LAVW – Chapter 33 Wanting a Silver Nest

Wang Lianzhi was momentarily stunned before she asked in confusion, “Brother, could it be that Long Ye’s talent is stronger than yours?”

In her impression, Long Ye did have his merits—he was mature beyond his years, particularly meticulous and sharp. However, his cultivation and innate talent were quite ordinary.

When she first met him, Long Ye was still in the Qi Refining stage. If he hadn’t saved her brother and gotten the opportunity to enter the secret realm, he might have needed another year or more just to build his foundation.

With such an average aptitude, how could he compare to Wang Xingzhi? He was far inferior to her, let alone her brother.

Wang Xingzhi felt a mix of emotions when asked about talent.

In terms of the Heavenly Dao Pool, not only was his talent inferior to Long Ye’s, but he was even… outmatched by that little furball, Brother Qian.

However, he had stayed in the Heavenly Dao Pool long enough, and this opportunity far exceeded his expectations.

If he lingered any longer, he would just worry about his sister.

Recalling the gloomy and melancholic expression on his sister’s face the first time he saw her, Wang Xingzhi swept his gaze across the few Wang family members present.

With a serious expression, he said, “It’s not just Long Ye. Brother Qian is also beneath the pool, absorbing the energy of the Heavenly Dao Pool together.”

At the mention of Brother Qian’s name, Wang Lianzhi’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Brother Qian can absorb the Heavenly Dao Pool’s energy too? That’s great!” This meant that Shi Qian could also become stronger.

The two siblings chatted happily, but the others who overheard the conversation didn’t feel so good.

That kid surnamed Long had actually stayed in the Heavenly Dao Pool until now without coming out.

Even his spiritual beast was far beyond their reach…

They seemed to recall seeing another name with the character “Long” on the stone tablet.

“Is Long Aotian actually Long Ye?” one of the Wang family members asked.

Wang Lianzhi casually nodded and reminded them, “Since he used a fake name, we should keep it to ourselves and not spread it outside.”

“Then who is Long Mao?”

Regarding Brother Qian, Wang Lianzhi didn’t want to reveal anything. After spending time together, she understood that Shi Qian was exceptionally intelligent and anything but ordinary.

Wang Lianzhi shook her head, pretending not to know.

But they didn’t need to know who Long Mao was. Just the fact that Long Ye was the “Long Aotian” whose name was engraved on the outer stone tablet of the Alchemy Hall was enough to leave them shocked and embarrassed.

It wasn’t unheard of for someone with low cultivation but immense strength to exist. If Long Ye’s true abilities were that formidable, then things were definitely not as they had imagined.

How utterly humiliating.

But “Long Aotian”—what an arrogant name!

As a result, anyone who had ever seen the stone tablet of the Alchemy Hall might have forgotten how many names were on it, but they would undoubtedly remember the name “Long Aotian”—so bold and ostentatious that it left an unforgettable impression.

After Wang Xingzhi emerged from the Heavenly Dao Pool, the secret realm still did not reopen, seemingly intent on forcing the remaining ten or so people out. Moreover, as time passed, the cultivators noticed something unusual—the water level of the Heavenly Dao Pool had begun to drop.

At first, the decrease was barely noticeable, but upon closer inspection, the newly exposed section of the pool’s walls had darkened from prolonged submersion.

As the water level continued to recede, more of the demonic plant’s body was revealed. It grew agitated, thrashing its branches and leaves, making a scene that soon became widely known.

After a long while, Shi Qian finally woke up.

Now, imagine the feeling of waking up and immediately realizing that fate had a firm grip around your throat.

Shi Qian: I dare not move, I cannot move, but…I am a little touched.

Long Ye was actually soaking in the water with him, presumably to keep him from suffering and bolting out in pain. Not only that, but he had secured Shi Qian firmly in his hands—like adding a safety latch.

Just look at this holding posture: one hand supporting from below, the other wrapped around his neck. Even for getting vaccinated, this level of restraint would be excessive.

