The Innkeeper

Chapter 1459 Cultivation Deviation

Chapter 1459 Cultivation Deviation

"It has been a pleasure," Bedford said as he walked the group to the door of the palace. "Don't forget to visit the Well of Frozen Wishes before you leave."

"Likewise," said Lex. "I don't know if we'll have an opportunity to meet again any time soon, considering you're locked in here, but when we both become Dao Lords maybe we can catch up."

"I'll hold you to that," Bedford said with a chuckle, though he did not really believe it could happen. Forget the fact that there were no known human Dao Lords, there wasn't even any guarantee that Bedofrd could become one. The trial he'd have to undergo to transition from a Celestial Immortal to a Dao Lord was far from harmless.

The others also said their farewell, before exiting the Baptism Palace, and finally getting a reprieve from the onslaught of the azure field. They had spent about a day chatting inside, and at this point Gerard was incredibly fatigued, Velma was beyond exhausted, and Lex looked like the color red came to life.

"Shall we meet back in the city center in a week?" Lex asked.

"That sounds agreeable," Gerard said.

They had already planned it out, and even consulted with Bedford. After leaving the palace they all needed a rest, but what should they do after that?

Lex was going to go on a date, but Gerard wanted to race and Velma wanted to explore. So they decided to split up, and meet once more when they were ready to leave the realm.

The Well of Frozen Wishes was something Bedford strongly recommended they try out. It was a naturally occurring phenomenon in the Artica realm, similar to an underworld, except instead of souls, it collected unfulfilled wishes of dead warriors. @@@@

They could apparently get an immense reward for completing one of those wishes, though the first time would yield the greatest reward.

Beyond that, Bedford had shared a few other interesting facts about the realm, and also mentioned some cultural tips so that they don't accidentally offend the locals. For reasons Lex could not comprehend at all, the color red was considered extremely offensive, and wearing anything red while meeting someone would be as bad as going up to someone and spitting in their face.

Considering that none of them wore red, it hardly mattered. He just found it oddly curious.

Velma and Gerard went towards a hotel to grab a good night's sleep while Lex went towards a cultivation chamber.

Even though Lex was no longer in the Origin realm, the aura of the sword came from the Deity of Tribal warfare, Azilo. It attacked Lex with all the ferocity associated with its originating Deity, and began to wreak havoc within his soul where it resided.

Lex reacted immediately, only to discover that his actions seemed subdued to an extent. The most effective and direct way to combat the sword aura was his own sword intent, but as Lex tried to control it he discovered that his control over it had deteriorated by exactly 50%!

That included the intensity of the sword intent, its swiftness, its sharpness, its precision, and every other aspect of it. In fact, while Lex controlled his sword intent, every other aspect of himself was also reduced by 50%!

This attack was insidious, and if Lex's soul hadn't been especially durable, having a rampant sword aura wreaking havoc inside his soul might have been enough to kill or, at the very least, cripple him. This was especially because ordinarily, those who pursued sword intent were swordsmen, and their intent was their strongest weapon.

If there was something wrong with it, they would have limited tools available to regain control of it. Fortunately, that was not the case.

The list of abilities Lex had was immense, and he could choose any one of them. So naturally, he drew Naraka and chose to face this threat with sword intent alone.

This was not even about supremacy and acting in accord with his tenet. Instead, it was about pride, the little that Lex had. His mind, soul and body were his foremost domain. He did not even let his system, his strongest asset, influence those three, so how could he let some feeble aura left behind by a Deity inside another realm influence him?

As for that Nas, Lex acknowledged that this was a good move. He would respond to him as well, just as soon as he understood more about the board. But first, the sword aura!

"You have been a guest in my soul long enough," Lex's voice echoed inside his soul. "But unlike the Midnight Inn, there's no Pro Bono stuff going on here. It's time to pay."

Lex's body turned into the soul state, and with him so too did Naraka. It had been a long time since the sword tasted victory against a formidable foe. The aura of a distant Deity would have to suffice for now.

Lex's body slowly lost shape, turning instead into an indistinct floating orb, while inside of himself began an ultimate clash. Even with every aspect of himself weakened by 50%, Lex's momentum did not shy away in front of that of the sword aura.

With Naraka in hand, Lex clashed against it, using only his sword and sword intent. He used none of the strength of his soul, nor any other advantages he boasted.

The reason he hadn't eliminated the aura himself by now was because his sword intent wasn't of a high enough level. Well now, he would do just that with an even weather sword intent, using only his inhumane tenacity to keep going.

This would become his crucible, and he would come out of it a stronger swordsman.