Chapter 47 Malfunction

Immediately after Bunny Meng, Pinecone followed and ran straight into the “barrier.” With a resounding crash, the “spirit stone” he was clutching shattered, fragments flying in all directions. At the same time, Pinecone let out a piercing cry and was flung backward like a pellet, tumbling more than a dozen steps before slamming into a tree trunk and collapsing motionless onto the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Bai Xiaoyue, witnessing the scene, turned pale with fright. She hurriedly stopped and rushed to Bunny Meng and Pinecone’s side. There, she found both of them lying in the snow, faces ashen and eyes tightly shut, motionless—alive or dead, she could not tell.

Her heart pounding with anxiety, Bai Xiaoyue quickly knelt down and checked their breathing—thank goodness, they were both still alive. She breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called out loudly:

“Xiaomeng, Pinecone, wake up! Please, both of you, wake up!”

At that moment, Yan Chixia came running over and joined Bai Xiaoyue in calling out their names. But no matter how loudly they shouted, Bunny Meng and Pinecone lay head to head in the snow, completely unresponsive.

Seeing this, Yan Chixia stopped calling and said to Bai Xiaoyue, “Sister, it’s no use shouting. Xiaomeng and Pinecone are seriously hurt. Let’s try something else. Sister, help Xiaomeng sit up first.”

“All right!” Bai Xiaoyue responded, immediately propping Bunny Meng up and holding her by the shoulders so she sat upright. She then turned to Yan Chixia and asked, “Brother, is this okay?”

Yan Chixia nodded. “Yes, just like that.”

With that, he raised his right palm and struck the acupoints on Bunny Meng’s back—“Shendao,” “Lingtai,” “Xinshu,” “Shentang,” and “Pohu”—infusing the blow with true energy. Instantly, Bunny Meng’s body gave a shiver, she let out a deep gasp, and slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaoyue’s fears eased. She quickly asked, “Xiaomeng, how do you feel?”

“It hurts… It feels like every rib in my body is broken!” Bunny Meng replied feebly. “Sister Bai, what happened to me? I think I hit something just now? Oh no! Pinecone—why is he lying here so still?”

“Xiaomeng, don’t be afraid,” Bai Xiaoyue comforted her. “There’s a barrier here—set up by your Brother Yan’s master. You and Pinecone both ran straight into it…”

“Oh!” Realization dawned on Bunny Meng. “So that’s what happened! Brother Yan, please save Pinecone…”

Yan Chixia nodded. Once Bai Xiaoyue let go of Bunny Meng, he helped Pinecone sit up straight, then again struck the same acupoints on Pinecone’s back with his right palm, channeling his true energy.

At once, Pinecone shuddered and regained consciousness. He opened his eyes, looking around in astonishment. “What happened? I felt like I ran right into a wall just now!”

Bunny Meng couldn’t help but giggle. “What do you mean, a wall? Pinecone, the two of us ran into a barrier! Brother Yan’s master set it up right here!”

“Really?” Pinecone stood, still shaken. “That barrier is powerful! That hit nearly shattered my bones!”

“Exactly!” Bai Xiaoyue said in relief. “Pinecone, Xiaomeng, it’s lucky you’re both untrained, with no true energy in your bodies… That’s why you just fainted from hitting the barrier. If I’d run into it, I might not have been so lucky!”

“That’s right!” Yan Chixia agreed, pressing his hands together in gratitude. “My master’s barrier is incredibly powerful! All right, Sister, Xiaomeng, Pinecone—let’s not stand around here. Come with me into the temple, let’s sit down and talk.”

Bai Xiaoyue and Bunny Meng agreed and were about to follow when Pinecone suddenly cried out, “Oh no! The spirit stone… it’s ruined!”

Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, and Bunny Meng all turned to look. The once intact “spirit stone” now lay scattered in pieces across the snow, its form destroyed and the spiritual energy that had once flowed from it now completely gone.

Bunny Meng’s heart ached at the sight. She hurriedly picked up a fragment and examined it, only to find that, indeed, there was not a trace of spiritual energy left. Unable to contain herself, she complained to Pinecone, “It’s all your fault! That was a perfectly good spirit stone, and you wrecked it! Pinecone, honestly—”

Before Bunny Meng could finish, Bai Xiaoyue interrupted her gently, “Xiaomeng, don’t blame Pinecone. It wasn’t his fault—if I’d been holding the spirit stone and crashed into the barrier, it would have been destroyed all the same.”

“Sister is right,” Yan Chixia said. “Xiaomeng, the broken spirit stone is useless now. Just throw it away.”

Though Bunny Meng was reluctant, she obeyed Yan Chixia and tossed aside the piece of spirit stone. Then, together with Pinecone and Bai Xiaoyue, she followed Yan Chixia into the barrier surrounding the Qingxu Temple.

Immediately, Bunny Meng cheered, “Wow, it’s so warm here! Brother Yan, I love this place!”

As she spoke, she ran onto the grassy patch before the temple, rolled gleefully across the ground, then lay on her back gazing up at the azure sky. “Sister Bai, Brother Yan, Pinecone—come over here! Let’s all sit and talk.”

Pinecone, Bai Xiaoyue, and Yan Chixia came over and sat down beside her. Bunny Meng hurriedly scrambled up and took a seat next to Bai Xiaoyue, beaming at Yan Chixia. “Brother Yan, I have good news for you! Sister Bai has made great progress in the Paper Talisman Art—this morning, she used it to activate a huge mattock! And these scarves Pinecone and I are wearing—she activated them with the Paper Talisman Art too… Hehe, Brother Yan, isn’t Sister Bai amazing?”

“She is! Sister, you’re truly amazing!” Yan Chixia exclaimed, examining the scarves around Bunny Meng and Pinecone’s necks. “Congratulations on your progress, Sister—the Paper Talisman Art has reached an impressive new level!”

“Thank you for the praise, Brother!” Bai Xiaoyue replied, delighted. “Time flies—it’s been over half a month since we last met. Brother, in these past weeks, not only have I improved my cultivation, Xiaomeng and Pinecone have also made great strides in training their true energy.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Yan Chixia turned to Bunny Meng and Pinecone, encouraging them warmly. “Xiaomeng, Pinecone, you’re both doing great—keep it up! As long as we persevere, one day we’ll reach the brilliant peak of the cultivation realm!”

“Brother Yan is right!” Bunny Meng responded with enthusiasm. “Brother Yan, Sister Bai, don’t worry—no matter how long or hard the road of cultivation is, Pinecone and I will walk it together… We won’t stop until we reach our goal!” Then she swallowed, grinning sheepishly. “Hehe… Brother Yan, I haven’t had anything delicious for days! Right now, I wish you could use the Paper Talisman Art to conjure up a whole feast for us—then we could sit here, chatting and enjoying good food. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”