The Eternal Farmer: I Trade My Harvest for Immortality Chapter 13

However, Jiang Chen kept the matter of the New Year market opening in mind. Even if he couldn't exchange for anything particularly good, he could still join in the fun. Moreover, this was within the [Cloud Sea Sect], so it wasn't dangerous at all.

When evening came, after eating a meal cooked with [Spirit Rice], Jiang Chen sat cross-legged on his bed.

Holding the jade slip storing the [Vine Bind] technique in his right hand, he continued to study diligently.

After about half an hour, the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

[Vine Bind (Level One 0%)] (Effect One: Weeds transform into green vines) (Effect Two: Single vine pulling force of 50 jin) (Effect Three: Temporarily restrains a target)

Over the past month, he had cultivated during the day and studied constantly at night. He had compressed his rest time almost to the limit. Finally, his efforts were not in vain; he had learned his first high-level spell.

He slightly circulated the spiritual energy within his body.

A faint, illusory character for [Wood] immediately appeared in the palm of his right hand. This was the spiritual seal for [Vine Bind]. It seemed impossible to erase, but it would automatically hide as soon as he dispersed his spiritual energy.

Jiang Chen decisively got off the bed and hurried outside, finding a random patch of open ground with lush weeds.

Merely by channeling his internal spiritual energy into this [Wood] character spiritual seal, the weeds beneath his feet immediately began to sway violently.

Soon, one weed after another transformed into vines and shot up.

The greater the number, the greater the consumption of spiritual energy. One strand of spiritual energy could support roughly ten vines. And a single vine had a pulling force of 50 jin. Ten vines meant 500 jin, and so on.

Therefore, the more vines, the greater the pulling force.

With Jiang Chen's current six strands of spiritual energy, he could support at least fifty vines, maintaining them for three minutes.

But Jiang Chen felt a slight tinge of disappointment.

Indeed, Wood Spiritual Roots were not suited for combat in the early stages. They were especially weak compared to Metal or Fire Spiritual Roots. Even though this was the only offensive spell for Wood Spiritual Root cultivators at the [Qi Condensation] stage within the [Cloud Sea Sect], it wasn't particularly impressive either.

Subsequently, Jiang Chen walked toward another area. The vines beside him followed closely, step by step.

He soon arrived before a poplar tree with a trunk thick enough for one person to embrace.

With a thought from Jiang Chen, the weeds at his feet immediately wrapped around it.

Instantly, one constriction mark after another appeared on the surface of the poplar's trunk.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen thought it was acceptable.

[Consume 2233 days of Lifespan to raise Vine Bind from Level One to Level Two?]

"As expected, high-level techniques consume more lifespan," Jiang Chen said, not surprised at all.

The top priority was still to improve his self-preservation ability. No matter how much it consumed, it was an investment in his own safety.

[Successfully consumed 2233 days of Lifespan to raise Vine Bind to Level Two] (Effect One: Evolves into Poison Thorn Grass) (Effect Three: Prolonged restraint of target) (Effect Four: Attached paralyzing toxin)

"It can actually evolve?!" Jiang Chen was quite astonished.

He looked down.

He found that all the previous vines had weakly retracted.

Immediately after, he injected another strand of spiritual energy into the Wood Spiritual Seal.

Instantly, the weeds rapidly evolved into black, thorny poisonous grasses.

When they wrapped around the poplar tree again, they were indeed different. The dense thorns covered it, immediately piercing numerous needle-sized holes. With just a slight tug, large pieces of bark were easily ripped off.

It became a shocking sight in mere moments.

Although he hadn't tested the "paralyzing toxin" yet, judging from the current situation, the power of [Vine Bind] at Level Two was clearly several times stronger than at Level One.

This also meant that Jiang Chen now possessed a certain degree of self-preservation capability.

Next, he turned his gaze back to the attribute panel.

[Spirit Wine Brewing (Novice 50%)] (Effect One: Increases spiritual energy absorption speed by 5% for one shichen)

Since [Vine Bind] could only be raised to Level Two for now, he might as well upgrade this as well.

[Consume 888 days of Lifespan to raise Spirit Wine from Novice to Skilled?]

Immediately, various experiences and techniques related to wine-making surged forth. In no time, Jiang Chen comprehended them all.

[Successfully consumed 888 days of Lifespan to raise Spirit Wine from Novice to Skilled] (Effect One: Increases spiritual energy absorption speed by 10% for one shichen) (Effect Two: Increases comprehension speed of low-level techniques by 5% while slightly intoxicated)

After all, [Spirit Wine] was one of the most common wines in the cultivation world. Having such effects was actually quite good already.

