The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 303: Nascent Soul Dharma Form

The moment he finished reciting the incantation, Jiang Chen felt the Dragon Abyss Water Spirit Seal in his hand tremble violently.

It erupted in an ethereal, sapphire-blue luminescence, as if finally awakened.

A powerful suction force emanated from it, attempting to draw something from his body. But no matter how it pulled, it found nothing to take and soon grew inert, its light dimming.

Jiang Chen’s eyes narrowed in thought. *It seems both this Dragon Abyss Water Spirit Seal and the Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon jade slip require water-attribute spiritual power to activate. Unfortunately, I have none.*

This deep dive into the Black Dragon Pool had certainly been fruitful. The Water Spirit Pearl, the Nine Transformations of the Wandering Dragon, the Dragon Abyss Water Spirit Seal—any one of these items was priceless. Thrown into the outside world, they would trigger a bloodbath.

Even the cheapest of them, the Water Spirit Pearl, would fetch tens of thousands of Mid-grade Spirit Stones on the current market. As for the other two, their value was difficult to gauge; they would likely command a price in high-grade Spirit Stones.

The only drawback was his current inability to use them. He could only shelve these treasures and wait until the day he developed a water Spirit Root to even begin to comprehend their mysteries.

After stowing the items away, Jiang Chen’s gaze fell upon the vast ruins of the Water Spirit Palace. A pragmatic thought surfaced. “So I don’t have to sleep under a tree in the future, I need to build a proper home in my personal space. This will do nicely.”

Though they were ruins, the palace was constructed from little more than wood and stone. Coincidentally, he possessed both wood and earth Spirit Roots. It wouldn’t be a perfect restoration, but it would at least be a place to live.

With that, Jiang Chen decisively activated the two types of spiritual power in his dantian. Streams of wood and earth energy flowed out, enveloping the ruined palace below.

Instantly, the collapsed structures began to reassemble before his very eyes. Beams righted themselves, stones flew into place, and walls rose from the rubble. While it couldn’t be restored to its original grandeur, it was slowly taking the shape of a palace once more.

While the reconstruction continued, Jiang Chen’s figure flickered, and he instantly departed his personal space, returning to the abyss outside.

He hadn’t forgotten he was still in the Dragon Shackle Abyss. Though it was quiet now, the unexpected could always happen. He needed to leave, and soon.

Of course, he didn’t leave empty-handed. He swiftly captured the few massive fish he had seen earlier, storing them all within the Hydro Orb. Then, he boarded the Demon Dragon Boat and shot toward the seven-colored water curtain at blinding speed.

With a soft *pop*, as if passing through a membrane, Jiang Chen and his boat re-entered the stagnant, deathly waters of the main abyss.

A profound silence reigned here, devoid of any tremor or fluctuation. The submerged structures were faint, shadowy outlines, like the sunken tombs of ancient gods buried for millennia.

Jiang Chen piloted the Demon Dragon Boat for one final sweep of the area. Confirming there was nothing else of value, he departed for good.

Soon, the mottled stone stele came into view again. Its inscriptions remained a blur, with only a few characters barely legible.

According to the stele, the Dragon Shackle Abyss was the name of this region, and the Water Spirit Palace was a hidden grotto-heaven within it. But the third item mentioned, the Counter Scale, was nowhere to be found.

As Jiang Chen mulled it over, a sudden thought struck him. He guided the Demon Dragon Boat to press right up against the stele, then reached out and touched its surface.

The sensation was ice-cold and unyieldingly hard, more like metal than stone.

In that moment, a bold hypothesis ignited in his mind.

*Could this stele be the Counter Scale?*

Jiang Chen applied force with his right hand, scraping away the weathered outer layer of the stele. The motion revealed a network of dense, intricate patterns hidden beneath. At first glance, they resembled ancient runes.

He channeled his wood spiritual power into it. Nothing.

He tried his earth spiritual power. Still nothing.

He infused it with fire spiritual power. A reaction!

