Liam checked Kurapika's status.
When he'd used the Star Mark to possess Kurapika's body earlier, he'd hesitated—viewing things from first-person perspective. There was no reflective surface like a mirror in the "cave" where Kurapika was trapped. He really didn't notice Kurapika's physical condition was this bad.
"Liam..." The skeletal Kurapika opened his eyes. "Eyes... Scarlet Eyes..."
"Don't worry, I've got them." Liam comforted him.
Shizuku materialized Blinky, releasing a ball of cloth from it. This was when Liam had taken off the pairs of Scarlet Eyes from the fallen Buddha head, torn off a corner of his own clothes to wrap them, and asked Shizuku to suck them away with the vacuum cleaner.
Unfold the rag to reveal two pairs of eyeballs. While rolling, fiery red eyes were revealed—seeming to watch Kurapika from different angles.
Kurapika raised his hand with difficulty. A sad look on his face. Said nothing.
"Don't worry. The thing that imprisoned you has been eliminated." Liam patted the back of Kurapika's skeletal hand. "As for these two pairs of Scarlet Eyes, Shizuku's keeping them safe. Can't throw them away. Just rest. After you wake up, I'll make sure they're delivered to you intact."
Hesitation has made him so thin the Ring C on Kurapika's finger isn't even secure.
Kurapika relaxed, closed his eyes, and fell completely asleep.
Shizuku wrapped the two pairs of Scarlet Eyes again and let Blinky swallow them with its big mouth. Then she turned Blinky back into aura and dispersed it.
Although the Scarlet Eyes are special, they're not a creation of Nen. Blinky can store them at will.
Looking at the haggard Kurapika who'd fallen asleep, Liam couldn't help but frown.
He was confused.
Kurapika's strength isn't bad. After awakening Nen through my Star Mark method, his strength has steadily increased. How could he be reduced to this after just being imprisoned for ten-plus days?
Aura is life energy.
The total amount of life energy far exceeds that of ordinary people for Nen users.
Even if you don't drink a drop of water, eat a grain of rice, go without sleep for ten-plus days—you won't be reduced to bones. As if you've suffered unimaginable torture...
Liam thought to himself: The Buddha statue with two pairs of Scarlet Eyes was decapitated by Shizuku. The Buddha's head was trampled into pieces. There was no death energy afterward. So the so-called cult Leader indeed sacrificed his own life to activate such a powerful Nen ability—swept Kurapika away, brought him across space to this deep mountain, this different space in this temple...
Now that the Leader is dead, who came to torture Kurapika?
At that time, I was possessing Kurapika. Saw a shadow with flaming eyes appearing in the divine script space—presumably the Buddha head with two pairs of Scarlet Eyes embedded in it. That thing only confirmed Kurapika's life and death, then left immediately without paying much attention to Kurapika.
As for the black energy that resided on the Buddha statue—most likely the stronger Nen left behind by the Leader after his death. But that's all.
Even Neferpitou, one of the Chimera Ant Royal Guards, left behind post-mortem Nen and intelligence. But only had an obsession to kill—impossible to execute too complex a strategy.
The post-mortem Nen left by the Leader should be the same.
Liam recalled that Shizuku had chopped off the Buddha's head with the sharp-toothed chainsaw. Before the Buddha's head was crushed, it muttered nonsense about how gods were dead, demons destroyed, "I will become a god."
His thoughts were probably in the vague, crazy idea: strange eyes like Scarlet Eyes, or bloodlines with characteristics like the Kurta tribe, are medicinal ingredients that help him become a god?
So when he saw Kurapika—the last Kurta survivor—coming to his door, he immediately self-destructed. Launched a deathrattle. Kidnapped Kurapika. Trapped Kurapika with his post-mortem Nen...
After gathering three pairs of Scarlet Eyes, using the body of the Buddha statue as flesh and blood, using the blood of the Kurta clan as divine fire—he, the cult Leader, would reappear in the world with divine revelation?
What Uchiha Madara bullshit.
"How is he?" Essi came over from a distance.
Liam said, "The injury's nothing serious. It's just his body is exhausted and his aura is overdrawn. He needs to recover for a while."
Essi nodded. "He has to rest well."
After a pause, he added, "There seems to be something going on over there."
"The small jade Buddhas of the Black Mist Lion clan is not functioning." Essi said.
Shizuku asked curiously, "Permanently?"
Essi said, "Preliminarily—maybe yes."
"Is it because the black jade Buddha statue is broken?" Liam expressed his understanding. "The genuine one's cracked. It's normal for the counterfeit ones to have problems. Let's go take a look."
