Chapter 29: Harrower's Descent
The wind over Green Mist Village carried a strange weight that evening. The villagers moved through their routines, but an unspoken tension hummed beneath the air, like a plucked string ready to snap. Even the Seedbuds stood more alert than usual, their golden eyes flickering open for longer than necessary, scanning the horizon.
Granny Xue sat by her doorway, rubbing her knees as she stared at the distant mountains. She frowned, her wrinkled hands tightening around her cane.
"The soil feels… different tonight," she murmured. "As if it's afraid."
Budder, standing quietly by the well, tilted his head, his wooden body creaking softly. His carved face betrayed no emotion, but the energy pulsing from him was restless. He could feel it too—Li Yuan's aura, faint but warped, stretching thin across the distance. It was no longer the purely calm, nurturing essence of the farmer. Something sharper, colder, pulsed within it.
The System within Budder hummed briefly, an echo of Li Yuan's own.
[Alert: Host Aura Fluctuation Detected – Balance Instability Rising]
Budder closed his golden eyes, lowering his head. The other Seedbuds shifted uneasily, their roots twitching slightly in the soil.
Far away, Li Yuan stood at the edge of a ruined valley, the Bloom of Forgotten Dawn glowing faintly in his hand. His breathing was calm, but his thoughts churned like a storm. Every relic collected brought him closer to the final stage of cultivation, closer to restoring the land… yet also closer to losing himself.
The Tear of Withered Roots at his side pulsed irregularly, responding to his conflicted soul. Xiao Tianmie's voice whispered, as it always did, soft but pressing against his mind.
"You feel it too, don't you? Something's coming for us. And you know you won't win unless you stop fighting me."
Li Yuan's golden eyes narrowed, scanning the valley.
"If something is coming, then I'll face it as I am."
"As you are now, you're weak," Xiao Tianmie scoffed. "You keep denying what you are, and it's going to get us both killed. Maybe that's fine for you, but I refuse to die chained to your delusion."
Li Yuan ignored him, crouching down to press his hand to the soil. He closed his eyes, focusing on the pulse of life beneath the ground. The land here was weak but not dead. It could still be healed.
And then the sky broke.
A roar—deeper and more powerful than anything he had heard before—rumbled across the valley. The air trembled, heavy with a crushing spiritual pressure that bent the trees and cracked the ground. Dark clouds spiraled above, blotting out the faint light, and the soil itself began to decay beneath his feet.
The System blared in his vision.
[Hostile Entity Detected]
[Classification: Harrower – World Level Threat]
[Recommendation: Immediate Retreat or Full Power Engagement]
The ground ahead split apart violently, a massive claw tearing through the soil. Emerging from the chasm came a monstrosity of living darkness, its body formed of writhing shadows and bone-like spines, its head crowned with twisted antler-like horns. Its eyes burned with pure hatred, glowing like dying stars.
The Harrower.
Its voice was not a roar but a rasping whisper that crawled into his mind.
"You… smell of what should not exist. The god who pretends to be a farmer."
Li Yuan stood, Hoe in hand, his gaze steady.
"I'm neither god nor farmer. I'm just someone who keeps the soil alive."
The Harrower's form trembled, almost as if amused, before its killing intent flooded outward like a tidal wave. Trees withered instantly, the ground beneath them blackening to ash.
Xiao Tianmie's voice cut sharply into Li Yuan's mind, no longer mocking but commanding.
"Don't be a fool. This thing will crush you in seconds if you hold back. Stop pretending you can talk to it. We fight now—or we die."
Li Yuan's grip tightened, his golden eyes locking on the creature as it lunged, its massive claws cutting through the air. He leapt aside, roots spiraling from the ground to block the blow, but the Harrower tore through them effortlessly, closing the distance in an instant.
The clash shook the valley. Li Yuan swung his Hoe, golden roots striking like whips, but every blow barely slowed the Harrower. Its claws scraped against his weapon, sending sparks and blackened soil flying.
The Tear pulsed at his side, the Bloom glowed in his pocket, and Xiao Tianmie's voice roared in his mind.
"You're not enough like this! Stop fighting me—merge with me!"
Li Yuan's teeth clenched as he dodged another blow, his movements growing slower under the immense pressure. His golden roots shattered as fast as he could summon them. Blood dripped from his lip, his breathing heavier now.
The Harrower's massive claw slammed into the ground where he had just stood, sending a shockwave through the valley. Its hollow eyes glared at him, its voice like breaking stone.
"You… are not whole. You are a mistake."
Xiao Tianmie's tone grew sharper, insistent, almost furious.
"Listen to me, farmer! We merge now, or everything dies. You, the village, the seeds—you'll lose everything you planted!"
Li Yuan staggered slightly, his golden eyes flashing faintly crimson for the briefest moment as the Harrower roared again, charging.
End of Chapter 29