LAVW – Chapter 49 Don’t Get Close to Me

Last time, the tribulation lightning came down gently and slowly, giving You Fang enough time and energy to take the spirit beast cub that triggered the lightning away.

But this time, the lightning was exceptionally fierce. In an instant, it destroyed the grand formation and exposed the aura of the demonic cultivators.

The thunder rumbling in the sky above made every demon cultivator on the island nearly lose their souls in fear.

You Fang also realized immediately that the situation was beyond salvaging.

The materials for the formation were rare. The remaining ones had already been used up—there was no way to replenish them.

What’s more, the Heavenly Dao was always merciless toward them, these demon beasts and demonic cultivators. There would only be severe punishment, never leniency.

Right now, all he could do was try to preserve whatever little he could.

You Fang’s powerful divine sense swept across the island, transmitting his thoughts back to his courtyard.

Because he had trained it deliberately, the clam demon could instantly understand and respond.

In the courtyard, Shi Qian saw the clam demon suddenly expand in size, flattening the pond, and was so startled that he immediately leapt to the side to avoid being crushed.

The giant clam continued to grow, pushing over the courtyard walls and raising a cloud of dust.

Thunderclouds gathered in the sky, lightning flickering within them—an ominous sign of impending disaster.

The clam demon opened its shell wide toward You Fang’s “courtyard” and swallowed it whole.

Shi Qian stared wide-eyed.

So fierce.

And then, he saw the clam demon preparing to leave.

“Squeak squeak!”

Brother Clam, take me with you!

Shi Qian leapt straight into the open shell.

Once inside, he realized the interior wasn’t like last time—it didn’t have the pocket space that stored You Fang’s treasures.

Shi Qian felt a little bitter.

“Squeak…”

So the treatment isn’t the same, huh.

But there was some good news too.

After the clam demon’s dramatic maneuver to snatch the courtyard, the layer of spiritual energy left behind by You Fang had been shattered.

Shi Qian immediately thought of the Long Aotian he had been eyeing for a long time in the spirit beast pouch, and dashed in a straight line, jumping in through the window.

At that moment, the Long Aotian had also just climbed out of the spirit beast pouch. It had forcefully broken through the spatial barrier of the pouch to get out.

The two—man and dragon chinchilla—ran head-on into each other, both stunned.

Shi Qian raised a paw to cover his eyes. “…Squeak.”

Brother Ye, at least put on some clothes first.

Upon hearing that, Long Ye grabbed a piece of clothing and casually wrapped it around himself, stepping out of the pouch without hesitation—there was no time to waste.

Shi Qian nimbly jumped onto his shoulder. “Squeak squeak.”

There’s a huge storm of tribulation lightning in the sky, like it’s about to blast the whole island apart. You Fang is somewhere else on the island—someone just went to inform him…

After hearing the explanation, Long Ye caught the key point: “You Fang didn’t come back right away. Looks like he’s stuck.”

At first, Long Ye had been unsettled by how quickly Shi Qian reached the Golden Core stage, so he wanted to cultivate faster himself. That’s why he used the Dragon Blood Divine Stone—only to find that its energy was far too immense.

Eventually, when his cultivation surged uncontrollably, Long Ye already foresaw today’s situation—

He might have to face another sudden tribulation.

And judging by his last Golden Core tribulation, the Heavenly Dao didn’t exactly go easy on him.

He also realized the tribulation might expose the demonic cultivators to the heavens, inviting a wave of heavenly punishment.

At that time, the demon cultivators’ island would be thrown into chaos—creating a temporary window of safety.

That might be the best chance for him and Shi Qian to escape.

If they failed, they’d have to figure out another way to survive. But breaking through the situation would only be possible through the tribulation.

However, when Long Ye stepped out of the courtyard, he discovered—they weren’t even on the island anymore.

Shi Qian caught on and explained, “Squeak squeak.”

We’re inside Brother Clam—the same clam demon that swallowed the auction house. I think it’s on its way to find You Fang.

