Section 40: Toad Gu Sleeps in Purple Gold Stone

The deeper they went, the more prosperous and bustling it became.

Small stalls grew fewer, and large tents became more numerous.

Various large tents of red, blue, yellow, and green could be seen, some set up in squares, others in cylindrical shapes. Some had two pillars at the entrance with rolling curtains, while others hung large red lanterns. Some were brightly lit inside, while others were dim and lifeless.

Fang Yuan walked and observed, eventually stopping at a gray tent.

"This is it." He looked up and saw two pillars at the tent's entrance. On the pillars, a couplet was carved using the intaglio method.

Left side: "A small display of courage, gain Spring Autumn Summer Winter Fortune."

Right side: "A grand display of skill, acquire East South West North Wealth."

In the middle, there was a horizontal inscription: "Time to Turn Luck."

That's right, this was a casino.

This casino occupied an area of one mu, already considered a large tent.

Fang Yuan walked inside. Inside the tent, along the edges, three rows of counters were set up. On the counters were placed amber or fossils. Some were as small as a palm, others as large as a washbasin. There were even larger ones, as tall as a person. Unable to fit on the counters, they were placed directly on the ground.

Unlike the liveliness of other tent shops, it was quiet and silent inside.

There were groups of two or three Gu Masters standing before the counters. Some were carefully examining the stones displayed on the counters, some picked up fossils and rubbed them gently in their palms to feel the texture, some were discussing quietly with companions, and some were negotiating prices with the shop assistants.

But no matter what they said, it was in hushed tones, trying not to disturb others.

This was a stone gambling venue.

In this world of Gu, there were all sorts of Gu, countless and bizarre. Gu worms had their specific food, and without food, they could only last for a period before dying.

However, nature is both cruel and kind to life.

If food is lacking, Gu worms still have a slim chance of survival. That is to fall into a dormant state, sealing themselves.

For example, if the Moonlight Gu lacks Moon Orchid petals, it might seal itself. It would contract its power as much as possible, akin to hibernation, falling into the deepest sleep. At this time, not only would its blue glow dissipate, but its body would also transform from a transparent crystal-like state into a gray stone, covered by a stone shell. Over time, the stone shell would become thicker and heavier, forming a stubborn stone.

Another example, if the Wine Bug seals itself, it would form a white cocoon. It would curl up its body and slumber within the cocoon.

Of course, this kind of sealing and slumber does not happen to all Gu worms. The probability is very low; normally, Gu worms would not slumber but starve to death. Only a few individual Gu worms would seal themselves under specific circumstances.

Some Gu Masters accidentally obtained these stubborn stones or cocoons containing sealed Gu worms and awakened the slumbering Gu worms within. Some made a fortune this way. Some soared to success, their life trajectories taking a turn. These situations happened frequently in the Gu Master world, often accompanied by rumors, true or false, sparking imagination.

The source of the stubborn stones in this stone gambling venue was from here. Of course, these stones were only suspected to contain Gu worms based on their appearance. Only by cracking them open could it be determined if Gu worms were truly hidden inside.

"For small stone gambling venues like this, eight or nine out of ten stones are solid, with no Gu worms inside. Even if there are stones with Gu worms, not all of them will contain live Gu worms; eight or nine out of ten will be dead Gu. However, once a live Gu is gambled upon, in most cases, one can make a substantial profit. If the Gu worm is extremely rare, then it's either soaring to success or being robbed and killed."

Fang Yuan understood clearly; he was well aware of the intricacies of this place.

In his previous life, he had also joined merchant caravans and worked as an assistant in stone gambling venues. For a period later, he even managed a stone gambling venue, which was larger than this one, a medium-sized venue. He had tricked many gamblers and had also made mistakes, with others gambling out valuable Gu worms several times.

Fang Yuan stood at the entrance for a while, his gaze sweeping around, before slowly walking to the counter on the left.

Behind the counter, every few meters, stood a shop assistant, male or female. They all wore green belts at their waists, not mortals, but Rank 1 Gu Masters. Most were at the initial stage, with a few at the intermediate stage.

Seeing Fang Yuan approach the counter, a female Gu Master closest to him walked over, a smile appearing on her face, and said softly, "Young sir, what Gu worm do you need? Each stone at this counter is sold for ten primeval stones. If this is your first time trying and you wish for a small gamble for fun, you might want to go to the counter on the right, where the stones are only five primeval stones. If you want more excitement, you might want to go to the high-grade counter directly in front, where each stubborn stone costs twenty primeval stones."

