C23 Difficulties

Emerging from the swamp, Lin Xiaoqiang's predicament took a sudden turn for the worse. The Red Spider unleashed a barrage of silk, ensnaring Lin Xiaoqiang completely, leaving him immobilized.

"Damn it, I'm done for. This creature isn't here to rescue me—it's planning to make a meal out of me!"

Lin Xiaoqiang's instincts kicked in, and he desperately tried to tear away the binding silk. But in an instant, an overwhelming force yanked him to the feet of the Red Spider.

Without hesitation, the spider's forelimbs thrust Lin Xiaoqiang into its gaping maw, swallowing him with alarming speed.

"I refuse to die here. I am the Ice Lord!"

Summoning every ounce of strength, Lin Xiaoqiang managed to free a hand from the silk and fiercely grasped one of the spider's fangs. But his efforts did little to impede the spider's voracious feeding.

Half of Lin Xiaoqiang's body had already been consumed.

Inside the spider, the corrosive acid began to eat away at his flesh. Overwhelmed by darkness, suffocation, and searing pain, Lin Xiaoqiang's mind started to slip away.

In that critical moment, his waist twitched, and the Azure Dragon burst forth from the Azure Dragon Blade.

With a slicing sound, the Azure Dragon tore through the Red Spider's mouth, burst out from its rear, and after a triumphant loop in the air, it returned to the Azure Dragon Blade.

The once formidable Red Spider was reduced to an empty husk, and Lin Xiaoqiang, who had been at the brink of death, tumbled to the ground.

Peeling off the remnants of the spider silk, Lin Xiaoqiang clawed his way out of the spider's carcass. The searing pain on his face sent a jolt through his body. Touching his face, he realized it was already beginning to decay.

His clothes, too, were so corroded they hung in tatters, offering no coverage whatsoever.

"Congratulations, Master, on acquiring the Red Spider Flexible Armor and Red Spider Venom," announced the system notification.

The Red Spider Flexible Armor boasted a defense of 1000 points, providing effective protection against physical and venomous attacks. The Red Spider Venom was touted as a potent antidote for venomous arthropod bites.

A surge of elation filled Lin Xiaoqiang. Against all odds, he had survived and even claimed two valuable treasures.

As Lin Xiaoqiang stooped to retrieve the Red Spider Flexible Armor from the ground, he noticed something unsettling—the armor appeared to twitch.

Lin Xiaoqiang's brow furrowed as he felt a wave of hallucination wash over him. He hastily lifted the Red Spider Flexible Armor.

"Damn it!"

With a loud shout, Lin Xiaoqiang hurled the Red Spider Flexible Armor far away.

Unbeknownst to him, thousands of black ants had been lurking beneath the armor. They were now rapidly ascending his legs, feasting on the corroded skin.

"Aooo!"

Lin Xiaoqiang yelped, frantically swatting at the ants on his legs, but to no avail. The ants swiftly enveloped his upper body, and as the stinging pain subsided, his consciousness began to blur.

He collapsed with a thud and passed out cold on the ground.

After some time, Lin Xiaoqiang awoke to a chilling sensation on his body, as if droplets were steadily falling upon him.

Blinking his eyes open, he saw that daylight had broken, yet dark clouds loomed overhead, with fine raindrops pelting down on him.

For a brief moment, Lin Xiaoqiang's mind drew a blank; he couldn't remember how he ended up here. Struggling to sit up, he noticed the carcasses of ants being washed away by the rain.

Gradually, the memories came flooding back—he had been overwhelmed by ants and had fainted the previous night. Yet somehow, upon waking, the ants had all shriveled into dry husks floating on the rainwater.

As he pondered this, Lin Xiaoqiang instinctively touched his face and body. The skin that had been eaten away by the red spider was now miraculously healed, as if nothing had happened.

He then remembered the Red Spider Flexible Armor and began to search for it. Luckily, it lay nearby, unharmed. Picking up the armor and slipping it on, he marveled at how perfectly it fit, as if custom-made for him.

Lin Xiaoqiang also stashed the blue antidote bottle into his backpack.

Despite the searing pain that wracked his body, he knew he had a mission to fulfill. Resolute, Lin Xiaoqiang pressed on towards the mountain's summit.

Armed with the Azure Dragon Blade, he carved a path through the wilderness, unimpeded by any obstacles.

It was only as Lin Xiaoqiang climbed that he realized the mountain's vastness—its edges were nowhere in sight, nor could he gauge its true height.

Lin Xiaoqiang couldn't afford to waste time; he had to keep climbing, head down, as hunger pangs gnawed at his stomach by midday.

He reached a large, dark gray boulder, atop which sat a pair of tree trunks, dry and bare, their whiteness reminiscent of jade.

Settling between the trunks, Lin Xiaoqiang pulled out his provisions and began to eat. But soon, an intense thirst overcame him. Reaching for his waist, he realized his water gourd was missing. Considering his clothes had been eaten away by the red spider's venom, it stood to reason the gourd had suffered the same fate.

Without water, how would he survive? Especially with an unknown number of days ahead before reaching the mountain's summit. He needed to find a water source or something to hold water.

Scanning the area, Lin Xiaoqiang noticed a hollow in the boulder, filled with rainwater from the previous night's downpour.

"It's as if I conjured it with my thoughts, and it looks clean, too," he murmured to himself before scooping up the water with his hands and gulping it down.

After a few sips, he noticed the water's color shift. The once-gray stone beneath was now a distinct black and white, crystal clear.

Lin Xiaoqiang peered curiously into the water. "This kind of looks like... it resembles an animal's eye, doesn't it?"

As he leaned in for a closer look, the 'stone' beneath him stirred. The rock face trembled, and Lin Xiaoqiang slid down, wedging himself into a crevice. A warm, moist breath wafted from the crevice, enveloping him.

"Damn, it's a rhinoceros!" he exclaimed.

Looking up, the truth dawned on him. This was no boulder; he was perched atop an enormous rhinoceros. The 'eye socket' where he had been drinking was actually the closed eye of the beast.

At that moment, Lin Xiaoqing had the misfortune of being in one of the rhino's nostrils. The tickling sensation drove the rhino to violently shake its head, and with a mighty sneeze, Lin Xiaoqiang was ejected from its nose.

With a thunderous crash, Lin Xiaoqiang slammed into a large tree some ten meters distant. His insides screamed with pain, as though they'd been turned inside out. Normally, an impact like that would have flattened a person into a pulp, but Lin Xiaoqiang managed to pick himself up off the ground after just a few seconds.