Chapter 25: The Heart of the E
Time: One Hour After Midnight.
Location: The Green Willow Courtyard.
Luo Feng returned to his courtyard like a ghost. He didn't use the front door. He vaulted over the back wall, landing silently in the dark garden.
He didn't go inside immediately.
He stood in the cold night air, stripping off his black combat robes, his mask, and even his boots. He threw them all into a small bronze brazier in the corner of the yard.
Snap.
He summoned a small flame with his Qi. The fire consumed the fabric, erasing the traces of the "Iron Mask." He watched the smoke rise, carrying away the scent of the underground arena and the red chili dust of the alley.
"Clean," Luo Feng whispered.
He washed his hands and face in a bucket of cold water, scrubbing until his skin was raw. He needed to be sure. He couldn't bring the smell of blood into the sanctuary.
Only when the fire was ash and his skin was scrubbed pink did he unlock the reinforced door and step into the bedroom.
The Sanctuary.
He touched the wooden token to enter the Farming Space.
Whoosh.
The transition was jarring. He went from the cold, dark, dangerous night of the city to the warm, white, eternal day of the Farm.
The air here was sweet. It smelled of ripening corn and medicinal herbs.
"Kreee?"
Little Gold was awake. The Fire Crow was perched on the roof of the shed, his metallic feathers gleaming. He tilted his head, looking at Luo Feng with intelligent, golden eyes.
He hopped down, landing on Luo Feng's shoulder. He sniffed Luo Feng's hair.
"Caw." (Blood. You smell like burning.)
"I had to take out the trash," Luo Feng whispered, scratching the bird's beak.
Down by the Spirit Spring, the two young goats, Silver and Snow, were sleeping curled up against their mother, Milky. They looked like piles of soft clouds. When Luo Feng walked by, Silver's ear twitched, but he didn't wake up.
It was peaceful. It was perfect.
But the peace was broken when Luo Feng looked at the bamboo bed near the spring.
Luo Xia was sleeping, but it wasn't a restful sleep. Her brow was furrowed. Her hands were clutching the blanket tightly, her knuckles white. Even in her sleep, she looked exhausted, as if she were running a marathon.
Luo Feng walked over silently. He sat on the edge of the bed.
He placed his hand gently on her wrist.
Technique: Sun & Moon Internal Scan.
What he felt made his heart sink.
The Second Heartbeat—the baby—was awake.
And it was ravenous.
The fetus was pulsing with a greedy, rhythmic thrum. It was pulling Qi from Luo Xia's meridians at a terrifying rate. The Spirit Milk porridge she had eaten earlier was gone, completely metabolized. Now, the baby was starting to draw on her foundation—eating the essence of her blood and bone marrow.
"It's too strong," Luo Feng realized, his face grim. "A normal cultivator's child grows slowly. But this child... it was conceived in a high-grade Spirit Environment. It's being fed Grade 1 resources. Its appetite is evolving."
Luo Xia moaned in her sleep, shifting uncomfortably. Her skin looked translucent, the veins visible and blue.
"The Spirit Rice isn't enough," Luo Feng analyzed. "Rice is gentle. It provides volume, but not density. The baby needs something heavier. Something that will anchor the Qi so it doesn't burn her out."
He needed an Earth-attribute treasure.
Earth was heavy. Earth was stable. Earth gave life a place to stand.
Luo Feng stood up and turned his gaze toward the Red-Brown Soil in the south.
The Mutated Harvest.
He walked to the vineyard. The Crimson Fire Grapes were hanging heavy and dark, but he ignored them.
He knelt down between the rows.
There, pushing up through the mixed soil, were the thick, rope-like vines of the Iron-Skin Yams.
These weren't normal yams anymore. They had absorbed the excess Fire Qi from the grapes and the stabilizing Earth Qi from the Black Soil.
Luo Feng began to dig.
He didn't use a shovel; he used his hands to avoid damaging the skin. The soil was warm to the touch.
He pulled out a massive tuber. It was the size of his forearm. The skin was rough, dark grey, and hard as rock—living up to the name "Iron-Skin." But running through the grey skin were glowing veins of magma-red.
[System Scan]
[Crop: Fire-Veined Iron Yam.]
[Grade: Rank 1 (Mid-Tier).]
[Attribute: Earth (Primary) / Fire (Secondary).]
[Effect: Massive vitality replenishment. The Earth energy reinforces the physical body, while the Fire energy warms the blood.]
"This is it," Luo Feng nodded. "The Earth will stabilize the fetus. The Fire will feed it."
