Without saying a word, Shizuku raised her hand and materialized Blinky. "Suck in all the rice."
The vacuum cleaner's head opened its mouth wide, flicked its tongue, and sucked hard.
The pile of rice exposed after breaking through the boulder—no matter whether it was yellow or green—was all swept away by Blinky's big mouth.
Essi looked dumbfounded from the sidelines.
No—okay—what is this for?
Liam could see clearly that although the pile of rice quickly rotted and withered after the boulder was broken open and exposed to air, it was only the outermost layer. When it was eaten away by Blinky, the inside still had a considerable part that appeared to be in good condition. Each ear of rice was heavy and full of grains. The harvest aura could move any veteran farmer.
The old farmer Liam was very moved at this moment.
Who would go to such trouble to seal ordinary rice in such a huge rock?
Not only sealed in such a boulder, but the boulder itself is also sealed in a special different space.
The case has been solved. The person who carved this black jade Buddha statue hundreds of years ago on the beach probably had the real purpose of preserving the rice.
As for the preservation boulder—that is, the special divine script space where Kurapika was trapped—it's the Nen ability that person developed specifically for this. Or the carving of the stone statue that connects to different spaces is his own Nen ability. Or part of his ability. Then I'm clueless.
But there seems to be an explanation for the Black Mist Lion's Great Elder being able to live for hundreds of years.
That is: Nitro Rice.
When Liam saw the pile of rice exposed after breaking through the boulder—especially when he saw the strange and rapid decay of the rice after it was revealed—he immediately thought of the Great Elder's recounting of his experiences hundreds of years ago.
If, hundreds of years ago, when the Great Elder was still a Magical Beast cub, the human who carved many statues of gods on the seashore had fed him this Nitro Rice from the Dark Continent...
No wonder he's still alive. No wonder he has such respect for the human who left this statue. He also revered the Buddha statue he left behind as a temple—worshiped from generation to generation.
After Liam came to this world, the first ambition he set up was to train his Nen ability and to live forever—preferably immortality. The most reliable and promising way was naturally the Dark Continent, because the Dark Continent contained the legendary Nitro Rice—longevity rice!
No matter how good your Nen skills are, how much hope can you have of surpassing that old monster Netero?
Netero can only live for a hundred-plus years. Even if there's no Ant King, it's hard to say how long he can live in the future.
In comparison, it seems the path of eating Nitro Rice is more practical and reliable.
At least, judging from the name, the function of this rice is to extend life.
Who doesn't know how to cook?
But training Nen ability? That may not be the case.
What this thing can achieve in the end isn't completely controlled by the Nen user. After all, manpower is sometimes exhausted.
A single thought can make you a Buddha. A single thought can turn you into a demon.
The almost endless plasticity and creativity of Nen also means there's no clear direction ahead on this road.
This isn't like cultivation novels where Foundation Building, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Tribulation Transcendence, and Mahayana are all arranged for you level by level. Just work hard and it's done.
No matter how many difficulties there are, cultivators always have a consistent and very specific goal in mind—overcome the tribulation, ascend, become an immortal!
This isn't the case in Hunter World.
Liam currently believed the most simple, direct, and clear path was probably grinding basic total aura—which might be linked to life level transformation like immortality and transcendence.
That's it. Whether total aura can prolong life or not—or rather, how much total aura must be accumulated to prolong life—is completely blind groping. It's not fair!
So: Nitro Rice!
This was the optimal solution most likely to achieve the goal.
If I want to successfully reach the Dark Continent and successfully find the Nitro Rice in the "Journey to the New World" draft that Kurapika retells, I must have considerable strength.
This is what I've been doing so far. Accumulate strength. Form a group in the future. Go to the Dark Continent.
Who would have thought that today in this deserted mountain, we'd unexpectedly find such a large amount of Nitro Rice?
...If these are really Nitro Rice.
After Shizuku used Blinky to absorb all the rice extracted from the boulder, a series of thoughts flashed through Liam's mind. He didn't come back to his senses until Essi called him.
"What's wrong?" Essi asked in confusion. "Is there anything wrong with this rice?"
