"With my Grade C aptitude, the maximum capacity of my empty aperture's Primal Sea is only forty-four percent. The rate at which Gu insects repel True Essence is much faster than my own recovery rate. To refine a Gu insect, I must rely on external forces, which means consuming Primordial Stones."

"The weaker the will of the Gu insect, the less resistance it has, making it easier for me to refine. However, all living beings have a survival instinct. To refine the Moonlight Gu, I need at least five Primordial Stones, and at most eight." With his rich cultivation experience, Fang Yuan estimated the total amount of Primordial Stones he would need to consume.

"Now, to refine the Wine Gu, I need at least eleven, and at most sixteen." Although the Wine Gu, like the Moonlight Gu, is a Rank One Gu, it is undoubtedly more precious, and the difficulty of refining it is greater.

In other words, even though Fang Yuan now has seventeen Primordial Stones, after refining the Wine Gu, he would be left with at most six stones, and at the least, only one.

In the night sky, the bright crescent moon cast its gentle light.

The moonlight, like the soft hand of a fairy, gently caressed Gu Yue Village. The bamboo buildings along the way stood like jade tablets.

The night breeze blew gently.

Under this moonlight, Fang Yuan returned to the inn.

The inn's door was already closed.

Fang Yuan knocked on the door with a thud, thud, thud.

"I hear you! I hear you! Who is it, knocking so late..." The inn attendant grumbled as he opened the door, still half-asleep.

But when he saw Fang Yuan at the door, his slightly dissatisfied and lazy expression immediately changed, and he bent over with a fawning smile: "Oh, it's you, young master. I'm truly fortunate to open the door for you."

Fang Yuan nodded, his face cold, and walked into the inn.

This expression only made the attendant smile more obsequiously, and he proactively asked, "Are you hungry, young master? Should I notify the cook to prepare some dishes for a late-night snack?"

"No need." Fang Yuan shook his head, only instructing, "Prepare some hot water for me, I need to wash up."

"Yes!" The attendant nodded quickly, "Please return to your room, young master. I assure you, the hot water will be delivered immediately."

Fang Yuan responded with a hum, climbed the stairs, and headed to the second floor.

The attendant watched Fang Yuan's back, his eyes shining in the lamplight, showing obvious envy.

"So this is a Gu Master. If only I had the aptitude for cultivation, how wonderful it would be!" He clenched his fists and sighed deeply.

These words drifted into Fang Yuan's ears, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

Gu Masters possess power beyond mortals, becoming superior beings, but the price they pay is steep.

The first challenge is financial resources.

Gu Masters need Primordial Stones for cultivation, battles, refining Gu, and transactions.

Without Primordial Stones, how can one cultivate?

As a mortal, the inn attendant, being just an observer, cannot understand this predicament.

Just like this evening, when the young Gu Master Jiang Ya vented his frustration to the hunters, saying: "I can't even bear to spend Primordial Stones on this Green Bamboo Wine, yet you mere mortals have the spare money!"

This single sentence reveals the cultivation situation of Gu Masters.

Gu Masters have great abilities and earn more than mortals, but their expenses are also high. Often, every Primordial Stone must be carefully calculated, especially for low-level Gu Masters.

Some Gu Masters may appear glamorous on the surface, but their lives are actually quite frugal.

"And as a Gu Master's realm improves, their demand for resources grows even larger. Without backing, cultivation is difficult." Fang Yuan thought of his past life and deeply understood this.

He returned to his room, lit a lamp, and the inn attendant promptly brought in a basin of hot water.

Of course, there were also towels and other toiletries.

Fang Yuan dismissed the attendant, closed the door, bolted it, washed up, and then went to bed.

Though physically tired, his heart still held a trace of excitement: "I've finally obtained the Wine Gu. It's even more precious than the Moonlight Gu. In a sense, it is a Gu that can enhance a Gu Master's aptitude!"

Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the Wine Gu.

The Wine Gu was still sound asleep. It was slightly larger than the Moonlight Gu, plump and white, resembling a silkworm baby.

Under the lamplight, its body was enveloped in a faint radiance, like the lustrous sheen of a pearl. Its two eyes, like black sesame seeds, were embedded in its chubby head, looking adorably naive.

Held in hand, it wasn't heavy, about the weight of half an egg.

Upon closer inspection, a faint aroma of wine wafted from it.

This aroma wasn't from the Green Bamboo Wine but was the scent emitted by the Wine Gu itself. The fragrance was ethereal and elusive, seemingly there yet not. Fang Yuan's nostrils twitched as he inhaled this wine-scented breath into his body.

The wine-scented breath flowed down, entering the empty aperture, merging into the bronze-colored Primal Sea.

The Primal Sea rippled slightly, quickly absorbing and integrating this wine breath. A wisp of extremely pure True Essence was produced.

The other True Essence was emerald green, shimmering with a metallic bronze sheen.

But this wisp of True Essence was azure green, more refined than the previous True Essence. This was the True Essence of a Rank One Gu Master at the Intermediate Stage.

