The Last Sixth Purple Gold Stone

Waves surged and receded within the bronze primeval sea.

Above the sea's surface, the Wine Bug coiled into a ball, emitting a wine aroma like ethereal white mist.

A surge of true essence whooshed upwards, piercing the wine mist. When it descended, half of it was gone, its color deepened. It transformed from the initial stage's emerald green to the middle stage's verdant green.

The middle-stage true essence fell into the primeval sea, yet it did not mix with the initial-stage true essence. It seemed heavier, settling to the bottom.

Thus, the primeval sea formed a structure with initial-stage true essence water in the upper layer and middle-stage true essence in the lower layer.

As time passed, wine mist continuously swirled in the aperture. Under the Wine Bug's refinement, the initial-stage true essence gradually diminished, and the middle-stage true essence increased.

It was clearly visible that the water level of the middle-stage true essence in the lower layer was rising, while the initial-stage water level in the upper layer continuously dropped and then rose again.

While refining his true essence, Fang Yuan also drew natural true essence from primeval stones externally, rapidly replenishing the aperture within his body.

Ultimately, forty-five percent of the primeval sea in his aperture was refined entirely into middle-stage true essence once more.

"Thanks to the middle-stage true essence, I wouldn't have been able to consecutively examine five stones at the gambling stone market," Fang Yuan said, slowly opening his eyes as he sat cross-legged on the dormitory bed.

It was already late at night.

After leaving the gambling stone market, he hadn't visited any other shops, but had returned directly to the academy.

Even though it was around Gu Yue village, as a Rank 1 initial-stage Gu Master possessing five hundred and thirty-eight primeval stones was still too much.

This was not only because these primeval stones were somewhat heavy and inconvenient to carry. It also carried another meaning: attracting covetousness and endangering his life.

If a Rank 1 advanced, or even a Rank 2 Gu Master, harbored ill intentions, Fang Yuan, with his current abilities, could not fend them off.

"Wealth is external; it's pathetic for people to die for money. It's laughable that so many people in this world cannot see through this. How many people has the ship of profit carried, and how many has it sunk?" Fang Yuan's lips curled into a cold smile as he looked at the grayish-white primeval stone in his hand.

Complete primeval stones were all the size of duck eggs. But the one in his hand, having half its true essence extracted, had shrunk by a whole size.

Fang Yuan felt no heartache at all.

There was always a trade-off. He only had C-grade aptitude, and he also needed to use the Wine Bug to refine true essence, meaning his consumption of primeval stones was several times that of his peers. But because of this, he could overcome his aptitude deficiency. If one were to calculate his true cultivation progress, he could rank within the top three.

Fang Yuan put the primeval stone back into his money pouch and took out the last purple gold fossil.

He had purchased six in total at the casino, opening five on the spot, and had brought one back with him.

His eyes flashed with sharp light, and he once again activated the Moonlight Gu, rubbing it with his fingers to examine the stone.

The purple gold fossil rapidly diminished under the blue light waves, eventually grinding away to nothing, leaving only a small pile of stone powder on the floor by the bed.

Fang Yuan was not surprised; gambling on stones was a game where nine out of ten bets were lost.

Even with his five hundred years of experience, he could at most achieve eight out of ten lost bets. Among the remaining twenty percent winning chance, there were still distinctions between dead Gu and live Gu.

Dead Gu were generally of little value. As for live Gu, they might not necessarily be rare Gu worms. If he actually unearthed a live Gu of immense value, it would instead bring about fatal disaster.

Fang Yuan's current cultivation was very low, merely at the very bottom among Gu Masters. If it weren't for the Warty Earth Toad he had just unearthed being near Gu Yue village, he might have been robbed by that Jia Jin Sheng.

Gambling has never been a path to wealth; rather, it's more common for people to lose their fortunes because of it. This was not Fang Yuan's development path.

Although the last purple gold fossil did not yield a Gu worm, Fang Yuan was not disappointed. Instead, he looked at the pile of stone powder on the ground and gradually revealed a smile.

That's right, his ultimate goal in entering the casino was this pile of stone powder.

As for the Warty Earth Toad, it was merely something he picked up along the way.

When he examined stones privately, no one knew the true outcome besides him.

From now on, he could easily make an excuse, saying that the Wine Bug was awakened and subdued from this purple gold fossil.

This idea was brilliant.

Firstly, no one could determine what kind of Gu worm was sealed within the fossil. Who could say that the Wine Bug couldn't have been dormant within the purple gold fossil? It was entirely possible!

Secondly, he had some eyewitnesses. The fact that he unearthed the Warty Earth Toad must have left a deep and vivid impression on the Gu Masters at the casino.

Thirdly, even if someone pursued the matter relentlessly, he could attribute it all to luck. Luck was the hardest thing to comprehend. Even if someone suspected that this was the Flower Wine Wanderer's Wine Bug, they would have no recourse against the excuse of "luck."

In the dark room, Fang Yuan's gaze was profound.

Constant concealment was like trying to wrap fire with paper; it would eventually be exposed one day.

To deal with the hidden danger of the Wine Bug, he had to take the initiative. This was Fang Yuan's style.

Moreover, he had carefully considered it; in the subsequent cultivation process, he would also need to expose the Wine Bug.

"As a Rank 1 Gu worm, the Wine Bug is very precious to Rank 1 Gu Masters. But by Rank 2, it becomes unsuitable. Therefore, exposing it will at most attract some people's attention and will not affect the overall situation. It's unlike the Spring Autumn Cicada; if the Spring Autumn Cicada were exposed, I might face utter annihilation the next moment."

Five hundred years of worldly experience had long allowed Fang Yuan to see through people's psychology as if it were as clear as day, grasping it completely.

The Flower Wine Wanderer's hidden treasure, and the Warty Earth Toad, these were the only two cheap things in memory, and now I've gotten them both. From now on, I can only rely on my own step-by-step cultivation.

Fang Yuan sighed and stretched his body, feeling a sense of fatigue and exhaustion.

The cultivation of the primeval sea for Gu Masters could not replace sleep.

Fang Yuan pulled up his bedding and lay down on the bed, his eyes still half-open.

Although the five hundred-plus primeval stones were hidden by his bedside, and many jars of Green Bamboo Wine were stored beneath his bed, he felt a vague sense of crisis.

These five hundred-plus primeval stones already represented a limit. When things reach their peak, they decline; Fang Yuan knew that the consumption of primeval stones would only increase in the future.

And the majority of his income came from extorting his classmates.

He was increasingly aware of the noticeable progress of his classmates around him. Especially in the recent few blackmail incidents, Gu Yue Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and his younger brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng had all shown significant improvements in their martial arts. Previously, he could handle them in one or two moves, but now it took five or six.

"If I get robbed three or four more times, their martial arts will be honed. They'll challenge me one by one, and with my current stamina, I can't withstand that kind of continuous fighting. Five hundred primeval stones might seem like a lot, but with my intense consumption of four primeval stones daily, it's not really much."

"There aren't many treasures left on Qing Mao Mountain, but nearby White Bone Mountain has a power inheritance secretly established by a righteous path Rank 4 Gu Master. However, obtaining this inheritance is also troublesome. There are important trials that require two people to cooperate to pass."

Sigh, the main problem is that the Flower Wine Wanderer's hidden treasures were too few; I only got one Wine Bug. Hmm... and that shadow screen. Perhaps I can sell it to a merchant in the caravan...

As Fang Yuan pondered, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he fell asleep.