Chapter 287: Reaching Maturity
The room turned dead silent after Xiao Bai consumed the last of the Seven Silver Blades, and not wanting to disturb her, they even moved to the corner of the room, where they watched for any changes in Xiao Bai.
"..."
"..."
"..."
However, when nothing has happened after waiting for many minutes, Liu Lanzhi expressed her doubts.
"What's going on? How come nothing is happening? We have been waiting for half an hour now!"
"I-I don't know..."
Fang Zhelan shook her head.
They then turned to look at Su Yang, their only chance for an answer.
"Although you can't physically see it, she's already in the process of maturing."
Su Yang spoke.
"She is?"
They turned to look at Xiao Bai, who was just sitting there with her eyes closed, looking like a stone state.
After waiting for a few more minutes, Su Yang narrowed his eyes and said, "It's here."
The second after Su Yang said that, Xiao Bai opened both its eyes and mouth and released a deafening roar, one that surpassed any previous roars.
The pressure from the roar was so powerful that both Liu Lanzhi and Fang Zhelan kneeled on the ground, feeling as though they were suddenly carrying a large boulder.
However, despite all this, Xiao Bai was just getting started.
As time went on, Xiao Bai's roar only became more powerful and profound — to the point where Fang Zhelan coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Seeing this, Su Yang covered Fang Zhelan in a layer of his Profound Qi, making it feel as though she was wearing a veil over her body.
"T-Thank you..." Fang Zhang wiped the blood from her mouth.
Su Yang did not say anything and continued to watch Xiao Bai.
"Guardian Spirits are indeed terrifying creatures loved by the Heavens. Even though it's only a low-rank Guardian Spirit, its prowess can conquer this world with ease..."
After a few more minutes of torturing from Xiao Bai's roaring, she finally calmed down.
Both Liu Lanzhi and Fang Zhelan looked at the new Xiao Bai.
However, when they noticed no drastic changes in Xiao Bai, they became worried.
"What's going on, Su Yang? Besides her size that increased slightly, it's almost like nothing's changed. Did the maturing fail?"
Liu Lanzhi asked him with a worried face.
"What are you talking about? This Snow Tiger is fully matured now."
He responded.
"What?! Xiao Bai is mature now?! But she looks the same! Only slightly bigger!"
They were still doubtful.
Su Yang shook his head and said, "Its appearance will mature naturally, so it will not become a full-sized tiger within minutes."
He then continued: "Take a look at its cultivation base and you will understand."
Liu Lanzhi and Fang Zhelan placed their hands on Xiao Bai to feel her cultivation base, as that's the only way for most people to gauge a Guardian Spirit's cultivation base properly due to their natural ability to conceal their presence and Profound Qi.
"Earth Spirit Realm!!!"
They both exclaimed simultaneously a few seconds later.
"No way... Xiao Bai was only at the fourth level of the True Spirit Realm before eating the last Seven Silver Blades!"
Fang Zhelan expressed her disbelief.
"You are already this shocked by such a minor detail? At this rate, you won't be able to handle her next maturity."
Su Yang suddenly said.
"W-What do you mean by that? Didn't you just say Xiao Bai is already mature?"
"That's indeed what I said. However, a Snow Tiger has two stages of maturity, and Xiao Bai is only at her first."
"What?!"
Fang Zhelan and Liu Lanzhi's eyes widened like saucers. How come he's just telling them such an important piece of information now?!
"You must be wondering why I am telling you this now. It's simple — the chances of Xiao Bai reaching her second maturity is near zero."
"How would you know that?"
Liu Lanzhi asked.
"Because the amount of Profound Qi it will need to reach that point is atrocious, and this place is simply unable to fulfill that requirement."
When Su Yang said 'place', he didn't mean this Profound Blossom Sect, nor did he mean this Eastern Continent.
Instead, it meant this world — this world that does not even a thousandth of what the Four Divine Heavens can supply in cultivation resources.
In other words, just like Qiuyue with her cultivation, no matter how much Xiao Bai cultivates, as long as she stays in this world with inferior Profound Qi, she will never reach her full potential.
And this is a problem that cannot be fixed even with Su Yang's vast knowledge and experience as an Immortal.
"That being said, she will be more than powerful enough to protect this place from all kinds of danger in the future. At the Earth Spirit Realm, it will handle even Heavenly Spirit Realm Cultivators with ease."
"Xiao Bai is that powerful right now?!"
On Liu Lanzhi's face was a delighted expression, as having Xiao Bai is akin to having a Heavenly Spirit Realm expert in their sect!
"Well, not exactly right now. Without any combat experiences, even the most powerful entities are nothing in front of the experts. If she was to fight a Heavenly Spirit Realm Cultivator right now, she will only face defeat."
Su Yang pointed at Xiao Bai and said to Fang Zhelan, "You should take it out to the wild once in a while to fight with beasts so it can accumulate fighting experiences; it'll be an important aspect in her future growth, especially now that she's matured."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? A Guardian Spirit will attract unnecessary attention."
It was Liu Lanzhi who expressed that worry first.
"It'll be fine. As long as you don't come across someone with a unique vision technique or an individual with knowledge regarding Snow Tigers, nobody will recognize it. In fact, if anyone asks, just say it's a Silver Tiger, as they are quite similar."
"Is that so..."
After a moment of pondering, Liu Lanzhi nodded and spoke, "I have decided! Disciple Fang, you are to take Xiao Bai outside for training whenever possible. This will be beneficial to not only our sect but also Xiao Bai herself, as she will be able to learn to protect herself."
Fang Zhelan did not have any problem with this and nodded. "I understand, Sect Master."