"If it really revives... doesn't that mean it will continue to be a threat to this place in the future?"
"When we go back, we have to tell Grand Master Jean this news."
While Lumine was speaking, Kael looked at the Bio-wave Probe in his hand with interest.
Because not far away, there was a shining bright spot.
Only slightly inferior to the Cryo Regisvine just now.
But the Cryo Regisvine's corpse had sunk into the Ley Lines.
Immediately, Kael walked over.
"Eh?"
Seeing Kael's action, Paimon was confused. "Kael, what are you doing? The Cryo Regisvine's corpse has disappeared."
While Paimon was speaking, Kael had already squatted down and picked up two small things.
One was a strange ice-blue crystal.
Like a sharp star, the edges presented irregular ice blade shapes.
The center was inlaid with a core as clear as glazed glass. Mysterious brilliance flowed inside, as if some powerful Cryo elemental power was bred within.
The whole crystal was freezing cold. The moment he touched it, Kael felt a bone-chilling cold spreading to his fingertips.
The other item was equally dazzling.
It was an oval ice-blue gem. The surface was smooth as a mirror, revealing a faint cold light, seeming to reflect the surrounding scene.
Inside the gem flowed pure energy like a glacier, even lowering the surrounding temperature slightly.
Kael rubbed it gently, feeling a biting chill at his fingertips, as if this gem once carried the killing power of ice and snow.
"Wah! What is this?"
Seeing the two things Kael picked up, Paimon exclaimed.
Instantly attracting everyone's attention.
Lumine approached a few steps, her gaze falling on the crystal and gem in Kael's hand, surprised. "Such strong Cryo elemental power... even richer than ordinary Cryo Crystal Cores!"
"Could it be... this is the legacy of the Cryo Regisvine?"
Beside them, Klee pondered. "Although the Cryo Regisvine's body is gone, this material remained."
"En."
Kael nodded. "The essence of the Cryo Regisvine."
"Although there is no corpse, having this is a profit. Compared to the Whopperflower, the value of this thing is higher."
Although he couldn't use these two things.
But taking them out to sell, they belonged to legendary materials.
He believed Albedo would definitely be interested.
Or sell them in Liyue.
"Oh oh. We got rich again."
Hearing Kael's words, Paimon suddenly realized.
This is elemental material.
Beside them, Lumine suddenly looked into the distance, her eyes lighting up slightly, pointing excitedly deep into the valley.
"Look! There are so many Mist Flowers over there, and some strange plants!"
Paimon's eyes also lit up. "These plants all contain rich Cryo elemental power. Feel like very precious elemental materials. Let's dig some!"
Everyone looked in the direction Lumine pointed.
In the depths of the valley filled with Cryo elements, large areas of ice-blue vegetation were spread all over.
Cold air lingered, mist swirled.
Among them, clusters of Mist Flowers bloomed quietly. The petals were like carved from clear ice, glowing with a lustrous ice-blue sheen when the breeze blew.
And beside the Mist Flowers, some strange-shaped plants grew.
Some leaves were crystal clear, like frozen by frost; some fruits showed a pale blue halo, emitting cold air at a touch, obviously rare and precious materials.
"Wah! Really a lot!"
Paimon danced with excitement. "We really earned big this time!"
"Then let's act!"
Kael smiled slightly. "The Cryo element in this area is extremely rich. The plants growing here must be extraordinary. If we take them back, they can definitely sell for a lot of money, or give them to the alchemy workshop to make many useful things."
Everyone acted immediately, taking out tools one after another, digging and collecting on the cold ground.
Kael and Lumine were responsible for picking Mist Flowers and some tough Cryo vines.
Fischl used her enhanced bow to shoot down some high-hanging ice crystal fruits.
Klee excitedly used small bombs to blast open a patch of frozen soil, digging out Cryo elemental minerals buried underground.
Even Barbara couldn't help but join the collection ranks excitedly, carefully picking some rare Cryo herbs.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound of tools digging, accompanied by the slight cracking sound of plants, rose and fell in the valley.
As time passed, everyone harvested more and more materials, filling bag after bag, soon filling a whole sack.
"Haha, it's full."
Paimon patted the bulging sack, saying expectantly, "We will definitely make a fortune when we go back this time!"
Kael looked at the sky.
The distant sky had been dyed golden-red by the sunset.
Radiance spilled into the ice-blue valley, forming a strange scene of interwoven colors, breathtakingly beautiful.
Kael exhaled gently, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Alright, time to go back."
Kael patted the dust off his hands, shouldering the heavy sack. "The harvest today is not small. Go back and organize it properly."
