Bai Xiaochun's scalp was about to explode. His eyes turned bloodshot as he let out a roar, pulling out a large number of talismans and slapping them onto his body. *Boom boom boom!* His protective light screen surged dramatically, instantly reaching more than half a zhang high.
Just as the shield appeared, the red-robed woman emerged once again from the darkness beside Bai Xiaochun, lunging toward the barrier.
*Bang!* She penetrated three feet into the light screen but was ultimately stopped. Unable to continue forward, she let out a shrill, piercing scream. The sound cut through the air, leaving Bai Xiaochun's ears ringing and his mind dazed.
Startled, he bit down hard on his tongue to regain clarity. In that moment of sobering pain, he saw the red-robed woman shatter into countless crimson beetles, swarming from all directions, trying to force their way through his protective layer.
But Bai Xiaochun's defenses were simply too thick. No matter how fiercely the beetles tried, they couldn't break through the final seven inches of the barrier. Instead, they were violently repelled and then reformed midair into the figure of the red-robed woman.
She giggled and lunged at him again.
At the same time, the sound of howling winds echoed from all around. The artificial hills nearby began to writhe and rise up, transforming into stone men. Even the fruit trees started growing limbs, pulling themselves from the earth and stomping toward the three of them. The fruits on the trees grinned again and continued to sing their creepy nursery rhymes.
One of the fruit trees was especially close to Bai Xiaochun, following right behind the red-robed woman and charging directly at him.
"Puppets!" Du Lingfei exclaimed in shock.
Bai Xiaochun's body trembled. He had never experienced danger like this in his entire life. His eyes were red with panic. As the red-robed woman lunged again, he quickly formed a hand seal, channeling all his spiritual energy into a single point, and pointed at her.
In that instant, his wooden sword shot forth like a bolt of black lightning, cutting through the air with a violent gust of wind. *Boom!* It pierced straight through the woman's head.
The woman let out a shrill scream as her body broke into countless beetles, which flailed in midair before shattering into pieces.
The sword's force was undiminished. This was Bai Xiaochun's all-out attack, fueled by the pressure of impending death. After skewering the woman, the sword hurtled straight toward the approaching tree-puppet behind her.
In a flash, the tree-puppet's body jolted. Its head exploded, and the fruits on its branches visibly withered. Yet even as it died, it continued to sing cheerfully.
The scene made Bai Xiaochun's scalp tingle. Fortunately, his sword still carried incredible momentum. It slammed into the wall nearby with a deafening crash. The wall cracked apart, revealing a huge hole, from which strands of silken threads squirmed like tendrils, attempting to reweave themselves.
"Break through it!" Du Lingfei cried urgently. Her body blurred as she rushed toward the opening. Feng Yan, who was closest to the gap, gritted his teeth and pulled out another black pill. With heartache in his eyes, he hurled it at the youth he was fighting.
*Boom!* The explosion blasted the youth back and created a shockwave, allowing Feng Yan to launch himself toward the breach.
With a swoosh, he arrived at the gap and was just about to escape when his expression suddenly changed. Two enormous stone lions charged in from outside, roaring. One rushed at Feng Yan, and the other at Bai Xiaochun.
These were the very same stone lions that had once guarded the front gate!
"You're not getting away! Everyone in the Spirit Stream Sect must die!" shouted the young man battling Feng Yan. Laughing cruelly, he lunged to entangle Feng Yan once more.
The gap in the wall was closing quickly. With a furious roar, Feng Yan formed a hand seal. Several fireballs, each the size of a human head, appeared around him. They radiated intense heat and distorted the air before exploding outward, creating waves of fire.
Even the stone lions were forced to retreat. The youth from the Fallen Chen Clan's face paled. Two of the tree-puppets were also hit—one exploded on the spot.
The other was struck down while retreating, its body destroyed by Du Lingfei's sword.
Amid the roaring chaos, green fluid spilled from the broken puppets. Within them were two emaciated figures, barely clinging to life as if most of their vitality had been drained away.
One of them was unconscious, but the other barely managed to open his eyes. When he saw Du Lingfei, a spark of excitement appeared.
"Senior Brother Hou!" Du Lingfei cried, recognizing him as Hou Yunfei. She rushed forward and caught him as he fell.
"The Fallen Chen Clan has betrayed us! Escape… warn the sect!" Hou Yunfei rasped, clutching Du Lingfei's arm and transferring the last of his spiritual energy into her body.
Du Lingfei's spiritual energy surged. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed Hou Yunfei and bolted toward the gap, her speed now greatly enhanced.
Bai Xiaochun immediately recognized the man as Hou Yunfei. Dodging the stone lion that lunged at him, he also sprinted for the breach.
The three of them were all dashing forward. Du Lingfei was in the lead, with Feng Yan and Bai Xiaochun close behind. But Bai Xiaochun was clearly the fastest—he was already catching up to Du Lingfei.
Feng Yan's face turned pale. The fireball spell had cost him dearly. Seeing Bai Xiaochun's speed, a cold light flashed in his eyes. He flipped his hand and took out another black pill.
