The barrier jade is broken?

“There’s a demon beast, it’s coming this way!” Yun Ruo shouted.

“Nonsense!” a rough, stubbled man burst out of the house. “If a demon beast were coming, the Barrier Jade would warn us, wouldn’t it?”

He carried a lantern, and seeing Yun Ruo, his face was filled with annoyance. “Where did this little beggar come from? The ‘wolf’s here’ game isn’t for you to play like this. Go on, shoo!”

The stubbled man tried to shoo Yun Ruo away, but his outstretched hand missed her, leaving him somewhat taken aback.

Yun Ruo deftly dodged his hand. “It’s true, go up to the watchtower and take a look.”

“Heh heh,” the stubbled man chuckled, feigning understanding. “You want to trick me into going up the watchtower again so you can steal my stuff, right? Dream on! I might have been fooled the first, second, and third time, but do you think I’d fall for it a fifth time?!”

“It’s the fourth time, Master,” a timid young head poked out from behind the stubbled man, correcting him softly.

The stubbled man said, “…Why are you joining in? Go back to sleep!”

Yun Ruo didn’t want to argue pointlessly with him. Seeing that the stubbled man wouldn’t cooperate, she directly asked, “Where is the Awakening Bell?”

“Oh, you even know about the Awakening Bell? Who told you?” The stubbled man was momentarily stunned. “What, you want to steal the Awakening Bell this time too?”

He vigilantly glanced at the watchtower.

‘On the watchtower.’

Having gained this information, Yun Ruo took off running towards the watchtower.

However, the stubbled man was faster, blocking her way. The two dodged and grabbed at each other several times; Yun Ruo couldn’t get around the stubbled man, and he couldn’t catch her.

“Don’t even bother asking who your grandpa is. I awakened my spiritual meridians before you were even born. Stealing a few trinkets from me for food is one thing, but this time you want to steal the Awakening Bell? You’re too brazen! Be smart and leave quickly, or you might really get caught by someone who will take you little brats away, and it won’t be just a beating to settle it.”

The stubbled man must have opened his body meridians; his movements were skillful, trapping Yun Ruo right below the watchtower, unable to take even half a step inside.

Yun Ruo was anxious, yet her gaze became increasingly focused on the stubbled man’s movements.

For a moment, the stubbled man’s movements seemed incredibly slow in her eyes. Yun Ruo spotted an opening, executed a brilliant feint to deceive him, and flashed past him to his back, delivering a swift hand chop to the big man’s nape.

The big man took the hit, rubbed his neck, and turned to look at Yun Ruo.

Yun Ruo: “…”

The big man frowned. “You’re not one of those little beggars?”

“No,” Yun Ruo said, her hands numb from the impact, her face expressionless, but inside she was grimacing.

‘He’s a bit tough to deal with. My skill at striking people’s napes was specially trained at Xuan Yang Sect; even someone who had opened their body meridians would be knocked out with one hit. This person definitely didn’t just open his body meridians; he’s probably at the third stage of strength.’

The stubbled man squeezed his nape, also inwardly shocked by the little beggar’s strength. He endured the pain, his face solemn. “Nice technique.”

Yun Ruo waited for him to faint, to no avail, and said with a touch of melancholy, “Uncle, there really is a demon beast…”

Before she finished speaking, the young man’s head popped out from the watchtower. “Master! A demon beast!! It really is a demon beast!”

The stubbled man froze, glanced at Yun Ruo, then swiftly ran up to the watchtower. Yun Ruo followed closely behind.

Under the pitch-black night, the massive body of the demon beast was almost at the city outskirts. The poisonous miasma spread through the air, small wisps drifting with the wind towards North State City.

‘The Barrier Jade is broken?! There’s still no reaction at such close range.’

The stubbled man had no time to think further; he turned and ran down the tower.

Yun Ruo was furious. “If you run, what about everyone in the entire city?!”

‘If only I had known the guard post was completely useless, I would have woken people up along the way. At least I could have saved some of them.’

The demon beast outside the city grew closer, its mist-like miasma silently merging into the air.

Without the protection of the Barrier Jade, countless lives could be snatched away in an instant.

Yun Ruo forced herself to calm down. The only way now was to find the Awakening Bell. As long as the bell rang, it would notify everyone. People on the city’s outskirts would have time to seek refuge, and the inner city guard post would have time to activate the barrier and protect the town.

Awakening Bells were kept as spares at guard posts in various towns. She had heard of them before and knew their general function but didn’t know what they looked like.

She rummaged through the tower, her peripheral vision catching the timid young man watching her.

The young man hesitated. “…Aren’t you running?”

Yun Ruo continued rummaging, absorbed in her search. “You didn’t run either.”

The young man saw she was somewhat friendly and joined her in searching. “What are you looking for? I’ll help you.”

Yun Ruo glanced at him, feeling that the outer city guard post was truly beyond help.

‘A derelict guard who ran away, and a child who clearly wasn’t very smart—how were the lives of an entire city entrusted to them?’

Ultimately, it was the Barrier Jade’s problem.

‘Which sect’s Barrier Jade was so shoddy? North State City had truly stepped into a trap.’

Yun Ruo turned the watchtower upside down, finally locking her gaze on the young man. He was also on the tower then, so could the Awakening Bell actually be on him?

The young man, suddenly stared at by Yun Ruo’s sharp glance, felt like a frog caught by a snake, his voice wavering. “You… what do you want to do?”

Yun Ruo wanted to pick him up and shake him to see if anything would fall out. Just as she was about to grab him, hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs. The stubbled big man ran up, shielding his young apprentice behind him, and looked vigilantly at Yun Ruo.

