Chapter 1602

How could Number Five Godstar not have thought of this? Just sending someone to look at the remains, and then both the remains and the guards vanished—this is like sending someone to check a homestead, only to turn around and find the homestead gone. These days, do people even steal homesteads?

Number Five Godstar immediately thought of Anthony, since the remains disappeared after they had been there, making him the prime suspect.

But in the Devouring Abyss, he couldn't find Anthony, only silver coins. Just as he was about to question them, the silver coins calmly asked:

"Your Excellency Number Five Godstar, you say these remains are yours—how do you prove it? When we arrived, the divine tree was still alive, so the remains should belong to the tree god, right?"

"You can't point to a remains with a tree god from dozens of nodes away and claim it's yours—if I gestured into the void, wouldn't all remains then be mine?" The silver coin spoke with reason and evidence.

Number Five Godstar, having never faced such rebuttal before, found it somewhat reasonable and immediately grew short of breath: "But... I gave you the location..."

The silver coin questioned doubtfully: "Are you saying that by revealing his location, he becomes yours? Then if I tell others your location, do you become mine?"

"You..." Number Five Godstar was speechless. When it came to ownership of goods, even Anthony showing up might not win against the God of Merchants.

The silver coin said: "The divine tree of the Star-Shifter's remains is still alive, so its ownership unquestionably belongs to the tree god—we needn't argue this further, unless you come to take it by force."

Before Number Five Godstar could explode, the silver coin continued: "Besides, you don't actually want a remains."

"I... I just want this remains, not..." Number Five Godstar flared up.

He didn't want this remains—why waste so much energy on it, projecting across different pathways, only to have them take one look and the remains vanish? It's like feeding a dog with a meat bun.

"No, what you want is a Star-Shifter with star-shifting ability, not just a corpse. If it lacks star-shifting ability, even if resurrected, would you want it?" The silver coin shouted.

As a merchant, he had seen too many people misunderstand their own needs, not knowing what they truly wanted.

A man says his kidneys are weak—he doesn't actually feel weak, so giving him kidney medicine is useless; he needs the blue little pill.

Now Number Five Godstar is like a man who doesn't understand his true needs: he thinks obtaining the Star-Shifter's remains is enough, but it's not—what he truly wants isn't the remains, but the star-shifting ability.

Number Five Godstar's mind reeled as if struck by lightning, and he remained silent for a long while.

The silver coin didn't wait for him to think further, continuing: "You don't even need a Star-Shifter with star-shifting ability, because a single Star-Shifter cannot shift you into the Boundless Expanse. You need an opportunity to shift yourself into the Boundless Expanse—that is your true need, and you don't even understand your own needs."

As the God of Merchants, the silver coin was naturally skilled at persuasion, just like Lisa saying, "How can you treat your own face like that?"

"Ask yourself: a Godstar without star-shifting ability, or an opportunity to shift into the Boundless Expanse— which would you choose? Your first reaction— which do you pick? Choose, don't think, just choose!" The silver coin shouted loudly.

"The... the second one." Number Five Godstar, a bit dazed by the question, said instinctively.

"Exactly—this is your true need. You need an opportunity to shift into the Boundless Expanse." The silver coin concluded.

"Yes, I need an opportunity to shift into the Boundless Expanse, but I don't have such an opportunity now, so I..." As a Godstar, his intellect was normal, and he quickly sobered from the silver coin's persuasion—just as he was about to speak, he was cut off.

"I can provide this opportunity." The silver coin said lightly.

"I... what? You can shift me into the Boundless Expanse?" Number Five Godstar exclaimed in disbelief.

"Can you know the Gate of the Boundless?" The silver coin asked.

"You have the Gate of the Boundless?" Number Five Godstar shocked.

"Hehe, you know who we are, yet you say such nonsense?" The silver coin said lightly.

The best promotion isn't telling customers what you have—it's making them believe you have it.

Number Five Godstar immediately realized: these people are indeed Soul Guides, having slain so many Godstars—how could they possibly lack the Gate of the Boundless?

But they've slain so many Godstars—could they be luring him here to slaughter him?

The silver coin seemed to guess his thoughts, saying lightly: "In the void, there are so many Godstars—even if we wanted to slaughter, it wouldn't yet be your turn. Moreover, slaughtering isn't our main task; that's the performance of other Soul Guides."

"Oh? Then what is your performance?" Number Five Godstar asked.

"Putting all light into bottles." The silver coin said slowly.

Number Five Godstar startled—hadn't he said that himself?

The silver coin said: "Although you've heard this, you clearly haven't truly understood its meaning, for besides this, there are two more: putting the void into a bottle, putting darkness into a bottle. If you've heard those two, do you think they're all the same phrase, just distorted in transmission?"

Number Five Godstar nodded—though he hadn't heard the other two, even if he had, he'd likely think they were distorted in transmission.

"My lord's task is to put light into bottles—the Boundless Expanse is that bottle." The silver coin said.

Number Five Godstar clearly believed half of it, asking: "Why... why?"

"Do you know what the Boundless Expanse is?" The silver coin asked.

"The origin of life?" Number Five Godstar ventured.

The silver coin nodded: "The Boundless Expanse needs vast amounts of light—actually, this phrase was distorted in transmission; the correct version should be: putting all newly born light into bottles."

"Newly born light? You..." If it were another Godstar, they might not understand the silver coin's meaning, but he did.

Because he knew the Boundless Expanse was already empty—no new light was born there anymore—yet these people actually wanted to restart the Boundless Expanse?

The silver coin spoke half-true, half-false—nine parts truth, one part lie—directly piercing Number Five Godstar's doubts.

Finally, the silver coin said: "If you're willing to exchange for a smaller body and offer your soul to our lord, we can pass through the Gate of the Boundless and send you into the Boundless Expanse, making you a newly born light within the bottle."

Number Five Godstar said: "I need to think about it."

After speaking, he withdrew—but his consciousness didn't return directly to his body; instead, he came to the consciousness space, where already five Godstar consciousnesses hovered.

When he returned, the remaining five Godstars urgently asked: "Is his word believable? They are Soul Guides, after all."

One of the questioners was actually Six Godstar.