Spider Family

Night fell, and darkness shrouded the valley.

Yet the valley became livelier instead. The insect cries that had been absent all day began rising and falling in waves.

The calls of nocturnal birds also echoed in the distance.

Beneath the bushes, rustling sounds were everywhere. Though he could not see them, one could guess that large numbers of Gray Rats were on the move.

Now and then, the Gray Rats let out hurried squeaks, sounding extraordinarily merry. Mm, merry indeed!

Creatures resembling bats flew through the air, while the grass rustled with all sorts of insects gnawing on blades of grass.

Occasionally, several shrill squeaks rang out from beneath the distant cliffs. It seemed the Gray Rats were clashing with Black Snake Sentinels, because Wang Wu soon heard a vast stretch of pattering sounds—the sound of Gray Rat Heavy Cavalry gathering for a charge.

He could not see the scene, but the sounds of fighting and slaughter never ceased, and there was more than one battlefield.

The combatants were not limited to the Gray Rats and the Black Snake Clan. Flame Scorpions that had crawled down from the first hill were also involved. They were mortal enemies of the Gray Rats, yet they also seemed to be battling another clan.

In the night, a flash of fire occasionally flickered. That had to be a Flame Scorpion using its ultimate move. They could actually spit out little fireballs the size of fingernails—adorably tiny things.

In short, the valley at night was truly bustling. Standing amidst it, Wang Wu felt a bizarre sense of Causeway Bay's heroes swearing brotherhood while Brother Hao Nan shed blood in the streets.

But precisely because of this, his thoughts of profiting from the chaos were immediately extinguished. Even though hunger had made his chest stick to his back, even though his Stamina Points had fallen to just seventy, he resolutely refused to budge.

The Level 2 Stealth Bloodline Talent was truly damn impressive. It consumed nothing; as long as he remained motionless, it took effect.

And around Wang Wu, terrifying Green Caterpillar Rakes, Moth Rangers, and the like passed by more times than he could count.

For example, the tree behind him looked withered and frail. It was less than ten meters tall, had a small canopy, and a crooked trunk—yet more than a dozen large spiders were hidden in it.

During the day, there had not been a trace of them.

Only after dusk, once the Crimson Birds had finished collecting protection money, the Gray Rats had delivered their tribute, and not a shred of brightness remained in the sky—when the valley entered that muddled border between light and dark—did they silently crawl down.

Large and small, they looked like an entire Spider Family.

The largest was as big as a washbasin, while even the smallest was as large as a fist.

The sky was too dim to make out their exact appearance, but their actions were easy enough to guess. They were spinning webs and setting traps.

Using that tree as support, the largest spider first drew out several main lines. Then the other spiders used those as a foundation, frantically spitting silk and weaving.

Before long, a huge circular web that covered the entire tree and spread across a radius of twenty meters had taken shape.

Then, led by the large spider, the medium and small spiders retreated into the canopy and quietly waited for prey to come knocking.

Wang Wu secretly counted himself lucky. He happened to be inside the web's perimeter, yet when he had arrived that morning, he had not found the slightest trace of spider silk.

Fortunately, since these spiders excelled at stillness overcoming motion, as long as he did not move, they could leave each other in peace.

The Gray Rats, Flame Scorpions, Black Snake Sentinels, and the like clearly knew what was here and never crashed into the area. It was those newly fledged Mantis Swordsmen, Moth Ninjas, and Dung Ball Masters who were prone to falling into the trap.

It was only midnight, yet more than a hundred prey had already come to them. Wang Wu drooled at the sight, green with envy.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

A sudden cry rang out. An inexperienced Gray Rat had accidentally blundered into the spider web. Even a young Gray Rat was actually larger than an Earth rat, yet once it was stuck to the web, it could not break free.

In an instant, more than a dozen black shadows dropped from the tree. He had no idea how they did it, but in the blink of an eye, the Gray Rat stopped moving.

But just as Wang Wu thought the Spider Clan would enjoy a fine feast, a burst of pattering charge sounds approached. More than a dozen Gray Rat Heavy Cavalry rushed over, stopping outside the web and squeaking as if they were negotiating.

There was little response from the spiders.

A moment later, a Gray Rat Heavy Cavalry appeared, clutching a tiny Red Berry in its paws.

Almost instantly, the Spider Clan reacted. An unconscious Gray Rat was thrown from the web, while the Gray Rats left behind the Red Berry. The exchange of hostages was a success.

Wang Wu was dumbfounded!

Worthy of the Cultivation World. Even these little creatures that had yet to become spirits could play such games.

It also reminded him of something: never despise an insect for being small. The waters here ran far too deep.

Thus, Wang Wu continued enduring hunger until dawn. He was exhausted, starving, and sleepy beyond measure, but he still did not dare move.

The rustling sounded again. The spiders in the tree lowered themselves and actually began retrieving their webs. Even damaged Spider Silk stuck to blades of grass was carefully collected. If they had not been spiders, Wang Wu would truly have thought they were impoverished common folk, diligent and thrifty in running their household.

Alas, they truly patrolled the mountains by day and spun yarn by night; Sprites kept house by such means. He wondered whether there was a Fourth Sister among them.

While Wang Wu was distracted, the Spider Family had completely taken away the web and thoroughly hidden themselves deep within the canopy.

However, considering the tree's height, this Spider Family should also be able to enjoy the Golden One Minute and Silver Three Minutes when the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy spread at sunrise.

At this moment, the valley was especially clamorous. He could vaguely see clusters of gray shadows gathering along the edges of the bushes. They were Gray Rats preparing to fight for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, along with all kinds of insect Sprites. This was a daily feast, and also a turning point in their lives.

It was like ten thousand troops and horses crossing a single-log bridge.

Wang Wu watched quietly, calculating in his heart.

As time slowly passed, as a pale fish-belly white appeared on the horizon, as dawn arrived, as the first ray of sunlight fell—like the bell signaling the start of an exam—the entire world, the entire valley, boiled over.

Yesterday, he had not witnessed such a magnificent scene.

Crimson Birds flew above the canopy, yet did not dare fly any higher.

The Gray Rat Heavy Cavalry began running toward the foot of the mountain, followed by ordinary rats, then vast numbers of insect Sprites.

They surged onward like a mighty tide.

But the sunlight had only just fallen upon the highest point of the cliff. It was still within the Violet Gold Three Minutes stage.

"Now! Go!"

As the Gray Rat Clan rushed past, Wang Wu sprang out from his day-and-night-long concealment. His legs had gone weak, and his Stamina Points had even dropped below fifty.

But as expected, no one paid him any attention. Standing there, he was like a reef. Several Mantis Swordsmen even used him as a stepping stone to show off their movement techniques.

However, Wang Wu did not rush beneath the cliff to fight for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. Instead, he turned around and plunged headfirst into the bushes.

His target was those Red Berries.

Was the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy unimportant?

No, it was very important. And at this early-morning hour, he would definitely be able to seize Golden Particles from the sunlight. Level 1 Spiritual Essence gave him that advantage.

But what came after that?

He was destined to be ganged up on again, just like yesterday. If it were merely a group of Mantis Swordsmen, Dung Ball Masters, and Moth Ninjas, that would be one thing. But Wang Wu deeply suspected that the Gray Rats would launch a coordinated hunt against him today. With every aspect of his strength still weak at this stage, that would put him in far too passive a position.

Rather than that, he might as well take advantage of every little monster rushing off to fight for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and enter the bushes to seize those Red Berries.