Living in Hunter x Hunter

Chapter 458 Cultivation Holy Land, Twin-Tailed Serpent - Hell's Bell

Phoenix stopped on the tall tree trunk.

The area is teeming with various birds, including some creatures that don't resemble birds.

There are no small birds here, only enlarged versions of various species.

The birdsong continued, and through Phoenix, Lucci could understand one of its meanings: "King".

Is this a memory that belongs to one's bloodline?

Lucci was reminded of the birds in the Basen rainforest, which was a completely unexpected delight.

However, Lucci did not exert influence through Phoenix, mainly because he was afraid of causing any unforeseen events.

Phoenix also heard birdsong and tried to communicate with the birds.

They all possess their own intelligence and can communicate, though they are not yet at the level of human intelligence.

It's similar to the level of a child aged seven or eight to eleven or twelve.

They did not discover Lucci's presence.

Lucci was simply asking them some related questions.

First and foremost, what exactly is "King"?

However, these birds were not very clear about the largest blue giant bird, which was the one that first called out for the existence of the "King".

That was a general answer.

When the "King" appeared, they became safe.

Despite their terrifying size, the fact that they live near Lake Möbius shows that they are not the overlords of the Dark Continent.

As for anything else, they didn't know either.

Perhaps related "memory fragments" are inherited in their blood and genes, but Lucci, who is too far away to draw on the power of the Holy Grail, is unable to analyze them.

Unless a Holy Grail system can be set up here.

But this cannot be done in a short time.

This "hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix" behavior did not change Phoenix, after all, these birds cannot recite.

And Lucci didn't dare to teach them.

If a single chimeric ant can cause such a commotion, these birds may not have the potential to reach the level of a chimeric ant, but given their enormous size, they are likely to awaken their aura, and their power will be terrifying.

It is also evident that in the Dark Continent, Nen is a very rare power.

At least for now, only the five major calamities possess this power, but that power belongs to the "rules".

And the thought process does indeed lean towards the power of "rules".

It's unclear whether this power was possessed by ancient humans or acquired upon reaching Lake Möbius.

The fact that they migrated to Lake Möbius means that this place is also special.

The Hunter world has too many unknowns.

Lucci also used these birds to gather intelligence in the vicinity, temporarily avoiding contact with the main force and staying with the birds instead.

This team was meticulously built, and Lucci's departure might have some impact, but it's unlikely to lead to any dangerous situation.

According to Lucci's understanding, this flock of blue giant birds is the overlord of this area.

It is very large, but it would not pose a threat to Lucci and his team in a real fight. The main concern is that killing such a large creature would attract even more powerful creatures with its blood.

Phoenix's shrinking size did not arouse suspicion among the birds, as if their "king" possessed this ability by nature.

Furthermore, Lucky also discovered many exotic flowers and plants near the nests of these birds.

There was a plant about the size of a human society, covered with red fruit, and radiating a strong vitality.

Lu Qi noticed the peculiar biosphere structure of this dark continent. Although it contained various large plants and animals, it also included some plants and animals of similar size to the basic scale of human society.

However, each one is considered special.

Even "small" animals, despite their small size, possess special abilities.

In Lucci's eyes, it was nothing more than a monster.

They possess the power of the elements, and some even have the ability to control plants and animals with their minds.

Its intensity is much greater than that of the "highlands".

Research has revealed that these creatures may not have fully mastered Qi, but their abilities are a variant of Qi, which could perhaps be called "explosion".

It can be considered that they have mastered some kind of "rule," but it is much weaker than the five major calamities.

Each of these would cause a disaster if placed in human society.

It's no wonder that the chimeric ant subspecies struggled to survive.

If they were chimera ants that had eaten humans, surviving on the Dark Continent wouldn't be too difficult. Even if the Ant King didn't reach the level of the Five Great Calamities, it would still be extremely terrifying on the Dark Continent.

Their immense potential made the Chimera Ant subhumans "weak" in the early stages of their existence on the Dark Continent.

