Chapter 1122: Sacrifice and Gift

"A young person's stamina is indeed abundant."

Maha wiped the sweat off his face and took a compressed air canister out of his backpack, releasing air outward. There was simply no air inside the Baiyi Stone Vine ball.

"You previously said the diameter of this thing is ten kilometers. We have traveled at least eight kilometers now. Do we have to punch through this thing? Or rather, this thing has consciousness, and it is blocking us from entering the central area."

Su Xiao's breathing also began to become slightly heavy. If anyone else saw the appearance of Su Xiao and Maha now, their jaws would definitely drop. Such powerful people were now like two coolies digging mines in ancient times.

"Not clear. I am also venturing to this extent for the first time. Water."

Maha threw a bottle of water to Su Xiao. Su Xiao drank several large mouthfuls and poured the remaining water over his head.

Su Xiao had cooperated with plot characters many times, but most of those plot characters were harboring evil intentions. Only two people had cooperated with Su Xiao sincerely; one was the old godfather from the Holy Grail world, and the other was Maha.

"This time, I probably won't be able to get out alive."

Maha looked at Killua and Alluka, who were already asleep. That kind of gaze was an elder's love for the younger generation.

"For an old guy like me, dying here is actually not bad. After venturing deep into the center and finding that plant, keep a three-meter distance from me at all times. If my Nen turns into another color, kill me immediately. I will help you fight for a few seconds—no, it might be an even shorter time."

"No problem."

Su Xiao didn't know the specific reason, but if killing Maha was also part of the cooperation, then there was nothing to hesitate about.

"Thank you."

Maha patted his left ear; there was still no hearing.

Su Xiao and Maha continued to carve the path. Thirty hours later.

Su Xiao squatted on the ground. Maha stood in front of a large patch of shattered vines and punched it.

Bang!

A large hole was broken in the vines. Maha's body swayed, and he nearly fell down directly.

"It's impossible to judge the direction with this thing."

Su Xiao threw the compass in his hand aside. After thirty hours of groping, he already knew why

they couldn't break through the vine cluster, because they had been circling inside the vine cluster all along.

At the beginning, because the vines had the characteristic of regeneration, Su Xiao and the others hadn't discovered this point, but it wasn't until they discovered a large patch of shattered vines squeezed together while carving the path that they knew what was going on.

Just creating a space sufficient to accommodate themselves absolutely wouldn't work. Carving a path inside this sealed vine cluster also required leaving space to pile up the shattered vines.

From the moment they were surrounded by the vine ball, the space became limited. Those shattered vines would also occupy space. Although Su Xiao could put these shattered vines into his storage space, that was a means he would only use if he had no other choice.

"Regeneration requires nutrients. I don't believe this thing can regenerate forever."

Maha's face turned fierce. He was exhausted. Originally somewhat like an alien, his appearance now resembled a fierce ghost; he wouldn't even need makeup for a horror movie.

The current situation was a war of attrition, depending on whether Su Xiao and the others couldn't hold on first, or whether the Baiyi Stone Vine's nutrients were insufficient, thereby stopping regeneration.

As long as the Baiyi Stone Vine stopped regenerating, Su Xiao and the others would soon be able to break through the vine ball.

At the beginning, the Baiyi Stone Vine would recover within ten-plus seconds, but now it required at least 10 minutes or more to regenerate new vines.

Another six hours passed.

Su Xiao slashed the vines in front with several blade strikes. On that patch of broken vines in front, a hole as thick as a bowl appeared, and several broken vines fell out from the hole.

"This is..."

Su Xiao's pupils constricted, and he immediately retreated.

*Crack, crack... *

Large patches of cracks appeared on the surrounding vines, and the entire vine ball began to tremble.

With a *crash*! Su Xiao's feet lost their footing, and a large patch of vines falling from above shrouded him inside, like an avalanche.

After falling for a few seconds, Su Xiao felt the sensation of landing. He was inside the shattered vines, and a heavy pressure came from behind, which made him immediately judge that he was lying prone inside the shattered vines.

Su Xiao squeezed upward from inside the shattered vines as if swimming. If he didn't have powerful strength, he absolutely wouldn't be able to squeeze out.

A few minutes later.

With a *clatter*, a hand reached out from inside the shattered vines. Su Xiao's hand pressed on the vines, and his body broke free from the shattered vines.

"Huff, huff..."