This was an experienced female Gu Master who had been working in the stone gambling venue for quite some time.

After seeing Fang Yuan enter, she deduced from his appearance, age, height, and other factors that he was a student.

Those who gamble on stones are Gu Masters; there are no mortals. And students can only be considered prospective Gu Masters, just starting their cultivation. They are usually financially strained from feeding Gu worms, so where would they have spare money to gamble on stones?

Students like him often just come in to look around, broaden their horizons, and experience something new. The vast majority only look and don't buy; a small minority from well-off families might buy one to try. However, they usually only buy the cheapest fossils.

Therefore, the female Gu Master did not expect much from Fang Yuan in terms of how many stones he could buy.

"I'll take a look first," Fang Yuan nodded at her expressionlessly, then lowered his head to observe.

In his memory, it should be this counter in this stone gambling venue.

But five hundred years was truly too long. Many things were incredibly blurry, especially since five hundred years of memories was a massive storage. To be honest, Fang Yuan didn't remember very clearly.

He vaguely recalled that it was in this year, on the first night the merchant caravan arrived, that a lucky individual spent ten primeval stones to buy a fossil whose stone skin had a purple-gold sheen.

After cracking the stone on the spot, he obtained a toad. Later, this Toad Gu was acquired by someone, and he earned quite a few primeval stones from it.

Fang Yuan looked for a while, his brow furrowing slightly.

On the counter, there were over twenty fossils with a purple-gold luster on their exterior. Which one of them hid the toad?

Each stone here was sold for ten primeval stones. Fang Yuan currently had ninety-eight primeval stones, so by this calculation, he could buy at most nine.

But it couldn't be calculated like this.

Any adventure or gamble required considering the consequences.

Fang Yuan was no longer a reckless youth, nor was he an arrogant gambler. Those who believed they were favored by fate usually fell victim to fate's tricks.

"I am alone, without the support of friends or family. I must leave some primeval stones to sustain my life and purchase food to feed my Gu worms." He calculated briefly, and after ensuring basic necessities, he could buy at most seven fossils.

This stone, its purple-gold is like scattered starlight, but it's flat like a pancake, it won't contain a toad inside.

"This purple-gold is dazzling, but it's only the size of a fist. If it truly contained a toad, it should be at least thirty percent larger than this."

"This purple-gold fossil is large, but its surface is extremely smooth, while the stone skin of a toad is rough and pitted. Clearly, it's not..."

Fang Yuan continuously observed and screened, eliminating possibilities.

After the Gu worms sealed and fell into slumber, the resulting fossils were a single, cohesive unit, inherently resistant to most of the world's detection methods. The few remaining detection methods were almost all forceful and crude; once used, they would directly kill the dying Gu worms within.

Therefore, Gu Masters could only rely on guesswork, experience, luck, and occasional flashes of inspiration when selecting stones.

If it weren't for this, this place wouldn't be called a casino.

Of course, in this vast world, there are all sorts of wonders, and it's not impossible that a very small number of gentle detection methods exist that allow Gu Masters to know beforehand whether a Gu worm is hidden within a stone.

Fang Yuan had heard some rumors in his previous life, but after verification, he found they were all false.

Fang Yuan privately mused: If such methods truly existed, they would surely be secret inheritances, held only by a very small number of mysterious individuals. They would have no impact on the overall gambling industry.

It was better in the Qing Mao Mountain area; the further east one went, the more prevalent casinos became. In the White Head Mountain region, every mountain village had a casino. Some large mountain villages even had numerous large casinos. Among the three famous mountain villages known for their stone gambling – Panshi Village, Ancient Tomb Village, and Azure Whale Village – there were even super-large stone gambling arenas.

Each of these three super-large stone gambling arenas had over a thousand years of history. They were still doing brisk business today, with gamblers coming and going incessantly. There had never been an incident of anyone clearing out the place.

The tent Fang Yuan was currently in could, at best, be considered a small casino.

But if any other fifteen-year-old boy came here, they would surely be blinded by the sheer number of these fossils, and even their selection of fossils would be pure guesswork.

However, Fang Yuan was different.

Firstly, he already knew some of the answers beforehand, which immediately narrowed down his selection range to less than thirty pieces.

Of course, selecting the single correct piece from these twenty-odd fossils was still extremely difficult.

But Fang Yuan had five hundred years of experience to back him up. Relying on this deep foundation, he observed for a moment and filtered out the six purple gold fossils that best met the criteria.

He was eighty percent sure that the Toad Gu was slumbering within one of those six purple gold fossils!