The Innkeeper

Chapter 2400: Infinity

The parasite was, in truth, a former resident of Pentagal. It had lived in hibernation for unknown years, protected by the remnant will of the dying universe. Though it was now in a pathetically weak state, once upon a time it had been a being of great power and prestige - far beyond the mundane.

If it could capture this body, then it could infiltrate the universe using the body of a native while hiding its identity, allowing it to perfectly integrate into the universe using an official and authentic identity. It was not the first to do this, nor would it be the last. From the last time that the Gilded Hollow had opened up, this plan was already in motion. The only ones who knew about it were those that had successfully parasited their targets and entered the new universe.

Those who had, for various reasons, overcome or defeated the parasites could not learn of the plan or their intentions - they were protected by the Hollow itself. This was a universe infiltration mission of the highest order!

Of course, not much could become of it. It wasn’t like the remnants of the previous universe could rally against the residents of the new one. They merely gained an opportunity to continue living rather than dying with their own universe.

To facilitate such a thing, the retribution cycles were predetermined to give the parasites the best chance of succeeding without being detected.

This retribution - the Test of Erosion - came now specifically for them to determine if they could successfully parasitize their target. There was no need to rush, they could wait years in silence to see if the target had any way of exiting. Once they were sure, they merely needed to go ahead and take over their body.

The only real limitation was that they would have to do it before the Hollow closed. Thus, even though the parasite had woken up, it had no intention of doing anything just yet.

Unfortunately for it, a long, long time ago Lex had already unlocked an ability that was vaguely reminiscent of a Dao Lords ability.

If a Dao Lords’ name was spoken, or in some cases even thought of, the Dao Lord in question could sense it even from across realms. Similarly, if anyone so much as thought about Lex within a certain range of him, Lex would be able to sense it. Although the parasite did not know Lex as a person, it did not change that his target was Lex.

Although Lex’s spirit itself could not be erased, the Gilded Hollow had found a way around it, artificially restricting his ability to think or make judgments of any kind whatsoever. That did not include, however, his instincts.

The moment the parasite laid its greedy eyes on Lex’s soul, his soul acted out instinctively and unleashed Domination, directly eradicating the parasite hidden within the necklace.

The death of the parasite did not cause his soul to fall into dormancy, however, for his instinct sensed another, weaker yet consistent threat. The threat had a very convenient escape, however, which was the door.

Thus, without any guidance from his spirit, his soul acted on pure instinct to guide his body to move, allowing him to survive this retribution easily.

When Lex’s spirit was restored, the memories came flooding in. The Hollow had been extremely clever. The reason it constantly wore out his spirit, but not his soul and body, was so that the parasite could take over.

In the case of the previous retribution, Lex could not suffer from the Erosion aspect of the retribution, so his ability to think and make judgments had directly been sealed by the Hollow.

The fact that he survived was solely due to the powerful instincts he had as a human being - instincts so intense that they originated straight from the soul!

Due to his sealed state, he had been unable to study the parasite at all, and once it was destroyed it vanished entirely, so he learned nothing significant from it. Yet Lex wasn’t concerned about that right now.

No matter the case, he really was extremely mentally tired, yet the retribution was far from over.

Next began the sixth retribution, the Furnace of Imperfection. Within it, a white flame would incinerate everything that was imperfect. The process would be slow and painful, as only one thing would be incinerated at a time. He could pass the retribution if a single aspect of himself survived once the flames were extinguished, allowing himself to heal perfectly.

As soon as the retribution informed him of the details, Lex came up with a way to survive. He immediately began to use his cultivation technique.

Personal ego and arrogance aside, who could say what was perfect from an objective point of view? His hair? His good looks? His rock solid abs? Yes, but just in case the Gilded Hollow lacked objectivity, he could rely on his cultivation technique. He was certain that it, of all things, could be considered perfect regardless of the universe.

It turned out he was right. In fact, because he was cultivating when the fires appeared, his entire being could be said to be in a state of perfection due to his cultivation technique, ending the retribution as soon as it began.

Thus, feeling great relief, Lex faced his seventh retribution which was known simply as Life. Every piece of his physical body came to life, and gained independent thought, wanting to take over the whole or just run away and survive. To pass the retribution, he needed to fight his own, entire body and reclaim all of it.

In his current situation, Lex’s body was the necklace. If it really came to life and ran away, the entire necklace and the fake realm within it would be destroyed! He couldn’t afford that at all!

Since fighting was a part of the retribution, Lex blasted Domination to his fullest. Unfortunately, all the rest of the necklace was immune to it since it too was originally a part of Lex.

"Mother of..."

Lex began to curse, before immediately realizing the perfect solution. He pushed his already exhausted mind into overdrive, exerting his utmost to create a Lawcraft that could replicate the Parasite retribution.

The moment he created it, Lex used it on the rest of the necklace, creating millions of parasites of himself to fight against all the other parts of the necklace that had come to life. Fortunately, while each piece inherited his strength, they were independent lifeforms so they did not inherit his mind and spirit. He was able to reclaim the rest of the necklace before the pieces managed to tear themselves free of the whole.

He had managed to preserve the necklace, but his mind was truly running on fumes. By this point, the only thing sustaining him was sheer willpower. If he could find even a few seconds to rest, his rapid healing ability would allow him to recover even if only a little. Unfortunately, the gap between retributions was not even one second.

There was no time to even compose himself, let alone recover.

Thus, Lex entered his eighth and final retribution: Infinity.