The Innkeeper

Chapter 2331: Sacrilege

Fear. For the first time in a long time, a deep feeling of fear spread out among the Dao Lords of the universe. Killing a Dao Lord was so incredibly difficult that even sworn enemies who might dedicate their lives to killing each other might not succeed.

Instead, among Dao Lords, it was a much more common practice to simply seal, restrict or trap another Dao Lord for an extended period of time. Although, the ease in difficulty was only relative, for it was not easy to fool any Dao Lords.

Among cultivators there were many who could gain their cultivation levels through luck. Even among mortals, there were those who gained level simply using external assistance, and had any measure of luck and opportunity. However, among Dao Lords not a single one could be called lucky.

If they reached that level, then luck had little to do with it. There were no weaklings among Dao Lords, none who used connections or family influence or anything of the sort. Only the absolutely very best even touched upon such a level, let alone pass the tribulation and achieve it.

None of them were fools, or inexperienced. Thus, to affect them, or fight them, or trap or harm them in any way required such meticulous planning that non-Dao minds could not even adequately comprehend it.

In short, it was for good reason that Dao Lords hardly ever died,so for so many of them to suddenly die shook the very foundation of their understanding of reality. It became abundantly clear the extent and power of the silent mastermind behind the scenes. If so many of them could die so easily, then they weren’t safe either.

Unfortunately, the complex state of the universe also meant that most of them could not retreat into safety if they wished. After all, if the very realm their safe haven was in could be threatened, then what safety and security could they have?

The silent, unknown threat and the uncertainty of the situation pushed the conflict into a whole new realm of warfare. The first to feel the brunt of that change were the Angels in Eden, who faced greater pressure than ever before.

Even with all their allies, contingency, and plans, the situation was devolving so rapidly that considering a full retreat from Eden became a genuine reality they began to consider.

It was during this time that the Artica race first made their presence felt universe-wide.

Although they had many tentative agreements, they mattered for naught considering the current universal situation. As soon as a Mature realm was destroyed, the Artica race declared martial law across their realm and ’politely’ requested all foreigners to the realm to leave.

Within a single day, they evacuated all of them out of the realm - or evicted them based on who was asked.

They were absolutely not afraid of being challenged, which became abundantly obvious when some unknown entities probed them some time later, and were thoroughly thwarted.

Another entity which made their presence known was the Nine Swords Sect. Although they were not considered the peak of the universe, they were briefly involved in a conflict among Dao Lords, and gravely injured the opponent in a short period of time.

All of this happened on the first day following the blast. By the second day, another Dao Lord’s death had been confirmed, this one as a result of a sudden shift in the war. Similarly, many new forces were beginning to make a name for themselves.

During this time, entities such as banks, which were considered to be incredibly wealthy, but had little power to back it up, became targets. At first, it was the minor banks and organisations who were targeted, but on the third day, someone tried their luck and attempted to challenge the Versalis bank.

It appeared that... some people had forgotten that certain organisations and entities were the tools and instruments of certain Sage races. The Versalis bank’s director was a Primal, so it was easy to guess who backed the bank.

The response was both swift and overwhelming! Not only were the assailants attacked, their backers were thoroughly investigated. Within two hours of the attack on Versalis bank, the Primal race personally launched a retaliatory attack and decimated the entire organisation, resulting in the injury of 32 enemy Dao Lords, the trapping or sealing of 104 Dao Lords, and the death of three more.

The peacekeepers of the universe had shown exactly what their qualification was to overview the universe.

By the time one week had passed since the explosion, the situation was barely managing to regain some semblance of peace and order. But then something unexpected happened. Rumors began to spread of a prophecy, not from any old oracle or diviner. No, this so-called prophecy apparently came from a prominent Weaver - an esteemed member of the Sage race - not that anyone could confirm it.

According to the prophecy, when there were only 3000 Mature realms left in the universe, a new Age would dawn!

3000 Mature realms might sound like a lot... but considering it was less than half the number of existing Mature realms, it was absolutely unacceptable!

Panic spread at an unprecedented rate, and the war devolved into an unrecognisable state. It was no longer the Path of Order against the Path of Chaos. Now it had turned into a clash of madness against a different kind of madness. The future was becoming increasingly uncertain.

During all this time, Jack found himself unaware of the changing tides of the universal war. Within the Folklore realm, he had also felt the descent of the uncontrollable, irresistible dread, yet he did not know the actual cause for it.

Every person he met had a different story, and told a different version of events, all of them equally untrue. Since he had no deeper contacts within the Folklore realm, he could not get in contact with anyone who might know the trends of the universe, so he just continued to act as usual.

The Jollyrancher traveled from town to town, city to city, spreading the story from the book he carried. At the same time, Jack placed his fairy identity in his back and began focusing on developing his cultivation.

Although he was no longer constrained by the limitations of being a fairy, he needed a path to grow stronger, and the paladin path suited him just fine. At this level, it was not just about fulfilling his oath, but about developing his existing paladin powers as well.

It was a process he was learning slowly but steadily. Everything was going about as well as could be expected, and he only had acquired an arrest warrant in 79% of the towns he visited which was a shockingly low number considering he always traveled with Bob.

On this particular day, however, Jack encountered a situation he had not expected at all. Instead of Tiny-Sparkles coming over to give him a report about how Bob had brought down disaster on the town and their crew, Bob himself approached Jack’s captain quarters.

"Forgive me, captain, for interrupting your cultivation," Bob loudly requested as he knocked on the captains quarters. "I commit this folly not lightly, for there is a grave development that requires your attention and subsequent efforts!"

The door opened, revealing a tiny Jack sitting atop a tiny bean bag, meditating.

"What’s the matter?" Jack asked, focusing on the Drama-cat. It wasn’t everyday that Bob came to him for help, so he could not even imagine what had caused such a situation to occur.

"I ventured forth into the collection of poorly and inefficiently designed buildings, surely specifically designed to give any decent architect lasting nightmares, called a town, and encountered something unusual. Pastors, priests, missionaries and apostles were abound, the divine energy on their bodies carrying a distinct flavor.

"Upon investigation, I discovered not a local Deity with a unique flair, nay! From others they may be able to keep their secrets, but my eyes see through their deception. These missionaries are followers of the Deity Oracle!"

Jack raised an eyebrow, and looked towards Bob. He was unfamiliar with Oracle, but even more than that, he found it odd that Bob kept tabs on other Deities. That was surprisingly... sensible of him.

"What these unfortunates remain unaware of is that Oracle is actually O.R.A.C.L.E. and is a Deity native to the realm ruled by A.I. This is of the utmost importance, captain!"

Jack’s expression changed as he realized what Bob meant.

"A Deity from a different realm is proselytizing in the Folklore realm?" Jack asked, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Does that mean that the Deity has traveled between realms?"

He had already anticipated something like this might happen once he learned of the Divine ore, the very kind from which his necklace was made!

"Yes, but that’s not important!" Bob exclaimed seriously, dismissing Jack’s greatest concern! "Oracle preaches a standardization across the board, which includes an even and unchained calendar where the first day of every week is Monday! Captain, grant me permission! We must launch a holy war against the sacreligious Oracle at once!"