After walking a few steps, he turned back and said, "Oh, right — our First Inn doesn't just sell information, we buy it too. If our guests ever come across any useful news in the future, they're welcome to sell it to us here at First Inn. Rare treasures are welcome as well. We've always conducted our business honestly and fairly."
The attendant bowed and withdrew. The group stared at the Space Ring on Yang Kai's hand. A Sun asked, "What exactly happened here? Why did that man say that if we waited here for a while, we might be able to meet people from the Great Moon State?"
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, immersing his mind into the jade slip to examine it. After a moment, his eyebrows shot up and a look of shock crossed his face. He glanced at Old Fang and the others, then passed the jade slip over. "You should take a look at this too."
The jade slip passed through three pairs of hands in succession, and without exception, all three were deeply shaken, exchanging speechless glances.
"The Sun is dying?" Die You murmured thoughtfully. "If that's the case, then that blinding flash of light we caught a fleeting glimpse of before — was that the final radiance of the Sun Star?"
Yang Kai nodded. "That should be it."
When they had first emerged from the domain gate, both he and Die You had noticed a burst of light flash and vanish at an immense distance, brilliantly dazzling but lasting only a brief moment. They hadn't understood what it was at the time, but after reading the contents of the jade slip, they suddenly understood — it was the last flare of brilliance from a Sun Star on the verge of going out.
A Sun Star approaching destruction was a major event no matter where it happened. If it were merely that alone, it might not have drawn so many forces to investigate. The key was that a Sun Star nurtured within it a substance known as Sun True Gold. Under normal circumstances, even a Prowess Realm powerhouse would find it impossible to ascend to the surface of a Sun Star — the terrifying temperatures alone were enough to make them shrink back. But a Sun Star on the verge of dying was a different matter entirely. Given the right opportunity, anyone could venture up to take a look.
Sun True Gold, at its lowest grade, was a sixth-grade material for the Prowess Realm, and it was of the fire attribute to boot.
Not to mention that, according to legend, there existed atop the Sun Star the Golden Crow Divine Palace. The Golden Crow was dying, and so the Sun Star was perishing along with it.
Men died for wealth; birds died for food — an eternal truth. If there were no benefits to be had here, why would so many people flock to the area?
Whether it was the Sun True Gold that might be nurtured within the Sun Star, or the Golden Crow Divine Palace that most likely didn't even exist, either was enough to draw every major and minor faction from several surrounding Great Domains. That was why business at First Inn was so booming — otherwise, in the middle of this void, why would so many people come here to stay and drink?
"Sun True Gold..." Old Fang's eyes were practically glowing. "If I could get my hands on even a single piece, I'd never have to worry again for the rest of my life."
According to the jade slip, Sun True Gold was at minimum a sixth-grade material for the Prowess Realm — something worth fifteen million Prowess Pills, and even that was with no supply to meet the demand. If one actually put it up for sale, tens of millions of Prowess Pills could be fetched without much difficulty.
Die You pressed her lips together and said, "Even if you had the luck to obtain something like that, I'm afraid you wouldn't live long enough to enjoy it."
All the major factions from several nearby Great Domains had already gathered in the area, and countless pairs of eyes were fixed on the dying Sun Star. One could well imagine that the moment the solar flames went out, countless people would rush in to search and scavenge. With their group's strength, even if they somehow managed to find the Sun True Gold, they might not survive long enough to bring it out.
Old Fang's expression darkened at Die You's words, and he slammed his fist down hard. "How infuriating!"
"Fortune is unpredictable — we might not be without our chance," Yang Kai said with a light chuckle. "Besides, no matter what, we need to stay here and see if we can meet anyone from the Great Moon State."
A Sun nodded vigorously beside him.
Compared to traversing two domain gates to reach the Great Moon State's headquarters, waiting here was undoubtedly the less stressful option. If luck was on their side, they might just encounter someone from the Great Moon State, and then A Sun could go and make herself known to them.
"All right then... shall we take a chance and try our luck?" Old Fang looked at Yang Kai questioningly.
Yang Kai nodded. "That's all we can do."
With the decision made, the four of them felt considerably more at ease. They drank wine, ate their food, and chatted about everything under the sun. It had to be said that First Inn employed an exceptionally skilled chef — the dishes were absolutely exquisite, and the entire table was cleaned down to the last morsel.
They called over the same attendant from before to settle the bill. It came to a full two hundred Prowess Pills, enough to make Yang Kai's hand tremble slightly.
He had recently made a small fortune off a few dead men, pocketing several hundred thousand Prowess Pills, but at this rate of spending, it wouldn't last long.
He asked the attendant when the Sun Star would finally go out. The attendant said he wasn't sure himself — this situation had already persisted for three years, and he estimated it would be at least another few months before anything became clear. After all, the destruction of a Sun Star wasn't something that happened overnight.