The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 285: Beast Mountain

In place of the original Ice Soul Orb, a bizarre entity now occupied the center of the melted cabbage.

It resembled a curled-up embryo sculpted from blue ice crystals, radiating an eerie, cold luminescence. Fine fractures marred its surface, leaking wisps of freezing mist that curled like smoke.

Upon closer inspection, Jiang Chen noticed a semi-transparent membrane encasing the embryo—like frozen amniotic fluid flecked with suspended ice shards. Through this hazy barrier, a vague, humanoid silhouette was visible.

The embryo trembled. With every minute pulsation, a wave of bone-chilling cold washed outward, instantly crystallizing the moisture in the air into frost.

“A Frost Cabbage doesn’t just mutate into this for no reason,” Jiang Chen whispered, unease prickling his scalp.

This wasn’t just a variant spirit plant. It felt… wrong. He had read extensively on spirit botany, including forbidden texts, but he had never encountered anything like this.

It was alive. It was moving.

“If I leave it alone, there’s no telling what it will become,” Jiang Chen reasoned, his breath misting in the freezing air. “If the cold spreads, it could destroy the Spirit Farm outside.”

He strongly suspected the black soil beneath the stone mountain was the catalyst. He had always known this land was special, but this confirmed that something far more potent than mere nutrients lay buried deep underground.

After a long moment of hesitation, Jiang Chen turned and walked away.

He wasn’t giving up. He was being tactical.

His Wood Spirit Qi had no effect on the “Cradle Ice Embryo.” Fire Spirit Qi could damage or melt it, but destroying a unique anomaly felt like a waste. The only element that didn’t trigger a violent reaction was Earth.

“I need to learn Earth-attribute techniques,” he decided. “Once I can manipulate the soil and Earth Qi freely, I can transplant the entire root system into my portable space without disturbing it.”

Jiang Chen exited the cave and sealed the entrance with large boulders. He cast a wary glance at the silent stone mountain. It was no longer just a resource; it was a mystery box that he wasn’t ready to open.

The next morning.

Jiang Chen rose early. Today was the day he had promised to find Da Huang a partner.

After finishing his daily farm chores and cooking breakfast, he retrieved a Spirit Beast Ring. Jin Fugui had gifted him several of these over the years, usually filled with Pearl Chickens. While the internal space was cramped, it was sufficient for a short trip.

“Here, boy! Tsk tsk tsk…”

Da Huang scrambled up from his nap on the porch, grinning his goofy dog grin as he trotted over. He yawned, stretching his long body.

Jiang Chen grabbed the dog’s blocky head and rubbed his ears vigorously. “Ready? Today is a very big day for you.”

With a thought, he swept Da Huang into the ring. He then summoned his Giant Leaf artifact, rose into the air, and sped toward Beast Mountain.

Despite living in the sect for years, this was his first visit to the Beast Mountain branch. Previously, he had only flown past it on his way to the markets.

Soon, he reached the familiar fork in the road. Right led to the Red Leaf Valley market; left led to the entrance of Beast Mountain.

As he crossed the boundary, the dense forest below gave way to a breathtakingly vast grassland. Emerald blades waved in the wind, dotted with wildflowers in every color of the rainbow. It looked less like a sect branch and more like a sea of flowers.

The wind from his Giant Leaf stirred the grass, startling a flock of spirit beasts that resembled butterflies. Their wings were transparent crystal, chiming like tiny bells as they took flight.

Ahead, a crystal-clear stream wound through the landscape, its bed paved with colorful pebbles. A herd of deer-like creatures with jade antlers drank by the water’s edge. Unlike the monsters of the Dark Forest, they didn’t flee or attack; they simply watched him pass with curious, gentle eyes.

“So this is Beast Mountain,” Jiang Chen mused. “Peaceful.”

He followed the stream deeper into the valley.

A group of Cloud-Treading Martens, their fur like flowing black satin, chased the crystal butterflies, little clouds forming under their paws with each leap. A hundred meters away, a Profound Ice Fox with silver-white fur watched them with wise, calculating eyes.

High above, white cranes and eagles circled lazily.

But what caught Jiang Chen’s eye was a massive Thunder Eagle soaring near the cloud layer. Its wingspan exceeded 10 zhang, and purple lightning crackled along its feathers. Every beat of its wings sent shockwaves of thunder rolling through the valley.

“Now that would be a majestic mount,” Jiang Chen said, impressed. “Beats standing on a giant leaf any day.”

Unfortunately, beasts of that caliber required Golden Core cultivation to tame.

Further along, he spotted a massive Forest Bear sleeping under the shade of an ancient tree. Its fur was a deep mossy green, and with every slow exhale, fresh green shoots sprouted from the earth around it. Wood Spirit Butterflies danced around its ears, and the bear swatted at them lazily, radiating a pure, thick Wood Spirit Qi that made Jiang Chen feel inexplicably comfortable.

The deeper he went, the more disciples he saw. Most were accompanied by their bonded beasts—wolves, bears, and even a massive Ink Scale Crocodile lumbering along on a leash.

Jiang Chen landed in a conspicuous clearing near a large, strange-looking tree. He took out Jin Fugui’s communication talisman and injected a wisp of spiritual power.

“I’m here. Where are you?”

“I’m near the entrance,” Jin Fugui’s voice replied. “Look for me.”

“I don’t see you,” Jiang Chen said, looking around. “I’m standing next to a weird tree. It’s about 30 meters tall, completely green, no branches or leaves. Just a straight, smooth trunk.”

The talisman went silent for a beat.

Then, Jin Fugui screamed.

“DON’T MOVE!”

Jiang Chen froze.

“That’s not a tree!” Jin Fugui yelled. “That’s a Pillar Python in hibernation! Do NOT wake it up!”

Jiang Chen slowly, very slowly, retracted the hand he had reached out to lean against the “trunk.”