Chapter 361 – The Cost of Growth

Afterwards, Su Ming explained Hai’er’s situation clearly to Chi Qian and the others.

“Purple Snow Essence?”

Upon learning about Su Ming and Hai’er’s experiences since arriving here, including Chi Qian, all the women were stunned, unable to regain their composure for a long time.

Only little Tong Xinyao, perhaps due to her young age, hadn’t fully grasped the value of Purple Snow Essence. After hesitating for a moment, she tentatively asked:

“So, Hai’er sister grew so… big all of a sudden because she took that treasure called Purple Snow Essence?”

The little girl ultimately decided to use the word “big” to describe the newly transformed Hai’er.

Fortunately, Su Ming had stopped making jokes.

“Well, that’s roughly the situation,” Su Ming said with a sigh. “The gains this time are huge. Not only did we obtain an invaluable treasure like Purple Snow Essence, but Hai’er has finally successfully grown to her mature stage.”

Just these two gains alone made this trip thoroughly worthwhile.

Chi Qian, Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er and the others finally understood the current situation, their gazes fixed intently on Su Ming, quite intimidating.

“So that means the Commander obtained a lot of Purple Snow Essence, which is even more precious than the legendary Purple Snow Paste?”

Feng Qing’er’s eyes sparkled.

Although Chi Qian and Mu Yan weren’t as exaggerated as Feng Qing’er, they were clearly tempted too.

“You could say that.”

Su Ming didn’t beat around the bush.

After all, with the contract in hand, confidentiality mechanisms and obligations were constantly in effect, so Su Ming didn’t need to worry about such a huge secret being leaked.

As for Chi Qian and the others’ interest, Su Ming could completely understand.

“What? Do you want some Purple Snow Essence?”

Su Ming grinned.

The women didn’t deny it.

“A natural treasure that’s a level higher than the legendary Purple Snow Paste – saying we don’t want it would definitely be a lie.”

Mu Yan spoke very honestly and directly.

“That’s a treasure that can enhance talent and aptitude!” Feng Qing’er said excitedly. “If we auctioned it, how much could it sell for?”

“As much as you have, that’s how much you can sell,” Chi Qian answered Feng Qing’er’s question. “Unless they truly can’t afford it, many major Families would be willing to bankrupt themselves for just one drop of Purple Snow Paste, let alone the more advanced Purple Snow Essence.”

Of course, generally no one would actually sell such a treasure.

A treasure like Purple Snow Paste can turn mediocrity into Genius, and Genius into Prodigy. Even if a Prodigy obtains and consumes it, their talent and aptitude would reach even greater heights.

Unless they’ve already reached the true pinnacle and become the highest Rank of Seven-Star Professionals, anyone would go crazy for such a treasure.

No, even those Seven-Star Professionals probably couldn’t remain indifferent.

After all, even if they don’t need it themselves, their descendants could use it, their Family could use it, even their close friends and relatives could use it.

Especially those important figures whose families are facing talent shortages, declining membership, and potential future decline – when they see a treasure like Purple Snow Paste, they would try every means to obtain it.

A natural treasure that can cultivate a Genius for the family and ensure the Family’s continuation holds immeasurable value for these major Families and powerful factions.That was why Chi Qian said they could sell as much as they had.

As long as people weren’t truly unable to afford it, there would absolutely be plenty willing to bankrupt themselves or even go into debt just to obtain a single drop of Purple Snow Paste.

Since Purple Snow Essence was an even more advanced treasure than Purple Snow Paste, this held even truer.

Compared to such treasures, strategic resources like Red Vein Stone seemed petty and insignificant.

At the very least, Su Ming had never obtained such legendary natural treasures from all the packages he had opened so far.

That entire pool of Purple Snow Essence was probably comparable to his entire net worth.

Note that this “entire net worth” included not only the countless Extraordinary Items in Su Ming’s backpack but also Divine Artifact-level tools like the Blue Demon Truce Ring.

There was no helping it—this wasn’t just a drop or two of Purple Snow Essence but an entire pool, a whole pond.

The pond, several meters in diameter, one or two meters wide, and nearly ten meters deep, contained an unimaginable amount of Purple Snow Essence.

However, Su Ming didn’t explicitly state how much Purple Snow Essence he had obtained, only saying there was a lot.

A lot?

Then surely he could spare a drop or two for them, right?

Chi Qian and the others couldn’t help but think this.

To this, Su Ming had only one response.

“We’ll talk after we return.” Su Ming looked at the women, grinned, and said, “Especially Mu Yan, Qing’er, and Yao Yao. We can discuss it slowly once we’re back.”

Hearing Su Ming’s words, the three women were momentarily stunned but quickly understood.

Goodness, the Commander was about to devour them.

It was easy to imagine that even if Su Ming was willing to give them Purple Snow Essence, Mu Yan and the others would have to pay a significant price.

At the very least, their contracts would need to be revised, with the minimum requirement being an extension of the term.

