"Fulan Snowfield in northern Tin Deer."
Lin Ye spoke softly. Fulan Snowfield, in the northern reaches of the Tin Deer Kingdom, was the highest plateau in the world.
It was said to be one of the birthplaces of the Ancient Rhein Civilization.
Though it was covered in ice and snow all year round, it had the world's most developed snowfield vegetation system, and was home to a wide variety of wild animals.
He knew this because his teacher and senior fellow apprentice Qin had gone there last year to collect a Snow Lotus, and had told him a little about the place.
"It's a bit too far away."
He shook his head and continued translating the notes.
A little over an hour later, Lin Ye rubbed his temples, trying to ease the dizziness.
His expression was pained, but he looked extremely excited.
His eyes fell on the translated manuscript:
[Type-II Potion—Wind of the Millennium Star-Ear] Ingredients: 30 g of White Tin Powder, one Millennium Snow-White Fruit seed, three leaves, 10 g of Snowfield Meteorite Heart powder, and 300 g of morning dew from a Millennium Snow White Fruit Tree. Potion effects: 1. Moderately improves the drinker's overall physical attributes. 2. Receives the blessing of millennium wisdom, slightly improving memory and slightly increasing affinity with plant alchemy. 3. Receives the blessing of the star-ear, slightly increasing affinity with astral alchemy. 4. Wins the favor of the snowfield. You will not lose your way in a snowfield.
Perhaps because this was a Type-II Potion formula, translating it took a tremendous toll, despite the modest number of runes.
He would have to wait a few days before he could continue translating the specific preparation method.
Looking at the manuscript before him, Lin Ye couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth from turning up. But the dizziness made him furrow his brow, leaving him looking like someone with a split personality.
He set down his pen and rested for over half an hour before he gradually recovered.
"Phew—"
He exhaled and looked at the manuscript.
A Type-II Potion! This was a Type-II Potion formula!
And, most importantly... alchemy!
There was actually alchemy in this world!
Was it some kind of magic? Or witchcraft?
This was the real supernatural—a power beyond the understanding of ordinary people!
Unlike alchemy, both the qi-sensation of martial arts and the monsters at the Church and in Flowing Shadow were objectively real in a physical sense.
But alchemy was different! It was clearly something fantastical!
"Phew—"
He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then turned his gaze to Elementary Potionology Notes.
He flipped ahead without translating, only skimming through the pages.
When he reached the end, a smile appeared on his face, as though he had breathed a sigh of relief.
There were two more potion formulas, but the most important thing was the final page!
There was no botanical sketch. The page was entirely text, and its format was unlike that of the potion formulas.
The writing was also noticeably bolder, clearly added by someone after the notes had been completed!
Without hesitation, he began translating.
"If you can read this, then congratulations."
"You will inherit the Miracle of Agony."
"Rejoice, mortal!"
"One of the greatest gates along the path of the alchemist will open for you."
"Thud!"
Lin Ye's head hit the computer desk, and he passed out.
Who knew how much time had passed before Lin Ye slowly came to. Pale light filtered in through the window. It was already morning.
"What happened...?"
He murmured and glanced over the desk. The moment he saw the notes, he froze.
He swallowed, then finally recalled the excruciating pain he had felt just before.
It was as if a pair of giant hands had plunged into his brain and were churning it wildly, tearing his soul apart.
"Snap!"
He closed the notes and panted softly. His temples still throbbed faintly.
"I was careless."
After taking a moment to recover, he turned his gaze to the notes again.
"The Miracle of Agony... Isn't that what the Rhein Church worships?"
"What connection is there between the Rhein Church, the Ancient Rhein Civilization, and alchemists?"
After a long silence, he quietly put the notes away.
Once he had calmed down, he looked at the potion formula on the desk.
"Overall physical attributes."
"In other words, all four attributes go up—and not by a little, but by a moderate amount."
Even if each attribute only increased by 0.02, that would still be a total increase of 0.08 across all four attributes.
That was almost equivalent to one Potential Point! No wonder it was a Type-II Potion!
He put the manuscript away and typed "Snowfield Meteorite Heart" into the computer's search bar.
The relevant information appeared soon after.
Snowfield Meteorite Heart was what remained of meteorites from Fulan Snowfield after their contaminated outer layers had been ground away.
It wasn't expensive. It usually cost around a thousand yuan per half kilogram.
The only problem was that Fulan Snowfield was a popular tourist destination, so fakes were easy to come by.
"But it doesn't seem easy to get there right now. I wonder if I could go on a tourist visa?"
"My teacher has been there before. I wonder if he knows a way?"
As he thought, another idea came to him, and he typed something else into the computer.
A little while later, he nodded. Snow White Fruit Trees only bore fruit in summer, so he'd have to go before October if he wanted to make it in time.
"I'll ask my teacher when I get the chance."
He shut down the computer and looked out the window. The sky was already bright. Summer mornings always came a little early.
He sat on the edge of the bed, picked up a mirror, and took a look. The deep red vertical line between his brows was still there, though it had faded until it was barely visible.
He paid it no mind. The Altar on Dark Street from that night surfaced in his mind, along with... the shadow of a gigantic half-human spider in the thick fog.
"No rush. No rush."
"I'm not prepared enough yet."
That half-human spider was so huge. Its strength probably wasn't any less than the monster at the Church, was it?
His strength was now far greater than it had been back then, and he no longer feared the Cat-type Spider Puppets.
But compared to that gigantic half-human spider, he was probably still on a completely different level.
Still, there were so many Cat-type Spider Puppets in that Flowing Shadow. There had to be plenty of Spider Puppet Hearts! He absolutely couldn't let that opportunity pass!
And more importantly, unlocking the [Past in the Darkness] achievement would give him four Potential Points.
Those things were too precious. The last two times, he'd nearly died to get them.
He looked at his palm, memories of the past few days welling up in his mind as a weight pressed on his heart.
He curled his fingers, closing his palm over its lines, and slowly shut his eyes.
"I'm still... too weak."
He murmured to himself. After a few seconds of silence, his eyes suddenly snapped open, a glint flashing through them.
"Monument!"
"Give me the points!"
There was no need to wait any longer. He'd already gotten almost all the short-term returns from the head coach.
His experience had also reached 90. He was only one step away from breaking through, so waiting a few more days wouldn't make much difference.
It was time to see what Potential Points could do!
At once, on the black Monument in the Desolate Land, the number after Potential Points changed from "3" to "2."
The vanished Potential Point transformed into a speck of dark light and shot into the ability column, [Soul Whale Fist "First Layer" (90/100)].
The text blurred and gave off black mist, as if countless little snakes were writhing across it.
At the same time, a thick black mist welled from the Ouroboros mark on the back of Lin Ye's hand and spread along his right arm, enveloping his whole body.
The tension in his body reached its peak, as if countless hemp ropes were squeezing tighter and tighter around him.
Fragments of his memories from bitter cultivation surfaced in his mind. His qi-sensation instantly flowed through his fingertips, completing "Qi Through Ten Fingers" in a single step!
The next moment, the strangling sensation of Qi-Sensation Like Rope gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable resilience.
It was as if the hemp rope had turned into the sinew of some animal.
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