The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 491: Call Me Mom?

Jiang Chen walked inside and finally laid eyes upon the Medicine Immortal, Su Qingyao.

She and her daughter, Su Tiantian, were practically carved from the same mold.

Both possessed elegant oval faces, though at her age, the lingering softness of youth had faded. Her jawline was sharply defined, carrying the refined grace befitting a mature female cultivator.

Her forehead was full and smooth, with dark bangs resting just above her eyes, slightly veiling the arch of her brows.

Her skin was porcelain-white, as delicate and flawless as congealed jade.

Both had striking phoenix eyes, though the outer corners of Su Qingyao’s swept upward with a sharper, more alluring angle than her daughter’s.

Her gaze was clear and profoundly soft.

A pair of willow-leaf eyebrows tapered gracefully at the ends.

Her lips were full and perfectly shaped, the lines as clear as a painted portrait, tinted with a rich, rosy hue.

Her earlobes were round and full, carrying the same blessed appearance as her daughter’s, adorned with a pair of jadeite orchid-leaf earrings.

Because she remained seated, her exact height was difficult to discern.

Yet her figure was neither frail nor overly lush-it possessed a perfect, natural harmony.

She wore a green, cross-collared long robe.

Beneath it flowed a white silk skirt.

A pale cyan, semi-transparent silk shawl was draped elegantly over her shoulders.

Her long hair was gathered into a low bun, secured by an orchid hairpin, with two dew-gathering flowers tucked delicately at her temples.

This woman was nearly two hundred years old, yet she appeared no older than her thirties.

Taking in her appearance, Jiang Chen thought to himself, She has maintained her youth flawlessly.

Su Qingyao was likewise sizing up the man before her. He was indeed remarkably ordinary-looking. She smiled and asked, “So you are the sixth disciple Peak Master mu Ji recently accepted?”

Jiang Chen quickly cupped his hands and bowed deeply. “Disciple Jiang Chen pays his respects to Elder Su!”

Su Qingyao waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned with such formalities. She began to ask questions in the casual tone of everyday conversation.

“How old are you this year?”

“Thirty.”

“What is your cultivation realm?”

“Late Foundation Establishment.”

“Do you have a Dao companion?”

“Not at present.”

“Then what do you think of my daughter?”

Jiang Chen froze. “Elder… what do you mean?”

Su Qingyao spoke slowly, her tone measured. “You have a clean background and a hardworking nature. Rather than handing Tiantian over to a stranger, it would be better to strengthen the ties within our own Green Wood Peak.”

Jiang Chen asked incredulously, “You want me to marry into your family?”

Su Qingyao gave a light nod. “Indeed.”

Before arriving, Jiang Chen had entertained many possibilities, but he had never expected this. For a moment, he was entirely speechless.

If he were truly as he appeared on the surface.

Ordinary-looking, possessing nothing but a diligent nature.

And perhaps a slight talent for planting and nurturing spirit herbs.

Then marrying into the Su family would not be a terrible fate. After all, it meant gaining an Elder as a backer.

But the reality was that he was like an iceberg drifting upon the sea. Others could only see the tip breaking the surface; the unfathomable depths hidden beneath the water were beyond anyone’s estimation.

Seeing his silence, Su Qingyao assumed she had frightened him and chuckled lightly. “I know this must be hard to believe, but feelings can be nurtured over time.

Besides, you have seen my daughter. She is beautiful and possesses a good temperament.

Although her talent and comprehension in cultivation are somewhat lacking, she is more than a match for you.”

Jiang Chen was neither scared witless nor swept away by this sudden “surprise.”

If he was not mistaken, Su Tiantian seemed to harbor feelings for Second Senior Brother Zhou Yan.

Whether the two had formally established a relationship was still unclear.

But regardless, he absolutely could not agree to marry into her family.

Doing so would likely draw Second Senior Brother’s ire, potentially sparking an even greater conflict.

Therefore, after weighing the matter, Jiang Chen offered a dry laugh and tactfully refused. “Elder Su, this disciple currently has no thoughts of taking a wife or having children.”

