Chapter 4

The Ascending Nightmare Spider, as its name suggests, is a spider that brings nightmares to those who ascend.

The origin of this spider is unknown; it does not exist in the Immortal Realm or the Lower Realms, but rather lives in the Ascension Channel, growing by devouring the essence and blood of those who ascend.

This spider can be considered a common enemy of the Immortal Realm. While immortals also reproduce and form large families, ascenders are an important source of strength for the Immortal Realm. Moreover, those who can ascend are generally of high caliber.

Countless sects and families have their foundations in the Lower Realms, and absorbing fresh blood is crucial. This spider wreaks havoc in the Ascension Space, causing countless ascenders to meet their end.

What is particularly hateful is that those who can ascend from the Lower Realms are mostly at the Wandering Immortal level, with very few reaching the Second Rank—this requires the focused cultivation by experienced immortal families, with only a slim chance of success.

As for Third Rank Wandering Immortals, out of a thousand ascenders, there might not even be one. Resources are certainly important, but personal talent is even more crucial.

The Ascending Nightmare Spider is a Fifth Rank Beast of the Wasteland.

The Immortal Realm is very vigilant about eradicating such common enemies, but generally, ascenders are no match for the Nightmare Spider.

This is why, despite its fame in the Immortal Realm and its relatively low rank, few have actually seen it.

It was truly a matter of timing and luck that the Zheng family uncle and nephew encountered it in the pawnshop in Qingshi City.

Zheng Zitao thought for a long time before answering in a low voice, "The person who just left, his rank isn't high... what level is he?"

"First Rank Wandering Immortal," the middle-aged man replied solemnly. He didn't catch up to the person, and to avoid arousing the shopkeeper's suspicion, he didn't make too much of a move, but he did notice the person's realm.

"Then... wait for him to redeem it?" Zheng Zitao asked in a low voice. The Zheng family wasn't short of this small amount of money. He pawned the Spirit Binding Ring only because he was temporarily short of funds. Moreover, a single Ascending Nightmare Spider didn't have much practical value in battle.

The importance of spatial materials only becomes apparent in large-scale battles, where massive resources are needed.

But the key issue was... it involved merit. Without even mentioning other things, just for the merit, it was worth buying it by force.

Chen Taizhong, of course, didn't know that the origin of what he sold had been identified. He held two spirit stones, tossing them as he walked to the mission courtyard.

"Accept Mission 667 of the Bing series," he said, handing over the two spirit stones. "I need the information about the Sunfruit provided by the issuer. This is the deposit."

The person who received him was not the same staff member as before, but he was well-informed about these matters. He asked, "Don't you want a Memory Stone? It's a two-spirit-stone deposit."

"If I fail, I won't ask for these two stones back," Chen Taizhong replied casually. After all, he had plenty of spider silk in his Sumeru Ring. He was used to being the boss, and although his realm was currently very low, he had been feeling depressed all day and needed to find some balance. "I don't mind this much, but I'm a bit short on cash. I just found a way to make money."

"Suit yourself," the staff member didn't say much. The more he said, the more trouble he might cause. After the other person disappeared from his sight, he sighed softly, "First Rank Wandering Immortal, huh... does he really think this mission is so easy?"

Chen Taizhong didn't hear his muttering. He took a jade slip with a simple route map and left. However, not long after leaving the city, he realized that the mission's difficulty seemed off.

First, he encountered a rabbit that could spew fire, then a bat that could emit lightning, and finally, a group of earthworms that could launch mental attacks—each earthworm was over a meter long.

The rabbit and bat were manageable, but the earthworms were a nightmare. They stayed far away and launched mental attacks directly. His aura wasn't strong enough to suppress them, so he had to engage in close combat.

But these creatures had a natural talent for earth burrowing and were covered in mud, making them slippery. His punches were ineffective—after a long struggle, he only managed to knock out one earthworm.

So, he pulled out a large cleaver from his Sumeru Ring. Before ascending, he had filled it with all sorts of miscellaneous items, even stealing several dozen nuclear bombs—after all, who knew what the Immortal Realm was like, and it was always better to be prepared.

Unfortunately, the cleaver was useless, made of ordinary iron and unable to break through their defenses. It was less effective than his fists.

The earthworms also held a grudge and continued to launch mental attacks on him.

Chen Taizhong had no interest in tangling with them. He remembered the acquisition information and knew there was no demand for earthworms. "I don't mind killing you, but I won't get any income."

He could abstain from food in the human world, but in the Immortal Realm, he felt a clear sense of hunger, which increased with physical exertion. His stamina was limited, and he needed to conserve it.