Truly, what a reliable brother!

But with that came a new problem. Now that Shi Qian was awake, he couldn’t escape Long Ye’s grasp, nor did he dare to move too much.

If he moved too suddenly, he might disrupt Long Ye, who was completely immersed in cultivation. And right now, Long Ye was in a state where he absolutely could not be disturbed—the energy surging around him was fast and intense.

Yet somehow, even while holding Shi Qian, Long Ye was still able to cultivate.

As expected of him, the ultimate cultivation fanatic.

At this rate, he was going to exhaust the entire cultivation world.

Shi Qian’s thoughts wandered wildly as he lamented his inability to test out his newfound strength. He could only roughly sense that his cultivation had skyrocketed to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, nearing the late stage.

Compared to his previously stagnant cultivation progress, this was an astronomical leap forward.

If Mother Mouse saw this, she would probably start questioning whether being a mother even compared to Long Ye, this young lad.

Shi Qian thought about Hei Mao, then wiggled slightly to check his own condition.

His limbs felt much stronger, but—was it just his imagination, or had he…lost weight?

Terrified by the thought, Shi Qian quickly patted himself all over. After confirming that his fur was still soft, smooth, and plush, he finally relaxed.

A fluffy creature must neither become a rugged brute like Hei Mao Bro nor shrivel up like a twig. Both would ruin his aesthetics.

He still had many beautiful older sisters and adorable little sisters to meet. His cuteness factor had to remain stable. After all, being cute was something even he enjoyed looking at.

Soon, boredom set in. Unable to move or do anything, Shi Qian began dozing off.

After two days of this, whatever gratitude he had felt slowly faded away. With no other choice, he begrudgingly joined Long Ye in cultivating, unwittingly contributing to the competition-driven chaos of the cultivation world’s demonic beasts. Fortunately, cultivation was no longer painful for him, so he could just about tolerate it.

This motionless, cultivation-only lifestyle continued for half a month before Shi Qian decided to slack off.

When he got tired of cultivating, he pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds and started cracking them open while floating in the water.

He would take one in his little paw, toss it skillfully into the air, catch it in his mouth, crunch it open, eat the seed inside, and spit out the shell.

As long as he moved quickly enough, he could still enjoy fresh, crisp, and fragrant sunflower seeds.

Meanwhile, outside the pool, the cultivators watched in utter disbelief as a bizarre layer of sunflower seed shells began floating to the surface of the Heavenly Dao Pool. Their emotions were beyond complicated.

“It looks like they’re roasted sunflower seeds, judging by the color of the shells.”

“Who even brings something like that into a secret realm?”

“If it’s a demonic beast, I guess that makes sense…”

“So that white rat has woken up. Why isn’t it coming out?”

“Who even knows if it can come out? Just look at that demonic plant—it’s practically going insane!”

After witnessing the eerie drop in the pool’s water level, it wasn’t just the Wang family who noticed—everyone quickly deduced the situation. Someone was still inside the Heavenly Dao Pool. Among those who had yet to leave, it wasn’t hard to guess who remained. Without a doubt, it was Long Ye and his spiritual beast.

As the water level continued to fall, strange objects began floating to the surface. Meanwhile, the demonic plant’s thrashing grew increasingly violent, to the point that no one dared get too close for fear of being devoured.

Watching from a distance, Wang Lianzhi grew worried. “How are Brother Qian and the others supposed to get out?”

“No need to worry,” Wang Xingzhi analyzed. “We managed to leave, so that means the demonic plant follows some kind of rules.”

Wang Lianzhi huffed, amused yet exasperated. “But Brother Qian is snacking underwater! No wonder that plant’s been so angry these past few days.”

“Maybe the protective barrier of spiritual energy hasn’t broken yet? It seems like Brother Qian has finished, but Long Ye is still continuing.”

The energy below the water was far too dense to see what was happening beneath the surface, so Wang Xingzhi could only make rough guesses.