Su Qingyao looked slightly surprised. “Oh?”

In the mortal world, let alone thirty, many youths were already married with children by sixteen or seventeen.

She had assumed the man before her was simply intimidated, but unexpectedly, he was quite rational.

Had it been any other disciple, they likely would have agreed immediately, perhaps even kneeling on the spot to call her “Mother.”

No wonder this ordinary-looking man had caught the eye of Peak Master mu Ji and become his sixth disciple.

Jiang Chen cupped his hands again. “Elder Su, if there is nothing else, this disciple will take his leave. There are still many matters awaiting my attention in the Spirit Farm.”

Su Qingyao spoke thoughtfully, “Since that is the case, I will not force you. However, there is indeed another small matter I require your assistance with.”

Jiang Chen’s heart sank, but he maintained a genial smile. “Please, Elder, just give the order!”

Su Qingyao raised her right hand, and a seed materialized in her palm. “Your talent in planting and nurturing spirit herbs should be quite decent. Try to keep this alive for me.”

The seed was a deep purple, with mysterious talismanic patterns faintly visible upon its surface.

Truthfully, just a glance was enough to tell it was no ordinary item.

It was clearly the seed of an exceedingly rare spirit plant.

Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment before he couldn’t help but ask, “What spirit plant does this seed belong to?”

Su Qingyao replied, “This is the seed of the Living Spirit Grass. It can stimulate surrounding spirit plants, thereby enhancing their natural attributes and medicinal efficacy.”

Jiang Chen searched his memories but found nothing. With his current breadth of knowledge, he had actually never heard of such a thing.

Either it was truly a rare spirit plant he had never encountered before.

Or it was a name she had entirely fabricated.

Su Qingyao’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Do not worry. I will provide you with a monthly sum of Spirit Stones as compensation until it fully takes root, and perhaps even until it matures.”

Jiang Chen knew he could refuse the marriage proposal, but he absolutely could not refuse this seed. To do so would be a blatant rejection of her goodwill.

No matter what hidden intentions she harbored, she had shown no malice thus far. In fact, her attitude toward him had been exceptionally accommodating.

Thus, he could only accept it, offering a solemn promise. “This disciple will do his utmost to nurture it.”

Su Qingyao waved her hand. “Very well. You may return.”

Holding the seed, Jiang Chen cupped his hands in a final bow before turning to leave.

When he stepped outside, the Orchid Fairy, mu Beiyun, and Su Tiantian were all waiting.

However, the gazes the three women directed at him were somewhat peculiar.

The conversation inside had not been conducted via sound transmission, nor had any isolating formations been erected.

Therefore, the women sitting outside had heard every word with absolute clarity.

Although Su Tiantian’s cheeks bore a flush of embarrassment, her eyes betrayed clear dissatisfaction.

Clearly, she held no fondness for this remarkably ordinary man she was meeting for the first time.

She was deeply displeased by her mother’s presumptuous arrangement.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen had been sensible enough to refuse.

Otherwise, Su Tiantian would have undoubtedly caused a massive scene, as her heart already belonged to another.

mu Beiyun secretly smirked, seemingly thoroughly entertained by the spectacle.

Only the Orchid Fairy reacted differently. Upon learning that her sister wished to pull this man into their family, her gaze immediately sharpened, as if trying to pierce through him and see his very core.

Unable to endure the stifling atmosphere, Jiang Chen offered a hasty bow to the three women and hurried out the door.

Only when he was entirely clear of the Medicine Garden did he finally let out a long breath of relief.

Good grief, I almost thought I had stumbled into a spider demon’s lair.

Just because I look like an honest man doesn’t mean you can bully me!

Is Elder Su truly that mysterious person?

Jiang Chen cast a backward glance toward the Medicine Garden before focusing all his attention on the seed resting in his right palm.

No matter what this object truly was, he could analyze it using the system’s abilities.

