The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 488: A Transient Flower on the Path!

Soon, the Golden Miner followed Lin An toward Green City.

Whether the endeavor succeeded or failed remained to be seen.

All Jiang Chen could do was wait patiently within the Cloud Sea Sect.

During this time, he made specific inquiries on Old Mo’s behalf regarding the various Spirit Weapons, Spirit Talismans, and Spirit Pills required for a Water Spirit Root to break through to the Earth-Grade Golden Core realm.

He discovered that the sheer quantity and variety of necessary resources were staggering.

The advantage of possessing a single Spirit Root was fully demonstrated at this juncture.

It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that the more Spirit Roots one possessed, the heavier the heavenly tribulation of Turbid Lightning would be.

A single Spirit Root would only draw down a single bolt.

However, to forge an Earth-Grade Golden Core, one had to absorb the core essence of five different elemental demons. This act defied the heavens and would drastically amplify the destructive might of the Turbid Lightning.

It was equivalent to a single Spirit Root bearing the heavenly wrath meant for dual Spirit Roots. Without absolute preparation, the probability of failure was immense, ultimately resulting in a mere Human-Grade Golden Core.

One only had to look at the former Little Genius, Feng Xiao.

Everyone had believed he would successfully condense an Earth-Grade Golden Core.

But what was the result?

He had failed!

Unable to withstand the crushing blow to his Dao heart, demonic qi had invaded his meridians, breeding a terrifying Inner Demon.

This proved that no matter how high one’s talent, how pure one’s aptitude, or how heaven-defying one’s comprehension, the risk of failure always loomed. One had to tread with the utmost caution.

Old Mo had already gathered the core essence of the five elemental demons.

Therefore, Jiang Chen focused his attention on the necessary Spirit Weapons, Spirit Talismans, and Spirit Pills.

Currently, there were five mainstream Spirit Weapons considered optimal for a Water Spirit Root undergoing Tribulation.

They were the Profound Water Spirit Shield, the Green Duckweed Water Sleeves, the Gilt Heart-Protecting Mirror, the Spirit Rhinoceros Jade Pendant, and the Lightning Pattern Lightning-Avoiding Pearl.

These treasures had been verified through countless life-and-death trials by predecessors, making them absolutely reliable.

However, precisely because they were the standard for crossing Tribulation, their prices were astronomical.

Normally, an ordinary Spirit Weapon cost a few hundred Spirit Stones, scaling with quality. But these specific items, regardless of their grade, all started at over a thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

As for Spirit Talismans, while the price of a single slip might not be high, the cost of a complete array set was outrageously expensive.

For example, the Water Spirit Root Tribulation-Crossing Talisman Set promoted by the Rain Pavilion consisted of the Water Curtain Defense Talisman, the Pure Purification Talisman, the Body-Fixing Lightning-Control Talisman, the Meridian-Protecting Yuan-Solidifying Talisman, and the Spirit-Gathering Qi-Drawing Talisman.

In total, the set contained over fifty talismans.

Whether a cultivator could use them all during the tribulation or not, the pavilion only sold them in bulk.

Six hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones for a set. Take it or leave it.

As for Spirit Pills, the types and quantities required were even greater. Any pill related to crossing Tribulation or resisting heavenly lightning started at a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Did you want to cross the Tribulation?

Did you want to form a Golden Core?

Then pay the price!

A weary sigh escaped Jiang Chen’s lips. “No wonder so many cultivators bankrupt themselves just to face their Tribulation. If even Immortal Sect disciples struggle like this, one can only imagine the despair of Loose Cultivators.”

Of course, if one was willing to compromise and settle for lesser protections, the options for Spirit Weapons, Spirit Talismans, and Spirit Pills broadened, and the prices dropped significantly.

However, their life-saving effects would naturally pale in comparison to the mainstream choices.

When it came to Old Jin, Old Mo, and the others around him, Jiang Chen’s philosophy was very simple.

He would provide whatever assistance was within his power, but whether they ultimately succeeded or perished under the heavenly lightning depended entirely on their own fate and resolve.

In the end, aside from Jiang Chen himself, the limits of everyone else’s path had been sealed from the moment they were born.

Some would never live past the Foundation Establishment realm.

Some would exhaust their potential at the Golden Core realm.

Others would simply vanish halfway along the brutal path of cultivation.

Jin Fugui, Mo Yu, Chen Bo, Chen Tian, Senior Sister Yu, Little Linglong, and the rest-they were all merely transient flowers blooming along Jiang Chen’s lonely road toward eternity. Sooner or later, they would wither and fade from his sight.

