The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 320: Myriad Insects Secret Record

The Worm Mother’s head was a grotesque cone, crowned with a pair of forward-curving bone horns etched with spiraling patterns. Below them, two turbid compound eyes stared blankly, their membranes clouded by a gray-black film.

Its mouth was a horrifying aperture formed by three concentric rings of serrated flaps. When they parted, they revealed a bottomless gullet, its inner walls writhing with countless tiny, backward-facing barbs.

Eight pairs of short, thick legs lined the sides of its torso, each ending in shovel-like claws. The surfaces of these claws were rough and uneven, pocked with minuscule holes.

A raised ridge ran down the center of its back, a spine of dozens of overlapping, tile-like scales. From the gaps between them, a viscous, dark-red mucus continuously seeped, dripping to the cavern floor where it evaporated into a pale red smoke, filling the air with a pungent, acrid stench.

Its tail was long and slender as a whip, tipped with a diamond-shaped stinger. A closer look revealed the stinger was hollow—a versatile weapon for both combat and feeding.

The sheer alien horror of the Worm Mother left the group momentarily stunned.

Zhu Fuxian’s voice cut through the silence, tinged with astonishment. “It’s actually a rare Dragon-Transforming Worm Mother.”

A flash of understanding crossed Jiang Chen’s face. “Just as spirit plants can mutate, so too can insects, beasts, and even demons. Some special catalyst can trigger a complete transformation.”

Sometimes, the catalyst was a dormant power within their own bloodline. Other times, it was the consumption of some heaven-sent treasure. This was how a creature could ascend through the grades: from Mortal to Spirit, then to Rare, Immortal, and finally, Divine.

**Mortal Grade:** The baseline, no different from an ordinary creature.

**Spirit Grade:** The bloodline undergoes a slight mutation, granting a preliminary sensitivity to Spirit Qi and the ability to actively absorb it.

**Rare Grade:** The bloodline mutates further, awakening exclusive, innate divine abilities.

**Immortal Grade:** The creature possesses a trace of immortal aura, its bloodline tracing back to ancient, primordial beings.

**Divine Grade:** The creature embodies a sliver of divinity, a living manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth.

This meant the creature before them—no, to be precise, the *Meridian-Reversing Dragon-Transforming Worm Mother*—was at the very least Spirit Grade. Its rarity, and therefore its value, had just doubled at a minimum.

Shi Yuan’s eyes widened, a flicker of regret crossing his face. He shot a glare at his rival. “You old undying bastard,” he demanded, “did you know about this all along?”

Zhu Fuxian allowed a hint of smugness to color his tone. “Don’t forget, we found this place together.”

Shi Yuan was rendered speechless. His hostile gaze shifted to the Earth Vein Manager, Yang Zhenyue. Despite being a Golden Core cultivator, Yang Zhenyue flinched and shrank back, the memory of a recent kick still fresh. He instinctively guarded his feet, terrified of another sudden blow.

Unperturbed, Zhu Fuxian produced the green jade rice ear. He gave it a gentle shake, aiming it at the swarm of Meridian-Reversing Worms, both larval and adult.

In an instant, countless threads of green light shot out, spreading through the cavern like a luminous vascular system. A torrent of chitinous bodies rained down from the walls and ceiling, and in moments, the ground was carpeted with insect corpses.

The Meridian-Reversing Dragon-Transforming Worm Mother, which had been radiating pure fury, froze. Seeing its entire brood annihilated in a single breath, it was seized by a primal terror and instantly coiled into a ball. Its massive, grotesque body became a trembling sphere.

*It’s utterly terrified,* Jiang Chen thought, his eyes burning with envy. *So this is the casual, overwhelming power of a true master.*

Just then, Zhu Fuxian produced a jade pendant. “Little Jiang!” he called out.

Jiang Chen snapped to attention. “Rice Master?”

Zhu Fuxian tossed the pendant to him. “This contains an insect-taming art. Once you’ve learned it, form a contract with this Meridian-Reversing Dragon-Transforming Worm Mother.”

Jiang Chen caught it on instinct, his mind reeling. “A hundred-year-old Meridian-Reversing Worm Mother is already worth tens of thousands of Mid-grade Spirit Stones,” he said, his voice laced with disbelief. “This Dragon-Transforming variant must be worth at least a hundred thousand. And you’re… letting me contract it?”

