"With my C-grade aptitude, the maximum amount of primeval sea that can be stored in my aperture is only forty-four percent. The speed at which the Gu worm repels the primeval essence is much faster than my natural primeval essence recovery speed. To refine the Gu worm, I must rely on external forces, which means consuming primeval stones."
"The weaker the Gu worm's will, the lesser its resistance, and the easier it is for me to refine it. However, as long as they are living creatures, they will always have a will to survive. To refine the Moonlight Gu, I need at least five primeval stones, and at most eight." Relying on his rich cultivation experience, Fang Yuan estimated the total amount of primeval stones he would consume.
"Now, to refine the Liquor worm, it will require at least eleven pieces, and at most sixteen." Although the Liquor worm was a Rank 1 Gu worm like the Moonlight Gu, it was undoubtedly more precious, and the difficulty of refining it was also greater.
In other words, even though Fang Yuan currently had seventeen primeval stones, just after refining the Liquor worm alone, he would at most have six pieces left, and at least only one piece.
In the night sky, the bright crescent moon emitted a pure white moonlight.
The moonlight was like a fairy's tender hand, gently caressing Gu Yue Village. The bamboo houses along the way stood like forests of jade plaques.
The night breeze blew gently.
It was under this moonlight that Fang Yuan returned to the inn.
The inn's doors were already closed.
Fang Yuan pounded repeatedly on the door.
"I hear it! I hear it! Who is it, knocking so late…" The inn attendant opened the door while muttering, his eyes bleary with sleep.
But when he saw Fang Yuan at the door, his slightly dissatisfied and sluggish expression instantly changed. He bowed down and smiled flatteringly: "So it is Young Master. This lowly one is truly fortunate to be able to open the door for Young Master."
Fang Yuan nodded, his face carrying coldness, and walked into the inn.
This expression conversely made the attendant smile even more submissively. He took the initiative to ask: "Is Young Master hungry? Does Young Master want this lowly one to inform the cook to make a few side dishes for late-night supper?"
"No need." Fang Yuan shook his head, only instructing, "Prepare some hot water for me, I want to wash up."
"Yes!" The attendant nodded hurriedly. "Young Master, head back to your room first. This lowly one guarantees that the hot water will be delivered immediately."
Fang Yuan gave a sound of agreement, stepped onto the stairs, and headed to the second floor.
Looking at Fang Yuan's back, the attendant's eyes shone in the lamplight, revealing obvious envy.
"So this is a Gu Master. If I also had cultivation aptitude, how wonderful that would be!" He clenched his fists and let out a deep sigh.
These words drifted into Fang Yuan's ears, and he could not help but smile bitterly in his heart.
A Gu Master could possess power surpassing mortals and become a person above others, but the price paid for this was also high.
The first difficult problem was financial resources.
A Gu Master needed primeval stones for cultivation, primeval stones for battle, primeval stones to refine Gu, and primeval stones for trade.
Without primeval stones, how could one cultivate?
As a mortal, the inn attendant, being merely a bystander, could not understand this predicament.
Just like this evening, when that young Gu Master Jiang Ya angrily vented to the hunters while smashing the wine jar: I myself am reluctant to spend primeval stones to drink this Green Bamboo wine, yet you hunters, mere mortals, have this spare cash!
Looking through a tube at a leopard and seeing just one spot, this single sentence alone could explain a Gu Master's cultivation situation.
A Gu Master's abilities were powerful, earning more than mortals, but the consumption was also great. Often times, every primeval stone had to be haggled over. Especially for low-level minor Gu Masters, this was even more the case.
Do not be fooled by the glamorous exterior of some Gu Masters; internally, their lives were actually very tight.
"Moreover, as a Gu Master's realm increases, their demand for resources becomes even more massive. Without a backer, a Gu Master's cultivation is difficult." Fang Yuan thought about his past life and deeply understood this point.
He returned to the guest room. He had just lit the lamp when the inn attendant brought up a basin of hot water.
Of course, there were also cloth towels and other washing items.
Fang Yuan dismissed the attendant, closed the door, slid the latch, washed up a bit, and got into bed.
Although his body felt somewhat fatigued, a trace of excitement still remained in his heart: "I finally obtained the Liquor worm. The Liquor worm is even more precious than the Moonlight Gu. In a certain sense, it is a Gu that can raise a Gu Master's aptitude!"
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the Liquor worm.
The Liquor worm was still sound asleep. Its body size was slightly larger than the Moonlight Gu, and it was white and tender, resembling a baby silkworm.
Under the illumination of the lamp, its body was shrouded in a faint layer of resplendence, holding a round luster just like a pearl. Its two eyes looked like two black sesame seeds embedded in its chubby white head, appearing charmingly naive.
Holding it in his hand, it was not heavy either, about the weight of half an egg.
Sniffing it carefully, a wisp of wine fragrance drifted from its body.
This wine fragrance was not the scent of Green Bamboo wine, but the smell emitted by the Liquor worm itself. The fragrance was quiet and ethereal, seemingly there yet absent. Fang Yuan's nose twitched, drawing this wine scent into his body.
The wine scent flowed straight down, actually entering his aperture and plunging into the copper-colored primeval sea.
The primeval sea rippled, and very quickly absorbed and melded with this wine scent. Following this, a trace of extremely pure primeval essence was produced.
The rest of the primeval essence was emerald green, flashing with a metallic copper luster.
But this trace of primeval essence was dark green, even more condensed than the original primeval essence. This was primeval essence that only a Rank 1 middle stage Gu Master could possess.