Su Xiao breathed heavily. He had held his breath for nearly ten minutes; he had been lying in the wrong direction before.

Bubu Wang ran over quickly. This guy was lucky and hadn't been buried too deep. Moreover, it happened to be with Amu, so Killua and the others hadn't been crushed to death by the shattered vines.

Su Xiao had nearly slashed the entire Baiyi Stone Vine cluster to pieces. This type of vine had self-consciousness; it had been blocking Su Xiao and the others from reaching the center all along. Alas, it was dragged down in the protracted war, and when it couldn't bear the weight of those shattered vines, the entire vine cluster was crushed.

Su Xiao looked around. This was an oval space with a diameter of about ten-plus kilometers, located at the center of Kukuroo Mountain. The reason he knew this was because the second ring of Su Xiao's hidden mission had been completed.

Su Xiao glanced at the third ring of the hidden mission, and his eyebrows arched.

A withered hand reached out from inside the shattered vines, and black Nen was wrapped around this arm.

Just when Su Xiao thought Maha would appear controlled by the "King" among the plants, Maha's head poked out.

"Quick, help me pull it out! I can't hold it anymore."

Maha's masseter muscles bulged. He hugged a large patch of shattered vines with one arm, seemingly wrestling with something below.

Su Xiao rushed forward in a few steps and grabbed Maha's arm.

"Amu."

Hearing Su Xiao's shout, Amu also rushed forward quickly and grabbed Maha's head directly, pulling outward like pulling a radish.

Maha looked straight at Amu. Although his feeling at this moment was very bad, Amu was a not-insignificant help.

Under the powerful strength of Su Xiao and Amu, Maha was pulled out from inside the shattered vines. He held a root system of a plant tightly in his right hand.

Su Xiao and Amu also grabbed this root. Through the dragging of the three, the thing hidden under the vines was pulled out.

This was a small white flower about twenty centimeters high, somewhat withered. There were several emerald green leaves on its stem; these leaves were oval-shaped and very fleshy.

Although the "body size" of this small white flower was very small, its root system was very long—those were ten-plus roots that were a hundred meters long. The three of them together couldn't pull it apart, which showed the sturdiness of this thing.

"It really exists."

Maha held the small white flower in his hands. This small white flower seemed to have resigned itself to fate, lying softly in Maha's hands.

"What ritual needs to be performed afterward?"

Su Xiao felt that Maha going to such great lengths to bring Killua and Alluka along definitely wouldn't be simple.

"Cough."

Maha coughed dryly, his old face somewhat embarrassed.

"Before seeing this thing, I also didn't know what exactly to do. Most of my information came from the V5 organization. The only point I could be sure of was that if I wanted to solve my immortality, I had to venture deep into Kukuroo Mountain. As for bringing Alluka and Killua, it was entirely just in case.

My immortality is related to Nanika inside Alluka, and after Alluka enters Kukuroo Mountain, the Nanika inside him will never appear, which is why I brought Killua. He is the only one who can summon Nanika inside Kukuroo Mountain. I have tested this many times at the crater."

Maha looked at the small white flower in his hands. After hesitating for a moment, he stuffed the small flower into his mouth.

"I left some small gifts for you at Zeno's, T3M77854, this is the code word. As for the way out, destroy the rock wall on the east side, and you won't take long to get out. Killua and Alluka are entrusted to you. Farewell... my friend."

Just as Maha finished speaking, Su Xiao received a prompt.

【The Hunter has opened personal favorability with plot character Maha Zoldyck. Current favorability: 93 points.】

Maha took a bite of the white small flower. The roots of the white small flower surged up and instantly wrapped Maha inside, forming a cocoon shape.

Black Nen sprayed out from the root cocoon. The roots began to wither rapidly, turning into debris while evaporating at the same time.

After only a few seconds, Maha and that white small flower both disappeared, turning into a kind of black dust. Was Maha here to find a cure? No, he was here to seek death—seeking death for the continuation of the Zoldyck clan.

【Prompt: The Hunter has completed the hidden mission: Curse of the Zoldyck Family.】

【Mission completion judgment in progress...】

【Final evaluation is: A+.】

【Because the Hunter completed the hidden mission (total of three rings), you can choose one from the following options.】

A. Fruit of the Flower of Immortality.

B. Space-Time Coin.

C. Master's Power Scroll (1/10).

D. Forced Departure Exemption Certificate. ===== CHAPTER 1123 =====