Everyone nodded, carrying full spoils of war, embarking on the return journey to Mondstadt.
Dusk.
Outside Mondstadt City Gate.
A group of figures carrying heavy sacks walked slowly into the city gate accompanied by the afterglow of the sunset.
The Knights of Favonius stationed at the door were originally conducting routine checks on passing caravans and pedestrians.
But when they saw Kael and his party returning...
Especially those bulging, heavy-looking sacks, envy flashed in their eyes.
"They had a big harvest again today..."
A young knight couldn't help sighing. "Every time I see them return, they are fully loaded... Is this the real adventurer life?"
Another knight couldn't help complaining, "Yeah, we stand guard every day, exposed to wind and sun. Even with salary, the treatment isn't as high as theirs? How about... quitting?"
"Joining the Adventurers' Guild and acting with Kael?"
Hearing this, an experienced knight beside him rolled his eyes and patted his helmet unceremoniously. "You wish!"
"Joining the Adventurers' Guild is easy, but do you think anyone can join Kael's team? What ability do you have?"
"Can you find piles of resources casually in the wild like him?"
"Or can you kill high-level monsters with your bare hands?"
"Didn't you see Kael is surrounded by Vision holders?"
"Let alone letting Vision holders follow you, do you have friendship with so many Vision holders?"
The young knight was speechless instantly, touching his head, scratching it embarrassedly. "That's true..."
"But I really envy them. Every time I see them come back, I feel like they are moving a whole treasure house."
Just as they were discussing, a sudden coldness permeated the air.
So cold that a knight couldn't help shivering.
"Eh? What's going on? Suddenly felt so cold..."
The Knight of Favonius was stunned, looked around, and found nothing unusual.
Then he realized that the cold seemed to enter the city gate with Kael's team.
He turned to look and saw Kael and his party carrying sacks toward the Adventurers' Guild.
Faint ice-blue light seemed to seep from the sacks, emitting wisps of cold air.
"Wait... Could it be that what they brought back this time are Cryo elemental materials?!"
The knight widened his eyes instantly, completely shocked.
While the Knights of Favonius stationed at the city gate were shocked.
Kael and the others had walked all the way to the center of Mondstadt City, heading straight for the Adventurers' Guild.
It was evening now.
Many adventurers gathered in front of the Guild.
Some just returned from completing commissions.
Some were discussing new tasks.
There were also people chatting in groups of three or five.
When Kael and the others walked into the hall carrying those heavy sacks, they immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Kael is back..."
"Seeing the sacks so bulging again, is it full of specialties again?"
"Yeah, the sacks brought back this time are more than last time. So rich."
Discussions rose one after another, gazes focusing on Kael, Lumine, Fischl, Klee, and Barbara.
Seeing this, Katheryne walked out from behind the counter quickly and greeted Kael. "Welcome back, Mr. Kael, everyone. Is today's commission completed?"
"En, all done."
Kael smiled faintly, patting the heavy sack.
"Besides normal gathered supplies, there are also some Cryo elemental resources inside."
As the voice fell, Kael put the sack on the counter easily.
Immediately a crash sound, cold air hit the face instantly. Inside were plants, crystals, minerals flashing with ice-blue light...
Like treasures dug out from the extreme cold world, making the surrounding adventurers' eyes go straight.
"Hiss—!"
Someone couldn't help sucking in air, looking at the pile of ice-blue specialties in surprise. "This is too exaggerated... Did they go to a land of extreme cold? This is a full sack of Cryo elemental resources!"
"R-Really this much..."
Someone swallowed enviously. "I've only heard of these plants in Dragonspine. Did they go to Dragonspine? But that place is far, and it's a dangerous zone, a forbidden area even for Vision holders."
"Yeah, how is it possible to collect such a quantity of Cryo elemental resources in such a short time..."
"Could it be they found a hidden Cryo elemental Domain?"
Another adventurer's tone was full of endless curiosity and envy.
"Even so, just gathering takes a lot of time, right? How on earth did they do it?!"
Someone exclaimed, face full of disbelief.
Various speculations and discussions surged like a tide.
Everyone was shocked by the "Super High Efficiency" of Kael and others.
Because this wasn't once or twice, but many times.
Some people even muttered secretly.
Did Kael master some magical detection method?
Otherwise, how could he bring back such a large amount of specialties time and time again?
"Settle it all."
Kael looked at Katheryne, smiling. "We won't keep the stuff. Settle these Cryo elemental materials together."
