Chapter 2344: The Innkeeper suspects
Chapter 2344: The Innkeeper suspects
The qilin nodded to himself, and then casually made his way towards a throne that had been designed specially to accommodate qilins.
"There are many things I want to ask you," the qilin said as he made himself comfortable, turning his gaze towards Lex. "However, you summoned me, so I’ll let you go first. I can see from your expressions that you’re very concerned about being affected by my aura, but don’t be concerned at all.
"I’ve spent countless years within the Gilded Hollow, surrounded by the most plentiful treasures this place has to offer any Dao Lord. I have gained complete mastery over my Dao and powers, so you won’t be affected by me at all. I doubt there’s another Dao Lord in existence with better Dao control than myself."
The qilin seemed to be both informing Lex and bragging at the same time. Lex did not dare to judge his motives at all, but in truth that’s exactly what Romulus had been doing. He’d long since become completely familiar with all those living within the Hollow - whether they were those who arrived when the Hollow last opened, or those he had given life to.
Lex was thus the first new being he was talking to in almost two ages! It felt good to talk to someone new, not to mention that Romulus was judging a lot from Lex’s reactions to his words, and gleaning a tremendous amount about the universe from him.
For example, Romulus had long since believed that he would be the strongest being in the universe once he exited the Gilded Hollow. He didn’t believe there existed another Dao Lord with access to as many resources as himself, which meant that no one else should have been able to master their Dao as completely and thoroughly as him. That should have made him peerless.
Yet he could not look into Lex’s past. That meant that there was at least one other being in the universe with the same level of power as him, if not more power than him. Yet if such a being existed, and the universe was still embroiled in some kind of war, then that meant there was at least one other of equal strength!
He had been cut off from the universe for too long, since the last time the Gilded Hollow opened was in the early stages of the Enlightenment Age. Considering that Romulus had been born right after the end of the Primordial Age, he was not privy to the incidents that happened back then, and being trapped in here since then, he was not privy to what had happened since either.
Although he said that the Innkeeper might be an old friend to Lex, in truth the only Dao Lord Romulus knew were the ones from the Qilin race, and those that had been trapped within the Gilded Hollow.
That was exactly why he would not miss out an opportunity to learn as much as he could from Lex. He was a human, and was incredibly deferential, but even through his humbleness Romulus could see a quiet confidence and familiarity, letting him know that Lex was no foreigner to meeting Dao Lords and being in their presence. Clearly, he came from a formidable background.
"Thank you for this opportunity, lord," Lex said as he gave a light bow. "I arrived in the Hollow some time ago, and have been harvesting its resources. However, not long ago I felt the Gilded Hollow attach some kind of string to my body, and inform me of a certain limit."
Romulus nodded.
"Yes, the unavoidable retribution," he said knowingly. "It was like that last time as well. I am familiar with it. Continue."
Lex paused, for he hadn’t been aware that the same thing happened last time. It did make sense though for a pattern to exist.
"Well previously, I was unaware of a time limit. But now that there is a restriction in place, I had no choice but to take a risk. You see, while talking to Mithon, I learned about something that could put the whole universe in danger."
Lex raised his hand and revealed an image of the Double Yin Death Metal Rose. He’d already decided not to help Regix. Heck, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t take it out of the Gilded Hollow, so he was more than willing to trade the information regarding that flower in exchange for getting opportunities of his own. The best part of this all was that he was not telling any lies - he genuinely felt like that flower could put the universe at risk.
If Regix was freed from his state, and could influence all systems, who knew what would happen to the universe? It was better to destroy, or at least consume the flower, and get some resources for himself along the way.
Romulus looked at the flower and immediately recognized it.
"The Death Rose? I am familiar with that particular item, though I haven’t seen it myself. How does it put the universe in danger?" Romulus asked, leaning forward.
Lex shook his hand.
"I’m not sure of the exact details. All I know is that the Innkeeper suspects a foreigner from another universe is hiding in our universe, searching for that exact flower, and that if he finds it something terrible will happen," Lex answered, quite truthfully in fact.
He suspected Regix was from Pentagal. Actually, that was almost more or less confirmed. Since he was the Innkeeper, he could share his own suspicions with clarity. Yes, by confessing all this he was at risk of offending Regix, or missing out on the opportunities he offered.
But Lex also believed that no one would be able to find Regix so easily. Whether he would be found, or whether their future deal would be compromised was not something he knew about. What Lex did know was that unless he himself reached the Dao Lord realm, he had no intentions of interacting with Regix again.
Thus, he did not mind exposing him for now. If he could get some benefits out of it, all the better. If not, reaching the Fortune stronghold was already good enough, for it would enable him to procure better, higher quality resources than before.