The extraordinary journey begins with the Ouroboros Stele.

Chapter 144 [Kui Ox "Tough Hide LV.1"]

Looking at the ingredient information, Lin Ye couldn't help but smile; he had really gotten a bargain.

Even a mere skin of an ingredient of extraordinary quality is incredibly powerful.

Moreover, it possesses the same toughness as [Nuoshe Daiku].

With both combined, his defensive capabilities would be extremely strong.

"How much does this cost?"

He picked up the animal skin scroll and asked a question.

The stall owner's eyes darted around. "Sixty thousand."

Lin Ye nodded. "Swipe the card."

Upon seeing this, the stall owner frowned slightly. "No, you've misread it. This thing is worth 200,000; it's a treasure map."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the stall owner.

The stall owner met his gaze, his pupils slowly contracting, his expression gradually turning terrified.

I can't move!

They are secret martial artists!

"I'll give you one more chance to rephrase your words."

Lin Ye's voice was cold; after all, they were in a night market, and it wasn't appropriate to make a move directly.

The stall owner was trembling uncontrollably, and he raised his hand shakily, "No, I don't want any money."

Lin Ye glanced at him, then picked up the Kui Niu hide and left.

I didn't go any further; I'd already seen almost everything and hadn't missed anything.

"Hey! Wait a minute, you in front!"

Just as Lin Ye was about to leave the night market, a hurried shout suddenly rang out behind him.

He turned around, and a young man caught up with him.

Lin Ye looked at him with some surprise. "Twenty-year-old Lian Zhencheng?"

This herb-gathering area is truly a place where hidden talents reside.

"Where's the treasure map? Let's look at that first."

The young man spoke up somewhat eagerly, but before he could finish his sentence, he was pulled back by the middle-aged man behind him.

The middle-aged man looked at Lin Ye with some apology.

"My friend, I'm sorry, he doesn't go out much and doesn't know any manners."

As he spoke, he clasped his hands slightly in a fist and said, "We are willing to offer double the price, and hope our friend will part with it."

Upon learning of the treasure map, he rushed over immediately, but he was still a step too late.

Lin Ye didn't speak, but just quietly looked at the middle-aged man.

The secret martial artist, and has already refined the evil spirit.

Was it for the treasure map, or for the Kui ox hide like he did?

Why aren't you saying anything! Some things aren't like that.

"Shut up!"

Before the young man could finish speaking, the middle-aged man interrupted him sharply.

He then looked at Lin Ye and said, "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly; this was exactly what he hated most.

If he has a good attitude, or a bad attitude, it's easier for him to take action.

Unfortunately, this kind of situation, where one thing is good and the other is bad, is the most troublesome.

"Do you want the original, or just the map?"

"Just the map is fine! And double the price! That stall sells for 200,000, we'll offer 400,000! No, 500,000! We'll offer 500,000!"

The middle-aged man spoke eagerly, saying that the only thing missing from the Yi Hou's treasure was this map; everything else was almost ready.

We absolutely cannot let all our efforts go to waste because of this!

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this, and nodded slightly after a few seconds.

"Can."

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly took out his phone to transfer the money.

A few minutes later, the middle-aged man and the young man watched Lin Ye's departing figure.

"Second Uncle, why didn't you ask for the original map? What if he uses it to find the place?"

The young man spoke, his voice tinged with displeasure.

The middle-aged man glanced at him. "If finding a treasure map were so easy, your father and I wouldn't have had to work so hard for so many years!"

"Also, don't come out with me anymore."

The young man immediately panicked, "What's wrong, Uncle?!"

"Shut up! I'm afraid you won't even know how you died! If I hadn't been there, he would have killed you and no one could have stopped him!"

The middle-aged man spoke sharply, "Do you even know who he is! He's Demon Whale! Blue Whale's junior brother!"

"Of those whales from the Red Whale Clan, only the Punishing Whale is somewhat agreeable. Which of the Blue Whales or the Beluga Whales is a normal human?"

