Chapter 5

"Such a mission is not something a first-level Youxian can handle," Chen Taizhong was also angered by the other party's words, "The Flame Turtle didn’t wake up, but we encountered too many powerful things along the way, and you didn’t explain it clearly."

"You brought a bodyguard, didn’t you?" The staff member waved his hand impatiently, "Stand aside, don’t interfere with my work."

What bodyguard did I bring? Chen Taizhong glanced at him, knowing there was something behind this, but he wasn’t in a hurry to find out. Instead, he casually posted a task—Newly Ascended Seeker of Immortal Realm Knowledge, two spirits per day.

The reward for the task was two spirits, and posting the task cost another two spirits. With twenty-seven spirit stones, plus the two deposit refunds, he had twenty-nine originally, but it quickly became twenty-five.

However, this was the official task courtyard, and spending money could ensure he received absolutely correct information, which was worth it.

Before long, someone signed up, a middle-aged woman with eyes darting around, clearly a quick-witted person.

"I want to know as comprehensively as possible about all kinds of information in the Immortal Realm," Chen Taizhong spoke boldly, still retaining some of the feeling of having ascended from the lower realm, even though he had just been robbed of three Sunfruit.

So he spoke straightforwardly, "You speak as much as you can, tell me what the lower realm doesn’t know. If you do well, there will be a reward."

The woman’s eyes darted around, hesitated, and then asked, "Young Master, is this... a family training mission?"

Some immortal cultivation families, to nurture talent, would let their ascended members from the lower realm adapt to the environment first, without the family stepping forward.

The woman guessed this because Chen Taizhong knew nothing about the Immortal Realm but was willing to spend spirit stones to post a task—this could only mean he was either a wealthy independent cultivator from the lower realm or a family member.

However, independent cultivators were known for their frugality, and it was rare to find a wealthy one. If it was an independent cultivator who had a great encounter and received a shocking inheritance, they wouldn’t be ignorant of the Immortal Realm.

"I’m paying you to ask, not to be asked," Chen Taizhong said impatiently, "Two spirits isn’t a small amount... tell me first, what level is the Sunfruit mission?"

"That mission... has no level," the woman shook her head, "It should be considered a combination. A first-level Youxian plus a fifth-level Youxian, or a special artifact that can conceal one’s aura, is needed to complete it."

It turned out that the fire-breathing rabbit Chen Taizhong encountered in the suburbs was a weak first-level wild beast, the bat was a strong first-level wild beast, the earthworm was a second-level wild beast, and the wild boar in the forest was a third-level wild beast.

The centipedes in the valley were also third-level wild beasts, but there were so many of them, and there was even a fourth-level centipede king.

A fourth-level wild beast was not necessarily something a typical fourth-level Youxian could defeat, and with so many third-level centipedes, it was no exaggeration to say that even a couple of fifth-level Youxians would struggle to escape such an ambush.

That’s why the Sunfruit mission was so unfair. It required a high-level Youxian to bring a low-level Youxian, complete the earlier stages, and then have the low-level Youxian steal the fruit.

But why would a high-level Youxian care about such a small amount of money?

No wonder he thought I was looking for a bodyguard, Chen Taizhong thought, feeling speechless—had it not been for his ability to conceal his aura, the task deposit would have been deducted.

Seeing his speechlessness, the woman didn’t know what to say, so she asked, "Young Master, do you know who posted this mission?"

"No," Chen Taizhong shook his head, "This mission is really unfair."

"It was posted by Nan Xitian’s youngest daughter," the woman looked around and lowered her voice, "Miss Nan Xi... she has a white pet mouse, a fire attribute creature, that loves to eat Sunfruit. It eats at least three a day, so she is always looking to buy in large quantities."

"Uh..." Chen Taizhong smacked his lips, wanting to say something but ultimately kept quiet. It turned out that his two days of hard work were just to collect food for someone’s pet.

This is truly a case of the rich feasting while the poor starve.

To retain his legal resident status in Qingstone City, Chen Taizhong had to pay five spirit stones per month.

Miss Nan Xi’s pet mouse ate ninety Sunfruits a month, worth twenty-seven spirit stones—plus the sixty spirit stones for posting the mission each month, totaling eighty-seven spirit stones.

How could anyone bear this?

Chen Taizhong didn’t think much about it. Following the middle-aged woman’s advice, he bought a book on flora and fauna and a map of Jizhou, then rented a daily room under her guidance.

The daily room wasn’t expensive, costing two spirits per day, while inns on the street cost at least three spirits per day, and five spirits for a room with a more concentrated immortal aura—of course, there were also one-spirit-per-day dormitories.

After buying the book and map, Chen Taizhong had only ten spirits left. When he asked about food, the woman clearly told him that food from the lower realm had too little spirit energy and might make one feel full in the Immortal Realm, but it wouldn’t really satisfy hunger.

