After settling the business arrangement with Lin Ping, Lin Mu's days became purer and more concealed.
He no longer frequented those noisy low-grade marketplaces, for there was someone more suitable, more inconspicuous, and more desperate to change his fate—someone now handling all the dirty work on his behalf.
Lin Ping was like a diligent worker ant, shuttling daily between the clan's abandoned mines, the reeking garbage dumps, and the deep mountain forests where venomous insects lurked.
Those companion ore slags that others deemed worthless, the foul-smelling low-grade beast blood, even the mildly toxic companion herbs—he collected them all in a ceaseless stream.
He learned to sort materials by faint moonlight in the dead of night, washing and packaging them with hands covered in old calluses and fresh wounds.
Then, when the darkness was thickest, he would move like a tireless ghost, delivering the heavy baskets to the small dwelling in Silent Stone District.
"Brother Lin Mu, here's today's haul."
Lin Ping set down a basket heavy enough to bend a grown man's spine. Without bothering to wipe the grime and sweat from his face, he flashed a grin—his white teeth particularly striking in the darkness—his eyes full of drive.
"I found a new vein! The path's a bit rough, but the purity is high. Enough to feed the Red Mud Gu for half a month!"
Lin Mu nodded without wasting words, simply handing over a pre-prepared bag of fractured Primeval Stones as payment and courier fee.
This transaction was simple, efficient, and full of tacit understanding.
For Lin Mu, it was trading money for time. For Lin Ping, it was trading sweat for dignity.
Lin Mu need only sit back and enjoy the fruits, transforming this endless stream of resources through refinement and feeding into sustenance for his Gu worms, which in turn became his own foundation.
Inside the dwelling, under dim lamplight, a silent "feeding" was underway.
In the clay pot, the Red Mud Gu—that great contributor—lay contentedly atop a pile of dark red powder.
This was Red Iron Ore slag rich in fire toxin, something ordinary Gu worms would flee from, yet it ate with relish, producing faint rustling sounds.
As it fed, its carapace grew ever harder and thicker, gradually taking on a dull metallic sheen, as if donning a suit of heavy armor.
In the wine jar beside it, the Liquor Worm floated in aged Huadiao wine that Lin Mu had purchased specially.
Its plump white body bobbed with the liquid, each breath exhaling extraordinarily pure wine essence that nourished Lin Mu's aperture.
And that most delicate and difficult-to-please Dust Escape Gu, nurtured by expensive "Primal Stone Dew," was gradually shedding its original ashen pallor.
The dusty luster on its shell became more vibrant, as if it might dissolve into a wisp of smoke at any moment.
Everything had entered a perfect virtuous cycle.
Lin Mu sat cross-legged on the cold stone bed, sinking his consciousness into his aperture to feel the daily rise of his Primeval Essence level.
Watching the Primeval Essence rise at a visible rate under the massive accumulation of resources, that sensation of "getting stronger just by spending money" was enough to dispel all the loneliness that came with tedious cultivation.
"Ordinary Gu Masters risk their lives for a few Primeval Stones, calculating every drop of essence to save a little. But I'm paving my path with resources."
"This seems unfair, yet it's the world's greatest fairness—resources are themselves a part of strength."
Time flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
It was a night of thunder and rain.
Outside the window, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Rain poured down in sheets while wild wind, like an enraged beast, madly battered the thick stone walls, producing muffled, urgent sounds.
Such foul weather was nature's perfect cover for a Gu Master breaking through a bottleneck.
Rolling thunder could mask the strange sounds of an aperture's tremors; torrential rain could wash away the aura that spilled during breakthrough.
Inside, Lin Mu adjusted his breathing, pushing his physical and mental state to their peak.
"It's time."
He turned his inner vision to his aperture. That Primeval Sea had filled to its absolute limit, like floodwaters held back by a dam. Not only did it fill the entire aperture, but the excessive fullness made the aperture walls ache, as if they might burst at any second.
"Break!"
A low roar in his heart. Without hesitation, his will became a blade, mobilizing that vast torrent of Primeval Essence to launch a decisive assault against the resilient aperture walls.
There was no danger of cultivation deviation, no life-or-death struggle.
Under the daily accumulation of massive resources, supported by the deep foundation of Rank 1 Middle Stage peak, that boundary barrier—ordinarily impenetrable for those of average talent—now felt like window paper soaked in floodwater for three days and nights.
