Chapter 163 – The Need for Red Agate Stone

“Miling! Miling miling!”

At this moment, although Little Hai’er remained as weak as before, she completely shed her fragile demeanor from her weakened state, excitedly calling out to Su Ming repeatedly.

Her aqua-blue eyes fixed intently on the red medicinal stone in Su Ming’s hand, the usual timidity in her gaze replaced by unmistakable longing. Even her look toward Su Ming carried a trace of pleading.

This transformation naturally didn’t escape Xu Qianqian’s notice from the poolside.

Watching the red medicinal stone in Su Ming’s hand and observing Little Hai’er’s unusually excited state, she finally confirmed the stone’s origin.

“Red Vein Stone…”

It was indeed the Red Vein Stone that could accelerate Phantom Demons’ evolution speed and even enhance their evolution success rate.

“Don’t worry, this was meant for you all along.”

Su Ming was somewhat surprised by Little Hai’er’s uncharacteristic excitement, but found it reasonable nonetheless.

Red Vein Stone was a rare treasure even in the Spirit Demon Abyss, cherished by Phantom Demons.

Anything that directly affected the Bloodline and related to evolution would be sought after by Phantom Demons of all levels, except for the legendary Terror Species.

And now, with Little Hai’er in a state of depleted Qi and blood, if she could receive the nourishment of Red Vein Stone, not only would her depleted vitality be fully restored, but it might also stimulate her own Bloodline, enabling growth and turning misfortune into blessing.

Su Ming immediately fed the Red Vein Stone to Little Hai’er.

“Miling!”

Without hesitation, Little Hai’er swallowed the red medicinal stone in one gulp.

The next second, immediate effects became apparent.

Little Hai’er’s pale complexion suddenly regained its rosy hue at a visible pace, while the weakness enveloping her body gradually faded away. Even her fish tail, which had been languidly resting in the water, slowly recovered its vitality and luster.

“Crack crack crack…!”

Amidst a series of teeth-grating freezing sounds, the pool water began rapidly turning to ice, gradually transforming into a frozen pond.

This was caused by the cold mist swirling around Little Hai’er.

“Oh?”

Su Ming raised an eyebrow, his figure flashing as he returned to the poolside, evading the approaching cold mist.

Xu Qianqian also felt a wave of cold air assault her body, making her instinctively tense up.

“Miling—!”

Little Hai’er’s calls echoed through the cold mist, melodious, pleasant, and powerfully resonant.

“Boom!”

Before long, all the ice in the swimming pool shattered violently, transforming into shimmering ice crystals that floated and drifted through the air like glowing specks.

The beautiful mermaid girl swam back and forth among them, sometimes diving into the water, sometimes leaping high, as if dancing, creating ripples and waves in her wake.

The scene was utterly enchanting and immensely pleasing to the eye.

Of course, this wasn’t the most important part.

What mattered most was that from Little Hai’er’s joyful calls and her uncontrollable dancing movements, it was clear she had completely recovered.

No, it wasn’t just full recovery.

Having absorbed the medicinal power of the Red Vein Stone and stimulated her Bloodline, Little Hai’er had clearly become stronger.

Xu Qianqian could sense a powerful threat from the cold mist swirling around them.

Clearly, Little Hai’er now posed a threat to Xu Qianqian.Although she had not yet fully grown to the level of an upper-rank Phantom Demon, Little Hai’er’s current strength seemed to be beyond what Xu Qianqian could contend with.

“Equivalent to a Three-Star Professional?”

Su Ming estimated and gave his final assessment.

“She should be stronger than a Three-Star Professional.”

If it were the current Little Hai’er, she would certainly not be much weaker than the Scaled Horn Demon Mutant Su Ming had subdued earlier.

In other words, Little Hai’er’s current strength was roughly approaching that of a typical Four-Star Professional.

An average Four-Star Professional, without using Demonization or activating Vision Marks, would be about on par with Little Hai’er’s current level.

“Very good.”

Su Ming was satisfied with this result.

After all, at this level, Little Hai’er could already be useful in battles at the upper-rank Professional tier.

“Meeling!”

Completely recovered, Little Hai’er remained unaware that she had already been thoroughly assessed, simply swimming about joyfully and innocently, delighted by her recovery and increased strength.

Only after playing to her heart’s content did Little Hai’er swim over, approaching Su Ming and Xu Qianqian, chirping at the two of them.

Su Ming looked at this beautiful and adorable mermaid girl, a smile never leaving his face.

“Come here.”

Su Ming reached out toward Little Hai’er, beckoning her.

But then, Su Ming was left embarrassed.

