The Innkeeper

Lex had a wonderful impression of Emperor Jotun - at least as far as his competence and strength went. The man worked closely with the Henali, and was the sovereign for a very large intergalactic empire. That was not the kind of thing a weakling could achieve, and even among strong men, it required a certain level of influence and power across the realm.

It required a kind of foresight many did not have, and a kind of brain that could encompass countless variables. Most importantly, it required unquestionable personal might, so that others would not covet what was his.

But even though the arrival of the emperor freed Lex from the restraints of the cobra's aura, Lex could tell that the emperor, as strong as he was, would have an uphill battle in front of him.

It was a little unbelievable that a random celestial summoned by Sanguis Pluvia was so much stronger than the emperor, which is why Lex didn't think that the cobra was just a random celestial. Chances were high that he was very close to the top of the organization.

There was an element of irony in the fact that Lex was closer to uncovering the very core of Sanguis Pluvia without being even the slightest bit close to discovering Damian's location. But if Lex helped take down Sanguis Pluvia, then even if he didn't find Damian now, he would be a lot easier to find.

"You cannot hide from me, Jeffrey," Lex's voice echoed in the wyverns' ears like an infernal howl from the very depths of Garvitz. Up above the planet, a dragon fought with two immortals, causing quakes and tremors that traveled through space to the stars. Somewhere unidentifiable, the emperor was exchanging blows with the cobra. Oddly enough, their fight caused no explosions.

The planet was collapsing in on itself, irrevocably set on the path of destruction. Soon, it would explode, or shatter, or suffer death in some other way.

The laws all around them vibrated like strings on a musical instrument, producing music that could literally change the universe.

Gravity fluctuated, becoming stronger and weaker with every second. It even started to change its direction. Water turned solid without turning to ice. The ground exploded upon the slightest touch, turning to gas, without losing its solid state.

Jeffrey had once tortured a human on earth called Jackson Pollock, and then killed him when he got bored. The world around him felt like the wyvern had been transported into one of the paintings he used to do. Or maybe that was Lex's intention to begin with. Was this all by design?

Lex could no longer hide, so he didn't try to. Wielding Naraka, he honed his sword intent and attacked the wyvern with the intention to kill. Yet before the sword met flesh, he heard the sound of glass cracking.

Within the wyvern's mind, his seal finally shattered completely. The Heart demon, filled with excitement, slithered into the depths of his mind, but then froze. Within the depths of the wyverns mind, there were a pair of fierce eyes, looking down at him.

The Heart demon did not even have time to scream before he disintegrated into dust.

Lilith, who was connected to the Heart demon, suddenly felt a pair of eyes looking at her. Those eyes, as menacing and conniving as they were, did not scare the devil. She merely snorted, and let the aura of the eyes wash down on her, yet nothing happened.

Even if she was not a favored daughter of her father, it was no simple task to attack the daughter of a Dao Lord.

As the energy faded, Lilith absorbed the last of the wyverns' memories, and her eyes widened.

"Damn, that's good!" she exclaimed in genuine appreciation before teleporting away.

Lex waved his sword, filled with the intent to kill, yet something unexpected happened. When the seal within the wyvern broke, its aura did not explode. It did not gain higher cultivation levels. Instead, his body disintegrated, as if it was an illusion to begin with.

Lex's sword only cut through the air.

Lex frowned, but before he could try to figure out what happened, he felt a hint of a familiar aura - one he had only felt inside the Inn. From the space where the wyvern died, a powerful aura began to emerge as if it was coming out of nothing.

It was like a pale imitation of a Dao Lords aura - as if it was a copy of a Dao Lords aura, diluted to a billionth of what it really was. Just mere exposure to it brought Lex to the verge of death.

No amount of strength or defense could save him from this. The Heavenly immortal dragon collapsed, the suit on its body evaporating as if it had never existed. The cobra and the emperor, who had disappeared as they began their fight, reappeared, thoroughly suppressed and barely managing to stay away.

The planet from underneath them disappeared, as if it had never existed. The star extinguished its own light, as if it dared not shine on the space where that aura existed.

In a different realm, Jack fell to his knees, losing all strength, startling everyone.

The only reason Lex wasn't already dead in the fraction of a moment he was exposed to the aura of the Dao… was because within his body, he already contained a trace of Dao, absorbed from the Chaos Amber resin.

Yet even that could allow him to exist for only so long. It was enough.

Lilith teleported to Lex, hovering a hand over his body, extending whatever protection she had to him.

"You're not going to believe this," Lilith said, her voice filled with immense surprise, excitement, and heartfelt admiration. "Even I can't believe this. You are either the luckiest, or unluckiest living being in existence. Through sheer dumb luck… or maybe through means I cannot comprehend, you have done something impossible. Either the Innkeeper is protecting you in secret, or someone else is, because there's no way you did this on your own. I might even get to meet Lord Father for being involved in your plan."

Lilith laughed in a mirthful voice, completely ignoring Lex who was suddenly gasping for air besides her, or the eyes that began to open in front of her.

Every other being around them was dead, with the stronger immortals barely holding on, and even that too because the time that had elapsed was too short. Yet Lilith cared not at all.

Lex, whose mind was reeling at being exposed to the Dao, tried to understand what had happened. But he couldn't. The only thing that made sense was itself the most illogical.

Was there a Dao Lord hidden inside the seal in the wyvern's mind? But… but why?

"In his last moment, when the seal broke, before the wyvern was disintegrated, the Heart demon read some of its memories, and thence so did I. The wyvern was a clone - one of a hundred million spread across the Origin realm. Considering how many of them there are, it's not so surprising you ran into him. All the clones share their memories, to an extent, and they all share the same purpose."

The eyes narrowed as Lilith spoke, and tried to focus on the devil, but it was no use. Lilith carried on her the true, undiluted and genuine aura of a Dao Lord. There was nothing that the eyes, as weakened as they were, could do to her.

"Each Jeffrey clone has a seal within him, and the purpose of each seal is to hide and contain a billionth of the aura of a Demi-Dao Lord. That's the reason they've been conducting terrorist activities across the realm! By causing a tear and disturbance in the fabric of the realm, they give an opportunity for that aura to sneak from outside the realm to within, hiding inside the seal in the clone. That's why it seems like each activity is carried out by Jeffrey, even though they're countless galaxies apart. It's because they're just clones - each and every terrorist act is conducted by a different clone, ready to absorb and hide the aura of the Demi-Dao Lord. Not to mention, there's a reason why Dao Lords haven't been able to locate Jeffrey after he conducted such an attack. It's because his aura is hidden by the Dao."

Lex wiped the sweat off his forehead, but was alarmed to see that he was sweating blood. Though he had survived, his body had suffered severe shock from being exposed to the Dao. In fact, though Lilith was protecting him from further harm, he was already extremely weakened.

"But that's not all. There's a kicker… one that I find almost unbelievable. The reason why Damian was so focused on your sister was because he suspected that… that after some strengthening and modification, your sister's body could actually host the Demi-Dao Lord, continuing to hide her as she was smuggled into the realm, one piece at a time."

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