Waves rose and fell, ebbing and flowing within the bronze primeval sea.
In the space above the sea, the Liquor worm curled into a ball, the liquor qi it emitted drifting like an ethereal white mist.
With a splash, a stream of primeval essence surged upwards against the current, directly entering the liquor mist. By the time it fell back down, it had diminished by half, and its color had become much deeper. It had transformed from the emerald green of the initial stage to the pale green color of the middle stage.
When the middle stage primeval essence fell into the primeval sea, it did not mix together with the initial stage primeval essence. As if it were heavier, it settled down below.
The primeval sea thus formed a layout where the upper half consisted of initial stage primeval essence water, and the lower half consisted of middle stage primeval essence.
As time passed, the liquor mist lingered continuously within the aperture. Under the Liquor worm's refinement, the initial stage primeval essence gradually decreased, and the middle stage primeval essence gradually increased.
It could be clearly seen that the water level of the middle stage primeval essence in the lower half getting higher and higher, while the initial stage water level in the upper half continuously dropped, then continuously rose again.
While refining his primeval essence, Fang Yuan was simultaneously outside absorbing the natural primeval essence from primeval stones, rapidly replenishing the aperture within his body.
Ultimately, the forty-four percent primeval sea in his aperture was entirely refined into middle stage primeval essence once more.
"Thanks to the middle stage primeval essence, otherwise in the rock gambling casino, I wouldn't have been able to continuously open rocks five times." Sitting cross-legged on the bed in his dormitory, Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
It was already late at night.
After coming out of the rock gambling casino, he didn't browse any other shops, but directly returned to the academy.
Although it was within the vicinity of the Gu Yue village, carrying five hundred and thirty-eight primeval stones as a Rank one initial stage Gu Master was still too much.
This was not just because these primeval stones were somewhat heavy and inconvenient to carry. It also held another layer of meaning: attracting covetous eyes and endangering his life.
If a Rank one upper stage, or even a Rank two Gu Master harbored evil intentions, with Fang Yuan's current abilities, he would not be able to parry them.
"Wealth is an worldly possession; for a person to die due to wealth is tragic. It's ridiculous how many people in this world cannot see through this point. The ship of profit has carried how many people, and sunk how many people." A trace of a sneer played on Fang Yuan's lips as he looked at the grayish-white primeval stone held in his hand.
Intact primeval stones were all about the size of a duck egg. But this piece in his hand, because half of its primeval essence had been absorbed, was already a full size smaller.
Fang Yuan did not feel a heartache at all.
In everything, there are gains and losses. He only possessed C grade aptitude, and with the addition of using the Liquor worm to refine primeval essence, his consumption of primeval stones was several times that of his peers. But precisely because of this, he was able to overcome his deficiency in aptitude, and if counting the true progress of cultivation, he could rank in the top three.
Fang Yuan put the primeval stone back into the money bag and then took out that final piece of purple-gold fossil.
He had bought a total of six pieces at the casino, opened five on the spot, and brought one piece back here with him.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he activated the Moonlight Gu once again, his five fingers rubbing and grinding to open the rock.
Amidst the rippling blue light, the purple-gold fossil rapidly reduced, ultimately worn away to nothing, leaving only a small pile of stone powder on the floor beside the bed.
Fang Yuan wasn't surprised. In rock gambling, nine out of ten bets were losses.
Even with his five hundred years of experience, at most he could only achieve eight losses out of ten. Within the remaining twenty percent chance of winning, it was further divided into dead Gu and living Gu.
Dead Gu basically had little value. As for living Gu, they weren't necessarily rare Gu worms either. If one really opened a living Gu of immense value, it might instead bring about a fatal disaster.
Fang Yuan's current cultivation level was very low; he was merely at the absolute bottom among Gu Masters. For the Mud Skin Toad he had just opened, had they not been within the vicinity of the Gu Yue village, he might have been robbed by that Jia Jinsheng.