"I think this demonic whale is just not used to its surroundings yet. Once it gets used to it, it'll be a killing machine!"

"Anyone who can use the Demon Whale as their symbol can't be easy to deal with, can they? They might even be more bloodthirsty than a blue whale!"

"What if you die here? How am I supposed to explain this to your father?"

The courtyard, inside the room.

Lin Ye carefully put away the Fire Cloud Grass and then took the Kui Ox Hide.

Looking at the treasure map above, the mountains on the map looked somewhat familiar to him; perhaps they were part of the coastal mountains. He could look for them when he got back.

A treasure that can make a martial arts master so anxious must contain some good stuff.

Then, he picked up the treasure map made of Kui ox hide. It felt very thick, about half a finger's width, and the texture was very supple.

He held the ox hide in both hands, twisted it gently, and the force penetrated it, peeling off a layer of skin from both sides.

Looking at the Kui ox hide again, it was less than two millimeters thick, appearing translucent, with countless gold dust inside, shimmering and sparkling.

Place the leather with the treasure map into the drawer containing the fire cloud grass, and gently roll up the Kui ox leather into a shape similar to a flower roll.

Without hesitation, Lin Ye took a bite and swallowed it all in less than three seconds.

Instantly, a warm current spread from his lower abdomen, along his limbs, to his extremities.

"Phew~~"

Lin Ye was slightly out of breath, and beads of sweat appeared on his body. He didn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he felt an indescribable sense of comfort, as if his body was expelling impurities.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness surged up, and his consciousness felt like it was falling.

"Moo—"

A cow's bellow rang in my ears, sounding like it was coming from an old-fashioned tape recorder with some blemishes.

A tingling sensation instantly spread throughout my body, my muscles contracted, and my skin became firmer.

Gradually, his skin became somewhat matte, as if covered with a thin film, which soon seeped into his skin.

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes, sensing the changes in his body.

If you clench your fist slightly, you can clearly feel your skin tightening, while it also has a faint golden hue.

"My body's defenses are stronger, and my skin is more resilient."

"A monument." He murmured to himself.

[Strength: 1.68] → [Strength: 1.74]

[Constitution: 1.74] → [Constitution: 1.80]

Lin Ye smiled as he looked at the two attributes on the monument.

As expected, it's a huge boost; the two combined are more than one potential point.

Just as he was about to put the monument away, his gaze suddenly fell on the lower half of it.

His pupils contracted, revealing a look of surprise.

【Kui Niu "Tough Leather LV.1" (1/10)】

A new capability!

Suppressing his excitement, he began to analyze how this ability was formed.

After thinking for a moment, he could only think of two possibilities.

One reason is that the effects of [Kui Niu leather] are too strong.

Another aspect is the fusion of the toughness of the "Nuoshe Dashi" and the toughness of the "Kui Niu Hide".

It's also possible that the combination of factors, particularly the superior toughness of the "cowhide" material, led to its ultimate victory.

"The Kui Niu... a legendary mythical creature, did it really exist at some point in time?"

He put away the monument and carefully observed the changes in his body.

After a moment, he muttered to himself, "With my current strength, I wonder how much of a gap there is between me and the True Qi of the Third Level of Secret Martial Arts?"

"Even if they weren't a match, with the resilience of their skin, they shouldn't have been defeated so quickly, right?"

Looking out the window, I saw that the Iron Piano Market was located in a valley, and there was no moon in the sky.

Without much thought, I learned that my third senior brother was already at the True Qi Realm and was supposedly trying to break through to the peak of Hard Qi Gong.

Once we get back, I'll challenge my third senior brother to a duel to see what stage my current strength is at.

The next morning, Lin Ye and Fu Lanwu left home early.

After passing through several checkpoints in the market, the two arrived at a heavily guarded courtyard.

Lin Ye looked into the courtyard, where a vortex of multicolored light and shadow floated in the center, constantly releasing colorful, translucent glow.

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