Wang Chen was naive.
He thought that a small spirit mouse weighing half a tael, no matter how gluttonous, wouldn’t consume much rice.
However, Wang Chen was wrong.
Terribly wrong!
While Wang Chen was crafting the pet house, the Yuanyuan on his shoulder conveyed to him the desire to eat something.
After completing the blood essence bonding, Wang Chen developed a Divine Soul connection with the little critter.
Thus, there was no barrier in their communication.
Wang Chen could completely understand its thoughts and wishes.
So, Wang Chen took out a rice ball to feed it.
Unexpectedly, Yuanyuan refused it.
It wanted to eat meat!!
Alright then.
Wang Chen took out a piece of marinated monster beast meat and tore off a sliver for it.
No sooner had it been stuffed into its little mouth, it vanished in an instant.
Clearly not enough!
Soon after, a sliver of meat turned into a piece of jerky.
Then it became half a marinated strip.
In the end, this three to four catties heavy piece of dried beast meat was completely devoured by the little guy, clean.
It could eat so much!
Wang Chen wasn’t overly surprised though.
Many of the Monster Race possess the “Gluttonous Beast” trait, able to swallow food far exceeding their own body weight.
This storage ability ensures they can survive for a long time when faced with famine.
It’s a way of survival.
The most typical example is the Heaven-Swallowing Giant Toad.
This creature has an extremely greedy appetite, eating anything it catches, never satisfied.
A storage bag made from its stomach sac could easily hold a million catties of rice!
Wang Chen didn’t expect Yuanyuan to also be a big eater.
He finally understood why little Bai and its partner ran away so quickly.
They were afraid he would find out and ask for a return!
Moreover, Wang Chen seriously suspected that Yuanyuan and its siblings were all big eaters.
Because their parents were eaten out of house and home and were scared off.
So they had to reluctantly give their beloved child away to someone else!
Thinking about it, Wang Chen almost shed a tear of sympathy for little Bai and its partner.
Life as a mouse is not easy!
…
Having finally fed Yuanyuan to its content, Wang Chen continued working on the small wooden house.
Although compared to his previous life, the tools he had at hand were pitifully few, and there were no technological devices available.
However, he was even more adept at this current manual labor!
The pet house was designed as a two-story building, entirely made of wooden mortise and tenon joints, with a bedroom upstairs and a recreation room downstairs.
Wang Chen even made a running wheel to place inside.
He felt as if he had returned to the days in his previous life, staying up late to make handicraft videos.
He had been in the world of immortal cultivation for over a year.
The memories of the past were gradually fading away, or buried in the deepest part of his heart.
Wang Chen rarely did something like he was doing now, focusing wholeheartedly on a task that had nothing to do with cultivation.
Just for the pure love of it.
When he finished building the pet house, he found that Yuanyuan had already fallen asleep on the table.
Wang Chen smiled, tucked the little guy into the wooden house to rest.
Then he took out a Storage Bag.
The original owner of this Storage Bag was none other than Lv Defang!
Wang Chen had already checked: there were no secret marks on the bag, and the restrictions were lifted by Lv Defang himself.
This Cultivator, on the cusp of Qi Cultivation Perfection, had an epiphany before his death.
He left all his possessions, including the house deed and the heads of the Grey Eye Thieves, to Wang Chen.
Wang Chen had not yet inventoried the other items in the Storage Bag.
The deed to the house had been transferred to Wang Chen’s own Storage Bag.
Apart from the thirteen Grey Eye Thieves’ heads, he found over a hundred Low Spirits, several dozen Talismans, six bottles of Pills, and a small greyish-black net in Lv’s Storage Bag.
As for spare robes, Spirit Rice, and other life supplies, they weren’t even worth mentioning.
And the Talismans and Pills were just ordinary Magical Talismans, ones that Wang Chen could draw himself.
This result was far beyond his expectations.
Who would have thought that a Cultivator who had attained Complete Qi Cultivation would have so little to their name!
Of course, the deed—originally belonging to Wang Shaoyuan and then gifted to Wang Chen by Lv Defang—was quite valuable.
Wang Chen estimated that the old house he lived in as a child would now be worth at least ten thousand Low Spirits.
In recent years, the real estate value in Cloud Mountain City had been rising swiftly.
Especially from last year to this year, it had doubled!
All for this house, Lv Defang suppressed his obsessions and inner demons, waiting until Wang Chen turned eighteen before taking action.
And then it backfired.
The whole situation was truly dark humor!
Shaking his head, Wang Chen pulled out the net that had been at the very bottom of the Storage Bag.
A small net.
