The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

It was around three in the afternoon.

Chen Bo arrived carrying the title deed for a Second-grade Spirit Farm, trailed by a team of five cultivators possessing Earth Spirit Roots.

Jiang Chen swept his gaze over the group. The faces of these reclaimers were unfamiliar. It appeared they were a different team dispatched from the Earth Vein sector.

He felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn’t Wu Guangman’s crew. Their previous cooperation had been smooth, and everyone had walked away satisfied. However, the final arrangements were up to Senior Brother Chen, not him.

Chen Bo handed over the title deed. “Junior Brother Jiang, I heard you broke another record this time?”

Jiang Chen accepted the document with both hands, scanning the details as he replied, “It seems so.”

“It’s a pity,” Chen Bo said, his tone heavy with genuine regret. “You can only take the assessment this year. If you were allowed to participate annually, our Spirit Farm division would surely be teeming with top-tier talent.”

Jiang Chen tucked the deed into his robes and looked at him, puzzled. “Why is that?”

It wasn’t that Jiang Chen had any deep love for the outer perimeter of the Spirit Farms. He simply didn’t understand the logic. Normally, wouldn’t an organization want their best performers to continue working?

“In our Spirit Farm division, especially in the core areas, most people used to be honest, law-abiding Wood Spirit Root farmers,” Chen Bo explained, lowering his voice slightly. “But over time, various families and factions have gradually emerged.”

He began to list them. When it came to families, the Zhao Clan currently held the most power over the Spirit Farms. Below them were countless smaller households.

As for factions, the largest was the Harvest Alliance. Beyond them, there were smaller groups like the Farmer’s Army.

“Groups of three or five, pairs of two,” Chen Bo sighed. “When these people unite, they wield considerable influence. The assessment tasks used to be monopolized by the Zhao Clan and the Wang Clan in turns. To break that grip, the rules were changed. Now, each person has only one assessment opportunity every ten years.”

“In other words,” Chen Bo concluded, “after you complete this year’s task, you cannot take this role again for at least a decade.”

Jiang Chen nodded slowly. “I see. That does make it fairer.”

“Fair indeed,” Chen Bo teased, a smile returning to his face. “But look at you now. You’re even more impressive than I am. Merely at the early Foundation Establishment stage, yet you own five mu of Second-grade Spirit Farm. You’re catching up to Senior Brother Wang.”

“If it weren’t for you, Senior Brother, how would I have any share of this land?” Jiang Chen replied honestly.

Chen Bo beamed at the compliment, but his expression soon turned serious. “About the reward… I can’t provide the 3,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones right now. We’ll have to wait until Chen Tian returns.”

Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “Although we aren’t related by blood, we have always been the closest of brothers. Talking about debts creates distance.”

To put it bluntly, given their relationship, Jiang Chen wouldn’t care even if the stones never came. Furthermore, with Chen Bo’s character, embezzlement was impossible.

But the subtext of Jiang Chen’s words was clear: I am wealthy enough that 3,000 Mid-grade Spirit Stones is a trivial matter. Don’t worry about it.

Hearing this, Chen Bo let out a breath he had been holding. He felt a surge of fortune in his heart—lucky that he had chosen to help Jiang Chen when the man was still low-profile and obscure. If he had refused back then, a talent like Jiang Chen would have flourished regardless. But by then, the gap between them would have been too wide to bridge, and he certainly wouldn’t be enjoying his current status.

A moment later, Chen Bo stepped onto a Paper Crane and flew off into the distance.

Watching him leave, Jiang Chen mused, Senior Brother Chen has been good to me. Perhaps I should refine a Spirit Weapon for him—something that can serve as transportation, attack, and defense all in one?

The only issue was finding a valid excuse to give it to him without wounding his pride.

By evening, the five-man Earth Spirit Root team decided they wanted to rest. They claimed they would finish the remaining work tomorrow.

