The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Jiang Chen’s mouth twitched violently. “Senior Sister, please. I do not have a penchant for male companionship!”

He shook his head. “Forget it. Let’s stop thinking about nonsense and get some rest.”

He waved his hand gently. The glass lamp on the nightstand extinguished instantly, plunging the bedroom into darkness.

The night passed in silence.

By mid-morning the next day, Yu Caiqing had already left for the Pill Tower. It wasn’t regarding the disciple competition; rather, she had received word that Alchemy Room 97 had finally been repaired. She needed to inspect it personally and plan her next moves.

Left to their own devices, Jiang Chen and Lin An found spots in the courtyard to cultivate. They sat cross-legged, drawing in the free-floating Wood Spirit Qi from the environment.

Lin An had just broken through, so his focus was on consolidating his unstable foundation.

Jiang Chen, however, was a different beast entirely. The Wood Spirit Power accumulating in his Qi Sea was dense and torrential, already dwarfing the Fire Spirit Power he possessed. At this velocity, he would undoubtedly break through from the mid-stage to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment before the start of summer.

Suddenly, a subtle vibration buzzed from the Jade Green Gourd at his waist.

Jiang Chen flipped his right hand, and a Communication Talisman appeared between his fingers.

It was Jin Fugui.

“Old Jiang! I did it. I sold off every spirit beast in the pens and liquidated my land deeds. I even borrowed a bit from some Senior Brothers. I can put up 5,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

“Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m all in!”

“Old Mo is in the same boat. Between selling his gear and begging for loans, he’s scraped together about 3,000.”

“Who knew that fishing addict was actually loaded?”

“So, when do we start the operation?”

“Leave the logistics to me,” Jiang Chen replied, infusing his voice with confidence. “You two just focus on the formal disciple competition.”

Jiang Chen was genuinely surprised by the speed of their fundraising.

Jin Fugui had 5,000. Mo Yu had 3,000. Adding the 10,000 from Senior Sister Yu, the pool was nearing 20,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Jiang Chen could easily liquidate some of his own assets to bring the total to 30,000 or 40,000.

For a true market whale engaged in speculation, this was a drop in the ocean. But Jiang Chen had an edge those speculators lacked: vertical integration.

He didn’t need to buy stock; he could manufacture it. He could grow the herbs, refine the pills, and forge the Spirit Weapons himself.

As long as he controlled the production costs, losing money was mathematically impossible.

While the rest of the sect was distracted by the bloodsport of the competition, Jiang Chen would quietly flood the market with high-demand goods.

The only missing piece of the puzzle was the Bai family—Lin Yu and her father, Bai Xiaotian. There had been no news from them, which was concerning. He would need to find an opportunity to probe that connection.

Feeling his Qi reserves top off, Jiang Chen called out to Lin An. “Come here for a moment.”

Lin An immediately broke his meditation and trotted over. “Senior Brother Jiang? What are your orders?”

“Are you planning to participate in the formal disciple competition?”

Lin An shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. “With my meager skills? Going up there would just be feeding points to the real contenders.”

Jiang Chen nodded. “Good. I have a task for you.”

“Just say the word.”

“You know a lot of people in the lower rungs,” Jiang Chen said. “Go out and sniff around. I want a list of every Spirit Farmer who is currently cultivating Yang-attribute medicinal herbs.”

“Understood.” Lin An didn’t ask why. He didn’t need to know.

He had made up his mind to cling to Jiang Chen’s leg. In this world, when the master eats the meat, the loyal servant at least gets to drink the soup. If he were following anyone else, he wouldn’t even get to lick the bowl.

After Lin An left, Jiang Chen retrieved another Communication Talisman. This one belonged to Long Ao.

They rarely contacted each other. In fact, aside from their few face-to-face meetings, they had never used the talismans privately. Jiang Chen had tried to warn him about Mo Sha previously, but the connection had failed.

For Long Ao to reach out now, after such a long silence, meant something significant had happened.

“I need a favor.”

“I need you to brew a specific type of wine for me.”

Jiang Chen paused, surprised. He had assumed Long Ao wanted to buy Top-quality Spirit Wine. He hadn’t expected a commission for a custom brew.

After a brief exchange, the details emerged. Long Ao was determined to participate in this year’s competition, but both he and his contracted beast, Storm Crane 7, were injured. The wine was for healing.

By noon, Long Ao arrived.

But he didn’t descend from the sky on his majestic Storm Crane. He arrived on a humble, mass-produced Paper Crane.

The fact that his primary mount was out of commission spoke volumes.

But it was Long Ao’s appearance that made Jiang Chen’s pupils constrict.

“Senior Brother Long… your face.”

Half of Long Ao’s face was twisted, the skin melted and warped like wax held too close to a flame.

Long Ao touched the ruined skin, his expression a mix of pain and fury. “I won the duel against Mo Sha, but his poison fire… it’s tenacious. It continues to burn and corrode. Even now, it hasn’t healed.”

He gritted his teeth. “I thought he had a standard Wood-Fire-Earth Spirit Root. I was wrong. He possesses a mutated Poison Fire Spirit Root. Once you’re hit, it acts like a living toxin. The fire damage stacks and festers.”

Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. “Is he insane? Using that kind of vicious power in a spar?”

“I have written this debt down in blood,” Long Ao hissed, his voice dripping with venom. “Once I recover, I will make him pay a painful price.”

He took a breath, composing himself. “But first, the wine.”

Jiang Chen nodded. “What do you need me to brew?”

Long Ao produced a scroll. “It is a high-grade medicinal liquor. The higher the quality, the better the healing effects. I considered many alchemists and brewers, but in the end, I decided to trust you.”

Jiang Chen took the scroll and read the title. “Ice Heart Jade Pot Wine?”

“It is essentially Ice Heart Wine,” Long Ao explained. “But it must be fermented and stored in a jade vessel to maintain purity. Otherwise, the potency drops drastically.”

Jiang Chen scanned the ingredient list.

Main Ingredients: Cold Pond Ice Spring Water, Ice Spirit Grass, Ice Toad Blood.

Auxiliary Ingredients: Spirit Rice, Snow Lotus Stamen, Trace amounts of Fire-attribute Spirit Pepper.

“Can you do it?” Long Ao asked, his voice tight with anxiety.

Jiang Chen rubbed his chin. “The technique is manageable, but I only have Spirit Rice and Spirit Peppers in stock.”

Long Ao let out a visible sigh of relief, offering a hideous, scarred smile. “Don’t worry about the rest. I have gathered everything else. Just try your best. Don’t worry about wasting materials—I brought enough for multiple attempts.”

“If that’s the case,” Jiang Chen nodded, “I will brew it as quickly as possible.”

Long Ao handed over a storage bag filled with the rare ingredients.

Jiang Chen took them and immediately headed for the stone house. He descended into the basement, spread the materials out on his workbench, and began to study the recipe in depth.

Time slipped away as he analyzed the process. Finally, the System chimed, and the familiar blue panel flickered into existence.

[Item: Ice Heart Jade Pot Wine]

Proficiency: Novice

Effect 1: Slightly stops bleeding from external injuries.

Effect 2: Alleviates fire poison in the body.

Effect 3: Upon consumption, increases the power of Water-attribute spells by 5%.

Negative Effect: Long-term consumption leads to cold extremities and sluggish movement.

Jiang Chen mused, “So, this wine is essentially a liquid antidote with a buff attached?”

Consume 1 year of Lifespan to raise [Ice Heart Jade Pot Wine] to Proficient?