“Meeling!”

Not only did Little Hai’er not respond to Su Ming’s call, but she seemed startled, instinctively darting behind Xu Qianqian to hide.

Su Ming: “-_-||”

Su Ming froze in place, unable to move a muscle.

“Pfft.”

A sound of suppressed laughter suddenly rang out.

Su Ming’s lips twitched as he looked at Xu Qianqian.

“You laughed?”

Su Ming was utterly speechless.

“I did not.”

Xu Qianqian remained as aloof as ever, as if the sound had not come from her.

“You definitely laughed.”

Su Ming was certain.

“I did not.”

Naturally, Xu Qianqian would not admit it.

Laughing out loud like that, unable to hold back, was simply not something Young Miss Xu would do.

But just now, this woman had undoubtedly laughed aloud for the first time ever.

This did not make Su Ming happy; instead, it left him feeling disgruntled.

For even this cold-natured young lady to laugh out loud uncontrollably, one could imagine just how amusing the scene had been.

But there was no helping it—Little Hai’er was genuinely afraid of Su Ming. As she peeked her little head out from behind Xu Qianqian, her aqua-blue eyes were filled with timidity.

That timid appearance was truly enough to stir anyone’s protective instincts.

Su Ming couldn’t resist and decided to impose sanctions on Little Hai’er.

“Thirty-Third Form: Stasis Lock.”

Immediately, circular arrays emerged from Su Ming’s wrist, releasing invisible chains that bypassed Xu Qianqian and shot toward Little Hai’er.

“Meeling!”

Startled, Little Hai’er swung her fishtail without a second thought, creating ripples of water as she surged into the sky.

Unfortunately, Su Ming’s Spirit Power had made significant progress recently, and his spiritual nature had been continuously improving since his Vision Mark Awakening, making the Spirit Arts he wielded even more powerful and agile.

Although Little Hai’er had grown stronger, caught off guard, she was no match for Su Ming, who had already awakened his Vision Mark.Invisible chains slithered out one after another, like swimming dragons, swiftly catching up to Little Hai’er and coiling around her body.

“Miling!”

Little Hai’er struggled, trying to break free, but found herself completely unable to do so. Instead, the chains dragged her back, pulling her right before Su Ming.

Su Ming casually reached out and scooped the shy yet unruly mermaid girl into his arms.

“Miling! Miling miling!”

Little Hai’er began to cry.

Though no tears fell, she wore an utterly pitiful expression, gazing at Xu Qianqian across from her as if hoping she would come to her rescue.

“Could you be a bit less rough with her?”

As expected, Xu Qianqian couldn’t withstand Little Hai’er’s pleading eyes. Her heart softened, and she frowned at Su Ming.

“Me? Rough?” Su Ming rolled his eyes, replying irritably, “I haven’t even used the 【Demon Binding】 Spell Formula to discipline her yet—that’s already being pretty gentle, isn’t it?”

Wasn’t it true?

The effect of 【Demon Binding】 was that when a Phantom Demon disobeyed, it would directly activate the Spirit Power spike at their heart, draining their blood and subjecting them to unbearable agony until they submitted and obeyed.

Under the influence of 【Demon Binding】, even the most blood-obsessed Phantom Demons would eventually lower their proud heads and accept Su Ming’s commands.

Previously, all the Phantom Demons, including the Scaled Horn Demon Mutant, had been subdued in this manner.

The fact that Little Hai’er hadn’t endured such suffering was already a result of Su Ming deliberately holding back.

The consequence of this was that Little Hai’er clearly felt closer to Xu Qianqian, who had been taking care of her, rather than Su Ming, her true master in every sense.

To be fair, ever since the 【Demon Binding】 Spell Formula was implanted, Little Hai’er had been under Xu Qianqian’s care. Su Ming hadn’t yet properly interacted with this mermaid girl—how could she possibly grow close to him or follow his orders?

This made Su Ming realize something.

“It seems that before nurturing this girl, I need to properly train her first.”

Su Ming’s gaze toward the mermaid girl in his arms gradually turned… peculiar.

“Mi… miling…”

The mermaid girl seemed to sense something and began trembling.

“What are you planning to do?”

Even Xu Qianqian’s expression changed, her eyes growing wary as she looked at Su Ming, as if regarding a criminal about to be sentenced.

Su Ming paid no attention to Xu Qianqian, whose usual aloof demeanor had clearly crumbled in front of Little Hai’er, transforming her into a fussy, sisterly figure. Instead, he focused on the trembling Little Hai’er, who stared back at him with timid, fearful eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he settled on a plan.

Su Ming flipped his hand, producing a crimson medicinal stone.

