Waves rose and fell within the Bronze Primeval Sea, tides surging and receding.
Above the sea's surface, the Wine Worm Gu curled into a ball, giving off an intoxicating vapor like drifting white mist.
With a rush, a stream of primeval essence surged upward against the flow and entered the wine mist. When it fell back down, half of it was gone, and its color had deepened. It had changed from the emerald green of the initial stage into the dark green of the middle stage.
The middle-stage primeval essence fell into the primeval sea, yet it did not mingle with the initial-stage essence. As though it were heavier, it settled beneath it.
The primeval sea thus formed a structure where the upper half held initial-stage primeval essence, while the lower half held middle-stage primeval essence.
As time passed, wine mist continued to swirl through the Aperture. Under the Wine Worm Gu's refinement, the initial-stage primeval essence steadily diminished while the middle-stage primeval essence gradually increased.
It was plainly visible that the water level of the middle-stage essence in the lower half kept rising, while the initial-stage water level in the upper half continuously fell, then rose again.
While refining his primeval essence, Fang Yuan also absorbed the natural primeval essence from Primeval Stones outside, rapidly replenishing his Aperture.
In the end, all four and a half tenths of the primeval sea in his Aperture had once more been refined into middle-stage primeval essence.
"Thank goodness for middle-stage primeval essence. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to cut open stones five times in a row at the gambling den." Sitting cross-legged upon the dormitory bed, Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
It was already deep into the night.
After leaving the gambling den, he had not browsed any other shops, instead returning directly to the academy.
Though this was near Gu Yue village, as a Rank 1 Gu Master at the initial stage, carrying five hundred and thirty-eight Primeval Stones was still far too much.
Not merely because the Primeval Stones were rather heavy and inconvenient to carry. It also meant attracting covetous eyes and endangering his life.
Should a Rank 1 Gu Master at the upper stage, or even a rank 2 Gu Master, harbor malicious intentions, Fang Yuan's current abilities would not be enough to withstand them.
"Money is merely something outside the body. It is tragic that people die for wealth. How laughable that so many people in this world cannot see through this. How many has the ship of profit carried aboard, and how many has it sunk?" A faint cold smile curved Fang Yuan's lips as he looked at the gray-white Primeval Stone in his hand.
Whole Primeval Stones were each the size of a duck egg. Yet the one in his hand, having had half its primeval essence absorbed, had shrunk by an entire circle.
Fang Yuan did not feel the slightest heartache.
Where there was gain, there was bound to be loss. He only had C-grade Aptitude, and he also needed to use the Wine Worm Gu to refine his primeval essence, so his Primeval Stone consumption was several times that of his peers. Yet because of this, he could overcome the shortcomings of his aptitude. If one calculated his true cultivation progress, he could rank among the top three.
Fang Yuan put the Primeval Stone back into his money pouch and took out the final purple-gold fossil.
He had bought six stones at the gambling den in total. He had cut open five on the spot and brought the remaining one back with him.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He activated the Moonlight Gu once again and rubbed it with his five fingers, cutting open the stone.
Under the blue ripples of light, the purple-gold fossil rapidly wore away. In the end, it was ground into nothing, leaving only a small pile of stone dust on the floor beside the bed.
Fang Yuan was not surprised. Stone gambling was a matter where nine out of ten bets ended in loss.
Even with his five hundred years of experience, at most he could manage eight losses in ten bets. And among the remaining twenty percent chance of winning, there were still Death Gu and living Gu.
Death Gu were basically worth little. Even living Gu might not be rare Gu worms. If he truly cut open a living Gu of immense value, it would instead bring disaster upon him.
Fang Yuan's cultivation was currently very low, merely at the bottom rung among Gu Masters. Had he not been near Gu Yue village when he opened that Warty Earth Toad, Jia Jin Sheng might have snatched it from him.
Gambling had never been a path to getting rich. Far more people lost everything and went bankrupt because of it. This was not Fang Yuan's path of development.
