The Innkeeper

Chapter 1943 Courageous

Arch-Heaven was somewhat confusing. The spiritual energy was abundant, yet the resources were not necessarily all treasures – at least as far as Lex could tell. The soil and rocks were normal, and the trees were far from extraordinary. If he hadn’t used arrays and his many means to strengthen his chute, his weight would have been enough to tear it apart, showing that the materials on the trees were far from resilient.

Yet, everything was clearly superior to items Lex had brought from outside Arch-Heaven in a way he could not quite understand. It was similar to how having a Primordial aura made him heavier to the laws of space of ordinary realms. The weight was not his, but of his aura. In this case, everything here was ordinary, and yet superior to things from outside.

For example, Naraka seemed just fine, and could even be strengthened using his sword intent. Yet Lex’s deep understanding of the weapon allowed him to notice even the most minute changes.

When he tried to use the sword to cut the tree, not only was the recoil on the sword far greater than it should have been, but the cut on the tree started to revert. Yes, revert. It did not heal, but instead returned to how it was previously, as if the sword did not have the authority to harm the tree. Yet the rock, which was duller and weaker than the sword, made quick work of the tree.

Much more interesting was that while using Naraka, he could not create any karma with the tree. It was truly as if the sword did not even properly exist within the structure of Arch-Heaven, and all its causality would be negated.

Once more, Lex’s mind went to the idea of suppression. Only by playing according to the rules of this place, and reducing the restrictions on him, would he be able to actually do more.

Since there was a long way for him to descend before he reached the ground, Lex had plenty of time to let his thoughts wander as he aimed towards a tall, white tree seemingly made of marble- or some other material that looked remarkably similar.

The reason why Lex guessed the tree only looked similar to marble was because its branches, bare of any leaves, waved gently with the passing wind. More important than its peculiar appearance, though, was a hole at its base that looked like an open door, or perhaps an opening into a cave.

More important than the actual opening were the signs of heavy use, with a clear dirt path in a field of otherwise tall grass, making it an easy target.

While descending, Lex also decided that rather than searching blindly, if he could not get any clues regarding a Heavens Puppet, he would go search for the guy who wanted Lex to be an Augur. Since the puppet appeared in Lex’s tribulation, and that guy clearly provoked Lex’s tribulation, then the chances of him knowing something about the puppets was the greatest.

While he descended, Lex did his best to study all the land he could see, searching for signs of any living being, yet beside that one tree with an open door, he found nothing.

Arch-Heaven was either truly so massive that the few residents in it were few and far between, or there really were very few beings here. Considering how difficult it was to get in, Lex wouldn’t have been surprised, if only he hadn’t encountered signs of people within Abaddon.

How could a place as secret and cursed as that have an Elder race as well as members of the Gon race, yet the Arch-Heaven, which was, relatively speaking, more well known, have no one?

It took a few more hours for Lex to reach the ground, by which time he had noticed that in the sky, instead of a sun there was a large, round structure. Although the appearance might be similar to a star, a single glance was enough to tell that it was not something as mundane as a star. Instead, if Lex’s gut feeling was right, it was some kind of palace. However, it was far too high for Lex, who could not even fly, to reach.

Throughout his descent, Lex saw various interesting sights and new forms of nature, such as bubbles made of granite, flowing through the air, or plants made of smog, bathing in sunlight. At least his descent was pleasant and enjoyable, however once he reached the ground, the hairs on the back of Lex’s neck stood up, as if he had entered the sights of a formidable predator. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it arrived, yet Lex did not think it was some kind of mistake. He surveyed his surroundings, ready for a fight, yet no fight came, nor did the nature of the danger he was facing reveal itself. With his spirit sense reduced in size, Lex could not search the area properly, so instead he focused on cautiously entering through the open door in the tree. Somewhat predictably, the interior of the tree was not normal. Instead, it looked like a marble hall with a single podium in the center, and a spiral staircase that both went up above and down below.

A faint, muffled sound echoed in the hall when Lex entered, though he could not make out the source, nor could he tell where it came from. Lex narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the dangers of this hall by the laws within it, when he heard the muffled sound again, this time a little clearer. It almost seemed like someone was trying to talk to him.

Lex waited, and just as he guessed, he heard the sound again, but with some exceptions. The third time he heard it the voice was absolutely clear, and it was also accompanied by a beast who suddenly materialised in front of Lex.

“Not even a Celestial immortal yet, and already in a rush to enter. I swear, kids these days are getting more and more courageous,” spoke the beast as he moved towards the podium and faced Lex. He looked like a jackal, except with golden fur and wings of pure light.

“Alright then, come on in and get registered. Your paperwork isn’t going to fill itself you know,” the jackal said, upon noticing Lex standing still at the door.