As soon as these words came out, Old Ma's originally somewhat cloudy old eyes instantly shot out terrifyingly sharp glints of light. Even his shriveled cheeks twitched slightly from extreme excitement.
Like a lone wolf that had starved for over ten days suddenly smelling a strong bloody stench, he immediately dragged his crippled leg, using the fastest speed in his life to lock the shop door dead tight, fearing Lin Mu would back out the next second.
Subsequently, he rummaged through boxes and cabinets with extreme exertion, bringing all those precious materials and Rank 1 top-tier Gu worms—usually hidden deep in secret compartments for fear of being coveted—all at once onto that greasy wooden counter.
A dazzling array of Gu materials and various colored light spheres sealing Gu worms flickered with seductive luster inside the dim general store. The air was even permeated with a complex smell mixing strange medicinal fragrances and aged beast blood.
Lin Mu's gaze was like the pickiest butcher, slowly sweeping over these goods that were enough to trigger mad slaughter among bottom-tier Gu Masters.
Facing this treasure vault sufficient to dazzle any Rank 1 Gu Master, Lin Mu's mind was exceptionally clear, not at all dizzy from this fanaticism of sudden wealth.
The first thing that surfaced in his mind was the Vital Gu acting as the cornerstone of his combat power within his aperture—the Iron Leaf Gu.
Rising from Rank 1 to Rank 2, fusion refinement is a path of transition every Gu Master must take. Regarding the Iron Leaf Gu's Rank 2 route, the secret recipes of Black Blood Stockade recorded three completely different directions.
Lin Mu rapidly deduced in his heart.
The first was the path of seeking stability, fusing the Steel Leaf Gu. Supplemented with "Hundred-Tempered Steel" and another Iron Leaf Gu for fusion.
This route was the most mediocre and stable, with an extremely high fusion success rate. Although lethality increased slightly, making the leaf harder and heavier, its upper limit was extremely low.
In Rank 2 battles, this simple physical hardness would struggle to tear apart those bizarre Rank 2 defensive Gu. It was a dime-a-dozen good, ultimately only degrading into a blunt weapon. This path was ruthlessly crossed out in Lin Mu's mind.
The second was specialized healing, fusing the Leaf Life Gu. Supplemented with "Hundred-Year Tree Heart" and the Rank 1 "Wood Life Gu" for fusion.
After fusion, the Iron Leaf's original fierce sharpness would be completely washed away, transforming into a flexible vine form adept at entanglement, and carrying a weak vitality healing effect.
This was the first choice for healing support Gu Masters and those focusing on wars of attrition, able to continuously absorb enemy vitality to feed oneself during a tangled fight.
But this was diametrically opposed to Lin Mu's assassin route of "one-hit kill, extreme slaughter." In the rapidly changing life-and-death struggles, he simply didn't have time to fight wars of attrition with enemies. Therefore, it was similarly rejected.
The third was extreme slaughter, fusing the Metal Rend Leaf Gu. Supplemented with "Morning Star Sand" and the extremely precious "Metal Rend Gu" for fusion.
Once successful, the original Iron Leaf would carry an indestructible armor-breaking attribute.
Driven by Rank 2 Primeval Essence, it could cut open most Rank 2 Initial Stage defensive light barriers like cutting tofu. It could be called the optimal configuration for rising from Rank 1 to Rank 2.
This was exactly Lin Mu's ultimate goal.
Looking at the glowing supplementary materials on the counter, Lin Mu couldn't help but recall the scene in the clan's "Gu Depository" back then.
At that time, he had the chance to directly obtain a top-tier Metal Rend Gu. But ultimately, for the sake of preserving his life and mobility, bearing the pressure of being viewed as trash by everyone, he chose the Dust Escape Gu.
Of course, without that seemingly retreating choice, it would have been impossible for him to survive the subsequent extreme fierce battle with Green Snake, let alone develop a sure-kill trump card like "Mud-Dust Blood Prison," capable of advancing to attack and retreating to defend.
As for missing the Metal Rend Gu, did he regret it?
Lin Mu looked at his palms, covered in thin calluses and stained with much blood. His heart was completely waveless, lacking even the slightest shred of regret common to ordinary mortals.
"On the path of a Gu Master, the most laughable thing is regret. There is no Regret Gu in this world. Every choice is a gamble with one's life as the stake."
He sneered coldly in his heart. "Fang Yuan lived his life without regrets, going against the current to form a river. What do I have to regret? It's merely a Metal Rend Gu. As long as I live long enough and hold enough chips in my hand, there will be plenty of opportunities to snatch one later. As long as my life remains, everything is possible."
Having clarified the blueprint for his Vital Gu, Lin Mu's thoughts turned to those supplementary Gu inside his aperture.
The laws of fusion refinement were extremely cruel and full of uncontrollable peril. The Iron Leaf Gu was his Vital Gu, linked to his very life. Even if fusion failed, the worst that would happen was aperture damage and heavy injuries requiring a few months of recuperation; the Vital Gu itself would not die.