Then, as if sunflower seeds had lost their appeal, different types of nut shells began appearing on the water’s surface.

Eventually, even shimmering silver powder started to float up.

“Pine nuts.”

“Hazelnuts.”

“Peanuts.”

“Wait, is that… Star Silver Ore?!”

Trapped inside the secret realm with no way out, the cultivators had long since exhausted their patience. Besides training or aimlessly searching for opportunities, they had taken to watching the Heavenly Dao Pool just to see what bizarre thing would float up next.

As soon as they saw Star Silver Ore, several cultivators immediately set out in search of ore veins, successfully forming a mining team and turning into diligent laborers.

Wang Xingzhi was so engrossed in mining that he ignored everything else for days. When the competition over mining spots suddenly intensified, he sighed in frustration.

“Strange. I clearly set up a labyrinth array, but someone managed to break through it.”

Only after hearing Wang Lianzhi’s remark did Wang Xingzhi finally realize just how bored a certain little silver-furred creature must have been.

At one point, Shi Qian had eaten so much Star Silver Ore while living in the mines that he had completely lost interest in it. Yet now, here he was, eating it again.

Under the water, Shi Qian had switched to a new flavor. Once full, he resumed cultivating.

It wasn’t that he particularly enjoyed the taste of Star Silver Ore, nor was it that he wanted to cultivate.

It was just that the little dragon-cat in Long Ye’s hands looked so pitiful.

Aside from accompanying Long Ye in cultivation, there was simply nothing else to do.

Look at this—the price of being a treasured possession: losing all freedom!

After grumbling to himself, Shi Qian swore under his breath and begrudgingly resumed cultivating.

Another few days passed like this. Bored out of his mind, Shi Qian started counting the rocks at the bottom of the pool and playing a game of “you run, I chase” with the demonic plant’s root tendrils.

The roots thrashed about violently, and Shi Qian followed them with his eyes.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Long Ye finally woke up—just as the water level dropped to within three inches of his head.

Noticing that Long Ye was emerging from his deep cultivation state, Shi Qian immediately started kicking like crazy.

“Squeak Squeak!”

Let me go! Get me out of here!

Long Ye, still maintaining his tight grip, blinked in confusion at the flailing Shi Qian. “What’s wrong?”

Shi Qian turned around in his grasp to face him directly, using his paws to push against Long Ye’s hand.

“Squeak Squeak—”

I’ve been awake for over a month! Do you even know what I’ve been through?!

Shi Qian looked ready to cry.

“Squeak.”

I couldn’t move at all, so all I could do was cultivate.

Long Ye only needed a moment to understand just how torturous that must have been for Shi Qian.

Shi Qian, training every single day? Unbelievable.

Still, Long Ye didn’t immediately let go. He could sense the protective barrier of spiritual energy beginning to shatter, and the surrounding demonic plant was growing increasingly frenzied. It was best to leave right now.

“Let’s talk after we get out.”

Long Ye grabbed the slightly thinner Shi Qian and expertly stuffed him into the pouch on his chest.

Then, gathering an unprecedented amount of spiritual energy, he surged upward. The moment he broke the surface, he stepped lightly on the water’s surface, his damp robes fluttering as he leaped toward the shore.

As he emerged, the protective barrier shattered, and Long Ye felt himself collide with something else—but there was no time to figure it out. The demonic plant was already whipping its branches toward him with murderous intent.

No time to waste—run!

Once he reached a safe distance, Long Ye finally took a deep breath, feeling the overwhelming surge of spiritual energy within him. There was an indescribable lightness to his body.

He had actually broken through to Foundation Establishment Stage in one go inside the Heavenly Dao Pool.

The Golden Core stage was now just a step away.

Just a short while ago, he had only been a mere Qi Refining novice.

Shi Qian wasn’t just a treasure-hunting rat—he was a blessed rat!

Thinking back to how Shi Qian had endured over a month of complete stillness just to avoid disturbing his cultivation, Long Ye was deeply moved.

