Ron's expression turned slightly peculiar upon reading the text.
Many temples known for granting fertility often had dubious reputations.
Typically, infertility could stem from two sources: the man or the woman.
When won ca to the temple seeking fertility blessings, many temples simply provided an opportunity for won to spend ti alone with the male monks there. (t/n What!?...How do I sign up?)
The monks were robust and fit, and if one attempt wasn't successful, they could try again.
As a result, more than half of the won who sought fertility blessings at the temple ended up pregnant.
For a prayer's success rate, this was remarkably high.
"Before becoming a monk, was the head abbot a butcher?"
"There have been nurous disappearances around the temple?"
"The number of monks has remained constant at 101. If a new monk joins, an old monk inevitably leaves?"
Ron frowned.
These details gave him an unsettling feeling about the temple.
"Uncle Silva, what is this temple exactly?"
The world of Nen users had many mysterious phenona.
Tools imbued with Nen were referred to as Nen tools.
Patterns inscribed with Nen to produce special effects were Nen patterns.
Creatures born from a large accumulation of negative emotions were called disasters.
However, Ron had never heard of sothing like this temple.
"Such things are rare. Generally, we call them Nen spirits."
"They're ford when strong emotional desires gather and rge with an inanimate object."
"Unlike Nen tools, Nen spirits possess self-awareness."
"The ways Nen tools are created are nurous."
"Such as the entanglent of death-related Nen."
"Or prolonged exposure to aura from a Nen user."
"Or even forming inside a disaster creature."
"However, Nen spirits are generally birthed from desires—greed for wealth, lust for beauty, ambition for power..."
"Nen spirits have self-awareness, but the degree of awareness varies."
"The Nen spirit of Ganlu Temple, for instance, only operates within a pre-programd range."
Silva paused briefly.
"When it cos to Nen spirits, there's a particularly powerful one controlled by the Underworld Mafia. Even A-level Nen users struggle against it."
"If you ever deal with the Underworld Mafia, keep this in mind."
Ron's pupils contracted slightly.
Silva's comnt confird a suspicion Ron had about the Underworld Mafia.
Their overall strength wasn't impressive, even ranking below teor City.
Their elite forces, the Shadow Beasts, were relatively weak.
Why, then, would assassinating the Ten Dons require Maha Zoldyck to take action?
Now the answer was clear: because of the existence of that Nen spirit.
The Underworld Mafia had obtained a powerful Nen spirit capable of severely limiting A-level Nen users, necessitating Maha Zoldyck's involvent.
This also explained why the Phantom Troupe avoided directly targeting the Ten Dons.
"Last ti I went to teor City with Grandpa Zeno, I noticed sothing."
"Human trafficking was an activity the elders eagerly engaged in, yet it wasn't universally accepted by the residents of teor City."
"The primary buyers in these human trafficking operations were the Underworld Mafia."
"In many cases, the Underworld Mafia acted as middlen, profiting from the transactions."
"And then there's the Phantom Troupe's famous saying: *We don't reject anything, but don't think you can take anything from us.*"
"Human trafficking clearly violates this rule."
"The Phantom Troupe seeks only influx, no outflow."
"Whether it's people, resources, wealth, or even garbage, teor City welcos everything."
"But the population of teor City must not be sold."
"Naturally, this puts the Phantom Troupe at odds with the Underworld Mafia."
"And, of course, with the Zoldyck family too."
The Zoldyck family had many butlers and servants originating from teor City.
Even Silva's wife was from teor City.
However, her situation was certainly different from ordinary human trafficking—she likely left of her own volition.
"If the Phantom Troupe can crush the Underworld Mafia's elite forces, the Shadow Beasts, why don't they simply kill the Ten Dons? The existence of that Nen spirit provides a plausible explanation."
But Ron was curious about the price the Phantom Troupe paid to convince Maha Zoldyck to act.
"Great-grandfather hasn't taken action in many years."
"In the original story, when Netero went to NGL to exterminate the Chira Ants, only Grandpa Zeno was hired."
"Grandpa Zeno's fee is certainly lower than Great-grandfather Maha's."
Ron nodded. "Understood, Uncle Silva."
"Still, most Nen spirits have an immobile nature, so there's no need to worry excessively."
This statent reminded Ron of the Black Whale from the Kakin Empire.
Ron recalled that the 10th prince, Kacho, seed to have died instantly after leaving the Black Whale.
The one who returned to the ship wasn't Kacho, but her Nen beast.
Kacho's Nen beast existed to accompany Fugetsu and followed Kacho's will.
"Could it be that the Black Whale itself is a giant Nen spirit with fixed rules that prevent leaving?"
Ron thought it was possible.
The ocean alone didn't seem that dangerous to him.
For one, the Black Whale was enormous. Even if dangerous sea creatures existed, they wouldn't venture too close to it.
"Then again, it could also be due to restrictions from the Egg of the King ritual."
"But the Egg of the King ritual wasn't exclusive to the Black Whale."
"The current King of Kakin also underwent the ritual, and there was no Black Whale then."
---
Three hours later, Silva stopped the car.
"Ti to get out."
"Alright."
Ron followed Silva.
Ahead of them stood a towering mountain, its dense forest exuding an eerie, dangerous aura.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare enter such a place.
The terrain was treacherous, and it was likely ho to dangerous creatures like wild beasts, venomous insects, or magical beasts.
Silva said, "Ganlu Temple is on the other side of the mountain. Once we cross it, we'll be there."
The two figures vanished, reappearing in the dense forest.
"En!"
Ron activated his En imdiately.
At one-fifth of its capacity, his En now had a diater of 18 ters and excellent sensitivity.
If danger approached, he would sense it imdiately.
Simultaneously, with a thought, his Nen beast, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, appeared. Dressed in black, Ryūnosuke followed Ron closely, ready to intervene at a mont's notice.
Previously, Ron often relied on Hanma Baki as a bodyguard.
However, Ryūnosuke had an advantage over Hanma Baki—he could handle multiple opponents at once.
Silva glanced at Ryūnosuke briefly before looking away.
Silva hadn't seen Ryūnosuke before, only Killer Queen and Hanma Baki.
Earlier, Ron had summoned Chii inside the car, so Silva now knew Ron had four Nen beasts.
While the number of Nen beasts didn't directly indicate a user's strength, Nen users with more Nen beasts were rarely weak.
Of course, this excluded those who created useless or superficial Nen beasts to deceive themselves and others.
From Silva's understanding, Ron wasn't that type.
Every Nen beast Ron created had genuine value.
"This kid... he always surprises ."
"No wonder Great-grandfather chose him for personal training."
---
The two reached the mountain's summit.
Below, a temple ca into view.
Ganlu Temple.
The temple's exterior looked perfectly ordinary.
But as Ron gazed at Ganlu Temple, an inexplicable unease filled his heart.
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