Su Xiao stared at Maha for a few seconds. By now, whether what the other party said was true or false didn’t really matter anymore.

Before entering Kukuru Mountain, Su Xiao knew there might be no way back. The reward for the first ring of the hidden task was very high, so it was only natural to have no retreat.

If you want to gain significant benefits without taking risks, that’s simply impossible.

"According to the information you provided, now there’s only one way forward? Even if we’re lucky, returning would take a week?"

Su Xiao sheathed the Dragon Slash and looked ahead at the dozens of holes.

"That’s right. Once we arrived here, there’s basically no turning back."

Maha pulled out a wooden box from a large backpack on his back and tossed it directly to Su Xiao.

"This is what you deserve."

Su Xiao caught the wooden box, opened it to reveal four large Soul Crystals, and after confirming they were correct, he put the box away.

"Let’s continue forward. To reach the center, we must pass through the territory of at least two other exotic plants. Continue forward, and we’ll encounter the Weeping Flowers, a ferocious predatory plant. We can only force our way through."

Maha walked to the entrance of dozens of holes and began examining the edges of each.

"Here."

Maha quickly selected a four-meter-high, two-meter-wide oval-shaped hole and went in first.

"Bai Ye, I’ll deal with the possible Weeping Flowers. When I’m exhausted, you help me hold on. I can’t die, at least not now."

Maha’s initiative to take the lead significantly reduced the probability of him being a cunning old fox. Or rather, Maha didn’t dare to be one, with both Killua and Yaluga in the team. If the situation got out of control in this dangerous Kukuru Mountain, those two would be the first to die.

"This terrain is not very suitable for my fighting style."

"Hmm, so try to conserve your stamina as much as possible. Even if I’m seriously injured, don’t worry. As long as I can reach the center alive, it’s fine. My weaknesses are my head and upper torso. As long as these areas are not severely damaged, I won’t die within a few days."

In the not-so-spacious hole, Maha faced away from Su Xiao. If Su Xiao acted now, Maha’s survival rate wouldn’t exceed 30%.

The team slowly delved into the hole leading to an unknown direction. The further they went, the darker the light ahead became.

Su Xiao took out two military glow sticks, cracked them, and tossed one to Maha. Both hung the glow sticks at their waists, and the blue glow illuminated the surroundings.

Chomp, chomp...

Chewing sounds came from ahead. Su Xiao tore the glow stick from his waist and threw it forward.

As the glow stick flew, the area ahead gradually lit up with a blue glow. A ’person’ was sitting ahead, back to Su and the others, eating something.

With a plop, the glow stick hit the ground; the ’person’s’ body paused and turned to look at the glow stick beside it.

Under the blue glow, Su Xiao and others saw clearly that it wasn’t a human at all but a humanoid plant. It looked like a King Flower pulled out by the roots, with the root being its lower limbs, the stem its torso, and the blooming bud its head. This was likely the Weeping Flower.

"Huh?"

The Weeping Flower turned to look at Su Xiao and the others. Although it had no eyes, Su Xiao felt this thing was looking at him.

"Wow!!"

An ear-piercing scream came, accompanied by sound waves, instantly filling the surrounding stone walls with fine cracks.

There was a buzz in Su Xiao’s ears, and if it was like this for him, it was worse for Killua and the others.

"Ow～"

A scream came from Bubu Wang, its most sensitive hearing made it suffer more damage.

The sound waves continued to assault them; the Weeping Flower raised its head, exerting all its strength to emit its harsh wail.

Maha was also dizzy from the shock, but his hands were covering Yaluga’s ears. In Maha’s view, it’s the monster inside Yaluga that’s the freak; Yaluga is just Maha’s descendant.

Despite Maha’s protection, Yaluga still fainted straight away. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Ah!"

Killua held his ears, his pale face showing protruding veins, blood vessels visible in his eyes.

Noticing this scene, Su Xiao grabbed the back of Killua’s neck and threw him toward A Mu.

A Mu caught Killua, and those large hands pressed on both sides of Killua’s head, quickly causing Killua’s body to go limp and faint.

Bang!

A muffled gunshot echoed, and the wailing stopped.

Su Xiao held a sniper cannon over two meters long. This wasn’t the newly acquired Duke of Extinction; its bullets were too expensive. He was using the Spider Queen.

The Spider Queen’s power hadn’t yet reached a state needing replacement, and importantly, its bullets were cheaper.

With one shot, the upper half of the Weeping Flower was shattered.

"This is the Weeping Flower?"

The buzzing in Su Xiao’s ears gradually faded.

"Huh?"

Old man Maha looked at Su Xiao in confusion.

"Speak louder."

The old man, already big in age, had his hearing severely impaired for the moment due to the shock.

"It’s nothing."

"What’s dead? That thing is already dead."

"It’s nothing!"

"Huh?"

"....."

Several seconds later, old man Maha’s hearing returned to normal. Normally serious and rigid, the old man’s austere image thoroughly shattered just now.

"The Weeping Flower’s body is rather fragile, but that shriek is troublesome, as it attracts a large number of Weeping Flowers..."

Before Maha finished his sentence, the entire cavern began to shake.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The sound of dense, hurried footsteps came from the darkness ahead. Five seconds later, countless Weeping Flowers surged forth.

That’s right, they surged forth, clumped together. Occasionally, they trampled their kind, and as the trampled Weeping Flowers were crushed, they were devoured by those from behind.

"Here they come again."

Old man Maha shouted, covering Yaluga’s ears once more.

"Waa!!"

Countless Weeping Flowers began to shout, visible waves of sound surging towards Su Xiao and the others.

As Su Xiao stretched his hand forward, an energy shield with a strength of 400 appeared ahead. Its size surpassed the cave’s diameter, embedding directly into the stone walls.

Buzz, buzz...

The whole energy shield started vibrating, dense cracks forming rapidly.

Old man Maha clearly didn’t expect Su Xiao to have such a skill, growing increasingly satisfied with the cooperation as they advanced.

"20 seconds."

"That’s enough."

Black Thought emanated from Maha, a Mind Energy Ball gradually forming in his hands, encompassing his fist.

Maha tossed Yaluga into Su Xiao’s arms.

"Help me watch him for a while, don’t intervene. I’ll handle this many Weeping Flowers."

With a crack, the energy shield shattered from the pressure of the sound waves. Maha’s body hunched, bracing against the sound waves as he charged forward.

As soon as Maha rushed forward, Su Xiao immediately generated a second energy shield with a strength of 200 in front of him.

Entering the wave of sound, Maha’s eyeballs bulged, ears bleeding, and his face quivered with the frequency of the sound waves.

Boom!

A crashing noise echoed from ahead, reducing the energy shield’s breakage speed. Several seconds later, the sound wave dissipated.

Maha was locked in combat with a large crowd of Weeping Flowers. They not only emitted high-intensity sound waves but also possessed terrifying speed and bite force.