Gambling had never been a path to making a fortune; conversely, those who lost their family fortunes over it were the majority. This was not Fang Yuan's path of development.
Although the last piece of purple-gold fossil did not yield a Gu worm, Fang Yuan wasn't disappointed. Instead, looking at the pile of stone powder on the floor, he gradually revealed a smile.
That's right, his ultimate purpose for entering the casino lay in this pile of stone powder.
As for that Mud Skin Toad, it was merely something done in passing.
He had opened the rock privately; besides himself, no one knew the true outcome.
From now on, he could plausibly claim that the Liquor worm was awakened and subdued from this purple-gold fossil.
This was a brilliant idea.
Firstly, no one could be sure what kind of Gu worm was sealed within a fossil. Who dared to say a Liquor worm couldn't lie dormant within a purple-gold fossil? This was entirely possible!
Secondly, he had some eyewitnesses. His opening of the Mud Skin Toad had inevitably left a profound and vivid impression on the Gu Masters in the casino.
Thirdly, even if someone relentlessly pursued the matter, he could attribute everything to luck. A thing like luck was the hardest to understand. Even if someone suspected this was the Flower Wine Monk's Liquor worm, faced with the excuse of "luck," they would have no way to press the issue.
In the dark room, Fang Yuan's gaze was deep.
Blindly concealing something was like trying to wrap a fire in paper; there would come a day when it was exposed.
To deal with the hidden danger of the Liquor worm, he had to take the initiative to attack. This was Fang Yuan's style.
Moreover, he had carefully considered it; in the upcoming cultivation process, he would also need to reveal the Liquor worm.
"A Rank one Gu worm like the Liquor worm is extremely precious to a Rank one Gu Master. But once reaching Rank two, it becomes unsuitable for use. Therefore, exposing it will at most attract the attention of some people, harmless to the big picture, it doesn't matter much. It's not like the Spring Autumn Cicada. If the Spring Autumn Cicada is exposed, I might die without a burial place the very next moment."
Five hundred years of life experience had long allowed Fang Yuan to observe human psychology as clearly as looking at a fire, grasping it like the back of his hand.
"The Flower Wine Monk's inheritance, and the Mud Skin Toad, these were the only two cheap advantages I could remember, and now I've picked them both up. Moving forward, I can only rely on myself to cultivate step by step."
Fang Yuan sighed, stretched his body, and felt a sense of tiredness and fatigue.
A Gu Master's primeval sea cultivation could not replace sleep.
Fang Yuan pulled up the quilt and lay on the bed, his eyes still half-open.
Although there were over five hundred primeval stones hidden at the head of the bed, and many jars of green bamboo wine stored under the bed, he felt a faint sense of impending crisis.
These over five hundred primeval stones were already a limit. Prosperity precedes decline; Fang Yuan knew clearly that his consumption of primeval stones would only grow larger in the future.
And the vast majority of his income derived from extorting his classmates.
He could increasingly feel the distinct progress of the classmates around him. Especially in the recent few extortions, the degree of improvement in the martial arts of Gu Yue Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and his younger brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng, was significant. Before, it only took one or two moves to deal with them, but now it required five or six moves.
"If I rob them three or four more times, their martial arts skills will be honed out. One by one challenging me; with my current physical strength, I won't be able to withstand that kind of wheel battle. Over five hundred primeval stones seems like a lot, but with my intense consumption of four primeval stones a day, it actually isn't much."
"There are no more treasures around Qing Mao Mountain, but nearby on Bai Gu Mountain, there is an inheritance of strength secretly set up by an orthodox path Rank four Gu Master. But to obtain this inheritance is also very troublesome. There are crucial checkpoints within it that require two people working in unison to pass."
"Sigh, mainly it's that the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance is too little, I only got a Liquor worm. Right… there's also that shadow wall. Perhaps I can sell it to a certain merchant in the caravan…"
Fang Yuan pondered, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier until he fell into a deep sleep.