[Achievement: Past in the Darkness]

[Yin-Attracting Constitution (3/10)]

Looking at the entry on the Monument, Lin Ye felt a headache coming on now that the number of baptisms for his Yin-Attracting Constitution had reached three.

"Doesn't this just make me even more attractive to these so-called Land of Flowing Shadows anomalies?"

He sighed, his gaze dropping to the line below Yin-Attracting Constitution.

[Desire of Gluttony (1/10)]

The (1/10) represented a quantity; after consuming ten different types of "ingredients," the Desire of Gluttony would undergo an upgrade.

As for what would happen after the upgrade, he had no idea, but the basic effect of gaining improvements from consuming ingredients would not disappear.

It might become more powerful, perhaps evolving from only being able to eat normal rice to being able to consume things like pebbles or iron filings.

He put away the Monument and looked at the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand; the number of lit scales had increased by another 13, reaching a total of 78.

At this rate, he would have to enter that medieval church in three more sessions.

In reality, he only had two free sessions left; after the third, he wouldn't have much time to prepare.

"Endure."

He silently repeated the word in his heart, yet he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Could the monster in the church trigger a new achievement?

Would the achievement reward be a growth-type offensive ability?

Might there be some kind of ingredient inside the monster's body? What kind of effect would it have?

Just as he was thinking this, a block of black text abruptly appeared.

[Achievement Triggered: Past in the Darkness]

[Achievement Description: Is it only darkness that spreads within the shadows?]

[Unlock Conditions]

1. Escape from a "Flowing Shadow Predator" once (Completed)

2. Explore the "Flowing Shadow Predator" to over 50% (12%)

3. Re-enter the "Flowing Shadow Predator" (Incomplete)

4. Confront the Dark Spider Mother (Incomplete)

[Achievement Reward: Potential Point x4]

Taking a deep breath, Lin Ye felt his heart race—Potential Points! Another 4 Potential Points!

This "Flowing Shadow Predator" was practically a treasure trove!

However, he quickly calmed himself down.

Of the four conditions, the first was already done, the third was the simplest, and the fourth didn't explicitly require him to fight the Dark Spider Mother.

But the second condition was tricky; to reach 50% exploration, he would at least need to figure out how large this Land of Flowing Shadows actually was.

In the process, he would undoubtedly encounter the anomalies within this Land of Flowing Shadows more than once.

He thought of the figure of that giant half-human spider—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 anomaly of the Land of Flowing Shadows.

After a moment of silence, he stopped dwelling on it and looked at the bronze tripod beside him, still feeling it was a pity he hadn't been able to harvest more Cat Puppet hearts at the time.

Withdrawing his gaze, he glanced at his tattered clothes, which were faintly stained with blood.

"I should find a place to wash up and change before heading back."

With that, he grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and walked straight away.

Time passed, and about an hour later, the sound of footsteps echoed through the Dark Street.

A figure draped in a black robe walked up to the four-legged bronze tripod and crouched down, their mask glowing faintly in the night.

It was a snake-faced mask, with a black snake tongue that looked like a twisted centipede tentacle, appearing terrifying and grotesque.

Embroidered on the back of the black robe was a pitch-black python, but white feathers grew eerily from the gaps in its scales, looking both real and illusory.

The figure reached out a hand to gently touch the wall of the bronze tripod; their fingernails were black, and their skin was withered and wrinkled.

After a while, they took out a communicator, pressed a button, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Reporting to the Divine Attendant, there is a situation at Altar No. 7. Someone has entered the Land of Flowing Shadows here."

After speaking, the Dark Street fell back into silence. It took nearly five minutes before the communicator emitted a sound like a python hissing.

"Investigate."

The voice vanished, the communicator went silent, and the black-robed figure pressed the button.

"Understood."

*

*

"Click."

As he pushed the door open and walked in, Lin Ye had already taken off his casual clothes and changed into his martial arts gym uniform.

Although the bathhouse provided bathrobes, he feared that if he wore one home, rumors would spread the next day that he was a lecherous pervert.

Just as he was about to head straight to his room, his gaze shifted, and he saw Jiang Weilan sitting on the living room sofa in a daze, holding a photo frame.

"Mom?" he said softly.

Jiang Weilan snapped back to reality, hurriedly turned the photo frame face down, and looked at Lin Ye with a smile.