He then remembered the fire-breathing rabbit and the dead bat he hadn’t put in his Sumeru Ring because he found it disgusting.

But he had put the rabbit in, thinking it might be edible.

After a casual question, he learned that the rabbit was non-toxic and edible, though those cultivating cold-attribute techniques should eat it sparingly.

He then spent three spirits on some meat, one spirit on a meal for the woman, two spirits on accommodation, and the next day, he gave the woman one spirit as a tip, leaving him with only three spirits.

Living in the Immortal Realm is truly not easy.

His spider silk hadn’t been redeemed, but he wasn’t in a hurry to do so. A three-spirit redemption for a month’s work—redeeming it now would leave him penniless.

However, Chen Taizhong felt it was all worth it because after meditating for a night, he sensed a trend of breaking through to the second-level Youxian. After all, he had only seriously cultivated for half a day in the Immortal Realm.

High investment often means high returns.

The next day, after checking out, he used a disposable lighter to exchange for the right to drink tea at a tea stall for half a day—there were many fire-element cultivators here, but the ability to produce fire without any spirit energy fluctuations was a rare and interesting gadget.

During this half day, he finished the book and memorized it thoroughly, then went to the task courtyard.

After much consideration, he chose a life-related task—hunting the antlers of Thunder Deer.

Thunder Deer are second-level wild beasts, extremely fast, and can instantly emit lightning. Generally, even a fifth-level Youxian can’t handle them—after being struck by lightning, the person would be paralyzed for a while, giving the deer enough time to escape.

The antlers of Thunder Deer contain pure lightning power, making them ideal for low-level lightning cultivators to cultivate.

However, these deer are quite clever, understanding the saying "the elephant is killed for its tusks, the oyster for its pearl." When they can’t escape, they release lightning between their antlers to destroy their own foundation, disappointing the hunters.

Chen Taizhong, a first-level Youxian, posed no real threat to Thunder Deer. But after understanding this world, he realized that he might be able to kill higher-level beasts.

He could still knock out second-level earthworms and third-level wild boars, which he didn’t bother with because they brought no income. If he really wanted to, killing a wild boar wouldn’t be a big deal.

As for the paralysis caused by lightning, this was easy to handle. He could wear an iron pot on his head, with an iron chain attached to the pot’s handle, hanging to the ground, and a large iron block at the end, completing the setup.

Confidently, he accepted the task, using the remaining three spirit stones as a deposit to get information about a Thunder Deer habitat, and then left the city without delay.

By the time he reached the Thunder Deer’s location, it was almost midnight. Not wanting to reveal his Sumeru Ring, he held the fire-breathing rabbit, lit a fire, and skewered the rabbit to roast it.

The aroma of the roasted wild beast, seasoned with spices from Earth, was irresistible. Just as the rabbit was about to be done, a figure appeared beside him, and a middle-aged man sat down, "It smells delicious!"

"This is mine!" Chen Taizhong said coolly, knowing that first-level Youxian were the lowest in the Immortal Realm, but he couldn’t lose in terms of spirit.

"Two spirits for half," the middle-aged man wasn’t one to force a sale.

"Three spirits," Chen Taizhong countered. A fire-breathing rabbit was worth about one spirit, and he had learned this the previous day. But with the cooking and the spices from Earth, three spirits for half was a fair price.

"Here," the middle-aged man tossed him three spirits, "Are you here to hunt antlers?"

"Yep," Chen Taizhong grunted, pocketed the spirits, and drew a line in the fire, "That half is yours, this half is mine."

The middle-aged man patted his storage bag, took out a gourd and a cup, poured a cup of fine wine, and the aroma filled the air, befitting the Immortal Realm.

He glanced at the young man beside him, "Want a cup?"

Chen Taizhong shook his head. As a first-level Youxian, he didn’t want to eat or drink anything from others in the wilderness.

Moreover, he had sold half the rabbit, and it would be embarrassing to drink the wine for free.

But the few spirits in his pocket might not even buy such fine wine.

The middle-aged man looked at him, said nothing, took a sip of wine, and started eating the rabbit.

Chen Taizhong quickly finished his rabbit and then closed his eyes to meditate, not wanting to waste a moment in the spirit-rich Immortal Realm.

The middle-aged man ate slowly, savoring the rabbit, and it took him about half an hour to finish.

Putting the cup and gourd back into his storage bag, he stood up, glanced at the meditating young man, and was about to leave when he suddenly paused, "This spirit energy..."

In the next moment, the spirit energy from all directions slowly gathered, and as time passed, the speed increased, pouring into the meditating body.

The meditating young man remained still, accepting the incoming spirit energy without resistance, even as the waves of energy grew stronger and more concentrated. His body absorbed the energy effortlessly, like a bottomless pit.

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