Chapter 12: The Golden Link
Location: Green Willow District, Luo Feng's Shack.
Time: Immediately after the Forest Fight.
The wooden door to the shack creaked open with a heavy groan. Luo Feng stumbled inside, his boots dragging on the floorboards. He turned immediately, his trembling, blood-stained fingers fumbling with the heavy iron bolt until it slid home with a solid clank.
"Husband?"
Luo Xia rushed out from the small kitchen area, wiping her hands on her apron. She had been waiting for hours, her heart tight with worry.
When she saw him, the color drained from her face.
He looked like he had crawled out of a grave. His gray robe was shredded, soaked in a mixture of mud and dark, drying blood. His right hand was a mess of charred black skin, and his face was pale as a sheet.
"Oh heavens! Feng!" She didn't scream; her voice broke into a terrified whisper. She ran to him, her hands hovering over his chest, afraid to touch him lest she cause more pain. "The wolf... did the wolf do this?"
"The wolf is dead," Luo Feng rasped, leaning heavily against the wall to keep from collapsing. He patted the small, gray pouch hanging on his belt—the looted Storage Bag. "And the men who tried to take it... they are dead too."
Luo Xia froze. She looked into his eyes. They were tired, but they held a cold, hard resolve she had never seen before. She realized instantly that the blood on his clothes wasn't just from an animal.
"I'm fine, Xia. Truly," Luo Feng softened his voice, seeing the terror in her eyes. He reached out with his uninjured left hand and gently brushed a stray hair from her cheek. "I'm alive. And we are rich. But first... I need to sleep."
He didn't need a doctor. He didn't need pills. He needed his Kingdom.
He pulled her toward the bedroom—the Anchor Point.
[Enter.]
Whoosh.
The Recovery.
The moment they materialized in the Farming Space, the dense Spirit Qi washed over them like a warm bath. Luo Feng's knees finally gave out, and he sank onto the soft black grass.
"Three days," Luo Feng muttered as Luo Xia hooked her arm under his shoulder, helping him toward the bamboo bed they had built near the Spirit Spring. "We stay inside for three days of outside time. That gives us nine days here. I heal. You cultivate."
Luo Feng collapsed onto the bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
For the next 9 Days (Inside Time), the couple lived in a quiet, healing isolation.
Luo Feng's routine was simple but effective:
Drink the Sun & Moon Spring Water to cleanse his blood.
Eat large bowls of High-Grade Yellow Jade Rice to replenish his Qi.
Sleep, letting the Moon (Yin) Qi naturally stitch his wounds.
The recovery speed was miraculous.
By the third day, the deep gash on his ribs itched violently before the scab fell off, revealing new, pink skin.
By the fifth day, the dead, charred skin on his index and middle fingers peeled away like a snake shedding its scales. The new skin underneath wasn't tender; it was tough and calloused. The fire had tempered his Iron Body, making his fingers even harder than before.
While he healed, Luo Xia didn't sit idle. Seeing her husband stagger home covered in blood had lit a fire in her.
She practiced the Spirit Finger technique obsessively. She sat by the edge of the Red Clay field, enduring the heat to temper her meridians.
"I won't be a burden," she whispered to herself, thrusting her finger into a wooden post over and over again. "Next time, I will fight too."
The Mass Production.
By the ninth day, Luo Feng stood up from the bed. He stretched his arms above his head, and his joints popped like firecrackers.
He felt incredible. The battle had emptied his Qi, and refilling it had stretched his Dantian. He was now firmly stabilized at Qi Refining Layer 4.
"We have empty wine jars," Luo Feng said, looking at the stockpile in the corner. "And I have a Storage Bag now. I don't need to carry sacks on my back like a mule."
He looked at the vast, shimmering blue field of Star Grass.
"Let's brew, Xia. We are going to flood the market."
They worked together in perfect sync.
Harvest: Luo Xia cut the Star Grass with precision.
Process: Luo Feng used his Spirit Iron Saber to crush the herbs, releasing the essence.
Ferment: They utilized the Yin-Yang Potting Technique, burying 100 clay jars halfway into the Black Spirit Soil.
Thanks to the Time Dilation, the wine that usually took a month to ferment in the outside world was bubbling and ready in just 10 days of inside time.
By the time they were ready to leave the Space, Luo Feng had 100 Bottles of Cloud Mist Wine stacked neatly on the grass.
He tapped the looted Storage Bag on his belt.
"Collect."
Whoosh.
The mountain of 100 bottles vanished instantly.
"Convenient," Luo Feng grinned, patting the pouch. "But not convenient enough. It's still just a bag."
The Black Market.
Time: 3 Days Later (Outside).
Location: The Shadow Alley Market (Ghost Street).
Luo Feng wore a wide bamboo hat and a heavy black cloak that obscured his face and body. He walked into the bustling commercial district of Cloud City, but he ignored the bright, reputable shops.