Although the final purple-gold fossil had not yielded a Gu worm, Fang Yuan was not disappointed. Instead, as he looked at the pile of stone dust on the ground, a smile gradually appeared on his face.
That was right. His ultimate purpose in entering the gambling den had been this pile of stone dust.
As for that Warty Earth Toad, it had merely been something he did on the side.
He had cut open the stone in private. Other than himself, no one knew the true result.
From now on, he could simply make an excuse and claim that the Wine Worm Gu had been awakened and subdued from this purple-gold fossil.
It was an excellent plan.
First, no one could determine what kind of Gu worm had been sealed within a fossil. Who dared say that a Wine Worm Gu could not slumber within a purple-gold fossil? It was entirely possible!
Second, he had several eyewitnesses. His opening of the Warty Earth Toad would surely have left a deep and vivid impression on the Gu Masters at the gambling den.
Third, even if someone pursued the matter relentlessly, he could attribute all of this to luck. Luck was the hardest thing to understand. Even if someone suspected it was Flower Wine Wanderer's Wine Worm Gu, they would have no way to start against the excuse of "luck."
In the dark room, Fang Yuan's gaze was dim and distant.
Blindly concealing something was like wrapping fire in paper; one day, it would inevitably be exposed.
To deal with the hidden danger of the Wine Worm Gu, he had to take the initiative. That was Fang Yuan's style.
Besides, he had considered it carefully. During his coming cultivation, he would need to reveal the Wine Worm Gu as well.
"A Rank 1 Gu worm like the Wine Worm Gu is extremely precious to Rank 1 Gu Masters. But once one reaches rank 2, it becomes unsuitable. Thus, exposing it would at most draw some attention. It would not harm the general situation, so it is nothing serious. It is unlike the Spring Autumn Cicada. If the Spring Autumn Cicada were exposed, I might die without a burial place the very next moment."
Five hundred years of experience in dealing with the world had long allowed Fang Yuan to see human psychology as clearly as fire reflected in water, grasping it as easily as if it were in his palm.
"Flower Wine Wanderer's inheritance and the Warty Earth Toad were the only two benefits in my memories. Now I've picked them both up. From here on, I can only cultivate step by step through my own efforts."
Fang Yuan sighed, stretched his body, and felt a wave of weariness and fatigue.
A Gu Master's cultivation of the primeval sea could not replace sleep.
Fang Yuan pulled up the bedding and lay down on the bed, his eyes still half-open.
Although more than five hundred Primeval Stones were hidden beside his pillow, and many jars of Green Bamboo Wine were stored beneath his bed, he still felt a faint sense of danger.
These more than five hundred Primeval Stones were already a limit. Prosperity declined once it reached its peak; Fang Yuan knew that his expenditure of Primeval Stones would only grow greater in the future.
And most of his income came from extorting his classmates.
He had increasingly sensed the obvious progress of the students around him. Especially in the recent rounds of extortion, Gu Yue Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and his younger brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng had all made tremendous progress in their fist-and-kick techniques. Before, one or two moves had been enough to deal with them; now, he needed five or six.
"If I rob them another three or four times, their fist-and-kick skills will have been tempered. If they challenge me one after another, my current physical strength will not be able to endure such a wheel battle. More than five hundred Primeval Stones may seem like a lot, but with my fierce daily expenditure of four Primeval Stones, it really amounts to nothing."
"There are no treasures left around Qing Mao Mountain. But at the nearby White Bone Mountain, a righteous-path Rank 4 Gu Master secretly established a strength inheritance. Yet obtaining that inheritance would also be troublesome. There is an important checkpoint within it that requires two people to work with one heart and one mind to pass."
"Ah, Flower Wine Wanderer's inheritance was simply too meager. I only obtained one Wine Worm Gu. Hmm... there is also that shadow wall. Perhaps I can sell it to some merchant in the caravan..."
Fang Yuan pondered as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until he finally fell asleep.
Before you continue