Chapter 8 (1/2)

Chapter 8 - Things will always be things, but humans will change

Beside the academy was a Gu room. The Gu room was not big; it was only 60 meters² in size.

In a Gu Master's road to cultivation, a Gu is the key to strength.

At the end of cla.s.s, the excited teenagers rushed towards the Gu room.

”Form a line, enter one by one,” some voices suddenly yelled; it was natural that there were guards outside the Gu room. The youths went in one at a time and came out. Finally it was Fang Yuan's turn to enter the Gu room.

This room was a mysterious room. The four walls all had holes; in each one of these embedded square holes were another square hole. Each of the holes differed in size, some big and some small. The bigger ones were no bigger than a an earthenware cooking pot, the smaller holes no smaller than a fist.

In the many square holes were all kinds of containers - there were grey stone basins, verdant jade dishes, exquisite gra.s.s cages, earthen stoves etc. These containers kept in all kinds of variety of Gu.

Some Gu were silent, while some Gu made a lot of noises, creating chirping, clucking, rustling sounds and so on. All these noises combined together to create a sort of life symphony.

”Gu are also divided into 9 big levels, following the same concept of the 9 rank realms of Gu Masters. All the Gu in this room are Rank one Gu.” Fang Yuan glanced around, immediately aware of this.

Generally speaking, Rank one Gu Masters can only use Rank one Gu. If they used higher level Gu, these masters would need to pay an extremely heavy price. In addition, Gu need to be fed. The high cost of feeding higher level Gu was often not something lower ranked Gu Masters could afford. Thus to Gu Masters who were newcomers, they would always pick a Rank one Gu worm as their first refined Gu unless under a special situation.

There is great significance to the first Gu that a Gu Master refines - It will become their vital Gu, interconnecting their lives together. If it dies, the Gu master will suffer a huge blow.

”Alas, my original wish was to get my hands on the Flower Wine Monk's Liquor worm and refine it as my vital Gu. But right now there are still no leads on my search for the Flower Wine Monk's skeleton. I don't even know when will I be able to find it, or when someone else does. Just to be safe I'll pick a Moonlight Gu first.” Fang Yuan sighed inwardly as he walked straight along the wall on his left.

One of the top layers of the holes in this wall had a row of silver plates. In every plate was a Gu.

These Gu were crystalline and shaped like a crescent; it was like a piece of blue quartz. Against the backdrop of the silver dish, the Gu gave off a quiet and beautiful feeling.

Known as the Moonlight Gu, this variety of Gu was the local Gu of the Gu Yue clan and many of the clansmen would choose the Moonlight Gu as their vital Gu. The Moonlight Gu was not a Gu of nature; it was a breed that was cultivated with a secret method by the Gu Yue clan. The Moonlight Gu cannot be found anywhere else; it could be said that this Gu was a symbol of the Gu Yue clan.

Since it was all Rank one Moonlight Gu, there was very little difference among one another. Fang Yuan casually chose one and took it. The Moonlight Gu was very light, comparable to the weight of a piece of paper. The insect occupied a small area of his palm; it was roughly the size of a common jade pendant. As Fang Yuan put it on his hand, he could see through it and gaze at the lines on his palm.

With one last look and finding nothing wrong with it, Fang Yuan put the Moonlight Gu into his pocket and walked out of the Gu room. Outside the Gu room, the queue was still quite long. As soon as the next person in line saw Fang Yuan leave, he went into the room hurriedly with excitement.

If it were others, when they got their Gu the first thing they would do, would be to take it home and quickly refine it. But Fang Yuan was not in a hurry to do so, for his mind was still thinking about the Liquor worm.

The Liquor Worm was more precious compared to the Moonlight Gu, although the Moonlight Gu was a specialty of the Gu Yue village, it did not help a Gu Master as much as a Liquor Worm.

After he left the Gu room, Fang Yuan headed straight for the tavern.

”Shopkeeper, two jars of aged wine!” Fang Yuan fished around his pockets and drew out the remaining primeval stone pieces, putting them onto the counter.

These few days he would come here and buy wine, then go around the village border and scout, intending to attract the Liquor worm so it would appear. The shopkeeper was a short and fat middle-aged man, his face oily. After these few days he had already remembered Fang Yuan.

”Sir, you've come.” While he greeted Fang Yuan, he stretched out a thick and short chubby hand and skillfully swiped away the primeval stone pieces. As he put them onto his palm he s.h.i.+fted his hand up and down and felt that the weight was correct. With this the shopkeeper's smile deepened.

Primeval stones were the currency used in this world, used to measure the value of all commodities. At the same time it was also a condensed matter of the world's essence, usable on oneself, and is important in helping a Gu Master in his cultivation.

As it has monetary attributes as well as usable properties, it is similar to the gold on Earth. Earth has a gold currency standard system, and in this world it is replaced with primeval stones. Compared to gold, the purchasing power of primeval stones is even more astonis.h.i.+ng. However with Fang Yuan's continued spending like this, no matter how many primeval stones he has it would not be enough.

”Two jars of wine everyday, and it has been 7 full days already. The initial savings I had are already almost all spent,” Fang Yuan frowned slightly as he walked out of the tavern with two jars of wine.

Once someone becomes a Gu Master, he is able to extract primeval essence straight from a primeval stone to replenish the primeval sea in his aperture. Thus to Gu Masters, primeval stones are not just a form of currency, but also a supplement in their cultivation. With sufficient primeval stones, the rate of cultivation will increase greatly; this can make up for the disadvantages of those with lower talent grade.

”I won't have primeval stones to buy wine anymore tomorrow, yet the Liquor worm just doesn't want to appear. Do I really have to take the Moonlight Gu and refine it as my vital Gu?” Fang Yuan felt rather unsatisfied.