Xiao Shi blinked and touched his cosmic ring, taking out a star essence and a few dozen cubes of star crystals. "Brother Lu, here you go."
Lu Yin looked at the items and laughed. "It's not enough."
Xiao Shi pursed his lips. "I'll borrow some from Little Chi. He has some too."
"It's still not enough."
Xiao Shi was put in a difficult position. "Then, should I borrow some from a friend?"
Lu Yin smiled. "How much can you borrow?"
Xiao Shi thought about it and did some serious calculations. Then, he raised five fingers. "Five cubes of Crystal Marrow."
Lu Yin retracted his gaze. Five cubes of star essence was quite a decent amount for a normal cultivator. He still remembered the joy he had felt when he had obtained his first star essence. It had been a huge sum, but what about now?
Any random upgrade would cost tens or even hundreds of billions of star essence, which could easily consume all of the Technocracy's star essence resources.
Most of the universe's wealth was in the hands of a small number of people, and some people's wealth might even surpass that of an entire astral domain.
Lu Yin stood up and patted Xiao Shi's shoulder. "You don't need to borrow. I'll borrow it myself." He then vanished.
Xiao Shi stared blankly. Was he that short of money?
Over the past three years, the Astral Beast Domain had already gathered the star essence that they had promised Lu Yin. Just as the Beast Emperor had guessed, there were close to five trillion star essence.
It was an exaggerated number, and Lu Yin's breathing quickened when he saw it. He was thinking about how to use this money.
Actually, he had not considered repairing the Progenitor's Sword during these past three years because it would consume too much. He had planned to wait until he reached the peak of the Envoys before doing so.
But now, he was forced to repair it.
Even if it was just a test, it would be fine.
The Fifth Mainland's cultivation civilization could not be allowed to disappear.
Now that he thought about it, the Sole True God had shattered the Progenitor's Sword partly because of the Undying God, and partly because of the Poison of Time.
Although he did not know the connection between the Poison of Time and the Progenitor's Sword, the moment he took it out, the same reaction would occur. He did not need to know or use it; the Progenitor's Sword would naturally act.
This was the reason why the Sole True God had shattered the Progenitor's Sword.
Lu Yin returned to the Sect above the Heavens and transported all of the star essence, which attracted Lu Buzheng and the others' attention.
Although the star essence from the Astral Beast Domain had been given to Lu Yin, this amount of resources was simply too great. Coupled with the fact that Astral Source was in trouble, the Astral Beast Domain had no choice but to pay attention to it.
However, Lu Yin did not explain anything to them and immediately announced that he was going into seclusion.
Raising his hand, the die appeared before him and began spinning slowly.
Over the past three years, Lu Yin had frequently rolled the die. His Sirius Art had already reached the level of 350,000 stars, and he was constantly learning how things could move in the opposite direction. He wanted to reach the level where he could manipulate time like the Desolate Ancestor.
There were improvements in other aspects as well. After all, the time spent cultivating the dice wasn't just on the surface.
The die slowly rolled to a stop at four pips. Within the Time Stop Space, Lu Yin placed a hand on the mountainous pile of star essence and then disappeared along with it.
Once he entered the Time Stop Space, he would definitely be able to roll 3 pips.
After a few tries, he looked at the two layers of light in front of him and placed the Progenitor's Sword on top of them. He took a deep breath, and it was time to begin.
Ever since he had become a Progenitor, all of the resources he had used to upgrade his cultivation base had never been able to reach this amount. The most frightening thing now was not that he had used up too many resources, but that he did not know how much he had. What was even more frightening was that he could not upgrade his cultivation base.
If he could not upgrade the Progenitor's Sword, then he would have to find other Progenitor Swords.
Lu Yin began to frantically toss in star essence, and when he saw them disappear, he relaxed. This was great! He could upgrade the Progenitor's Sword, and as long as it could be upgraded, nothing else would be a problem.
The Fifth Mainland did not have that many star essences, so he could borrow or steal from the Cosmic Tree.
Ten billion, fifty billion, a hundred billion, five hundred billion, a trillion … In the blink of an eye, Lu Yin had tossed in more than a trillion star essences, but not even a tenth of the Progenitor's Sword had been moved. Fortunately, some of the cracks had disappeared, which meant that it could be repaired.
After some calculations, Lu Yin realized that he would need at least a trillion star essences to completely repair the Progenitor's Sword, which would be very difficult for the Fifth Mainland to gather.
The humans might not be able to, but the Eternals were still around. Lu Yin's gaze turned fierce. The Only True God had caused him to lose so much, and he would definitely seek revenge.
That's right, the Eternals.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. The Eternals could also use star essence. Back in the Starfall Sea, he had stolen quite a few Eternals' star essence, but that was only in the Starfall Sea. What about the New World?
How could he have forgotten about that?
The New World would definitely have a lot of star essence, and every city would have some, but there had never been any news about it. Something was wrong, and the Four Way Scales must have concealed this information.
Lu Yin hated himself for forgetting such an important matter. No, he had to find the Four Way Scales and get it back. He had been the first to conquer the New World, so how could his spoils of war only be his reputation?
