Chapter 1654: Chapter 1654

The silver-haired man was truly crying, not fake tears, but a full-on sobbing mess. Tears streamed down like a fountain, a sight that would break anyone's heart.

As he wept, his silver-haired sister was infected by his grief and also began wailing loudly.

Ye Guan asked in confusion, "You owe the Immortal Treasures Pavilion several million Ancestral Spiritual Crystals?"

The two were still crying; the more they cried, the sadder they looked.

Ye Guan's tone turned serious. "Do you still want this bow or not?"

The siblings instantly stopped crying, like a switch had been flipped.

They looked up at Ye Guan. The little girl fixed her gaze on him, her eyes shining like stars, like someone drowning suddenly grabbing a lifeline.

The silver-haired man hurriedly said, "Brother..."

Ye Guan said solemnly, "Explain what's going on."

If the Immortal Treasure Pavilion was loaning money at usurious rates, he needed to step in. People could lose everything. But based on what he knew of his mom, she wouldn't allow such things.

The silver-haired man sighed. "It's not the Pavilion's fault. In fact, we should be grateful to them."

That surprised Ye Guan even more. "Go on."

The silver-haired man looked at Ye Guan. "Brother, is this your first time in the Origin Universe?"

"No wonder!" The silver-haired man relaxed. "You wouldn't know...our Stellar Civilization used to be incredibly powerful. We were on the verge of becoming a Supreme Divine Civilization..."

Pride bloomed on his face.

The little girl clenched her fists, full of determination.

The silver-haired man added, "But then, disaster struck. The problem? We ran out of money."

Ye Guan was confused. "Out of money?"

The silver-haired man nodded. "We cultivate the Stellar Dao. Our civilization devoted itself to studying star-based cultivation. Eventually, one of our ancestors made a breakthrough; he discovered something called Star Core Crystals. Have you heard of them?"

Ye Guan shook his head.

The silver-haired man blinked. "You... haven't?"

The silver-haired man looked at him suspiciously. Is this guy really a Circle-breaking cultivator? He acts like a bumpkin!

But he continued anyway, "Star Core Crystals are extremely high-quality energy crystals, formed from the essence of stars that have existed for over a hundred million years. They contain immense power, far more valuable than Ancestral Spiritual Crystals. Our ancestor realized these crystals were highly compatible with our Stellar Dao techniques.

"Hence, he began collecting them to modify our cultivation art, the Star Dao Method. After over a hundred years, he succeeded. The new technique catapulted us forward. We rivaled even the Divine Dao Clan, the Gate of Bitterness, and the Nothingness Sect!"

Ye Guan asked, "Then what happened?"

The silver-haired man sighed, "Then... we collapsed." Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novelꞁire.net

"You got suppressed by the other three?"

The silver-haired man shook his head. "No, we brought it on ourselves. The new Star Dao Method was powerful, but it came with one huge flaw. It was extremely expensive to cultivate."

Ye Guan was lost for words.

The silver-haired man added, "To be exact, you could only cultivate it using Star Core Crystals. Without them, the technique's power was cut to less than twenty percent of what it should be."

Ye Guan looked at the little girl beside him.

The silver-haired man said bitterly, "If my sister had had a Star Core Crystal just now, her arrow's power could've increased tenfold. She's the most gifted person in our civilization... but we're broke. Her talent is being wasted. Sigh!"

The little girl lowered her head, eyes full of disappointment.

Ye Guan asked, "So... your civilization just got poorer and poorer?"

The silver-haired man nodded. "Right. It's easy to go from frugal to extravagant. But the reverse? That's tough. Everyone got used to the new Star Dao Method. Nobody wants to go back to the old one. Not because we're stubborn, but because even without Star Core Crystals, the new version is still far stronger than the old."

It was his first time seeing a civilization decline due to lack of funds.

Suddenly, the little girl said, "One day, I'll create a version of the Stellar Dao that doesn't cost money!"

The silver-haired man revealed a wry smile.

That was flat-out impossible!

Even the Gate of Bitterness needed resources to cultivate. And the Nothingness Sect, which relied on enlightenment? Still needed money. No money, no enlightenment!