Katheryne bowed slightly, with a professional smile. "Okay, Mr. Kael. The Adventurers' Guild is happy to acquire these rare resources. We will settle for everyone at the market price plus a special subsidy. Please wait a moment."
The surrounding adventurers looked at Kael and others with expressions of envy, admiration, or jealousy, but no one dared to step forward to talk casually.
They knew in their hearts that Kael's team had become a near-legendary existence in the Adventurers' Guild.
Trying to squeeze into this team was hopeless.
Going up to make friends seemed a bit too deliberate and bad.
Most importantly, they couldn't save face.
A group of kids carrying sacks of resources back time and time again, earning wealth they couldn't earn in their adventurer careers. This exaggeration made their hearts congested.
After Katheryne quickly completed the registration and pricing.
Kael and others successfully received the mission reward and the Mora for material acquisition.
A whole large sum of Mora made Paimon beam with joy, and even Klee giggled happily.
"Alright, let's go to Good Hunter to celebrate first."
Kael distributed part of the reward to everyone, turning to smile at everyone. "Everyone worked hard today."
If not for everyone carrying sacks, he couldn't have brought back so many sacks.
"Okay, okay!" Klee raised her hand in agreement excitedly.
Lumine smiled brilliantly. "I want to taste Good Hunter's special dishes!"
Fischl maintained her chuunibyou posture as always. "Hmph, the King's Banquet is exactly when this Prinzessin rewards her meritorious subjects... Let's go."
Just like that, Kael, Lumine, Fischl, Klee, Barbara, and others, with full joy and rich spoils, walked from the Adventurers' Guild all the way to Good Hunter, leaving behind envious and amazed gazes.
Evening breeze blew gently.
The streets of Mondstadt looked exceptionally warm under the golden-red reflection of the sunset.
And the backs of this team looked exceptionally dazzling in the interlaced light and shadow.
"Another big harvest..."
Someone sighed in the distance, watching Kael and others disappear around the street corner, looking forward to Kael's next action even more.
Continuing like this, they only felt that Kael seemed to have achieved financial freedom.
Kael and the others had arrived at Good Hunter to order.
After eating and drinking their fill, they sent Barbara back to the Cathedral, then dispersed.
The next day, Kael was woken up by Fischl as usual.
After simple morning exercises with Fischl, he went out to meet Lumine and others at the Adventurers' Guild and continued to act.
Lumine and Paimon were energetic.
Especially after getting yesterday's harvest, they were full of motivation.
The only pity was that Barbara didn't have time to come; she was busy today.
The group took Klee and continued to move out.
Time passed unknowingly.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
As Kael and others came back carrying sacks every time, the Adventurers' Guild and the Knights of Favonius who saw them had gone from numb to accustomed.
The Adventurers' Guild even specially transferred two professional classification personnel to wait for Kael to settle accounts for convenience.
Although Barbara didn't have time to follow the action most of the time, she would wait for Kael and others to return at the Mondstadt city gate on time every evening.
Like a wife waiting for her husband to return, making many adventurers envious.
This day.
The fifteenth day.
The afterglow of the sunset spilled on the edge of the Whispering Woods.
The horizon was plated with a layer of warm golden brilliance. The breeze blew gently, bringing the faint scent of grass and wood in the forest.
"Phew—finally..."
Lumine dragged her somewhat tired body, her steps slightly heavy.
But her face was filled with unprecedented satisfaction.
Her clothes were stained with mud and grass clippings, and even rubbed with a few traces of tree sap unknowingly.
Her fair little face was also stained with some dust, but her smile was as brilliant as the blooming dawn.
At this moment, her arms were tightly holding a large bag of heavy loot, and her arms were even stuffed with a few rare ores just collected.
She looked exactly like an adventurer carrying treasure, full of joy.
"These fourteen days... were really fulfilling."
Lumine looked down at the full harvest in her arms, the corner of her mouth rising unconsciously.
For the first time, she felt that making money could be so easy.
No, it should be said that making money with Kael was simply too easy!
"Hey hey, Lumine, are you addicted to making money?"
Paimon floated aside, hands on hips, unable to help complaining. "If I didn't remind you, you probably forgot that today is already the fifteenth day, right?"
"Ehe..."
Lumine revealed a slightly guilty smile, scratching her head. "Indeed, this time passed faster than I imagined."
She looked up at Kael in front, the corner of her mouth bending slightly, her tone carrying a trace of expectation. "However—"
She stopped, took a deep breath, then looked at Kael with bright eyes, saying seriously:
"Kael, my time as an assistant has ended."
"Next, I am going to Liyue."