He thinks the rice is poisonous. After all, these grains were rotting rapidly after they were unsealed. If not kept intact, they'll release toxic and harmful gases.
As for Shizuku's ability to manifest Nen...
Space-type Nen abilities are very rare and have extremely strong strategic value. But Essi doesn't think this has anything to do with him.
Liam pondered and said, "If there are questions, we will have to ask the Great Elder later."
So Essi stopped asking.
Several people waited with the sleeping Kurapika for a while. Footsteps were heard in the distance in the night. It was the elder of the Black Mist Lions who'd gone and returned—finally came back.
"So soon?" Shizuku was confused. She thought he was going back to the place where the tribe lived.
"The preparation I'm talking about is preparing these stones. They must be suitable for use."
The Great Elder only had three gray stones in his hand. The size was uniform. The material similar—similar to the material of all the pendants worn by the Black Mist Lions.
Having said that, he took out another metal tool that looked like a chisel or flat knife from his pocket. It looked rusty and old.
Since Liam asked to see how he made the small jade Buddha necklace, he demonstrated it to Liam and the three human guests from beginning to end. Anyway, even if the pendant is successfully made, it won't have the function of teleportation—the body of the black jade Buddha statue has been torn apart by the Leader. Even if the method is leaked, it doesn't matter.
"Your friend—he looks better." The elder looked at the sleeping Kurapika before starting work.
As for the huge stone in the Buddhist temple that was broken into pieces at some point and scattered all over the floor, although he was surprised, he didn't pay too much attention.
Ryan—the Black Mist Lion who'd already buried his three companions—said, "If he's as weak as that, even the bravest Black Mist Lion will have to train for at least two or three months. This human body is really incredible." He spoke while looking at Kurapika and Liam.
Liam said, "We're indeed in good health."
Yeah? Essi disagreed. Even by the standards of Nen users, Kurapika's condition improved at an alarming rate.
When he was first rescued, Kurapika was almost skin and bones—making people wonder how he managed to survive until now.
But now, his condition is much better. The back of his hands and cheeks aren't so dry. The sound of his breathing isn't so weak—becoming smoother and longer.
If Melody were here, she could hear the intensity and frequency of Kurapika's heartbeat returning.
But Shizuku knew this wasn't because of Kurapika's special physique, but because of the Star Mark on him.
Liam had discussed with her before what the principle of Star Mark recovery was. What was certain at present was Star Mark wouldn't forcibly tap into or overdraw the human body's life potential to force recovery—this is putting the cart before the horse no matter how you look at it. Full of suspicion of stepping on the left foot and stepping on the right foot.
Take the Kurapika in front of us as an example. His body is already exhausted and weak. How can he still have foundation to overdraw for Star Mark to restore his body?
Let's not mention these unsolved mysteries.
The improvement of Kurapika's condition also confirmed Liam's previous guess. The fact that Kurapika is so weak is definitely caused by the special environment of the divine script space. Because of this, when Kurapika was in that space, the recovery effect of the Star Mark became limited—or the negative impact of the space offset it excessively. And when Kurapika escaped and returned to the real world, the divine script space was completely lifted. The recovery effect of the Star Mark was restored. Kurapika's body immediately began restoring.
Click, click, click, click...
The Great Elder sat in the Buddhist temple, with the ruins of cracked boulders behind him. He placed three gray-white stones of equal size in front of him, compared them with the cracked black jade Buddha statue, took the carving knife in his hand, and began to carve them one by one. His technique was skillful. Stone chips flew after a while.
"May I take the liberty of asking you a question?"
Liam watched for a while and finally asked. "This..." He raised his chin and gestured to the black jade Buddha statue—mainly its face. "Hundreds of years ago, when you met him at the beach, had he ever given you anything delicious? For example, delicious rice?"
Shizuku quietly observed the old lion's reaction.
Essi remained calm, surprised in his heart, and looked at the old lion carving.
The Great Elder was confused at first. He followed Liam's line of sight and looked at the face of the black jade Buddha statue that was exactly the same as his old friend. He thought for a moment and shook his head.
