Alchemy

The black mamba snake missed its attack and twisted its massive body.

The cold, serpentine eyes instantly locked onto Lin Mo in the tree once more.

It seemed to be enraged, letting out a hoarse roar.

The snake opened its mouth wide, revealing dagger-like fangs, and with a gust of foul wind, it pounced through the air again at an even greater speed!

The level 20 Beast King's aura erupted completely, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

However, Lin Mo simply watched it pounce on him calmly.

Just as that enormous mouth was about to close, he moved.

There are no fancy techniques, just the simplest downward chop.

The black sword in his hand transformed into a streak of dark light that tore through the night, striking with unparalleled precision at the point where the giant python's head connected to its body.

Sizzle—!

The tough scales were easily broken through.

The black sword pierced deep into flesh and blood, severing bones and leaving a huge wound that splattered with hot, bloody blood!

"hiss--!"

The black mamba let out a painful screech.

The momentum of the attack was abruptly interrupted.

The excruciating pain instantly robbed it of its will to fight, and its massive body twisted violently.

It turned and darted into the depths of the forest at an astonishing speed.

But Lin Mo showed no intention of giving chase.

With a flick of his wrist, he sheathed the black sword, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground, making a clean and decisive sheathing motion.

Just as the sword and scabbard were about to close together, making a slight "click" sound—

puff!

An invisible yet incredibly sharp sword aura regenerated from the void, slicing across the gruesome wound that had just been cleaved open on the Black Mamba's neck!

Double blow!

This additional strike was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The black mamba snake's speeding body suddenly froze.

The enormous snake head was completely separated from its body.

Driven by inertia, it rushed forward for another ten meters before crashing to the ground.

The headless snake writhed and thrashed wildly on the ground for a while, then gradually lost its strength and finally fell silent.

[Successfully defeated the level 20 Beast King: Black Mamba Serpent King]

[Gain a large amount of experience points]

[Absorb soul energy, all attributes +50!]

[Level upgraded to Level 17!]

Blood flew out from Lin Mo's collar.

Looking at the still slightly twitching snake corpse, he clicked his tongue: "A level 16 one-shotting a level 20 Beast King, tsk tsk, who would believe that?"

Feeling the warmth of leveling up and the fulfillment of having his attributes enhanced again, Lin Mo shook his head: "I'm level 17 now."

He walked to the snake's corpse.

Sure enough, a black scale with metallic edges was emitting a faint glow.

Lin Mo bent down and picked it up; it was cold and hard to the touch.

"This essence... I don't think I need it now."

Lin Mo looked at the scales. Level 20 essence was no longer enough for him. His next goal was at least level 30 essence.

"Feed it to your little spider, then."

Yin Xue flew over and circled the scale once. "Your current stats are almost 2,000, your foundation is frighteningly solid. The level 20 essence will have limited effect on you, but it's perfect as an appetizer for that little guy. Once you reach level 20, go find a level 30 or higher beast king essence to absorb."

Lin Mo frowned: "Beast King Essence of level 30 or higher... I doubt there's any in this forest around here, is there?"

"Of course not."

Yin Xue chuckled, "Most monsters of this level live in more dangerous areas or have already been wiped out, but it's different in Mingbei City."

In those big cities, the market demand is huge. Not only do adventurer guilds buy them year-round, but there are also underground black markets and legitimate auction houses that specialize in circulating these items.

If you have money or goods of sufficient value, you might be able to buy level 30, 40, or even higher-level essences.

"Buy it directly?"

Lin Mo murmured, then his brows furrowed even more. "The few gold coins I have on me right now probably aren't even enough to cover the small amount."

They killed the church priest and Layton, plus some supplies given by Su Lin.

All I could count was a dozen or so gold coins.

He didn't even need to ask the price to know that the amount of gold coins was far from enough.

"Idiot!" Yin Xue poked his cheek with her little paw, her tone smug. "Who told you to buy it with gold coins? You could have just robbed it, or at least sold it for free attribute points!"

Lin Mo was taken aback by Yin Xue's suggestion: "Free attribute points? These... can be bought and sold?"

"sure!"

Yin Xue gave him a look that said, "You've finally gotten to the point."

"However, this kind of external force infusion is very inefficient and has many limitations. Usually, if you transfer 10 free attribute points to someone, they can only absorb and convert them into 1 actual attribute point."

"Moreover, the more times the same person receives this kind of gift, the less effective it becomes. For example, if the first time it's 10 points for 1 point, the second time it might require 20 points for 1 point, and the third time even more..."

"And so on, until it becomes almost completely ineffective. This is usually a method used by large families to cultivate their core members."

Lin Mo nodded to himself.

This means that having money can make you stronger, and becoming stronger allows you to acquire more resources, creating a snowball effect.

Eventually, this forms a large family or power.

"So... how much is a free attribute point worth?" Lin Mo asked the crucial question.

Based on his memory, Yin Xue estimated: "At market price, one free attribute point is worth about 1000 gold coins, and there is often no market for it, since a person only has so many free attribute points, and each one is very precious."

1000 gold coins per point!

Lin Mo looked at the two hundred-plus free attribute points he had left on his panel.

This is a huge sum of money!

But he immediately suppressed the thought.

Attribute points are fundamental; selling attribute points for money is like drinking poison to quench thirst.

It should never be used lightly unless absolutely necessary.

"Besides buying and selling attribute points, are there any other ways to quickly improve attributes?"

Lin Mo pressed on with his question.

"Of course!"

Yin Xue perked up and started explaining the science.

"Alchemists can create potions with various effects: those that heal injuries, temporarily enhance strength, detoxify, and even permanently increase attribute points!"

"A potion that permanently increases attribute points?" Lin Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, but that kind of potion is extremely precious, the materials are hard to find, the success rate of refining it is low, and each person has drug resistance, so the types and frequency of its use are limited. However, alchemy masters who can refine this kind of potion are honored guests and have a superb status no matter which country they go to."

Yin Xue continued, "Besides attribute potions, there are also alchemical potions for soaking weapons and strengthening equipment, special inks needed to draw magic scrolls, and materials for setting up barriers and magic circles... all of which are inseparable from alchemy."

Lin Mo listened silently, gaining a deeper understanding of the world.

He pressed the essence scale of the Black Mamba Serpent King in his hand close to his chest, and through the soul connection, slowly guided the energy contained within it to the spider egg in his arms, which had been preserved by Yin Xue using special methods.

He could feel the joy and longing emanating from the tiny life inside the egg, and he quickly absorbed all of that energy.

After doing all this, Lin Mo determined the direction and stuffed the blood back into his collar.

"Let's go, to Mingbei City."