The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

In the past, one Low-grade Spirit Stone could buy 10 jin of Tier-1 Spirit Rice. Now? You’d be lucky to get six!

The inflation was staggering. Commodities that used to be readily available were now being rationed. Spirit plants, Pills, talismans—everything had tripled in price, if not more.

Driven by desperation, many disciples from the Immortal Sect had flocked to the loose cultivator marketplaces outside, hoping for a bargain. But a distant well cannot save a dying man. The shortage was universal. No matter where they went, they had to pay the premium. Even if they were seething with resentment, they had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill and pay up.

Jiang Chen nodded slowly. “Exactly. And this market volatility is precisely what we are going to exploit.”

Hu Bugui and Zhao Ziyue exchanged a glance before leaning in. “But what exactly are we going to hoard?”

“The Return to Ruins Secret Realm,” Jiang Chen explained, his voice low and steady. “It is a domain heavy in Yin energy, filled with poisonous miasma and dark creatures. To survive inside, cultivators will be desperate for Yang-attribute supplies—Pills, talismans, and Spirit Weapons.”

The men around the table weren’t fools. The realization hit them like a lightning bolt.

Their eyes lit up as the gears in their heads began to turn.

Hu Bugui frowned in thought. “For spirit beasts, there are Fire, Metal, Earth, and Thunder types that would work against Yin creatures. But raising them in bulk? It’s impossible. The feed costs are astronomical, and we don’t have enough time for them to mature.”

Jiang Chen remained silent, but his mind was racing with his own inventory.

First, he was a Spirit Farmer with four mu of Grade-2 farmland. With the time-accelerating power of his Green Lotus Domain, he could forcefully ripen an entire harvest of Yang-attribute herbs before the Secret Realm opened. He could simply claim he bought the stock from other farmers to avoid suspicion.

Second, he could process everything himself. He could refine the herbs into Pills and forge the Spirit Weapons. He was a one-man industrial complex.

The only gap in his supply chain was spirit talismans.

His gaze drifted toward the door where Bai Ling’er had exited.

Her father, Bai Xiaotian, was a Senior Talisman Master. If he could pull that man into their operation, the final piece of the puzzle would be solved.

But there was a catch. To make a fortune, one had to invest a fortune.

Jiang Chen looked at his friends. “How much capital can you mobilize?”

Hu Bugui rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Old Jiang, you know my situation. I reinvested all my dividends from the past few months into new spirit beasts and expanding my land. Right now… I can scrape together maybe 200 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.”

They turned to Zhao Ziyue. “And you?”

The fishing fanatic looked even more embarrassed. “Old Jiang, you know I have a problem. I… uh… I bought a lot of high-end fishing gear recently. I can put up 100 Mid-grade Spirit Stones. At most.”

The trio then turned their gaze to the silent figure in the corner. “What about you?”

Lin An shrank under their expectant stares. “Senior Brother Jiang, you know I just got released from the Earth Fire Zone. I have a few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones to my name.”

Jiang Chen sighed, rubbing his temples. “I see. You are all poor bastards.”

Hu Bugui bristled slightly. “What about you, Old Jiang? How much can you put in?”

“Yeah,” Zhao Ziyue chimed in. “Let’s see your pile.”

Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then held up five fingers.

“Five hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones.”

It was more than the three of them combined, but for the scale of market manipulation Jiang Chen envisioned, it was a drop in the ocean. A single high-grade Spirit Weapon could cost nearly a thousand stones.

“That brings our total to eight hundred,” Hu Bugui said, sounding defeated. “We can stock up on some pills and talismans, sure. But we can’t corner the market with that.”

Prices would inevitably drop after the formal disciple competition concluded. If they didn’t have enough volume to make a massive splash during the peak, the profit margins wouldn’t be life-changing.

They would make a small profit, not a fortune.

The room fell into a heavy silence. It was the worst kind of frustration—seeing a mountain of gold right in front of you but lacking the strength to climb it.

After a long pause, Jiang Chen spoke again, his expression complex. “Don’t worry about the funding gap. I’ll figure something out. At worst… I’ll just have to work a little harder.”

Hearing this, Hu Bugui stood up abruptly, slamming his hand on the table. “Old Jiang! Are you treating us like strangers? If there’s hard work to be done, we do it together!”

He gritted his teeth. “If it comes to it, I’ll sell my spirit beasts and my land deeds. I’ll liquidate everything and go all-in with you. If we fail, we start over from scratch!”

“You scared me,” Jiang Chen exhaled, relieved by the outburst.

Infected by Hu Bugui’s fervor, Zhao Ziyue clenched his jaw. “Fine! We share the glory, we share the loss. I’ll sell my fishing gear. I’m gambling on you, Old Jiang!”

Lin An watched them with envious eyes.

This was true brotherhood. These were real partners. Compared to the fair-weather friends who had abandoned him the moment he got in trouble, these men were worth their weight in gold.

Jiang Chen smiled, a genuine warmth spreading through his chest. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Did he really lack money?

Hardly.

He had a nursery full of mutated spirit plants. He had a Lightning-struck Tree worth over ten thousand Spirit Stones alone. He had a warehouse of unsold inventory.

He had only claimed poverty to test their resolve. Seeing them willing to liquidate their livelihoods for his plan proved they were truly of one mind.

A moment later, the door creaked open. Bai Ling’er returned, having finished her task.

As soon as she entered, she froze. Four pairs of eyes were locked onto her with intense scrutiny.

She took a subconscious step back, looking like a deer in headlights. “Did… did I do something wrong?”

Jiang Chen stood up and walked toward her with a predatory friendly smile.

“Old Bai… ahem… Ling’er. How would you like to have an unlimited supply of snacks?”

Bai Ling’er’s eyes instantly transformed into sparkling crescents. Her fear vanished. “Where?!”

Jiang Chen blinked, momentarily thrown off by her instant capitulation. He recovered quickly. “It’s simple. I just need to have a little chat with your father about a business opportunity.”

In a luxurious bedroom on the second floor, the glass lamps swayed gently.

The room was filled with a thick, humid mist.

Jiang Chen sat on the edge of the bed, chugging a large bowl of Top-quality Spirit Wine. He let out a long, shuddering exhale. “Senior Sister Yu… my Wood Spiritual Energy is completely drained. I have nothing left.”

Yu Caiqing leaned back against the silk pillows, her skin flushed and radiant. She looked at him with surprise. “You were exceptionally… diligent today.”

Jiang Chen wiped a dramatic tear from the corner of his eye. “It was my duty. Only my duty.”

Yu Caiqing reached for her green jade storage pouch and tossed a heavy bag onto the bed. “For your hard work. Here are five hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Go buy yourself something nice.”

Jiang Chen didn’t pick up the bag. He opened his mouth, then closed it, looking hesitant.

Finally, he took a deep breath. “Senior Sister, remember I mentioned I wanted to speculate on goods for the Return to Ruins Secret Realm?”

Yu Caiqing raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Is the capital insufficient?”

She blinked, her gaze shifting from the bag to his face. “How much are you short?”

Jiang Chen grinned, his exhaustion vanishing. “The more, the better!”

Yu Caiqing laughed, a low, husky sound. She trailed a finger down his chest. “If you want me to invest… I’m going to need to see just how ‘hard’ you can really work.”