The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 259: Still Alone

The jade slip was a compendium of nightmares—a catalog of flora deemed too dangerous, chaotic, or evil for any sane cultivator to nurture.

It was divided into three sections:

Compendium of Forbidden Plants

Forbidden Arts & Secret Techniques

Miscellaneous Records of Strange Tales

Jiang Chen read the first entry aloud, his voice barely a whisper in the silent archive.

[Fate-Reversing Blood Lotus] Habitat: The Yin-Yang inversion point where a volcanic crater meets a glacial pool. Effect: Upon blooming, it reverses the flow of Spirit Qi within a ten-mile radius. Cultivators caught in the field will experience a violent retrograde of their own spiritual power, often leading to meridian rupture or death.

“Meridian reversal just by being near it?” Jiang Chen sucked in a cold breath. “And that’s just the first one.”

He scrolled to the second entry.

[Soul-Corroding Datura] Description: Dark purple petals veined with silver webs. The stamen suspends a translucent, beating ‘heart’ that emits the sound of a crying infant. Habitat: Extreme Yin environments. Feeds on Yin-Evil Qi and the lingering resentment of the dead. Ability: Releases purple spores during the new moon. These ‘Soul-Corroding Spores’ corrode metal, dull Spirit Stones, and parasitize the Spirit Sense of living beings, turning them into mindless thralls. History: Classified as a Grade-A Threat after a demonic cultivator used it to enslave an entire sect of over 100 disciples.

The list went on, each name more ominous than the last: Ten-Thousand-Bones Withered Vine, Phantom Heart Demon Mushroom, Spirit-Devouring Parasitic Locust, Baseless Poison Fungus…

“No wonder these are forbidden,” Jiang Chen muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. “Cultivating these isn’t farming; it’s manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.”

He moved to the second section: Forbidden Arts.

[Spirit Plant Puppetry] Method: Select a rare spirit plant with high vitality. Carve Golem runes into its core. Harvest the soul of a living human or Demon Beast and fuse it into the plant matrix. Result: A biological construct that obeys the caster’s will. Often possesses unique elemental abilities based on the fused soul. Warning: The process creates immense resentment, preventing the soul from finding peace. If the Golem destabilizes, it becomes an indiscriminate killing machine. Note: Do not confuse with traditional mechanical puppetry (Yan Shu).

Further down were techniques like the Blood Sacrifice Spirit-Accelerating Curse, the Divine Soul Parasitism Technique, and the Reverse Spirit Rebirth Curse.

Jiang Chen’s eyes grew heavy as he absorbed the dark knowledge. “If I hadn’t become the Spirit Nurturing Envoy, I would have gone my whole life without knowing this side of the cultivation world existed. The sect keeps a tight lid on this.”

The sheer volume of information was exhausting. He found himself drifting off, the jade slip still clutched in his hand.

He woke hours later, his mind sharp and refreshed. The nap had cleared the mental fog, leaving him feeling strangely energized.

He tackled the final section: Miscellaneous Records.

It contained case studies from the last millennium. One entry caught his eye—the Rotting Spirit Valley in the Far West.

A powerful Wood Spirit Root cultivator had gone rogue there, cultivating vast fields of Corpse-Rotting Underworld Flowers and Soul-Devouring Demon Vines. It took a joint crusade by the three great Immortal Sects to put him down. Although the cultivator died, his garden survived, turning the valley into a permanent forbidden zone.

Rumor had it that his legacy—the Spirit Nurturing Evil Arts—was still hidden somewhere in that botanical hellscape, attracting foolish Wood cultivators every year who went in looking for power and never came out.

Jiang Chen sat up on the bed, stretching his stiff limbs. “I can’t finish this in a day. It would take weeks to memorize it all.”

He considered taking the jade slip home to study at his leisure, but immediately dismissed the thought. The risk was too high. If he lost it, or if someone saw it… no. He would come back. Patience was a virtue he had in abundance.

He placed the jade slip back on the table, aligning it perfectly with the others, and walked out.

It was night. The palace was silent and empty, save for Elder Hua, who appeared to be sleeping in his chair near the entrance.

Jiang Chen didn’t dare disturb the ancient treant. He bowed deeply in respect and tiptoed past.

As he exited the main doors, Elder Hua’s eyes—deep and dark as ancient wells—opened a fraction, watching Jiang Chen’s retreating back until he vanished into the night. Only then did they close again.

Outside, the cool night air was refreshing. Jiang Chen descended the stone steps of Flat Top Mountain and summoned his Giant Leaf, taking flight into the darkness.

As he flew over the residential fields, he slowed down near Zhao Ying’s plot.

Two acres of second-grade land. One planted with spirit rice, the other with vegetables. It was a modest, functional setup.

Through the window of the wooden house, warm lamplight spilled out. Outside the door, Zhao Ying was working late, a saw in his hand. He was building a crib.

“Right,” Jiang Chen realized. “His Dao companion was pregnant the last time I saw her. The child must be due soon.”

Zhao Ying paused to wipe sweat from his forehead, a goofy, contented smile on his Face.

“Husband,” a woman’s voice called from inside. “It’s late. Come to bed.”

“Coming, coming!” Zhao Ying called back. “Just finishing this joint!”

Jiang Chen hovered in the darkness, watching the scene with a complicated expression.

Zhao Ying represented the vast majority of spirit farmers: low talent, slow progress, building a life one step at a time. He had a wife, a child on the way, a home.

Jiang Chen felt a pang of something that tasted suspiciously like envy.

As a cultivator aiming for immortality, he didn’t have to worry about a mortal lifespan. But the path he walked was solitary. He had friends, yes. He had connections. He had even shared a brief, warm period of intimacy with Senior Sister Yu.

But at the end of the day, when the lights went out…

He looked at the empty seat on his Giant Leaf.

He was still just one person.