The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 261: Tie Zhu Severely Injured

A thin layer of white mist clung to the fields, blurring the lines between earth and sky.

The heavy stone door creaked open, and Jiang Chen stepped over the threshold, stretching his arms high above his head. He had spent the entire night decoding the Puppetry Rune, and a dull fatigue pulled at his eyelids.

He took a deep breath. The morning air was crisp, carrying the unique, sharp fragrance of wet grass and rich soil. It was the smell of life, grounding and real.

“Morning,” he murmured, rubbing a slight congestion from his nose.

Da Huang crawled out of his doghouse, tail wagging so hard his entire rear end shook. He approached Jiang Chen with a fawning, goofy grin plastered on his Face.

Jiang Chen crouched down and scrubbed the dog’s ears vigorously. “Da Huang, you’re getting old, aren’t you? Think it’s time we found you a wife?”

The dog didn’t understand the words, but he recognized the tone of praise and barked happily.

Jiang Chen winked. “Alright, silence means consent. I’ll have Old Jin scout for a few candidates. Maybe we can get you a harem.”

Da Huang’s tongue lolled out, looking like the happiest dog in the sect.

Standing up, Jiang Chen scanned his domain. His five acres of spirit fields were thriving.

Acre 1: Standard Spirit Rice.

Acre 2: Mutated Golden Spirit Rice.

Acre 3 & 4: Extreme-Yang Medicinal Herbs.

Acre 5: A chaotic but bountiful mix of melons, fruits, and vegetables.

“Five years,” he sighed, plucking a Fire Flame Fruit from the Four Seasons Tree. “From a confused eighteen-year-old kid begging for help to a Spirit Nurturing Envoy with five acres. Time really does fly.”

He wiped the fruit on his sleeve and took a bite, the spicy-sweet juice waking him up better than tea. “But today is going to be busy.”

He needed to arrange Da Huang’s breeding. He needed to expand the pearl chicken flock. He needed to hire Junior Brother Tie Zhu to dig a new pond. And he still needed to visit the tailor for his official Envoy robes.

Worst of all, without Fortress, the manual labor was back on him. Shoveling manure, weeding, chopping wood, hauling water—the glamorous life of a cultivator.

By the time he finished his chores and ate breakfast, an hour had passed. He retrieved two Communication Talismans.

First, Jin Fugui. “Old Jin, I need two things. First, find a match for Da Huang. Second, I need more pearl chickens.”

Jin Fugui’s reply was almost instantaneous. “Chickens are easy; I’ll bring twenty over at noon. As for the dog… he’s huge. Finding a bitch that can survive him is going to take some research.”

Next, Tie Zhu. “Junior Brother Tie, I need a pond dug. When are you free?”

This time, the response didn’t come immediately. Jiang Chen waited for nearly ten minutes before the talisman finally vibrated. Tie Zhu’s voice was weak, laced with pain.

“Senior Brother Jiang… I can’t. I lost my first match in the semi-finals. My opponent… he crushed me.”

Jiang Chen frowned. “Who?”

“Mo Sha. He’s… terrifying. I’m bedridden. Poison fire has invaded my system.”

Jiang Chen’s Face darkened. Mo Sha. The same man who had nearly killed Long Ao and broken Shui Wuhen. Now he was crippling outer sect disciples in the preliminaries?

“Manager Yang says the fire poison is about to invade my organs,” Tie Zhu rasped. “I need something extremely Yin and cold to suppress it, or…”

“Don’t worry,” Jiang Chen said firmly. “I have exactly what you need. Stay there.”

He cut the connection, his expression grim. “Without the Ice Heart Jade Pot Wine, Tie Zhu would be dead. Mo Sha… that man is too vicious. If the sect rules didn’t forbid killing, he would have murdered him in the ring.”

He went down to the basement and carefully decanted a single liang (50g) of the potent ice wine. It wasn’t stinginess; any more would freeze Tie Zhu’s soul and kill him just as dead as the fire poison. He also packed five jugs of Top-quality Spirit Wine to aid in recovery.

“I’ll go after lunch,” he decided.

Jin Fugui arrived exactly at noon, his nose leading him straight to the kitchen before he even said hello.

“Old Jiang!” Jin Fugui exclaimed, eyeing the table. “Purple Ganoderma Porridge? Ice Marrow Duck? Are you trying to marry me? Because I say yes!”

“In your dreams,” Jiang Chen scoffed, serving him a bowl. “You eat five meals a day. I’d go bankrupt.”

Jin Fugui laughed and tossed a Spirit Beast Storage Bag onto the table. “Twenty pearl chickens. Two roosters, eighteen hens. Quality stock.”

Jiang Chen checked the Storage Bag with his Spirit Sense. “Looks good. Hey, I’m digging that pond. What kind of fish should I stock?”

Jin Fugui shoved a piece of duck into his mouth, thinking. “Fish, shrimp, turtles… standard stuff. Oh! Wait. I know a guy whose Light Spirit Turtles just laid a clutch.”

“Light Spirit Turtles?”

“Yeah,” Jin Fugui explained around a mouthful of rice. “They absorb sun and moon essence. At night, they glow, raising the ambient Spirit Qi in the water. It’s like a natural fertilizer for the rest of the pond life. Highly recommended.”