Gu Yue Yao Ji wrote a price before putting her own name as the young girl watched in anticipation.
After she had finished, she folded the paper and signalled to the girl, "Go, put the paper in."
The young girl obediently took the paper and found the hole in the counter and stuffed the paper in.
She returned beside Gu Yue Yao Ji, feeling uncertain, "Grandma, will this do?"
The old woman nodded, "That's about it. But life is hard to predict, someone might put a higher price. But that price would be too high. If they really bidded so much, the person who bought this Liquor worm is a fool. Don't worry, the Liquor worm is in the bag."
"Oh." The young girl nodded with a cute expression.
"Let's go. Come accompany grandma upstairs and look around."
"Okay, grandma."
Seeing them leave, Fang Yuan's eyes shone with severity.
This Gu Yue Yao Ji, to him, was a tough competitor, not to be underestimated.
But this situation, Fang Yuan had prepared and anticipated it.
The Liquor worm was a valuable Gu. Though only usable by Rank one Gu Masters, its ability to refine primeval essence made it extremely practical. Improving primeval essence by even a small stage meant expanding one's aperture reserves, providing a strong boost to cultivation.
Its main drawback was its limited future potential. According to commonly known recipes, the Liquor worm was merely a fusion material, and the resulting Gu worms no longer retained the essence-refining ability.
This was considered a serious waste and made the fusion seem unworthy. As a result, most clans that owned a Liquor worm avoided using it for fusion. Instead, they kept it in the academy for students to take turns using.
If Fang Yuan were to reveal his advanced fusion recipe, the Liquor worm's market value would skyrocket.
"Sigh, let's go. Lord Yao Ji just tossed in a paper."
"I saw it too, it seems I'm not fated to have this Liquor worm."
The Gu Masters surrounding this counter all left dejected.
Only Fang Yuan still stood there.
His eyes were like the abyss river, shining with cold light.
The Gu Masters who left were all scared off by Gu Yue Yao Ji's aura and backed out of their own accord. But how could Fang Yuan be scared away?
When it came to wealth, Fang Yuan couldn't compare to her.
Even so...
That didn't guarantee that Gu Yue Yao Ji had outbid him.
Although the Liquor worm was rare, it was still a Rank one Gu.
Its price could fluctuate, but not beyond a reasonable range.
Every item had its limits in value.
So the key question was—how much had Gu Yue Yao Ji offered?
She wasn't short on primeval stones, and she deeply cherished her granddaughter.
How much would she be willing to spend for her sake?
If Fang Yuan's bid was even slightly higher, he would win.
This was a different kind of contest.
Strength alone didn't determine victory, nor did weakness guarantee defeat.
It was a battle of wits and nerve—guesswork and risk made it all the more thrilling.
"If it were others, they might not be able to guess it. Gu Yue Yao Ji, you purposely said some things earlier to scare away competitors? But in front of me, you are still too tender!" Fang Yuan's lips curled into an angle as he smiled confidently.
In this world, the way people conducted transactions was quite unique.
On Earth, rare Gu worms like the Liquor worm would typically be sold through auctions.
But here, that method didn't work well.
The main reason was the deep-rooted value of kinship—clan unity was paramount.
If an auction were held, clan members would instinctively resist letting outsiders like Jia Fu benefit.
If the price rose too high, they would often back down from bidding altogether.
They might even try to negotiate privately or offer other forms of compensation.
The people here believed one thing—losing to a fellow clansman was acceptable, but letting an outsider profit was a disgrace to the entire clan.
Only when multiple clans were involved could a true auction with competition happen. But organizing such an event was no easy task.
The main issue was transport. Trade relied heavily on transportation, and without it, commerce would be stifled.
Villages were isolated on separate mountains, far from each other.
The connecting paths were treacherous—filled with wild beasts, sheer cliffs, harsh weather, and dangerous wild Gu worms. All of this made inter-clan auctions nearly impossible.
Even with three clans on Qing Mao Mountain, Jia Fu wouldn't dare hold an auction.
Where could it be hosted?
The wilderness was too risky. If it was held in Gu Yue Village, the other two clans wouldn't feel secure. Jia Fu might be Rank four, but so were the heads of the other clans. He didn't have the authority to control the situation.
Compared to Earth, this world's trade system was underdeveloped and ran on entirely different principles. Fang Yuan had once tried to apply his Earth knowledge to business here.
He had made money—and also suffered losses. Through repeated failure, he gained valuable experience.
By blending Earth's advanced business knowledge with his own lessons, Fang Yuan now stood among the elite in this world's commercial field.
And yet some old woman, who had spent her entire life in this remote mountain village, thought she could block his path to the Liquor worm?
Ridiculous.
This old woman was far too naïve.
"Grandma, what Gu is this?" The young girl curiously pointed at the central counter in the third floor.
There were three floors in this treehouse; the first floor sold Rank one Gu worms, the second floor sold Rank two Gu worms and the third floor sold Rank three Gu worms.
The higher you went, the lesser the Gu worms and the more expensive the price.
Naturally, the Gu worms that were put for sale in the treehouse were all rare and precious.
