"Put all the wine under the bed," Fang Yuan directed the four inn workers.
Each of them carried several jars of Green Bamboo Wine. After extorting the other students, Fang Yuan had come to the inn and bought another twenty jars in one go.
Two yuan stones per jar — to feed the Wine Worm, Fang Yuan had splurged forty yuan stones in one stroke.
His money pouch, which had just puffed up, deflated by half in an instant, leaving only thirty-nine yuan stones. But it was worth it; these jars of wine could sustain the Wine Worm for a good while.
"Right away," the workers answered hurriedly. They didn't dare show the slightest disrespect toward a Gu Master.
Besides, Fang Yuan had bought so much wine that he was practically the inn's best customer. One quiet word from him to the innkeeper, and these workers could lose their jobs without even breaking a sweat.
After the workers left, Fang Yuan shut the dormitory door and sat cross-legged on the bed.
It was already nighttime.
A sparse scattering of stars shone around the moon in the sky, and a faint fragrance drifted on the night breeze.
The room was unlit. Fang Yuan calmed his mind and sank his consciousness into his Yuan Sea.
Waves rose and fell across the Yuan Sea, its waters shimmering with a bronze luster. Every drop of that seawater was Bronze True Essence, unique to a First Transformation Gu Master.
His Yuan Sea only filled forty-four percent of the entire Empty Orifice — the limitation of his Grade C Aptitude.
The four walls of the Empty Orifice were lined with a thin white Light Film, supporting and enclosing the space.
Above the Yuan Sea, nothing floated. The Spring Autumn Cicada, under Fang Yuan's direction, had once again gone into hiding, resting in slumber.
But on the surface of the True Essence sea, a plump, adorable white Wine Worm frolicked about.
It played freely in the True Essence seawater — diving beneath the surface one moment, then flicking its head and tail to send droplets of water spraying into the air.
At Fang Yuan's thought, the Wine Worm immediately responded, stopping its play. It curled into a round, dumpling-like shape and drifted lazily upward, rising to the center of the Empty Orifice until it hovered above the bronze sea.
"Go." Fang Yuan channeled ten percent of his True Essence, forming a thin stream that surged upward and poured entirely into the Wine Worm's body.
The Wine Worm had long been refined by him, so it accepted without hesitation, absorbing every last drop of the True Essence into itself.
Immediately, the sea level — already at forty-four percent — dropped a small notch.
Converting the True Essence into fuel, the curled-up Wine Worm began to emit a soft white glow. A hazy wine mist gradually formed within the radiance, eventually coalescing into a wisp of pale white fog.
The mist was peculiar — it didn't disperse but instead clung to the Wine Worm, wreathing it.
"Rise." Fang Yuan's will stirred, channeling another ten percent of his True Essence.
The bronze seawater surged toward the wine mist, and the mist merged into the seawater, growing thinner and thinner until not a trace remained. That ten percent of bronze True Essence had likewise vanished by half its volume, leaving only five percent.
But this five percent of True Essence was far more refined than before. The original True Essence had been a vivid emerald green, radiating a copper sheen. The new True Essence, while still carrying that copper luster, had deepened a shade — it was dark green.
Dark Green True Essence was the hallmark of a Gu Master at the Middle Stage of the First Transformation. The Wine Worm's function was to refine and condense True Essence, elevating a Gu Master's power by one minor realm!
A Gu Master had nine major realms, ascending from First Transformation through Second Transformation and all the way to Ninth Transformation. Each major realm was further divided into four minor stages: Initial Stage, Middle Stage, High Stage, and Peak Stage.
Fang Yuan was currently only a First Transformation Initial Stage Gu Master, but with the Wine Worm's help, he now possessed five percent of a First Transformation Middle Stage Gu Master's True Essence!
"To refine five percent of Middle Stage True Essence, I need to consume twenty percent of Initial Stage True Essence. To convert the entire forty-four percent of my Yuan Sea into Middle Stage True Essence, I'd need to expend nearly one hundred and eighty percent of Initial Stage True Essence. To reach that goal as quickly as possible, I'll have to rely on yuan stones."
At that thought, Fang Yuan opened his eyes and pulled a duck-egg-sized whole yuan stone from his pouch.
A yuan stone was an oval, semi-transparent stone, grayish-white in color. As the natural True Essence within it was consumed over time, its size would gradually shrink.
His right hand slowly closed around the yuan stone, gripping it in his palm. He drew the natural True Essence from within, continuously replenishing his Empty Orifice.
The sea level inside his Empty Orifice, which had been falling, began to rise again at a slow but steady pace.
Yuan stones were meant to be used. Fang Yuan was not stingy in the slightest, nor did he see any point in hoarding them.
"I have no backers, no relatives or friends to support me. All I can do is rob and extort. Today was only the first time. Every seven days, when the Academy distributes yuan stone stipends, I'll block the front gate again."