He turned into a narrow, smoke-filled alley known as "Ghost Street."
This was where stolen goods, poisons, and unverified treasures were sold without questions.
He stopped in front of a shop with a peeling wooden sign that read: [Fatty Wang's Treasure Pavilion].
He pushed the bead curtain aside and walked in.
The shop smelled of sandalwood, old paper, and metallic rust. Behind the counter sat a man who looked like a smiling Buddha—a perfectly round face, squinty eyes, and silk robes that were fighting a losing battle to contain his massive belly.
"Welcome, customer!" Fatty Wang beamed. His voice was friendly, but his eyes were sharp, scanning Luo Feng's aura. "Buying or selling today?"
"Selling," Luo Feng altered his voice, making it sound hoarse and old.
He tapped his storage bag. 10 bottles of Cloud Mist Wine appeared on the counter.
Fatty Wang picked one up. He uncorked it, sniffed, and his eyebrows shot up.
"Pure..." Wang murmured. "No Fire Toxin. Clear as mountain spring water." He looked at Luo Feng with newfound respect. "This is Cloud Mist Wine, but the quality... this usually comes from the Inner Sect Alchemists. Did you steal it?"
"I brewed it," Luo Feng lied smoothly. "I have 100 bottles. Do you have the stones, or should I go to the auction house?"
Fatty Wang's smile became genuine. 100 bottles of toxin-free wine was a goldmine. He could sell these to the delicate young masters of the clans for 5 stones each easily.
"I'll take them all," Wang said decisively, slapping the counter. "3 Spirit Stones per bottle. That's the market rate for high-purity."
"Deal."
Luo Feng waved his hand. The remaining 90 bottles flowed out of his bag, filling the small counter space.
Fatty Wang pulled out a heavy, jingling pouch. "300 Spirit Stones. Pleasure doing business, friend."
Luo Feng took the heavy bag. 300 Stones. He was rich. This was more money than he had seen in his entire life.
But he didn't turn to leave.
"Fatty," Luo Feng leaned forward, his voice low. "I have a question. Do you have Storage Rings?"
Fatty Wang blinked. "Rings? Sure. But they are expensive luxury items. A Bag is 50 stones. A Ring... even a Low-Grade one... is 200 Spirit Stones."
"Why the difference?"
"Stability," Wang explained, tapping a silver band on his own sausage-like finger. "Bags are cloth; they can be cut or stolen easily. Rings are forged from Void Metal. Plus... Rings have a stronger connection to the owner's Spirit Sense. Retrieval is instant."
Luo Feng didn't hesitate. He opened his new pouch and counted out 200 Stones.
He slammed them on the counter.
"Give me the Ring."
The System Upgrade.
Ten minutes later, Luo Feng was standing in a secluded dead-end alley near his home.
He held the simple, unadorned silver band in his hand. It was cold to the touch and surprisingly heavy.
He bit his finger and squeezed a drop of blood onto the metal.
Hum.
The ring drank the blood. He felt a mental connection snap into place. He could "see" the space inside the ring—about 5 cubic meters of gray void. It was empty and stable.
But then, something unexpected happened.
[System Notification: External Spatial Device Detected.]
[Scanning: Low-Grade Storage Ring.]
[Analysis: Host Bloodline detected on both Ring and Farming Space.]
[Do you wish to SYNC the Ring with the Farming Space?]
Luo Feng froze. "Sync?"
He swallowed hard. "Yes."
[Syncing...]
[Integration Complete.]
[The Storage Ring is now a "Sub-Portal" for the Farming Space.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Remote Retrieval.]
[Host can now withdraw items directly from the Farming Space to the Outside World via the Ring.]
[Restriction: Living things (Host) cannot enter the Space through the Ring. Only inanimate objects can pass.]
Luo Feng's heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.
He looked around the empty alley to make sure he was alone.
"No way..."
He focused his mind. He visualized the Spirit Iron Saber that he had left sitting on a rock inside the Farming Space.
Usually, to get it, he would have to run home, bolt the door, enter the bedroom, grab the saber, and come out. It was a massive weakness.
But now...
"Retrieve Saber."
The silver ring on his finger flashed with a faint light.
Shing.
The heavy Spirit Iron Saber appeared instantly in his grip, cold and ready.
Luo Feng gasped. He sent it back. "Store."
Whoosh. The saber vanished from his hand and reappeared back on the rock inside the Farm.
Luo Feng threw his head back and laughed silently, a laugh of pure relief and triumph.
The Range Trap was broken.
He couldn't teleport himself yet—he still needed the bedroom to hide his body. But his inventory was now infinite. He could access his healing wine, his food, his weapons, and his tools from anywhere in the world.
He looked at the ring on his finger. It wasn't just jewelry. It was a tunnel to his Kingdom.
"Fatty Wang thought he sold me a bucket," Luo Feng grinned, clenching his fist. "But he just sold me the ocean."
[End of Chapter 12]
— Author's Note —
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