“You discovered this disaster before it could escalate,” Zhu Fuxian stated, his tone meaningful. “You allowed us to act preemptively and saved the Spirit Farm from far greater losses. Consider this Worm Mother your reward.”

Zhao Feng immediately sidled up to Jiang Chen, a greedy chuckle escaping his lips. “Fellow Daoist Jiang, you could always sell it to me!”

The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched. “We’ll see.”

“If you have second thoughts, you know where to find me,” Zhao Feng pressed, his excitement palpable.

Zhu Fuxian added with a playful look, “And don’t you raise a few Fire Crows? Their Fire Spirit Liquid would be the perfect food for this Worm Mother.”

Jiang Chen took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, then bowed deeply. “Thank you for this immense favor, Rice Master, Abyss Master, Manager Yang!”

Yang Zhenyue gave him a long, appraising look. “You were the one who uncovered the threat. In my eyes, this reward is more than justified.”

With the matter settled, Jiang Chen focused his spiritual sense on the jade pendant. Instantly, a flood of profound knowledge poured into his mind.

*Myriad Insects Secret Record – Reverse Spirit Chapter.*

The opening line struck at the very heart of the technique: *To follow the spirit is to prosper; to oppose it is to perish. Only one who commands the reverse may master the spirit insect.*

Unlike conventional taming arts that used Spirit Qi to dominate a beast, this method centered on a concept called “Reverse Spirit Symbiosis.” By circulating the technique, a cultivator could induce a temporary state of chaos in their own spiritual power, causing it to flow in reverse. This would create a resonance with the Meridian-Reversing Worm Mother, bypassing its innate hostility.

The cultivation required one’s own essence blood to condense a “Reverse Spirit Seed” within their Qi Sea. This seed emitted a unique aura that could pacify the Worm Mother. The manual estimated it would take about seven days to reach the Novice stage.

The art was divided into three stages:

**1. Insect Speech:** The ability to decipher the low-frequency chittering of the Meridian-Reversing Worms, allowing one to understand the Worm Mother’s basic intentions.

**2. Spirit Connection:** The Reverse Spirit Seed forges a direct link with the Worm Mother. The master can then command its basic movements and attacks through spiritual sense. Furthermore, the corrosiveness of the Worm Mother’s tail venom is reduced by thirty percent for its master.

**3. Symbiosis:** The Reverse Spirit Seed binds completely with the Worm Mother. The master can draw upon the Spirit Qi and Earth Qi absorbed by the creature to heal their own wounds. In turn, the Worm Mother can consume the master’s spiritual power to accelerate the hatching of its eggs. Their auras merge, allowing the master to sense the Worm Mother’s condition even from a thousand miles away.

Since it would take seven days just to reach the Novice stage, Jiang Chen took out a spirit beast ring, intending to store the creature temporarily. He quickly realized his mistake. The space within his ring was nowhere near large enough. The Meridian-Reversing Dragon-Transforming Worm Mother was dozens of feet long; it simply wouldn’t fit.

Zhu Fuxian said nothing, merely casting a pointed, sidelong glance at the Earth Vein’s Abyss Master.

Shi Yuan froze for a second before his face contorted in a mask of fury. “Well, I’ll be damned! So this is what you were waiting for, you old relic!”

Zhu Fuxian remained silent, his sideways stare unwavering.

The two masters were locked in a silent standoff for a long moment. Finally, Shi Yuan cracked. Fuming, he plunged his hand into his storage space and retrieved a yellow stone ring no larger than a fingernail. He tossed it unceremoniously to Jiang Chen.

“This is a Square Inch Ring,” he growled. “It can hold inanimate objects and living creatures alike. Consider it… a reward from the Earth Vein!”

Jiang Chen scrambled to catch it, bowing once more. “Thank you, Abyss Master!”

The ring felt warm and smooth to the touch. Its face was a perfect hexagon, carved with intricate spatial runes that seemed to flow like liquid mercury. In its center was a pigeon-egg-sized Void Stone, so transparent that one could see wisps of Yellow Earth Essence swirling within its depths. It was a thing of breathtaking beauty.

The moment Jiang Chen slipped it onto his finger, it magically resized itself for a perfect fit.