It’s Not Easy Being a Master, Chapter 78.2: Breaking the Knife

The Ghost Hand had killed so many and so his carving knife brimmed with violent resentment. Without its master to suppress it, its resentment angered the fiend into uncontrollable excitement. The black qi blended in with the blade’s dark essence, making it difficult for Shen Zhixian to determine whether the black vapor belonged to the blade or the fiend.

Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin were standing very close together. As the knife sliced down, it separated them. The body’s instinct was faster than thinking; they simultaneously produced their sword.

The fiend didn’t have complete control of the knife yet. Not only had it just unearthed the knife moments ago, but the knife’s resentment was also very heavy. The knife sliced down with great power. Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin didn’t try to meet force with force. Instead, they only separated and moved out of its path.

The knife ended up slashing the ground, splitting a deep crack into the soil. The ground around the crack was black, as if charred by fire.

A strand of black qi quietly drifted out of the crack and streaked toward Shen Zhixian.

It happened to be approaching on Shen Zhixian’s blind spot and so he didn’t see it. However, Yan Jin saw it and intercepted it with his sword.

His movements ended up attracting the knife. It rose up and slashed toward Yan Jin while his sword was still in the middle of attacking the black qi.

Yan Jin’s eyebrows slightly twitched. He deflected the black qi and turned his waist to avoid the knife. Due to his speed, the knife was only able to leave a light scratch on his arm.

Blood quickly oozed out.

When Shen Zhixian turned and saw this, his expression grew cold. But, he had no time to say anything.

The fiend couldn’t control the knife well. The knife trembled. One moment, it would hack this way and, in the next moment, it would hack another way. There was no order to its movements, only frenzied hacking and slashing. Before long, the ground was full of splits and cracks, creating a chaotic mix of spiritual qi and devil qi.

Everyone could only dodge, unable to directly resist.

Lian Qin narrowly avoided a blow. His previous injury hadn’t completely healed. At this time, after much fighting and movements, the injury had split open. He covered his wound and let out a ragged breath. “There are too many demons and monsters here and the devil qi are plentiful. We will only exhaust ourselves.”

Shen Zhixian pondered for a moment. Using his sword to avoid the knife, he said, “Lock Array.”

Since they each couldn’t resist the knife alone, they could create a formation to consolidate all their strengths to defeat the knife together.

Hearing his words, Yan Jin’s expression grew heavy.

Xue Ci asked, “Lock Array…It’s not impossible to create. It’s just the eye of the array…”

As its name implied, a Lock Array’s intent was to suppress and lock down the enemy. However, this was unique in that it not only required a formation, but a person must remain inside the formation to source its power and confront the enemy.

In other words, if they chose to use the Lock Array, a person must stand inside the formation to consolidate everyone’s strength and use it to confront the carving knife head-on.

Shen Zhixian didn’t think about it too much and said, “I’ll do it.”

He slightly lowered his sword and said in a low voice, “Frost Return!”

The moment he called, the sword spirit emitted a clear whistle. It rose from the ground and, in the blink of an eye, returned to Shen Zhixian.

The fiend holding on to the carving knife seemed tired. It paused for a moment, conserving its strength.

Qingyun Sect was the premier sword sect and Shen Zhixian was its leader. Moreover, he had a powerful sword spirit to support him.

Xue Ci didn’t hesitate anymore and quickly calculated three positions. “Hurry!”

Usually, four people would support the formation. However, they would have to make do with three positions and one centered eye. They were worried that Lian Qin wouldn’t be able to withstand it and so they allowed Duan Yuan to support him. While Lian Qin and Duan Yuan positioned together on one side and Xue Ci and Yan Jin on separate sides, Shen Zhixian stood alone in the middle to face the carving knife.

Yan Jin happened to be standing diagonally across from Shen Zhixian, directly facing him. His expression was a little heavy. His thin lips slightly moved, mouthing two silent words. “Be careful.”

Shen Zhixian smiled at him, hoping to make him feel at ease.

Frost Return felt the devil qi and was already eager to engage. Shen Zhixian chuckled. “Frost Return, do you see that black knife?”

Frost Return responded with an eager, abrupt tremble.

Shen Zhixian said, “Break it!”

As soon his words fell, Frost Return separated into two swords, one without a solid form yet brimming with a cold fighting spirit.

With three people supporting the formation outside, spiritual power gathered in Shen Zhixian’s hands. He firmly grasped his sword and watched as the knife rose up unsteadily, its blade swirling with black qi. Then, the handle lowered and knocked against the ground.