The only thing he could do was nourish their roots, allowing them to exist just a little longer, so they could accompany him for a short while more.

But in the end, a seeker of the Dao always walked alone.

…

…

A few days later, Jiang Chen invited Old Jin and Old Mo over to Red Leaf Valley.

He specially prepared a lavish feast, covering the table with spiritual delicacies.

Five Elements Spirit Vegetable Soup.

Yin Yang Broth.

Braised Chicken with Spirit Mushrooms.

Steamed Fish with Spirit Spring Water.

Red-Braised Pork with Distillers’ Grains.

And so on-over ten exquisite dishes in total.

The rice served was, as always, Top-quality Spirit Rice. That standard had never changed.

He also brought out two types of wine: Spirit Wine and Golden Wine.

Jin Fugui excitedly rubbed his hands together. “Old Jiang, I’ve been craving a meal like this for ages.”

Mo Yu nodded lightly, a faint smile on his face. “It’s true. The three of us haven’t gathered like this in a long time.”

Jiang Chen gestured for the two to sit, then poured each of them a cup of Spirit Wine. “I was thinking the same thing. Since I finally had some free time, I decided to call you both over.”

“Recently, my business at Beast Mountain has been booming. I even bought more land!” Jin Fugui boasted.

“I’m still the same,” Mo Yu chuckled. “Just finding a quiet spot to fish.”

“Speaking of which, you two are considered core disciples now. Haven’t you been assigned to an Immortal Peak?”

“Don’t even mention it,” Mo Yu sighed. “Our Master is truly a peculiar eccentric among peculiar eccentrics…”

“Hahaha!”

The three of them ate, drank, and exchanged stories.

After several rounds of wine and half the dishes were cleared, the atmosphere mellowed.

Jiang Chen shot Jin Fugui a meaningful glance before turning to Old Mo. “Judging by your recent demeanor, has something happened?”

Jin Fugui quickly followed up, “Yeah, Old Mo. You’ve seemed weighed down lately, like there’s a dark cloud over your head.”

Seeing his two friends so concerned, Mo Yu finally let out a heavy breath and spoke the truth. “My father has passed away.”

Jiang Chen and Jin Fugui exchanged a surprised look. “Now that you mention it,” Jiang Chen said softly, “we don’t actually know much about your mortal background or origins.”

Mo Yu downed the wine in his cup and offered a wry, self-deprecating smile. “I was born in Fengrao County of the Moon Empire. My courtesy name is Jingxing.

“My great-grandfather was an imperial scholar, serving as a Compiler in the Wenhua Hall.

“My grandfather established an academy and taught countless students who went on to pass the provincial examinations.

“My father served as an education official in Fengrao County. Although he never formally entered the imperial court, he held considerable prestige in the local literary circles.”

Because of this esteemed lineage, his family had placed crushing expectations upon his shoulders since childhood.

At four and a half, he began his scholarly enlightenment. He memorized characters as easily as a granary stored wheat, and recited ancient texts as naturally as breathing.

By age six, he could flawlessly transcribe the Thousand Character Classic from memory.

At seven, he was sent to his grandfather’s Jingxing Academy.

At fourteen, he took the county-level Child Examination.

At twenty, he took the Provincial Examination.

And then… he failed.

Jin Fugui was astonished. “Wait, so you only started cultivating after you turned twenty, Old Mo?”

Mo Yu nodded slightly, his gaze distant. “After I failed, my father ordered me to retake it. He demanded that I work even harder, that I pour my very soul into the texts.

“But the endless, suffocating routine-waking at the Mao hour to recite texts, reading aloud at the Chen hour, practicing calligraphy at the Wei hour, attending lectures at the Shen hour, and reviewing until the You hour… I was truly sick of it.”

Jiang Chen blinked. “You didn’t just run away, did you?”

Mo Yu chuckled bitterly. “That’s exactly what I did. After a massive argument with my father, I sneaked away in the dead of night. I drifted through the mortal world for a while before eventually stumbling into the Cloud Sea Sect, where I was taken in as a Water Spirit Root cultivator.”

Jin Fugui asked curiously, “How many years has it been since you last went back?”

Mo Yu took a deep breath. “I had just turned twenty-one that year. Now, I’ve just turned thirty-nine.”

Jiang Chen and Jin Fugui’s eyes widened.

That meant Old Mo had been gone from his mortal home for a full eighteen years.

For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the table. None of them spoke.

The complex weight of mortal ties and the passage of time was a sentiment they could all deeply empathize with.