Long Ye processed the “Brother Clam” from Shi Qian’s mouth and quickly accepted it.

After all, he’d been in closed-door cultivation for a while. It wasn’t strange for Shi Qian to have picked up a few new brothers or pretty sisters.

Feeling the fluctuation of energy in his body, Long Ye immediately said, “My first lightning tribulation is coming. Can we get the clam demon to let us out?”

Shi Qian tried his best to communicate with Brother Clam, but the clam demon was busy searching for You Fang and didn’t have time to respond—it completely ignored them.

Among the black clouds and flashing lightning, the first massive bolt of lightning struck down.

Boom! Boom boom—

The blinding light split the sky, illuminating the island’s current state.

The demonic cultivators no longer followed orders. They frantically fled toward the teleportation array off the island.

On one side were the tribulation-crossing cultivators, and on the other were the fleeing demonic cultivators. For a moment, even the heavenly lightning seemed confused.

But in the end, it dutifully increased in strength and thickened, striking directly at the one fated to undergo the tribulation.

And as one bolt struck down, another followed closely, chasing after a group of demon cultivators.

Inside the clam shell—

“It’s coming!” Long Ye shouted.

Shi Qian had already hidden to the side, completely safe.

That’s the benefit of being with your own people—they always give you a heads-up.

Thinking about the treatment he’d received under You Fang lately, Shi Qian suddenly felt a little moved.

The next moment—the tribulation arrived.

Boom!

Zzzzt—CRACK!

The clam demon, who was rushing to find You Fang, was tragically struck by lightning.

A Nascent Soul tribulation mixed with a powerhouse like Long Ye made the heavenly lightning pack an extra punch. It was generously amplified—no holding back. The bolt left the clam’s shell charred and blackened.

That did it—no need for thinking. The clam demon instinctively opened its mouth and spat out the source of the lightning’s wrath: the troublemaker hidden inside.

Shi Qian followed Long Ye out of the shell and took a quick glance at the clam’s outer shell.

It looked pitiful. Pretty much halfway to being a barbecue.

Just needed a sprinkle of cumin.

But truth be told, Shi Qian had tried to warn him. Brother Clam just hadn’t listened. Not even a little.

After spitting out the “disaster” that was Long Ye, the clam demon seemed to notice Shi Qian had also exited. Its axe-like legs reached out and gently curled toward him.

It was visibly scorched at the edges. Clearly, that lightning strike had been no joke.

Shi Qian shook his head and pushed the axe-foot aside. “Squeak squeak.”

I’m leaving now. Goodbye, Brother Clam.

He had no desire to go looking for You Fang again. That would be walking right into the trap.

In the end, the clam demon’s heart was still set on You Fang. Its legs wobbled a bit, then it turned and crawled away much faster than usual.

Watching the big clam disappear into the distance, Shi Qian reminded Long Ye: “Squeak squeak.”

The direction Brother Clam’s going must be where You Fang is.

Brother Clam’s loyalty isn’t in question—he only ever follows You Fang.

As for Long Ye, by a twist of fate, the first bolt of heavenly lightning meant for him had been intercepted by the clam demon. His condition remained virtually untouched.

He turned toward the other side of the island, where something had clearly been hit. Demonic energy billowed into black smoke, drifting in waves across the air. That in turn attracted even more heavenly lightning to swirl and gather above.

Contaminated by demonic energy, a cultivator’s heart could easily become clouded.

If they continued down that path, their cultivation would stagnate—and eventually, they’d step right into the demon path.

Coincidentally, the direction the clam had gone and the direction the demonic aura was spreading… were the same.

Meanwhile, Shi Qian and Long Ye were on the opposite side of the island.

Long Ye hesitated for a second—then made up his mind. “Let’s follow and take a look.”

He was sure this island didn’t only house demonic cultivators. And right now, he felt things still weren’t chaotic enough.

Shi Qian glanced up at the terrifying thunderclouds. “Squeak squeak.”

Brother Ye, weren’t you about to undergo a tribulation?

