The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 246: Wood Spirit Returning to Nest

Deep within the second floor of the basement, the searing heat of the artifact refining room permeated the air.

Though Jiang Chen’s cultivation lingered at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, his artifact refining mastery had already peaked. He possessed “Masterful Hands.” This peak proficiency unlocked a vast new repertoire of Spirit Weapons he could forge.

Recalling Chen Bo’s earlier request for a defensive armament, Jiang Chen mentally reviewed his options. Five blueprints lay before him:

Green Vine Dragon-Binding Staff

Armor of the Tree of Life

Wood Spirit Returning to Nest Ring

Vine Dragon-Imprisoning Shackles

Thorn Beast-Catching Net

The Armor of the Tree of Life offered passive defense and regeneration, while the Thorn Beast-Catching Net provided active defense through crowd control. The other three blended active defense with lethal offensive capabilities.

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, running the calculations in his head. “Senior Brother Chen is leaning hard into his sneaky, ambush-heavy ‘old six’ fighting style,” he muttered to himself. “His second Spirit Weapon can’t be flashy. That leaves the wrist-mounted Wood Spirit Returning to Nest Ring or the retractable Thorn Beast-Catching Net.”

After a moment’s deliberation, he settled on the ring. It was a clear upgrade from the Green Wood Needles. Chen Bo could wear it inconspicuously on his wrist, deploying it at a moment’s notice to bind and strike his enemies.

Wood Spirit Returning to Nest Ring

Effect 1: Channels spiritual power to condense ten razor-sharp wooden spikes from the wristlet.

Effect 2: Spikes secrete a trace paralytic toxin, crippling the target’s mobility.

Effect 3: Combining three rings detonates a volatile cyan-green explosive sphere.

Effect 4: Projects a semi-transparent green barrier upon taking damage.

Effect 5: The barrier siphons a portion of absorbed damage, converting it into healing energy.

These five inherent traits manifested automatically upon a successful refinement. It was the perfect fusion of offense and defense. Imprinting additional spirit patterns would only stack more special effects onto the base model.

Crafting it required two primary ingredients: a pliable stone known as Emerald Jade, and a solid chunk of wood spirit marrow harvested from a century-old Green Wood tree. The marrow had to be a single, unbroken piece to ensure a seamless psychic link with the user; using fragmented pieces would drastically reduce its power and regeneration.

Jiang Chen had plenty of Emerald Jade in his inventory, but he lacked the wood spirit marrow. He had never needed it for previous projects.

He extracted a piece of the soft jade, submerging it in a basin of pure spring water to prep. Stepping out of the stifling refining room, he drew a Communication Talisman, injecting a thread of wood spiritual power into the parchment.

“Senior Brother Jiang?” Lin An’s voice echoed from the talisman.

“Are you tied up right now, Lin An?”

“Not at all. What are your orders?”

“I need a complete, unbroken piece of century-old wood spirit marrow. Find one.”

“Understood! I’ll secure it immediately.”

Lin An had proven himself invaluable. From the day he signed the blood contract, he spent his waking hours scouring the markets, hoarding Yang-attribute medicinal herbs for Jiang Chen. Thanks to his relentless legwork, their stockpile was massive. Now, Jiang Chen only needed to carve out the time to refine the pills.

Slipping the Communication Talisman back into his Storage Bag, Jiang Chen dragged a woven rocking chair to his doorway and sank into it. The relentless scree-scree of summer cicadas washed over the farm. Under the brutal midday sun, the spirit plants drooped lazily.

The stifling heat bred lethargy, making the occasional cool breeze feel like pure bliss. Jiang Chen half-closed his eyes, savoring a cup of Top-quality Golden Wine as he mentally deconstructed the intricacies of the Green Wood Fire Attraction Art.

He waited like that for nearly three hours. The blazing afternoon melted into a dusky evening before Lin An finally descended from the sky atop a Paper Crane. He was sweating and completely out of breath—he definitely hadn’t been slacking.

