All in the Bag

"Try moving an inch."

"You've already been poisoned by my unique poison Gu. Without my corresponding antidote Gu, you'll turn into pus and blood and die in seven days."

"Compared to Lord Flower Wine, a junior like me is nothing! I was out of my mind to have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai and offend Lord Flower Wine. Lord Flower Wine, please spare my life, considering how wholeheartedly my clan hosted you before!"

On the wall, the image began to replay for the second time.

Fang Yuan remained silent. It wasn't until the image started to repeat for the third time that he finally sighed softly and said, "So that's how it is."

This method of leaving images and sounds on the stone wall should be the Sound and Image Gu laid by the Flower Wine Wanderer. This Gu could engrave images and project them.

The Sound and Image Gu lived by absorbing light and sound. For some reason, this secret cave in the mountain wall always emitted red light, and at the same time, the cracks connected to the outside world, so they didn't block out the sounds from outside. Fang Yuan could hear the roar of the small waterfall here.

Therefore, the Sound and Image Gu survived in this secret cave in the mountain wall.

It was likely that Fang Yuan's action of pushing aside the withered vines had disturbed the Sound and Image Gu hidden in the stone wall.

As long as one wasn't stupid, a little deduction would tell them that this segment of the image was real.

Back then, the fourth generation clan leader's attempt to ambush the Flower Wine Wanderer failed. After being defeated, he launched a sneak attack. Although he repelled the latter, he also died in the process. This history was not glorious, so the few surviving clan elders covered up and altered the truth.

They swapped the roles of the fourth generation clan leader and the Flower Wine Wanderer.

The Flower Wine Wanderer became the demon who attacked after being defeated and was killed on the spot. The fourth generation clan leader became a hero of integrity.

But this story had a major flaw.

That was, since the Flower Wine Wanderer was clearly killed on the spot, and his remains should have been under the control of the Gu Yue Clan, why was another skeleton discovered?

In his previous life, the Gu Master who discovered this place must have felt fear after seeing this image.

Those surviving clan elders were long dead, but to prevent the Flower Wine Wanderer from returning, this truth should have been secretly passed down among the high-ranking members of the clan.

The Gu Master realized that if he were to hoard the inheritance alone, he would face immense risk. If it were discovered later that he had something to do with the Flower Wine Wanderer, the clan's high-ranking members would naturally purge him.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, he dared not conceal this inheritance and decided to report it to the higher-ups.

Such behavior further proved his loyalty to the clan. His subsequent fate also showed that he had made a wise choice.

However, his actions did not mean Fang Yuan would do the same.

"An inheritance discovered with such difficulty should be hoarded alone. Why should it be shared with others? So what if it's discovered? Without taking risks, how can one gain rewards? That Gu Master was truly timid." Fang Yuan sneered coldly, no longer paying attention to the image repeating on the stone wall. Instead, he turned around, reached out, and forcefully pulled apart the withered vines and dead roots.

The remains of the Flower Wine Wanderer were also affected. What was originally intact was now broken into several pieces.

Fang Yuan didn't care. He kicked a leg bone out of the way at his feet, squatted down again, and searched for the inheritance.

First, he found a bag of primeval stones. Upon opening it, there were only fifteen.

"Poor ghost," Fang Yuan muttered. The Flower Wine Wanderer appeared outwardly glamorous, but he didn't expect to have so few savings.

However, he quickly thought of a reason. After the fierce battle, the Flower Wine Wanderer was also affected by the Moon Shadow Gu and must have used primeval stones to heal. To have fifteen left was already quite good.

Next, Fang Yuan found the remains of several Death Gu. Most of them were flower and grass type Gu, which had completely withered.

Gu were also living beings and needed food to be nurtured, and most were very picky. Although Grass Gu and Flower Gu had fewer food requirements, this secret cave lacked even a trace of sunlight.

Then...

Then, there was nothing else.

