The soft worm looked like a clot of drying, filthy blood.
Lifeless. Its skin was hardened, looking as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
"Red Mud Gu."
A sharp glint flashed in Lin Mu's eyes. His finger hovered in mid-air, not rushing to touch it.
Information about this obscure Gu worm flowed through his mind like water.
Rank 1, Special type.
Though its reputation was obscure, in the eyes of knowledgeable low-rank Gu Masters, it was a treasure with an extremely high cost-performance ratio.
The reason it could remain buried underground for years without dying was its ability of self-sealing—a state of near-death suspended animation.
And this ability could be used not only on itself but on other Gu worms as well.
"Currently, I possess the Liquor Worm. If someone with intentions investigates me, I will be in a perilous situation."
"This Red Mud Gu solves my urgent need perfectly."
Lin Mu didn't hesitate.
He quickly fished out the half-fragment of Primeval Stone remaining from his purchase.
He found a sharp rock and ground the fragment into fine powder.
Then, enduring the pain, he bit his fingertip.
He dripped fresh blood into the powder, mixing it into a ball of dark red sludge.
"Eat."
He brought the sludge to the Red Mud Gu's mouth.
Smelling the scent of blood and earth, the dying Gu worm seemed to experience a terminal lucidity. It moved.
It extended its mouthparts like a miniature vacuum, swallowing the sludge in two or three gulps.
As it fed, an oily luster gradually rose on its dull surface.
The shriveled body swelled up again, transforming into a beetle the size of a fingernail with a hard back shell.
"Easy to raise."
Lin Mu nodded with satisfaction.
"Not a picky eater. Slag, beast blood, even rotten mud—it eats everything."
"Aside from carrying a trace of Blood Path aura that makes it easily rejected by the Righteous Path, it is simply a divine Gu for the poor."
He sat cross-legged, preparing to refine it.
He mobilized the purified Primeval Essence in his aperture, turning it into a slender torrent that forcibly washed away the residual wild will within the Red Mud Gu.
The Red Mud Gu was ownerless and on the verge of death.
Under the impact of Lin Mu's seasoned will, its weak wild consciousness collapsed completely in moments.
With a thought, Lin Mu summoned the Liquor Worm from his aperture.
White and plump, emitting a seductive wine fragrance.
"Seal!"
With a low shout, the Red Mud Gu in his hand instantly spat out a stream of viscous red mud, wrapping layer upon layer around the Liquor Worm.
A few breaths later.
The Liquor Worm vanished. In its place was an inconspicuous reddish-brown mud ball.
It sank quietly to the bottom of his Primeval Sea, looking like a dead, silent kidney stone.
All wine scent, all Primeval Essence fluctuations—everything was cut off by this special layer of red mud.
Even if Elder Kuang Xu used a scouting Gu to investigate again, as long as he didn't forcibly shatter this red mud shell, he would absolutely never discover the secret hidden inside.
This was the best safe. It thoroughly resolved the danger of possessing wealth.
However, this was not without cost.
Lin Mu attempted to unseal it and found that he needed to continuously wash the red mud shell with Primeval Essence for at least three breaths of time before the Liquor Worm could break out and function.
"Three breaths of casting delay..."
Lin Mu silently noted this fatal limitation.
"This means in a rapidly changing encounter, I cannot immediately use the Liquor Worm to burst out Middle Stage Primeval Essence."
"I must predict in advance, or... treat it as the trump card among trump cards."
Besides sealing, this Gu had a secondary use.
The red mud contained a large amount of iron rust minerals. When plastered on a wound, it would dry and scab instantly.
Although it couldn't regenerate flesh, its physical hemostatic effect was excellent, sufficient to last until the end of a battle.
Though inferior to specialized Healing Gu, its advantage lay in zero cost.
It needed no extra treatment fees—just feed it some blood and dirt, and it would produce mud infinitely.
It perfectly patched Lin Mu's current lack of recovery methods.
"Can hide, can heal, and can eat bitterness. Red Mud Gu, welcome to the team."
Lin Mu stored the Red Mud Gu back into his aperture.
Leaning against the green stone by the stream, listening to the gurgling water, he slowly closed his eyes.
