Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

"Feeling indebted in your heart?" laughed Li Banfeng. "Isn't it your stomach that's indebted? Having not found any food these past two days, I suppose my dear wife must be hungry again."

"Little Servant isn't hungry. Little Servant doesn't want any food."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time.

What's wrong with my wife?

Why is her appetite still so poor?

Is that Lu Dongliang able to satisfy my wife so completely?

Li Banfeng then asked, "If you do not wish for food, shall I find some more phonographs to exchange parts for my wife?"

"Little Servant does not want new parts."

"Then what do you want? Some oil perhaps?"

"Little Servant doesn't want oil."

Wanting nothing at all?

There's nothing to be done then.

Li Banfeng, enjoying the freedom, lay on the bed and said, "My dear wife, I'll take a nap first. Tonight, I'll go to the New Land to see if I can find something fresh for you."

"Little Servant doesn't want anything fresh. Little Servant just wants you."

Li Banfeng touched the Phonograph's tray and nodded, saying, "I like the sound of that."

"It's not just talk. I truly want you."

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The dense beat of gongs and drums proved that his wife was somewhat impatient.

The forceful and cadenced singing indicated that his wife was quite serious.

"About that... wait until my wife has recovered..." Li Banfeng suddenly got up and ran towards the door, not sure of his wife's current state of mind.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"Can't wait! I want you now!"

WHOOSH!

A cloud of Steam hit his face, wrapped around Li Banfeng, and rushed towards the horn.

This crazy old woman wants to devour a person!

No matter how much Li Banfeng struggled, it was of no use.

The powerful Steam surged, and half of Li Banfeng's body was sucked into the Phonograph's central horn.

"Attempting to murder your own husband, you wicked wife, you intend to murder me. This is a grave crime, a grave crime..."

Li Banfeng braced his hands on the horn, kicked vigorously with his legs, and after struggling for a few minutes, he gave up.

The situation was not as bad as he imagined.

The Steam was not as scalding as he thought.

And inside, it was actually quite warm.

Half an hour later, Li Banfeng pulled himself out from the horn, his black hair curled up and steaming.

"My dear wife, about what just happened, shouldn't we discuss it? I cherish you so much, how could you treat me this way?"

HISS.

The Phonograph was silent for a while, then suddenly started to sing.

"Autumn comes bringing the scent of lotuses,

The young girl dreams nightly of her hometown,

Waking to see not her parents' faces,

But the moonlight shining outside her window!"

"Song of Four Seasons"!

Why sing "Song of Four Seasons"?

For the Phonograph wife, the "Song of Four Seasons" is not just casually sung.

Could it be that...

HISS.

His wife's improvised version came:

"Little Servant's heart pines for her beloved,

Husband and wife share a love that grows,

No one can block an Arrow Homing,

I'll even add another room for my dear."

Another room?

Li Banfeng looked around the main room of the Portable Residence and only saw three doors.

One was the main door, leading to the outside world.

The other two led to the extension and the Third Room.

No new doors had appeared.

After pondering for a moment, Li Banfeng went to the extension and at its end, he saw a door.

Upon opening the door, Li Banfeng saw an identical room, empty and unoccupied.

Having an additional room was a good thing, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that with one more room, he had advanced one level.

He was now a Third Layer Home Cultivator!

Third Layer!

Li Banfeng almost jumped with excitement!

For the time being, there was no longer a need to worry about the Home Cultivation being suppressed by the Traveling Cultivator, and no need to worry about cultivation level backlash...

Cultivation level backlash.

Li Banfeng rubbed his forehead; now there was another thing to worry about.

The Traveling Cultivator was only at the First Layer, and the Home Cultivation had already reached the Third Layer!

According to the Peddler, with Dual Cultivation, the difference in cultivation levels must not exceed three layers.

A difference of one layer was manageable, meaning there were no discomforts.

A difference of two layers would lead to backlash.

A difference of three layers could endanger one's life.

Exceeding three layers meant certain death.

Previously, Li Banfeng worried that the Home Cultivation couldn't advance, dragging down the Traveling Cultivator. But that was likely something for a decade or two in the future.

Who could have thought, not only did the Home Cultivation not lag behind, but it completely overwhelmed the Traveling Cultivator.

Li Banfeng returned to the main room and sat on the bed, silently staring at the Phonograph.

The Phonograph slowly sang, "Hey my dear, your cultivation level has again improved, why aren't you happy?"

"I am happy!" said Li Banfeng with a smile. "My dear wife, does the Third Layer Home Cultivation have any techniques?"

"Of course, didn't I just mention it? The Technique is named Arrow Homing. All Third Layer Home Cultivators know this Technique. If they wish to return home, ordinary people can't stop them.

My dear, what's wrong with your legs?

My dear, why are you shivering?"

Li Banfeng's legs were shivering.

They wanted to walk, to carry Li Banfeng away at a run.

The Traveling Cultivator was being suppressed, a backlash was occurring, and his legs were almost out of control.

PS: Li Banfeng had underestimated the backlash of cultivation levels. This is the biggest challenge for a Dual Cultivator.