Shizuku was also very curious. Kurapika's resting place wasn't far from the ruined monastery, so there was no need to worry.
Another Black Mist Lion—Ryan—sat here silently, as if wanting to help protect Kurapika.
At this time, his injured legs had healed. Rand's broken arm had suddenly recovered as before. No matter how stupid he is, he could've guessed what these humans did to him and Rand. The serious injuries self-healing—it's a pity Rand was probably too seriously injured in the black fog and couldn't survive.
Liam nodded to Ryan and followed Essi back to the dilapidated monastery with Shizuku.
The already dilapidated mountain monastery was now in even more disarray. When Kurapika appeared out of thin air and regained his freedom, the wave of black energy that appeared at the same time faded away. Everything in the strange divine script space that trapped him was brought out.
It felt like the different space was damaged and the entire world teleported to this side.
In the middle of the decaying hall—covered with cobwebs, moss, and weeds—the boulder from the hillside that Kurapika once leaned against in the divine script space was prominently displayed. The masonry of the hall at the bottom was crushed to pieces. The edges were cracked.
As for the most important part—the divine script in the divine script space, the net covering all four sides of the space—it splattered to the stone pillars, sutra pillars, and ceiling of the Buddhist temple.
However, after seeing the light of day again, these divine script arrays quickly turned into wisps of black smoke and disappeared.
Divine script is substantive writing formed by injecting Nen. When the special space itself that they need to maintain no longer exists, it seems reasonable they'd disappear.
Essi expressed doubts about Liam's speculation.
"After the formation of divine script, it's been completely materialized. In addition to stimulating and assisting the use of Nen abilities, it's no different from ordinary words written in books or carved on stones." Essi said. "When books are torn to pieces and stone tablets destroyed, the words on them are damaged—but they don't disappear. Real experts can even piece them together, repair them, restore them to their original state, infer the original text..."
At this point, he suddenly paused.
"Self-destruct?"
"Just to prevent anyone from trying to recover?"
Liam and Essi said at the same time. They looked at each other and fell into thought.
Different from Essi, Liam had seen that mysterious figure in the wave of black energy that followed Kurapika before. Therefore, for him, the creator of the divine script space that trapped Kurapika didn't seem completely traceless.
Is it that mysterious figure who left these divine script? To prevent anyone from trying to restore the divine script he left behind, he designed it so that when the space here is released, all the divine script immediately turn into black smoke and dissipate?
According to the Black Mist Lion Great Elder, the real black jade Buddha statue enshrined in this Zen temple was carved by a human he saw as a child hundreds of years ago—left in the mountain.
Is he the mysterious figure I saw in the divine script space when the black tide dissipated?
What is so unique about those divine script in that space that's worth making such a design to destroy them in time?
Is it related to the reason why Kurapika became like this?
Speaking of which, that guy who I don't know—made the Buddha statue, created the divine script space, most likely connected the Buddha statue to the divine script space... What was the purpose of doing all this?
With some guesses flashing through their minds, Liam and the other three walked around the boulder standing in the middle of the Buddhist hall and saw the Great Elder of the Black Mist Lions.
The Great Elder stared blankly at the black jade Buddha statue.
Indeed, as he'd said, the small jade Buddha necklace worn by everyone in the Black Mist Lion clan was copied by him based on this black jade Buddha statue.
Almost the same multi-armed shape.
The difference was the face of the Buddha's head on the small jade Buddha pendant was blurred—not much clear human appearance. This genuine Buddha statue had a lifelike face and facial features—just like a real person.
The Buddha lowered his eyes. Seemed to be smiling but not smiling. Had insight into the past and future and sympathized with the world.
It's just a pity this black jade Buddha statue—which should have been flawless—was now covered with cracks. Really worrying. Just touching it with a finger could cause it to completely disintegrate and collapse.
Even so, the face of this cracked black jade-like Buddha statue was the most lifelike sculpture Liam had ever seen.
"That little bastard ruin it!" The elder looked at the cracked black jade Buddha statue with infinite regret. "I should have known—let that kid know this place, get close to it—something would happen sooner or later..."
The old lion murmured to himself, full of regret.
Liam guessed when the black jade Buddha statue was intact, it once contained rich Nen.
And when that Leader was young, he might have already awakened his Nen ability.
As a Magical Beast, the Great Elder doesn't have Nen ability. But as a Magical Beast, his powerful biological instinct allows him to vaguely feel the extraordinary temperament of the Leader—and perhaps he can also feel this extraordinary temperament is closely related to the temple. The Buddha statue here is somewhat similar to the temperament of the human who carved it.