The Dark Continent is vast, and perhaps somewhere there exists a kingdom of chimeric ant subhumans.

Lucci conducted various experiments on the fruit of this discovered plant and found it to be a powerful tonic.

After consuming it, it can replenish vitality.

For example, in the story, after Netero uses Zero, he appears to have lost much of his life force, which can be replenished with this fruit.

It can also enhance physical abilities, but the effect on Lucci is not that significant.

After all, his body had been trained for a long time.

Lucci used other organisms for testing.

The fruit is more effective on smaller creatures; as for the giant birds, their size is too large, and the fruit will be much less effective on them.

Lucci named the fruit "Vermilion Fruit".

Furthermore, this Vermilion Fruit was originally possessed by a snake-like creature, but it was killed by Phoenix.

Based on the fact that each of the five major disasters has an important "guardian," it's somewhat like the concept that rare and precious materials must be protected by mythical beasts.

It has the visual feel of a fantasy cultivation style.

Lucci did not uproot the vermilion fruit, since a plant separated from its growing environment is very likely to die.

Lucci continued his exploration and discovered various rare plants. Unfortunately, the Holy Grail's power was not very effective, otherwise Lucci would have really wanted to replicate them on a large scale.

Lucci, who originally didn't want to go through so much trouble, was immediately swayed.

Netero didn't want to challenge the Dark Continent, feeling that it was a challenge against nature itself.

There have indeed been extreme weather events these days, which can be devastating for some small creatures, but for large creatures, apart from being struck by lightning, they don't pose much of a threat.

From Lucci's perspective, this was nothing short of a sudden "sacred place for cultivation".

In his view, the creation of divine objects and the formation of divine arrays were simply the application of weapon crafting and array formations.

With Phoenix around, they could even tame animals.

The slightly more troublesome thing is "alchemy". The Dark Continent is rich in resources, but Lucci has little knowledge in this area, and there are many special plants that Lucci does not recognize.

Even just using these ingredients to prepare a prescription that can be used for cultivation is not so simple.

The Holy Grail, this "all-powerful wish-granting machine," is therefore especially important.

Lu Qi even considered not returning for a while, because if he could make good use of the resources of the Dark Continent, he could become even stronger.

The existence of longevity rice is also similar to the "spiritual rice" in the world of cultivation and fantasy.

As the thought arose in his mind, Lucci found it increasingly difficult to contain himself.

They began to select auspicious sites as their places of spiritual practice.

In the end, I chose to stay near those giant blue birds.

Because the earth's ley lines are strongest there, and these birds can also serve as a barrier.

Then Lucci began to take action.

While studying and understanding the earth's veins, Lucci made a new discovery: there were many caves underground, and many subterranean creatures.

Given the sheer size of this planet, if sky islands can exist, then an underground world must also exist, and there might even be a so-called "inner world".

It gave Lucci the feeling of truly stepping into a "fantasy" world.

Because of the underground caverns, Lucci's construction of the Holy Grail system became much more complicated.

During that time, I also went back and met with Bi Yangde and the others, mainly to give them some direction.

Using these birds, Lucci has located the swamp.

They just need to follow the steps.

Furthermore, Lucci directed the flock of birds to guide them, making their journey much smoother.

Bi Yangde was not worried about Lucci's departure from the team; in fact, he had already sensed that Lucci might want to stay in the Dark Continent.

After all, given Lucci's strength, he is capable of confronting the Dark Continent alone.

Perhaps it will be another character like Don Freecss.

There was no rush to head towards the swamp.

With Lucci's help, their safety was somewhat guaranteed, so they naturally explored more.

Of course, this will take more time.

And the plant that Lucci named the Vermilion Fruit was also studied in a new way.

In addition to replenishing vitality and strengthening certain physical constitutions, it can also make people more alert and sharp-eyed, and even make them younger.

However, the fruit of the Vermilion Fruit takes a very long time to grow, and all of the fruits were taken for research, some of which were ripe and some were unripe.

