The Innkeeper

Chapter 1874: Not on the agenda

Lex was panting heavily, his appearance entirely unkempt as if someone had put him in a sack and had beaten him up. It couldn’t be helped, for he could not spare any spare thoughts to maintain his appearance.

By now, he was already struggling to hold himself together. Despite constantly talking to countless characters, the rate of purification could not match his rate of absorption of the corruption.

If something did not change soon, he might really be unable to pass this tribulation! He either needed the tribulation to end, or he needed to figure out a way to use the obelisk more effectively. But with his spirit on the verge of collapsing, it was really hard for him to think.

He had tried everything he could think of, from trying to approach the obelisk itself, to asking all the characters various questions about themselves and the obelisk. Unfortunately, he could not find any pattern as to why their names would be on the thing, save that they were humans.

Some were sinners, some were saints, most were entirely ordinary, and the only cultivator he had come across so far had merely reached the Foundation realm in his life. Some were great heroes, some great villains, and most had entirely different ideologies.

No matter what he did, he found no answers, no hints, and no solutions. Then again, it should have been expected that it was not easy to uncover the secrets of the obelisk.

If anyone knew something, they had kept the knowledge to themselves, for the general consensus was that no one had been able to figure out any details or hints as to the obelisks’ secrets.

"This is absolutely absurd, Fred," Lex said listlessly. "I cannot explain to you the kinds of trials and dangers I have overcome. I find it impossible to believe that a mere Spiritual tribulation will be the end of me, but more and more, it’s starting to look that way. Let me tell you, I sure as hell ain’t no weakling. But that strength is coming to bite me in the behind in this tribulation. If I’m finding it so hard, then how do others pass this damn thing?"

Lex didn’t expect an actual answer. He was just complaining. That is why, when Fred actually answered, Lex was stumped.

"Your rate of absorption of corruption is about three billion times greater than most other people I’ve seen - probably because your Spiritual tribulation is overlapped by that of an entire realm. To be frank, the fact that you can even survive this long is the greatest evidence of your own abnormality."

"Hah!" Lex exclaimed, his weary mind thinking of a really lame joke. "But you’re not Frank, you’re Fred!"

He grinned widely and was about to laugh at his own joke - a clear sign of just how bad his situation had become - when Lex suddenly felt a rush of lucidity wash over him. A massive amount of corruption had been washed clear from his mind for no apparent reason.

But that’s when Lex’s pupils shrank as realization came to him.

"You seem to have figured something out," Fred said, his voice suddenly taking on a sinister note.

"You’re not Frank, nor are you Fred!" Lex exclaimed, suddenly staring at the characters once more, as well as the obelisk. "You... you all are lying!"

The clarity in his mind became even greater as a purifying force washed through his mind, even going as far as enhancing his spirit a bit - something that was only supposed to happen after the tribulation was over.

"We could tell from the moment you came here that you would be trouble," Fred spoke for the third time, his voice burning Lex’s corruption and his spirit. No, no it wasn’t burning both. With the sudden clarity that Lex had, he could tell what was really happening!

The purification was granted by the obelisk as a reward for probing, trying to understand the situation. The burning, however, was entirely from the character! The more he spoke to them, the more they could influence him, and what they wanted most of all was for him to die!

Instead of speaking to Fred again, Lex’s thoughts raced as his eyes studied the obelisk anew - forgoing all the information he had from his research and studying the situation with fresh eyes.

"This obelisk... it is somehow related to humanity... it’s destiny or fate, or something," Lex muttered, focusing on none of the characters in particular. "It appears in the Spiritual tribulation because this place is special somehow. It is trying to help us... or warn us, or maybe both. You all... you all are etched onto the obelisk, trying to steal its power, trying to prevent it from helping us. You all are... literally eating away at the foundation of the human race!"

A new wave of purification flooded Lex’s mind as the obelisk, for the first time, trembled. In a single instant, it wiped all the corruption from Lex’s mind, and even began to enhance his spirit... no, it began to enhance his instincts which were closely related to his spirit! This obelisk was a great treasure, perhaps the greatest Lex had ever seen besides systems, and it was closely tied to humanity.

It wanted to help them recover, and at the same time it wanted to let humans know that someone was eating away at it! Yet either that secret remained undiscovered for untold years, or for some reason, that news remained suppressed.

Lex suddenly felt like he had stumbled upon a great conspiracy... one far greater than he was prepared to face today. After all, the only things he had on the agenda for the day was becoming a Heaven Immortal, kidnapping a realm, going to the Primordial Garden, killing some Kraven, misdirecting the Ventura’s grudge towards Vinei instead of himself - incase they held a grudge - as well as steal the ability of the Primordial Garden to produce Primordial energy through Realm law replication. There was nothing about uncovering an attempt to undermine the strength of the human race on the universal scale.

Lex sighed as he felt his tribulation suddenly ending.

"Fine, fine, I guess I’ll add saving you onto the list of things I have to do," Lex said to the obelisk, ignoring the deep sense of malice radiating from all the names.

Speaking of which, Lex couldn’t help but wonder the origin of these names. He was pretty certain that the universal translator feature of the system had been somehow interfered with, which wasn’t a simple feat. Oh well, he could always ask them during his next Spiritual tribulation.