Liquor Worm

After the ceremony, the elder in charge dispatched all the students with the information that the students would start the next day.

Xiang Yao went home, took a shower, and began formulating his plans for the week.

"Now that I know that Fang Yuan used the Spring and Autumn Cicada, I have to come up with a plan according to the situation I find myself in. First is the Liquor Worm Gu, with it I can cultivate infinitely faster than without it, I have to come up with a plan to get it without drawing Fang Yuan's attention, as for the will of Heaven that is guiding Fang Yuan, I don't need to worry about her since I have the system protecting me now."

"Now regarding the matter of how to acquire the Liquor Worm Gu, according to canon I have a week before Fang Yuan finds the Gu Worm, I need to act in a way that no one will notice."

"From what I remember from the novel, Fang Yuan acquired it next to a Bamboo Grove, and he didn't have to follow Gu for a long time, so I can deduce that the Inheritance Cave is close to the Bamboo Grove."

"The question now is; which bamboo grove? Since there are several outside the village. I have to deduce from the point that the description given in the novel is correct. And if the description is correct I can compare the terrain's geography, and be able to greatly reduce the places I have to look, thus increasing my chances of finding it."

Xiang Yao puts that first plan aside for now, as he needs a lot of ground research to go along with his plan, which will take some time to complete.

"For now, I should focus on expanding the System store and getting some points." Xiang Yao took his parents' Gu in a special container to store them and opened the system interface to sell his Gu.

[Sell Rank 2 'Gu MoonRaiment', for 600 points?]

Confirming the sale, Xiang Yao opened the shop and updated it with the new item. A blue screen with several small squares organized in an orderly way, with numbers just below each square symbolizing the item's price; looking closer, you could see that almost all of them were empty, with a single item for sale.

[Buy - Rank 2 – Gu Moon Raiment] ---> {-$300-}

"It's according to the Inheritance information, the system buys the item for twice the price and then sells it for half the price to me, the Gu price is fixed by Rank and not by rarity. Meaning, a Rank 2 'Red Steel Relic Gu' has the same price as a Rank 2 'Smelly Fart Gu'."

"With this I can buy several common Gu on the market and with the points buy rare Gu from the system and resell them, creating an infinite profit cycle. This system will only get stronger and stronger in my hands" Xiang Yao smiled in his heart as he sold all the Gu he had in his possession.

[Sell 'Primeval Stone' for 100 points?]

The system is also not that simple; the system only buys the first item for twice the price, for example; he has sold 3 'Primeval Stones'; the system will buy the first one for 100 points, the second one for 50 points, the third one for 25 points, and continue like this until the price settles at an adequate margin for the item. But the system will always sell the item for the same price; that is, even if you sell the 'Primitive Stone' for 100, 50 or 25, the system price will always be half of the initial value, that is, the Primitive Stone will always be sold for 50 points while the system will always buy at the lowest price.

This is the system's way of balancing things out; it encourages the user to get lots of different items and increases the size of the system store.

Digging deeper into the system, Xiang Yao discovered that he could sell anything, from chairs, beds, soap and even your level of attainment on the path of Dreams. He was delighted with this and decided to test it right away.

[Sell Attainment Level 'Master' in Path of Dreams for 50,000 points?]

Xiang Yao confirmed his sale and felt that his Dream Path Attainment had vanished to nothing. He felt like he had never touched this path in his life.

Entering the system store, Xiang Yao decided to buy his Attainment level back and, at the same time, buy an extra one to see if he could raise his Attainment level from Master to Grandmaster. If it doesn't work out, that's fine; it's a risk worth taking.

[Buy – Master Level attainment– ​​Path of Dreams] ---> {-$25,000-}

Xiang Yao drew two, and then two small glowing spheres the size of a ping-pong ball suddenly appeared in his hand. He used the first orb, and as it dissolved into lights and was absorbed by him, he soon felt his attainment returning to Master Level.

Looking at the other one in his hand, Xiang Yao took a deep breath and used it; the sphere dissolved into lights and was absorbed by him again, but this time he didn't feel his Attainment Level increasing like before; soon, he understood that it wasn't it was no use absorbing the same attainment again, he wasted a good 25,000 points. But that's life; you don't always win them all, and with that, he also learned more about the system and its functions.

After settling the system's affairs, Xiang Yao decided to complete his plan to catch the liquor worm. So began his extensive research into the local geography and his most likely locations.

...

Putting together all the information he had from the novel, Xiang Yao deduced three locations that matched the land's geographic description: A Bamboo Grove, a sea of ​​white flowers with a yellow spot in the middle, and next to a quiet mountain stream.