Sensing this trace of dark green copper primeval essence, Fang Yuan revealed a satisfied smile: "My current cultivation is only at Rank 1 initial stage. But with the condensation from the Liquor worm, after the primeval essence is purified, I can possess the primeval essence of the Rank 1 middle stage. The profoundness in this cannot be clearly explained in a sentence or two."
But quickly, he restrained his smile: "However, right now I have not yet truly mastered the Liquor worm. Only by completely refining the Liquor worm and making it my vital Gu can I freely manipulate it, and then refine my primeval essence with maximum efficiency."
Thinking of this, he hesitated no longer, drawing a stream of copper primeval essence from his primeval sea.
The primeval essence tightly wrapped around the Liquor worm, suspending it in front of Fang Yuan, and began to invade its body.
Sensing the crisis to its survival, the Liquor worm was instantly jolted awake. It began to struggle violently, mobilizing its own power to drive away Fang Yuan's primeval essence.
"This Liquor worm has such strong resistance." Fang Yuan's face turned serious, feeling that the consumption speed of his primeval essence was actually more than double that of the Moonlight Gu.
"No matter what, I am definitely refining this Liquor worm." A glint of firmness flashed in his eyes as he continued to draw out primeval essence, enveloping the Liquor worm.
In the inn room, the candle on the table burned quietly, illuminating the center of the room brightly, while the distant corners were dim.
The candlelight reflected on Fang Yuan's face. He had already closed his eyes, focusing his mind to deal with the Liquor worm.
A continuous stream of copper-colored primeval essence, like a wave of mist, radiated from Fang Yuan's entire body, then gathered together to firmly wrap around the Liquor worm.
The Liquor worm floated in the air, less than a foot away from Fang Yuan's face. Surrounded by the copper primeval essence, it struggled with all its might.
Time quietly flowed by.
The candle burned shorter and shorter, and the candlelight grew dimmer. Outside the window, the crescent moon slowly set, and then a new day arrived.
The morning sunlight pierced through the crevices of the window into the room, seemingly lining the window with a glowing edge.
Fang Yuan opened his eyes, looking at the Liquor worm in front of him.
On the Liquor worm's white body, there was already a touch of bluish-green. This was the result Fang Yuan had obtained after half a night of effort.
But quite evidently, the volume of this bit of bluish-green was not even one percent of the Liquor worm's body.
Fang Yuan's expression was heavy. The Liquor worm's will was too tenacious, and its resistance was incredibly strong, simply exceeding the boundaries of a Rank 1 Gu worm.
"There is a very high possibility that this Gu worm was the Flower Wine Monk's vital Gu. The Flower Wine Monk was a Rank 5 powerhouse, and this Liquor worm was originally also at Rank 5. However, over these years it did not have sufficient food, eating one meal and starving the next, so its grade dropped. Now it only remains at the Rank 1 tier, but its will is as tenacious as a rock!"
Fang Yuan guessed the truth.
This Liquor worm was originally the Flower Wine Monk's vital Gu. Its natural will had been completely wiped clean by the Flower Wine Monk, and it accompanied him as he fought battles north and south, roaming the pugilistic world.
After the Flower Wine Monk died, his powerhouse will remained within the Liquor worm. For Fang Yuan to refine the Liquor worm right now was equivalent to competing against the Flower Wine Monk's will.
This was much harder than refining a natural Gu worm.
A human's will is generally higher than that of a natural Gu worm. At the juncture of life and death, humans can burst forth with power they themselves could not imagine. Furthermore, the Flower Wine Monk was a powerhouse of the demonic path, traveling alone and roaming the world; his will was even more tenacious than orthodox powerhouses of the same rank.
"To refine this Liquor worm within a month is already impossible. Unless there is a powerhouse who uses the aura of a Rank 2 or Rank 3 Gu to suppress this Liquor worm, repressing the will inside its body to the lowest level. With such help, I could get twice the result with half the effort." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan could not help but sigh.
His parents had already passed away, his uncle and aunt schemed against him, and he himself had no backer; where could he find external aid?
If it were an A-grade aptitude, it would be easy to say, but right now his aptitude was only C-grade. All the clansmen looked down on him, so who would be willing to expend such great effort to help him?
More crucially, the existence of the Liquor worm could not be exposed.
Gu Yue Village had no Gu like the Liquor worm, and Fang Yuan could not clearly explain its origins.
If it were exposed, there was a very high possibility it would be noticed by the higher-ups, thereby linking him to the Flower Wine Monk. It was too easy to associate the two together.
"Calculating like this, seventeen primeval stones are not even enough; I need at least thirty primeval stones! Truly troublesome, but no matter how difficult, I must still refine this Liquor worm." Fang Yuan's will was like iron; he had already firmly resolved to refine the Liquor worm.
The vital Gu held great significance, heavily influencing the future direction of a Gu Master's cultivation.
Although the Liquor worm was not the most ideal choice for a vital Gu in this world, it was much better than the Moonlight Gu, and was the highest tier Fang Yuan could reach under his current circumstances.
Grumble, grumble…
At this time, Fang Yuan's stomach transmitted sounds of protest.
Having not slept all night and utilizing all his strength to refine the Liquor worm, Fang Yuan was naturally hungry.
"Better fill my stomach first before thinking about how to accumulate primeval stones." Fang Yuan patted his stomach and went downstairs.
Arriving at the first-floor dining hall, he picked a seat in the corner and ordered a few breakfast items.
Just as he started eating, his younger brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng appeared.
"Brother, why are you staying at an inn? Why didn't you go back to sleep last night?" He was very impolite, his tone carrying an interrogating meaning.