Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 79: Break the Formation

As soon as Elder Chen’s words came out, the whole place fell silent.

At this critical moment, everyone’s true nature was revealed. Shi Zhongyu clenched her teeth, and her face was filled with anger. Yan Qing was still young, so all he could do was grip the hilt of his sword tightly, at a complete loss.

Yin Ci wasn’t panicked. He began to calculate coldly—even if he had to reveal his indestructible body here, even if it meant damaging the Arcane Arts, he could do it.

Cleaning up afterwards wouldn’t be a problem either. He could force Chen Qianfan to erase the memories of everyone present.

But destroying the Arcane Arts would create a grudge between the Kushan Sect and the Mishan Sect. And even if he managed to destroy the Arcane Arts, he wouldn’t be able to stop the massive horde of monsters alone. The others would still have to escape.

Instead of adding another problem, it would be better to simply run away with Elder Chen.

…But would the matter of breaking the ban be left unresolved like this? Yin Ci didn’t know whether he should feel fortunate or regretful.

A few steps away, Shi Jingzhi showed no signs of confusion. He asked only two questions.

“Do you really need to use ancient human corpses to make Miss Shi’s talisman and break my ban? Can’t we use other powerful monsters as substitutes once we escape from here?”

“Do you think burning tree branches can replace burning coal?” Chen Qianfan rolled his eyes.

Shi Jingzhi sighed regretfully.

The Mishan Sect members were always elusive and isolated from the world. Those willing to help would be even fewer. With less than a year to live, he still had to find the Shirou and didn’t have time to search for someone to break the ban.

As the saying went, “First effort brings success, then decline, and finally exhaustion*.” Shi Jingzhi instinctively resisted the matter of breaking the ban. Now that he suddenly encountered a disaster, the courage he had built up over several days instantly vanished.

*(一鼓作气, 再而衰, 三而竭) Idiom referring to doing things all at once. If tried a second time, it will decline, and the third time will be exhausted. It highlights the importance of enthusiasm and momentum and being aware of their subsequent decline so as to avoid reaching a point of exhaustion or depletion if the effort isn’t sustained. || This comes from Gao Gui, who rallied his fellow countrymen of Lu, which was being attacked by the army of Qi. He says, “Fighting depends on courage. The first time the drums sound, courage will be lifted. The second time the drums sound, courage will be low. The third time the drums sound, courage will be exhausted. Once courage disappears, you will be conquered!”

It was as if the heavens wanted him to choose “erasing his memories”.

A wild sense of loss of control surged within Shi Jingzhi, but he recited the “Purifying Words” several times to keep calm.

He still had something more important to confirm.

“Senior, if there is only this one choice, shouldn’t you have started making the artifact already? Why are you still talking to us here… Do you have any other methods?”

Chen Qianfan laughed loudly. “Right, you have sharp eyes, kid. But you might not like my method.”

“Senior, please tell me.”

“The formation outside the room can probably last for three or four days. During this period, I will make a bold move and break your ban.”

Yin Ci: “…”

Wait a minute, this old man doesn’t seem like the type to rush to do good deeds, right?

Sure enough, Chen Qianfan had a sly smile on his face, as if a weasel was wishing the chicken a Happy New Year. “Once your ban is broken, I only need to make a slight modification to the remnants of the formation, and I can turn it into a living puppet curse.”

Shi Jingzhi’s smile stiffened.

The term “living puppet curse” sounded ominous, and this old man was talking about it with such joy.

Chen Qianfan noticed Sect Master Shi’s tension and considerately added, “You have astonishing inner force but lack skill. As for me, I have the skill but cannot match your inner force and physical abilities. I will use you as a living puppet, and together with your disciple, we might be able to dismantle the Arcane Arts entirely.”

“The most difficult part of the living puppet curse is implanting the techniques into the consciousness, which cannot be accomplished quickly. But you are different. You already have a ready-made ban in your head. Let’s break it first and make some adjustments to make it work. Don’t worry, once you’re finished with the Arcane Arts, as the caster, I can easily remove the remnants of the formation.”

Yan Qing suddenly realized. “The difficulty of the living puppet curse lies in poking holes in a living person’s mind, and the Sect Master already has a hole in his mind that can be conveniently used. Is that what you mean?”

Shi Jingzhi almost lost his temper with his servant. No wonder the Sword of Compassion chose this brat. It seemed he had some understanding of the Yin-Yang wisdom of the Jianchen Temple.

