“Don’t pick too much, just leave some for it. Usually, there’s more than one blazing sun grass next to a blazing flame turtle,” the staff member replied impatiently. “If you pick them all, the blazing flame turtle won’t even be able to sleep.”

“Ten blazing sun fruits for three spirit stones,” Andrew Brooks thought for a moment and nodded. This is a good deal—if he could get dozens of blazing sun fruits, he’d meet this month’s quota, and the rest could be sold for spirit stones, allowing him to cultivate freely.

But the next moment, he thought of another question. “How can a high-grade first-tier spiritual herb be so cheap?”

Chapter 3: Nightmare Spider

It’s no wonder Andrew Brooks asked this. Although he wasn’t very clear about what cultivation level corresponded to high-grade first-tier, he knew that other high-grade first-tier herbs often sold for dozens or even hundreds of spirit stones per plant.

But these blazing sun fruits were only three spirit stones for ten, which felt like selling cabbage on Earth—three yuan for ten jin.

The staff member finally sensed something was off, so he turned his head and sized him up. “Don’t tell me you just ascended?”

“Just arrived today,” Andrew Brooks spread his hands and answered naturally. He didn’t expect to fool the other party.

“Blazing sun fruit is indeed a high-grade first-tier herb. It can even be used in concoctions with mid-grade second-tier spiritual materials. If it’s not high-grade first-tier, what is it?” The staff member’s face darkened. “Pills effective for sixth-level wandering immortals, guarded by ninth-level wild beasts… The reason it’s so cheap is because it’s an auxiliary spiritual herb.”

Andrew Brooks wanted to ask more, but seeing the other party’s displeased expression, he stopped pestering and raised a finger. “One last question… Where can I find blazing sun fruit?”

Are you kidding me? The staff member nearly tripped over his own feet, almost falling right there. But thinking that the other party had just ascended, he let it go.

So he answered slowly, “We can’t provide the exact location, but the person who posted the task has the information. However… you need to pay a deposit to get it.”

“Why?” Andrew Brooks was stunned. “I’m helping him pick blazing sun fruit, aren’t I?”

“What if you pick the blazing sun fruit and then come back saying the task failed?” The staff member rolled his eyes. “So you have to pay a deposit, and you’ll also need to prepare a recording stone as evidence… That way, even if you fail the task, the deposit can be refunded.”

“What a pain,” Andrew Brooks muttered angrily. He couldn’t say the other party was unreasonable, but right now, he didn’t have a single spirit stone. “I don’t have any spirit stones… How much is the deposit?”

“Two spirit stones is enough. Blazing sun fruit can’t be sold for more anyway. We’re just being responsible to our clients,” the staff member replied indifferently. “If you put down four spirit stones, I can lend you a recording stone.”

“I’ll go earn some spirit stones first,” Andrew Brooks sighed and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

The staff member watched his back and snorted disdainfully: Ascenders from the lower realm—life in the immortal world isn’t that easy!

Andrew Brooks walked out of the courtyard and wandered for a while, discovering a market. The market was bustling, selling all sorts of things, with many people simply laying their goods on the ground and hawking them.

He wandered around the market but didn’t see anyone selling spiders like the one he’d killed, so he couldn’t estimate the price. But at this point, he had to sell the spider to get some spirit stones.

He looked around and found a corner with some empty space, so he walked over, casually cast a wind sweep spell to clean the ground, and then sat down.

He was just about to take out some spider silk to display when two immortals appeared in front of him, staring at him intently. “Are you setting up a stall here?”

Andrew Brooks instinctively glanced at their arms, but didn’t see any red armbands or the words ‘city management inspector’. Still, he was very familiar with this kind of aura, so he snorted coldly, “I’m just tired from walking and want to meditate for a bit, is that not allowed?”

“Let’s hope you’re just tired from walking,” the other replied coldly. “Just so you know, setting up a stall here requires a fee—at least one spirit stone per day, or your goods will be confiscated.”

“What if I just meditate here and don’t set up a stall?” Andrew Brooks stood up angrily. He hadn’t even sold anything yet and was already being asked for spirit stones—seriously? He didn’t have a single spirit stone.

“Meditate or not, that’s your business. But what’s with the baring of your teeth? What are you up to?” The two immortals glared at him, and one of them even sent out a spiritual probe.

However, Mr. Brooks’s spiritual sense was far stronger than that of an ordinary first-level wandering immortal. He only paused for a moment before withstanding it.

“You really think you’re city management, huh,” Andrew Brooks muttered under his breath and walked away.

He was quite unfamiliar with the city he’d ascended to. He wanted to buy a map, but since that would also require spirit stones, he didn’t even bother asking—he was flat broke.

He wandered aimlessly through the streets, not knowing how long he’d been walking, when he suddenly noticed a pawnshop ahead as the setting sun slanted westward.

The writing here was very similar to Chinese on Earth—mostly traditional characters, with some variant forms. Looking at a single character might be confusing, but together, it wasn’t hard to understand.

But such a big “當” character swaying in the wind—there was no way he could miss it.

The pawnshop owner was a middle-aged man. When he saw him enter, he didn’t say a word. After all, this was a matter of who needed whom.