Suddenly, it was like a command had been issued. Their surroundings grew agitated. The demon beast ice sculptures and the monster that had been hesitating suddenly summoned their courage and rushed toward them.

Because of this sudden action, the formation grew quickly chaotic. Fortunately, Yan Jin and everyone quickly stabilized themselves.

But now, everyone had to not only maintain the formation but also guard against their attackers. Once the situation became too difficult, they could no longer completely pass spiritual power to Shen Zhixian inside the formation.

The black qi seemed to know their formation’s power. It didn’t move forward but continued to remain in place, its handle urgently striking the ground.

Shen Zhixian turned around and kicked away two demon beast sculptures. He slashed his sword behind him, beheading a demon and causing blood to spurt onto the ground.

Xiao Caoya crawled out of Shen Zhixian’s sleeve with some difficulties. It was too dangerous here. It was just a small grass bud and didn’t have much fighting ability except for its strength.

Shen Zhixian moved like lightning, so fast that Xiao Caoya had to cling hard to Shen Zhixian’s collar to prevent itself from being thrown off.

When Shen Zhixian felt it, he hurriedly said, “Go back into my sleeve and stay there.”

Xiao Caoya chirped. But the surrounding was too noisy, and its voice was so small that it was immediately overwhelmed

It anxiously poked hard at Shen Zhixian with a small leave, trying hard to attract his attention. .

Shen Zhixian couldn’t feel it and had no time to pay much attention to it. Xiao Caoya became more and more anxious and pulled a few small leaves out.

Because two of its leaves were no longer clinging to Shen Zhixian, it’s hold was unstable. The moment Shen Zhixian turned to avoid a fiend, it was caught off guard and went flying.

The tiny grass bud was nearly invisible amidst the thick convergence of demon beast sculptures and monsters. It wasn’t very scared and, using the violent wind created by the movements all around it, it flew through the gaps between bodies until it found Yan Jin.

Yan Jin was almost confused by it. Holding the grass bud in and chopping an ice sculpture with the other, he lowered his head to quickly look at Xiao Caoya. He immediately saw that two small leaves were curled around his fingers while the remaining leaf was pointed in Shen Zhixian’s direction.

This was…

Yan Jin suddenly realized that the unresponsive contract within his spiritual sea was slowly heating up. A thought came to his mind. He hurriedly put Xiao Caoya away and carved a path toward the general direction where Lain Qin and Duan Yuan should be.

Lian Qin and Duan Yuan seemed okay. With both the two fellow disciples fighting side by side, it seemed like they weren’t having too much difficulties. Yan Jin kicked away a monster for Lian Qin and said, “Can you still do it?”

Lian Qin looked at him. Seeing that he had an idea, Lian Qin assessed himself and decisively said, “Might as well.”

Yan Jin responded with a “good,” took hold of Duan Yuan, and pulled him back the same way he’d come from.

Using his xun, Duan Yuan smashed the demon beast sculptures and monsters all around, thinking that his instrument was too small. In the past, he’d thought that his senior brother’s guqin was really troublesome to carry around. Now, he knew that the bigger the instrument, the better it is to smash someone!

Yan Jin slipped him into his place, not allowing him to resist. “Replace me. Set up the formation.”

Duan Yuan was surprised and said, “I, Senior Brother… What’s going on…?”

His voice was soon drowned out. Yan Jin didn’t care anymore about him and cut a path toward Xue Ci to tell him to continue his formation.

The formation was once again restarted. Duan Yuan wasn’t as talented as Yan Jin and had difficulties starting. However, he tried his best to transfer his spiritual power, not caring too much about the monsters besieging him. Immediately, he felt a few bloody wounds on his body and pain on his face.

Gritting his teeth, he endured, thinking optimistically that this time he was really going to be disfigured and if he managed to return safely back to the sect, the other disciples probably wouldn’t recognize him….

With the formation broken, Shen Zhixian knew that his companions were in difficult straits and so he had no other choice but to fight desperately. As he fought, he suddenly realized that three different powers were once again gathering in his hand. Xue Ci and the others had restarted the formation!

But Shen Zhixian was shaken to the core. Although the formation was restarted….he didn’t feel Yan Jin’s spiritual power.

Suddenly, the black knife slashed at him. Shen Zhixian used his sword to evade, surprised by its sudden movement.

As he stepped back, he fell into a warm embrace.

A familiar breath surrounded him. Because the situation was urgent, Yan Jin didn’t explain much. He just quickly said the word “contract” in Shen Zhixian’s ear and released his hands.