Ye Guan asked, "So you went to the Immortal Treasure Pavilion for a loan?"

The silver-haired man nodded. "Yeah. We had no choice. Without their help, we'd be finished."

Ye Guan asked, "Do they charge high interest?"

The silver-haired man shook his head. "Not really. In fact, they gave us a discount. But they did ask for something; they wanted access to our cultivation techniques and combat arts for research. That's what allowed us to borrow millions in Ancestral Spiritual Crystals."

Ye Guan nodded. "I see."

The silver-haired man added, "The Pavilion's been good to us. On top of the loan, they let us take jobs from them to earn money. The only problem is... our spending far outweighs our income. The Star Dao Method demands Star Core Crystals, and they're just too rare and expensive."

Ye Guan understood now.

This civilization had a high ceiling with Star Core Crystals, they could rival Supreme Civilizations. Without them, they were barely mid-tier.

Suddenly, the silver-haired man looked pitifully at Ye Guan. "Big bro... about that bow..."

Ye Guan glanced at the girl, she was looking back at him with hopeful but nervous eyes.

Ye Guan opened his palm.

The bow floated back to her.

She immediately hugged it tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face.

The silver-haired man let out a huge sigh of relief.

What he hadn't said earlier was that the Star God Bow was actually their civilization's ancestral relic. If he lost it, he'd be condemned as a traitor.

To him, his sister's mistake was his responsibility.

But now, it was back in their hands.

The silver-haired man glanced at Ye Guan and smirked inwardly. This guy might be powerful, but he doesn't recognize value! He's kind-hearted but... super naive!

As he thought of this, he started scheming.

Ye Guan wasn't too interested in the bow. He knew it was special, but compared to his Qingxuan Sword and Little Pagoda, it didn't amount to much.

He also had his own plans.

He looked at the silver-haired man and asked, "What's your name?"

The silver-haired man quickly replied, "I'm Mu Xinghe, and this is my sister, Mu Xingchen."

Ye Guan said, "This whole robbery tactic won't earn you much, and it gives your civilization a bad name. It's not sustainable."

Mu Xinghe sighed. "We know. But we don't have other options. Other income sources are too slow. Apart from exploring ancient ruins, nothing else brings fast cash."

Then he looked at Ye Guan. "Bro, could you point us toward a better path?"

Ye Guan asked, "Can you manipulate stars?"

Mu Xinghe nodded. "Yes."

Ye Guan got excited. "Then create a starfield and turn it into a tourist attraction! There are tons of civilizations, surely some people would want to visit!"

Then he noticed the siblings were looking at him strangely.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mu Xinghe seriously asked, "Bro... are you from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion?"

Ye Guan was speechless.

Mu Xinghe said, "They told us to do exactly that. They turned our civilization into a tourist destination, promoted us everywhere, and split profits fifty-fifty. My sister and I now perform star-based techniques for an hour every day...for visitors."

Ye Guan's face stiffened, but he quickly composed himself.

"Well, here's another idea. You could start a special department, share a portion of your Star Dao, and invite other Divine Spirit civilizations to research it. Charge them high fees. They'll definitely be interested in breaking through to the Supreme level..." he trailed off...

The siblings were now staring blankly at him.

Ye Guan asked, "What is it now?"

Mu Xinghe replied, "The Pavilion already made us set up a department called Path to Supremacy. Any civilization that wants to join has to pay five hundred thousand Ancestral Spiritual Crystals. The Pavilion guarantees we're offering real techniques for study. Profits are split fifty-fifty."

He paused, then added, "Also, they said we shouldn't neglect the low-end market either. So they rebranded our elders as ‘Supreme Consultants' and sent them out to give motivational speeches to less-developed civilizations about ‘How to Achieve Supreme.'"

"The speaking fees? It is a seventy-thirty split; our elders get seventy, and the Pavilion takes thirty. Without their name, no one would attend or believe in our scam—I mean, consultants, hehe."

Ye Guan stood there, dumbfounded. Damn it. Mother had already made all the money.