Seeing it work, Jiang Chen immediately began circulating his Nine Flames Mystic Art, pouring a continuous stream of fire spiritual power from his dantian into the stele.

Instantly, the entire monument began to shake violently. Its stone-like surface cracked and flaked away, revealing what lay within. Finally, a single black scale, immense and shimmering with a cold, metallic luster, was unveiled.

Simultaneously, a series of fragmented images flooded Jiang Chen’s mind.

He saw a colossal black demon dragon, wreaking havoc and summoning storms. Then, a mighty cultivator appeared, attempting to suppress and tame the beast. The attempt failed, and the battle ended with the dragon’s death.

The passage of time had corroded the memory, leaving the vision blurry. Yet, he could vaguely discern the cultivator unleashing a majestic Dharma Form—a spiritual projection as towering as a mountain, radiating an overwhelming pressure of pure water.

The figure wore a robe woven from the scales of river dragons.

On its head sat a crown of darkest water, hung with beaded tassels.

Its right hand gripped a staff that seemed to command the tides, the Water-Parting Celestial Pivot Staff.

A Mysterious Dark Ice Dragon, pure white and shimmering with crystalline light, coiled around its left foot, exhaling clouds of frost that froze the very air. Its right foot rested upon a Scarlet Water Snake, whose crimson scales pulsed like living fire, its forked tongue hissing and scorching the space around it.

Floating around this colossal Dharma Form were countless runes condensed from water spiritual power. As they flowed and shifted, they faintly outlined the magnificent, boundless vistas of great rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Awe struck Jiang Chen silent. *To manifest a Dharma Form means they achieved resonance with the laws of heaven and earth. This expert’s understanding of their Spirit Root and its element had reached an incredibly profound level. Their cultivation realm had to be Nascent Soul or higher.*

Though he was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, he had a basic understanding of the cultivation path.

**Qi Condensation:** The first step. One absorbs the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth, refining it into personal spiritual power to strengthen the body.

**Foundation Establishment:** Building on the previous stage, a cultivator condenses their gaseous spiritual power into a liquid state, forming a stable foundation for all future progress.

**Golden Core:** The liquid spiritual power is compressed and solidified into a Golden Core. From this point on, one wields true Magic Power and begins to touch upon the world’s underlying laws. Golden Cores are divided into three grades:

* **Human-Grade Golden Core:** The lowest tier. Upon breakthrough, one only Awakens their Divine Sense.

* **Earth-Grade Golden Core:** A superior tier. Breakthrough grants both Divine Sense and a unique innate ability.

* **Heaven-Grade Golden Core:** The highest tier. Breakthrough grants Divine Sense, an innate ability, and a preliminary comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth.

**Nascent Soul:** The Golden Core is shattered and reformed into a Nascent Soul, a condensed embodiment of the cultivator’s spirit and Magic Power. It possesses immense power and a far deeper understanding of the laws. Even if the physical body perishes, the Nascent Soul can survive and continue to cultivate, granting a second life. Nascent Souls also have grades:

* **Inferior Nascent Soul:** Semi-transparent and featureless. Breaking through to the Soul Formation realm is nearly impossible.

* **Excellent Nascent Soul:** Appears as a miniature child or Daoist. Has a reasonable chance of reaching Soul Formation.

* **Top-Grade Nascent Soul:** Its surface is etched with natural Dao patterns that resonate powerfully with the laws of heaven and earth, sometimes even triggering celestial phenomena. This is the embryonic form of a “Nascent Soul Dharma Form,” and it grants a very high probability of reaching the Soul Formation realm.

Jiang Chen carefully stored the massive Counter Scale. “This Fated Chance,” he murmured in a low voice, “was tailored for a water Spirit Root cultivator. It contains everything needed to advance from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, perhaps even to the formidable Nascent Soul realm.”

In other words, if he truly wanted to achieve Five-Element Perfection before his next breakthrough and ensure a smooth path forward, he would need at least five Fated Chances of this magnitude.

And that was the problem. Opportunities like this couldn’t be sought. They could only be found through sheer, dumb luck.