The Innkeeper

Chapter 2161: A Dragons Domain

From start to end, Lex did not feel challenged in the least. He was sure that if he took on a hundred Celestial Immortals directly, it would have been a long and drawn out fight - one that might have even seen him injured. That is why he chose to attack the most strategic location.

This was, ultimately, a test of his own strength. Whether it was infiltrating an area protected by the enemy, unleashing an unstoppable attack, or defending against its fallout while protecting his own ’allies’, all of it was a test of his capabilities and his Dao Intentions.

As far as Lex could tell, as long as he played things smartly, there were no longer any opponents for him in the Immortal level. Only Demi Dao Lords and above were a threat to him now - though, Lex very much doubted that his Dao Intentions could directly clash against real Demi-Dao Lords.

What Lex was doing was something that had never been done in this universe before, at least by an Immortal cultivator before. Using pure laws to replicate the effects of Dao was, up until now, only theoretically possible. The issue was that to attain an understanding deep enough in laws to actually pull something like this off, one would need to have the insight and senses of a Dao Lord to begin with. But once someone became a Dao Lord, they would not need such a thing, and thus such a means of manipulating laws had never been properly researched in this universe.

Maybe in a mature universe, something like this would be possible for various reasons, but it had never been done in this universe. The only reason Lex was able to do such a thing was because Regix directly provided him a template for how to do it.

But even so, Lex’s application was still weak, and not up to the scale of genuine Demi-Dao Lords, He was in a strange limbo above Immortals, but below those who had touched upon the Dao. Yet he was happy with his progress for now. Eventually, over the course of time, he’d achieve greater results, of that Lex was sure.

After all, based on his own judgment, what he was doing was basically the same way systems were able to replicate the presence of Dao Lords. Lex knew that his system could not do anything at the Dao level without being provided fuel first, so how could it create the Innkeeper’s aura? How could it negate the aura of Dao Lords? How could it teleport people seamlessly across the universe with irreplicable skill?

Through the use of laws, of course. It was just that the skill level was far beyond what existed in the universe today, so no one could see through the actions of the systems!

That was also why, none of the Dao Lord who had interacted with the Innkeeper had seen through his facade. That also explained why everyone was so stunned by the Innkeeper’s application of karma. It was something even Dao Lords could not replicate.

Upon reaching such a thought, Lex realized that completing his Dao Body would be a good way of defending himself until he actually became a Dao Lord. After all, who could say how long that would take? Heck, Lex might even turn 30 before such a thing could happen.

Dragon-Lex turned his gaze away from the ongoing destruction behind his barrier, and looked at Nightmare. This creature, the likes of which Lex had never seen before, was suffering from the most powerful curse he had ever witnessed.

Even the entire Fairy race did not have as powerful a curse on it as this one individual did. Or, perhaps the effect of the curse on the Fairies was spread thin across the entire race, but since this curse was focused on a single individual, it appeared to have a stronger effect.

Naturally, this reminded Lex of the Penance race. Although he had sealed certain memories related to the Penance race using the Chamber of Secrets, he still remembered the details of the race itself.

They were a formidable Sage race, and one that seemed scarier than even the Primals, who appeared to have the strongest influence in the universe. Of course, there was no guarantee that Nightmare had been targeted by a Penance, but it was easy to assume.

"I can help you, but I cannot resolve your curse," said Dragon-Lex as he held out a finger and launched what appeared to be an attack towards Nightmare.

Nightmare, naturally, attempted to dodge but it was no use. His peak Celestial Immortal cultivation could not resist Lex’s influence on such short notice, and his uncooperative system had gone dormant. Thus, he had no choice but to watch as the attack landed on his body and... disappeared?

Nightmare was confused, but that was only because his understanding of Tether was terribly weak. Curses, like karma, were a form of Tether. Lex had done nothing but put a powerful seal around the core of Nightmare’s karma, hiding it. The effect could not be seen immediately, but would reveal itself over time as the curse weakened.

It would not eliminate the curse altogether, but it would make the curse lose its target. If Nightmare was smart, he would utilise this time to slowly eradicate the effect of the curse.

Lex loosened his control over Nightmare, and allowed him to escape. There was no need to talk too much - Nightmare’s mere presence meant that everyone would be antagonistic towards him, and Lex didn’t want to attract that aggression towards himself.

With Nightmare gone, he looked towards the others who had come to rescue the Evergreen Lancers.

"Do not ask my name - it is an honor you will have to remain deprived of. Instead, immerse yourselves in the pleasure of the knowledge that you have enjoyed the favor of a dragon such as I," said Dragon-Lex proudly, and then disappeared.

He was not here to make friends. If his identity was revealed, the Midnight Inn would be implicated, so it was best to remain lowkey.

When Dragon-Lex reappeared, he was standing on the surface of the bluish grey planet, looking up at the Evergreen Lancers who were meant to protect and isolate it. A throne of stone emerged from the ground whereupon Dragon-Lex took a seat, before allowing his aura to spread all around him, as if demarcating that region as his own territory.

More structures began to rise out of the ground all around him, beginning to take the shape of a great and majestic cathedral. Just before the ceiling of the cathedral closed into a dome shape, hiding Dragon-Lex from view, his voice rang out like an unquestionable command.

"I am here to visit Mei Saito of the Evergreen Lancers. You may present yourself before me - we have much to talk about."

Before anyone could respond, the ceiling was complete, hiding Dragon-Lex from view. In fact, the building even blocked all spirit senses, preventing anyone from peeking at what might be going on inside.

It was truly a peculiar view. The planet, which was otherwise barren, had one small region filled with grand and beautiful structures, all serving one, single purpose: to act as the territory of the dragon.

None found the dragon’s behavior odd. Different dragons had different personalities, but it was very much in theme for them to be so full of themselves. Then again, that one dragon had single handedly changed the entire battlefield according to his whims, saving them all from near certain death.

If one looked at it like that, the dragon was not full of himself, but in fact displayed tremendous morality and an upright character. After all, he had not even extorted them in exchange for his help. He had simply helped without being asked, and had even saved those who he could have ignored.

Even so, the Lancers were filled with trepidation and doubt at the thought of sending their founder all alone to the dragon - yet they did not seem to have a choice. Though the dragon seemed amiable for now, who knew how he would react if his demands weren’t met?

Mei did not speak, she did not need to. A single glance was enough for her to communicate with her general as she descended to the planet’s surface.

The Evergreen Lancers, meanwhile, entered a formation. It appeared as if they were standing guard, protecting the cathedral down below, yet it was fairly obvious that they could also attack it at a moment’s notice if they needed to.

Mei entered the main structure on foot, since flying seemed entirely prohibited there, as well as teleportation. Maybe she could have forced it, but she didn’t. Instead, her mind raced as she wondered why the dragon had approached her, her footsteps echoing through the massive halls, announcing her arrival long before she actually reached the main hall.

There, right in the center, sat the dragon upon his throne, looking at Mei from across the hall. Surprisingly, the throne was at ground level, and not looking down on her from a vantage point. That did not, however, reduce the dragon’s presence in the slightest. She felt like standing within the range of his Dragon’s might, she was actually standing within his Domain.

Here, the dragon was in full control of what happened, and it would be very hard to resist its will.

"I have heard much about you, Mei Saito. I wonder, are you truly worthy of the praise you have received?" the dragon’s voice spoke solemnly, filled with a questioning authority.

Within the Back of Atlas, Paul watched anxiously, unsure of what Lex was doing.