With all this information, all that was left was to go there and investigate. Having settled down, Xiang Yao went to the nearest inn, bought a bottle of Green Bamboo Wine, and returned home.

When he got home, he sold the Green Bamboo Wine to the system for 2 points and discreetly left towards the first location to investigate. Still, before that, he made several preparations not to be noticed, and only then did he leave to look for the Worm of Liquor.

Arriving at the spear-tipped bamboo forest, the spring wind blew through the lush forest, carrying spring's sweet and damp scent, soothing the heart.

Xiang Yao poured the Green Bamboo Wine into a few nearby places and waited. He stayed like that until nightfall, but it turned out to be an unsuccessful search; even though he wanted to wait a little longer, Xiang Yao controlled his impulses and decided to return to the village to not draw anyone's attention, mainly from Fang Yuan, who is looking for the Liquor Worm as well.

Arriving home Xiang Yao took the map he had made of Qing Mao Mountain and crossed out one of the three areas marked on the map. After that, he started selling various items to the system to expand his store, things like; Shovels, Pickaxes, Clothes, beds, chairs and other items; then called the system interface in his mind to see how many points he had in the upper right part of the blue screen the system had the current points balance;

[Balance = $3120 Points]

Looking at his balance and the items he had available for purchase, Xiang Yao felt a little disappointed, the items were all ordinary Gu, and the only thing worth mentioning was Dream Path Realization. Even that is useless to him now.

Xiang Yao decides that he will start trading little by little to avoid attracting attention. First, he will sell the Gu that people think is his family. Then he will slowly accumulate enough capital until the arrival of the merchant caravan, where he can buy several good Gu worms that you can resell and earn a lot from.

That plan might look cute on paper, but he still has to watch out for the public's prying eyes on him, especially Fang Yuan; every time Xiang Yao thinks of him, he feels like he has a blade around his neck constantly. He can't wait to get rid of it before it gets too strong.

There are three reasons why Xiang Yao does not try to kill Fang Yuan while he is still weak; the first and most obvious one is the Spring Autumn Cicada, with which Fang Yuan will be reborn whenever he is killed, thanks to the will of Heaven that controls it the Spring Autumn Cicada.

Second, Xiang Yao fears who Heaven's will has chosen to be its new puppet, to try to stop the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's plan. If it's a person he doesn't know about the plot, it will be catastrophic for him.

And thirdly, he needs information on what the image of the location of Dang Hun Mountain looks like to use Fixed Travel Immortal Gu, which needs an image of the location in the user's memory.

All three of these reasons go down the drain, with the chance of failing to kill Fang Yuan, a 500+-year-old demon with a lot of experience, and if I fail, it will be the end of me. But if I can refine all of the Inheritance Gu Worms of the Path of Dreams before the destruction of Qing Mao Mountain, I'm sure I'll be able to kill the demon Fang Yuan and take his memories for myself.

As for the plan of the will of Heaven to go against the Spectral Soul Venerable Demon, she ended up choosing another puppet. It wouldn't matter to me; the unknown makes life amazing and unique. We only live once, so we should enjoy it and move forward with everything.

'everything that happens was meant to happen, people just can't deal with this place with their imagination, but that in reality they were already there, dealing with everything.'

"That sentence makes me think about the insecurity of human beings since many times we feel insecure about doing something we've done before. Because the truth is; Yesterday's victory does not guarantee today's victory, but if you have endured situations before, you are more likely to endure them now."

It's like Xiang Yao afraid of this world even though he's already in it; now, there's no turning back; the only way is to lift your head and move forward, no matter the difficulties.

With a calmer and more resolute mind, Xiang Yao began cultivating for a few hours before sleeping.

The next day was the third day of class at the academy; he got ready and went to class; the knowledge of the class would be very useful for him since everything he knows about this world is through the memories of his past life.

During the class, the teacher taught only basic things; how to check its aperture and nurture it and the common sense of every Gu Master.

As soon as class was over, Xiang Yao returned home and prepared to head to the next location to look for the Liquor Worm. Leaving the house discreetly, Xiang Yao first checked Fang Yuan's direction and then took the opposite direction.

"I hope my field research is right, otherwise I'll have to find a way to get the Liquor Worm directly from Fang Yuan's hand" Arriving at the location marked on the map, Xiang Yao bought Green Bamboo Wine in the system for 1 point, and it started to spread across the site. So he lay in wait, waiting for the Liquor Worm to show up.

The night was already very deep. A thick cloud had obscured the moonlight. The dark shadows were like a curtain covering the bamboo grove. It was deathly silent, each strand of green bamboo standing alone. He lay still in the spot, listening to his clear breathing.