From killing Gao Xiong to scamming his classmates, to picking up this leak—he had been like a tightly wound spring.
Now, his trump cards were set, his retreat path paved. He could finally rest briefly, waiting for the true grand play to open.
...
Meanwhile, the Academy Dormitory District.
Lin Feng sat in a grand armchair, playing with two iron balls in his hand, listening to his subordinate's report.
"Young Master Feng, word came from Steward Wang. The caravan did lower the price. They say there was too much stock at White Bone Stockade, so they're only willing to give 7.5 stones per bundle."
The subordinate watched Lin Feng's expression carefully. Dropping from 10 stones to 7.5 was a significant shrinkage.
Unexpectedly, Lin Feng didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed loudly.
"Let them suppress it! Those treacherous merchants of the Jia Clan, plucking feathers from a passing goose is their norm. As long as they're still buying, it's fine!"
The abacus in his heart clicked loudly.
How much did he pay? Averaged out, only 2.5 stones! Selling at 7.5 now meant a full three times profit!
Once these hundreds of bundles of Green Pouch Grass were unloaded, deducting the bribe for Steward Wang, he would net over a thousand Primeval Stones!
This money was enough for him to outfit himself with a set of exquisite Rank 2 Gu worms, and even compete for the position of an Elder's True Inheritance disciple.
"That Lin Mu..."
In a good mood, Lin Feng remembered the branch family kid who ran errands and took the blame for him.
"He's actually a talent. Works cleanly, doesn't have the stink of those poor scholars' pride. Tell him to do dirty work, he does it. Tell him to roll, he rolls."
"Young Master Feng, should we recruit him?" the lackey beside him suggested. "Such a useful dog is rare."
"No rush." Lin Feng waved his hand, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes.
"What comes too easily isn't cherished. Let him dangle first. Toss him some scraps to keep him hooked."
"When he spends that bit of errand money and has nowhere to go, he will naturally come begging. Recruiting him then ensures the most loyalty."
He stood up, adjusting his robes, his eyes flickering with the light of desire.
"By the way, the caravan's Stone Gambling den opens tonight, right? I heard the Jia Clan brought a lot of good stuff this time."
"Even that brute Zhao Hu and Lin Ze scraped together money to try their luck. Having earned such a huge sum, if this Young Master doesn't go and enjoy himself, wouldn't it be a waste of silk robes in the night?"
"Let's go! Call a few brothers. Tonight, we go to the 'Golden Jade Hall.' I want to show those poor ghosts what the extravagance of a main line descendant looks like!"
...
Night fell, but Black Blood Stockade did not sleep.
In the center of the martial arts field, a massive tent, resembling a palace, had risen from the ground.
This place, originally filled with the stench of sweat and blood, was now illuminated as bright as day by countless suspended Bright Light Gu.
It was a Rhino Skin Grand Tent, carried here by several fat beetles.
At the entrance, four guards in the green combat gear of the Jia Clan stood with hands on their blades.
Though only Peak Rank 1 or Initial Rank 2, the bloody aura of veterans who fought in the wilderness made the watching students of Black Blood Stockade tremble in fear.
Through the lifted curtain, hundreds of redwood tables could be seen arranged inside.
On every table lay fossils of various shapes and sizes.
Some looked like crouching tigers, some like swimming dragons. Some were black as pot bottoms, some white as mutton fat.
Surrounding these stones were Gu Masters with bloodshot eyes.
One man cracked open a stone and howled with laughter at the sky, clutching a glowing Gu like a madman.
Another sat ashen-faced on the ground, weeping over a pile of worthless rubble.
Heaven and hell, side by side.
And in the deepest part of the hall stood the "Golden Jade Platform," raised above the ground.
Placed there were the true premium goods brought by the caravan this time—raw stones from major forbidden grounds. Old pit stock.
Every single one was priceless.
Lin Mu stood in the shadow of the tent, looking at the brilliant, golden entrance. He gently pressed his chest, feeling the sleeping Red Mud Gu.
That was the final insurance that gave him the daring to step into this place.
His eyes were calm, completely out of place with the fanaticism around him.
Beneath the splendor, bones rot.
He straightened his clothes. Following the surging tide of people, he took a step into this bizarre arena of fame and fortune.