[Consume 1566 days of Lifespan to raise Spirit Wine from Skilled to Proficient?]

In an instant, increasingly rich experiences and techniques flooded forth.

[Successfully consumed 1566 days of Lifespan to raise Spirit Wine from Skilled to Proficient] (Effect One: Increases spiritual energy absorption speed by 15% for one shichen) (Effect Two: Spiritual energy consumption reduced by 10% when operating Wood-element techniques) (Effect Three: Increases comprehension speed of low-level techniques by 10% while slightly intoxicated) (Negative Effect One: Long-term consumption reduces reaction speed)

"A negative effect actually appeared," Jiang Chen said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

But just the increase in spiritual energy absorption speed alone made it worthwhile. Combined with the [Evergreen Art] (Level Five) 50% cultivation speed bonus, he felt he could soon break through to the late stage of [Qi Condensation].

In the following days, Jiang Chen did not slack off. He immersed himself in cultivation every day.

Finally, two months after becoming a formal disciple, the seventh strand of spiritual energy was born.

Thus, he was not far from reaching the late stage of [Qi Condensation].

This cultivation speed had already far surpassed Lin An and others, and even caught up with those old Spirit Farmers who had joined the [Core Farm] several years ago.

These people had abundant resources and were aided by at least a Level Two [Evergreen Art], with some even having raised it to Level Three. But compared to Jiang Chen, they still fell short. After all, his [Evergreen Art] had already been raised to Level Five, increasing cultivation speed by a full 50%.

"Strange, why are these spirit plants covered in yellowish-brown dots?" Jiang Chen arrived at the field ridge intending to cultivate but made an unexpected discovery instead.

He immediately used his perception, and his expression changed slightly.

It turned out these yellowish-brown dots were actually living insects. Almost all areas of this entire second-grade Spirit Farm had been occupied by them. The stalks and ears of the Spirit Rice were almost completely covered.

This was Jiang Chen's first time encountering such a situation. Previously, at the periphery of the Spirit Farm, nothing similar had happened for nearly a year.

After thinking it over carefully, he immediately headed toward the [Core Management Office] to seek advice from Elder Mu.

This time, when he arrived at the mountaintop palace, he found many fellow disciples coming and going.

"Elder Mu!" Jiang Chen saw him again.

"Jiang... Chen?" Elder Mu had some impression and vaguely remembered that this disciple could grow [Top-quality Spirit Rice].

Elder Mu said with a smile, "You're probably here because of those insects too."

Jiang Chen expressed surprise. "Yes. The Spirit Farm is full of yellowish-brown insects everywhere."

Elder Mu explained, "Those yellowish-brown insects are called [Winter Awakening Insects]. They only awaken during winter when temperatures drop to a certain low point and then crawl out from within the soil."

"Winter Awakening Insects?" Jiang Chen looked somewhat puzzled.

Elder Mu nodded slightly. "These insects only appear in second-grade and above Spirit Farms because they have been dormant deep within the black soil for a long time."

"There are only two methods." Elder Mu paused briefly before continuing. "The first method is to find disciples with Metal Spiritual Roots and have them come exterminate these insects. The second method is to find disciples with Water Spiritual Roots to cast the [Minor Rain Spell]."

"What if we ignore them?" Jiang Chen tentatively asked.

Elder Mu replied with slight gravity, "If ignored, your spirit plants probably won't be completely eaten clean. However, their yield will decrease by at least two-thirds. At that point, you won't be able to complete your quarterly tasks."

Jiang Chen said helplessly, "It seems I can only ask someone for help then."

"You can go over there and post a task request, then choose the specific reward offered. If someone accepts, solving these little bugs is very quick." Elder Mu pointed toward another side within the palace hall area designated for such purposes.

This time, because there were many people present, he could see numerous disciples who had specifically come here seeking part-time work.

Jiang Chen glanced around, feeling it resembled handling business matters back in his previous life somewhat.

Everyone lined up single file before individual service windows.

Having no choice, Jiang Chen picked the line with fewer people.

After about ten minutes, it finally became his turn.

"What would Fellow Daoist like to do?" the female disciple opposite asked smilingly.

Jiang Chen immediately said, "I want to post an extermination task targeting [Winter Awakening Insects]."

"What is the minimum amount?" Jiang Chen wasn't very familiar with this aspect.

"For first grade, minimum fifty jin."

Processing the insect extermination task proceeded quickly.

Not long after, the opposite side handed over a talisman paper while explaining, "If someone accepts the insect extermination task you posted, this talisman will light up. And the closer the other party gets, the faster the talisman flashes."

By now, his remaining stock of Spirit Rice was running quite low.