan retorted with a chuckle, "I would have a fragile heart?"
Xiao Muhan pulled Ji Yuan to him and said solemnly, "In all the years that we have known each other, how many times have you fought with me over a maiden?"
Ji Yuan blinked his golden eyes, "Erm, none?"
Xiao Muhan nodded slowly, "Of course you don't fight over a maiden with me. That is because you are not interested in any maidens…"
"Of course I am interested!" Ji Yuan quickly interrupted him.
"No!" Xiao Muhan pointed out. "You are never interested in any maidens. Moreover, you are never interested in any maidens that you have never met before. This is so unlike you. You are not the Ji Yuan that I have known in the past. You have never acted recklessly based on hearsays. In fact, I clearly remember that you don't like Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue in the past. You have even called them fake beauties of the Desolate Celestial Fraternity."
Ji Yuan began to frown rather sheepishly, "Did I? I don't remember…"
Of course he remembered for he had insulted these two maidens more than once in front of his drinking friends.
He quickly laughed, "But it is all in the past, Hahaha…."
Xiao Muhan continued to say, "And you don't even know how whether if this Divine Consort is beautiful or not, fat or thin and you want to seduce her? Is this really the Ji Yuan that I have known in the past? What if this Divine Consort is a super ugly maiden?"
Ji Yuan began to hesitate as he began to ponder…
This is a SS Trial and didn't that Trial Spirit say that she will send me to the most difficult part of the trial? What if Xiao Muhan is actually right?
Xiao Muhan continued to say solemnly, "And what if this Divine Consort is a man? Have you ever considered this as a possibility before?"
Ji Yuan was suddenly gasping with shock, "I have really never considered this as a possibility. Maybe you are right…"
Xiao Muhan was smiling now when he saw Ji Yuan's expressions.
He knows Ji Yuan all too well; as long as he plays the super cautious card then Ji Yuan will surely fall for it. It is because Ji Yuan is by nature a cautious person when it comes to people.
All of a sudden Ji Yuan had patted Xiao Muhan on his shoulder as he began to grin, "Give me a golden talisman and I shall forfeit this trial. You can seduce the Divine Consort for all you want and I won't even blink my eyes."
Xiao Muhan frowned, "Why do you want my golden talisman for? You have 3 already."
Ji Yuan chuckled as he pointed out, "Well, these golden talismans belong to Yun Chi actually. If you give me your golden talisman then I can simply use yours to exit the trial and they won't even know that since I still have 3 golden talismans…"
He added with a grin, "You know that I value my face a lot."
Xiao Muhan laughed as he handed Ji Yuan a golden talisman, "Good point, Brother Ji Yuan! Haha…"
Ji Yuan laughed as well, "Haha. Thank you, Brother Xiao Muhan!"
But he was actually thinking: It is not too late to check the looks of the Divine Consort first… and at least I can play in this city for a while and won't be struck in this trial now… haha…
Just as he was worried that he may be struck in this trial forever without any golden tailsmans, he had the good fortune of encountering Xiao Muhan and scamming his golden tailsman instead.