The Development of "Libah"

The group of Soft-Bone Rabbits used for this experiment fed on a plant spirit beast known as the "Mambo Vine." This plant spirit beast indeed propagates in large numbers between August and October, and herbivorous spirit beasts like the Soft-Bone Rabbit feed on it during this period. A certain substance within the Mambo Vine was likely the source that caused these herbivorous spirit beasts to become irritable, physically stronger than before, and more aggressive.

This substance then accumulated within the bodies of the herbivorous spirit beasts. After they were preyed upon by carnivorous spirit beasts, the substance was absorbed by the predators, which in turn gained greater offensive power.

After confirming it was the Mambo Vine, Kong Bo asked the King of Ten Thousand Demons about the habits of this plant. It is a plant spirit beast found in the northern part of the Star Dou Great Forest, existing in both low and high cultivation ages. Some high-age Mambo Vines even produce spirit bones, and the King of Ten Thousand Demons gifted the Mambo Vine spirit bones he had collected to Kong Bo.

"Evil Emperor, I have obtained what I wanted. Let us return." Kong Bo then brought the Mambo Vines and the Mambo Vine spirit bones back to the Ming Capital. To make the medicinal effects more apparent, Kong Bo began researching which components of the Mambo Vine could provide muscle-building effects for spirit beasts. He raised some Soft-Bone Rabbits in his laboratory and began processing the Mambo Vines using various methods, then injected the products into the rabbits to observe the results.

Kong Bo spent his mornings conducting experiments, his afternoons cultivating or participating in matches at the Underground Soul Fighting Arena, and his evenings observing the rabbits.

"Kong Bo, why are you messing around with those herbs every day?" Qian Renxue, residing within Kong Bo's mind, asked with confusion. "Do you think these herbs can enhance a spirit master's combat power and you intend to promote them? Couldn't you just order the Offering Hall to handle these things?" Qian Renxue was unaware of Kong Bo's plan; she only saw him working on these items.

"That won't do. This matter must be done by me personally, as some preparation processes require my direct involvement," Kong Bo replied.

"Fine, fine. It's truly strange not seeing you tinker with your Gundam bones," Qian Renxue remarked.

After repeated research, Kong Bo discovered the substance responsible for the Mambo Vine's effects. It was a white, water-soluble crystal. By boiling the Mambo Vine at low temperatures, filtering out impurities, and drying it at room temperature, he could extract these white crystals from the solution. The crystals were an organic compound; Kong Bo did not know their chemical composition, but he could measure their pH value. He tentatively named this substance "Mambo Alkaloid."

"The next step is to test it on humans." Kong Bo then dispatched Zi Ji, the Demon Empress, Lan Fozi, the Ice Empress, and the Snow Empress to capture Evil Spirit Masters everywhere. However, since disappearances of Xishui Alliance members had already occurred in the Ming Capital, to avoid suspicion from the Holy Spirit Cult, Kong Bo sent the Evil Emperor to capture people in the Evil Demon Forest, the Demon Empress and Lan Fozi to the Star Luo Empire, and the Ice and Snow Empresses to areas outside the Ming Capital.

Once they were captured, Kong Bo began injecting the test subjects with Mambo Alkaloid to determine the appropriate treatment regimens for spirit masters of different levels, ensuring they could gain muscle stably and continuously without losing efficiency. Qian Renxue and Electrolux then watched as Kong Bo returned to tinkering with his Gundam; initially, the mortality rate of the test subjects was terrifyingly high.

"Kong Bo, is this really an experiment?" Qian Renxue asked. "Anyone who didn't know better would think you were poisoning them."

"Indeed, Lady Angel God, this is an experiment to determine the dosage of Mambo Alkaloid for spirit masters at different stages. Alas, these test subjects have sacrificed their lives for my research and for the exploration of unknown realms by all human spirit masters. Consider it their way of atoning for their sins after becoming Evil Spirit Masters by offering their lives to Zi Ji."

Qian Renxue rolled her eyes upon hearing this. "Are you in your Zandik persona now? I think the Rakshasa God and the Asura God shouldn't be giving you divine trials; you should be giving them trials instead. How can a person be as wicked as you?"

"I have said it before, Lady Angel God: a tempered villain is a true seeker of knowledge. I never conceal my evil deeds, greed, or selfish desires. A true scholar, a seeker of knowledge advancing toward the unknown, must be like me to pioneer known territory amidst the fog of the unknown," Kong Bo said.

Kong Bo truly believed this rhetoric and acted accordingly, which Qian Renxue found impossible to comprehend. How could a person who clearly understood what sin and evil were, and who lacked any material incentive, still act this way? He even adhered to these behaviors and evil thoughts as if they were a religious dogma. It was truly a form of "sublime evil." She had once remarked, "I think Kong Bo is doing quite well; he has a pursuit of his own beliefs that transcends material gain. If he didn't worship our Angel God, he would be the exact kind of official our Spirit Hall would want."

Kong Bo ignored Qian Renxue's thoughts and recorded the experimental results of each subject in his lab log.

"Subject Code: 001 Spirit: Dark Night Demon Wolf Spirit Master Level: 35 Experimental Result: Failure Status: Deceased Cause of Death: Excessive injection of Mambo Alkaloid, causing cardiac overload. Conclusion: To allow spirit masters at the Spirit Ancestor level to use Mambo Alkaloid continuously, the injection concentration should be reduced in the usage instructions."

"Subject Code: 002 Spirit: Bloodthirsty Mad Bear Spirit Master Level: 28 Experimental Result: Failure Status: Disabled (Recovered) Cause of Death: After using Mambo Alkaloid, the subject did not engage in mechanical exercise, leading to deformed muscle growth and the loss of use of both legs. Conclusion: After using Mambo Alkaloid, efficient muscle growth requires corresponding exercise, whether it be lifting weights or running." (Kong Bo then added: "The primitives at Shrek will absolutely love this stuff. Now they can finally make their students fall in love with running.")

It was unclear how many Holy Spirit Cult members Kong Bo sent to ascend to the Mambo Alkaloid planet, but he eventually succeeded in defining the required concentrations and dosages of Mambo Alkaloid for spirit masters of different strengths, as well as the minimum amount of exercise required after use.

The usage and exercise duration varied based on different cultivation levels. Kong Bo researched all these hypotheses and ultimately summarized the different methods for using Mambo Alkaloid across various spirit master levels.