A gust of foul wind suddenly erupted from behind the three, rushing forward like a tidal wave. Before Yang Lingxue could even react, she was swept away by a pair of furry, large hands, letting out a series of muffled cries as her voice grew fainter!
"Such speed!"
The instant Shen Lan-ni's flashlight beam flashed past, she felt a shadowy figure, over a person tall, sweep away Yang Lingxue with the speed of lightning.
"Boss Shen, don't mind me. Hurry and save her," Ren Yuan-hao said, leaning back against the cold stone wall. He hadn't even clearly seen the shadowy figure's true form.
Shen Lan-ni nodded her head lightly, her toes skimming the ground as she dashed rapidly back in the direction they came from.
Ren Yuan-hao, naturally uneasy, wasn't prepared to just wait there. He propped himself up with his elbows, crawling forward in an extremely awkward manner.
That peculiar tree seemed to possess an indescribable allure for him, much like how whales communicate with each other at a frequency of 24Hz. Coincidentally, Ren Yuan-hao could also hear this frequency's call.
Crawling forward on his elbows and knees, the moment he neared the dry ground, his body suddenly sank. The ground seemed to transform into a magnet, and he, into iron. He was inexplicably and firmly stuck to the ground!
—What is this stuff? Could it be that I'm also going to be killed by this strange tree!
Ren Yuan-hao struggled to get up from the dry ground, but he dared not regulate his breathing or circulate his energy in any way. He could only resist the pulling force with his remaining physical strength.
And at that moment, Yang Lingxue's pained cry suddenly came from behind him!
—Damn it, I can't fail here, brother!
Ren Yuan-hao, drawing strength from somewhere unknown, managed to break free from the pulling force. He rolled forward, landing precisely at the base of the tree!
As he got closer, he discovered even stranger aspects of the tree.
The trunk was covered in dense bumps, appearing similar to a Sichuan pepper tree. The vertical grain looked like numerous pipes, densely extending to every branch. Although its roots didn't seem strange, Ren Yuan-hao felt that their vertical extension must also be formidable!
Even more miraculously, when Ren Yuan-hao's flashlight beam shone on the leaves at close range, those leaves, resembling infant palms, suddenly turned an almost transparent emerald green. Within the vertical leaf veins, it seemed as if something was flowing!
"What is this stuff?"
Ren Yuan-hao boldly reached out his hand towards the leaf that resembled an infant's palm. The moment he touched it, he felt the stagnant energy in his abdomen directly guided through the脉络 to the leaf. As the stagnant energy slightly receded, the leaf withered rapidly, detaching from the strange tree like a dead leaf butterfly and fluttering to the ground!
Shocked, Ren Yuan-hao lifted his clothes around his abdomen. He saw that the fist-sized imprint had indeed shrunk considerably, and the dense black fine lines that had been spreading towards his heart slowly receded and withered.
"Could it be that these exquisite leaves possess purifying abilities?"
Ren Yuan-hao felt extremely anxious. He worried about Yang Lingxue and Shen Lan-ni, who had not returned. He boldly reached out his hand to another leaf, but this time, the leaf showed no reaction.
"What's going on?"
Just then, a beam of light pierced down from above the cave. Ren Yuan-hao turned his head and saw Shen Lan-ni holding a somewhat dishevelled Yang Lingxue, rushing towards Ren Yuan-hao's location without hesitation!
"Don't come over!"
Ren Yuan-hao's warning was clearly too late. The moment the two stepped onto the cracked, dry ground, their bodies became immobile. An extremely terrifying pressure bore down on their heads, making them want to prostrate themselves.
And at this moment, Ren Yuan-hao finally understood why the two had rushed over desperately—in front of the narrowed passage, a furiously agitated black ape had suddenly appeared!
However, that large ape seemed to know the power of the tree's domain and did not rashly advance. Instead, its lips curled upwards, giving people a sense of gloating, cold amusement. It then retreated outside the narrowed passage. As if triggered by some mechanism, a heavy stone gate let out a thunderous roar, sealing their path shut!
"We're doomed, we're doomed! That stinky monkey wants to suffocate us to death in here!"
"I'm afraid we'll be crushed by this damnable pressure before we suffocate. Your worries are too excessive."
Shen Lan-ni's words were punctuated by trembling.
"Don't worry, everyone. I will find a way to get us out."
As Ren Yuan-hao spoke, he reached out and grasped another leaf. He felt a refreshing coolness and comfort. In a short while, the withered leaf detached from the strange tree and fluttered to the ground once more.
—Could it be that these leaves have a cooldown period for their purification function?
Although he still couldn't stand up freely, his body was slowly regaining sensation.
The two women, enduring immense pressure, were not only immobile but also felt a debilitating numbness throughout their bodies. Yang Lingxue was the first to succumb to the immense force, collapsing onto the ground. Although she tried her best to mask any fear or panic on her face, her slightly narrowed, almond-shaped eyes betrayed her.
Seeing this, Ren Yuan-hao suddenly recalled how he had escaped the immense pressure and pulling force earlier. A moment later, he had a general idea.
"Ladies, don't try to, or even think about, breaking free from the ground's pull and the space's pressure. I think it's just an illusion. You just need to shift your minds away from that illusion and think of other pleasant things to break free from the restraint!"
Indeed, the moment Ren Yuan-hao heard Yang Lingxue's pained cry, his mind had briefly forgotten the pulling force, allowing him to break free from it instantaneously. And the two women's physical conditions were much better than his, so escaping the restraint wouldn't be too difficult.
The two women were half-believing, half-doubting. However, the method Ren Yuan-hao mentioned, though easy to say, was difficult to do—to rid oneself of distractions and achieve clarity of mind was an extremely arduous task.
Ren Yuan-hao, unable to help at this moment, could only reach for a third leaf.
After this third leaf, his ability to move had recovered. Feeling a slight joy, he saw that the two women were still unable to escape their bonds. Frowning slightly, a somewhat shameless idea suddenly entered his mind.
Having made up his mind, Ren Yuan-hao walked step by step towards the two women.
"Don't, don't come over, we can~"
"Yes, don't underestimate us~"
The two women were overjoyed to see Ren Yuan-hao able to stand, and the pressure on them immediately lessened. But when Ren Yuan-hao, ignoring their pleas, resolutely stepped into the danger, they became apprehensive. Little did they know that in the previous situation, they could have completely walked out of the predicament by shifting their focus.