But the most important thing now wasn’t to maintain the proper decorum of the sect. Shi Jingzhi swallowed hard. “But you said the success rate of breaking the formation is fifty-fifty. What if I die—”

Chen Qianfan stroked his beard and smiled even more kindly. “If you die, you die. It also works out, as you’ll be good material. You look like a monster at first glance—more useful than those two corpse hands, and we can escape faster.”

Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi: “……”

So, it seemed this old man wouldn’t suffer any losses, no matter what.

“The preparations for breaking the formation inside the house are just right. If you want to break the ban, this is the final opportunity.” Chen Qianfan continued to promote. “Actual combat is the best teacher. If I control you for a while, you can also learn a lot.”

He tactfully omitted the part about “burning you as fuel if it’s a failure”.

Yin Ci: “To break the formation, we need three ancient corpses, but we only have a pair of hands now.”

Chen Qianfan: “It will be consumed gradually. Isn’t the Arcane Arts outside? Swing your blades as hard as you can. Even if you can only remove a finger, it will accumulate. There’s at least a formation blocking the outside, so a little dirty trick won’t matter.”

From his words, it was as if the Arcane Arts of the Milan Queen wasn’t some demonic guardian outside but a field of common chives ready for harvest.

Everyone lost their temper completely.

Even if they escaped, those pairs of corpse hands would be consumed. For Shi Zhongyu, staying behind was the only way to save her Sect Master. But it was Shi Jingzhi who had to take the life-threatening risk. She eventually pursed her lips and didn’t plead.

Taiheng remained the same unyielding Taiheng.

Yin Ci wasn’t as composed as before.

He could accept doing everything humanly possible and leaving it to fate for Shi Jingzhi to break the formation in the most prepared state. However, everything now had to be done in haste. The ancient corpses that would have taken ten days to prepare were now needed on the go. It was absurd.

Even the basic materials for breaking the formation might not be available on time. No matter how he looked at it, the risks were too great.

…Wait, ancient corpses?

Yin Ci slowly lowered his head and looked at his own hands.

Did he count as a “monster” as mentioned by Chen Qianfan? If he did, then…

Thump, thump.

Just as this thought flashed through, something rang in his ears. That sound was completely different from his heartbeat, and a sudden, inexplicable pain followed in his neck.

In the dim light, a blurry impression suddenly emerged from the depths of Yin Ci’s mind, forcefully interrupting his thoughts.

Thump, a head fell to the ground. Fresh blood dripped and flowed, and the floor was still warm and slippery. His body felt light and heavy, difficult to control. Occasionally, when he had the opportunity, he would exert all his strength and struggle to prop himself up, and then a loud thump would sound again.

He didn’t know how long it lasted before he stopped struggling.

Unfortunately, whether he moved or not, whether he knelt or fell, that sharp blade would always be timely in its descent. Yin Ci could even discern the process of the blade losing its sharpness.

Someone repeatedly beheaded him, and the cold despair mixed with the pain in his neck, almost drove him crazy.

At that time, his consciousness was blurred. His eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand catties, and he couldn’t open his mouth. So he could only listen to the sound of the blade falling, silently screaming in his brain.

At that time, he heard a familiar voice. Amidst the sound of his head rolling on the ground, that voice intermittently approached and receded.

[Store more… count up to three thousand… useful…]

His memory was too chaotic, and Yin Ci originally thought it was an illogical nightmare.

Now that he knew that “a monster’s body is the best material for casting spells”, that dream didn’t seem so absurd anymore.

But upon further consideration of this matter, a sense of madness crept into Yin Ci’s heavy mind. He instinctively looked at Shi Jingzhi, hoping to dispel the coldness with his fiery temperament.

Coincidentally, Shi Jingzhi also looked at Yin Ci inquisitively and said, “I still want to break the ban.”

Shi Jingzhi thought Yin Ci would say something, but to his surprise, Yin Ci remained expressionless and just stared straight at him without uttering a word.

So, disregarding the trembling of his teeth, Shi Jingzhi gathered his courage once again and said, “Senior, this junior chooses to give it a try to break the ban.”

He was afraid that if he waited any longer, he would impulsively choose the path of self-preservation and run away.

Chen Qianfan was very satisfied. “Alright, that’s settled then. You three go out…”

“Yan Qing, Miss Shi. The defense outside is up to you. I will stay here to protect the Sect Master.” Yin Ci retracted his gaze and interrupted Chen Qianfan.

