The Innkeeper

Chapter 2392: I knew it!

Lex was not expecting the Fortune Lord to advise him to get the flower just as he decided to give it up.

"I remember all the details you gave me about the flower you were searching for - the Double Yin Death Metal flower. This one is not the same. In fact, I do not even fully understand what the use of this treasure is myself. However, I can see one thing very clearly."

Romulus turned his gaze from the screen towards Lex.

"Your own fortunes are very well in tune with that of the flower. That does not mean you are destined to get it, or anything along those lines. It simply means that if you manage to get your hands on this flower, it will be of immense personal use to you."

Lex had not been expecting that at all. Of great personal use to him, as told by the Fortune Lord after viewing his fortunes. If that was the case... Lex could not resign himself to giving up on it without at least trying. The only obstacle was that he suspected this place was filled with so much Dao radiation that exposure would immediately kill him. He wasn’t wrong either.

Lex looked at the Fortune Lord, waiting for his instructions. Surely he would not be left to fend for himself.

"On the contrary, my own fortunes are strongly misaligned with that flower. That means that even if I come close to it, the flower, I, or both may suffer some... misfortune. All I can do for you is bring you to the first step of the pyramid. As for how you reach the flower, and how you attain it, those are all things you must figure out on your own. I cannot help you."

A deep, deafening silence filled the room - at least from Lex’s perspective. His resolution - his ambitions of trying to get the flower - they all withered immediately and without restraint. Lex was not stupid enough to believe that he, as a Heaven Immortal with his soul trapped inside a necklace, could survive the Dao radiation in this place long enough to reach the top of the pyramid that was no doubt also filled with traps of some kind.

Even if the egg shell were to help him, how much could it realistically help?

No, better to give up on this treasure and come back to the Gilded Hollow the next time it opened. He could get the flower then. At least he’d be alive to get it.

"Once you get the flower, or if you choose not to get the flower, you can immediately initiate an exit from the Gilded Hollow. In truth, exiting from the Hollow is not easy. Preventing us from exiting is the last retribution from the Hollow - a final attempt at exacting vengeance.

"There are two fixed ways of exiting the Hollow - both of which we had to discover on our own, as there was no way of knowing how to do it. The first is to find an exit. Those exits exist randomly, and some look like portals while others look like ordinary items like rings or bangles.

"The second is to actively hone in on the strings of retribution connected to yourself and manually trigger them prematurely. If you manage to survive the retribution, the Hollow will throw you out. Don’t worry, it won’t use too much energy on your retribution for a mere Immortal is not as valuable to it as other Dao Lords. It will target them. You can only hope that... it still doesn’t consider you a Dao Lord as well."

Lex did not bother hoping with his luck, that’s exactly what was going to happen. Dammit, why were his only options to brave a pyramid full of Dao radiation, or face the retribution of a dead universe? Shouldn’t he become at least a peak Celestial Immortal before facing stuff like that? Why did he need to face it as a Heaven Immortal?

"I would like to help you more, but I will now be heading into the next zone of the Gilded Hollow, so I have my own hands full. I’ll provide you with a Dao shield that’ll last you ten seconds. That’s just enough where it won’t cause problems, and will give you enough time to trigger the retribution if you wish to leave. For the retribution, you will be transported to another place, so you don’t need to worry too much. Good luck."

With that, the Fortune Lord placed a hand on Lex’s shoulder and he must have erected some kind of barrier all around him. If he did, Lex could not tell.

The next moment, Lex found himself standing at the base of the pyramid with no sign of the Fortune Lord or anyone else.

In front of him was the pyramid, behind him endless lands composed of Dao materials, and to his right there was nothing but pitch darkness.

"Dammit, nothing better go wrong with this or I’m going to be pissed!" Lex exclaimed as he tried to trigger the retribution without any hesitation. He could not feel the Dao radiation - likely due to the barrier the Fortune Lord erected - but he could most certainly feel the sensation of death latching onto him as his instincts screamed in his ears like a little girl!

Unfortunately for Lex, the moment he appeared, within the darkness to his right, far off, there were some old ruins. Within those ruins there was a throne upon which sat an old corpse. When he appeared, his aura seemed to reach the throne itself, as if carried by some mysterious force, and the eyelid of the corpse trembled once more.

With excruciating difficulty, from beyond the veil of death, a thought emerged within the corpse, though the corpse had no soul or spirit. Yet the broken, fragmented thought was enough to freeze not just the Gilded Hollow, but the rest of the universe as well.

But the thought was broken, and so its effect was fragmented. The universe froze, but time kept flowing, and those below the Dao realm remained entirely unaffected by the freeze.

"Dammit, why the hell is the retribution not coming!" Lex exclaimed as he already began to run up the pyramid. For some reason, he knew this would happen.