The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality

Chapter 497: Greetings, Fellow Daoist!

The days passed one after another, utterly tranquil and without a single ripple.

During the day, Jiang Chen ventured out to manage the various matters of the Spirit Farm.

At night, he and Ruo Qunshuang would study the tilt angle of their nanmu wood bed and the precise arrangement of the bed linens.

“Brother Chen, when will you let me meet that girl?”

“I still need to make a trip to the Mermaid Clan’s nest to bring her over. Wait just a little longer!”

“Mm-hmm… mm~”

…

…

Less than a month remained until the Thousand Sect Dharma Assembly officially commenced.

As for Jiang Chen, although his cultivation realm remained at the early Golden Core stage, he was not far from the mid-stage. He estimated it would take another two to four years to break through.

His total Lifespan had already reached: 22,923 years.

During this period, he had perfectly mastered the Yin Water Generating Yang Art.

It had to be said, this was indeed a profoundly powerful Earth-grade technique.

It possessed a tremendous effect on the mutual stimulation and enhancement of the Water Spirit Root and Fire Spirit Root.

Yin Water as the foundation, Yang Fire as the application.

Using Yin Water to temper Yang Fire, and using Yang Fire to refine Yin Water.

It shattered the mutual restraint of Water and Fire, achieving a harmonious cycle of mutual nourishment between the two elements.

However, for Jiang Chen, who possessed all Five Elements, it was impressive but ultimately insufficient on its own. It would eventually have to be integrated into the Five Elements Art to forge a brand new cultivation method.

As for his cultivation arts, he had barely managed to gather a complete set.

Metal: Golden Seal Heaven Governing Art

Wood: Water-Wood Rotation Script

Water:

Fire: Yin Water Generating Yang Art

Earth: Great Earth Heaven Bearing Art

On the surface, a Water-attribute technique appeared to be missing.

In reality, it was not missing; it had been deliberately omitted.

After all, the Nine Curves Tide Generating Art had to be paired with the Overturning Sea Seal to unleash its maximum might.

Fortunately, the other two Earth-grade techniques both carried the Water attribute, naturally compensating for this deficiency.

…Please select techniques for fusion…

Seeing no issues, Jiang Chen circulated the Nine Flames Mystic Art, directly igniting the black flame, and made his decision without hesitation.

He fused these five techniques: the Golden Seal Heaven Governing Art, the Water-Wood Rotation Script, the Yin Water Generating Yang Art, the Great Earth Heaven Bearing Art, and the Five Elements Art.

As the old memories gradually blurred, new comprehensions were born bit by bit.

It was like erecting a grand pavilion, constructing it step by step from the very foundation.

Moreover, perhaps because the profound truths were too vast, the process dragged on for a long time without concluding.

Ultimately, it took even longer than the fusion of the Five Elements Art before the new technique was fully realized.

Five Qi returning to the origin, worldly laws integrating into the body.

Return to Origin Art: Peak Mastery

Effect 1: Five Elements might increased by 80%. A single attribute can be temporarily elevated by an additional 30% through the cycle of mutual generation. For example, as Wood generates Fire, Fire gains an extra 30% might.

Effect 2: Five Elements Magic Power consumption reduced by 80%. Consumption for mutually generating attribute techniques is reduced by a further 10%. For example, as Earth generates Metal, Metal technique consumption is reduced to a mere 10% of the original.

Effect 3: Technique casting speed increased by 100%. Five Elements techniques can be cast instantly and linked seamlessly.

Effect 4: Perception range of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi expanded to one thousand li. Can precisely lock onto a single attribute’s Spirit Qi.

Effect 5: Physical body strength surpasses cultivators of the same realm by three times. Can withstand attacks from Top Grade Spirit Weapons. Under the nourishment of Five Elements Spirit Qi and Magic Power, automatically repairs 3% of physical damage per breath.

Effect 6: Absorbs five types of Spirit Qi simultaneously; efficiency is five times that of a single Spirit Root.

Effect 7: Damage against restrained attributes increased by 80%. Can tear through 50% of the target’s defenses. For example, as Metal overcomes Wood, it triggers full defense penetration against Wood Spirit Root cultivators.

Effect 8: During the Five Elements generation cycle, replenish 10% Magic Power per cycle. During a counter-restraint clash, for each time the enemy’s attribute is shattered, replenish an additional 5% Magic Power.

