Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-Spring Flower
Even with their strong wills, Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan still felt a chill down their spines after seeing what had fallen. It startled them, making their hearts skip a beat.
It was too disgusting and terrifying.
Dozens, maybe even hundreds of spiders, large and small, intertwined their eight legs to form a massive spider ball.
This fluffy spider ball, roughly estimated to be two meters in diameter, and even taller than Wei Fuyuan, did nothing but block the only exit for the two of them. It was more than enough to be a chilling shock for anyone who saw it.
Wei Fuyuan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He even imagined the giant spider ball suddenly bursting open, with spiders of all sizes rushing towards them like popcorn.
“Get out of the way!”
At that moment, a thunderous shout came from above their heads. Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan were familiar with that voice and recognized its owner without having to look up.
They knew it was Jiang Nan’an.
Without hesitation, Wei Fuyuan grabbed Bei Quan around the waist and pulled him into his arms, then sprinted in the direction they had come from.
“Boom!”
Another muffled sound came from behind them.
This time, it was louder and heavier than before.
Wei Fuyuan looked back while running and was shocked to see a large piece of broken stone, as tall as a person, falling from the opening in the dome and slamming into the tangled mass of spiders directly.
Hundreds of spiders were instantly smashed into meat patties by the immense weight and impact of the falling stone. Sticky, yellow-colored goo splashed out in all directions, resembling a large puddle of semi-solid jelly.
Jiang Nan’an stood on the edge of the opening in the dome, balancing on a stone pillar with his feet half-squatting and in a strong stance. He lifted another pillar, as thick as a roof beam, in a clean and jerk motion, and with a loud shout, he threw it toward the densest area of the surviving spider swarm.
“Boom!”
After the pillar fell to the ground, it smashed dozens of spiders into a pulpy mess and rolled to one side due to the inertia, crushing even more spiders.
“Run quickly!” Jiang Nan’an shouted again, then jumped down from the dome and landed on the large stone he had just thrown.
With agile movements like a monkey’s, he dashed towards the exit.
Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan naturally followed closely behind.
The massive spider ball was mostly taken care of by Comrade Xiao Jiang’s throws, and the remaining spiders were so scared that they almost lost their desire to hunt and kill their prey.
The remaining ones couldn’t stop Bei Quan and the others. They were either killed or swiftly avoided. The group quickly left them far behind.
They rushed out of the corridor surrounded by the spider swarm.
Behind a broken wall not far from the exit, Bei Quan, Wei Fuyuan, and Jiang Nan’an unexpectedly found a person.
——It was Luo Yun, who had run ahead earlier.
When Luo Yun saw the three of them, he immediately showed a look of joy and surprise.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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It’s unclear whether they were from spider bites or from the struggles he went through.
But these were just flesh wounds, and none of them were fatal.
This seemingly weak scholar, whose fighting ability was not much stronger than Mr. Xin’s, actually broke through the encirclement of the spider swarm and successfully escaped from the treacherous corridor.
Wei Fuyuan patted his shoulder forcefully, “How did you manage to escape?”
“I think… I was probably just lucky.”
Luo Yun forced a bitter smile and then took a strand of spider silk from the top of his head, placing it in his palm.
“And also because of this.”
The soft and sticky spider silk in his hand quickly hardened, transforming into a semi-transparent crystalline form.
With a gentle twist from Luo Yun, those crystals broke and shattered, turning into fine powder.
“That’s how it works!”
Bei Quan, Wei Fuyuan, and Jiang Nan’an suddenly understood.
Although Luo Yun’s ability seemed insignificant before, it ended up coming in handy for breaking free from the sticky and resilient spider silk, allowing him to escape from a desperate situation.
“It’s good that you’re okay.”
Wei Fuyuan clenched his fist with one hand and gave Luo Yun a strong pat on the shoulder with the other, then introduced him to Jiang Nan’an.
After hearing that Jiang Nan’an was acquainted with Bei Quan and Wei Fuyuan, and that he was also highly skilled, Luo Yun felt relieved and seemed very happy.
“I have another companion, she’s a nurse sister.”
At this moment, Jiang Nan’an finally had the opportunity to explain his situation.
He pointed to the south and said, “We just came from this direction. When we heard the commotion from your side, I figured you might be in danger, so I rushed over to help.”
Jiang Nan’an explained further.
“But she’s not strong in combat, so I told her to stay put and wait for me to come back.”
——————————————–
It took the group three minutes to find the nurse hiding in a crevice.
Then, the five of them crossed the final stretch of the ruined city and arrived at the entrance of the Immortal Tower.
Only three minutes remained until the fifteen-minute deadline.