"My son is back. Are you hungry?"

"There are pork ribs stewed in the pot, and your favorite Nine-Turn Intestines."

Lin Ye shook his head slightly.

"I won't eat. Why aren't you asleep yet? You don't need to wait for me; I might be coming back at this hour often from now on."

Jiang Weilan nodded. "No, I just woke up in the middle of the night and got up to sit for a while. If you aren't eating, then go to sleep. I'm going to rest too."

After saying this, she stood up and walked straight toward the inner room.

Seeing this, Lin Ye also returned to his bedroom and gently pulled back the curtains, letting the moonlight shine in.

"Monument."

He chanted silently in his heart, and accompanied by a swirl of black mist, the Monument appeared.

Potential Point: 3

Looking at the Potential Point, his gaze remained calm.

"Increasing my four-dimensional attributes right now... is unnecessary."

At present, apart from the intelligence attribute, he did not lack ways to improve.

Even for the intelligence attribute, as long as he could translate the preparation method for the Heart of Dark Night Boiling, he wouldn't be lacking there either.

It was simply that he couldn't consume it at will because of that church.

Moreover, the most important point was that simply increasing his four-dimensional attributes would not significantly boost his martial arts ability, which was to say, his combat power.

What he lacked most right now was not physical fitness, but how to translate that physical fitness into practical combat effectiveness.

Immediately, his gaze fell upon [Soul Whale Fist "Level 1" (30/100)].

He hesitated for a moment but ultimately gave up on the idea of adding points now.

The timing was not right; he had been practicing martial arts for too short a time.

He could master a fist technique in five days, but he couldn't reach the second level in ten.

This was not something that could be explained by superior talent, and given his current lack of strength, it was not suitable to expose too much.

Although it was unlikely anyone would demand an explanation, he could not entrust his safety to others.

Besides, with the Monument in hand, the path ahead was already smooth; keeping a low profile and developing was the way to go, and it was not wise to be too high-profile.

He certainly couldn't afford to invite unnecessary risks by being flashy.

This was not his previous life; it was a world where the extraordinary, Secret Potions, and magic potions truly existed. Things like soul possession, rebirth, and blood-refining human pills were not necessarily impossible.

Furthermore, his martial arts journey was still in its infancy, and at least for him, reaching the second level of Soul Whale Fist would not be difficult.

Using a Potential Point now would save him at most a month or so of time.

But if he waited until the end of the first level, or simply waited until he reached the second level before adding points, the time saved could be half a year or even a year or two.

Overall, the cost-effectiveness of using a Potential Point now was too low; it was a waste of resources.

And since he did not have a stable source of Potential Points, he should try his best to avoid such waste.

He looked out the window, where the moonlight shone on the leaves, casting a silvery-white glow over the greenery.

"The head coach's special training lasts for two weeks. It won't be too late to add points after the training; that's when the cost-effectiveness will be high."

After making his decision, he felt a slight sense of relief. It was indeed uncomfortable to see resources and not use them, but everything was for a more distant future.

Just as he was about to put the Monument away, he suddenly remembered something and looked at the Black Bamboo Lotus to the side.

After waiting for a few seconds, there was no change in his field of vision, so he turned his gaze to the computer desk drawer.

"Clatter--"

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: Main Body

[Consumption Effect: Gain nourishment from Yin energy, slightly increase Strength, Constitution, and Agility attributes, and significantly boost movement speed for a short duration.]

Looking at the text in his field of vision, Lin Ye felt his heart tighten.

"The Black Bamboo Lotus didn't trigger a reaction, but the Night of the Black Goat did. Is it because of the lack of a mystical or supernatural element?"

"If potions are also considered ingredients, then the reason the Spider Puppet Heart didn't light up the Ouroboros Scale isn't because it wasn't classified as an ingredient."

His gaze landed on the "Gain nourishment from Yin energy" part of the consumption effect.

He recalled the icy sensation he felt when consuming potions and unlocking achievements, as well as the heat in his lower abdomen when he ate the Spider Puppet Heart.

These were two completely different sensations.

"Nourishment from Yin energy... that is the reason the scale lit up."

"In other words, as long as I avoid ingredients labeled with Yin energy in the future, I can prevent lighting up the scale through eating!"

He raised his eyes, which shimmered under the moonlight, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Finally... I've found the reason."