“Don’t bully him.”

Yun Ruo: “…” ‘Is this the time to be protective?’

Yun Ruo paused, “You didn’t run?”

The stubbled man ignored her. His two forearms were wrapped thickly in strips of cloth, clearly torn from clothes and freshly bound.

He pulled the last stray end of the cloth tight with his teeth. His mummy-like arms pushed her and the young boy into a corner, instructing, “Cover your ears.”

The young boy immediately complied. Yun Ruo watched him suspiciously.

The big man pulled out a palm-sized object from his hands, narrow at one end and wide at the other, shaped like a horn. He held it, with the wide end facing himself, and took a deep breath.

Yun Ruo understood instantly.

—The Awakening Bell!

She covered her ears, and the next moment, the big man’s voice boomed through her.

“Demon beast!! Barrier Jade malfunction, run to the inner city immediately!”
“Demon beast!! Barrier Jade malfunction, run to the inner city immediately!”
“Demon beast!! Barrier Jade malfunction, run to the inner city immediately!”

The urgent and clear sound exploded in everyone’s ears throughout the city. People who were half-asleep were instantly awakened.

The sound from the Awakening Bell carried faint spiritual energy, driving people to get up and flee before they even fully processed what was happening.

After shouting three times, the stubbled big man stopped, drenched in sweat.

The cloth strips wrapped around his hands were already scattered, his hands trembling. He carefully put the Awakening Bell back into his arms, then turned his back and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Yun Ruo saw it. The big man gave her a knowing look, glancing at his young apprentice. Yun Ruo nodded, saying nothing.

The Awakening Bell was an immortal sect artifact. Using it without spiritual energy would have these consequences.

This stubbled man was quite formidable; at only the third stage of Body Meridian, he could still shout three times. If it were Yun Ruo herself, her hands and throat would probably be ruined after the first shout.

Yun Ruo stepped forward to help the big man re-wrap the cloth strips around his hands, covering the wounds caused by the artifact, preventing his young apprentice from seeing them.

“Let’s go, to the inner city.”

The big man casually squeezed his palms, tucked his young apprentice under his arm, grabbed Yun Ruo, and ran down from the watchtower.

True to his third-stage Body Meridian cultivation, he ran incredibly fast; Yun Ruo’s earlier wall-climbing couldn’t compare.

The residents of the outer city were all awake, but the scene wasn’t particularly chaotic. Some, still half-asleep, were under the influence of the Awakening Bell’s control, being pushed forward by the crowd.

The demon beast outside the city, encountering the moat, stopped advancing, slowly pacing back and forth along the riverbank. As it breathed, more and more miasma drifted into North State City, silently merging with the air. Animals in the city’s outskirts scattered in a desperate flight, and the plants along the moat turned black, dark energy radiating from their branches and leaves from the inside out.

“The miasma has entered the city!”

Someone unknown shouted, and many of those controlled by the Awakening Bell woke up. They turned to see the rapidly advancing black mist chasing behind them and let out terrified screams. The crowd instantly dispersed, scrambling and tumbling as they surged towards the inner city.

Yun Ruo felt like she was soaring through clouds and mist as the stubbled man held her by the back of her collar. Although they were slower descending from the watchtower than others, they were now running at the very front of everyone.

However, they couldn’t outrun the miasma. The black mist grew with the wind, instantly engulfing the last few people. Those in front dared not look back to rescue them, only burying their heads and running desperately forward. For a moment, terrified screams and the cries of children echoed through every street.

The stubbled man paused, putting Yun Ruo down and placing his young apprentice into her arms. “Run forward, I…”

Before he could finish, several figures burst out of the snake-like mist behind them, the very ones who had fallen behind and been engulfed earlier.

One of them shimmered faintly with silver light, while the other three clung tightly to him, screaming frantically as they dashed forward, their desperate cries clinging to the rear of the crowd, always a step ahead of the black mist.

It seemed they carried personal Barrier Jades.

The stubbled man immediately leaped down from the wall, urging Yun Ruo and his young apprentice to keep running. He turned his head to find that the two had already run to the very front, and his young apprentice even turned back to shout at him, “Master, hurry up!”

The stubbled man: “…” ‘Should I say you’re clever or that you’ve turned naughty?’

However, the miasma was still faster than the people. The few who had been engulfed earlier survived because they carried Barrier Jades. If anyone else was submerged by the miasma, there was no telling if they would be so lucky.

The demon beast by the moat outside the city shook off the miasma covering its body and roared skyward.

A howling wind arose with its roar, sweeping away the miasma around it, which then enveloped everything as it surged towards North State City.

When Yun Ruo looked back, she saw the miasma, like a black tsunami, pouring down from above.

Everyone forgot to keep running, waiting in despair.

Even running as fast as they could, they couldn’t outrun the miasma.

A strong sense of powerlessness surged through Yun Ruo again.

She had followed her Senior Brothers from Xuan Yang Sect to many towns and encountered similar situations. But back then, she was protected from behind, surrounded by the favored sons of heaven from the top sects in cultivation. dispelling a small patch of miasma was nothing to them; they would even casually drop a spirit-rich Barrier Jade to protect a wild flower she had once praised.

The miasma that could claim ordinary people’s lives was insignificant to them.

‘In this world, if I can’t even protect myself, how can I hope to save others?’

‘Are those without power doomed to be futile, no matter what they do?’

She stared blankly at the miasma pressing down from above. Her nose and mouth already felt a burning sensation that made breathing difficult. She could only bend down and squat, holding the young boy in her arms. In her peripheral vision, she saw the stubbled man run over and shield her behind him.

Many people bent over, shielding their loved ones behind them.

It was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot.