The Innkeeper
chapter-1329

"Wanted to claim my bounty, huh?" Lex asked casually as he sat down. He did not even need to scan her through the system to sense her strength as he could tell directly. She was at the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, and was in no way a threat to Lex whatsoever. It felt nice to know that.

"Yes, Liaz wanted to claim your bounty and use it in exchange for true dragon's blood to try and evolve into a dragon," explained Giselle. "I was just explaining to her that doing so was not such a good idea."

"Can't help but agree with Giselle on this one," Lex said as he looked at Liaz. "I'm quite attached to my life and am not fond of giving it up. Plus, I'm notoriously hard to kill. Even the Dragons have already tried and failed."

If the reptilian lady had eyebrows, she would have raised them. Instead, she only looked at Lex like he had said something crazy.

"Do you have a bit of time? There's a few things I wanted to discuss with you."

Giselle gave Liaz a look, and her friend only groaned and got up.

"You two talk. I need to go get a drink anyway," she said before walking off. She looked quite depressed. From what Lex could tell, she really had given up on his bounty, which he hoped was true. It would suck if he had to fight a friend's friend.

"How can I help you?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

Lex, on the other hand, first erected a barrier around them to keep their conversation confidential before continuing.

"Just need to ask you a few questions about Heaven, Hell as well as getting my hands on a Defiler core if possible."

The silver haired girl merely looked at him calmly, as if he had not just talked about a bunch of extremely delicate and confidential, as well as dangerous matters.

"So? What's the question?"

"Let's start with Heaven. Are you familiar with it? What are its requirements and restrictions? How big does it need to be? Stuff like that."

Giselle continued to look at him evenly for a while, her thoughts completely hidden behind her perfect mask. Eventually, she spoke though.

"The smallest Heaven that I know of only covers the size of a small garden - so like anywhere between 100 to 300 square feet. I'm not sure what borders exist to keep it in place, but apparently it's quite obvious when you enter or exit it. Anyone can feel it. I am not sure about requirements and restrictions, but it is naturally full of divine energy. Actually, I've heard that many powerful organizations and beings all nurture a Heaven to act as a source for rare and valuable herbs that can't grow anywhere else."

Lex did not exactly allow him to feel relief just yet.

"When you mean powerful organizations, you mean…"

"Organizations with Dao Lords, obviously. But, it's not unheard of for smaller organizations to have a Heaven or two in their control. Unless the Heaven is powerful enough, or large enough, they can avoid attracting too much trouble. Of course, even for the smaller Heavens one must have enough strength to keep it."

"Yes, yes, of course. How would a weakling even get his hands on a Heaven? Besides that, what about the Deities associated with said Heaven? Or the Elysians?"

"I'm not an expert on the matter, but yes I believe that Elyisians try to claim all Heavens. But I've also heard that you can just do a contract with a powerful angel, and they'll keep the Elysians out for a small fee and the right to link themselves to the Heaven. As for Deities… I am not too knowledgeable about the intricacies of their relationships with Heavens."

"Is that all you know about Heavens? Is there anything else?"

"It's not a subject I have purposefully looked into, so I am not too familiar with it," she answered plainly. The less she showed emotion, the more Lex was convinced that she secretly found this conversation absurd. Lex wouldn't blame her. He himself could hardly believe he was having it?

"What about Hells? Know much about them?"

"I've heard about Garvitz. Apparently, devils can very easily travel to and from Garvitz regardless of what realm they're in. Besides that, I am not too familiar with Hell. Perhaps you should consult a priest of some sort. They might be more suitable to tell you about Heaven and Hell."

Lex shook his head.

"Nah, they'd just feed me whatever answers they got from their Deity. Would you happen to know anyone who can tell me what happens when you build a Heaven and Hell close together?"

Giselle, once again, looked at him in silence.

"Is there any particular reason you're asking me about Heaven and Hell?" she finally asked, her voice decidedly even.

Lex sensed that he might have inadvertently stepped on some toes, or that maybe there was some story he didn't know about. It was best to clear the air.

Lex sighed, and showed her an exhausted look.

"This is slightly confidential so keep it hush alright? Some of my colleagues are interested in developing a Heaven and a Hell within the Inn."

Well, technically the turtle only wanted to build a Heaven as far as Lex knew, but he was going to blame it for the other one anyway. Not like anyone would know.

"It's my job to keep them out of trouble, so I need to look into this."

Giselle finally showed some kind of reaction by looking at him oddly.

"Are you sure you mean your colleagues and not the Innkeeper?"

"Oh yeah. If it were the Innkeeper who wanted to do it, then why would I be worried at all? But the Innkeeper lets us do what we want, as long as we're ready to face the repercussions ourselves."

"In that case, if you wish, I can set up a meeting with an angel if you want. But… I don't know how useful it will be."

Lex thought for a minute, but dismissed the idea for now.

"No, that's fine. I'll look into it myself later. I have another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I need to get my hands on a Defiler core, and you seem a lot more familiar with them than I. I did get a lead on a Defiler in the Origin realm. Would you be interested in following it together?"

"Lex, I know you have a strong background, but unless the Innkeeper is willing to take action, or some other Dao Lord, I highly recommend you avoid any Defilers in the Origin realm. Facing Profanites and facing a genuine Defiler are not the same thing. If you truly need to get your hands on a core, then I would suggest looking for another realm where the cultivation level cap is closer to your own level."

"Are the Defilers there so strong?" Lex asked, genuinely curious. He was under the impression that much like the Crystal realm, all of the original Defilers from the Origin realm had been wiped out. The whole reason that the Henali was not paying so much attention to them was because they should have been weak. Was his assessment wrong?

But if that were so, wouldn't the Henali have worked harder to eliminate them? It seemed, for whatever reason, anyone who knew anything about Defilers wanted to kill them.

"Defilers are one of the most insidious existences in the universe. In general, it is always best to assume that they are much stronger than they appear to be. Even I only dare to face Profanites in the Origin realm."

Lex could not help but remember that it wasn't that she dared to face Profanites, but that they kept coming after her for some reason. But whatever that reason was, since she hadn't shared it herself, he wouldn't pry.

Lex sighed.

"Well, if you find a lead on a Defiler, or even a core, do let me know."

Giselle just nodded, and Lex dismissed the barrier around them.

"Aren't you planning on going back to the Champions tourney by the way? That's still going on, as far as I know. I bet there's a lot more treasures for you to hunt."

"Oh, you have no idea. But I have a few more months before I enter the next level, so I am using that time to train as much as I can."

Lex suddenly felt an irresistible urge. Although he had just been telling himself not to get involved with others' problems anymore…

"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, is there a special reason you need so many treasures? Maybe I can help you out with something."

This time when Giselle suddenly went silent, Lex could finally read her emotions. She was considering his proposal. If it were anyone else she would have dismissed the suggestion, but Lex had proven himself to be quite durable.

Maybe… just maybe, he might even be able to survive helping her out.