He harvested three of them.
The Alchemy of Soup.
Luo Feng returned to the stone cooking table. He treated this meal not as food, but as a pill refinement.
Step 1: Preparation.
He washed the yams in the Sun & Moon Spring Water.
He took out his Spirit Iron Dagger. He carefully peeled the iron-hard skin. It required significant force; a normal knife would have snapped.
Inside, the flesh was a beautiful, marbled pink and white.
Step 2: The Base.
He didn't use water. He used Spirit Milk.
He poured two liters of the fresh, white milk into a clay pot. He set it over the Earth Fire Tag.
Step 3: The Integration.
He chopped the pink yam flesh into small cubes.
As soon as the cubes hit the milk, the liquid hissed. The Fire energy in the yam reacted with the Yin energy in the milk.
"Balance," Luo Feng murmured, stirring slowly with a wooden ladle. "I need to blend them before they clash."
He channeled his own Sun & Moon Qi into the pot.
He acted as the bridge. He forced the Fire (Yam) and the Yin (Milk) to merge, using the heavy Earth essence of the yam as the glue.
Bubble... Bubble...
The soup thickened. The color changed from white to a soft, glowing peach color. The smell was incredible—rich, earthy, and sweet, like roasted chestnuts dipped in cream.
The resulting soup was thick, almost like a pudding.
[Item: Mutated Yam Vitality Soup.]
[Effect: Greatly nourishes the Five Viscera. Stabilizes the Foundation.]
"Done."
The Feeding.
Luo Feng carried the steaming bowl back to the bed.
"Xia," he whispered softly, touching her shoulder. "Wake up. You need to eat."
Luo Xia's eyes fluttered open. They were hazy and unfocused. "Husband? I... I'm so tired."
"I know," Luo Feng propped her up on the pillows. "The little one is hungry again."
He spooned up the peach-colored soup. He blew on it gently to cool it.
"Open."
Luo Xia opened her mouth. She took the bite.
She paused. Her eyes widened.
It wasn't just tasty. It was heavy.
The moment the soup slid down her throat, it felt like a warm stone settling in her stomach.
Thrum.
The energy radiated outward.
The Earth Qi sank down, wrapping around her womb like a protective cradle.
The Fire Qi gently warmed her blood, chasing away the cold fatigue.
The Yin Milk soothed her stressed meridians.
"Oh..." Luo Xia let out a long, shuddering breath. "It feels... solid."
"It's the Iron-Skin Yam," Luo Feng explained, feeding her another spoon. "It's rooting you. The baby was floating, pulling too hard. Now, it has a foundation to stand on."
Luo Xia ate the entire bowl.
With every spoonful, the color returned to her face—not just a flush, but a healthy, rosy glow. Her breathing deepened. The frantic, sucking sensation in her Dantian vanished, replaced by a feeling of fullness and stability.
She looked at her stomach.
"He likes it," she smiled weakly. "He stopped kicking."
"He better," Luo Feng grunted, placing the empty bowl on the table. "That soup cost about 50 Spirit Stones in market value. He's eating better than the City Lord."
Luo Xia laughed, a genuine, happy sound. She reached out and took Luo Feng's hand. Her grip was strong again.
"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything. I know you went out. I know it was dangerous."
She squeezed his hand.
"You smell like soap," she said softly. "But underneath... I can smell the smoke."
Luo Feng stiffened.
"I didn't want to worry you."
"I am your wife, Luo Feng," she looked him in the eyes, her expression fierce despite her condition. "I know you are fighting for us. Just... promise me one thing."
"Anything."
"Don't die," she said. "The baby needs a father. And I need a husband. We don't need to be the richest immortals. We just need to be together."
Luo Feng looked at her, then at the peaceful farm around them. He thought of the bandit in the alley, the red fog, and the close call.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"I promise," Luo Feng swore. "I will be the most careful man in the world. I will be a ghost."
Luo Xia closed her eyes, finally falling into a true, deep, restorative sleep.
Luo Feng sat there for a long time, watching her chest rise and fall. The crisis was averted. The Mutated Yam was the solution.
But he knew this was just the beginning.
As the baby grew, its needs would grow.
Layer 5 was no longer a goal; it was a deadline.
He stood up and walked out to the fields. He picked up his hoe.
"Eat up, little one," Luo Feng whispered to the silent house. "Grow strong. Because the world outside is waiting."
[End of Chapter 25]
Author's Note:
1. Add to Library!📚
2. Power Stones! 💎