The Innkeeper

Chapter 1387  Paradise I

The Midnight Treehouse, as Lex decided to call it so that it was easily distinguishable from the Midnight Tavern, was pretty big, so naturally the house part of the treehouse was big as well.

Despite there being a reception room right at the foot of the tree, from where new guests could enter, the rest of the treehouse was higher up. This design was purposefully selected by Lex, since he was on a 1 Star planet.

The locals here wouldn't be strong, and it might be inconvenient for most to reach the treehouse itself if the entrance weren't on the floor.

From the entrance there was a staircase that went around the trunk of the tree until it eventually reached the upper levels, but in case guests were not in the mood to climb hundreds of stairs, there was also a teleportation formation.

The actual layout of the treehouse would be ever changing, for that was the whole point of the treasure Lex crafted. Based on the surroundings, the weather, the solar and lunar cycles, and anything else that could affect the scenery, the layout would keep changing to present the best possible layout to give the guests the best possible view at all times.

Oh, there was also a bunch of Feng Shue stuff going on with the layout, which apparently meant that the spirit energy within the treehouse would always be very high and pure. It would naturally cleanse the surrounding air of any pollution, not to mention that the area surrounding the tree would slowly become richer in spirit energy the longer the tree stayed in one place.

As the layout of the treehouse changed, Lex paid special attention to the treehouse, watching it for any abnormalities, but picked up nothing. It would suck for the first guest to appear at the treehouse, only for the tree to pull out a root and whip them to death.

Though the tree technically didn't have a cultivation realm, it would take a Nascent soul cultivator to even begin making a mark on the tree.

Fortunately, all was well.

With everything proceeding according to plan, Lex went to the highest room in the treehouse, near the very tip of the tree, sat down with a clear view of the planet, and began to think.

In the tavern on planet Azula, Lex was orchestrating a grand struggle, allowing a new generation of hopeful yet hardworking and honest folk to change the world for the better. Of course, he never did anything directly - otherwise it would not be fun.

He had the power to influence the whole planet on his own, but if he did that, then it would make the struggles of everyone else pointless. Instead, he simply became a catalyst, allowing those who were already working towards positive change to achieve a much greater impact through gentle guidance.

Now he wanted to decide what he would do on this planet - at least until it was linked to the Inn and he could go back.

Already, from his vantage point, Lex could see Tetsuya clearly. Lex recognized, and recalled Tetsuya clearly, and though he wondered how this old acquaintance had made his way to this planet, he made no actual moves to approach him.

Soon enough, Tetsuya would be at the tree anyway.

While Lex was perched atop the tree, the tree itself began feeling its surroundings. The tree had gained sentience, and with that came some knowledge from within his inherited species, as well as everything that happened to it as a seed.

For whatever reason, the tree felt like it should not reveal itself to its new keeper, Lex. As such, the tree did nothing for now.

All actions were taken either by Lex, or were according to the tree's instincts, which would not arouse any suspicions.

Until Lex was gone, the tree would have to satisfy itself with only sensing the universe around it.

That wasn't too bad. As a newborn, the tree did not actually know much about the universe, so studying all the living beings occupying the house attached to its body would present a good learning experience. For now, that included Lex, who the tree absolutely did not observe at all.

From the information it inherited in its memories, it knew that certain beings, once too powerful, would be able to tell if anyone observed or even thought about them. The others, however, were alright. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But there weren't too many others, for now. Fortunately, as the tree's roots dug deeper into the ground - something it naturally did - it discovered that there was an abundance of life on the seemingly desolate planet. It was just that most of it seemed to be under the surface of the planet - away from the harsh climate.

As its roots dug even deeper, it touched upon the natural ley lines of the planet, discovering a secret, underground channel of energy cycling around the world. There were also underground rivers, filled with pure, clean water. Not only that, the water itself also contained very rich Aqua Energy, though for anyone below the immortal realm, it would just be very rich spiritual energy.

But while most things the tree discovered underground were pure and teeming with vitality, it also discovered something dark, hidden beep below the surface. Tendrils of this darkness crept up, reaching towards all the pure things.

It reached the insects, and began to corrode them, turning them into rabid, mindless mutants. It reached towards the waters, and tried to poison it, though so far the water was resisting.

The darkness tried to pollute the very ground itself, and it was beginning to have an effect. Of course, the ground around the tree started to get cleaned, but it was clear that something sinister lay hidden in the depths of this world, too far down even for the tree's roots to reach. The darkness intrigued the tree, but since it couldn't specifically act out and search for it, the tree put it out of its mind. Instead, it focused more on its immediate surroundings.

The shade provided by the tree's canopy caused a few insects to emerge from the ground, and they all studied the foreign entity, unsure what to make of it.