Among humans, there are children born with the ability to awaken Nen.
Did this Leader already have this kind of potential when he was first picked up? Was it because of this the Great Elder took him back to raise him?
The old lion now says he should have known something would happen—but it might have been the opposite at first. When he felt a similar temperament to the Buddha statue and that human in the Leader, his first reaction was probably to think the Leader was destined to be with him... Otherwise, how could he make a small jade Buddha necklace for a human? Isn't it convenient this guy can go back to the temple and touch the Buddha statue at any time?
I'm afraid because of this, the Leader had too many exposures to Buddha statues. He himself pretended to be a god to brainwash others. In the end, his brain was damaged. He'd come up with some whimsical ceremony to become a god.
Liam tried to ask, but the elder didn't deny it. He shook his head and said, "This pendant can only be used within the scope of this mountain. If it goes out of the mountain and enters the colorful world of humans, it won't work."
Essi nodded, but said in his heart: It's not that it doesn't work—it's because the distance is too far, and Nen ability is ineffective, right? The Leader must have known it well. That's why he went crazy and blew himself up. Used his own life to strengthen his ability so he could bring Kurapika to this place from a distance...
Shizuku took out her phone, as if hesitating whether to take a photo of this mysterious black jade Buddha statue.
"This is a relic of an old friend, so don't mess with it. But if you like it, I'll give you a necklace." The Great Elder sighed and said to himself. "The face of this Buddha statue looks exactly like that person back then—carved from the same mold..."
So narcissistic?
Carve a Buddha statue with his own face?
Liam asked, "I remember you said that man carved more than just this one statue at the beach..."
"Yes. Gods, angels, saints, immortals, gods and Buddhas all over the sky." The Great Elder said. "The face of each stone statue was made according to himself."
Both Liam and Essi were speechless. That ancient man was really free and uninhibited.
The Great Elder said, "It's just the pendant has lost its effect now. I hope you don't mind."
Shizuku blinked and looked at the multi-armed black jade Buddha statue covered with cracks in front of her, but didn't refuse.
Essi waved his hands repeatedly to show he didn't mind.
Liam said, "I'm more interested in how you copied this thing. It doesn't work anyway, so it doesn't matter if you demonstrate it, right?"
The Great Elder was stunned. "It seems... it's really nothing. However, the Buddha statue itself has lost its spirituality. I'm not sure whether the necklace can still be made."
"It doesn't matter. I just want to see the technique." Liam said with a smile. "I think you can also feel there's some similar 'spirituality' in us. When you meet similar people, you'll inevitably want to explore."
The Great Elder sighed. "That's fine. However, I have to go back and prepare."
"Please hurry up. If it's too much trouble, we have to forget it." Liam said. "Our friend is too weak. Needs to be sent to a hospital outside the mountain for treatment as soon as possible."
The main reason is Kurapika's body is in urgent need of nutrition to make up for the deficit.
The Great Elder nodded and left the hall.
Liam watched him leave. His eyes slowly fell on the huge stone in the middle of the hall.
I didn't forget what Kurapika said at the time—guessing there's something in the stone...
Anyway, the Great Elder doesn't seem to pay much attention to the appearance of the stone that appeared out of thin air. So if there's something here, he doesn't know anything about it. This thing has no connection with the Black Mist Lion clan!
Liam geared up and said to Shizuku, "What do you say? Let's do some unpacking now?"
Shizuku said, "Okay."
"What?" Essi didn't understand at all.
The next moment, he saw Liam take a step forward, condensing a ball of aura in his palm. Slapped it heavily on the very eye-catching boulder in the middle of the Buddhist hall. A roar. The boulder shattered from his palm. Gravel flew.
Essi thought this was because Liam found such a large stone to be an eyesore. But who knew after the shell of the boulder cracked and disintegrated, there was actually a bunch of things hidden inside.
"This is..." Essi took a closer look and asked doubtfully. "Ears of rice? There's a pile of rice hidden in the stone?"
Liam was stunned for a moment. Looking at the pile of rice about the size of a bed, he immediately thought of something.
Shizuku said, "They're withering."
Sure enough, after the boulder collapsed, the pile of rice hidden inside was yellowing, shrinking, and withering at a speed the naked eye couldn't keep up with.
It was like when cultural relics are unearthed—they immediately oxidize and decay when exposed to air.
Liam shouted, No matter what—if you open the box with your own skills, put it away first!