But the Red Mud Gu, Dust Escape Gu, and Blood Scent Gu in his aperture were different.
They were supplementary Gu. Once they failed in the fusion refinement array, not only would it generate a violent Primeval Essence backlash tearing the aperture's crystal membrane, but the Gu worms themselves would instantly turn to flying ash. That was the core team he had spent countless resources and painstaking effort to feed to the absolute peak of Rank 1.
"Rashly taking the supplementary Gu currently acting as my main force to gamble on that ethereal success rate is the extremely stupid behavior of a gambler."
Lin Mu rationally made his decision. "The advancement of supplementary Gu must be done with the utmost caution. If I encounter a top-tier wild Rank 2 Gu worm in the future, I can even replace them directly. There is absolutely no need to stubbornly force their advancement, risking the danger of instantly losing my entire fortune and halving my combat power."
His train of thought completely cleared, no longer swayed by greed. Lin Mu hesitated no longer.
Amidst Old Ma's dazzling array of goods, he struck with the precision of an experienced hunter.
He rapidly picked out three Rank 1 Gu worms.
The first was the Trail Seeking Gu, shaped like a hound's nose with its front end still twitching slightly. This Gu worm had zero combat power but possessed an excellent sense of smell, able to peel out a specific aura from a chaotic battlefield. Lin Mu bought it to subsequently pair with the Blood Scent Gu for fusion or complementation.
The second was the Crushed Stone Gu, entirely grey-white and feeling like hard rock to the touch. This was a pure Earth Path Gu worm. Lin Mu bought it for no other reason than to use it as top-tier padding material for the defensive advancement of the Red Mud Gu.
The third was a general-purpose Healing Gu radiating a glowing green light and full of vibrant vitality—the Hemostasis Gu.
This was an absolute rigid necessity. The subsequent wild actual combat trials of the Grand Competition would no longer be sparring that stopped at the point of impact with referee intervention, but a real, blood-soaked meat grinder.
In that crisis-ridden environment, a single trace of bloody scent could attract maddened beast hordes. Not having a Healing Gu on hand as a safety net was equivalent to dancing on the blade's edge; any minor wound could become a death warrant. This shortcoming concerning long-distance raids and extreme survival had to be filled here.
Having picked these three Gu, Lin Mu then purchased a large batch of Red Iron Sand, refined beast blood, and other high-quality supplementary materials, enough for him to squander for a while.
"Just these. Check out."
Old Ma originally thought this incredibly wealthy kid with astonishing momentum would completely lose himself among these treasures and squander ruthlessly. But as a result, after Lin Mu picked the puzzle pieces he needed, he stopped his hands extremely cleanly, not even casting a second glance at those seemingly gorgeous but impractical Gu worms nearby.
"You kid, this composure is rather terrifying."
Old Ma muttered. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he picked up the abacus and clacked away, the sound of the abacus beads colliding crisp and pleasant. "Calculating in full, I'll charge you six hundred and twenty Primeval Stones. This is a discounted price given to an old customer."
Over six hundred Primeval Stones.
In the eyes of an ordinary Rank 1 Gu Master, this was absolutely an astronomical figure that would bankrupt them, something they wouldn't even dare to imagine. But for Lin Mu, he didn't even frown, directly counting out a sufficient amount.
After all, this was only a Rank 1 level transaction. As long as it wasn't a heaven-defying top-tier item like the Liquor Worm, the prices of ordinary Rank 1 Gu worms were within a controllable range.
Money and goods cleared, Old Ma smiled so widely his teeth showed but his eyes vanished.
Lin Mu weighed the still-heavy leather bag in his chest. Although the expenditure just now was massive, he still held a huge cash flow of eight or nine hundred Primeval Stones in his hands.
He knew clearly that Rank 1 was just the starting point. The true bottomless pit was the terrifying feeding consumption of Rank 2 Gu worms, as well as the super caravans arriving in the future.
Those caravans hid the true rare treasures of the Southern Border. He had to hold sufficient cash flow to prepare for unexpected needs. In this cruel world, a Gu Master without Primeval Stones was worse than a wild dog by the roadside.
Pushing open the heavy, broken door of the general store, a cold night wind mixed with moisture assaulted his face.
The sky had already turned fish-belly white. The morning mist of Grey Street, which never dispersed year-round, rolled and surged in the faint light, as if foreshadowing a coming storm.
This tight, expensive, and extremely rational transaction had finally drawn its curtains.
At this moment inside Black Blood Stockade, the elite disciples selected for the top thirty-two were presumably hiding in their respective secret rooms, utilizing this precious break period to urgently heal their wounds and cultivate, making the final sprint for the upcoming bloody slaughter.
Lin Mu wrapped his slightly thin robe tightly around himself. Feeling the trump cards once again enriching his aperture, he stepped onto the path home.