Special Effect 1: Condense Golden Seal runes to form a Geng Metal Imperial Decree, automatically manifesting 108 Judgment Metal Blades that lock onto Wood Spirit Root cultivators of the same realm, dealing 100% critical damage.

Special Effect 2: The Chaotic Primordial Divine Light can transform into Five Elements Escape Arts, lasting for the duration of one incense stick. Movement speed is eighty zhang per breath. Can penetrate all Five Elements attribute obstacles, such as metal, earth, stone, and wooden barriers.

Special Effect 3: When the physical body Perishes, the Golden Core and Nascent Soul will automatically escape into an Earth Vein to enter a dormant slumber. As long as the Earth Vein is not destroyed, they can absorb Five Elements Spirit Qi for restoration. Recovery time is reduced by 50%.

Special Effect 4: Purify all materials by 95%. The quality of personally refined Spirit Weapons and Magical Artifacts is elevated by one grade. The probability of an artifact spirit being born is increased by 40%. The initial wisdom of the artifact spirit is increased by 30%.

Special Effect 5: Reduces damage from Five Elements attribute attacks below the Golden Core stage by 80%. Reduces damage from Five Elements attribute attacks below the Nascent Soul stage by 50%. Resistance to Inner Demons and soul attacks is increased by 80%.

Special Effect 6: While maintaining Five Elements balance, automatically repair 5% physical damage and restore 8% Magic Power per breath. When imbalanced, balance can be quickly restored through generation transformation, estimated to be completed within three breaths.

Special Effect 7: Nine Profound Earth Rune Pillars can fuse into Five Elements Runes, forming a Five Elements Guardian Formation. Blocks all attacks below the Soul Formation stage, lasting for the duration of three incense sticks. Usable once per month.

Special Effect 8: Plant a spirit plant seed within the Five Elements Domain. Consume one’s own spiritual power to hasten its growth. The plant will automatically gain a Dao prefix.

Unique Effect: Can transform Spirit Roots into projected incarnations. The more incarnations separated from the body, the more one’s own realm drops. Overall physical quality and comprehensive attributes will also be weakened.

The incarnations will inherit the main body’s cultivation arts, techniques, and divine abilities. They can cultivate and grow independently.

Upon reintegration, the main body’s cultivation realm, strength, experience, and knowledge will increase significantly.

Should an incarnation Perish, it will take half a year before it can be manifested again.

Eight normal effects.

Eight special effects.

This was the first time Jiang Chen had encountered such a phenomenon, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. “Most of my Earth-grade techniques, even the Five Elements Art, have nine layers. Why does this one only have eight?”

It seemed there was a deeper Daoist reasoning behind it.

And clearly, this was absolutely not an Earth-grade technique.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, it was at least Heaven-grade; otherwise, it would never possess such heaven-defying effects.

It was equivalent to fusing all the advantages of the Five Elements Art and the other Earth-grade techniques, while elevating them to an entirely new profound level.

However, the most shocking and unexpected aspect was undoubtedly the Unique Effect.

Being able to transform his Spirit Roots into projected incarnations was essentially splitting his very being into five parts.

To a certain extent, it was equivalent to having five of himself.

With this thought, he circulated the Return to Origin Art without hesitation, triggering the Unique Effect.

In an instant, his mind stirred, and his Spirit Roots resonated in succession.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. Four of the five Spirit Roots could be separated from his body.

Since his primary foundation was the Wood Spirit Root, for the sake of elemental balance, he would naturally prioritize separating the Metal Spirit Root.

Water generates Wood.

Earth generates Metal.

Without Metal, although the perfect balance of the Five Elements would be broken, it would not cause any severe backlash.

As the Metal Spirit Root within his body trembled, the white light on its surface immediately dimmed, as if bound by a profound seal. It could no longer absorb or even sense Metal Spirit Qi. Then, it transformed into a phantom projection that materialized before Jiang Chen.

Sure enough, his physical vitality and cultivation realm had weakened to a certain extent, as if the projected incarnation had drawn away a portion of his very essence.

In truth, Jiang Chen had pondered this concept a long time ago.

What if the five Spirit Roots corresponded to the five ancient deities, or their mythic representatives?

The Fire Spirit Root was Zhu Rong.

The Water Spirit Root was Gong Gong.

The Metal Spirit Root was Jushou.

The Earth Spirit Root was Houtu.

The Wood Spirit Root was Jumang.

Having lived in this world for many years, he had gleaned some understanding of its ancient history.

The Azure Realm was actually similar to the myths of his previous life, though the course of its development differed.