After a long while, Mo Yu finally broke the silence, his voice slightly choked. “Do you think I should go back and take a look?”

Jin Fugui opened his mouth, struggling for words. “This… well… ah, I don’t know what to say. Old Jiang, you tell him.”

Jiang Chen smiled lightly. “Go back if your heart tells you to. If you want, us brothers can even accompany you.”

After all, both the Cloud Sea Sect and the Moon Empire were located within the Eastern Domain.

Although he didn’t know the exact coordinates of Fengrao County, it couldn’t be too far.

For a cultivator soaring on a flying artifact, the journey would be swift.

It might only take a single day for a round trip.

Mo Yu shook his head. “This is my own karmic tie; I should resolve it myself.

“I’ll go back and pay my respects before attempting to form my Golden Core. After that…”

Although he didn’t finish the sentence, both of them understood the unspoken weight behind his words.

After that, immortals and mortals would be forever separated by an unbridgeable chasm.

This was a painful severing of karma that many cultivators had to endure.

The lifespan of a mortal was simply too fleeting-a few decades at worst, perhaps a century at best.

But if Mo Yu successfully broke through to the Earth-Grade Golden Core realm, he would live for at least five hundred years.

Familial affection and mortal blood ties would inevitably be ground to dust beneath the relentless wheel of time.

The three of them continued to drink and converse deep into the night.

Once they were thoroughly tipsy, Jiang Chen arranged for his two friends to rest in the guest rooms.

It was already the dead of night. The entirety of Red Leaf Valley was steeped in silence, save for the faint, rhythmic chirping of spirit insects.

After confirming that one of his guests was meditating to refine the wine’s spiritual energy and the other was sound asleep, Jiang Chen’s figure flickered, vanishing into his Portable Space.

Sure enough, the moment he entered, his gaze was drawn to the small teleportation array. Above the earthen platform, a semi-transparent, earthy-yellow screen of spiritual light had manifested, rippling with spatial resonance.

Within the shimmering array light, blurry silhouettes could vaguely be seen.

If his deductions were correct, the Golden Miner had successfully located Azure Rock Peak and had already embedded the Earth Origin Crystals and Spirit Stones into the corresponding formation nodes.

Now, he merely needed to step through the spatial distortion to confirm the connection. The ancient formation craft was remarkably seamless.

Suddenly, Little Linglong stealthily poked her head out from nearby, her large eyes brimming with curiosity. “Daddy, what is that glowing thing?”

Without turning his head, Jiang Chen replied calmly, “An exit.”

Little Linglong tilted her head, half-understanding. “An exit?”

Jiang Chen pointed toward the thrumming talismanic patterns of the teleportation array. “Through that formation, you can leave this realm.”

Little Linglong’s eyes lit up with sudden comprehension, and she asked excitedly, “Then can I go see Mommy?”

Jiang Chen offered an awkward smile. “Well… the outside world is vast. You won’t be able to see your mother for quite a while.”

Little Linglong didn’t seem disheartened; instead, she bounced on her toes, eager to try. “Then when can I go out?”

She had always harbored a deep curiosity and yearning for the world beyond this spatial realm.

But her Daddy had never allowed it, always warning her that the outside world was fraught with peril.

He had even told her tales of terrifying demons that specifically hunted and ate little children.

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment before answering, “When you’re a bit older.”

In truth, looking at her eager face, his thoughts drifted back to Old Mo.

If he kept her completely restricted, it might only breed resentment and rebellion in Linglong’s heart.

Suppressing a child’s nature for too long would inevitably backfire, much like Old Mo fleeing his father’s suffocating scholarly demands.

Sooner or later, she would grow up, leave this sanctuary, and perhaps even leave his side entirely.

It might be wiser to let her start with Azure Rock Peak, allowing her to explore and understand the outside world step by step under his watchful eye.

Little Linglong grinned brightly. “Okay!”

Jiang Chen waved his hand, urging her away. “It’s late, go rest. I need to inspect this spatial exit to ensure no monsters break through the array and eat you.”

Hearing the word ‘monster’, Little Linglong stiffened like a startled fawn. She immediately slapped both hands over her mouth, spun around, and trotted away as fast as her little legs could carry her.

She darted into the Water Spirit Palace, slamming the door shut behind her. She burrowed deep into her thick bedding, leaving only her wide eyes exposed to stare fixedly at the door, terrified that a demon might burst in to devour her.

Watching her flee, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh softly. “The day you actually encounter a monster, I suspect they’ll be the ones running for their lives!”