The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more unhappy he became. It had been three years since he had left the Cosmic Tree, and it was about time for him to return.
Actually, three years was not a long time for anyone else, but it was different for Lu Yin. He had the Time Stop Space, so three years in the outside world felt like a hundred years or even more for him. It felt like the sea had turned into mulberry fields.
Lu Yin tossed in the remaining star essences, leaving only five hundred billion star essences behind.
When he saw that nearly half of the Progenitor's Sword had been moved, he realized that he still needed at least five to six trillion star essences.
A year later, Lu Yin left the Time Stop Space and headed to the Ancestral Turtle's back, where the Mavis Family resided.
The Mavis Family did not welcome Lu Yin for any other reason than the fact that every time he visited, it was related to money. The Mavis Family had spent a lot of money on Lu Yin.
Lu Yin and Cloudshadow sat across from each other at a tea table.
Cloudshadow watched helplessly as Lu Yin drank his tea, as he had already been drinking for almost an hour. "Dao Disciple, if you have something to say, just say it."
Lu Yin put down his teacup. "What will happen if the Fifth Mainland's economy collapses?"
Cloudshadow's expression was solemn. "That would be a disaster for humanity. The economy is the foundation of all systems, and if it collapses, all of humanity's systems will collapse. Dao Disciple would not want that to happen."
Lu Yin looked at her. "Then, what about now?
Would that be considered a disaster for humanity? "
"What are you talking about?"
Cloudshadow did not understand.
Lu Yin smiled. "Cultivation."
She sighed. "Naturally, it would be a disaster. If there's a problem with the astral source, then it would be a disaster for the entire human race. This situation is even worse than when the astral source was devoured by the universe.
Even if the astral source and star energy were absorbed, the situation would reverse for no reason. Forget about cultivation, it would be good enough if they didn't die. "
"If I say that I have a way to restore the astral source universe, then the price would be the collapse of the economy. What do you think, Elder?"
Lu Yin asked as he poured himself some tea, as if he was speaking casually.
Cloudshadow's eyes widened. "Dao Disciple, you have a way to restore the astral source universe?"
"Is there anyone else besides me who can restore the astral source universe?"
Lu Yin put down his teacup.
Cloudshadow stared at Lu Yin deeply. He was right; in the current Fifth Mainland, no matter whether it was in terms of power or status, this person was the highest. He represented the Fifth Mainland's highest will, and if there was anyone who could save the Fifth Mainland, it would be him.
"What do you mean by the collapse of the economy?"
Lu Yin thought about it. "I won't say too much, but there are two conditions. First, I can attempt to restore the astral source universe by paying ten trillion star essences. Second, success is not guaranteed, but there is a 90% chance." He then stared at Cloudshadow. "Elder, do you think it's worth a bet?"
Cloudshadow's eyes flickered. A bet? This was a huge bet. Ten trillion star essences? What kind of concept was that?
This meant that even if the entire Mavis Bank was emptied, they would not be able to fork out that much money. This also meant that if the Mavis Bank collapsed, the human economy would collapse, and even then, it might not be able to be restored.
"Dao Disciple, what are you trying to say by coming to the Mavis Family?"
He Luo Mavis' voice came from behind him.
Lu Yin did not turn around, as he knew that she had arrived.
Cloud Shadow Mavis was no longer the one with the highest status in the Mavis Family. Instead, it was River Mavis, the Dao Child from the era of Above Heaven. She had grasped the true core inherited battle skills of the Mavis Family, and was the only one who could truly inherit the Mavis Family's legacy after the collapse of the second continent. Her status was far higher than any other Mavis Family member.
"Let's not talk about whether or not the astral source universe can be restored. Even if it is, the collapse of the Mavis Bank and the collapse of the economy will be a disaster for us. We will become the sinners of the human race. Dao Disciple, you don't wish to sacrifice the Mavis Family to save the Fifth Mainland, do you?" He Luo Mavis sat down beside Cloudshadow.
Her tone was calm as she faced Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's lips curled up. "What if I say yes?"
Cloudshadow's brows twitched, but she did not speak.
He Luo Mavis met Lu Yin's gaze. "With Dao Disciple's abilities, we do not have the ability to refuse. We will do as you say."
Lu Yin smiled. "You don't have to force me. I'm not stupid enough to sacrifice the Mavis Family. Besides, even your Mavis Family can't possibly produce ten trillion star essences. Even the entire Astral Beast Domain can't produce that much."
Cloudshadow relaxed. "The human astral source's star essence far surpasses that of the Astral Beast Domain, but it's too scattered. My Mavis Family doesn't even have a hundredth of the human astral source's star essence. Many powerful families and sects have stockpiles, and with the huge human population, it's not impossible to gather ten trillion star essence. It all depends on how we do it."
He Luo Mavis was curious. "Is there really a way to restore the astral source?"
Lu Yin stood up. "Perhaps. In any case, prepare yourselves. I will withdraw the star essence at any time. After all, this is for the sake of the Fifth Mainland, and everyone has to pay a price, including myself." Before he left, he added, "I won't let your efforts go in vain. I will give you a corresponding price." He then left.