The Flower Wine Wanderer first engaged in a fierce battle with the fourth generation clan leader of the same rank, and then fought against nearly ten clan elders. His own Gu worms were already heavily consumed. After arriving here, he wanted to heal, so he activated the Wine Pouch Flower Gu and the Rice Bag Grass Gu. But in the end, he was dragged down and died by the Moon Shadow Gu.

After three hundred years, all the Gu worms he had left had also died.

The only things remaining were the Sound and Image Gu in the stone wall and the Wine Bug.

This Wine Bug must have survived with difficulty by relying on the Wine Pouch Flower Gu. But as the Wine Pouch Flower Gu withered one by one, it lost its food source.

This forced it to venture out to find wild Wine Pouch Flowers.

Then, on this night, it was attracted by the rich aroma of Green Bamboo Wine and came before Fang Yuan.

"The Sound and Image Gu can only record once; it's a consumable Gu worm. It seems the Wine Bug is the biggest gain from this trip. No wonder that Gu Master reported it to the clan. It seems the profit was too small to be worth such a great risk," Fang Yuan realized with clarity.

In his memory, that Gu Master was already a Rank 3 Gu Master, while the Wine Bug was only a Rank 1 Gu worm. To Fang Yuan, it was quite precious, but to that Gu Master, it was dispensable.

However, it was clear that because of the Gu Master's report, the clan had also given him a considerable reward.

"Should I also report it to the clan?" Fang Yuan thought for a moment, then dismissed the idea.

The Flower Wine Wanderer's inheritance seemed to consist only of the Wine Bug and primeval stones, but that was not the case.

The truly valuable item was this mountain wall that held the Sound and Image Gu.

Or rather, it was the image constantly replaying on the mountain wall.

This image could be sold to other mountain villages. He believed that the high-ranking members of the other two mountain villages on Qing Mao Mountain would be very interested in such concrete evidence that undermined the clan's beliefs. The price they would offer would surely be more than the clan's reward.

What?

You're talking about the clan's honor and sense of belonging?

My apologies, Fang Yuan had none of that.

Moreover, this image was not some powerful force that could destroy families. It wouldn't cause much substantial harm.

And the indifferent clan would not pay much attention to Fang Yuan. He needed to work hard himself, develop cultivation resources, and in the early stages of cultivation, he needed to borrow strength from all directions.

"Relying on the family? Heh." Fang Yuan scoffed inwardly. "How can I be so naive again like in my past life?"

Don't count on anyone; everything in this world depends on oneself.

After confirming that the secret cave had been thoroughly looted, Fang Yuan returned the way he came.

Pushing against the water pressure and squeezing past the giant rock, he emerged outside the mountain. Glancing back at the boulder, Fang Yuan was suddenly reminded of his past life's memories, which spoke of discovering remains in an underground secret cave. But this was hardly underground; it was clearly inside the mountain wall.

No wonder he had gone through so much trouble and searched for seven consecutive days without finding it.

It seemed that after discovering this place in his past life, the family must have destroyed the shadow screen immediately and then spread mixed true and false information to mislead the clan members.

Being able to find this place tonight was partly luck, partly accumulated knowledge, but the biggest factor was probably the Green Bamboo Wine.

The wine's aroma was truly potent, arguably the best on Qing Mao Mountain.

Perhaps in his past life, the Gu Master had been drinking this very wine after a heartbreak.

But none of that mattered anymore. Fang Yuan had plundered the Flower Wine Wanderer's legacy. Although the results were somewhat underwhelming, they were within reason. Most importantly, Fang Yuan had obtained his initial objective (the Wine Bug) and also the thing he needed most (primeval stones).

"Next, I'll focus entirely on refining Gu worms in the inn. Once I have my Destined Gu, I can return to the academy, qualify for student dormitories, and use the family's resources for cultivation. Staying at this inn once or twice is fine, but staying too long is too costly," Fang Yuan mused, his footsteps not faltering as he hurried towards the mountain village.

He originally had two primeval stones left, and with the addition of fifteen new ones, he now had a total of seventeen. But for a Gu Master, what was such a small amount of primeval stones?