Voracious Appetite

In the dark street, Lin Ye sat on the ground.

He panted slightly, his gaze fixed steadily on the paving stones before him.

My combat experience is still too poor.

Although he had undergone special training in this life to skillfully utilize the Soul Whale Fist, that was ultimately just sparring without any threat to his life.

But these Cat Puppets were different; they were truly coming for his life.

This was real combat, one could even call it a life-or-death struggle.

In such a life-or-death confrontation, adrenaline surges, one's mindset shifts, and movements lose control, preventing him from fully mastering his own strength.

This resulted in him relying mostly on bodily instinct to act.

If he hadn't luckily discovered that the weakness of the Cat-type Spider Puppet was its neck, and happened to have an iron rod, he might have already...

After a moment of silence, his heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

He looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand; as expected, the number of lit scales had increased by another 13, reaching 65.

"Monument."

[Yin-Attracting Constitution (2/10)]

[Soul Whale Fist "First Layer" (30/100)]

[Potential Point: 3]

The harvest was quite good; three Potential Points had arrived, and the experience for the Soul Whale Fist had also increased by a significant margin.

A single life-or-death struggle was worth ten days of hard practice.

It was just that the number of baptisms for his Yin-Attracting Constitution had increased by one, which might cause his body to have a greater attraction to certain things.

He put away the Monument and reached out to touch the wounds on his chest clawed by the Cat Puppet; a slight numbness slowly spread.

He looked at his arm, where four circular wounds were slightly blackened, accompanied by a numbing sensation.

Looking at the wounds, Lin Ye frowned slightly.

When he saw the zombie-like eyeballs of the Cat-type Spider Puppet, he had guessed that these monsters might be poisonous.

But fortunately, it felt like the toxicity shouldn't be too severe.

He leaned against the wall to stand up and looked back at the ancient four-legged bronze tripod, his pupils suddenly shrinking.

He saw a Cat Puppet corpse lying beside the tripod—it was the very one he had torn in half with his own hands!

[Achievement Triggered: Voracious Appetite.]

[Achievement Description: You really are a gluttonous little thing.]

[Unlock Condition: Consume an "ingredient" (Incomplete)]

[Achievement Rewards]

1. Yin-Attracting Constitution +1

2. Ability -- Desire of Gluttony

Ability Description: One of the inherent traits of the Yin-Attracting Constitution; possesses the ability to define "ingredients" and can gain certain improvements by consuming "ingredients."

The black text before him dissipated with the wind. Lin Ye felt a jolt in his heart and hurriedly looked at the Cat Puppet corpse.

[Ingredient Name: Cat-type Spider Puppet]

[Ingredient Category: Flowing Shadow Monstrosity]

[Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank]

[Edible Part: Heart]

[Consumption Effect: Slightly increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility attributes; boosts self-healing ability for a short time.]

Looking at the text appearing above the body of the Cat-type Spider Puppet, Lin Ye's expression was somewhat excited.

This was practically an alternative form of potion!

His gaze crossed the bronze tripod and looked into the depths of the Dark Street, where the profound darkness seemed to have no end.

He wondered if the body of that giant half-human spider also contained such "ingredients"?

He stepped forward quickly, not looking at the Cat Puppet corpse by the tripod, but scanning the surroundings to see if there were any other missed Cat Puppet corpses.

After scanning the area, he shook his head in regret; if he had known, he would have dug out more hearts back in that Land of Flowing Shadows.

He looked at the text on the Cat Puppet corpse.

By comparison, the explanation given by the Monument was more straightforward than a potion, directly expressing it in terms of four-dimensional attributes.

And... his gaze landed on the words "Mortal Rank."

Previously, he had only guessed that the supernatural existed, but now he could basically be certain.

Since there was "Mortal," there must inevitably be "Supernatural"!

For no apparent reason, a surge of heat rose in his chest, making his entire body feel feverish.

He looked at the corpse; among the scattered internal organs, one heart was a red so deep it was almost black.

Yet, strangely, there was no blood among the organs, as if they had been rinsed clean with water.

He leaned down, pinched the heart, and gave it a firm tug.

With surprising ease, the heart was pulled right out.

The next moment, black mist surged from the body of the Cat-type Spider Puppet, and its flesh slowly dissolved as the mist drifted away.

He looked at the heart in his hand, still able to feel a lingering warmth.

An indescribable sense of hunger rose from his stomach, making him unable to stop himself from swallowing hard.

[Ingredient Name: Spider Puppet Heart]

[Ingredient Category: Yin-Qi Polymer]

[Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank]

[Edible Part: Main Body]

[Consumption Effect: Slightly increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility attributes; boosts self-healing ability for a short time.]

Seeing the text appear before him, Lin Ye smiled.

Although the description had changed, the consumption effect remained the same, meaning it was still the same item.

He hadn't expected the Monument to be so user-friendly; this way, he wouldn't have to worry about missing out on "ingredients" when a complete corpse wasn't available.

He swallowed again and looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand. 65 scales were already lit, giving him a sense of urgency.

After a few seconds of silence, he decided to eat it and see.

This was a method of improvement different from potions.

Since taking potions and unlocking achievements increased the number of lit scales, he had no confidence that he could improve enough to contend with that monster before entering the church again.

But if eating "ingredients" didn't increase the number of lit scales, he might be able to rely on a large quantity of "ingredients" to improve his physical fitness!

This might be the key to him dealing with the monster in the church!

The pressure that monster exerted on him was too intense.

It wasn't psychological fear; he didn't fear the monster.

But that monster could genuinely bring a tremor to his body, a shudder originating from the instincts of his biological genes.

It was too clear; that sense of pressure was so vivid, it was as if something were physically pressing down on him, making his body refuse to obey his commands.

He had no choice; he had to gamble!

Furthermore, if he didn't unlock this ability, his "Yin-Attracting Constitution" might be affected.

Although he didn't yet know the specific function of this constitution, "Desire of Gluttony" had already appeared, so who knew what other abilities might manifest later?

He stopped holding back and, without any intention of cooking it first, bit into it raw.

The heart wasn't large, only about half the size of a fist, and he finished it in two or three bites.

Immediately, a wave of heat spread from his stomach, permeating every corner of his limbs and bones.

After about half a minute, Lin Ye looked at his arm; the wound had already healed, leaving only a faint, slightly lighter trace.

His gaze moved slowly, resting on the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 63... 64... 65.

It hadn't increased.

"Hoo—"

He tilted his head back slightly and exhaled a hot breath, feeling as if a heavy boulder had been lifted from his shoulders.

He looked at the Monument.

[Strength: 0.65]

[Agility: 0.56]

[Constitution: 0.59]

All three-dimensional attributes had increased by 0.01. It was slightly worse than the effect of a potion, but after all, it was just a raw material that hadn't undergone the complex preparation of a potion.

"I wonder if I can use these ingredients to concoct potions? Would the effect be better?"

After thinking for a moment, he shook his head slightly.

Currently, he was only a "Potion Apprentice" and only had a basic understanding of potions.

He couldn't even analyze the mechanisms behind potion concoction; he could only follow the methods recorded in the potion recipes.

He estimated that the Elementary Potionology Notes likely only recorded some potion materials and recipes, and might not contain the principles of potion concoction.

However, if he could obtain more advanced potion books in the future, he might have a chance to use "ingredients" to concoct potions.

He collected his thoughts and looked at the lower half of the Monument.

After a moment of silence, he decided to use one opportunity to unlock this achievement.

The "Desire of Gluttony" ability was too important; it might even become the cornerstone of his future growth in strength.

"Monument, unlock achievement."