"Let me remember," he said, carving with his hands. "At that time, he often took me to eat with him."
The old lion smacked his withered mouth and said with emotion, "White rice does taste good, but without meat, it always feels like it lacks a bit of flavor."
Liam nodded, knowing something in his mind.
The Nitro Rice is probably gone.
Damn it—who is it? Actually used Nitro Rice, which can make people live longer, to serve a Magical Beast. It's really... rice! Is it steamed in a rice cooker?
Giving a look to Essi—who looked confused—Liam signaled they'd talk about this topic later.
Essi nodded and left to look after Kurapika. He actually has no interest at all in how the small jade Buddha that's expired is made.
Crack, click, click...
The Great Elder blew away the stone chips and dust on the small jade Buddha in one breath. The first small jade Buddha had been carved.
It had the same shape as the black jade Buddha statue—multi-armed form, compassionate lowered eyes—but the facial features were so blurry you could barely make out it was a human face.
The Great Elder picked up the second stone, paused when he dropped the knife, looked up at the face of the black jade Buddha statue that was full of cracks, and sighed. "When it comes to white rice and lack of meat, he always made fun of his name back then. Saying 'Hui Guo Rou, Hui Guo Rou, rice but no meat'... haha."
Shizuku showed no reaction at all. Liam's expression gradually became strange.
"What meat?" he asked.
"Huh?" The Great Elder wondered while carving. "Hui Guo Rou. A strange name, right? I don't think you should..."
"Is it the Hui Guo Rou from the Hui Guo Rou family?" Liam asked again. "Do you know what its full name is?"
The Great Elder wasn't bothered by him anymore. He carved the second small jade Buddha, blew ashes, and said, "I remember his full name... What was it? Hui Guo Rou? Hmm..."
He looked at the cracked black jade Buddha in front of him and tried to remember.
"Is it Wangu Hui Gui Ruo?" Liam asked.
Hundreds of years ago at the seaside, a man wearing a golden crown looked at the endless horizon in the distance. Near him were lifelike stone sculptures half a man's height. Some looked like angels with their wings spread out. Some looked like gods holding divine swords. Some were as fluttering as immortals... But what was common was the face of each statue was exactly the same as the man himself.
The golden-crowned man gave a bowl of hot rice to the curious Black Mist Lion cub. "Do you want it? Come, let's eat together. The rice is good, but it's a pity there are no dishes worthy of this bowl of rice. Such a pity!"
The young Magical Beast took a few bites out of curiosity, quickly scooped up the bowl of white rice, then looked longingly at the man with the golden crown.
The other party smiled. "My name is Wangu Hui Guo Rou. What about you, little guy? Do you have a name?"
Memories suddenly came flooding back. The elder was stunned for a long time and looked at Liam blankly. "Yes, that's his name. How did you know?"
Liam took a deep breath and exhaled in a long breath.
...It's not over, right?
Kakin Hui Guo Rou—why is it you again! How come we can bump into each other wherever we go?
Liam sighed. "Because he's very famous. Wangu Hui Guo Rou, Kakin Kingdom—oh it used to be an empire. He was the hero of the Kakin Empire, the True Martial King. In the human world, I'm afraid there aren't many people who haven't heard this name..."
The Great Elder nodded, said nothing more, and continued to carve silently.
The name True Martial King is well-known in the human world, but it has no effect on a Magical Beast like him. In comparison, he feels the title of Hui Guo Rou is more pleasing to the ears and more friendly.
Liam sighed secretly and was puzzled at the same time.
True Martial King Wangu Hui Guo Rou—he actually had so much Nitro Rice in his hands back then? Stored so much longevity rice from the Dark Continent?
Not only did he eat it himself—he also fed it to passing Magical Beasts!
What Liam was puzzled about was: Since King Wangu Hui Guo Rou has such an opportunity and ability—already eaten Nitro Rice and his lifespan has been extended... I don't know how much it's been extended, but if he lived for hundreds of years, living longer than Netero must not be difficult, right? So how did he die?
Or change the question—
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