The Innkeeper

Chapter 1281  Origins

"From what I understand, the Henali were extremely satisfied with your cooperation, which is why they put a lot of effort into this search. When they found Liz, they did a thorough scan of her condition and discovered a few things. She's had extensive samples taken from her body, which has left a mark, but besides that, there was no other tampering with her psyche or body. "An analysis of her actions for the past few years suggested that her affiliation with the cultivation academy Ventura is most likely why Damian actually maintained a distance from her, and did not involve himself too much with her matters.

"Although traditionally Ventura is not too protective of their students, a Heavenly immortal bullying a mortal will draw even their ire. They provide at least this much protection to their students."

"That's good to hear," Lex said. "You can hand over all the information you have on her. I'll take care of her matters myself. Now, you suggested that you might know how to help Moon's situation. Can you elaborate?"

Before William could begin, Jotun returned, and it was visibly apparent that he felt incredibly relieved upon completing his mission.

"I have delivered the Innkeeper's letter to the governor personally. He seems quite pleased with the response, although he did not give me a letter to respond with. I think their business, whatever it was, is complete."

"I'm glad," Lex commented, feeling genuine relief. He really did not want to face another letter as dangerous as the previous one. "William was just telling me how you think you can help Moon."

Jotun nodded, his expression suddenly becoming serious, as he handed Lex a spatial treasure.

"This contains notes we discovered belonging to Damian. We discovered these within one of the Sanguis Pluvia bases we raided. They include vague details about a number of his ongoing projects, with a special emphasis on Moon. According to these notes, Damian purposefully kept Moon in a state where her soul was continuously strained. Although it may appear that she has recovered, that is only if she is judged from the point of view of an ordinary human. "Based on her physique, which puts special emphasis on her soul, once her soul has fully recovered, within the Golden core realm, she will directly rival a Nascent soul cultivator. In the Nascent realm, her soul may surpass the soul strength of the average human Earth immortal."

Lex took the spatial treasure and looked through it, while wondering to what extent had the Henali learned about Moon's situation and her physique. At a glance, it seemed like Damian had many notes about her, but never explicitly mentioned Moon's traits, which made her exceptional.

In that case, even if they learned that Moon had been linked to a planet, the Henali might not pay it too much attention. For the humans, such a feat was beyond unbelievable, but for higher races it was not worth mentioning. That was good, since it meant they would not pay more attention to her than normal. Of course, that was assuming a Dao Lord had not looked into her.

That was also why Lex continued to talk about Moon in vague terms, referring to her 'condition' without stating what it was. He did not know how much Jotun and the rest knew, and did not want to tip them off. According to the notes, they were under the impression that she was just suffering from soul weakness - which she very well might be.

"We have been providing her with treatment for the soul already, but thank you for delivering the information. It's good to know that I'm on the right oath."

Jotun shook his head.

"I'm not here to just bring you information, I'm here to deliver a cure as well. I'm sure that the Midnight Inn is more than capable of getting its hand on the best treasures, but even so, please take this. It is from my personal collection."

Jotun summoned a glass vial with a circular base and an intricate design along the stem, filled with a pure white liquid that seemed to be in motion even within the vial itself.

"This is Mythic Conifer nectar, a Celestial level potion that I once received as a reward for helping someone out. This is an exceptionally potent potion that can heal and nourish souls like nothing else. Even if a majority of your soul is eroded, and you only have a speck left, a drop of this will be more than enough to help you recover completely. Of course, as your level rises, you'll need more of it, but considering that this is meant for Celestial level beings, there's more than enough of it for you to use a thousand times over. It is perfectly safe for anyone to use - even mortals."

Lex did not stand on ceremony and accepted the potion. He would test it out, and if it really was as the emperor promised, then he would be more than happy to give some to Moon. But if it was from his personal collection…

"This potion is from you? Not the Henali? Why?" he asked directly. Professionally, they had a decent relationship, but they were not on the level where they would just give each other such precious gifts just because the other needed it.

"Think of it as a peace offering. Your… history with your family has not been amazing, I know. I will not defend myself or others either. It's just a fact that once families become as large as ours, there develops a certain level of distance between the heads of the family, and its common members. Whether it's tragic, or fortunate, or whatever else, it is what it is. But then, as a specific member becomes more powerful and more useful to the family, the distance between that member and the head grows closer.

"Normally, there is no resistance for members to grow closer to their ancestors, and they even look forward to it. But considering you've never experienced the support and guidance of your Williams family, I don't expect you to feel any desire to come close to us, or participate more actively in the family." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"How very astute of you," Lex said blandly.

"I'll be quite frank with you. We have a good working relationship, so I don't really feel there is any need to change our dynamic. Not to mention, you have only just entered the immortal realm, so you…"

Jotun suddenly paused, and wore a confused expression. He turned to look at William, who seemed just as confused.

"Are you… a level 7 Earth immortal? How… how long have you been in the immortal realm?"

"A few days," Lex responded nonchalantly. "Not too many. Why does that matter?"

Jotun looked at Lex silently for a moment, as he absorbed the news that he heard.

"I see. In that case, it makes sense. The truth of the matter is, no matter whether you acknowledge the family or not, that does not change that we originate from the same family. Furthermore, as you are coming closer to the… Heavenly immortal realm, traveling to other realms becomes more feasible, in which case you might encounter some… issues… if you go visiting other, older realms. "Normally, we only divulge this secret to our family members once they reach the Heavenly immortal realm. But… seeing as you might… might enter the Heavenly immortal realm at any time, it's better if you know some things in advance."

"Yes, the governor mentioned that he wanted you to reveal the origins of my family. So tell me, what other problems am I set to inherit from my family?"

Of course, Lex already had a suspicion of what this was about. The emperor's full name was Jotun Marcus Sephore, while all his brothers also shared the Sephore name, which indicated that while all of them had created families of their own, to inherit a new name, they all originated from some other family. Truthfully, Lex could only imagine how deep or powerful the background of a family that could give birth to four Heavenly Immortals and one Celestial immortal was.

"In truth, I, as well as my brothers, are all refugees who escaped from another realm that was at war. We, who carry the name Sephore, were a last effort from our family to preserve our bloodline, and prevent it from being completely extinguished after a devastating defeat that threatened total annihilation.

"Tell me Lex, are you familiar with the origins of the human race in this universe?" Jotun asked.

Lex, of course, knew a few things from his conversations with Cassandra, but if an opportunity for new information presented itself, he was not going to turn it away.

"I've heard a few rumors, but nothing concrete."

"It's not surprising. This is a topic that brushes on the history of the universe itself, and is a topic so old that it entirely predates even the birth of the Origin realm, which is a few billion years old. Even I do not know much of the truth, though that is because our family was destroyed before we grew strong enough to learn these secrets. It all started long ago, from a being we call only as Mother."