The Innkeeper

Chapter 2085: Flicking the karma away

Harriot did not need to explain - everyone understood what he meant even without it. However, explicitly stating the probable outcome, which was straight up death even for a Dao Lord, certainly put the risks in perspective. Of course, the outcome was not certain - it was just what Harriot assumed would happen based on the fact that it would not be easy to handle the karma originating from so many Dao Lords, let alone Eclipse. No one bothered to correct it. It would be moot to do so.

Consenting to be subject to such a karma was a clear indicator of the importance of what was to come. Of course, simply not revealing what happened here, and not harming one another were too specific restrictions, leaving much room for the knowledge gained here to be used in other ways.

For example, if Lex suddenly went crazy and revealed his identity as the Innkeeper, even though no one would be able to spread that news, or harm him because of it, the Midnight Inn would effectively be doomed.

The Dao Lords could act without fear of the Innkeepers retaliation, and even harm all his employees or straight up destroy the Inn. Neither of those outcomes would trigger the condition of not sharing the intel gained, or harming Lex.

Yes, Lex would suffer tremendous loss, but that would not be the same as harming him. Heck, he could even be imprisoned, and that would not harm him.

So, even with such strict requirements, there was a lot of room left for manoeuvrability. Yet that did not take away from the seriousness of the moment, and the anticipation for what exactly it was that would follow.

"You may accept this karma by coming and touching the statue of the Eclipsecrawler. A karmic web will tie us all together, making sure that none of us are able to manipulate this karma on our own for our own purposes."

As Harriot said the last part, he glanced towards the Innkeeper and Eclipse. Both of them, as it turned out, were well known for their skilled use of karma, so this restriction was targeting them both more than anything else.

"To demonstrate, I will go first," Harriot continued, before walking up to the statue and placing a single paw upon its base. When he pulled the paw back, a thin, ethereal threat could be seen attached to his paw, emerging from the statue.

Even Lex could see it, and sense that it was a karmic string. What was interesting was that the karmic string was in a completely sealed state, meaning that it could not be tampered with from external forces, making it extremely stable. Oddly enough, that meant that Lex could study it thoroughly and deeply without any concern or reservations!

Damn, had he accidentally stumbled onto a way of speeding up his control over karma?

Too impatient to try it out, the Innkeeper didn’t wait for anyone to step forward. He simply stepped up to the statue and touched it.

The smooth, cool surface of the statue felt... oddly normal, as if there was nothing special about it whatsoever. When he pulled his hand back, the same ethereal thread was sticking out of his hand.

Lex lifted his hand and observed the thread, peering into its mysteries, ignoring all the Dao Lords observing him.

"How interesting," he muttered to himself. Without the countless external influences affecting him, Lex’s comprehension was shooting through the roof, allowing him to gain insights into karma in real time.

On a whim, he summoned the Karmic Bead in his left hand, and then flicked the karmic string that was coming out of his right hand. In front of everyone... the string shifted from the Innkeeper’s hand to the bead, disconnecting from his body!

Now, the Karmic Bead was deeply intertwined with Lex’s karma, meaning that it could not be separated from him no matter the circumstances. Thus, whether the string was connected to him, or the bead, it made no difference. That was also why the Karmic Bead benefited from the disguise of the Host Attire so no one would recognise it as the bead Lex used. The observing Dao Lords, however, had no idea of that.

Hiran Kokan’s jaw dropped open while Wu Kong’s eyes turned into stars! Wu Kong knew it! The Innkeeper was the coolest damned Dao Lord he had ever met! Who else could so casually aura farm with the karmic string from an Eclipsecrawler sentinel?

Wu Kong reaffirmed his vow that when he grew up, he wanted to be just like the Innkeeper. That way, he could even fool karma and prevent it from detecting his clones!

Eclipse was taken aback as well, but it took her only a glance to see that the string hadn’t really left the Innkeeper, so she calmed down. Ventura also quickly saw through the trick. Everyone else, though... was freaking out!

"Wait, wait, wait, if the Innkeeper can get rid of the karma, how are any of us safe?" asked one Dao Lord.

"Did that guy just... flick away the karma from the sentinel?"

"Why the hell is that bead covered in the cloud of the Primordial Age? It contains karma from all the way back then? What is the Innkeepers real identity?"

"Bloody hell, what kind of favouritism is this? Did he literally riz the karma away?"

"Damn, bro is running on the Dao of Hacks."

"I knew it. This was a trap. We’re doomed. The Innkeeper and Eclipse will control us via karma now."

Noticing the sudden commotion he caused by his little trick, Lex suddenly took the karma back and put away his bead.

"My apologies everyone. I was simply observing the karma to make sure there are no traps hidden within. After all, it would be most untoward of me to allow my guests to get harmed like that. Fortunately, I discovered nothing of the sort. You may feel free to form the karmic bond."