[Living Body Grass Seed]

[Insufficient Spirit Qi]

[Slightly Damaged]

[Mild Toxicity]

[Root Symbiosis]

[Spirit Plant Perception]

Su Qingyao had called it the seed of the Living Spirit Grass, but the system analyzed it as Living Body Grass.

Although only a single word differed, their effects and innate abilities were undoubtedly worlds apart.

If she had not simply misspoken, there was only one possibility: she had deliberately given him the wrong name.

Jiang Chen snorted inwardly. Whatever. My true core resources are all hidden within my spatial realm anyway. I couldn’t care less about those seven mu of Spirit Farm outside.

Since he had agreed, he naturally had to plant it and tend to it properly.

Without further delay, he swiftly departed, leaving Green Wood Peak entirely.

Before long, he arrived at his own Red Leaf Valley.

Summer had arrived, and the seven mu of Spirit Farm had long since been sown.

Aside from one mu set aside as a vegetable patch.

Of the remaining six mu, the second, third, and fourth were entirely planted with Top Grade Spirit Rice.

The fifth mu was planted with Gold-Edge Blood-Staunching Ginseng, an essential ingredient for refining healing pills.

Once the Thousand Sect Dharma Assembly commenced, such herbs would undoubtedly be in high demand.

The sixth mu was planted with Mind-Awakening Flowers, one of the primary materials for Mind-Awakening Pills.

During fierce magical duels, cultivators needed absolute concentration, making such pills and medicinal materials indispensable.

As for the seventh mu, it was planted with Qi-Condensing Grass, primarily used to refine Qi-Condensing Pills for restoring Spirit Qi and Magic Power.

After all, bleeding and battling simultaneously would result in a massive drain on one’s Spirit Qi and Magic Power.

In such moments, the true value of these three medicinal herbs would become glaringly apparent.

Planting and nurturing them in advance was certainly wiser than scrambling for resources later.

As for the Living Body Grass Seed, Jiang Chen decided to place it in the seventh mu of the Spirit Farm.

He casually found an empty corner, dug into the rich black soil, and dropped the seed inside.

He then brought over clean Spirit Spring water to irrigate it, gathering a dense surge of Wood Spirit Qi to nourish and repair its vitality.

Once the two negative conditions of [Insufficient Spirit Qi] and [Slightly Damaged] faded from the seed, he stood up and walked away, leaving it to acclimate for the time being.

Woof! Woof!

As soon as Da Huang saw its master, it bounded over and crashed headlong into his arms.

Good grief, what terrifying strength.

The impact carried a force of at least a thousand jin.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen was a Golden Core cultivator. Had he been an ordinary mortal, that single collision would have resulted in the entire village gathering for his funeral feast.

Close behind, Wang Zai-whose frame had grown even larger than its father’s-followed suit. It bounded over with even greater speed, sweeping past like a gust of yellow wind before slamming into his embrace.

A heavy thump echoed as it directly shoved Da Huang aside.

Its impact was even more terrifying, easily reaching several thousand jin, carrying the oppressive heaviness of the Earth attribute.

Jiang Chen felt as though a small mountain had just rammed into him. Looking down at his torn robes, he scolded irritably, “Can’t you two take it easy?”

The two spirit dogs offered no reply, transforming into the ultimate sycophants as they frantically licked his face.

Faced with this, Jiang Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry.

Helpless, he could only vigorously rub their furry heads in retaliation.

After playing with them for a while, he headed toward the kitchen to prepare the day’s meal.

For Wood Spirit Root cultivators, aside from absorbing the ambient Wood Spirit Qi of heaven and earth and the qi gathered while tending the fields, consuming food rich in spiritual essence was also a form of cultivation.

Naturally, the higher the quality of the ingredients, the better the effect.

Over the years, although Jiang Chen remained at the early Golden Core stage, his constant consumption of various rare and mutated spirit plants had allowed his foundation to accumulate to a formidable degree.

While it was not yet enough to break through to the next realm, such steady, day-by-day accumulation was absolutely not to be underestimated!