"Eh?"
"Don't tell me it's another rock in the rock."
"By the looks of it, probably. But it's a little strange, this mudball is enclosed by a purple gold rock surface. The mudball surface should be compressed smoothly, so why is the surface still uneven?" The surrounding Gu Masters were perplexed.
Looking at the mudball in his hands, Fang Yuan's expression did not change, but in his heart he was slightly moved.
He continued to grind. Under the blue watery light, powdery sand fell off. Among the powder, there were some soil crumbs mixed in it, falling onto the pile of rock powder beside his leg.
"Don't tell me there's really something?!" Upon seeing this, some of the Gu Masters stared with their eyes wide-opened.
"It's hard to say," someone spoke with an uncertain tone.
"I feel like there is, there's really something." Another spoke softly.
The yellow mudball gradually decreased in size due to the friction, and when it was palm-sized, someone barged into the tent. "Young lad, hold up. I, Jia Jin Sheng, will be buying it!"
Fang Yuan's movement came to a halt, at once , the Gu Masters in the tent all focused their attention on this person.
He looked young on the outside, his appearance around twenty to twenty-five years old. He wore a golden-coloured robe with a lace belt around his waist, and on the belt there was a square shaped jade piece. There was a word across the piece of jade, showing the letter "One".
Evidently, this was a Rank one Gu Master.
To still be a Rank one Gu Master at twenty years old, it seems that his talent isn't good.
But the status of this person was rather unique. Seeing him, the Gu Masters in the tent all bowed and greeted him, saying, "Your subordinate greets you, Second Young Master."
"Second Young Master?"
"He called himself Jia Jin Sheng earlier, is he the half-brother of the Merchant Caravan Leader, Jia Fu..."
"This means to say, this rock gambling den is opened by him. But now that he appeared to interfere, it seems that he's breaking the gambling den's rules," the Gu Masters softly conversed.
"That's right, I am this shop's shopkeeper. Little brother1, coming out to gamble at such a young age, aren't you afraid of your family's scolding? I will offer forty primeval stones now to buy that mudball in your hand. What do you think? Forty primeval stones is a lot already and there may not be a Gu inside, but today I am in a good mood.
Thus seeing that this is your first time gambling, I don't want you to lose everything, so I'll give you a portion of your capital back." Jia Jin Sheng quickly walked in front of Fang Yuan and said.
"Forty primeval stones?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly and took a look at Jia Jin Sheng with the corner of his eye, coldly laughing, "It seems you want to forcefully buy the mudball fossil in my possession? Forceful purchase is spoiling the gambling den's rules. Furthermore you're now on Qing Mao Mountain, you want to bully a Gu Yue clansman like me in front of everyone? "
"Oh?" On hearing Fang Yuan's last sentence, all the other Gu Masters could not take it and animosity grew uncontrollably in them as they looked towards Fang Yuan's direction. Their expression towards Jia Jin Sheng also became unfriendly.
Jia Jin Sheng had thought a fifteen year old like Fang Yuan would be easy to deal with, easily persuaded with a few words. But to think this Fang Yuan had such capabilities, and with a single sentence, he caused Jia Jin Sheng to be in such a predicament.
Seeing the Gu Masters getting ready to interfere, Jia Jin Sheng's expression changed immediately as he changed his tone, quickly waving his hands, "Little brother, you're mistaken! I am the shopkeeper of this gambling den, how could I ruin my own reputation by breaking my own rules? How would I be able to conduct business in the future? Hehehe.
I just found your mudball a little interesting, thus I wanted to buy it. If you do not wish to sell it, that's fine. But if there's nothing inside later, don't blame me for not reminding you."
Fang Yuan paid no more attention to him. He turned around and continued to focus on grinding the mudball in his hands.
His movements were very slow and very meticulous. Often, there was only a hint of dry soil powder falling off after a moment or so. Following his movement, a hibernating Gu worm
gradually appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
"My god, there really is a Gu worm!"
"He really opened a Gu!"
"What the hell, this sort of method of gambling can also work?"
"This young man's luck is off the charts, he actually managed to forcefully luck out on getting a Gu."
Immediately, the Gu Masters' exasperation filled the tent.
The female Gu Master subconsciously covered her mouth, unable to believe the scene before her.
As a shop clerk, along the way she had been to many mountain villages, seen all sorts of people and all kinds of customers, but she had never seen such a comedic scene.
"There is really a Gu!" Cold light flashed across Jia Jin Sheng's eyes as he hated and regretted in his heart. The thing he hated most, was to be taken advantage of.
This gambling den that he opened, he had placed many surveillance methods. Once a customer was about to open a Gu, he'd receive the news and would normally forcefully buy it.
But now Fang Yuan was inside his gambling den, getting a Gu under his very eyes. Jia Jin Sheng could feel his heart bleeding.
What he obtained, was a toad Gu.
