[Yin-Attracting Constitution (3/10)]
Looking at the entry on the Monument, Lin Ye saw that the number of times he had been cleansed by the Yin-Attracting Constitution had reached three. He felt a headache coming on.
"Wouldn't that make me even more attractive to these so-called Flowing Shadow Monstrosities?"
He sighed and looked below Yin-Attracting Constitution.
[Desire of Gluttony (1/10)]
The "1/10" also represented a number. After eating ten different "ingredients," Desire of Gluttony would advance.
He had no idea what would happen after it advanced, but the basic effect of gaining improvements by eating ingredients wouldn't disappear.
Maybe it would become even more powerful, like going from being able to eat only normal rice to being able to eat pebbles and iron filings.
He put away the Monument and looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand. The number of illuminated scales had increased by another thirteen, bringing it to seventy-eight.
At this rate, he would enter that medieval Church after three more times.
In reality, he had only two more chances to roam freely. After the third time, he wouldn't have much time to prepare.
Endure.
He silently repeated the word to himself, but couldn't help feeling a little excited.
"Could the monster in the Church trigger a new achievement?"
"Could the achievement reward be a growth-type offensive ability?"
"Could there be some kind of ingredient inside the monster? What effect would it have?"
As he pondered, a panel of black text suddenly appeared.
[Achievement Triggered: Past in the Darkness] [Achievement Description: Can what spreads in the shadows only be darkness?] [Unlock Conditions] 1. Escape from "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" once (Completed) 2. Explore "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" to at least 50% (12%) 3. Enter "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" again (Incomplete) 4. Face the Dark Spider Mother (Incomplete) [Achievement Reward: Potential Point x4]
Lin Ye took a deep breath, excitement surging through him. Potential Points! Another four Potential Points!
This "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" was practically a treasure trove!
But he soon calmed down.
The first of the four conditions was already complete. The third would be the easiest, and the fourth didn't explicitly require him to fight the Dark Spider Mother.
The second condition, however, would be tricky. To reach 50% exploration, he would at least have to find out how large this Land of Flowing Shadows was.
He was bound to encounter the monstrosities there more than once along the way.
He thought of the enormous half-human, half-spider figure. Was that the Dark Spider Mother?
He wasn't sure. If it wasn't, that meant the Dark Spider Mother was an even more terrifying Flowing Shadow Monstrosity.
After a moment of silence, he stopped thinking about it and looked at the bronze cauldron beside him. He still regretted not having been able to pick a few more Cat Puppet hearts.
He looked away and glanced at his tattered clothes, which were still faintly stained with blood.
"I should find somewhere to wash up and change before heading back."
Then he picked up the backpack beside him, slung it over his shoulder, and left.
Time passed. About an hour later, footsteps echoed through Dark Street.
A figure in a black robe walked up to the four-legged bronze cauldron and crouched down. His mask glimmered faintly in the night.
It was a snake-faced mask. Its black forked tongue resembled the writhing antennae of a centipede, making it look terrifying and uncanny.
A black python was embroidered on the back of the robe, but white feathers grew strangely between its scales, making it seem both real and unreal.
He reached out and gently touched the side of the cauldron. His nails were black, and his skin was dry and wrinkled.
After a while, he took out a communicator and pressed a button. His voice was hoarse.
"Reporting to the Divine Attendant. Altar No. 7 has had an incident. Someone has entered the Land of Flowing Shadows here."
When he finished speaking, Dark Street fell silent once again. Nearly five minutes passed before the communicator gave off a sound like a python hissing.
"Investigate."
The voice vanished, and the communicator fell silent. The black-robed figure pressed the button.
"Yes."
"Click."
By the time Lin Ye opened the door, he had changed out of his regular clothes and into the training uniform from the boxing gym.
The bathhouse provided bathrobes, but if he went home wearing one of those, rumors would probably spread by the next day that he was some kind of lecherous fiend.
He was about to head straight to his room when his gaze shifted. Jiang Weilan was sitting dazed on the living room sofa, holding a framed photograph.
"Mom?" he asked softly.
Jiang Weilan snapped back to her senses and hurriedly turned the frame face down. She smiled at Lin Ye.