Raising a hand, he wiped something off his face—something that had stuck to him when he emerged from the water. Excited to share the good news with Shi Qian, he glanced at his hand…

And saw something that looked suspiciously like waterlogged sunflower seed shells.

Long Ye: …

“Suffering through intense training every day?”

From inside the pouch, Shi Qian peeked his head out: ?

These sunflower seed shells really lacked self-awareness.

Realizing he was about to be exposed, Shi Qian decided to strike first.

“Squeak Squeak!”

Brother Ye, you’re amazing! You held me down all this time to make sure I didn’t float out of the Heavenly Dao Pool!

Long Ye chuckled. “Didn’t you just beg me to let you out?”

Shi Qian kicked his little legs, clinging onto the edge of the pouch and putting on his cutest face.

“Squeak Squeak.”

Besides eating, all I could do was cultivate.

That was the absolute truth—no embellishment needed.

Long Ye thought back to how he had been holding onto Shi Qian the entire time.

He narrowed his eyes.

“Then… how did you even manage to eat?”

Shi Qian’s arms were short, and in that position, with Long Ye’s big hand in the way, there was no way he could have fed himself directly.

Without hesitation, Shi Qian crawled out and demonstrated his technique for Long Ye—no spiritual energy needed, just a perfect parabolic throw.

Using both paws together? That made it a double curve.

Not only was it fast, but it was incredibly accurate.

If he were still in his original world, a chinchilla performing such an amazing trick would have gone viral in minutes.

Long Ye thought about it and realized—it really hadn’t been easy for Shi Qian. The little guy had worked so hard just for a bite to eat that he had even developed a skill for it.

Feeling a bit sympathetic, Long Ye tossed away the bloated sunflower seed shells and asked, “Brother Qian, do you still have more seeds? Give me a handful.”

It had been a long time since he’d eaten any—he was actually craving them a little.

The sunflower seeds were spiritual seeds. Ever since Long Ye became rich, he had been generously spending spirit stones to buy them, and Wang Lianzhi had even roasted them using a refiner’s alchemy fire—which made them even more fragrant and delicious for Shi Qian.

“Squeak.”

I’ll give you a handful, let’s go find Sister Lianzhi.

With one human and one chinchilla munching on sunflower seeds, they made their way up through the collapsed ruins. Their discarded shells scattered in the wind, some of them drifting down into the Heavenly Dao Pool below.

The demonic plant’s branches writhed wildly, furiously slapping the water’s surface, sending waves splashing in all directions.

As they reached higher ground, Shi Qian turned back to take one last look.

Beneath the ruins, the Heavenly Dao Pool reflected a mesmerizing, shimmering light. Waves rose and fell in an endless rhythm, their splashes blending with the sound of flowing water. From above, the thriving green branches swayed gracefully—it no longer looked frightening. If anything, it seemed like a scene of life thriving amid destruction, something worthy of being painted into an artwork.

Beautiful. It could definitely be a painting.

Long Ye, standing at the edge, was also gazing downward—except his thoughts were completely different from Shi Qian’s.

Curious, Long Ye asked, “Don’t tell me you made friends with that big demon down there?”

It didn’t seem likely, but when it came to Shi Qian’s networking skills, Long Ye had blind faith.

Shi Qian shook his head seriously. “Squeak Squeak.”

On the contrary—we’re probably enemies now.

Ever since sunflower seed shells started floating on the water’s surface, that big demon had become increasingly irritable. And just now, it had thrown a tantrum again—probably because Long Ye had thrown his shells into the pool.

Not to mention, with how much spiritual energy he and Long Ye had absorbed, the Heavenly Dao Pool would probably take a long time to recover.

There was no way the big demon wouldn’t hold a grudge.

Luckily, the demonic plant didn’t have legs—it couldn’t chase them.

Long Ye’s reaction was straightforward. If they were enemies, then they just needed to stay far away.

Without hesitation, he turned and strode off in the opposite direction of the Heavenly Dao Pool.

