The Innkeeper

Chapter 2394: Absolute boss

Lex blinked. Jack blinked. Who knows, maybe even Lex’s real body might have blinked in that moment because the surprise of what happened hit him harder than a Jorlam wielding a sledge hammer.

His protection period ended, but there was no Dao radiation. Heck, he didn’t even know if the barrier that the Fortune Lord made for him was active or not because he hadn’t been able to sense it from the very beginning. All he knew was that at second 0, when he was waiting to be assaulted by a level of Dao radiation that should have been lethal, nothing happened.

Something was terribly wrong, that he knew. There was no way that this place had no Dao radiation. He would have almost believed that the radiation had been absorbed by the egg shell were it not for the absence of Primordial aura as well.

He did not know what was happening, or how to get out of it, but he kept running. Logically speaking, he knew that getting his hands on the flower would not rescue him from this situation. Even if he got the flower, he would not have a way to exit this place unless his retribution string was triggered.

That said, he had no idea what the flower did, or what its chamber contained, so maybe there was hope to be found there. Moreover, he had no idea why the Dao radiation was missing. It may have something to do with that flower, and it may not. Maybe it was even that in tune fortune of his and the flower that the Fortune Lord was talking about.

Regardless of what the reason was, Lex kept running as if his life depended on it, mainly because it probably did. At the same time, he kept his senses extended as much as possible to avoid any nasty surprises.

Naturally, the reason the Dao radiation was missing was because all things at the Dao had been frozen in time by that one, broken thought. It was truly too fortuitous that things played out that way... or perhaps everything had been by design.

The human corpse within the ruins did not move again, nor did it react to Lex’s aura. Twice already the corpse had reacted to him, and that was enough for it to be suppressed by the universe. Coincidentally, though, the direction of his face seemed to be towards Lex, as if the corpse was watching him.

Lex, naturally, knew none of that. But as he continued to run for second after second, he eventually began to notice something. He had started to get a faint, almost imperceptible response from the laws of the universe.

That meant that whatever was happening was slowly reversing. That was both a good thing, and a bad thing. It was good because he might be able to escape, and it was because he didn’t know if the shield around him was genuinely gone after ten seconds, or if it could withstand ten seconds of Dao radiation, meaning it might still be active since the radiation was missing!

A soft tremor ran through the pyramid beneath Lex’s feet, as if it was beginning to realize that he was here, and was considering what to do about it. The pyramid was in a state of lethargy, as was the rest of the universe as far as Lex was concerned. But that lethargy was wearing off.

Lex narrowed his eyes and ran a quick calculation. At the current rate, the universe would return to normal before he could reach the flower. But... if he could time things right, he might be able to use the laws to teleport himself to the flower before the harmful effects from the recovering lethargy might be able to affect him.

No, might wasn’t good enough. He would do it.

The Flow state of old, now elevated and enhanced beyond what its original creator could have ever fathomed, was still not something Lex used often. His natural state was better than what others achieved with the Flow state.

Lex used it now, nevertheless, for this was one of the most critical moments of his life. His every action needed to be beyond perfect. Nothing could be left up to chance.

His mind kept up with the rate at which the universe normalised, and he even began to sense that the Dao radiation that was previously absent was beginning to show signs of returning. It wasn’t back yet, but it was getting there.

Within the Folklore realm, Jack used the newfound Paladin powers he received upon becoming a Heaven Immortal, and augmented his own soul with a tremendous amount of divine energy.

Although the effect wasn’t the same as if he were closer to Jack, Lex still felt his senses sharpen.

He had just climbed the fifth step when the moment came. The laws had become active enough that they could work and be influenced properly. The Dao radiation that had been building up seemed to cross some kind of threshold and finally began to appear in his surroundings. Somewhere far away, Romulus’ felt like someone had called him but that he had missed the call.

He turned around to look at Lex, not noticing that his own movements were incredibly slow.

At that precise moment, Lex teleported right to the peak of the pyramid, not using teleportation but rather the law of Anchor - one of the eight ruling laws. He had relied on sheer strength of force to cut through the gap between where he was, and where he wanted to go, displaying unequalled brutality for his cultivation level.

Romulus chuckled and shook his head. And some people actually thought Lex might suffer with this trial. Which Heaven Immortal could jump to the peak of a pyramid with enough Dao radiation to incinerate a few weak, immature realms? One who was backed by an absolute boss, that’s who.

Meanwhile, Lex felt the Primordial Farham egg shell begin to work. The shield the Fortune Lord had given him was gone, and he had no idea how long the egg could last. Fortunately, the pyramid itself had not properly recovered yet, so the numerous defenses and traps that covered its body which could stop even Dao Lords had not yet activated.

Lex entered the final chamber - the one that contained the Double Yang Disaster Rose - and also touched upon the retribution string at the same time in case he needed to escape at any moment. Unfortunately, the Gilded Hollow was not recovering at the same rate as the universe itself, which is why he couldn’t escape right now if he needed to. He needed to survive a few more seconds.