In the Bronze Primal Sea, waves rose and fell, tides ebbed and flowed.

Above the sea, the Wine Gu curled into a ball, emitting an aroma like a misty white fog.

A surge of True Essence rushed upwards with a whoosh, entering the wine mist. When it fell back down, it was already half gone, its color deepening from the initial stage's emerald green to the intermediate stage's azure green.

The intermediate True Essence fell into the Primal Sea, but it did not mix with the initial True Essence. It seemed heavier, settling down below.

Thus, the Primal Sea formed a structure where the upper half was initial stage True Essence water, and the lower half was intermediate stage True Essence.

As time passed, the wine mist in the empty aperture swirled continuously. Under the refinement of the Wine Gu, the initial stage True Essence gradually decreased, while the intermediate stage True Essence increased.

It was clear to see that the water level of the intermediate stage True Essence in the lower half was rising higher and higher, while the initial stage water level in the upper half was constantly declining and then rising again.

While refining True Essence, Fang Yuan also absorbed the Natural True Essence from the Primordial Stones outside, quickly replenishing his empty aperture.

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Eventually, forty-five percent of the Primal Sea in the empty aperture was once again fully refined into intermediate stage True Essence.

"Thanks to the intermediate True Essence, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to unseal stones five times in a row at the Stone Gambling Ground." Sitting cross-legged on the bed in his dormitory, Fang Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

It was already late at night.

After leaving the Stone Gambling Ground, he didn't visit any other shops but returned directly to the academy.

Although it was around Gu Yue Village, as a Rank One – Initial Stage Gu Master, carrying five hundred and thirty-eight Primordial Stones was still too much.

Not only because these stones were somewhat heavy and inconvenient to carry, but also because they attracted covetous eyes, posing a threat to his life.

If a Rank One – Advanced Stage or even a Rank Two Gu Master harbored ill intentions, Fang Yuan, with his current abilities, wouldn't be able to resist.

"Wealth is just external; people die for money, which is pathetic. It's laughable how many people in the world can't see through this. How many people have boarded the ship of interest, only to sink with it?" Fang Yuan's lips curled into a cold smile as he looked at the gray-white Primordial Stone in his hand.

A complete Primordial Stone was the size of a duck egg, but the one in his hand was already a size smaller because half of its True Essence had been absorbed.

Fang Yuan didn't feel any regret.

In everything, there is gain and loss. He only had Grade C aptitude and needed to use the Wine Gu to refine True Essence, consuming several times more Primordial Stones than his peers. But because of this, he could overcome his aptitude's shortcomings. In terms of actual cultivation progress, he ranked among the top three.

Fang Yuan put the Primordial Stone back into his money bag and took out the last Purple-Gold Fossil.

He had bought six in total at the gambling ground, unsealed five on the spot, and brought one back with him.

His eyes flashed with brilliance as he activated the Moonlight Gu again, rubbing his five fingers to unseal the stone.

The Purple-Gold Fossil quickly diminished under the blue waves, eventually turning to nothing, leaving only a small pile of stone powder on the floor by the bed.

Fang Yuan wasn't surprised; stone gambling was mostly a losing game.

Even with five hundred years of experience, he could only manage to win two out of ten times at best. Among the twenty percent winning chance, there were dead Gu and live Gu.

Dead Gu had little value. Even if a live Gu was obtained, it might not be a rare kind. If a highly valuable live Gu was indeed uncovered, it could bring about a fatal disaster.

Fang Yuan's current cultivation was very low, just the lowest tier among Gu Masters. The Lumpy Earth Toad he recently acquired could have been snatched by Jia Jinsheng if not for being near Gu Yue Village.

Gambling has never been a path to wealth; more often, it leads to ruin. This was not Fang Yuan's development route.

Although the last Purple-Gold Fossil didn't yield a Gu, Fang Yuan wasn't disappointed. Instead, he looked at the pile of stone powder on the ground and gradually smiled.

Indeed, his ultimate goal in entering the gambling ground was this pile of stone powder.

As for the Lumpy Earth Toad, it was just a convenient acquisition.

He unsealed the stone privately, and no one else knew the true result.

From now on, he could claim that the Wine Gu was awakened and tamed from this Purple-Gold Fossil.

This idea was brilliant.

First, no one could be certain what kind of Gu was sealed in the fossil. Who could say the Wine Gu couldn't be dormant in a Purple-Gold Fossil? It was entirely possible!

Second, he had some eyewitnesses; his unsealing of the Lumpy Earth Toad must have left a deep impression on the gambling ground's Gu Masters.

Third, even if someone pursued the matter relentlessly, he could attribute everything to luck. Luck is the most elusive thing. Even if someone suspected it was the Wine-loving Wanderer's Wine Gu, they couldn't do anything against the excuse of "luck."

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

Constant concealment is like wrapping fire in paper; it will eventually be exposed.

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

Moreover, he had carefully considered that in the upcoming cultivation process, he would need to expose the Wine Gu.

"The Wine Gu, as a Rank One Gu, is very precious to a Rank One Gu Master. But by Rank Two, it's no longer useful. Therefore, exposing it might attract some attention, but it won't affect the overall situation. It's not like the Spring-Autumn Cicada; if that were exposed, I might not have a place to die in peace."

With five hundred years of worldly experience, Fang Yuan had long since mastered the psychology of people, understanding it thoroughly.

"The Wine-loving Wanderer's Hidden Legacy and the Lumpy Earth Toad are the only cheap gains in my memory, and now I've acquired both. From now on, I can only rely on my own step-by-step cultivation."

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

A Gu Master's Primal Sea cultivation cannot replace sleep.

Fang Yuan pulled up the quilt, lay down on the bed, still half-opening his eyes.

Although there were over five hundred Primordial Stones hidden at the head of the bed, and many jars of Green Bamboo Wine stored under the bed, he felt a vague sense of crisis.

These over five hundred Primordial Stones were already an extreme. Prosperity leads to decline; Fang Yuan knew that the consumption of Primordial Stones would only increase in the future.

And most of his income came from extorting his classmates.

He increasingly felt the obvious progress of his classmates around him. Especially in recent extortions, Gu Yue Mo Bei, Chi Cheng, and his brother Gu Yue Fang Zheng had made significant progress in their martial skills. What used to take one or two moves now required five or six.

"Another three or four robberies, and their martial skills will be honed. They'll challenge me one by one, and with my current stamina, I can't withstand such a battle of attrition. Over five hundred Primordial Stones seem like a lot, but with my daily consumption of four Primordial Stones, it's actually not much."

"There's no treasure left on Green Reed Mountain, but nearby White Bone Mountain has a Power Inheritance secretly established by a righteous path Rank Four Gu Master. But obtaining this inheritance is also troublesome. There's an important checkpoint that requires two people to work together to pass."

"Sigh, mainly because the Wine-loving Wanderer's Hidden Legacy was too little, only yielding a Wine Gu. Hmm... and there's that Shadow Wall. Maybe I can sell it to a merchant in the caravan..."

Fang Yuan pondered as his eyelids grew heavier until he fell asleep.