Crossing the Grass, Sacrifice (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Han Yu and the girl snapped back to reality, waking from that vision of memory.

Ye Lingling's face was deathly pale; she had never seen a soul beast as terrifying as the golden thunder dragon in that vision, which had actually withstood ten thousand bolts of lightning head-on. Even that black-haired youth was powerful beyond her wildest imagination.

Han Yu's mouth hung slightly open, his expression one of disbelief, his eyes filled with curiosity.

If he wasn't mistaken, that person just now must have been Xiao Huohuo.

This Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine was actually a transmigrator, just like him.

No wonder it looked different from other Thunder-Roaring Hell Vines and bore golden patterns on its body; it turned out to be a high-level bloodline from the Great Thousand World.

BOOM—!

The main body of the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine twisted frantically amidst the lightning. On its trunk, which originally possessed plant-like characteristics, protrusions resembling joints began to emerge. The sky-filling vines gathered together, gradually taking on the outline of limbs, and waves of terrifying soul power began to ripple outward.

Han Yu stared intently at the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine and said in a deep voice, "It's about to awaken."

As he felt the intensity of those soul power fluctuations, a bold guess surfaced in his mind once again.

This Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine was actually imitating that Nine Profound Golden Thunder; between breaking through its age limit and undergoing soul beast transformation, it had instinctively chosen to take on a human form.

Perhaps it had been suffering from a damaged soul for so long that it developed an obsession with restoring its consciousness. Even if it meant sacrificing its entire cultivation, it was determined to forge a sentient being rather than remain a mindless, inanimate object.

"Are we going to die?" Ye Lingling lowered her gaze, leaning gently against Han Yu's shoulder, her tone dejected.

She tilted her head slightly to look at Han Yu's profile, a tiny curve forming at the corner of her lips as she burrowed her head further into his shoulder.

Over the past year, she had broken down countless times, weeping under the night sky.

With her family divided, her loved ones far away, the heavy burden of revitalizing her clan rested solely on her shoulders.

Now, she had fallen into this silent, dead space with no hope of ever leaving.

If not for Han Yu's companionship and encouragement, she might not have lasted even a month. She couldn't understand how Han Yu possessed such a resilient character; in a whole year, she had never seen him show a look of defeat, and he had persisted in searching for an exit every single moment.

Han Yu was like someone who never knew fatigue; even when covered in wounds, he would struggle forward, walking toward hope.

A person like Han Yu was perhaps the kind of prodigy her grandmother often spoke of—a leader who could guide a family toward prosperity.

Han Yu smiled slightly, his tone filled with confidence as he spoke, "How could that be? On the contrary, I feel like we're about to get out."

BOOM—!

Countless bolts of lightning descended all at once, and the pitch-black sky began to fade.

The massive vines of the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine, which had already formed the rudimentary shape of limbs, crumbled inch by inch, only to be rapidly regenerated by the lightning, over and over again.

With every reconstruction, its form grew a fraction closer to that of a human.

Yet, just as it was that one fraction away, the thunderclouds in the sky dissipated. The lightning energy throughout the entire space dropped by several levels, and the final trace of thunder vanished from its surface.

It let out a shrill, mournful hiss, as if cursing the injustice of the heavens.

"It sounds like it's crying." Ye Lingling gently closed her eyes, pressing her palm against her heaving chest, her eyelids fluttering slightly.

Han Yu looked up with a sense of realization, a hint of joy rising in his eyes as he said, "The spatial seal has been lifted."

He gazed at the withered Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine and shook his head gently, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He was certain that the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine's transformation had succeeded, but what use was a shaped body without a complete soul?

Humans were the masters of all things, the creatures with the most perfect intelligence.

Without a soul state that met the requirements, it was absolutely impossible to successfully transform.

Han Yu took one last deep look, bidding farewell to this old friend he had spent a year with, and as a golden portal—which he hadn't seen in a long time—appeared behind him, he turned to leave.

HUM—!

A clear, ethereal sound echoed in Han Yu's ears.

The Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine, with its infantile and nearly dim-witted consciousness, had viewed the two of them as friends who had accompanied it for years. During the time it spent gathering energy to transform, its favorite thing to do was observe their movements.

This was only the second time in its life it had seen humans, and because of the images in its memory, it felt a natural affinity for them. It had made sure to watch them fall asleep safely every night, even delaying its own cultivation progress to do so.

It had failed, and its friends were leaving.

It did not understand what sadness was; it only knew to call out toward their retreating backs.

Han Yu clenched his fists, then let them go, sighing softly.

He turned his head, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes, and sent several bolts of Evil-Warding Divine Thunder flying from his fingertips straight toward the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine.

How was this innocent, newborn voice any different from a child left at home without the company of family?

Han Yu's dedication to the Dao and his hardworking nature were closely tied to his upbringing in both this life and his previous one. It was a powerful way to live, but also a cruel one. If he could help it, he didn't want there to be any "left-behind children" in this world.

Ye Lingling looked up at Han Yu's profile, gazing at him deeply with a faint smile curving her lips.

As the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder landed, a golden light instantly flashed across the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine. It let out a joyful hiss, its sky-filling vines swaying above its head.

The next instant, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The figure of the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine began to glow with a white light, and a beam of rainbow radiance shot out, pulling Han Yu and the girl toward it.

Han Yu frowned, looking at the gentle orb of light that he could easily break through, but he did not act in haste.

Inside the Thunder Pool.

It was nearly dried up, with only a few wisps of lightning arcs drifting about, completely devoid of the terrifying spectacle from before.

The Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine retracted all of its vines, leaving only one with the fewest thorns, which it extended toward Han Yu and Ye Leng Leng. It gently brushed against their cheeks before waving wildly in the sky.

Satisfied, it retracted its final vine. A burst of white light erupted around its body as its massive form gradually shrank, and its dense soul power was compressed to the limit, channeled toward Han Yu.

Han Yu raised his right hand in thought, manifesting his martial soul, the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, with golden arcs of light flowing across the blade.

As soon as the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder emerged, the remaining lightning arcs in the Thunder Pool instantly scattered and vanished into nothingness.

Seeing this, the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine let out another joyful hiss. It accelerated the shrinking of its form, carefully guiding the dense soul power to circulate within Han Yu's body, even thoughtfully helping him distribute it to every part of his being, saving him the bulk of the effort.

Its soul body trembled violently, struggling to crawl out from its physical form. Using two vines, it laboriously clawed at the ground, inching toward the longsword that was entirely wreathed in golden electric arcs. Deep within its soul, an instinctive craving surged, incessantly urging it to merge with the blade.

Han Yu looked down at the little creature at his feet with interest and reached out to gently scoop it up.

The soul body of the Thunder-Roaring Hell Vine twisted its frame, rubbing its two tiny vines against the tip of Han Yu's nose, and pressed its entire body against his chin.