Noticing this azure green Bronze True Essence, Fang Yuan showed a satisfied smile: "My current cultivation is only at the Rank One – Initial Stage. But with the refinement from the Wine Gu, the True Essence is purified, allowing me to possess the True Essence of a Rank One – Intermediate Stage. The subtlety of this cannot be explained in a few words."

But soon, he restrained his smile: "However, I haven't truly mastered the Wine Gu yet. Only by completely refining it and making it my Life-Bound Gu can I freely manipulate it and refine my True Essence with maximum efficiency."

With this thought, he wasted no time, drawing a stream of Bronze True Essence from the Primal Sea.

The True Essence tightly enveloped the Wine Gu, suspending it in front of Fang Yuan, beginning to invade its body.

The Wine Gu, sensing the threat to its survival, immediately awoke. It began to struggle violently, mobilizing its own power to repel Fang Yuan's True Essence.

"This Wine Gu has such strong resistance." Fang Yuan's expression turned serious, feeling the consumption rate of True Essence was more than double that of the Moonlight Gu.

"No matter what, I am determined to refine the Wine Gu." A determined look flashed in his eyes as he continued to draw True Essence, wrapping it around the Wine Gu.

In the inn's room, the candle on the table burned quietly, illuminating the center of the room while the distant corners remained dim.

The candlelight cast on Fang Yuan's face, he had already closed his eyes, concentrating on dealing with the Wine Gu.

A continuous stream of bronze-colored True Essence, like a mist, emanated from Fang Yuan's entire body, then gathered together, firmly enveloping the Wine Gu.

The Wine Gu floated in the air, less than a foot away from Fang Yuan's face. It struggled desperately within the embrace of the Bronze True Essence.

Time passed silently.

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The candle burned lower and lower, and the flame grew dimmer. Outside the window, the crescent moon slowly descended, and a new day arrived.

The morning sunlight, through the cracks in the window, streamed into the room, like a border of light around the window.

Fang Yuan opened his eyes, looking at the Wine Gu before him.

The Wine Gu's white body now had a tinge of azure green. This was the result of Fang Yuan's efforts for half the night.

But clearly, this bit of azure green was less than one percent of the Wine Gu's body.

Fang Yuan's expression was grave; the will of this Wine Gu was too tenacious, its resistance extremely strong, almost surpassing the limits of a Rank One Gu.

"This Gu insect is very likely the Life-Bound Gu of the Wine-loving Wanderer. The Wine-loving Wanderer is a Rank Five expert; this Wine Gu was originally Rank Five, but over the years, without sufficient food, it has been reduced to a Rank One level, yet its will remains as steadfast as a rock!"

Fang Yuan had guessed the truth.

This Wine Gu was indeed the Life-Bound Gu of the Wine-loving Wanderer. Its original natural will had been completely refined by the Wine-loving Wanderer, accompanying him in his adventures across the land.

After the Wine-loving Wanderer's death, his strong will remained within the Wine Gu. Fang Yuan's attempt to refine the Wine Gu was akin to contending with the Wine-loving Wanderer's will.

This was much more difficult than refining a naturally-formed Gu insect.

A person's will is generally stronger than that of a naturally-formed Gu insect. In life-and-death situations, a person can unleash unimaginable power. And the Wine-loving Wanderer, being a demonic path expert, a lone wanderer, his will was even more tenacious than that of righteous path experts of the same level.

"To refine this Wine Gu within a month is already impossible. Unless a strong expert uses the aura of a Rank Two or Rank Three Gu to suppress this Wine Gu, reducing its will to the lowest level. With such help, I could achieve twice the result with half the effort." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

His parents were deceased, his uncle and aunt-in-law were scheming against him, and he had no backing. Where could he find external assistance?

If he had Grade A aptitude, it would be easier, but with only Grade C aptitude, none of the clan members had high hopes for him. Who would be willing to expend such effort to help him?

More crucially, the existence of the Wine Gu could not be exposed.

Gu Yue Village had no such Gu as the Wine Gu, and Fang Yuan couldn't explain its origin.

If exposed, it would likely be noticed by the higher-ups, leading to a connection with the Wine-loving Wanderer. The link between the two was too easy to make.

"By this calculation, seventeen Primordial Stones are not enough; at least thirty are needed! What a hassle, but no matter how difficult, I must refine this Wine Gu." Fang Yuan's will was as firm as iron, already determined to refine the Wine Gu.

The Life-Bound Gu is of great significance, greatly influencing a Gu Master's future cultivation path.

Although the Wine Gu is not the most ideal choice for a Life-Bound Gu in this world, it is much better than the Moonlight Gu and is the best level Fang Yuan can currently achieve.

Gurgle, gurgle...

At this moment, Fang Yuan's stomach protested with a growl.

After staying up all night and exerting himself to refine the Wine Gu, Fang Yuan was naturally hungry.

"I should fill my stomach first, then think about how to accumulate Primordial Stones." Fang Yuan rubbed his stomach and went downstairs.

In the dining hall on the first floor, he chose a corner seat and ordered some breakfast.

Just as he began to eat, his younger brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng appeared.

"Brother, why are you staying at the inn? Why didn't you come home to sleep last night?" He asked bluntly, with a tone of inquiry.