The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 304: Fish Demon

The deathly silence shattered. Suddenly, the dark waters erupted with activity as large fish began to swim lazily through the gloom. But just as quickly as they appeared, they seemed to sense an unseen predator and fled in a panic. In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

Jiang Chen’s senses screamed a warning. His eyes scanned the oppressive darkness, and he soon spotted it: a turbulent current surging toward the port side of his vessel. The Demon Dragon Water-Avoiding Boat, with its superior warding, remained completely stable, but a palpable sense of dread filled the water. Something massive was approaching, and it was moving at an incredible speed.

Instantly, Jiang Chen’s focus sharpened. He channeled the Spirit Qi of Wood, Fire, and Earth from his Qi Sea, his entire body coiling into a state of lethal readiness.

A moment later, heralded by a deep, churning roar of displaced water, a colossal shadow materialized from the depths. It was a Sunfish Demon, dozens of feet long. Its flat, immense body resembled a moving hillock. Its dark gray hide was a grotesque landscape of rough bumps and sharp, bony spurs, all coated in a glistening layer of green slime.

Its eyes were the most unsettling—two flickering will-o’-the-wisps of eerie green light, housing cold, vertical pupils. The gaze they held was a complex mixture of primal greed at the sight of prey and a chilling, predatory cunning.

Faced with the monstrous sight, Jiang Chen muttered, “A Fish Demon?!”

Though their sizes were worlds apart, the cold glint in their eyes was identical. This was no mere beast; it was a demon. He had assumed these black waters held nothing more dangerous than large fish. It seemed his initial passage had been a stroke of luck.

The next second, the Sunfish Demon’s maw gaped open, revealing rows of serrated teeth, each as thick as a child’s arm. A stream of black, viscous bubbles spewed forth. With a casual flick of its massive fin, it whipped the surrounding water into a violent vortex, signaling its intent to attack.

Jiang Chen’s expression remained impassive. Facing the behemoth, he felt no panic. He calmly steered the Demon Dragon Water-Avoiding Boat, aligning its prow with the charging monster, and poured his Fire Spirit Qi into the draconic horn.

Within the horn’s spiral grooves, an azure flame flickered to life, swelling in intensity with each passing moment. The entire vessel began to hum, trembling with the terrifying power it now contained.

The Fish Demon, seemingly oblivious to the danger, charged forward with its mouth wide open.

A faint smirk touched Jiang Chen’s lips. “Perfect timing. Let’s see how you handle the Dragon Flame Breath of my Demon Dragon Water-Avoiding Boat.”

A violent shudder ran through the boat’s frame. A torrent of dazzling azure flame erupted from the horn. Like a true dragon’s breath, it vaporized the black water in its path, striking the open-mouthed Fish Demon in an instant and plunging deep into its gullet.

The charging demon’s body went rigid, its eyes glazing over. A heartbeat later, the flesh on its back tore open with a sickening rip, revealing a gaping, bloody maw where its insides should have been. Gore and viscera spilled into the dark water.

The greed in its eyes instantly morphed into raw terror. Without the slightest hesitation, it wheeled around and fled. Despite its grievous injury, its mastery over water was formidable. With a powerful surge, it shot into the distance, quickly escaping the immediate range of the flame.

Jiang Chen had no intention of letting this prize escape. He activated the boat’s second ability: concealment. The vessel and its passenger shimmered, becoming semi-transparent before fading completely into the murky depths, leaving not a single ripple behind.

The Fish Demon, thinking it had escaped its pursuer, swam toward its lair, still trembling with fear. It had no idea that Jiang Chen was silently tailing it, a ghost in the abyss.

After some time, a massive cave entrance loomed ahead. The area was a grim testament to the demon’s appetite, choked with the countless, half-digested carcasses of its prey.

So, this is its nest, Jiang Chen thought. Are there more inside?

He dismissed the thought. It doesn’t matter. The Dragon Flame Breath tore through it. Three shots, maximum, to kill it. My reserves can fuel five. Seven, if I supplement with Wood Qi. Even two of them would be easy prey.

With cold resolve, Jiang Chen piloted the invisible boat, following the wounded demon into the cavern. The interior was surprisingly simple—a wide, straight tunnel with almost no turns. A complex layout would have been impractical for a creature of its immense size.

The passage plunged deeper and deeper, finally opening into a vast, subterranean chamber.

The grievously wounded Fish Demon swam hastily toward a palm-sized seashell resting on a rock shelf. It released a faint pulse of demonic power, and the shell bloomed with a deep blue luminescence. Instantly, the horrific wound on its back began to mend at a visible rate.

Jiang Chen’s eyebrow twitched. “Trying to recover?”

Ten meters away, the Demon Dragon Water-Avoiding Boat materialized from nothing.

The healing demon flinched, its massive body trembling in shock. Before it could react, a second blast of azure flame erupted. The terrifying power churned the water into a boiling frenzy, vaporizing it on contact. The beam struck true, obliterating the Fish Demon’s head and blasting a jagged fissure into the stone wall behind it.

With the demon’s death, the flow of demonic power ceased, and the blue glow within the seashell gradually faded. Jiang Chen guided the boat closer, allowing it to begin devouring the demon’s essence while he inspected the shell.

Inside was a small orb of water, so pure it seemed to contain no impurities whatsoever. From it radiated a dense and potent Water Spirit Qi.

Recognition dawned on him. “This… this is Liquid Water Essence, isn’t it?”

When water is purified to its absolute limit, it becomes essence. For any cultivator below the Golden Core realm, a single drop could propel them to the next minor realm. For someone with a Water Spirit Root, it could even reshape and perfect the root itself. When used in refinement, it granted Spirit Weapons and Magical Artifacts the ability to passively absorb ambient Water Spirit Qi and even self-repair.

As Jiang Chen reached to collect the treasure, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a small, peculiar tree growing in a dark recess of the chamber. It was shaped like coral, yet distinctly different.

Hanging from one of its branches was a single, fist-sized fruit. Its skin was crystal clear, revealing the pale blue liquid swirling within.

If his memory served him right, this was a “Water Spirit Fruit.”

Consuming it not only rapidly restored spent Spirit Qi but also cleansed the Meridians of impurities and dramatically boosted the cultivation speed of water-attribute techniques.

More importantly, it was the primary ingredient for refining a Foundation Pill specifically for those with a Water Spirit Root!