Almost as soon as Yan Jin’s words fell, the contract in Shen Zhixian’s spiritual sea grew scalding hot. It seemed to have sensed something. It rapidly rose up, causing his spiritual sea to surge.

This kind of feeling was very strange, but it also aroused Shen Zhixian’s battle spirits. Before, he was growing fatigued, but now his spiritual power was suddenly filled up. He realized what was happening and looked at Yan Jin. As he was about to speak, he saw that Yan Jin was empty-handed.

“Where’s your sword?”

Yan Jin didn’t answer, but his eyes were fixed on Frost Return in Shen Zhixian’s hand. His lips moved slightly, “Sui Xian, lend me your sword.”

His eyes gradually turned red, glowing bright and clear as ruby. Since he was no longer suppressing his devil qi, a pervading chill spread out. The demons and monsters that had escaped from the wasteland were cowed by his suppression and couldn’t help but take a few steps back.

Yan Jin wrapped his fingers around Shen Zhixian’s wrist and transferred spiritual force to him.

In turn, Frost Return began to stir restlessly.

Shen Zhixian whispered, “Frost Return, be good.”

While coaxing Frost Return, he responded to Yan Jin’s spiritual qi and led it to his spiritual sea.

Shen Zhixian now had the spiritual power of five people combined in his hand, but only Yan Jin had preferential treatment.

The contract was deep within his spiritual sea.

Shen Zhixian trusted Yan Jin fully and without reservation. He unfolded his spiritual sea to Yan Jin, allowing Yan Jin’s spiritual force to invade it easily with absolutely no obstacles.

When he finally had direct contact with the other half of the contract, Yan Jin’s eyes darkened and an unprecedented excitement surged up in him. He’d never felt so clearly that he and the person in front of him had merged into a single entity.

Shen Zhixian also sent his own spiritual power into Yan Jin’s spiritual sea and touched the contract within, where the two met, causing their bodies to slightly tremble.

This battle, there was no way they could lose.

This thought flashed through their minds at the same time and was passed along to the other through the contract.

Shen Zhixian’s lips curled up. He took a deep breath, raised his sword steadily, and faced the carving knife.

His sword seemed to contain infinite power. This was no longer just a simple formation of five people. The spiritual qi inside the entire secret realm was mobilized, with Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin as the center, forming a huge vortex.

Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin stood at the center of the vortex, trying their best to borrow the spiritual power of this earth-shattering sword–

The sun and the moon lost their colors. The mountains and rivers cracked and shattered. Countless demon beast sculptures turned into ice water in an instant.  The ground trembled, cracking with innumerable giant slits, leaving the demons and monsters with no place to stand. They could only fall into the deep crevices with terrible howls.

Black qi wrapped around the Ghost Hand’s carving knife, ready to fiercely greet the sword.

The knife’s heavy essence roiled with evil energies as the fiend’s dark qi intertwined with it. The knife angrily slashed at Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin but it fell short and was intercepted by Frost Return’s cold sword qi.

Shen Zhixian stood firmly, not retreating a single step. Beside to him, Yan Jin held his hand out to the side, turned his wrist, and another sword appeared on his palm.

Yan Jin’s sword had followed him through countless battles in the wasteland. When Yan Jin became a devil, the sword also became a demonic sword. But, Yan Jin usually concealed it very well. Aside from Shen Zhixian, no one else noticed.

This time, he didn’t bother hiding it. Cold devil qi lingered around the sword, revealing its dark nature. Yan Jin clenched the sword’s handle, and the sword began to eagerly absorb the devil qi scattered around him. He suddenly raised his hand, and his sword fell cleanly, intersecting with Frost Return. The edge of the two blades clang against each other!

There was a loud boom as thunder snapped through the air.

The carving knife couldn’t withstand it. It was forced back until the handle dug into the ground, creating a deep hole. Even so, it still couldn’t resist and could only move back slightly.

The backward movement precisely predicated its utter defeat.

The contract burned hotly within Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin’s spiritual sea. They communicated without words. Acting in perfect unison, they completely broke the knife in two.

The black qi couldn’t escape in time and was also split in half. It panicked, swirling around the knife that had just been cut into two pieces. It was as if the fiend couldn’t quite understand why such a powerful secret realm, such a powerful knife, couldn’t withstand and kill the other side.

But it was already too late for reflections. The broken carving knife still had a lingering resentful energy. It whirled around and thoroughly crushed the fiend. Then, it dissipated into a strand of smoke that ceased to exist.