Shouldn’t a tribulation be faced somewhere safe, with guardians nearby, carefully navigating it?
And before it begins, isn’t it best to store up spiritual energy and prep all kinds of recovery items?

Shi Qian had done exactly that.

Long Ye explained, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

They followed the clam demon.

When they reached the cave entrances on the island, the clam demon first shrank down in size, then brazenly smashed through the defensive formation and barged inside.

Shi Qian: …

Brother Clam’s actions… felt kind of considerate, but also not really.

In the chaos, no one paid attention to the clam demon. The several Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators on the island had already fled first, activating the teleportation array before the heavenly lightning could strike. Whether they made it to the other end safely was still unknown.

The remaining demonic cultivators gathered to report to You Fang.

“Elder! The teleportation array is broken!”

“Elder You, the other elders used the teleportation array to escape. When they left, they attracted heavenly lightning. Those who followed after them got caught up in the blast and were turned to ash by the heavenly tribulation. Now the array is destroyed. What do we do?”

You Fang knocked out a female cultivator with a bulging belly, as if she were several months pregnant, and stuffed her into a modified individual spirit beast pouch. He said coldly, “Don’t gather in one place. Settle them first. I’ll go check the formation.”

Judging by his expression, You Fang wasn’t even slightly anxious.

It was as if the lives of these demonic cultivators—and even his own—meant nothing to him.

The remaining demonic cultivators had no way out and tried to force You Fang to repair the formation.

Looking at this “You monster” whose cultivation had dropped to the Nascent Soul stage, one early-stage Soul Transformation cultivator dared to speak up: “Elder You! Our lives matter too. Please go check on the formation—are we supposed to wait here and get fried to ashes?”

“You’re not thinking of ditching us and escaping on your own, are you?!”

“Why even bother with these people? We can keep watch for you—”

Outside, thunder roared endlessly. None of the demonic cultivators dared to poke their heads out. But as more demonic energy leaked, the heavenly tribulation would only intensify and become even more vicious.

You Fang turned his gaze on one of the noisy, chattering cultivators. A massive burst of divine sense crashed down, and the target immediately bled from all seven orifices and collapsed, dead on the spot.

“Secure this place first.”

In just an instant, the strongest among the ones who hadn’t escaped was dead. No one else dared to say another word and obediently went off to do their tasks.

Just then, the clam demon finally arrived. It lunged straight for You Fang, trying to scoop him into its shell.

You Fang smacked it aside and tossed several spirit beast pouches inside instead.

At that same moment, booming sounds erupted from both sides of the island, shaking it to its core.

More bolts of heavenly lightning struck down—three or four in total—falling together as though tearing the heavens open and linking sky and earth.

Some demonic cultivators peeked outside and saw that several of the strange beasts meant for breeding had somehow been released.

Though their spiritual power had been sealed due to poison, their massive and grotesque bodies were enough to crash into the mountain caves that held them, collapsing the structures. Just a few heavy steps could cause nearby stone grottos to teeter dangerously.

No wonder the tremors had been so intense.

Three beasts had been let loose—all the largest ones.

Long Ye swept his gaze over them, particularly focusing on one two-horned beast. Its body was also covered in black scales—much coarser and rougher than his, but still similar.

Seeing that he intended to go release more beasts, Shi Qian hurried to stop him.

“Squeak squeak!”

Stop causing trouble, Brother Ye—let’s run already!

If his sense of smell hadn’t been almost completely shut off, Shi Qian might have passed out again from the killing intent radiating off You Fang, which once again carried that overwhelming fragrance.

Long Ye sensed the second wave of heavenly tribulation was close. Reluctantly, he agreed and started running toward the array.

As he ran, he muttered righteously, “The more chaos on this island, the safer we’ll be.”

Shi Qian: “Squeak.”

That would still take some time though. What if You Fang catches up?

Shi Qian chirped and muttered resentfully about You Fang’s cruelty—draining blood, cutting flesh, even eating his own clam, and possibly raising a dragon to death.