A single surge, and it was gently punctured.
Boom—
A thunderous roar echoed in his mind, followed by an indescribable sense of relief, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
His once-cramped aperture instantly expanded by more than double. The white crystalline membrane walls became thicker and more translucent, radiating a lustrous glow.
Breakthrough successful. Rank 1 Upper Stage!
But this wasn't the end. This was merely an elevation in realm; the true transformation had only just begun.
With the realm advancement, newborn Primeval Essence gushed forth like spring water—deep green upper-stage essence, more condensed than middle-stage essence, containing far more violent energy.
And the Liquor Worm, which had been suspended at the center of his aperture, now dove excitedly into the newborn Primeval Sea like a cat catching a whiff of fish.
It gulped greedily, its body trembling slightly, the pearlescent sheen on its surface growing ever more brilliant.
Then, like a precision converter, it exhaled streams of essence even deeper in color, approaching ink-black.
This was the Liquor Worm's refining power, the cheat code that transcended grades.
The originally deep green upper-stage Primeval Essence underwent another qualitative transformation under the Liquor Worm's conversion. The color deepened further and further, finally becoming a heavy, metallic-sheened ink-green.
Rank 1 Peak Primeval Essence!
This was the Liquor Worm's heaven-defying aspect.
Even though Lin Mu was only at Rank 1 Upper Stage cultivation, the quality of his Primeval Essence had genuinely reached the pinnacle of Rank 1, standing shoulder to shoulder with veteran Gu Masters who had cultivated for many years—perhaps even surpassing them.
"Whoosh..."
Lin Mu slowly opened his eyes. In the dark stone chamber, a sharp flash of lightning seemed to pass through.
He clenched his fist, feeling the power within him—several times stronger than before. That sense of fullness, of controlling everything, welled up naturally.
A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"This is true confidence."
This wasn't a lucky breakthrough. This was the inevitable result of "spending money" and "playing it safe." Everything came naturally when conditions were ripe; there were no accidents.
Though he had just broken through, Lin Mu wasn't in a hurry to rest. He stood and walked to the underground chamber, eager to test his current combat strength.
"Dust Escape, activate!"
Ink-green Primeval Essence surged in; dust exploded outward.
With a soft poof, Lin Mu's figure vanished from where he stood, transforming into a gray ghost that shot through the underground chamber at high speed.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
Before, by the third breath, his Primeval Essence would have bottomed out, forcing him to stop and gasp for air.
But now, that warning of meridian depletion was slow to sound. The ink-green Primeval Essence flowed like a great river, endlessly feeding this "gold-devouring beast."
Four breaths, five breaths... eight breaths!
A full eight breaths before Lin Mu felt his Primeval Essence half-depleted and voluntarily stopped.
"From a 'three-breath real man' to eight breaths."
Lin Mu's eyes blazed with brilliant light.
Don't underestimate those extra five breaths. In a life-or-death battle, five breaths was enough to kill two more people, or in a desperate situation, flee another hundred meters—the distance between life and death.
Moreover, the improvement in Primeval Essence quality also meant comprehensive enhancement to both the Earth Ring Body's defense and the Iron Leaf Gu's penetrating power.
Now, if he encountered that Boar King again, he wouldn't need all those elaborate schemes. He could face it head-on and, relying on his deep foundation, grind it to death.
"Still, no need to get cocky."
Lin Mu took a deep breath and restrained his aura, transforming back into that inconspicuous External Affairs Hall Steward.
"This is only the starting point. Above lies Rank 2, Rank 3, even the unreachable path to immortality. Right now, I don't even have the qualification to establish myself in this chaotic world."
He pushed open the stone dwelling's door.
The thunder and rain outside had stopped at some point.
The morning breeze, carrying the fragrance of earth, swept over him. On the eastern horizon, a pale fish-belly white emerged, dispelling the long night.
The weeds in the courtyard, having weathered a night of violent rain, not only hadn't broken but appeared even more verdant and upright. Crystal dewdrops hung from their leaves, glittering brilliantly in the morning light.
Lin Mu took a deep breath of the crisp air, feeling refreshed in body and spirit.
He gazed at that wild grass, now more robust after the storm, and a sudden, inexplicable feeling stirred in his heart.
"Pity the grass and trees for their green."
As long as the roots run deep enough, wind and rain become nothing but nourishment.