The Wine Worm Gu was shaped like a silkworm larva, its entire body giving off a pearly white glow. It was somewhat plump and looked rather adorable.
It fed on alcohol and could fly through the air. When flying, it curled itself into a ball and moved quite swiftly.
Though it was a Rank 1 Gu worm, it was even more valuable than some Rank 2 Gu.
If used as a Destined Gu, it was far better than the Moonlight Gu.
At that moment, such a Wine Worm Gu was clinging to a green spear bamboo only fifty or sixty paces away from Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan held his breath. Rather than rashly approaching, he slowly retreated.
He knew that while the distance was close, directly catching the Wine Worm Gu was a task of a thousand difficulties and ten thousand hardships for a Gu Master who had only just awakened his aperture. Or rather, there was simply no hope of success.
Though Fang Yuan's eyesight could not yet make out the Wine Worm Gu's appearance, he could vaguely sense its wariness toward him.
Fang Yuan retreated slowly and gently, doing his utmost not to alarm the Wine Worm Gu.
He knew that if the Wine Worm Gu flew away, he could never catch up with it at his speed. Only after it had drunk itself into a stupor and slowed down would he have a chance to capture it.
Seeing Fang Yuan retreat farther and farther away, the Wine Worm Gu lying on the bamboo stalk could not help but stir restlessly.
The strong aroma of wine ahead tempted it, drew it in, and left it Soul Tether. If it had saliva, a whole puddle would likely have dripped down by now.
Yet the Wine Worm Gu remained highly vigilant. Only after Fang Yuan had retreated two hundred paces did it contract its body and leap into the air.
As it drifted through the air, it curled itself into a ball, like a little white glutinous rice dumpling.
The dumpling traced a smooth arc through the air and landed among the grass where Fang Yuan had sprinkled Green Bamboo Wine.
With delicacies right before his eyes, the Wine Worm Gu let down most of its guard. It eagerly crawled before a flower bud containing wine, burrowed its head inside, and left only its plump tail outside.
It was starving, and the Green Bamboo Wine was so delicious. It gulped it down greedily, quickly becoming immersed in the flavor of its meal and casting Fang Yuan to the back of its mind.
Only then did Fang Yuan begin to creep closer with the utmost caution.
He saw the Wine Worm Gu's tail outside the flower bud. It resembled a silkworm larva's tail—plump, round, and surrounded by a glow that called pearls to mind.
At first, its tail hung outside without moving.
Then, after a while, the tail began to twitch upward again and again. Evidently, the Wine Worm Gu was drinking with great delight.
By the time Fang Yuan had approached within ten paces, its tail was swaying from side to side, swinging in a cheerful rhythm.
It was completely drunk on the moment!
At the sight, Fang Yuan nearly laughed aloud.
He did not continue forward, instead waiting patiently. If he pounced now, he would have a considerable chance of catching the Wine Worm Gu. But Fang Yuan wanted it to lead him to Flower Wine Wanderer's remains.
Before long, the Wine Worm Gu backed out of the flower bud. Its body had grown a whole circle fatter, and its head swayed like a drunkard's. It had not noticed Fang Yuan's presence at all.
It then crawled onto another pale yellow wildflower, settled amid its stamens, and feasted on the wine dew.
After drinking this time, it finally felt full. Its body slowly curled into a ball atop the petals, then it gradually rose into the air. Only after ascending to about one and a half meters above the ground did it leisurely fly deeper into the bamboo forest.
Fang Yuan promptly broke into a run after it.
The Wine Worm Gu was already drunk, and its flying speed had fallen to half of normal. Even so, Fang Yuan had to run at full speed just to keep its figure in sight.
The night was as clean as freshly washed silk. The youth darted swiftly through the bamboo forest, chasing that speck of pearl-white snow not far ahead.
The moonlight was gentle, and the breeze drifted softly. The bamboo forest was like clear water pooled in emptiness. One green spear bamboo after another flashed before Fang Yuan's eyes, then fell behind the youth.
The ground was covered in lush green grass, dotted with clusters of wildflowers.
There were also small moss-covered stones and immature pale yellow bamboo shoots.
Fang Yuan's faint shadow likewise raced across the ground, crossing one straight black line after another cast by the green spear bamboo.
He fixed his eyes on that speck of snowy light. Amid the hidden fragrance of wine, he drew great breaths of the mountain forest's fresh air and drove his legs onward after it.
Because he was moving so swiftly, with moonlight like water beneath his eyes and light and shadow flickering ceaselessly, it felt as though he were galloping through waters thick with aquatic grass.
The Wine Worm Gu flew out of the bamboo forest, and Fang Yuan rushed out as well. A vast swath of gleaming white flowers with faint yellow hearts scattered petals one after another around his legs using the force of the wind.
A group of Dragon Pill Crickets, like a flowing poem, happened to stream across the path ahead. Fang Yuan charged straight through them, and with a sudden rustle, red clouds blossomed before his eyes, scattering crimson stars like drifting fireflies.
A mountain stream flowed quietly over a bed of pebbles. Its murmuring surface reflected the Spring Moon in the night sky. With smack, smack, Fang Yuan waded through it, shattering it into countless silver ripples.
What a pity—the wind and moon of a stream, its jade-like beauty trampled to pieces.
