The Innkeeper

Inside the Inn, the activity levels seemed to have dropped drastically. Many of the guests who were here were actually in hiding, while the rest were on vacation. That was because the entire realm seemed to be heading towards war. If the higher ups were stressed about it, the ones lower down on the chain of common would clearly be even more worried. They were also much busier.

Although the Midnight Inn was an excellent place, without sufficient money, one could not spend enough time there. As such, it was not really a long term solution to avoiding the conflicts. This caused most of the Inns' usual tenants to be busy working or cultivating, leaving behind only a small percentage of guests.

Even so, dozens if not hundreds of guests came and went at any given time. This was a sight that had become all too common, and no longer aroused any attention among those who frequented the Inn. Only those who were coming to the Inn for the first time were likely to stop and admire the beautiful scenery.

Naturally, as with every norm, there were exceptions. In the clearing where new guests arrived, a single massive guest suddenly appeared. At first, it was only the size of the new guest that attracted attention of all the guests, for at its height point, which was on its back where its wings were folded, the guest was nearly 4000 feet (1220 meters) tall. The length of its body, even with its tail folded up, was also around 4000 feet as well.

It went without saying that the arrival of such a figure would attract the eye of all nearby guests. But that was only just an instinctive reaction that anyone would have. A moment later, once they overcame the enormity of the size of this new guest, and processed who it actually was, they were startled! It was a dragon, and a massive one at that! This was even larger than the previous dragon that had appeared at the Inn before, as a guard.

Moreover, there was one very significant difference between this dragon and the previous one. This dragon… was very active within the Suera Galaxy, and thus was considered a very high level VIP among many forces. Various amounts of information were also available to multiple forces and organizations, depending on their power and authority levels.

Thus a few guests, especially among the devils, immediately recognized it. It would not be inaccurate to say that this dragon was one of the most well known celebrities or prominent figures to appear at the Inn.

Just as some guests were basking in the glory of appearing so near a dragon, all without being crushed by its ferocious Dragons Might, that the dragon disappeared. This did not arouse too much surprise as no one expected a dragon to ride a golf cart to its destination. The fact that it had appeared in the same location as them when it arrived was already humbling enough for it.

The appearance and subsequent disappearance of the dragon did not arouse too much attention, besides the usual excitement of witnessing one of the overlords of not only this realm but the entire universe. But certain figures who recognized the dragon made a mental note of its appearance.

Lex, who had also teleported to the Inn, would naturally not come over personally to teleport the dragon over. Instead, as soon as he appeared, he used his authority to expand his private meditation room until it was large enough to fit the dragon and teleported it over.

Now, inside the Inn, Lex could finally observe the dragon without the interference of its natural aura, and its massive size was finally revealed to him.

Somehow, with all the mystique removed, the dragon looked even more impressive than when he could not even perceive the size of its existence.

Each of its scales was more beautiful than the most exquisite piece of jade, each curve and groove pleasing to the eye. Its mighty stature and dominating figure produced an ethereal aura of their own, and was independent of its spot on the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum. That aura belonged solely to itself and was ingrained deep within its bones. Although Lex did not know its history, standing before it he was sure that it had raised many storms in its lifetime.

Yet, oddly enough, its death was extremely mysterious. Lex did not know how much he would believe the words of the creature that had told him how the dragon had died, but even if he believed everything, it left too many questions.

But now was not the time for that. Lex was still on a time crunch, and wanted to explore the depths of the dragons' hoard. But before that, he just had to make sure that nothing would happen to the dragon if he left it here, so he scanned it.

Name: Pelvailin Ur Bahatna Gorgin

Age: 670,809,524

Sex: Male

Cultivation Details: ???

Species: Dragon

Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1

Bloodline: ???

Condition: An empty vessel, a body without a soul. Unless the soul revives, or a new, suitable soul enters, the body will eventually die.

Remarks: The most valuable item inside a dragon's treasure chest is always the dragon itself!

Lex's eyes gleamed as various ideas crossed his mind. Since this was a living dragon, sort of, if Lex could harvest its benefits besides just absorbing its might and cultivation, then he could raise the power of the Midnight Inn by a massive amount. Although he had not read in detail, even he had come across the random articles on the Henali portal about how some lucky cultivator found a drop of dragon blood, or a random dragon bone, and then used it to become an unrivaled powerhouse in their respective region.

The possibilities were endless. Lex had trouble suppressing his grin and even had the urge to utter the forbidden words 'my precious' as he looked at the dragon. But ultimately he tore away his feverish gaze from the dragon. Now, it was time to loot.

He teleported back to the hall and found himself free falling from a height. It made sense. When he teleported away, he was up in the air above a dragon. But such a fall barely had any effect on him at all.

Now, free of the oppressive aura of Dragons Might, he could move freely. Moreover, he had built a mental resistance to spirit pull, so he had no trouble retaining his lucidity.

The moment his body crashed onto the ground, he burst forward at full speed. The sudden absence of Dragons Might would not go unnoticed and it was only a matter of time before others came to investigate. He was determined to get as much as possible done before he ran into that search party.

First order of business was the treasure that reeked of the dragon's obsession. It was not at all hard to find as Lex could clearly feel its pull, not to mention the massive pedestal that had been built for it.

An oval, rainbow colored jewel that was 30 feet (9.1 meters) across was placed on a red pillow that looked like it was made from the feathers of some mystical being. Even beside the obsession that had gripped the jewel, Lex could feel an ancient and ominous aura leaking from it. Faintly, deep within, he could see the outline of a figure seemingly trapped within.

Soft, silver characters shimmered in the air around it, as if the jewel itself was causing characters to be formed. 

Lex could also feel the jewel absorbing an unusual aura from the planet, nourishing itself.

Around the pedestal there were various rows of seats, as if a crowd regularly gathered around it to worship the jewel. In fact, faint traces of divinity could be sensed in the vicinity as well.

It was as if-

Lex could not be bothered to continue observing the jewel for now. The moment he was sure that it was safe, he put the jewel as well as the pillow inside the massive spatial drum on his back. In fact, using nothing but brute strength, Lex ripped the pedestal out of the ground as well, and placed it in there as well. He was sure it was worth a lot.

He immediately took out the black jade that would guide him to the Peronian Jade and made a beeline for the direction it pointed him in. As he ran, he also stored every chair, table, ornament and decoration he came across because they were all leaking thick, heated spirit energy and he was certain they were valuable.

Soon, he found a small sealed room upon following the jades directions. The seal was not to prevent intruders, but to lock in the aura of its contents so Lex had no problem entering.

Inside was a black tree that was, supposedly, made of Peronian Jade. It looked identical to the compass Lex had, and once again gave off an unusual aura that spoke of extreme vicissitudes.

Upon making sure it was safe, Lex put it in his drum as well. He had no time to admire ancient treasures. He only had time to loot!