Gu Yue Yao Ji followed her granddaughter's gaze and saw a round bucket-shaped, tall and thin tree stump. The stump had five branches like five fingers of a human and were intertwined in the middle.
A sphere-shaped Gu worm that was thumb-sized was wrapped around by the fine branches and covered by green leaves, emitting a white silvery glow.
"This is a white silver Relic Gu, it can only be used once and can instantly raise a Rank three Gu Master's cultivation by a small realm," Gu Yue Yao Ji slowly explained.
Relic Gu was a series Gu worm.
Rank one had green copper Relic Gu which was specially targeted towards Rank one Gu Masters. Rank two had red steel Relic Gu which was effective only on Rank two Gu Masters, and Rank three was this Silver Relic Gu. Rank four had yellow golden Relic Gu.
"The price is thirty thousand primeval stones, it's so expensive!" The young girl was so shocked, she stuck out her tongue.
Gu Yue Yao Ji nodded, "Its final price should reach at least fifty thousand primeval stones. Alright, we have strolled long enough here, let's go to the first floor reception desk, the results to the Liquor worm's bidding should have come out."
In the treehouse, any Rank one Gu worm that received a bid would only remain on display for half a day.
If no one showed interest, it would stay there until someone finally placed a bid.
Rank two Gu worms stayed on display for a full day, while Rank three Gu worms were shown for two days.
At first glance, this system might seem strange.
But in actual practice, it was the most practical and efficient business method.
At the reception desk—
"What, the Liquor worm has been bought by someone else?" Gu Yue Yao Ji immediately frowned upon seeing the results. She had put a high price and was confident in obtaining the Liquor worm, but to think she had actually miscalculated.
"Hmph! Who is it to be so bad as to snatch my dear Liquor worm?" The young girl angrily asked.
"Yao Le," Gu Yue Yao Ji reminded her granddaughter.
The young girl pouted and obediently shut her mouth.
The sales clerk behind the counter was a Rank two female Gu Master. She slightly bowed and answered the young girl, "I am sorry, we can't divulge our customers' information. Each business has special rules, please forgive me."
This confidentiality eased many customers' concerns and encouraged them to participate freely in the bidding.
Often, people would back down from things they truly wanted out of politeness or due to personal relationships—after all, they lived within the same clan.
But this method of anonymous bidding bypassed those emotional constraints.
Why should a valuable item go to someone just because they're a senior, a relative, or a friend?
One should never underestimate the hidden selfishness within people.
This kind of secretive trading gave that darker side the chance to emerge.
Gu Yue Yao Ji ruminated for a while and said, "I know the rules. You don't need to worry little girl, I won't ask the name of that person who bought the Liquor worm, I only want to know what the final price was."
The female Gu Master bowed again, "I am really sorry, the price is also confidential. But please don't worry, the final price was definitely the highest among all the bids. Jia family's business has always centered around honesty."
"Hmph, little girl, do you know who I am?" Gu Yue Yao Ji's face sank and coldly snorted.
"What is going on?" At this moment, a Rank three middle-aged Gu Master hurried over.
This treehouse was constantly being monitored; they would naturally know if anything occurred.
"Lord supervisor." The female Gu Master immediately greeted this middle-aged man.
The man waved his hand at the girl, "You can leave now, I will handle it here."
He turned towards Gu Yue Yao Ji and smiled, "So it was lord Yao Ji. She should be your granddaughter, right? She looks smart and sweet."
Gu Yue Yao Ji's expression eased slightly when she noticed the man was also a Rank three Gu Master.
Still, she insisted on knowing the final bid amount.
The male supervisor found himself in a difficult position.
He was an elder within the caravan and one of Jia Fu's trusted subordinates.
Years of experience in business had given him a solid grasp of the Gu Yue village's internal dynamics.
He understood just how much sway the old woman held. To the caravan, offending figures like Gu Yue Chi Lian or Gu Yue Mo Chen was one thing.
But provoking Gu Yue Yao Ji? That was something they all tried to avoid. Her influence was second only to that of the clan leader, Gu Yue Bo.
The male supervisor pondered and said, "How about this, since lord Yao Ji wants to purchase the Liquor worm, I could call the shots and secretly transfer one over. To be honest, the warehouse has three Liquor worms and Lord Jia Fu personally decides where to sell them. You should know how precious the Liquor worm is. As for the price, let's decide your bidding price as it."
However, Gu Yue Yao Ji slightly shook her head and knocked the cane on her hand on the ground.
She said, "I am not looking for a bargain. The price…will be the same as the selling price of the previous Liquor worm."
"This….." The supervisor hesitated, he naturally saw Gu Yue Yao Ji's aim.
Gu Yue Yao Ji pretended to be annoyed and continued to pressure the male supervisor, "What? Is the price so high that you are afraid I won't be able to afford it?"
"Of course, I didn't mean that. Sigh, alright, we will do like you say." The supervisor sighed and said a price.
Upon hearing the price, the young girl first heaved a sigh of relief, but soon after that she felt somewhat indignant, "What, it was only twenty primeval stones more than ours?"
Gu Yue Yao Ji narrowed her eyes, but didn't speak.