Fang Yuan pursued without letting up, staying close behind the Wine Worm Gu.
Following the mountain stream upstream, he could already faintly hear the sound of a waterfall. After turning past a sparse patch of woods, he saw the Wine Worm Gu fly into a narrow crevice in a massive boulder.
Fang Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and only then did he stop.
"So it was here." He panted heavily, his heart thudding wildly. The moment he stopped, he felt his whole body drenched in sweat, heat surging through him with the accelerated flow of blood.
Looking around, he found himself on a shallow riverbank.
Pebbles of every size covered the ground, while the water stood only a finger's breadth above them. Chunks of grayish-white boulders were scattered about at random.
On the back mountain of Qing Mao Mountain stood a great waterfall.
The waterfall's flow changed with the weather. It plunged down from a great height, carving out a deep pool. Beside that deep pool lay Bai family village, whose power was formidable and no weaker than Gu Yue village.
The waterfall also had branches, and what Fang Yuan faced was clearly a branch of a branch.
This riverbank was normally dry. But a recent heavy rain lasting three days and three nights had caused a shallow current to gather here.
The source of that current was the massive boulder into which the Wine Worm Gu had crawled.
The boulder leaned against a sheer mountain wall. A slender miniature waterfall flowed here from a branch of the great waterfall, dropping down along the mountain wall like a silver python. Over countless days and years, it had eroded a crack through the boulder's center.
At that moment, the waterfall poured down with a faint roar. Like a white curtain, it completely concealed the boulder's crevice.
By the time he had finished observing the place, Fang Yuan's breathing was no longer so ragged. A hint of determination flashed in his eyes. He walked to the boulder, took a deep breath, lowered his head, and charged inside.
The boulder's crevice was quite wide. Even two adults walking side by side could pass through without issue, let alone Fang Yuan, whose body belonged only to a fifteen-year-old youth.
The moment he rushed in, the rapid current pressed Fang Yuan's body downward, while the freezing water instantly soaked his whole body through.
Fang Yuan endured the water pressure and strode forward quickly. After several dozen steps, the pressure gradually weakened.
But the gap also grew narrower, forcing Fang Yuan to walk sideways.
The roar of water filled his ears. Above his head was a sheet of bright white, while deeper within the boulder lay a mass of darkness.
What was hidden in that darkness?
Perhaps a clammy venomous snake, perhaps a highly poisonous gecko, perhaps the trap mechanisms of the demonic Flower Wine Wanderer—or perhaps nothing at all.
Fang Yuan turned sideways and slowly squeezed into the darkness.
The water above him had vanished. Moss covered the stone walls, brushing against Fang Yuan's skin with an extremely slick and clammy touch.
Fang Yuan was completely swallowed by darkness, and the stone crevice narrowed further and further until even his head could no longer turn freely.
Fang Yuan gritted his teeth and continued onward.
After walking more than twenty steps, he discovered what seemed to be a patch of red light in the darkness.
At first, he thought it was an illusion. But after blinking and looking again, he finally confirmed that it truly was light!
The discovery gave his spirits a jolt.
After another fifty or sixty steps, the red light grew brighter and brighter, gradually expanding across Fang Yuan's retina into a long, thin vertical slit.
His outstretched left arm suddenly felt the stone wall ahead give way, and it bent downward.
Fang Yuan was instantly overjoyed, knowing that there truly was space within this boulder. He hurried forward several steps and finally squeezed through that slit of light.
Before his eyes, the view suddenly opened up. A space of roughly eighty square meters was showcased before Fang Yuan.
"I've walked so far that I passed beyond the boulder long ago. I should be inside the mountain wall now." As he moved his hands and feet, stretching his limbs, he sized up this hidden space.
The entire space was filled with dim red light, though he had no idea where its source lay.
The stone walls around him were damp and covered in moss, yet the air here was dry.
Strands of withered vines clung to the stone walls. Tangled and intertwined, they had woven over more than half of the walls on all sides. Some faded, shriveled flower stalks and roots still grew upon them.
Fang Yuan looked at these withered flowers and fallen leaves, finding them somewhat familiar.
"They're Wine Pouch Flower Gu and Rice Bag Grass Gu." Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he recognized the dead flower stalks and vines.
Gu came in many forms. Some resembled minerals, like the blue crystal-like Moonlight Gu. Some were insect-like, such as the silkworm larva-like Wine Worm Gu. There were also flower and grass forms, such as the Wine Pouch Flower Gu and Rice Bag Grass Gu Before Fang Yuan.
Both of these Gu were natural Rank 1 Gu. So long as one infused them with primeval essence, they could grow. Once mature, the flower hearts would secrete honey wine, while the grass pouches would grow fragrant rice.
Following the vines' roots with his gaze, Fang Yuan indeed discovered a mass of withered roots huddled together and bulging in the corner.
The Wine Worm Gu rested atop that cluster of dead roots, sleeping soundly. It was already within easy reach.
Fang Yuan walked over, first tucking the Wine Worm Gu into his clothes. Then he crouched down and pushed aside the dead roots and withered vines, revealing a white skeleton wrapped within.
"I've finally found you, Flower Wine Wanderer." A faint smile curled across his lips.
Just as he was about to reach out and strip away all the withered vines—
"Try moving." A voice brimming with killing intent suddenly rang out behind Fang Yuan.
Before you continue