“Brother Qian, where’s your Sister Lianzhi?”

“Squeak Squeak.”

How should I know? I’ve been with you the whole time.

“Then let’s head toward the mines. If nothing unexpected happens, we should find Wang-xiong there. Once we ask him, we’ll know where Wang Lianzhi is. Who knows, maybe the siblings are together.”

Shi Qian nodded. “Squeak.”

Sounds good.

After all, he wasn’t the one walking.

Having a ride meant Shi Qian had zero concerns about taking a wrong turn.

Long Ye was even more arrogant, tugging at the pocket on his chest. “Why don’t you just hop in?”

Shi Qian didn’t even look at him. “Squeak Squeak.”

So what if you’re at the late Foundation Establishment stage? I’m about to reach it too.

Shi Qian already knew—Long Ye would never miss a chance to show off. This guy loved sharing his excitement.

Sure enough, Long Ye grinned. “Then work harder. You can cultivate normally now, right?”

“Squeak—”

Wait, how do you know?

“Brother Qian, don’t you always say I’m amazing? Or was that a lie?”

Long Ye subtly hinted that he had figured it out a long time ago. Then, he continued toward the mines.

But in the end, he didn’t need Shi Qian to crawl into his pocket—because Long Ye had learned to create a windproof spiritual energy barrier while traveling.

Shi Qian, curious, stretched out a paw and poked at it.

The barrier shattered instantly.

A blast of cold wind smacked him in the face, his ears flattened backward, and if he hadn’t immediately dropped down and clung tightly, he might’ve been blown away.

“Squeak—”

That was close—

Long Ye quickly stopped and pressed down on the tiny spirit beast. Why were younglings so ridiculously curious?

Shi Qian, on the other hand, was even more confused. “Squeak Squeak?”

Why did that barrier break with just one poke?

He had assumed it was similar to the one over the Heavenly Dao Pool. If he had known it was that fragile, he never would’ve touched it.

Long Ye reflected on his mistake. “We’ll go over some basic knowledge while we travel.”

And so, along the way, Shi Qian ended up learning about the cultivation world like a human child in school.

The lessons included (but were not limited to):

• The basic currency system
• The rarity and average intelligence of spiritual beasts
• One hundred dangerous scenarios in the cultivation world
• Why spirit beasts should never eat food from strangers

Some of it was hilarious—like the “one hundred dangerous scenarios,” which basically felt like cultivators roasting their own world. Shi Qian had to hold back his laughter.

But some of it was just boring—like the warnings about vigilance, which were basically the cultivation world’s version of “How to Teach Your Child to Spot Scammers and Kidnappers.”

Shi Qian wasn’t actually a child, so some of it felt way too childish.

Yet, seeing how seriously Long Ye explained everything, Shi Qian found it kind of strange.

Why would a guy who doesn’t even look like a teenager know so much about protecting younglings?

His mind wandered—thinking about those with poor talent in the cultivation world.

People like that were often stuck at the Qi Refining stage their whole lives, not much different from ordinary mortals. They usually ended up settling down early, getting married, and having kids.

…Wait, this thought process was going in a weird direction. Abort.

Shi Qian, now under a newly reinforced spiritual energy barrier, changed the topic out of curiosity. “Squeak Squeak?”

If I move, will the barrier follow me?

“I already accounted for that possibility.”

Shi Qian dove straight down and burrowed into Long Ye’s pocket.

“Squeak!”

It actually works. Impressive, Brother Ye!

“Keep listening. Don’t let your mind wander.”

Long Ye continued teaching the little spirit beast, just like he used to teach the annoying brats in his family—except this time, he actually enjoyed it.

Brother Qian was reasonable, well-behaved, smart, and capable—a rare standout among younglings. Long Ye figured he should be grateful for such a good student.

When they reached the mines, Shi Qian and Long Ye ran into Wang Lianzhi on her way out.