A gust of wind blew in like a gentle hug, lightly pushing away the clouds in the night sky. The clouds floated away to reveal the hidden moon. The crescent moon hanging in the sky was like a white jade lamp, shedding moonlight clear as water over the land. Moonlight spilt over the bamboo forest and the mountain rock, bathing the mountain rivers and streams.

At the same time, he saw a dot of white snow. This snowdrop was glued to a bamboo pole not far away. In the moonlight, it looked like a round suspended pearl. Xiang Yao's two pupils fiercely expanded, his body slightly trembling. His heart dropped, and it started beating faster by the second.

It was the liquor worm!

The Liquor Worm was shaped like a silkworm, its entire body emitting a pearly white light. It was a little chubby and had a cute appearance. The Liquor Worm fed on wine and could fly. When it flew, it curled into a ball, and its speed was very fast. Even if it was just a Rank 1 Gu, it was still worth more than some Rank 2 Gu on the market.

Waiting until the Liquor Worm drank itself drunk, and then, with its flight speed reduced, it would have a chance to catch it. In a moment, the Liquor Worm withdrew from the flower bud, drinking the wine.

His body was fatter, and his head bobbed, reminiscent of a drunken man. Unexpectedly, she didn't notice Xiang Yao's presence. It climbed onto another bright yellow flower and landed on the stamen, feeding enthusiastically on the drops of wine there.

This time after finishing drinking, it finally felt full. Her body slowly shrank into a round ball and slowly flew upwards. When she was 1.5 meters above the ground, she slowly flew towards the deepest part of the bamboo forest.

Xiang Yao quickly followed in their wake.

The Liquor Worm was already very drunk, making it fly slower, at half its normal speed. Xiang Yao was in hot pursuit, following steadily behind the Liquor Worm. He could already hear the sound of a waterfall going up the mountain stream. After skirting a sparse forest, he saw the Liquor Worm fly into an aperture in the middle of a boulder.

He walked over to the boulder, took a deep breath, and then dove headfirst.

The stone gap was quite large, and two adult humans could walk side by side without any problems. What else to say about Xiang Yao, a 15-year-old teenager?

As soon as he stepped below the creek's source, the swift currents pressed against his body. At the same time, the cold water quickly drenched him from head to toe. Xiang Yao struggled against the pressure of the water, moving forward in quick steps. As he walked a few dozen steps, the water pressure decreased.

But the space in the fissure also started to shrink, and Xiang Yao could only walk sideways. His ears were full of the roar of the water; the top of his head was a sheet of white; deeper into the rock was black darkness.

As he continued to walk sideways, slowly entering the darkness. The water no longer hit his head; the stone walls were covered with moss, rubbing against her skin, feeling slippery. Soon he was swallowed by darkness, and the stone crevice grew narrower, tightening around him. Gradually, even his skull could not rotate freely.

He soon noticed a red tint of light in the darkness. They were continuing forward as the red light grew stronger. His eyes were greeted with a view of an enclosure approximately 80 meters squared in width.

The entire room was filled with dim red light. The stone walls were damp and covered with moss, but the air here was very dry. On the walls, there were also some withered vines. Vines intertwined with one another, snaking across half the wall's surface. There were even some wilted flowers growing on the vines.

The Liquor Worm was resting in the bunch of dead roots, fast asleep. It was already easily accessible. As Xiang Yao cleared the vines and roots from the Flower Wine Monk's body to catch the Liquor Worm, he heard a voice behind him saying, "Trying to Play It?"

Already expecting this, Xiang Yao turned around and saw the images appearing on the stone wall of the cave, showing how the Flower Wine Monk had been killed. Ignoring this, Xiang Yao took the Liquor Worm and sold it straight into the system.

Xiang Yao sells Liquor Worm because, Firstly, any Gu purchased in the system will be instantly refined by the user, as system Gu worms have no will of their own. So it's much more worth selling the Liquor Worm to the system and then buying it than spending primordial stones refining a Gu with a strong will.

Second, he doesn't want Liquor Worm with his Vital Gu. His Vital Gu is already planned and is from the Path of Dreams, so he will only buy Liquor Worm after refining his Gu from the Path of Dreams.

And third, he wants to expand the system store, simple as that.

After selling the Liquor Worm Gu, Xiang Yao took the 15 primaeval stones from the Flower Wine Monk's corpse and stored them in his bag, and then bought a pickaxe in the system for 1 point and started to break the wall to have access to the rest of the legacy of the Flower Wine Monk.