Its entire body was yellow from head to foot. The belly was light yellow, and its back was brownish yellow, covered with many pimply boils, full of nodules and warts which were a distinctive characteristic of the toad species. At one glance, it looked slightly horrifying.
It was not big, being only palm-sized. Holding it in the palm was akin to holding two to three eggs.
Fang Yuan's expression was calm under all sorts of admiration, envy and exasperation, carefully deploying his primeval essence and injecting it into the toad's body.
At this moment, the Gu was being refined by Fang Yuan.
Gu worms obtained from within fossils are normally extremely weak. Not only do they have little to no strength left, their consciousness is also lazy, leaving them defenseless and unable to resist. Thus, they can be easily refined by the Gu masters.
Upon being awakened by Fang Yuan, the toad Gu opened its eyes slowly, and its belly slightly vibrated, softly calling out.
Croak.
Its voice was soft but it made everyone's expression very interesting.
The difference in value between a Gu that was alive against one that was dead was huge.
"It's a live Gu, he really opened a live Gu!!" Someone rubbed his eyes, unable to believe this.
"This is the Mudskin Toad, damn it, it really is the Mudskin Toad!" Someone recognised the toad Gu's identity and screamed agitatedly.
"This young man really has got luck on his side, why don't I have such luck!" Someone sighed, filled with complicated emotions such as envy, jealousy and hatred.
"Young Master, congratulations! This, this, this is to date, my first time seeing such a precious Gu worm!" The female Gu Master was shocked beyond words, her eyes glistening with life.
"It's actually the Mudskin Toad! This is a rare Rank two Gu worm, its value worth five hundred primeval stones. Damn it, damn. Someone actually managed to open such a Gu worm in my shop. I've lost big time, big time!" Jia Jin Sheng's face was pale as he stared daggers at the toad, his heart having a strong urge to just snatch the Gu away.
But he knew he couldn't, for if he really did that, it would be asking for trouble.
This was not his family's village, but the Gu Yue clan's territory.
"Maybe I should've paid a bit more primeval stones, maybe he might have given it to me. That's right, he's just a student. If I offered a hundred primeval stones, there's no way he'd not be moved. Why didn't I do that?" Jia Jin Sheng was full of regret.
"No, maybe this young lad does not know his stuff. Even though he opened a Mudskin Toad, I should be able to suppress the price and buy it!" Jia Jin Sheng's heart had renewed hope.
But at the next moment, this hint of hope was mercilessly smashed by Fang Yuan's words.
Fang Yuan plainly looked at the Mudskin Toad in his hands, ignoring the surrounding people's praises and shock.
He used an extremely calm tone and said to Jia Jin Sheng, "Mudskin Toad, Rank two Gu worm, requires five hundred grams of yellow soil every meal, the more fertile the soil the better. Its species is few in number and it is the necessary main Gu in refining the Treasure Brass Toad. The market price is five hundred primeval stones. Jia Jin Sheng, do you want to buy this?"
"You, actually know so clearly…" Jia Jin Sheng mumbled. After such a shock, he could not say a word.
Fang Yuan laughed lightly and continued, "If you're unwilling, that's fine. I'll sell it to someone else, I'm sure someone will be interested."
"Hold it, wait, I'll buy it, I'll buy it. But can't this price be cheaper?" Jia Jin Sheng's smile turned bitter.
Fang Yuan turned around and walked away.
Jia Jin Sheng hurriedly chased after him. "Don't! Don't go! I'll buy, I'll buy it!"
Fang Yuan had no plans to nurture this Mudskin Toad.
It was a Rank two Gu, but Fang Yuan was still a Rank one initial stage. Although it ate yellow soil, Qing Mao Mountain was full of green soil, hence finding food for it would be troublesome.
Moreover, if he does not sell this Gu worm, Fang Yuan would have to feed three Gu worms himself. Putting aside the increased primeval stone expenditure, even the current amount of primeval stones in his possession would not be enough to feed them.
Thus, Fang Yuan's plan was to immediately sell the Mudskin Toad, get the five hundred primeval stones, and earn a fortune.
To a Rank one initial stage like Fang Yuan, five hundred primeval stones was considered a large amount already.
The transaction was quickly completed and Fang Yuan transferred the Mudskin Toad to Jia Jin Sheng in front of the crowd, at the same time accepting five heavy money bags. Each bag had a hundred primeval stones.
Fang Yuan originally had ninety-eight primeval stones, and after spending sixty on gambling rocks, he had thirty-eight left. Now, his fortune multiplied many times, and he owned five hundred and thirty-eight primeval stones.
Upon seeing this, many Gu masters turned green with envy.
Fang Yuan put the five bags in his bosom before taking the last piece of purple gold fossil and walked out of the tent.
"Young Master, you're not opening that fossil?" The female Gu Master blinked rapidly and stared at Fang Yuan's back, loudly reminding him.
Fang Yuan paid no heed and left the gambling den without turning back.
He left behind a gang of stunned Gu Masters, staring at each other silently.