Mature, naturally occurring medicines are more potent.

According to various studies by researchers, the fruit's growth period should be between one hundred and two hundred years.

It took quite a long time.

Furthermore, research has shown that the kernel of the fruit can only be used as a seed after it has matured for 500 years.

This is quite an exaggerated number of years.

But this fruit still has great value; just the fact that it can make people younger is enough to attract countless people.

In the past, the exploration team was too small to conduct any research, and too large to focus on research because they were always in danger.

Historically, large-scale exploration forces have always headed directly toward the primary objective, because that was the true "hope."

In fact, there are many things in the Dark Continent that will change the human world, perhaps not as obvious as the five "hopes".

But it's enough to change every industry.

This time, I can finally study it properly.

The original plan was for a year, but it may now be extended.

Lucci has already begun constructing the Holy Grail system and is extremely busy, but having had some experience before, he is progressing faster than before.

Bi Yangde and his team stayed in the giant bird's territory for more than two months. During this time, Jin Freecss showed his talent and even gained the giant bird's approval, and was even able to sit and fly on the giant bird's head.

Two months later, they began their journey into the swamp.

Of course, during these two months, the exploration team also explored the swamp.

Although it is called a swamp, it cannot be considered a swamp for humans of smaller size.

At least not in special places, you won't get caught up in it.

However, this does not mean that the swamp is safe; on the contrary, it is extremely dangerous.

Firstly, large creatures, such as crocodiles and snakes, also live in the swamp, and the vegetation is completely different, including some poisonous plants.

There is also miasma from time to time.

And of course, there are all kinds of insects.

However, it's still within a manageable range. Teams from the Ochima Federation were able to reach a destination before, so there wasn't much danger.

The dangers posed by the Dark Continent to humanity, aside from catastrophic events, mainly lie in the difficulty of living there. However, with current human technology, we can easily cope with these dangers.

The swamp was vast, but their team had many explorers who worked together diligently, and yet not a single person had been killed.

As for the scholars, they did not go to the swamp, but stayed in the temporary camp in the giant bird territory.

There is still much for them to study.

As for Lucci, he would keep an eye on them from time to time. They all bore Lucci's mark, so it wasn't difficult to observe them.

And if anything really happens, they can ask Lucci for help.

To ensure safety in all aspects, the journey was very slow, but the map was drawn in its entirety.

Then they arrived at their actual destination.

Unlike most plants on the Dark Continent, the Longevity Rice, like the fruit, is of a "normal" size, rather than exceptionally large.

Because they knew the relevant information in advance.

It was discovered through exploration using the Nen Beast.

The Twin-Tailed Serpent's Bell of Hell, one of the Five Great Calamities, can spread "killing intent." Those who "hear" the bell of hell will be aroused with murderous intent and will have a tendency and behavior to harm others.

These are secondary. As the influence increases, one's five senses will become stronger, and the effect of the Twin-Tailed Serpent Hell Bell will become stronger.

Immediately afterwards, the body will undergo proliferation and mutation.

This is also why Lucci suspects that the Twin-Tailed Serpent Hellbell might be related to the Dark Sonata.

Because the Dark Continent can also cause people to "mutate" and undergo abnormal changes.

The appearance of the Nen Beast also attracted the attention of these Twin-Tailed Serpent Hellbells, which spontaneously emitted "bell sounds".

Even due to distance.

The three Nen users who were testing the waters were also affected.

"We're hearing the ringtone now, but the impact has been reduced."

One of them is analyzed immediately.

The five major calamities are considered calamities because their "rule-making abilities" have not been fully understood.

The unknown is what's terrifying.

They even blocked the influence of the spirit beasts that allowed them to hear sounds.

Even so, they were still affected.

Gold reacted the fastest.

"Since Nen beasts possess human-like energy, they can still be tracked and detected? If that's the case..."

That would be a spirit beast created using the character "神" (god).