The Innkeeper

Chapter 2365: Why is Lex still causing problems? I

"You know, when Lex went into the Gilded Hollow, I thought that my life would become much easier," said Nuwa in an exasperated tone. "That’s half the reason I made sure he got the key to the Gilded Hollow from my temple. Who knew that, not only would he not stop causing issues, others would join him in making my life difficult."

Naturally, none responded to Nuwa. Though it appeared like she was talking to them, her attendants knew all too well not to disturb her when she was troubled like this.

Ever since that homicidal maniac Elizabeth had been unleashed from her prison, many had decided to behave themselves lest they attract undue attention, and Nuwa was simply one of them. It wasn’t that Nuwa was afraid of Elizabeth - far from it. It was just that dealing with her would be far too troublesome, and would make her vulnerable to other threats.

If anyone ever doubted that the Primals were the peacekeepers of the universe, they only needed to be informed of the great service the Primals were performing on behalf of the entire damn universe by keeping her locked up.

"Have we confirmed what exactly happened?" she asked her attendant. With the Humanoid Alliance the way it was, and with Wu Kong indisposed, she could only rely on some of her other subordinates, even if it was a hassle to deal with them. Their fervent and worshipping gaze was the very reason she normally preferred solitude.

Unfortunately, since she did not want to expose herself, she could only leave the reconnaissance and other basic tasks to these subordinates.

"A massive disruption in universal karma was detected some time ago. Since the disruption was blatant and not hidden in the slightest, most forces in the universe have already discerned some basic information about it.

"The source of the karmic fluctuation... seems to originate from the Primordial Garden, and its target seems to be connected to the Midnight Inn and happens to be inside the Gilded Hollow. That’s about as much concrete information as we were able to get, however there are a number of speculations spreading through various circles. We’ve compiled a list in case you want to see."

What was the point of reading speculations? By now, Nuwa already knew that as long as certain information pertained to that brat Lex, it would always be wrong. Still, she looked into any way, just to get a sense of what the universe was thinking.

At the moment, the Major realms were all disconnected for travel via the Void had become too dangerous. The only actual means of travel between realms were various forms of teleportation which were just too difficult and expensive to be used en masse.

As a result, many Dao Lords had become disconnected from their organisations and were resorting to whatever means were available to them to protect themselves. The war was still ongoing, just in tiny, disconnected clusters. After all, since everyone was cut off, they wanted to gain control of the nearest realms for their own protection!

Of course, another thing Dao Lords could do was look into the laws of the universe to stay updated on what was happening across the universe. Most things could not be kept secret from Dao Lords.

Thus, even disconnected as they were, they formed the most comprehensive gossip network in the universe! One of the trending topics was a rumor that the Innkeeper was absent from his realm. This was a big deal, especially since it was previously theorised that he was trying to create a Seat of Power.

Why exactly would he leave, and slow or even stop his progress altogether? No one could know, but some even began to speculate that there was no Seat of Power at all, and that everything had been speculation from the get go.

As if that was not enough, many began to notice that the previously stable relationship between the Midnight Inn and the Humanoid Alliance had suddenly started to deteriorate!

Even the Humanoid Alliance hadn’t expected that. Sure, they expected some kind of fallout from the ’incident’ caused by one of their factions, but they hadn’t anticipated the sheer level of indifference the Inn showed them. None knew how to interpret that.

Just as various rumors about why all this was happening were beginning to gain traction, it happened. The massive karmic fluctuation. No one knew why it happened. They only knew it came from the Primordial Garden, it targeted the Gilded Hollow, and that it was connected to the Midnight Inn.

Could it be that the Innkeeper was inside the Gilded Hollow? That was an audacious move indeed! Moreover, who had caused the massive karmic fluctuation? The easy answer was Eclipse, but that shouldn’t have been possible. Her powers were supposed to be sealed.

If she used her powers like that, then shouldn’t it have triggered the advent of the universe’s evolution? Or were there other, unknown requirements for that?

The more probable answer was that it wasn’t Eclipse, but someone who worked for her. Her mysterious, unknown body guard, for example. None knew the truth, but suddenly they were highly intrigued by the Innkeeper.

If he was in the Gilded Hollow, it would explain why he had not reacted to the Humanoid Alliance’s actions yet. Unfortunately, there was no remedy or salve for regret. Many began to wait eagerly for the time when he would return to see how he would react.

Nuwa snorted. As if. Everyone took the Innkeeper in such high esteem. If only they knew that the Innkeeper was just a little boy wearing a suit.

"Why exactly can Eclipse contact Lex inside the Gilded Hollow?" Nuwa asked, though no one had an answer. "Is it because she’s connected to Vaelûn? That doesn’t make sense."

Before she could ponder on the topic much longer, something else happened that attracted her attention.

The Julias Major realm was one of the hubs of the Path of Chaos - the ones suspected to be behind this war, and the ones responsible for the destruction of those four Major realms. It was where the Hall of Powa was located.

Elizabeth showed up outside the realm and, using one of the Primal race’s most powerful weapons, corrupted the laws of the realm itself, causing it to fall into a sequence of self destruction. But unlike the previous Major realms which had been destroyed, the Julias realm would not explode.

Instead, the corruption of the laws would cause the entire realm to be refined into Dao materials for the Primal race to harvest. As for those living inside the realm? Their souls, too, would be corrupted and refined into Dao materials.

It happened without any forewarning. No one even detected her actions until it was too late. The legendary, the fearsome, the powerful Path of Chaos... had become the first to suffer Elizabeth’s wrath.