The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

By the time the next morning arrived, Jiang Chen had already wrapped up his daily chores.

He prepared three meals at once, setting them out in the yard. Since he was heading to the loose cultivators’ market, he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, and he couldn’t let Da Huang and the pearl chickens go hungry.

“I’m heading out,” Jiang Chen called out to the yard. “Stay home and behave! The food is ready; eat whenever you get hungry.”

After delivering his instructions, he summoned his Giant Leaf.

Whoosh.

He shot up from the ground, speeding into the distance.

Before long, he arrived at Fire Peak.

Despite the early hour, the place was as bustling as ever. All nine sparring platforms were packed to the brim. Although there were no official rewards for holding a ring, the private betting markets involving Spirit Stones were thriving.

Six of the nine platforms had been monopolized by a specific faction. Only three were truly left for the independent loose cultivators, and even that was only possible because someone had intervened to maintain a semblance of fairness.

Otherwise, the independents wouldn’t have touched a single stone.

Where there is profit, there is conflict. In the end, it always came down to two things:

Strength.

And connections.

Jiang Chen swept his gaze across the area. Many nearby stalls displayed signs advertising [Secret Recipe Barbecue Seasoning].

A single sniff told him it was his own formula. Some had tweaked the flavor, but those who hadn’t were likely the ones who had paid the ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones for the Franchise Fee.

The ones who altered the recipe? They were likely dodging the fee, changing the taste just enough to avoid liability.

Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised. The seasoning didn’t use rare ingredients; reverse engineering it was only a matter of time. The only real trade secret was the exact ratio. With so many franchisees now involved, the recipe was bound to leak eventually.

This was exactly why he had shifted Jin Fugui and Mo Yu’s focus. Instead of selling the finished product, they were pivoting to become upstream suppliers.

The sparring platforms wouldn’t be taken down before the official disciple competition, meaning there was daily profit to be made. It was just a question of volume.

“Old Jiang, you made it?” Jin Fugui waved from the crowd.

Mo Yu stood beside him. The duo came to Fire Peak every morning—one to recruit franchisees, the other to supply fresh ingredients.

Jiang Chen walked over. “How’s business today?”

Jin Fugui shook his head. “New franchisees are drying up.”

Mo Yu took a more philosophical stance. “There’s a limit to how many people want to set up stalls, after all.”

“Exactly,” Jiang Chen nodded. “That’s why our center of gravity needs to shift entirely to supplying ingredients.”

Jin Fugui produced the morning’s earnings. After deducting expenses—primarily the cost of raw materials—the net profit was roughly twelve Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Ten of those came from a single Franchise Fee.

Since Jiang Chen held a seventy percent stake, he pocketed seven Mid-grade Spirit Stones and one hundred forty Low-grade Spirit Stones. The remainder was split between his partners.

Jiang Chen swept his share into his small storage pouch. “You two stay busy. I’ve got a trip to make. I should be back tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Jin Fugui and Mo Yu nodded.

Jiang Chen headed for the Sword Pavilion. He selected a massive public transport flying sword and sat cross-legged on its surface.

As time ticked by, more and more passengers boarded. Just as the sword was about to depart, a massive shadow swept over them, plunging the entire Sword Pavilion into darkness.

Jiang Chen, along with everyone else, looked up in shock.

Perched on the eaves of the Sword Pavilion was a colossal white crane with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters. Its massive black eyes stared down at the crowd with an imposing glint.

“Isn’t that Lord Storm Crane 7?”

“Storm Crane 7? Does that mean Long Ao is here?”

Before the crowd could recover from their confusion, a figure stepped out from the crane’s back.

It was indeed Long Ao.

Although the former number one contender had slipped to fourth on the ranking board, for the vast majority of disciples, he remained an insurmountable peak.

Long Ao’s gaze landed on the crowd. “Junior Brother Jiang! Long time no see!”

The crowd buzzed.

“Senior Brother Long is looking for someone?”

“My last name is Jiang… could he mean me?”

Ignoring the murmurs, Jiang Chen stood up from the crowded flying sword and cupped his hands. “Senior Brother Long! It has been a while.”

Long Ao looked down, his expression casual. “Heading out?”

“Yes,” Jiang Chen nodded. “This Junior Brother is going to the loose cultivators’ market.”

Long Ao beckoned with a hand. “I’m heading out too. Since it’s on the way, come up. We’ll travel together.”

Jiang Chen glanced at the terrifyingly large crane and let out a dry laugh. “I think we’d need to ask Lord Storm Crane 7 for permission first, right?”

Suddenly, the crane opened its beak, speaking in a melodious, human female voice. “If Long Ao agrees, I naturally have no objections.”

With the beast’s approval, Jiang Chen turned to the Metal Spirit Root disciple piloting the public flying sword.

“My apologies,” Jiang Chen said, his tone polite but business-like. “Senior Brother Long has offered me a ride. About the fare…”

The pilot, intimidated by Long Ao’s presence, didn’t dare hesitate. He immediately retrieved the twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones and pressed them back into Jiang Chen’s hand.

Jiang Chen stowed the refund—every stone counted—and summoned his Giant Leaf. He ascended swiftly, maneuvering close enough to the crane to hop onto its back.

It had been years since he last rode a white crane. The last time, it was Cloud Crane 19. This time, it was Storm Crane 7.

Looking at the number, he felt a strange sense of upward mobility.

“Let’s go,” Long Ao said.

Storm Crane 7 raised her head, stretched her long neck, and let out a piercing cry.

Whoosh!

With a single flap of her massive wings, they surged into the sky.

Simultaneously, large spheres of water materialized around the crane’s body. Each sphere was about a meter in diameter, filled with flowing liquid.

Despite their incredible speed, Jiang Chen didn’t feel a wisp of wind. He watched as oncoming debris and air resistance were silently absorbed by the rotating water spheres. Standing on the crane’s back was as stable as standing on solid ground.

“Junior Brother Jiang,” Long Ao asked suddenly, “I finished that Spirit Wine you gave me last time. Do you have any more on you?”

Jiang Chen had anticipated this. Without skipping a beat, he pulled a wineskin containing ten jin of Top-quality Spirit Wine from his storage pouch and handed it over.

This trip wasn’t just about attending Shen Peng’s wedding. Jiang Chen planned to partner with the Shen family to open a wine shop and offload his surplus stock.

Of course, the commercial stock wouldn’t be this Top-quality Spirit Wine. That was reserved for gifts, bribes, and hugging the thighs of powerful figures like Long Ao.

Loose cultivators didn’t care about the vintage or purity grades; they just wanted it to taste good and give a buzz.

Long Ao uncorked the skin and took a massive swig, letting out a satisfied sigh as the spiritual energy washed over him.

Jiang Chen smiled. “Is Senior Brother Long also heading to the loose cultivators’ market?”

Long Ao set down the wine pouch and shook his head. “No, I’ve been invited to the Thousand Sails Event hosted by Zhao Qianyun, the son of the current City Lord of Mystic Heart City.”

“Thousand Sails Event?” Jiang Chen wore a puzzled expression.

Of course, he knew about Mystic Heart City.

It was not far from Green City, where the Loose Cultivator Bazaar was located.

As he recalled, it seemed to be situated by the sea.

Its current City Lord was said to be a Golden Core Perfected Master as well.

Long Ao explained, “The full name of the Thousand Sails Event is the Thousand Sails Water-Land Dharma Assembly. Many cultivators will participate. If you want to go, I can take you with me!!!”