Chapter 1121: Stone Vines

Five minutes later, a large patch of shattered Flowers of Wailing was scattered in the cavern. Maha leaned against the wall, and trickling fresh blood flowed out from his ear canals.

Killua, who was held in Amu's arms, woke up slowly. He looked around in confusion, and soon, he saw Maha standing in the middle of the large patch of Flower of Wailing corpses.

Killua broke free from Amu's arms and quickly ran toward Maha, grabbing Maha's sleeve.

"Great-great-grandfather, how are you? Your ears... can you still hear me speaking?"

Seeing Maha's appearance at this moment, although Killua had tears in his eyes, he didn't cry and shout like an ordinary little brat.

"I'm fine."

Maha showed a smile and patted Killua's head with his hand.

"Really... are you fine?"

Killua's mind was very delicate; he vaguely saw that something was wrong, and the fact was indeed so. Killua had said something before, but Maha hadn't heard a single word. He hadn't encountered this quantity of Flowers of Wailing during his previous ventures into Kukuroo Mountain.

Now Maha's left ear was completely deaf, and the hearing in his right ear had declined by at least 30% or more. After recovering for a period of time, the hearing in his right ear would be able to recover somewhat.

"Let's continue."

Maha nodded to Su Xiao and made an obscure gesture to Su Xiao, meaning: "I have temporarily lost my hearing."

Su Xiao didn't speak, only nodded, and tapped the stone wall with his finger, expressing a meaning.

"Will other Flowers of Wailing appear?"

Su Xiao spoke.

"According to past experience, they won't appear in large groups again."

Maha was now in a state of complete deafness, but his conversation with Su Xiao had no abnormalities. Noticing this scene, Killua finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't leave Amu's two-meter range."

Su Xiao's gaze looked at Killua. For some reason, Killua's body shivered subconsciously. He silently came to Amu's side, and Amu grabbed Killua and placed him on his shoulder, while still holding Alluka in his arms.

Su Xiao and Maha walked in front. Maha hadn't judged wrong; the Flowers of Wailing really didn't appear in large groups again.

The Flower of Wailing was a very troublesome plant. Even with Maha's strength, he had lost his hearing when dealing with these Flowers of Wailing. This was still a visible injury; the injuries inside his body were far more serious than losing his hearing.

Drops of fresh blood overflowed from the corners of Maha's mouth and dripped onto the ground. Killua behind saw the bloodstains on the ground, but he didn't make a sound, only his emotions were somewhat down. This feeling of being a burden was definitely not good.

Maha bringing Alluka and Killua along must have had an important reason; this was an unquestionable fact—or rather, these two were a kind of insurance. Maha knew that the opportunity for him to enter the interior of Kukuroo Mountain might only come once, so he had to consider every situation that might arise.

The group continued forward. Along the way, they encountered several small groups of Flowers of Wailing, all of which were dealt with by Maha. According to Maha, Su Xiao needed to conserve his stamina, as the difficult hurdle later would consume a large amount of Su Xiao's stamina.

After walking for about ten minutes, the group reached the end of the cavern. In front was a dead end.

What blocked the group in front was not a stone wall, but a type of dark green vine intertwined together.

These vines ventured deep into the stone wall, each as thick as an arm. From this small exposed part, one could see that the scale of this thing was not small; it seemed to be wrapping around something.

"This is the Baiyi Stone Vine. It completely wraps around the central area of Kukuroo Mountain, without any blind spots. According to my previous observations, the vine ball formed by this thing has a diameter of at least ten kilometers. You can understand it as the 'King's' guard. It has no aggressiveness."

Maha's hand pressed on the "Baiyi Stone Vine." Blue veins bulged on his face as he gripped it with all his might.

With a *crack*, fine cracks appeared on the vine, and the cracks gradually healed ten-plus seconds after appearing.

"What truly blocked me was this. I once tried to carve a path through the vines, but unfortunately, I failed."

Maha's meaning was very clear: let Su Xiao help him carve a path to the center.

This was definitely a physical job and also a "project" that consumed a long time. If the speed of destruction wasn't fast enough, it would be impossible to carve a passage through the Baiyi Stone Vine.

Just pure destructive power was something Maha could also do, but after carving a path, one had to continue to destroy the vines forward; otherwise, they would be trapped inside by the regenerating Baiyi Stone Vine and eventually be squeezed to death.

"I have prepared oxygen and food. Let's start."

The hearing in Maha's right ear had clearly recovered somewhat.

"You guys step back."

Su Xiao moved his shoulders. While drawing Zhan Long Shan, he took off his upper garment.

*Clang, clang, clang... *

Su Xiao slashed at the "Baiyi Stone Vine" several times in succession. A large patch of shattered vines splashed, and a passage three meters wide, one meter deep, and uneven around the edges was carved in front of him.

After slashing these few times, Su Xiao personally experienced how hard the "Baiyi Stone Vine" was. He had to use at least 70% of his strength to break the vines, and this was still a long project.

Su Xiao continued to slash forward with his blade, while Maha was responsible for clearing those shattered vines. The group gradually ventured deep into the interior of the vine ball.

Although Su Xiao could slash a vine passage, the Baiyi Stone Vine would gradually regenerate. That is to say, as long as Su Xiao stopped carving the path, they would be trapped inside.

The interior of the Baiyi Stone Vine ball was simply a nightmare place for claustrophobia. After slashing the vine passage in front, the vines behind would gradually regenerate, forming a sealed space.

One hour later, Su Xiao held the blade in his right hand and a compass in his left hand.

Slashing the blade continuously for one hour actually didn't count as too high a stamina consumption for Su Xiao. If he were slashing the blade for one hour during a battle, it would indeed consume a large amount of his stamina. Now it was different; he only needed to slash the blade mechanically, without needing to consider angles or the enemy's location and other issues.

Even so, Su Xiao couldn't persist for too long. Each slash required 70% strength. With his 82 points of stamina attribute, he could persist for at most about 40 hours.

Only heaven knew how thick this vine ball was. This type of large vine-like plant, even if it were several kilometers thick, was not impossible. This was not an ordinary plant, but a strange organism from an unknown area.

While slashing the blade, Su Xiao checked the progress of the hidden mission. The first ring had been completed when he arrived inside the Baiyi Stone Vine.

【Hidden Mission: Curse of the Zoldyck Family (Second Ring)】

Difficulty Level: Lv. 26

Mission Introduction: Arrive at the center of Kukuroo Mountain with Maha Zoldyck.

Mission Information: If you arrive at the center of Kukuroo Mountain, the final ring of the hidden mission will be triggered.

Mission Deadline: 3 natural days.

Mission Reward: 1 point of True Attribute, 30,000 Paradise Coins.

Mission Penalty: None.

A pale gold set treasure chest had been obtained. The value of this thing was not low; it was guaranteed to obtain a pale gold set. If it were a highly sought-after pale gold set, the value would even exceed equipment of gold quality.

The reward for the second ring was equally powerful; just by advancing forward, it rewarded 1 point of True Attribute + 30,000 Paradise Coins.

Su Xiao slashed the blade toward the vines in front, and the journey continued.

Twenty hours later.

*Drip, drip... *

Sweat dripped down Su Xiao's cheeks. Maha on the side was leaning against the vine wall, clearly somewhat unable to stand steadily. Of course, it wasn't just Su Xiao who was carving the path; Maha would appropriately replace Su Xiao. ===== CHAPTER 1122 =====