As for casually killing off demonic cultivators—that wasn’t even worth mentioning.

Of course, Shi Qian didn’t say that the one being drained and cut up was himself.

Even so, Long Ye could tell something was off.

Back when they arrived on the island—before Shi Qian was even put into a spirit beast pouch—You Fang had already drawn his blood.

So the poor soul in Shi Qian’s complaints could only be one person—Shi Qian himself.

Long Ye wanted to inspect him then and there, but there was no time. He instead made a mental note to settle this score with You Fang—hard.

Where Shi Qian couldn’t see, Long Ye’s face was as dark as water. Fury shimmered in his eyes with a faint, blood-tinged red.

Long Ye regretted it.

He never should’ve stayed hidden, cultivating in seclusion. He should’ve come out—battered and bruised if need be.

Who knew how much suffering Shi Qian had endured during that time?

Long Ye wished he could take his place and suffer instead. He was never afraid of hardship—but Shi Qian was lazy, delicate, and who knew what kind of pressure had forced him to cultivate to his current level?

These thoughts ran wild in his mind until, at the last moment before they left, Long Ye raised the magic weapon in his hand.

It was a spirit sword prepared back in Ten Thousand Beasts City—perfectly suited for the Golden Core stage.

But now, it probably wouldn’t be enough. Watching him, Shi Qian mentally sorted through the stash he’d swiped from You Fang, wondering which treasures would be suitable for Long Ye.

Then, right before his eyes, Long Ye raised his arm and flung the spirit sword—now charged with spiritual power—straight into the thundercloud zone.

Target: the center of the lightning tribulation.

The provocation couldn’t be more blatant.

Shi Qian: ?

Are you serious? With this many heavenly lightning bolts already, and you want more?

This wasn’t tiptoeing on the edge of danger—this was raving like a maniac in the middle of it.

Seriously, the cultivation world… full of madmen.

Shi Qian couldn’t do it. He was scared now.

Long Ye patted the fluffy creature, who was staring at him in shock, and said calmly, “Brother Qian, my second wave of tribulation is coming. You go ahead—I’ll follow from behind.”

“Squeak squeak.”

Well then… see ya.

Shi Qian heard the thunder crackle overhead and immediately dove into the water, fleeing with every ounce of strength he had—like his life depended on it.

As he desperately fled, Shi Qian couldn’t help but wonder: Had his Brother Ye gone a little crazy from being locked up too long?

Behind him, Long Ye was struck head-on by the second wave of lightning tribulation.

Because of his provocation, the thunder was especially vicious—fierce bolts of power split the scales on Long Ye’s body, drawing blood.

Swallowing a mouthful of it, Long Ye turned his gaze back toward the lightning-ravaged skies above the island.

Then, surrounded by an aura of thunder and light, he plunged into the sea.

At this point, his body was not only tingling from the electricity, but also swollen with the power of the Dragon Blood Divine Stone.

But now that he had left the island, that rage in his heart finally eased a little—and compared to that, the pain in his body didn’t seem so bad anymore.

Shi Qian had fled at top speed. Honestly, flying wouldn’t have made him much faster than his current water-escape technique.

Flying into the open sky right now would basically make him a living target.

While racing toward the small island, Shi Qian opened his positioning map to check if Long Ye was keeping up.

If he was falling behind, Shi Qian would just slow down a bit to wait.

High-tech really was sweet—convenient and reliable. Everything is under control.

In just a short while, Shi Qian spotted the island’s long, narrow tail.

At the very tip was a shallow beach, where pebbles and sand met the sea. Beyond that lay a stretch of green grass, dotted here and there with small blue and white flowers swaying in the breeze—like little dancers waving a warm welcome.

Shi Qian only hoped this island… really was Dragon Island.

As he held onto that hope, Long Ye finally caught up from behind.

Long Ye was drenched in blood, which startled Shi Qian. But seeing that his aura was still steady, he let out a breath of relief.

“Squeak squeak.”