Shi Qian mentally praised Long Ye for his spot-on guess, then immediately hopped into the hands of the pretty sister, Squeaking about how delicious the spiritual sunflower seeds were and even taking some out to share.

Wang Lianzhi held him in one hand and teased, “I don’t have a free hand to eat. What should I do? Brother Qian, feed me?”

Shi Qian almost facepalmed.

How had he not thought of that?

But Wang Lianzhi didn’t mind. For once, someone wasn’t treating her like a delicate jade vase. She was thrilled. Almost as if showing off, she said to Shi Qian, “I can shell the seeds using spiritual energy! Watch.”

A single seed floated in the air, enveloped in spiritual energy.

Then—CRACK.

The shell split cleanly, revealing the whole seed inside. It dropped straight into Wang Lianzhi’s mouth.

Shi Qian watched with great interest. “Squeak Squeak.”

Can you throw me like that?

And just like that, Wang Lianzhi and Shi Qian started playing around happily.

Long Ye stood off to the side, watching them, and a thought crossed his mind.

—Maybe I should just go dig for Star Silver first.

But Shi Qian kept him around to help.

When Wang Lianzhi brought up repairing the robe, Shi Qian pulled out his little vest, which had been damaged when he got forcefully teleported into the alchemy chamber by the token.

The pretty sister examined it and said it was still fixable—but she’d need Long Ye’s help.

With only one usable hand, Wang Lianzhi struggled at first. But soon, her movements became fluid and effortless, like a fish in water.

She was learning to replace her hand movements with spiritual energy, and more importantly—this was something she loved and excelled at.

During the refining process, Wang Lianzhi’s usual smile disappeared, replaced by pure focus and dedication.

Shi Qian thought she looked even more beautiful like this.

He turned his head—Long Ye was swinging a giant iron hammer, pounding away at the Star Silver ore.

Later, he planned to coat Shi Qian’s little vest with a layer of refined Star Silver, significantly boosting its defensive capabilities.

Silver dust floated in the air, swirling around the strong, determined young man as he worked.

Shi Qian stared for a moment.

His poop-scooping human was actually pretty great. When he was serious, he looked impressive.

Shi Qian suddenly felt like giving him more work.

So he ran over, diving into the pile of silver dust beside Long Ye.

Then—Achoo!

Shi Qian rubbed his nose. “Squeak Squeak.”

Brother Ye, make me a silver nest.

“What kind?”

Shi Qian described a nest… that basically looked like a giant soup bowl with a flat bottom.

Then, he crafted two dust-proof spiritual energy masks—one for Long Ye, and one for himself.

As Long Ye worked, Shi Qian sat nearby, humming to himself while collecting silver dust.

“Squeak Squeak~”

A golden nest can’t compare to a silver nest, because my silver nest is my cozy little bed~

Long Ye: “…Are you a dog?”

Shi Qian, unwilling to accept this slander, meowed several times in protest—

“Meow.”

I can barely count as a cat.

Hearing this, Long Ye thought about how Brother Qian called himself a Totoro, and somehow, he felt even more energized.

In the distance, Wang Xingzhi sat cross-legged halfway up the mountain, forcibly suppressing his cultivation.

He gazed at the rising red alchemy flames and his sister, who was once again refining artifacts, then let out a deep breath.

Was it really this simple to help his sister recover?

Now, let him think—where could he find the best spiritual sunflower seeds?

The little furball liked them, so the thank-you gift had to be something he’d enjoy.

Nearby, the silver sword circled him once, eager to fly off and find its little companion.

But Wang Xingzhi grabbed it firmly, refusing to let go.

“Don’t go causing trouble! If you do, I’m deducting a piece of Star Silver today!”

The silver sword, which had been forced to painfully learn how to count over the past month, furiously broke free from Wang Xingzhi’s grip and streaked away as a silver light, heading straight for its little companion without hesitation.

Why?

Because the little companion also gave it snacks.

Who cared about some lousy piece of Star Silver when there were treats to be had?