But these earthworms were truly annoying, chasing him for about ten miles. They stopped at the edge of a sparse forest, but the mental attacks came in waves.

Chen Taizhong practiced the Way of Qi and wasn't too afraid of mental attacks, but even so, he felt dizzy and weak. After a long rest under a tree, he finally recovered.

His hunger grew, but he didn't dare relax. The earthworms not chasing him into the forest indicated that there was something larger inside.

After resting and regaining his energy, he slowly stood up and began to struggle through the forest, occasionally using his cleaver to kill a few small insects.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, followed by a loud rumbling. A wild boar the size of a donkey appeared not far away.

This boar was extremely aggressive, charging through the forest and rubbing against tree trunks, causing them to shake and creak.

Chen Taizhong, without hesitation, hid behind a large tree and used a concealment technique, not even daring to breathe.

This large creature was likely what scared the earthworms away, and Chen Taizhong had already experienced the hardness of the trees. He didn't want to face this boar.

He hoped his concealment technique would fool the boar—this creature might be as powerful as the spider.

The boar indeed didn't notice him and soon charged away.

Chen Taizhong encountered three such boars in the forest but managed to avoid them all due to his caution.

In the following valley, he encountered a swarm of centipedes. It took him two days to finally pick the Sunfruit.

After evading the earthworms again, he arrived at the outskirts of Qingshi City, utterly exhausted. He had survived the past two days by eating instant noodles.

Once in the city outskirts, he couldn't resist anymore. He took out a frying pan, cooked a dozen eggs, and about five pounds of mutton, which finally made his stomach feel better.

For some reason, his appetite in the Immortal Realm was at least five times greater than on Earth, and he felt hungry much faster.

Since he got hungry quickly, he could only compensate with quantity. While eating, he thought: This mission is really tough for a First Rank Wandering Immortal. That boar must be a Second Rank Beast of the Wasteland.

After a hearty meal, he stood up. At that moment, four or five teenagers approached.

The teenagers were surprised to see him, and when they recognized his realm, the leader raised his chin. "Ask him what he got."

These teenagers were Third and Fourth Rank Wandering Immortals. In the wilderness, encountering a First Rank Wandering Immortal was an opportunity to bully him at will.

A teenager with a prominent forehead walked forward, crossing his arms and speaking in a duck-like voice, "Little guy, be smart and hand over your loot."

Chen Taizhong was deeply frustrated. Anyone could bully him.

But bullies exist everywhere. After some thought, he took out three Sunfruits from his pocket. "Just this."

On this mission, he had collected a total of ninety-three Sunfruits, with some still unripe and needing more time.

Ten Sunfruits were worth three spirit stones, so ninety were worth twenty-seven. The remaining three weren't worth much.

"Damn, Sunfruits," the duck-voiced teenager took the Sunfruits and reached into Chen Taizhong's pocket. "Anything else?"

Storage devices were common in the Immortal Realm, but most people used storage bags. Second and Third Rank Wandering Immortals wore them on their waists as a symbol of status—indicating they had a storage bag.

As for a First Rank Wandering Immortal like Chen Taizhong having a Sumeru Ring, it was something most people wouldn't expect.

Chen Taizhong was betting on this. Sure enough, the duck-voiced teenager searched his pockets and slapped him. "Scram, you poor guy... Hey, you actually dodged?"

Chen Taizhong easily evaded the slap, darting far away.

The humiliation he felt was immense, but he didn't know the rules of the Immortal Realm. He gritted his teeth and said, "That's enough, you've already taken my stuff."

"Hey, you're asking for it," the duck-voiced teenager stepped forward.

Chen Taizhong had already escaped their encirclement and turned to run. The teenagers threw various spells, but his movements were too erratic, and the spells couldn't hit him. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Let him go," the leader, a short and sturdy teenager, snorted and took out a spell scroll from his storage bag. "If he were a bit higher in rank, it would be worth using a spell scroll on him."

"He's not worth a spell scroll," someone laughed.

After leaving, Chen Taizhong hurried to the mission courtyard to complete his task. The staff member didn't ask any questions, took his Sunfruits, and gave him twenty-seven spirit stones. "This is a long-term mission. You can continue doing it."

"Who needs so many Sunfruits?" the First Rank Wandering Immortal was curious. He wouldn't do this mission for long; his priority was to quickly improve his realm.

"Why do you need to know so much?" the staff member replied irritably.

(With 400 favorites, thank you all for your support. During the new book period, I need clicks and recommendations. The ranking is a bit low right now.)

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