No need for small talk, Brother Ye—time to take your meds.

Shi Qian quickly pulled out some pills—ones that replenished spiritual energy and strengthened tendons, bones, and fur—and laid them out in front of him.

Pills were easy to carry and super effective. Compared to raw spiritual herbs, they were concentrated essences.

And since You Fang’s original goal was to refine Shi Qian’s bloodline, these pills were definitely good stuff—even for Long Ye.

Seeing the pile of medicine bottles, Long Ye thought to himself: Brother Qian is amazing.

He’d managed to hold his own through danger and stockpile all these pills for him.

But knowing these came from You Fang made Long Ye instinctively reject them.

Right then, his blood and qi surged again, and a familiar itch bloomed on his forehead.

He raised a hand to cover the small horn that had re-emerged, feeling the newly forked tip with surprise. His gaze sharpened as he looked around, and he told Shi Qian, “Brother Qian, listen closely. There’s a sound.”

“It sounds like… a legendary dragon’s roar.”

Ever since the bump began forming on his forehead, Long Ye had been trying to figure out what kind of beast blood ran through his veins.

Plenty of beasts had horns, but few had a full body of tough scales to match.

From what he knew, any beast that did was a formidable one—and the most famous of them all were the ancient dragons.

Shi Qian perked up his ears and strained to listen.

But he still couldn’t hear any dragon roars.

We’re both fake dragons—can’t we just be nice to each other for once?

Shi Qian silently grumbled to himself, then looked up at Long Ye again—eyes glinting with a hint of envy.

Long Ye noticed something odd but couldn’t figure out what right away.

“But aren’t you…” He removed the hand covering his own horn and pointed at the two little bumps on Shi Qian’s head. “Aren’t we the same? We’ve both grown horns.”

“I should have dragon blood too.”

Long Ye never imagined that what Brother Qian once said jokingly—‘We both have dragon bloodlines’—was actually true.

Wait a minute.

Long Ye suddenly realized something and asked, “Brother Qian, don’t tell me… you’ve known about our bloodlines from the beginning?”

Shi Qian knew—the pit he’d dug, it was time to fill it in.

Shi Qian first nodded vigorously, then looked completely serious: “Squeak squeak!”

Yeah, aren’t we both dragons? You’re Long Ye, and I’m Totoro (Long Mao, literally “Dragon Cat”).

Denying it wouldn’t necessarily make people believe, but admitting it didn’t guarantee belief either.

Shi Qian’s straightforward admission made Long Ye overturn his earlier suspicions.

Dragon bloodline? What would a baby beast know about dragons? Hear the word “dragon” and think everything’s a dragon.

Afraid that talking too much would cause his prophet identity to slip, Shi Qian picked up the pill bottles and urged him: “Squeak squeak.”

Come on, take your medicine, Brother Ye.

While they spoke, Long Ye’s tribulation cloud had already followed them halfway and was starting to gather strength again.

He needed to use this time to heal his wounds. If he faced another round of lightning strikes while still injured, it could be fatal—plenty of cultivators had died that way.

Long Ye started munching on the pills like they were food, treating the dan like snacks from You Fang.

Seeing that, Shi Qian asked with concern, “Squeak squeak?”

Brother Ye, is it that you didn’t have anything to eat in the spirit beast pouch? I’ve got some Fasting Pills too.

Shi Qian only had one bottle of Fasting Pills—it was a gift from Sister Lian’s dad.

They didn’t taste good. Shi Qian tried one once and never touched them again. Now was the perfect chance to hand them off.

Long Ye happily received +1 bottle of pills.

And he felt a wave of warmth too—Brother Qian was so good to him.

On the distant sea island—

You Fang sensed the aura of the one who released the beast and his expression changed. He cursed in fury, “That cunning human cultivator! He actually managed to hide!”

He hadn’t killed the human cultivator when capturing him only because the stupid baby beast had already formed a contract with him.

Locked inside a spirit beast pouch, that cultivator shouldn’t have been able to escape. Yet somehow, he managed to provoke a tribulation so intense it destroyed his grand formation.

