Inside the quiet room, the candlelight flickered faintly.
Shadows stretched across the walls as Fang Yuan opened the wardrobe with unhurried ease and took out a Stone Bag Gu.
With a flick of his wrist, he turned it over and emptied the contents onto the bed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
One after another, Gu worms fell out, until about twenty of them lay scattered across the sheets.
Their faint movements reflected light across the room, small flashes of color against the plain bedding.
Fang Yuan looked down, eyes calm, expression steady.
Still, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Before him were:
Green Copper Relic Gu (3), Red Steel Relic Gu (2), White Silver Relic Gu (2), Liquor Worm (3), Cleansing Water Gu (2), White Boar Gu, Jade Skin Gu and six others.
A few days earlier, he had dug up the Earth Treasury Flower Gu from the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.
Beneath it, two Gu worms had been lying dormant — White Boar Gu and Jade Skin Gu. Along with those two, he'd also brought back his old Liquor Worm.
Over the years, through caravans and quiet transactions, he'd bought two more Liquor Worms, a Cleansing Water Gu, a pair of Enslavement Gu, and six other Gu.
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed as his eyes darted across the Gu on the bed.
Reaching out, Fang Yuan picked up a Green Copper Relic Gu. The tiny creature squirmed faintly between his fingers.
Without the slightest hesitation, he began refining the Gu.
...
It took him more than a day to refine the Green Copper Relic Gu. The moment it was completed, he guided it into his aperture without hesitation.
Buzz.
In an instant, the Gu melted into pure light, sinking into his body, merging with his primeval sea.
The room dimmed slightly, the candlelight wavering.
Inside his aperture, a vast sea of primeval essence rippled in silence.
Fang Yuan's eyes remained half-closed as he muttered under his breath, "It's time."
The waves instantly froze.
Under his will, a surge of primeval essence broke free, rolling upward in a steady current and pouring straight toward the Green Copper Relic Gu.
The Gu trembled, then burst into motion.
Brilliant green light flared from its body, scattering across the aperture like sparks from a blade being drawn.
The light spread quickly, coating the entire inner space.
It was like watching the first light of dawn spread across a dark horizon — sharp, clean, and alive with power.
Normally, to reach Rank One middle stage, Fang Yuan would have had to rely on the slow, methodical process of refinement: circulating his jade-green primeval essence again and again to polish and strengthen the aperture wall.
It was tedious and time-consuming.
But now, the Green Copper Relic Gu replaced that effort entirely.
Its light became pure force — a condensed essence that merged with the very walls of his aperture, tempering them in a single, relentless surge.
Under his calm gaze, the once faint, translucent wall thickened at a shocking pace.
The light condensed, shifting like flowing streams, and in moments the once fragile film transformed — the glow deepened, forming a liquid sheen that moved like living water.
The jade brilliance faded, replaced by a gentle, rippling luster. His light membrane had evolved into a water membrane.
A thin smile crossed Fang Yuan's lips.
'Rank One, Middle stage.'
But the Relic Gu did not stop.
It continued to blaze, flooding the aperture with green light.
The primeval sea rolled and surged as that light merged into it.
The water membrane drank it all in, its surface shimmering as threads of light flowed like currents beneath its skin.
This process continued for a full fifteen minutes.
Within the aperture, the last traces of green light flickered weakly.
The Green Copper Relic Gu had given everything it had. Its shell turned transparent, its form dissolving completely into the lingering radiance before vanishing from existence.
The brilliant green glow faded with it, and silence returned.
The primeval sea stilled once more — calm, cold, and vast.
Fang Yuan's gaze shifted inward.
The water membrane now pulsed faintly, thicker and denser than before.
The foundation of his aperture had solidified noticeably.
Using the Relic Gu had saved him days — perhaps weeks — of effort.
From the surface of his primeval sea, a faint shimmer rose.
A single thread of pale green primeval essence coiled upward like smoke, more concentrated and stable than the jade-green essence of the initial stage.
That was the mark of Rank One, middle stage.
For most Gu Masters, reaching this level took patience, persistence, and luck.
But Fang Yuan's expression remained calm, unchanging.
'A Relic Gu directly strengthens the aperture's foundation.,
Relic Gu were most effective early on.
Their value decreased as a Gu Master climbed higher — but used at the right moment, they could save years of cultivation.
Time was the rarest resource, and Fang Yuan never wasted it.
'Cultivation speed, survival rate, combat strength… everything depends on the foundation.'
His eyes opened slightly, calm and sharp.
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan took several primeval stones from the box beneath him.
His fingers moved with practiced ease, absorbing their energy into his body. The primeval sea rippled once again as new essence poured in, the surface slowly filling.
He stopped only when forty-four percent of his aperture brimmed with pale green primeval essence.
Half an hour had passed.
Fang Yuan placed the remaining stones aside, then reached for the next Green Copper Relic Gu lying on the bed.
Its faint green glow reflected in his eyes and another surge of energy soon flared inside his aperture.