The Innkeeper

Chapter 2477: Hidden amidst the chaos

Lex immediately scrapped all his plans. Finding Belle, saving Fenrir, rescuing Giselle, going on a date...

None of that was on the immediate agenda anymore because his first priority was ensuring that the Midnight realm didn’t get swallowed up by the universe. Fortunately, his real body was still inside the Midnight Inn so he wouldn’t need to waste any time moving.

The fact that his Primordial aura had empowered his projection to not only be able to talk, but fight and kill everyone who had captured Z was quite convenient. In truth, the fact that he could kill them all with his projection alone was another reason Lex was sure that there was some kind of conspiracy afoot.

He would also check out Z’s body and soul once he returned to the Inn to be safe. But before any of that, he had to make sure that the realm could survive.

"I’ll be closing the Primordial Garden off for a few centuries," said Eclipse as she looked at Lex. "I’ll be looking forward to your progress in the meantime. Just so you know, once the universe matures, reaching the Dao Lord realm with a Minor Dao will become much easier. Anything beyond that... will become much harder."

She and Lunareth waved at Lex before they disappeared, taking Z and the others with them. Lex, meanwhile, processed what she had just told him. He wouldn’t be seeing Eclipse again for at least a few centuries, which was a shame. As for the stuff about becoming a Dao Lord, Lex wasn’t bothered by it in the slightest. When had anything been easy for him? Besides gaining weight, of course.

Lex’s projection disappeared. Meanwhile, within the Dream realm, somewhere in the dense fog that was now empty, Wu Kong frowned as he looked ahead and found nothing but fog. He then looked behind, and saw only fog. He was lost.

Dammit, Wu Kong swore to dedicate the next ten Dao cycles to making Erlang’s life miserable once he was out of here!

What he had not realized was that Eclipse had long dismissed the fog from her realm, and thus Wu Kong as well. He was no longer inside the Dream realm. What exactly his location was, no one could say for sure.

Romulus, meanwhile, had no idea where he was or where he should go. He could track certain fortunes to find enemies or friends, but he was no longer certain about the state of the universe. The feedback he was getting from the universe was strange and unlike anything he had anticipated, which revealed that the universe had begun its maturing process.

During this time, it would be best to lay low and establish himself. To do that, he wanted to find the Innkeeper, but that was easier said than done. Fortunately, by now, the name of the Midnight Inn had become relatively well known across the universe, so it didn’t take him long to find out how he could reach it. He needed to find the Henali first.

Within Arch-Heaven, there were even more changes taking place. Many new ministries had appeared, among which was also the Ministry of Dreams. As it happened every single one of its members was also a member of the Dao Congress.

Vox, the half Laoer, half Jorlam Dao Lord who had helped Lex out, also gained a massive promotion, going from being a minister to being a Royal Chancellor!

Mango, too, seemed to get some kind of promotion, though he couldn’t be bothered to care about it. He also didn’t care about the fact that his limiter percentage had somehow shot through the roof!

But they were not the only ones inside Arch-Heaven. Serene and Leon Williams had long been hiding inside Arch-Heaven, yet something strange was happening to them. Ever since they saw the phenomenon of the massive warrior striking at Lex, they had entered some kind of trance.

Sometimes, hints of lucidity would flash through their eyes, but most of the time they appeared to be in a daze, as if some kind of internal battle was being fought within both their minds.

What was most strange was that neither of them were ordinary. Leon’s sword intent was unknown because he never fought and never stood out, but it was certainly one of the best among his realm across the universe. Meanwhile, Serene held some kind of secret heritage that allowed her to alter talents of those yet to be born.

Yet no defensive or protective measure was triggered during this strange event, as if there was nothing wrong at all - or that whatever was wrong could not be detected.

Elsewhere in the universe, in what was meant to be a battlefield between dragons and phoenixes - a bitter, broken land containing only death and destruction, there was a hidden temple. Within that temple, a golden dragon and a white phoenix worked together, using their own blood to nourish a single egg. All around the egg grew Helix Petal Roses - the same kind that had been used to create Lex’s physique.

Hidden amidst the chaos of the universe, many powerful races and beings were secretly preparing for the new coming era, and leaving behind what would inevitably be called the Age of Dreams.

Among those powerful races, there was also a weak race of fairies. Tinker had found a tool linked to karma and the moon, and discovered a hint that Eclipse had purposefully left behind to see if anyone would find out.

While she did not uncover the mystery, she did use that mirror to pledge fealty to the moon, and thus Lunareth. As such, when he returned, the fairy race officially broke off from the Humanoid Alliance, and became vassals of the moon. Though their curse was not lifted, since Destiny was not the one who placed the curse on them, they discovered that the chains of destiny no longer bound them as tightly as before.

They had lit the sparks that would, hopefully, one day turn into the roaring flame of fairy glory.

All of this, and more, Nuwa saw from within her chamber, but she did not react at all. She no longer placed her faith in entire races. Instead, she had chosen to invest in individuals. Wu Kong was one example. Lex was another example. There were many more as well, all hidden.

Perhaps it was now time... to start revealing her own hand, and set her plans in motion.

Slowly, Nuwa stood up from her throne, and walked into a certain chamber with her temple, each step causing her momentum to rise.

Just as her momentum reached its zenith, Nuwa opened her walk-in closet the size of a realm and began the most important task of all: deciding her fit for her return!