The Innkeeper

Chapter 2010: The nightmare that has no end

In the Primordial Garden, Lex was subject to a lot of pressure because everything around him had the Primordial buff, as he had chosen to recognize it. By the same standards, in Arch-Heaven, he had a major debuff.

Now, in the Origin realm, he was finally able to flex his muscles and really test out how strong he was. As it turned out, he was much stronger than he anticipated, and for two, distinct reasons - his fledgling Dao Body, and his increasing Primordial aura.

Those two aspects added a certain weight to his strength that allowed him to surpass traditional strength boundaries. If Celestials were stronger than Heaven Immortals because they had access to the eight ruling laws, then Lex had access to something one step beyond that - even if the amount of control he had was barely worth even acknowledging.

So while the six immortals attacked Lex’s defense barriers with their feeble control over the eight ruling laws that even they did not fully understand, Lex studied them calmly, assured that the sheer quality of his defenses were so great, that they could not break them easily. By the time they broke one of Lex’s barriers, he would be able to deploy three of four more.

It had been a long time since he had such a significant advantage over those with a higher cultivation level.

Assured in his own safety, Lex studied them all calmly, and realized that he had made one big mistake! As it turned out, Lex wasn’t just familiar with Tether and Firmament, he also had a considerable mastery over Ember!

In fact, the moment he saw one of the Celestial Immortals use Ember, Lex had the urge to shake his head. It was like a master watching a child attempting to swing around a heavy sword - it was just brutally painful.

Many people set their foundation in their comprehension of Ember by controlling fire, and then making their flames all the more deadly. Lex had set his foundation by living through one volcanic eruption after another as a mortal. He had etched the burning sensation of molten lava into his very bones, into the very core of his identity.

So, while Lex still could not get in touch with those eight laws directly, he had a considerable foundation in related laws for three of them. What he needed to test now was if he could use those subsidiary laws to control the eight ruling laws. For that, he would need to study these Celestials a bit more, so...

He increased the number of attacks on them. The Heaven Immortals, by now, weren’t able to keep up at all. Although Lex had not killed them outright, they were severely wounded, and unable to stay conscious.

At first the Celestials found the situation difficult to believe. They thought that maybe Lex was relying on some treasures, or maybe over exerting himself temporarily. Such abilities were not uncommon, but came with a significant cost. Yet no matter how much time passed by, Lex did not seem weakened at all. Instead, it was as if he was playing with them... toying with them.

Slowly, a hint of desperation began to build within the Celestials hearts, which was entirely abnormal. They were used to their fights lasting months or years without a clear indication of a winner, so how could they start to feel desperate in the first ten minutes against a cultivator in a lower realm? But that’s exactly what was happening.

One of the Celestials, a Six-Armed Gorilla, could not take it anymore. In an attempt to shake things up, to present himself or his allies with a chance of breaking the deadlock, he did the unthinkable. He began burning his bloodline essence! Even for Celestial Immortals, that was not something they could easily recover from. There were even chances of permanently ending his cultivation path from that one move, but he had no other choice.

His strength surged, his control over laws became more forceful, and in a sudden burst, he smashed through four of Lex’s shields in one move and instantly appeared in front of Lex.

Relief flooded his body as he felt that salvation was at hand. Alas, he had stepped from the proverbial oven directly into the fire.

Lex merely raised his hand and grabbed the Gorilla’s neck, sealing his entire body and cultivation through pure, brute strength that was so vast, it translated into law.

Lex suddenly had a moment of enlightenment. Ah, so pure, brute strength was a part of Anchor, one of the eight ruling laws. Now that made 4 laws he had a foundation with.

"What... What the hell are you?" the gorilla asked in a trembling voice, as horror gripped his heart. If he were a mortal, he would have died from a heart attack by now.

"Me? I am the nightmare you can never wake from," Lex answered, his expression slowly turning from neutral to a deathly gaze.

"I am the thing your worst fears hide from. Come, do your best, do your worst. Send even stronger brutes my way, Damian, but it won’t change anything.

"I will grow stronger, faster than you can imagine. The next time we meet no Deity, no plan or contingency will save you. The next time we meet, you will learn that death is not so scary, and life is not so sweet, and that immortality can be an eternal curse. You can hide now, but you cannot hide forever. Sooner or later, you will fall into my gaze, and when that time comes, you will no longer be able to afford the luxury of regret."

Each word that Lex spoke felt like a dagger in the Gorilla’s heart, filling him with unbelievable dread, though there was only one thing, one bit of hope he latched onto.

"My... I am not Damian," he said, hoping that this human had mistaken him for someone else. Maybe that way he would be able to escape his predicament.

"I know," Lex answered simply. "You are just the messenger. Don’t worry, you don’t need to deliver the message yourself. He will get it, one way or another."