When they got close enough, they finally had an unobstructed view of the imposing tower.
Although it was called the “Immortal Tower,” it was not a traditional Chinese pagoda with flying eaves. Instead, it resembles a tower in the style of Western fantasy wizards.
It appeared to have at least fifteen floors, made entirely of snow-white marble. The tower stood tall and straight, with several small round-arched windows on each floor. The top of the tower was sharp and elongated, with a small attic on the outer side.
There was only one minute left on the countdown.
The five of them didn’t hesitate and one by one, they passed through the arched stone door and entered the interior of the Immortal Tower.
Inside the tower, it was pitch black.
With only the power of their headlamps, flashlights, and wristband flashlights, they couldn’t illuminate the entire interior of the tall tower.
As far as their eyes could see, Bei Quan and the others could only see numerous thick, twisted tree roots, piled up inside the Immortal Tower.
Before they could investigate the specific situation inside the Immortal Tower, the fourth fifteen-minute period finally came to an end.
The entire Tianyuan City shook violently once again.
But this time, apart from the Immortal Tower, every place where they could stand was within the range of destruction by the “poisonous circle.”
The five of them stood in front of the stone door, watching everything outside the tower being distorted, destroyed, and crushed by an invisible force, falling into the bottomless darkness below.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Just one step away was the abyss of death.
It was a feeling of loneliness and despair, trapped on an island with no help or escape.
The nurse let out a choked sob, her voice trembling with faint cries. Luo Yun also appeared on the verge of collapse, barely able to keep himself standing steady.
When the earthquake finally subsided, the mechanical loli voice rang out once again.
[Now broadcasting the latest information.]
It used the same opening line as before.
[In the past fifteen minutes, one person has unfortunately died, leaving five survivors.]
[Now all the survivors have entered the Immortal Tower.]
The loli voice paused and made a not-so-funny joke:
[Of course, those who didn’t enter the tower won’t be able to hear my broadcast, hahaha, hahaha, hahaha!]
After a few flat laughs, it continued:
[When the broadcast ends, you will have officially entered the [Tower Climbing] stage.]
[The Grandmaster Tianyuan you’re looking for is waiting for you at the top of the Immortal Tower.]
[But only the first person to reach the top of the tower will be able to meet Grandmaster Tianyuan, receive true cultivation techniques from him, and be allowed to leave this place!]
Then, the mechanical loli voice added some details.
[In this phase, you will no longer receive new supplies and there will no longer be a time limit, so you can arrange your progress and climbing methods with patience.]
[But inside the tower, you will still encounter new monsters, so please be prepared for battle at all times!]
After finishing, she made a final announcement:
[Now, the ‘Tower Climbing’ officially begins!!]
The next moment, there was a series of intense sounds of “bang bang bang,” and the entire Immortal Tower suddenly lit up.
Countless torches hanging on the walls were almost simultaneously ignited.
The clusters of firelight, like wall-mounted lamps, illuminated everything.
Bei Quan and the others finally saw the situation inside the Immortal Tower.
A large tree stood straight in the center of the tower, almost filling up most of the space inside the tower. Its roots were twisted, and its crown was lush, easily reaching the top of the tower.
The young master Wei, who had watched countless movies in his leisure time, immediately recognized that this tree was a mini version of Lothlórien’s Golden Forest Tree City in the movie “Lord of the Rings”.
They didn’t find any stairs.
But Bei Quan and the others soon realized that the tree itself could be used as a climbing platform.
“Well then.”
Jiang Nan’an looked around again but couldn’t find any other paths, so he helplessly shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, it seems like we can only climb the tree.”
He turned to look at Luo Yun, who appeared to be a weak scholar, and the nurse sister still wearing a long dress, and asked with some concern.
“Can you two handle it?”
Luo Yun gave a wry smile as he touched his injured shoulder and nodded, “Well… there’s no other choice.”
The nurse sister only let out a soft “Hmm” in response.
The hand behind her back tightened silently.
At this moment, her thoughts were almost entirely focused on the “rules” that the loli mechanical voice had just told them.
——Only the first person to climb to the top of the tower could see the Grandmaster Tianyuan!
——Only then will they be taught true cultivation techniques and be able to leave this place!
Her short nails silently pinched into the flesh of her palm.
——As long as I reach the top, I can survive!
The nurse’s sister told herself in her heart.
Her ability is teleportation!
She had already tried it just now, and the maximum distance she could teleport was about five meters.
But that was already enough!
Once they all reached the top together, she could use her ability in the final stretch to get ahead of everyone else and be the first to reach the “finish line”!
That way, she could finally leave this cursed place!