In contrast, Chi Qian, who had signed a lifelong contract, didn’t need to worry about anything.

Since she was bound for life, Su Ming would naturally include her when distributing such treasures.

“Do we have to sign lifelong contracts too?”

Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao couldn’t help but think this.

The truth was, Purple Snow Essence was simply too precious. If Su Ming was willing to give it to them, they would have to sell themselves to obtain such a high-level treasure.

At that moment, the three women looked at Su Ming but could only see him giving them a broad smile.

The smile was very sunny.

Yet, for some reason, Mu Yan and the others felt nothing but ominous premonitions.

Regardless of what the three were thinking, Su Ming was in a very good mood at the moment.

“Let’s go, time to head back.” Su Ming clapped his hands and said, “We’ve caused quite a stir this time. If we stay any longer, other teams might come to investigate.”

“To avoid complications, let’s leave first.”

Chi Qian and the others naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement.

“Meep.”

At that moment, Hai’er let out a soft sound.

Hearing this, Su Ming turned to look at the mermaid Empress, thought for a moment, and ultimately decided to play it safe for now.

“You should continue to stay hidden for the time being. We’ll figure out how to resolve your identity issue after we return.”

Although he had already considered bringing Hai’er into the open, that was a matter for the future. It definitely wouldn’t work this time.

Otherwise, with his team having so few members, suddenly producing a living person out of thin air—one with no records or information—would make anyone suspect that something was amiss.If Hai’er were someone with low presence, it might be easier to gloss things over.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that this mermaid’s presence is overwhelmingly conspicuous. Once exposed, she would immediately draw attention—the kind that no one could possibly miss.

For someone so breathtakingly beautiful to appear out of nowhere, it would be impossible for no one to notice anything unusual.

For Hai’er to appear openly in the world, she would have to wait until this mission was over and they returned to Tianfeng City, where proper arrangements could be made.

“Meow.”

Hai’er had no objections to this. With a gentle nod, a mist of water enveloped her once again.

Before long, the captivating Mermaid Empress vanished from everyone’s sight.

Witnessing this, Chi Qian and the others had varying thoughts.

“Her concealment ability seems to have improved significantly.”

This was what Chi Qian and Mu Yan thought.

In the past, when she was Little Hai’er, such concealment wouldn’t have been this effortless and swift.

But the current Hai’er was different—she could completely erase her presence almost at will, leaving not even the slightest trace of abnormality.

This undoubtedly proved that Hai’er’s power had truly grown a great deal.

On the other hand, Feng Qing’er and Tong Xinyao noticed something else entirely.

“It feels like Little Hai’er has changed quite a bit.”

Feng Qing’er seemed to be in a somewhat complicated mood.

“Yes, she’s not as lively as before.”

Tong Xinyao wholeheartedly agreed.

“Well, she’s grown up. It’s only natural for her to become more mature.”

Su Ming wasn’t surprised by this.

Thinking back to the beginning, when she was still in her little girl form, Little Hai’er was even more shy and easily nervous than Tong Xinyao. She was terrified of him, always on edge, and would run away at the sight of people—almost as if she had a sign on her forehead saying “Don’t bully me.”

Later, Little Hai’er evolved, transforming from a little girl into a young maiden, suddenly becoming much more lively and no longer as timid and shy as before.

Now, the mermaid had grown once again, maturing from a juvenile to an adult form.

So, with the maturation of her power and body, it was only natural for the personality of this highly spirited mermaid to mature along with them.

“…Honestly, if this girl were still as unreserved as before, clinging to me from time to time, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

If the now fully-grown, genuine mermaid were to cling to him and rub against him…

Hiss…

Just the thought of it made Su Ming feel as if something deep inside him was about to Awaken.

That was bad. Very bad.

Hmm, it’s better to keep some distance. Otherwise, while she’s becoming more human-like, I might end up regressing into a beast.

……

Su Ming’s speculation was correct.

The commotion caused by his battle with the Giant Phantom Demon was so significant that there were bound to be some bold, skilled individuals who, far from being afraid of death, would instead rush over to investigate.

Not long after the members of 『Azure Mercury』 left the cave, several teams appeared in the area one after another, conducting their own investigations.

Unsurprisingly, they saw the Giant Phantom Demon reduced to a pile of rubble, the battlefield in ruins, and even the cave with a large chunk of the ground missing at its deepest point—all of which sparked numerous imaginative speculations.

“Judging by the scene, it looks like someone fought a powerful Phantom Demon here.””What a huge commotion. How intense must this battle have been?”

“Both sides definitely weren’t ordinary powerhouses.”

“But what were they fighting for?”

“What did the person who defeated the Phantom Demon guarding this place take from here?”

Various speculations emerged one after another in the minds of Professionals from each team.

However, there was no way they could guess.

No way they could imagine what kind of treasure had once existed here.

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(End of Chapter)