In the Primordial Era, Heaven and Earth first opened.

Because the Earth Laws bore the foundation of all things, they were the first to nurture Earth-attribute deities. They controlled the Earth Veins and held the authority of reincarnation, gradually becoming the dominant force in the world.

The other deities awakened a step slower, and thus their divine authority was inferior to that of the Earth-attribute deities.

In the Ancient Era, because the worldly laws and heavenly rules were incomplete, the deities’ origins were gradually overdrawn. Eventually, they began to Perish, their bodies transforming into mountains, rivers, Earth Veins, and Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi.

To survive, the remaining deities used their own divine thoughts and life origins to create humans and demon beasts, borrowing the power of incense and faith to prolong their existence.

A portion of these humans Awakened to the methods of breathing and Qi Condensation, cultivating by absorbing Spirit Qi to become the first Qi Refiners.

The top-tier Qi Refiners Awakened divine abilities, calling themselves “Immortals,” and gradually broke free from the authority of the deities.

In the Distant Era, the Immortals allied with humans and demon beasts who were dissatisfied with the oppression of divine authority, defeating the residual deities who relied on incense and faith to survive.

When the residual deities Perished, their resentment fused with the broken laws to form “Heavenly Demons,” who used mortal desires to tempt and control humans and demon beasts, plunging the world into chaos.

To avert a world-ending crisis, the Immortals allied with the demon beasts, sealing a portion of the Heavenly Demons in the underground abyss. The remaining Heavenly Demons were expelled to the Dim Obscurity-a realm of chaotic laws, devoid of Spirit Qi, where they could not condense physical forms.

This war damaged the heavenly laws, worldly rules, Dao foundations, and mythic origins, causing a severe imbalance in the Spirit Qi cycle.

In the Near-Ancient Era, conflicts between humans and demon beasts grew over survival and territory. Coupled with various other calamities, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi that Qi Refiners relied upon became increasingly unstable. The Immortals were forced to simplify the ancient methods of breathing and Qi Condensation.

They established the path of Cultivation based on “Inner Core Storage and Spirit Root Filtration,” which gradually replaced the ancient Qi Refiners.

However, because of the deities’ fall, cultivators needed to harvest the core essence of demon beasts to perfect their own deficiencies when breaking through realms or undergoing Tribulation.

Conversely, demon beasts relied on devouring cultivators to increase their Dao cultivation. The conflict between the two sides intensified, leading to an era of endless slaughter.

By the present day, deities, Immortals, and Heavenly Demons existed only in legends. Their ancient inheritances were reduced to fragmented texts and broken scrolls.

Cultivators-no, now they could only be called practitioners of the Dao.

They relied on the incomplete laws and the Spirit Qi within the Earth Veins for Cultivation. Their demand for the core essence of demon beasts increased further. The demon beasts could only retreat to the Demon Realm, occasionally releasing various monsters to take revenge on humans, encroaching on sacred mountains and great marshes, and vying for heavenly caves and blessed lands.

Therefore, Jiang Chen named his Metal Spirit Root incarnation Jushou.

He would govern forging, artifact refining, and the thermal weapon sword dao.

The Fire Spirit Root was named Zhu Rong, governing medicine making and alchemy, and controlling the Fire Crows.

The Earth Spirit Root was named Houtu, governing formations and mining, tasked with gathering resources.

The Wood Spirit Root temporarily remained as the main body, governing farming and procreation, maintaining an honest and dutiful facade.

The reason there was no Water Spirit Root incarnation was that he currently presented himself as having Water and Wood Spirit Roots to the outside world, so it could not be separated for now.

As for their cultivation arts, they would all primarily cultivate the Return to Origin Art, with a secondary technique to be chosen later.

Soon, the Fire Spirit Root and Earth Spirit Root were projected out one after another.

At the same time, Jiang Chen’s overall strength shifted. His Heavenly-Grade Golden Core dropped to an Earth-Grade Golden Core.

The Chaos Dao Seed within his Qi Sea could still be utilized, but its circulation had become somewhat sluggish.

Seeing that they lacked human forms, Jiang Chen molded them one by one.

Each Spirit Root incarnation was given a distinct appearance, and he even made distinctions in gender.

The other incarnations, including the main body, were male, with the sole exception of the Earth Spirit Root, which was female.

By the time he finished, the three projections were already incredibly lifelike.

The four of them looked at each other, then smiled in unison. “Greetings, Fellow Daoist!”