The Innkeeper

Chapter 2156: One of ours

Lex was stunned. He could not understand, until he understood! Dammit, this old geezer had been pretending to fight all along so that he wouldn’t get sucked up into the real fight! How had he even managed to find opponents with a similar mindset? This geezer was a pure, unquestionable talent at being shameless!

"Old geezer, I finally understand the talent you sought from Kenta. It was the talent of being shameless! Did your eyes fail to see that the six of them were surrounding and attacking me first?" Lex questioning filled with resignation.

The geezer’s anger suddenly cooled, as if reminded of the obvious. He almost completely forgot that Lex was a junior who hadn’t even entered the immortal realm the last time he saw him. Now, he was at the peak of the Heaven Immortal realm, and could simultaneously injure six Celestial Immortals. That small piece of information almost made him forget that Lex was the one being bullied, not the other way around.

"Fine, whatever. Tell me what you need. This is a battlefield, and a victory does not ensure safety. It only means that the level of danger you will face increases as stronger opponents replace the weaker ones. We have, at most, a few months before reinforcements come to replace those who have retreated," the geezer spoke, ignoring the countless Heaven and Earth Immortals still within the asteroid field.

Now that the peak force had withdrawn, the fate of these lower level cultivators was, more or less, sealed. Some would have protective treasures or talismans that would allow them to escape, while the rest would become prisoners. He couldn’t actually be bothered to care about their circumstances.

"I need to travel to the Tsu galaxy. To be more specific, I am searching for the Evergreen Lancers Independent Army," Lex clarified.

A trace of recognition flashed between the geezer’s eyes. He was about to ask something, but then paused, as if reminded of a certain danger.

"Follow me. This is no place to talk," he said, and pulled Lex and Paul into a Minor realm that he had created within one of his treasures. A spirit clone appeared beside Lex within the Minor realm.

"Do not speak, it is not safe yet," the old geezer said solemnly the moment his clone appeared. "I do not know what your connection to the Lancers is, but for you to step out at such a time is..."

The old geezer sighed, and shook his head. Of course he knew who Mei was, and he knew of her army as well. The Origin realm was massive, but as an immature realm, its ability to produce Celestial immortals was somewhat constrained. Thus, it did not have the typical number of Celestial Immortals a realm of its size should have. This allowed all the Celestial Immortals to know each other - at least to a large extent, even if only by name. Considering Mei was one of the strongest Celestial Immortals in the whole realm, she was, of course, famous.

Outside the realm, Yamato Haru, Kenta Haru’s adopted father, left the battlefield to the others and quickly returned to his base of operations. From there, he entered his own abode, and activated the most powerful protective and isolation formation he had, before entering his Minor realm with his true body.

"Alright, it’s safe now," he said with a sigh, taking a seat. The Minor realm was not too large. It was, at most, the size of Manhattan. The realm was filled with a vibrant forest, and at the core of the realm was a massive tree within which Yamato had built a manor. This was a true, genuine treehouse mansion, and it carried Yamato’s greatest secrets. To bring Lex and Paul here showed how seriously he treated this matter.

"From your demeanor, it seems like there is something amiss with the Evergreen army," Lex said, catching onto something significant.

Yamato only nodded.

"Of course. Isn’t that why you’re here?" Yamato asked, looking confused. "Mei Saito, the leader of the Evergreen Lancers, has long in secret cultivated the ultra-orthodox technique of the High Elves, granting her near perfect synergy with the world tree. She hid it well, but unfortunately, before she could attain her Dao her secret was revealed.

"In normal times, she can hide within the Origin realm and no one would be able to reach her, but during such a war, nothing is sacred and no one is safe. The High Elves of Eseisia have ordered her to submit herself to them, which is the same as a death sentence. Now, all sorts of powerful organisations across the universe are competing for her - either to kill and harvest her secrets, or to recruit her and keep her safe. Or, there are the few who intend on capturing her and submitting her to the High Elves in exchange for a reward."

Lex looked oddly at the old geezer, and then turned and looked at Paul. This was the woman who had fallen in love with Paul? The guy who got queasy while traveling through space?

Paul suddenly felt incredibly insecure, feeling like Lex was looking at him because the task was too troublesome. Paul felt conflicted. He did not want to attract trouble for the Midnight Inn, but he also did not want to give up on Mei. The more he thought about it, the worse he started to feel, almost to the point of hyperventilating. Just as he was about to have a nervous breakdown from the stressful situation, Lex spoke.

"Well, the Midnight Inn does not care about any of that," Lex said, confidently. In front of the old geezer he did not need to hide his identity, so he took off his mask, though he kept Pauls on. "Since she is dating one of our own, she’s family. The High Elves must be high on some pretty serious stuff if they think they can touch one of ours. A race without even a proper representative at the Midnight Tea Party should learn to be a little more lowkey in such matters. Old geezer, you only need to send us to her. We will keep her safe."