Yan Qing: “Senior Yin, if you don’t go, then we—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Shi Zhongyu grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him outside. “Junior Brother Yin won’t harm the Sect Master. He has his own thoughts. Let’s go first.”

Even though he had left Taiheng, Shi Zhongyu’s authority still lingered. Being scolded by an elder, Yan Qing immediately shrank his neck and swallowed the rest of his words.

Yin Ci remained silent.

Shi Jingzhi was uncertain about Yin Ci’s thoughts. “A’Ci?”

“I have some knowledge of formations. At the very least, I’ll stay until the formal process of breaking the formation begins,” Yin Ci said lightly. “What’s the matter? Does Shizun want to face life and death alone?”

This struck a nerve with Shi Jingzhi, and he grumbled, “Hmm, you’re right. If I faint, you can go out then.”

Chen Qianfan gave Yin Ci a meaningful look. “You’re being overly sentimental. It’s fine if you stay.”

He threw the corpse hands towards the eye of the formation, and an invisible force twisted and crushed the corpse hands, turning them into a ball of bone fragments.

The ball of flesh floated above the eye of the formation, emitting a sizzling sound like burning. The large formation in the hall slowly emitted a faint light.

Granny Wei seemed accustomed to such things and continued embroidering her flowers not far away. With countless evil spirits outside the door and a strange formation inside, the scene was indescribably bizarre.

Shi Jingzhi took off his shoes and cautiously crossed the strokes of the formation, occasionally glancing sideways at the ball of flesh.

Elder Chen became impatient. “Hurry up. Don’t waste time!”

In the center of the formation, a wooden platform was placed. It seemed to be ignited by the formation, slowly emitting smoke, with dim green sparks flickering on and off. It sounded nice to call it a spiritual platform, but in less flattering terms, it resembled a barbecue grill.

Shi Jingzhi stopped just one step away from the wooden platform. “Should I write a farewell letter first…”

Originally, in such a solemn and grave life-or-death situation, with the interference of the Arcane Arts, it instantly turned into a chaotic marketplace scene. Shi Jingzhi couldn’t even summon the emotions of parting from life and death.

If he were to die in this predicament, it would be unbearably humiliating.

Chen Qianfan accurately guessed his thoughts and used the flesh ball in advance, making him not dare to hesitate for too long.

“I… um, I need to explain the arrangements of the Kushan Sect…” Shi Jingzhi stood motionless, standing on the threshold of fate, not knowing what he was saying.

As he expected, this needed to be done swiftly and decisively. At the critical moment, he only paused briefly, and the instinctual fear and panic grew stronger, almost devouring his rationality.

It was okay if he didn’t break the ban. It was fine to forget. So what if he was being controlled? At least he would still be alive. He didn’t want to die, not one bit.

Shi Jingzhi exerted all his strength to barely stay in place, and his mind even started planning an escape route.

“Go.”

A hand gently pushed him from behind.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, then go. I told you, I will protect you.”

At that moment, the warmth of that hand almost scorched him. Shi Jingzhi’s eyes instantly welled up with tears, but he didn’t dare to turn around.

“A’Ci, can I have a few more words with you?” he almost pleaded.

“Say it after you break the ban.” Yin Ci’s attitude remained the same.

“…Mm.”

It was much more difficult to resist instinct than he had imagined. It was as if he were strangling himself without relying on any external force, solely suffocating himself with bated breath. “Object addiction” deliberately magnified this pain and fear a thousandfold, forcing him to abandon everything.

The remaining warmth on his back was almost Shi Jingzhi’s last reliance.

In the end, he took that step forward.

After lying down on the platform, he listened to the crackling and scorching sound beneath him, unable to take his eyes off Yin Ci.

With flickering shadows and the smell of flesh and dust in the air, the other person’s presence was like a thread that kept him somewhat reassured.

He hoped this wouldn’t be his last sight.

However, Yin Ci turned out to be even more ruthless than he had imagined. The person crossed the faint light of the formation and covered his eyes with a hand.

“Sleep. You’ll be fine.”

Chen Qianfan saw the opportunity and didn’t give Shi Jingzhi any time for farewells. He sat down in front of the wooden platform, began to pinch a series of formations, and headed straight for the ban.

Shi Jingzhi immediately fell into a deep sleep, his brows still furrowed in pain.

“Alright, you’ve done enough sentimentalizing. You can leave now.” Chen Qianfan didn’t even lift his head as he spoke to Yin Ci.

Yin Ci ignored him. “Granny Wei, can you help me sew two charm bags? The light in the inner room is brighter.”

