Han Yu tried to use Thunder Escape, but the surrounding space seemed sealed by invisible chains. He couldn't summon even a single arc of electricity.
He frowned slightly, shook his head, and stopped trying. His gaze swept over the scorched wasteland beneath his feet, settling on the plant covered in deep-purple patterns.
A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He murmured, "Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine."
Ye Lingling, nestled in his arms, came around from her dizziness. Hearing the name, she couldn't help asking softly, "Did we escape? What is that?"
Han Yu nodded, his expression thoughtful, and explained, "It's an extremely domineering Plant-type Soul Beast. It grows by devouring lightning, and each time it undergoes a baptism by heavenly lightning, its age can leap forward dramatically.
"Once it reaches a hundred years, it can draw down heavenly lightning on its own. It grows incredibly fast."
"What?" Ye Lingling covered her red lips. She glanced at the rolling thunderclouds overhead and the countless Thunder-Roaring Hell Vines, then urged him, "Then let's hurry and leave."
Han Yu sighed softly. "We can't leave. The space is sealed."
Hearing this, Ye Lingling knitted her brows and edged closer to Han Yu, lightly tugging at the hem of his clothes.
She had never traveled alone before, and after running into one predicament after another, she looked completely at a loss.
Han Yu glanced down at Ye Lingling and smiled. "There's no need to panic. These Thunder-Roaring Hell Vines are only a little over a hundred years old. Their vines are merely absorbing the scattered lightning in the air passively. They should be dormant."
Hearing Han Yu's voice, Ye Lingling felt inexplicably reassured. Without realizing it, she had already begun to trust him.
She took a deep breath and shakily raised a finger, her expression blank. "Um... is that one dormant too?"
Han Yu turned and followed Ye Lingling's finger.
At the center of the space, beneath countless lightning strikes, stood a thick Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine, its entire body threaded with golden patterns. They pulsed as if with every breath, while the vine continuously absorbed all the lightning around it.
Han Yu frowned and shook his head. "Maybe. Otherwise, we'd probably already be dead."
He stared at the Thunder Pool, brimming with a violent aura, wariness filling his heart. A bold guess surfaced in his mind.
But with his current strength, even if the other party were on the brink of death, he wouldn't gain the upper hand.
Just then.
The thunderclouds overhead churned, and a blinding bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down.
Han Yu reacted at once. Wind-Thunder Wings burst open behind him, shielding Ye Lingling entirely like a barrier. Silver-white arcs struck the wings, scattering flecks of light.
Ye Lingling pressed herself against Han Yu's bare chest, her head lowered, the scent of the young man lingering at the tip of her nose.
Her eyes flew open, then she quickly shut them. Her cheeks suddenly burned, the flush spreading from her neck all the way to her ears.
"Holy Son, your clothes..." She turned her head and stammered.
Han Yu's spirits lifted. His body turned into a streak of lightning, and the bath towel was once again wrapped neatly around his waist. Then he turned his back as if nothing had happened.
He never carried clothes in his Soul Tool when he went out, which had led to this awkward situation.
He scratched his head and looked at the Soul Tool around Ye Lingling's waist.
"Um... I only have these." Noticing Han Yu's gaze, Ye Lingling pressed her red lips together and slowly took out several pink nightdresses from her Soul Tool, turning her head away.
They were all her personal clothes, and some she had even worn just yesterday. Thinking of that, her ears grew even redder, and her fingers twisted together.
Riiip—.
Ye Lingling slowly turned her head, her eyes full of astonishment. Then the bashful look on her face faded by half in an instant. Her red lips puckered slightly, and two little bulges appeared in her cheeks.
Han Yu tore the nightdresses apart without ceremony, tossing aside the straps and decorations. He tied the remaining fabric together to make a simple vest and shorts.
He looked at his handiwork with satisfaction. Now he didn't have to worry about being mistaken for an exhibitionist.
As the Holy Son and public face of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it wouldn't do for him to leave a bad impression.
Han Yu brought Ye Lingling down to the ground and stretched his arms wide, a relaxed expression on his face. He didn't notice the resentment simmering beside him.
He took meat and clean water from his Soul Tool, then casually broke off a section of deadwood. A wisp of Evil-Warding Divine Thunder darted from his fingertip, easily lighting a campfire. With practiced ease, he set the meat over the flames. Fat dripped and sizzled.
Ye Lingling covered her rumbling stomach and watched quietly as her resentment gradually faded.
She realized that Han Yu had prepared for everything with great care. No matter what danger they encountered, he could turn disaster into safety—except when it came to clothes.
Before long, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air.
Han Yu handed her the cooked meat.
Ye Lingling accepted it and took a small bite. The taste was nothing special.
Still, she looked up at Han Yu and nodded earnestly, her tone sincere. "It's delicious."
Time flew by.
During the year they spent searching for a way out, the two gradually stopped feeling like strangers.
At first, Ye Lingling would stare blankly at the gray sky, missing her family.
Whenever Ye Lingling grew downcast, Han Yu would encourage her, tell her stories to soothe her, and reveal the Spirit Gathering Array. Leading by example, he brought her along to cultivate.
After his body had been improved by two Immortal Herbs, his cultivation speed had increased dramatically. His Soul Power had now reached level forty.
Ye Lingling, meanwhile, had reached level thirty long ago. Without a suitable Soul Ring, she had been unable to break through.
As usual, Han Yu lit a fire while Ye Lingling picked some fruit, rolled up her sleeves, and washed it carefully, preparing to make a fruit soup as simple as could be.
Rumble—.
The silver thunderclouds overhead suddenly boiled, forming a gigantic upside-down vortex.
Han Yu cried out, "Watch out!"
He grabbed Ye Lingling by the wrist and sprang backward.
A bolt of lightning woven from gold, silver, and purple crashed down from the pitch-black vortex. As the light coursed through it, it seemed to condense into an ancient rune, radiating a pressure that made Han Yu and Ye Lingling tremble.
A memory suddenly appeared in Han Yu and Ye Lingling's minds.
The scene was from the perspective of a tiny Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine, growing in a crack beside a gigantic Thunder Pool.
It looked up at the figure overhead. The person wielded a broad Great Ruler, swinging it so swiftly that not even a gap showed, holding the golden lightning around him at bay.
A golden dragon, its body coursed with lightning and formed from thunder itself, roared toward the sky, enduring the agony of countless bolts crashing down upon it.
Under this terrifying pressure, the fledgling spirit of the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine was scattered. Its source of power was damaged, leaving it in a state similar to embryonic development. By a stroke of luck, it traveled through the spatial turbulence and arrived in this place.
Under its influence, this place gradually became a Thunder Prison. It began unconsciously absorbing the heavenly lightning throughout the entire space, leaving all the other Thunder-Roaring Hell Vines with an age of only a hundred years.