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Chapter 13: Breaking the Anchor
Time: 2 Days after the Black Market Deal.
Location: Inside the Farming Space.
"Dive!" Luo Feng commanded, pointing his finger at a wooden target he had set up in the field.
SCREE!
High in the artificial white sky, a streak of red fire plummeted downward.
Little Gold, the Mutated Fire Crow, tucked his wings tight against his body. He looked like a crimson missile. Just before hitting the ground, he flared his wings, braking instantly with a gust of hot wind.
Pew.
He opened his beak and spat a small ball of compressed fire—an Ember Shot.
Crack.
It hit the wooden target, scorching a fist-sized black hole right in the center. Smoke curled up from the wood.
"Good!" Luo Feng tossed a strip of Spirit Meat into the air.
Little Gold caught it mid-air, swallowing it greedily before landing on Luo Feng's shoulder. The bird rubbed his warm, metallic-red head against Luo Feng's ear, demanding praise.
"He's getting smarter," Luo Xia said, walking over with a towel. She had been practicing her saber forms nearby, her movements sharper and more confident than before. "And hotter. When he lands, the grass turns yellow."
"He's a Rank 0 Middle Tier beast now," Luo Feng said, stroking the bird's iron-hard feathers. "In the forest, his mother would have taught him to hunt. Here, I have to teach him."
He looked at the bird seriously.
"Little Gold, you are our aerial scout. When we move, you need to watch the sky. No surprises."
"Chee!" The bird chirped, puffing up his chest as if he understood the assignment perfectly.
Luo Feng smiled, but his expression quickly turned serious. He looked around his Kingdom—the 15 acres of lush farmland, the fermentation jars half-buried in the soil, and the heat radiating from the Red Clay.
"Xia," he said softly. "It's time."
Luo Xia stopped wiping her sweat. She knew what he meant.
"The move?"
"Yes. We have money now. We have a Storage Ring. But we still live in a shack with rotting walls," Luo Feng said, his voice grim. "When we cook the High-Grade Rice, the smell leaks out. When we cultivate, the Qi vibration shakes the floorboards. The neighbors are starting to talk."
He gestured to the invisible ceiling of the Space.
"The slums are full of desperate people. If Rat-Eye Liu comes back and realizes we are eating Spirit Rice every day, he won't ask for rent. He'll kill us and take everything."
Luo Xia nodded, her eyes determined. "I packed our clothes yesterday. I'm ready."
"Then let's go," Luo Feng said. "Say goodbye to the farm... for 24 hours."
The Real World: The Slums.
They stepped out of the Space, appearing back in the cramped, dark bedroom of the shack.
It felt suffocating compared to the open air of the farm. The smell of mold, sewage, and poverty from the alley crept in through the cracks in the wood.
Luo Feng didn't hesitate. He began to pack the few physical items they had—a few pots, some blankets, and the bamboo mat. He swept them all into his Storage Ring. The room was stripped bare in seconds.
"Husband," Luo Xia stood by the door, clutching her saber. "How do we move the Space? You said it was fixed to this room."
"It is," Luo Feng stood in the center of the room, looking at the floorboards where he first awakened the System. "The Anchor is a coordinate. To move it, I have to destroy the current coordinate and let the System reset."
He took a deep breath. This was the risky part.
"System. Initiate Anchor Relocation."
[Warning: Anchor Relocation Protocol Initiated.]
[Procedure: The current connection to "Slum Shack #404" will be severed.]
[Consequence: The Farming Space will enter "Drift Mode" for recalibration.]
[Cooldown: System Offline for 24 Hours.]
[During this time, the Host cannot enter the Space. Remote Retrieval via Ring will be disabled.]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
Luo Feng read the warning twice.
For 24 hours, he would be mortal. No hiding in the Space. No infinite inventory. If they were attacked during the move, he would have to fight with only what was currently in his pockets and his saber.
"I understand," Luo Feng said.
He grabbed his Spirit Iron Saber and strapped it to his back. He made sure Luo Xia had her weapon hidden under her cloak. Little Gold perched on his shoulder, hiding under the hood.
"Break it," Luo Feng commanded.
CRACK.
A sound like a breaking mirror echoed in the room, though nothing physically broke. The air rippled violently, and then... it felt dead.
The subtle warmth that always lingered in the bedroom vanished. The connection in Luo Feng's mind went silent.
[System Offline. Recalibrating... 23:59:59]
Luo Feng felt a sudden emptiness in his chest, like a limb had been cut off. He clutched his chest, taking a sharp breath.
"It's done," he whispered. "We are on our own."
He kicked the door open. "Let's go."
The Green Willow District (Mid-City).
They moved quickly through the city. As they left the chaotic Outer Slums and crossed the bridge into the Mid-City, the atmosphere changed completely.
The mud roads turned into paved stone.
The smell of sewage was replaced by the scent of incense and trees.
The people walking here weren't starving beggars; they were cultivators. Most were Qi Refining Layer 4, 5, and even 6.
This was the Green Willow District. It was safe, patrolled by city guards, and expensive.
Luo Feng walked up to the Rental Administration Office. A clerk looked up, judging Luo Feng's dusty clothes.
"We don't allow beggars in here," the clerk sniffed.
Luo Feng didn't speak. He placed a pouch of 30 Spirit Stones on the counter.
The clerk's eyes bulged. 30 stones was a fortune for a slum rat, but standard rent here.
"I need a courtyard," Luo Feng said, his voice calm and authoritative. "Secluded. High walls. With a working Silence Array. I'm paying for three months upfront."
The clerk's attitude flipped instantly. "Ah! A Daoist! Of course. We have a lovely unit at the end of the lane. It used to belong to an Alchemist, so the walls are reinforced to prevent... explosions."
"Perfect," Luo Feng dropped 90 Stones on the counter. "I want the key now."
The New Home.
An hour later, they stood in the courtyard of their new home.
It was beautiful.
There was a high stone wall covered in ivy, impossible to climb without triggering an alarm. A small garden sat in the center. The house itself was sturdy timber, with a large master bedroom and a separate meditation room.
Luo Xia walked around, touching the clean walls. "It's... it's clean. No mold. No draft. And I can feel the ambient Qi is thicker here."
"Mid-City sits closer to the Spirit Vein," Luo Feng explained. He locked the heavy iron gate and activated the Silence Array. A faint blue shimmer covered the house, cutting off the noise of the street outside.
"We did it," Luo Feng exhaled, finally relaxing. The tension of the last hour drained away.
He sat down on the stone steps of the porch. Little Gold flew out of his cloak and landed on the roof, cawing happily at his new territory.
Luo Feng looked at the countdown timer in his vision.
[System Offline. Time Remaining: 22 Hours.]
He patted the stone floor next to him. Luo Xia sat down, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"For the next 22 hours, we are just normal people," Luo Feng said, watching the sunset over the clean rooftops. "No farming. No grinding. Just us."
"It costs 30 stones a month," Luo Xia whispered, squeezing his hand. "That's a lot of money."
"It's the price of safety," Luo Feng replied. "Here, nobody will question why we stay inside all day. Here, we are just another pair of cultivators trying to reach immortality."
He looked at the red sunset.
"Enjoy the rest, Xia. Because the moment that timer hits zero... I'm going to plant the Blast Chilies."
"And Little Gold," he pointed to the roof, "is going to get a very spicy treat."
[End of Chapter 13]
— Author's Note —
The Shack is gone! 🏚️👋
Support the new housewarming!
1. Add to Library! 🏠
2. Power Stones! 💎