This net was neither truly black nor grey, light in weight, with a rough texture when held in the hand.
Although intricately woven, it looked like it hadn’t been well taken care of, and thus appeared quite worn.
Wang Chen tried to infuse the net with mana.
But it was like throwing a stone into the ocean, no response at all!
Neither were there any restrictions present.
Wang Chen remembered what Lv Defang had said.
That year, he and Wang Shaoyuan had teamed up to explore the secret realm, and in the end, only the two of them came out alive.
Lv Defang was seriously injured and lost his storage bag inside.
He ended up “picking up a useless broken net,” which left him with a frustration he couldn’t relieve.
This inconspicuous little net was undoubtedly the “broken net” Lv Defang spoke of!
Yet he still couldn’t bear to throw it away.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Chen summoned the immortal cultivation panel.
He checked the equipment slot.
[Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net (Sealed): 99476/100000]
Holy shit!!
Before using the panel to check, Wang Chen had guessed that this little broken net was definitely not simple merchandise.
It was just like the Ruyi Golden Needle.
Without the correct “driver,” it was unable to exhibit its power.
What he never expected was…
This little broken net not only displayed its name on the panel.
But it was also sealed equipment, with the sealing points exactly like those of the Thousand Mechanisms Changing mask.
The same hundred thousand points!
The difference being, the Thousand Mechanisms Changing mask required more than ninety thousand points of Human Virtue to unseal.
This “Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net” would be full with just 524 points!
Currently, Wang Chen had more than two hundred points of Human Virtue.
So he only needed to farm about three hundred more points to unlock the seal on this piece of equipment!
A rush of elation suddenly surged in Wang Chen’s heart.
This time, he had struck it rich!
You must know that the Thousand Mechanisms Changing, without being unsealed, already has a perfect ability to disguise one’s appearance.
What kind of brilliance would the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net reveal after being unsealed?
Wang Chen couldn’t imagine!
The key point was that he had already mastered a reliable way to farm Human Virtue.
Farming a few hundred points was not a problem at all!
In that moment, Wang Chen wished he could immediately run to the Chaotic Burial Mound in the Outer Domain and shout at the lurking Black Traveler level Evil Wraith, “Come fight me hard!”
Hold on!
He suppressed his excitement and insisted on letting reason take control of his brain.
He would definitely farm through the Chaotic Burial Mound dungeon.
The Black Traveler rank Evil Wraith must be taken care of.
But not now.
He had to prepare fully, just like when he laid out the plan to kill Lv Defang, ensuring absolute certainty before making a move!
Thinking of Lv Defang, Wang Chen held the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net in his hand.
He held a three-second silence for the man.
Lv Defang’s greatest grievance was that both of them explored the secret realm together, Wang Shaoyuan obtained treasure, while he suffered heavy losses.
However, he never knew that this “broken net” was a first-class treasure!
Lv Defang might have had his suspicions, but alas, without the immortal cultivation panel, he couldn’t decipher its mysteries.
The treasure could only weigh down the bottom of the bag!
In the end: All the years of silent resentment, only to make wedding dresses for others!
Deeds to the house, human heads, Demon-Slaying Net.
This Great Perfection Qi Cultivation cultivator had for years been laying down golden threads, all for weaving splendid robes for Wang Chen!
Truly a cycle of karma with a fitting retribution.
Wang Chen looked at the little net in his hand, no longer seeing it as shabby and unpleasant to the eye.
It was clearly understated luxury with depth.
What a treasure!
“Take this!”
Wang Chen raised his hand and scattered the Demon-Slaying Net forward, covering the pet house on the table.
Lil’ Yuanyuan inside was sleeping soundly, completely unaware.
Wang Chen reached out and retrieved the small net.
This time he used the Object-Controlling Technique.
Wang Chen discovered…
Although the Demon-Slaying Net had no response to mana, the Object-Controlling Technique could indeed control it…
To catch some little fish and shrimps.
No help for it, the net could spread only so much, and big fish could not be enveloped.
Wang Chen could fully imagine how frustrated and helpless Lv Defang felt when he, having obtained this small broken net at a terrible cost, could not figure out how to use it despite all attempts.
It was indeed tragic.
He repeatedly threw and retrieved the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net until he could play with it as if it were an extension of his arm.
Until dawn.
Wang Chen left enough food and water for the awakened Yuanyuan, then returned to the surface.
He headed for Cloud Mountain City.
This time, Wang Chen was going to the Outer Sect Main Hall to exchange rewards.
The thirteen Grey Eye Thieves heads stored in the storage bag were more than enough to secure his promotion to the Inner Sect.
He was about to level up!
———-
The second update is here, more to come tonight.