"Sister Du, go! Deliver the message to the sect—I'll help you!" he shouted, hurling the pill into the air between Du Lingfei and Bai Xiaochun.
*Boom!* The pill exploded, and the blast wave gave Du Lingfei another burst of speed. She shot toward the breach and crashed into it like a stone sinking into water—vanishing in an instant.
But Bai Xiaochun was blocked by the explosion. His body hesitated for a moment, and he was immediately intercepted by a stone lion. His eyes reddened with rage.
"Feng Yan!!" he roared. Winds howled around him as the lion lunged. He tried to dodge, but three tree-puppets had also arrived. With nowhere to escape, Bai Xiaochun was struck.
*BANG!* His protective light flickered briefly and then shattered. Even the green light from his jade pendant dimmed and broke apart. Although most of the force was mitigated, the stone lion's strike still hit him squarely in the chest.
The powerful impact made Bai Xiaochun tremble and sent him flying.
"Junior Brother Bai…" Feng Yan muttered with a cold smile, though his voice carried deep grief. Without slowing, he rushed toward the gap. Half his body was already through, and it seemed he would escape—when suddenly, the Fallen Chen youth let out a piercing screech.
His body exploded into countless bloodless chunks of flesh that surged toward Feng Yan.
Just as Feng Yan was about to escape, the flesh wrapped around him and yanked him back violently.
With a furious roar, Feng Yan was dragged away from the breach, which was now almost completely closed.
In desperation, he bit his tongue and spat blood onto his flying sword. The sword turned crimson and then exploded into countless shards, which shot back toward him.
He used these fragments to slice apart the bloody flesh entangling him. Though he was severely injured, he managed to break free. Staggering and bloodied, he lunged once more toward the breach.
Meanwhile, Bai Xiaochun, who had been slapped by the stone lion, was howling in pain as he tumbled back. But his scream suddenly stopped.
Blinking in confusion, he looked down at his chest. His clothes were torn, and his leather armor was heavily damaged… but he didn't feel any pain.
Startled, he quickly checked himself and realized—despite the danger, he hadn't suffered a single real injury!
Even though the stone lion's slap had sent him flying… it didn't actually hurt.
Just as he was celebrating, a tree-puppet punched him in the back—striking the black wok he carried. Bai Xiaochun was knocked forward but still didn't feel any pain. He burst out laughing.
"I'm actually this tough? Damn! What am I afraid of!?" Full of newfound confidence, he took off at top speed—much faster than before—and appeared by the breach in a flash.
At that moment, Feng Yan's body was halfway through the opening. He hadn't noticed Bai Xiaochun at all—he thought Bai had been killed by the puppets earlier.
Just as he was about to escape, Bai Xiaochun's eyes flared with hatred. He raised his hand and grabbed Feng Yan's exposed shoulder, yanking him back violently.
"I'm finally out!" Feng Yan was filled with relief—until a sharp pain hit his shoulder. Before he could react, a powerful force yanked him back through the breach.
"No!!" Feng Yan screamed. Before he could see what had happened, his storage pouch was ripped away, and he was hurled far into the distance.
Only then did he see Bai Xiaochun standing at the breach.
"Bai Xiaochun!!" he shouted, his eyes blood-red. But then the two stone lions surrounded him again. Roars and screams echoed in the air.
"Senior Brother Feng!!" Bai Xiaochun cried out in anguish. He stepped into the breach, and just as it closed completely, he slipped through and vanished.
The other side was no longer the Fallen Chen Clan's estate—it was outside the gate. Du Lingfei was waiting anxiously at the edge of the forest. When she saw Bai Xiaochun burst through, she was just about to call out when—
"Senior Brother Feng!! You… You gave me your storage pouch just to save me, and then you sacrificed yourself to hold off the puppets! Senior Brother Feng!!"
"Bai Xiaochun, we need to go!" Du Lingfei was heartbroken by Bai Xiaochun's words. Seeing the breach vanish behind him while Bai Xiaochun continued to grieve, she quickly called out.
Tears welled in Bai Xiaochun's eyes as he rushed over to help her support Hou Yunfei. The three of them ran into the forest.
"Senior Brother Feng was a good man…" Bai Xiaochun sobbed, still glancing back from time to time.
Du Lingfei's heart ached. She never imagined the mission would turn out to be so deadly. Thinking back, she realized that if she had listened to Bai Xiaochun and not come to the Fallen Chen Clan, perhaps Feng Yan wouldn't have died.
Seeing Bai Xiaochun's grief-stricken face only made her feel worse. She sighed.
"Junior Brother Bai, we have to run. The Fallen Chen Clan has betrayed us. They won't let us report this to the sect. I already tried—it's no use. This place is sealed off from all spiritual communication… Sound-transmission jade slips won't work." Du Lingfei looked at Bai Xiaochun and spoke with a bitter voice.
Bai Xiaochun shuddered, finally realizing how much danger they were still in.