This time, however, Jiang Chen did not agree.

He immediately settled their bill with Spirit Stones and told them flatly not to return. He had other arrangements.

It was the perfect opportunity to bring Tie Zhu over to loosen the soil. It had been a long time since they had worked together, and it was time to reconnect and strengthen that bond.

The five-man team was unhappy with the dismissal, but they didn’t dare show it.

Judging by the sheer scale of the land, this Wood Spirit Root farmer was no simple character. To cultivate five mu of Second-grade Spirit Farm meant one of two things: either his cultivation realm was terrifyingly high, or his connections were incredibly extensive.

Either way, he was someone they could not afford to offend.

After the workers departed, Jiang Chen turned and entered his stone house to start dinner.

Just as the food was ready, Yu Caiqing rushed through the door.

Jiang Chen pointed to the steaming dishes on the table and smiled. “Senior Sister Yu, come quickly—”

Before he could finish, a fragrant breeze rushed toward him. A soft, trembling weight crashed into his embrace.

“No dinner,” Yu Caiqing’s voice trembled against his ear. “Let’s go upstairs. Now!”

Jiang Chen was startled. Through her robes, he could feel a biting chill. “Today… your body is so cold!”

She wasn’t just cool; she was emitting a shocking frost. The warmth she usually carried was gone, replaced by the sensation of holding a block of glacial ice.

Yu Caiqing looked up, her expression caught between tears and laughter. “After our efforts over the past half year, my Ice-Water Spirit Root is only a hair’s breadth away from mutating into a pure Ice Spirit Root.”

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, understanding the urgency. “Alright. Upstairs!”

They abandoned the meal, locked the door, and headed straight for the second floor.

Moments later, the bedroom became a battlefield of elements. Scorching heat filled the room, battling against sudden, violent bursts of cold energy.

They struggled together until midnight.

Yu Caiqing’s entire body was encased in a layer of crystalline frost. If not for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, she would have looked like an ice sculpture. The intense chill radiating from her was strong enough to suppress the heat in the room.

Jiang Chen, looking quite nervous, had retreated to the bedroom doorway, ready to flee at a moment’s notice if the frost spread too far.

Fortunately, Yu Caiqing’s unremitting efforts paid off. Slowly, she began to absorb the emitted cold energy, drawing it bit by bit back into her Qi Sea.

Her goal was finally achieved.

The Ice-Water Spirit Root had completely mutated into a pure Ice Spirit Root.

Although she had not yet achieved the perfect Yin-Yang balance, she was now capable of refining the Yin-Yang Interlace Pill. Once she consumed that Earth-grade Pill, not only would her body return to its initial, unblemished state, but she could also use the surge of medicinal power to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Yu Caiqing’s face remained pale, but Jiang Chen could sense that her condition was stable—much better than the chaotic fluctuations of before. This stable, powerful state was something she usually only achieved during the peak of their dual cultivation.

Yu Caiqing exhaled a breath of white frost. She lifted her eyelids, her gaze returning to its usual indifference. “Jiang Chen, you’ve worked hard these past six months.”

Her voice turned solemn. “From now on, the number of times I come to find you will decrease.”

“One reason is that the Ice Spirit Root suppresses the impulse for dual cultivation,” she explained. “The other is that I need to focus entirely on refining the Yin-Yang Interlace Pill.”

“Oh?” Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

Over the past half year, although they were not officially Dao Companions, they were closer than most married cultivators. They had shared intimacy, conversation, and secrets.

But he understood. She had come to him originally for his Wood element to generate Fire, stimulating her mutating Spirit Root. Now that the goal was achieved, it was normal for the arrangement to end.

Suddenly, the ice on Yu Caiqing’s face melted, revealing a rare, spring-like softness.

“But tonight,” she whispered, “I’m still here.”

Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment. Then, his eyes lit up.

He crossed the room in a single stride and pulled her back into his arms.

“Then let’s continue!”