Granny Wei hesitated for a moment, realizing that he had something to say, and obediently went to the inner room.

“Sure enough, you have something to say, don’t you? If you have something to say, just say it. If you wait any longer, I won’t be able to focus.”

“I am also one of the ‘monster beings’ mentioned by Senior.”

“Indeed, and what? Do you want to sacrifice yourself to save your master? Unfortunately, with your physique, you won’t match three ancient corpses.”

“I have my own solution.” Yin Ci said calmly, “Senior has extraordinary courage, so I believe you can endure.”

“You’re still playing coy. Are you trying to protect your master, or do you want to kill him?”

Yin Ci took off his outer garment, picked up the Hanging Shadow Sword, and smiled at Chen Qianfan.

“I said I would ensure his long life.”

Then Yin Ci swung the sword horizontally, and blood splattered everywhere.

If Chen Qianfan hadn’t seen and experienced so much, he would have almost been frightened and trembled by this person—

Yin Ci’s sword qi was sharp as he mercilessly severed his own neck, causing blood to spurt out instantly. Then his entire body fell into a pool of blood, the head separated from the body, still with a smile on his face.

Next, a large number of blood-red, fine roots emerged from under the head. They quickly formed the outline of a human body, gathered together to form new flesh, bones, and organs, emitting a chilling rustling sound.

The headless body lay quietly aside, and a few blood-red, fine roots sprouted from the severed neck, but another head didn’t grow.

While the skin hadn’t fully healed yet, Yin Ci sat up and grabbed the Hanging Shadow Sword. With each swing of the sword, blood flowed, his movements displaying a chilling numbness and proficiency.

Once, twice, three times, four times.

In less than half a stick of incense, there were four headless bodies on the ground.

Only then did Yin Ci put on his outer garment, blood soaking through the fabric, clinging to his newly regenerated body. He looked like a painting, but Chen Qianfan had no mental capacity to digest the scene before him.

As the sword qi swept through, the four bodies were swept away from the eye of the formation. Just like the pair of corpse hands, they instantly twisted into a bloody, shapeless mass. This time, the formation on the ground no longer emitted a faint light, but a dazzling brightness.

“Is that enough?”

Yin Ci’s voice carried a smile, and the bloodstained Hanging Shadow Sword pointed at Chen Qianfan’s throat.

“If it’s enough, then forget about what just happened and focus on saving Shi Jingzhi.”

Chen Qianfan’s face still held a trace of confusion. “You… You’re the one with the immortal body? No wonder even your master stopped calling you. Who the hell are you…”

“Forget. Save him. You don’t need to find your little book; I will dictate it to you.”

Yin Ci exerted a little more force on the tip of the sword, and a drop of blood oozed out of Chen Qianfan’s wrinkled throat.

“Don’t worry, if you can break the ban and forget properly, This Seat will leave you a corpse to study.”

Chen Qianfan looked deeply at Yin Ci; his voice hoarse.

“With these driving formations, it’s enough. Who would have thought that I, as an old man, could have such an effortless day… This old man promises you.”

With a flash of white light, everything returned to calm.

Chen Qianfan turned around woodenly and began to break Shi Jingzhi’s ban in earnest.

Shi Jingzhi was still in a deep sleep, unaware of everything happening outside.

Contrary to what he had previously imagined, he didn’t lose consciousness directly. When he regained awareness, Shi Jingzhi subconsciously stomped his foot and found himself standing on soft, red leaves.

It was deep autumn, with golden red hues all around. The sunlight on his body brought a faint warmth.

This was the scene he had seen countless times in fragmented memories. Now, when he looked at it, it was complete and real, and the annoying headache didn’t follow him like a shadow.

Was this the key memory sealed by the ban?

Shi Jingzhi wanted to move forward but couldn’t take a step. Just as he was sinking into confusion, the answer came to him—

A child passed straight through Shi Jingzhi’s body, struggling to move forward.

The kid had a dirty face, as if he had just finished crying, and he was still sniffing hard. He wore old clothes typical of mountain villagers, covered in dusty and dirty patches that blended seamlessly with the fallen leaves on the ground.

He walked through the leaves, step by step, heading deeper into the forest. Shi Jingzhi was like an invisible kite, being dragged along with him.

The little brat hadn’t fully developed his features, yet his face still exuded the innocence of a child. However, when Shi Jingzhi saw those amber eyes, he could guess without a doubt—

It was his younger self from childhood.

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