Fulan Snowfield

After exiting Pearl Water Cave, Lin Ye climbed all the way to the mountain peak.

Under the bright white moonlight, the summit was not dark at all; instead, it was quite clear, as if covered in a layer of white frost.

Calming his emotions, Lin Ye could not help but look back toward the direction of Pearl Water Cave.

He was absolutely certain that in that brief moment of darkness, there was definitely some kind of large creature behind him.

The presence of that thing was too intense, as if an eye had grown on the back of his head, allowing him to see it with his own eyes.

Even more, the feeling that thing gave him was humanoid, rather than some kind of beast.

Yet, that faint, ethereal laughter did not sound like a sound a human could make.

"Night Demon."

For no apparent reason, these two words surfaced in his mind.

His heart sank slightly, and he frowned, thinking of the function of the Night Demon rune, which was a special rune used for some kind of summoning ritual.

"So... did I unintentionally connect to the so-called Hell, causing some kind of Hell creature to appear briefly?"

"Was it a coincidence, or..."

He looked at the Heart of Dark Night Boiling potion in his hand.

[Ingredient Name: Heart of Dark Night Boiling]
[Ingredient Category: Potion]
[Ingredient Rank: Mortal Rank]
[Edible Part: Main Body]
[Consumption Effect: Gain nourishment from yin energy, slightly increase Strength and Intelligence attributes, and moderately improve night vision.]

If it wasn't a coincidence, and if every time he brewed Heart of Dark Night Boiling it would be like this...

"I must be more cautious."

He nodded inwardly; next time he brewed it, he wouldn't wait on-site.

He looked at the consumption effects at the end of the ingredient information; it only increased Strength and Intelligence attributes.

Recalling the potion recipe for Night of the Black Goat, there were indeed differences in the descriptions between the two.

The description for Heart of Dark Night Boiling mentioned Strength and mental power, while Night of the Black Goat mentioned physical strength and flexibility.

Mental power was associated with the Intelligence attribute, while flexibility was associated with the Agility attribute.

Strength went without saying; it was the Strength attribute.

But physical strength did not refer solely to Strength; it should be a general term encompassing strength, stamina, blood energy, and so on.

Therefore, physical strength corresponded to both the Strength attribute and the Constitution attribute.

He nodded slightly; alchemy was indeed quite rigorous.

Although there was a gap compared to modern times, that Church looked like an ancient medieval building, and in that era, it could already be considered top-tier.

Adjusting his state, he looked at the potion in his hand.

"Should I consume it now?"

He flipped his palm, revealing the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand, with 78 scales glowing faintly.

There were still three chances left—or to be precise, two—because after the third time, he would immediately enter that medieval Church.

And among these two, one must be reserved for Past in the Darkness.

He could not let those 4 Potential Points slip away!

After a long silence, with his hair tips damp from the moisture, Lin Ye snapped back to reality.

He still decided to consume it to test the effects.

The current three factors that caused the scales to light up were: unlocking achievements, consuming potions, and eating ingredients with yin energy nourishment effects.

Although consuming the potion now would leave him with only one chance for error.

In reality, however, these three factors were all controllable.

As long as no accidents occurred, there would be no problems.

Besides... he wanted to verify the effects of the Intelligence attribute.

Having made his decision, he hesitated no longer, pulled out the stopper, and downed it in one gulp.

The heart, the size of a longan, had a tough texture; it didn't feel like meat, but rather like some kind of leather.

"Gulp~"

After swallowing the potion, a sensation of coldness spread from his stomach, like a cold, slippery little snake slithering through him.

Before long, the cold sensation vanished.

Lin Ye clenched his fist slightly; this clear sense of improvement was truly... addictive.

It was more blood-pumping than any stimulant.

Suddenly, his eyelids twitched.

Lifting his gaze to look into the distance, the world seemed to have shed a thin film, becoming crystal clear.

"What is this feeling?"

Looking around, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Night vision! A faint ability for night vision!

Everything around him seemed to have increased in brightness; although it didn't reach the level of broad daylight, there were essentially no dark areas left in the mountain forest.

"Very good!"

"If it's like this, will I be able to see exactly what that thing is the next time I brew a potion?"

He grinned, his two rows of white teeth looking neat and menacing.

"Could it be some kind of ingredient?"

Tilting his head back slightly, the bright moon reflected in his eyes, leaving his heart feeling empty and filled with an indescribable sensation.

"Monument," he chanted silently in his heart.

[Strength: 0.71]

[Intelligence: 0.56]

[Potion Apprentice (7/10)]

[Desire of Gluttony (2/10)]

Strength and intelligence had each increased by 0.01, the count for Potion Apprentice had increased by three, and the count for Desire of Gluttony had also increased by one.

Putting away the Monument, he prepared to get up and return to verify the impact of the intelligence attribute on translating the notes.

A sudden sharp pain shot through the center of his forehead, but it vanished in less than a second.

He took out his phone and opened the selfie camera.

The faint light emitted by the screen illuminated his face.

A crimson vertical line at the center of his forehead was not very obvious, yet it possessed an inexplicable attraction that made one unable to help but look at it.

He reached out to touch it, but there was no raised or sunken sensation; it felt more like a tattoo.

"A side effect? Or is this the blessing of the Night Demon?"

As he thought this, the crimson vertical line gradually began to fade.

After a few seconds of silence, he stood up.

If he could return alive from that medieval Church next time, he would drink another bottle to see if the side effects worsened.

Without lingering, he shouldered his backpack and left directly.

In front of his computer desk, Lin Ye picked up the Elementary Potionology Notes.

Opening the notes, a hand-drawn illustration of Black Spiral Grass caught his eye.

He reached out to touch the page gently, still clearly remembering the excitement he felt the night he first translated [Night of the Black Goat].

That was the first time he had felt such a clear, greedy desire for the "extraordinary."

He continued turning the pages, and the potion recipe for [Heart of Dark Night Boiling] sat quietly on the paper.

"Night Demon..."

He murmured, turning to the third page.

What met his eyes was a hand-drawn ginkgo tree, though compared to an ordinary ginkgo tree, the leaves of this one were clearly much larger.

If calculated by proportion, each leaf was at least the size of a washbasin, and the leaves seemed to have ice-crystal-like thorn patterns on them.

[Millennium Snow White Fruit Tree]

As he translated the name, a wave of dizziness surged up.

But Lin Ye laughed; this wave of dizziness was lighter than the last time.

This proved that increasing his mental power, or rather, increasing his intelligence attribute, was effective!

Immediately, he opened his computer and typed the words "Millennium Snow White Fruit Tree" into the search bar.

Relevant information appeared quickly.

"Snow White Fruit Tree, also known as Snow Ginkgo Tree."

"Origin: Northern snowfields of the Tin Deer Kingdom."

"The Snow White Fruit Tree is one of the only two remaining species of the Ginkgo family, with its only growth region located in the Fulan Snowfield in the north of Tin Deer, at an altitude of over two thousand meters."

"It is the oldest gymnosperm plant surviving from the super-ancient era."

"Its fruit tastes sweet and has a strange fragrance..."

"..."