With the knife destroyed, the remaining power that supported the secret realm began to evaporate. As it did so, the secret realm quickly became fragmented. Their surroundings began to distort and blur. Like an ink painting that had been splashed with water, it was impossible to restore.

The vortex of spiritual qi vanished and the connection between the three points of support snapped. Shen Zhixian stood inside the center of the formation. Even though Yan Jin had helped him, he’d still used a great deal of energy. At this moment, his heart was beating violently and fatigue swept over him, making his breath come out in quick pants.

Using one hand to hold him steady, Yan Jin’s voice rang clearly in his ear, calm and reassuring. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Shen Zhixian wanted to retort that who was afraid? He wasn’t made of soft tofu. But, he changed his mind at the last moment, thinking that Yan Jin wasn’t just anyone. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to be soft and vulnerable in front of him.

This event was too big and too exhausting. When Shen Zhixian returned, he wanted to rest for a year and a half. Take a leisure…

Shen Zhixian vaguely remembered a word.

Honeymoon.

Yes, that seemed to be the word.

With this, the entire cultivation realm would be at rest for a while. Once he explained these matters to the sect, he would take advantage of this peaceful time and rest with Yan Jin for a long time!

These two years had been full of frequent twists and turns. He was so busy that he felt as if his feet hadn’t time to touch the ground. It felt like it’s been a long, long time…since he had been able to spend good, quality days alone with Yan Jin.

Every intimate moment with him was like sunlight leaking from between his fingers, so short and light that it was unsatisfactory.

As heaven fell and earth rended, Shen Zhixian quietly took Yan Jin’s hand.

……

Outside the secret realm.

When the large secret realm shattered, the outside world was naturally not unaffected.

Many demons and monsters escaped from the cracks in the mountain. Eyes red, they attacked the disciples who had gathered outside. Everyone came together and fought back. Although, in the end, they were battered and exhausted, everyone fought bravely resolutely.

Wu Xuan watched as the whole mountain began to collapse, his heart tight. Kicking away a demon beast, he quickly began to count his fingers, calculating a hexagram.

After counting for a while, his entire body grew excited. He happily cried, “Wonderful! Wonderful! The cloud is scattered by the moon hexagram. This hexagram is good. An absolutely good hexagram!”

A junior disciple who looked battered and disheveled stabbed a demon beast that was trying to sneak an attack on Wu Xuan. He wiped his face and, since there was no time to pay respects, quickly said, “Just leave it be and focus on fighting…”

There was sand and gravel flying everyone. After a quarter of an hour, the entire mountain crashed down and became a ruined rubble.

Many of the demons and monsters hiding inside the secret realm were killed when it shattered. The small number that did escape were soon killed by the people they met outside and none were spared.

There were corpses everywhere, all still drenched in blood. Meanwhile, the dust continued to fly.

From the ruins, there were finally some small movements.

They came out from the pile of rubble in various places. Duan Yuan held Lian Qin, Xue Ci’s big turtle dragged him, while Yan Jin half-supported Shen Zhixian.

Everyone felt extremely wretched. This was probably the most wretched moment of their lives.

For a while, there was only silence. Then, all the disciples began to cheer, their faces filled with relief. The demons and monsters that had troubled them for so long were finally eliminated. They wanted to run a hundred laps to celebrate.

There was a small, fat, and straightforward disciple who looked at a certain area. He suddenly exclaimed, “Lord of the Wasteland!”

In the midst of cheering, this cry was very small. But, it immediately attracted everyone’s attention and their eyes followed his pointed finger.

With a single glance, they were stunned.

The person next to the Qingyun Sect Leader Shen…was the rumored Lord of the Wasteland, who conquered the demons of the wasteland… This was precisely that big devil?

Shen Zhixian suddenly realized that everyone was looking at them. He turned his head, only to find that Yan Jin had changed into his usual “Lord of the Wasteland” appearance. He had on his mask and, out from it, gleamed a pair of blood-red eyes that looked rather thoughtful.

“What are…?”

As Shen Zhixian was wondering what Yan Jin was up to, Yan Jin suddenly gently clasped his waist, pulled out his sword, and slashed out a side formation.

“Until next time.” Yan Jin threw out these two words and, not looking at anyone, walked into the formation.

Xue Ci and Wu Xuan were too far away from Shen Zhixian and Yan Jin. When Yan Jin did this, everyone took a shocked moment to react. Finally, a young disciple gave out an alarmed cry, “The Lord of the Wasteland abducted Qingyun Sect Leader Shen!”