"You're back, son. Are you hungry?"
"There are braised ribs in the pot, and Nine-Turn Intestines, your favorite."
Lin Ye shook his head slightly.
"I'm not hungry. Why are you still up? You don't have to wait for me. I might often get home around this time from now on."
Jiang Weilan nodded. "No, I woke up in the middle of the night too, so I got up to sit for a while. If you're not eating, then go to bed. I'll get some rest too."
She stood up and walked straight into the inner room.
Lin Ye went back to his bedroom too. He gently pulled the curtains aside, letting the moonlight pour in.
Monument.
He silently called it up. A cloud of black mist appeared, and the Monument materialized.
[Potential Points: 3]
Looking at the Potential Points, he remained calm.
There's no need to raise my four core attributes right now.
At present, he had ways to improve all his attributes except Intelligence.
Even Intelligence wouldn't be a problem if he could translate the formula for the Heart of Dark Night Boiling.
He simply couldn't take it freely because of that Church.
More importantly, raising his four core attributes alone wouldn't significantly improve his fighting skills—in other words, his combat strength.
What he lacked most right now wasn't physical ability, but the ability to apply it in actual combat.
Then his gaze fell on [Soul Whale Fist "First Layer" (30/100)].
After hesitating for a while, he decided not to spend Potential Points yet.
This wasn't the right time. He hadn't been training for long enough.
He could master the basics of the fist technique in five days, but he couldn't reach the second layer in just ten.
That couldn't be explained by superior talent. His strength was still limited, and it wasn't suitable for him to reveal too much.
No one might ask him to explain himself, but he couldn't stake his safety on other people.
Besides, with the Monument in hand, his path ahead was already wide open. Quietly developing his strength was the best approach; there was no need to draw attention to himself.
He definitely shouldn't invite unnecessary risks by being too conspicuous.
This wasn't his previous life. This was a world where the supernatural truly existed, with Secret Potions and magic potions. Possession and blood-forged human pills might not be impossible.
Besides, his martial arts were still at an early stage. At least as far as he was concerned, reaching the second layer of Soul Whale Fist wouldn't be difficult.
Spending Potential Points now would save him, at most, about a month.
But if he waited until he was near the end of the first layer—or even until he reached the second layer—the time saved might be half a year or even a year or two.
All in all, spending Potential Points now would be poor value and a waste of resources.
And since he had no reliable source of Potential Points, he should avoid wasting them whenever possible.
He looked out the window. Moonlight fell on the leaves, giving them a silvery sheen.
"The head coach's special training lasts two weeks. I can wait until after that to spend points. They'll be worth much more then."
Having made up his mind, he felt a little more at ease. It was frustrating to have resources and not use them, but everything was for the sake of a more distant future.
He was about to put away the Monument when something occurred to him. He looked at the Black Bamboo Lotus beside him.
He waited a few seconds, but nothing changed in his field of vision. Then he looked toward the desk drawer.
"Rattle—"
He pulled open the drawer and took out a bottle of Night of the Black Goat.
[Ingredient Name: Night of the Black Goat] [Ingredient Category: Magic Potion] [Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank] [Edible Part: Entire body] [Effect: Nourishes with yin energy; slightly increases Strength, Constitution, and Agility; greatly increases movement speed for a short time.]
Lin Ye's heart tightened as he looked at the text in his field of vision.
"The Black Bamboo Lotus didn't react, but the Night of the Black Goat did. Is it because it lacks a mystical—or rather, supernatural—element?"
"Magic potions count as ingredients, which means the Spider Puppet Heart didn't light up an Ouroboros Scale because it hadn't been recognized as an ingredient."
His gaze fell on the words "Nourishes with yin energy" in the effect description.
He thought of the icy feeling he'd experienced after taking magic potions and unlocking achievements, as well as the warmth in his lower abdomen when he'd eaten the Spider Puppet Heart.
The sensations were completely different.
"Nourishment from yin energy... That's what lights up the scales."
"In other words, as long as I avoid ingredients described as containing yin energy, I can keep eating without lighting up any more scales!"
He raised his eyes, which gleamed in the moonlight, and smiled with relief.
"At last... I've figured it out."
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