“What?”

Xu Qianqian was astonished.

“Miling!”

Little Hai’er’s eyes lit up once again, fixated on the red stone without blinking.

Undoubtedly, Little Hai’er was once again captivated by this treasure that could stimulate her Bloodline and enhance her chances of evolution.

A triumphant smirk curled at the corner of Su Ming’s lips.

“Well? Do you want it?”

Su Ming’s voice was filled with temptation.

“Miling! Miling!”

Little Hai’er nodded repeatedly with complete honesty, her gaze never once leaving the red stone.Su Ming toyed with the Red Vein Stone in front of Little Hai’er, chuckling as he said, “As long as you behave obediently, you won’t need to feed on human blood anymore. This will be your sustenance from now on.”

These words not only stunned Little Hai’er but also made Xu Qianqian lift her gaze involuntarily to look at Su Ming.

“You plan to raise this child using Red Vein Stones?”

Xu Qianqian’s voice was filled with disbelief.

It was understandable.

After all, that was a Red Vein Stone—a treasure even in the Spirit Demon Abyss, effective for Phantom Demons of any level except the Terror Species, and an exceedingly rare treasure in the present world.

If such a Red Vein Stone appeared on the market, not only ordinary Hunters but even those from major Families would be unable to resist competing for it, driving its price to astronomical heights.

A treasure capable of affecting Bloodlines, it also had miraculous effects on Hunters with Phantom Demon Bloodlines, enhancing Bloodline concentration and accelerating Awakening. Any Hunter would covet it intensely.

Such a valuable item—even Xu Qianqian, the Young Miss of the Xu Family, had never seen one before—and Su Ming intended to use it to raise a Phantom Demon?

Where did you get so many Red Vein Stones?

Xu Qianqian found it utterly unbelievable.

Su Ming, however, had no other choice.

“Otherwise? How do you think I should raise such a highly potential Phantom Demon Cub?”

This question left Xu Qianqian speechless.

Indeed, using Red Vein Stones to raise a Phantom Demon was undoubtedly the best option.

Red Vein Stones, which could enhance Bloodline power, increase evolution speed, and improve the chances of evolution, if continuously supplied, would allow Little Hai’er to grow and evolve solely by absorbing their power, without needing anything else or any other methods.

Without Red Vein Stones, if Little Hai’er wanted to grow into an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon quickly, she would have to follow the path of other Phantom Demons—feeding on human blood and hunting humans.

This was clearly not a feasible plan.

Given that, wasn’t the choice obvious?

“Rather than secretly raising a Phantom Demon against all norms, hunting humans, and risking becoming a traitor to our race, I’d rather pay the price and use Red Vein Stones to raise this girl.”

Su Ming spoke thus.

“This way, she won’t even need to drink blood. She only needs to continuously absorb the medicinal power of the Red Vein Stones and convert it into Bloodline power.”

In this manner, Little Hai’er would eventually mature fully, becoming a true Upper-Rank Phantom Demon, or even advance further into a Nightmare Species.

Of course, this was on the condition that there were enough Red Vein Stones.

“Do you really have that many Red Vein Stones?”

Xu Qianqian fixed her burning gaze on Su Ming.

“More or less?” Su Ming felt somewhat uneasy under Xu Qianqian’s intense stare and could only say, “Though I wouldn’t call it a lot, I have a way to obtain them. It should be sufficient.”

Red Vein Stones, such excellent items for refining Bloodlines, were needed not only by Little Hai’er but also by Su Ming himself.

He had been consistently consuming Red Vein Stones to enhance his Bloodline concentration and accelerate Awakening, striving to advance his Hunter Rank to the level of an Upper-Rank Professional as soon as possible.

Although the demand was considerable, during the Huaming Campaign, Su Ming had obtained many crystal fragments and unboxed numerous Red Vein Stones from the packs. He still had hundreds of packs left to open.In that case, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the subsequent supply of red vein stones should continue to emerge steadily, keeping up with the demands of both Su Ming and Little Hai’er.

Therefore, such valuable items were neither abundant nor scarce for Su Ming.

At the very least, compared to others who struggled to obtain even a single stone, he was undoubtedly far more fortunate.

However…

“If you have any extra red vein stones…”

Xu Qianqian’s eyes flickered, as if she had finally reached a decision, and spoke up in this manner.

“Could you provide some to me?”

Upon hearing this, Su Ming was slightly taken aback.

“Provide them to you?”

Su Ming was somewhat surprised.

But Xu Qianqian was clearly serious.

She, too, had developed an interest in the red vein stones.

(End of Chapter)