As if that wasn’t enough, the released beasts went on a rampage—two of them died, and much of his efforts were ruined.

Then they went and taunted the tribulation even more, triggering harsher heavenly punishment, and half the island was blasted away.

Seeing that, You Fang’s heart ached like it was bleeding.

He stuffed a big-bellied female beast into a spirit beast pouch and tossed it to the clam demon. Then he grabbed a few things and flew off the sea island.

In this vast sea, there was only one nearby place suitable for that cultivator to undergo tribulation.

On the small island—

Lightning started flashing within the tribulation clouds, and Shi Qian suddenly sensed it—You Fang was getting close.

Shi Qian quickly warned, “Squeak squeak!”

You Fang’s coming!

Seeing the fear Brother Qian couldn’t hide, Long Ye was furious—he wished he could bite a chunk out of You Fang.

But he also understood that You Fang was extremely powerful—to have escaped so easily from that sea island…

What a shame. If only the lightning had struck him dead.

Long Ye glanced toward the sea island, then at the dense black clouds overhead. He said, “Brother Qian, you need to leave now. Get far away.”

Then, with a firm tone: “Don’t worry. I won’t let him catch up to you.”

Shi Qian was a little stunned.

What do you mean, don’t worry?

Long Ye clearly hadn’t leveled up enough. He and You Fang weren’t even in the same league. If they clashed head-on, he’d definitely suffer.

So Shi Qian replied, “Squeak squeak.”

You don’t worry.

“Squeak squeak—”

If I’m not wrong, this little island is Dragon Island. It can protect us!

“I did hear a dragon’s cry, but it was extremely faint. And a true Dragon Island is said to hold countless dragon remnants. This place doesn’t qualify.”

Long Ye said, “I only heard a single dragon’s lonely cry.”

You make a good point, but I’m not listening.

Shi Qian’s eyes rolled: “Squeak squeak.”

I’m not leaving anyway.

If Long Ye got taken out by You Fang, Shi Qian’s mission would fail anyway. Leaving or staying wouldn’t make a difference.

Besides, the world outside the cultivation realm was way too dangerous—endless suffering. Shi Qian didn’t want to toil as a little Totoro anymore.

He had it all figured out—

Why work so hard, when you can just give up right here?

Shi Qian plopped down into a pile of grass, casually pawing at some tender shoots with one claw while the other viciously crushed some flowers—fully showing his passive resistance to Long Ye.

“Squeak squeak.”

Don’t be afraid. If we die, we die here together. The view’s nice.

Shi Qian figured—maybe his next life’s character model would look even better.

Long Ye: !

Brother Qian, this silly guy, actually wants to wait for death with him.

He was about to undergo tribulation. If You Fang arrived and took advantage of the moment to strike, it would be nearly impossible to survive.

But at the same time, he could also use that opportunity to drag You Fang down, giving Brother Qian a chance to escape. Brother Qian was clever and quick-witted—he wasn’t worried about him getting away.

But who would’ve thought—Brother Qian refused to leave.

Thinking about it made Long Ye’s eyes go red again.

He squatted down, reaching out to pat Brother Qian on the head.

Look at him—he’d even grown quite a bit. Who knew how that heartless You Fang had forced Brother Qian to eat so many supplements?

Shi Qian, still thinking about the thunderclouds overhead, urged him, “Squeak squeak.”

Brother Ye, aren’t you going to prep for your tribulation?

He looked up—and saw Long Ye’s hand reaching over.

Shi Qian dodged back: “Squeak squeak.”

Tribulation candidate—keep your hands off me.

He started retreating: “Squeeeaaak—”

I’ll head to the other end of the island. You stay here and face your tribulation. See you later.

Suddenly, something occurred to him—it felt like a long time had passed.

Shi Qian, now far in the distance, turned and shouted: “Squeak!”

Happy eighteenth birthday, Brother Ye!

_{Happy Brithday Long Ye!!}