Jiang Chen waved him over. “Right on time for dinner.”

Lin An hurriedly fished the marrow from his Storage Bag. “This was a nightmare to track down. I hit up several spirit farmers and even had to scour the Harvest Alliance’s trading outpost in the Red Leaf Valley market before I found a piece that matched your exact specifications.”

Jiang Chen took the marrow, running his thumb over its smooth surface while sweeping it with his spiritual sense. He gave a satisfied nod. “Excellent quality.”

Lin An wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned, finally picking up his bowl and chopsticks. “As long as it serves your purpose.”

Stowing the marrow safely away, Jiang Chen personally poured Lin An a cup of Top-quality Spirit Wine. “Word around the sect is the preliminary rounds of the formal disciple competition are wrapping up?”

Lin An nodded eagerly. “Yes, they should conclude in the next few days.”

“Of the names I gave you, how many advanced?” Jiang Chen asked.

Lin An took a reverent sip of the Top-quality Spirit Wine, letting the rich spiritual energy coat his throat before answering. “Jin Fugui, Mo Yu, Lin Yu, and Lin Yan were all eliminated. Long Ao, Chen Bo, and Wang Bing successfully advanced.”

This was Lin An’s dual purpose: errand boy and spymaster. Since Jiang Chen dedicated all his focus to his own cultivation and crafting, he relied on Lin An to keep a pulse on the outside world. Jiang Chen had drafted a watchlist of every familiar face entering the competition.

The roster of winners and losers aligned perfectly with his predictions. Mo Yu’s defeat, however, carried a sting of bad luck. He had actively concealed his true strength and should have coasted into the semi-finals. Unfortunately, his final opponent drew a Spirit Weapon worth a staggering eight hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. The overwhelming gear disparity crushed Mo Yu, despite his inherent elemental advantage and superior Spirit Root.

The two men continued their meal, exchanging casual banter. Thanks to Lin An’s reports, Jiang Chen kept a razor-sharp mental map of the shifting power dynamics within the core of the Spirit Farm.

Scraping the last grains of rice from his bowl, Lin An suddenly slapped his forehead. “Ah, I almost forgot!”

“What is it?” Jiang Chen asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Rumor has it there’s a massive personnel shake-up happening in the Spirit Farm’s core management,” Lin An leaned in, lowering his voice. “The Zhao Clan, who hold the number one spot, and the Wang Clan at number two, are both mobilizing. They’re hungry for more territory.”

Jiang Chen waved a dismissive hand. “Office politics. That has absolutely nothing to do with me.”

Lin An offered a meaningful smile. “Senior Brother Jiang might not care, but the farmers you brought into the core zone are taking it very seriously.”

Jiang Chen paused, his cup hovering halfway to his mouth. “You mean Xu Linshan and the rest of his crew?”

“Exactly,” Lin An confirmed. “From what my contacts tell me, they are aggressively building momentum to push you into a leadership position.”

Jiang Chen tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table, his eyes darkening with thought. “I suppose it has been a while since I checked in on them.”

With their meal finished and the debriefing complete, Lin An excused himself and trudged back to his modest earthen house. Pushing open his heavy door, he froze.

The barren room was transformed. A massive, plush new bed dominated the corner, replacing his lumpy cot. High-quality, polished wooden furniture filled the once-empty spaces, each piece meticulously crafted and brimming with quiet luxury.

He didn’t need to guess who arranged this.

Lin An turned slowly, staring back out the door toward Jiang Chen’s stone house. Tears blurred his vision, hot and overwhelming. When he signed that blood contract, he had resigned himself to a life of grueling servitude—a mere hound for a cultivator.

Instead, he found respect. He found care.

If he had been indentured to anyone else—especially that sadistic alchemist over in the Earth Fire Zone—his life would be an unimaginable hell. Here, he had a home.