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Chapter 768 Tax refund

On a remote planet, devoid of all life, a swordsman was sitting cross legged with a normal looking double sided sword on his lap. The area where the man sat was completely black, as if the surface of the planet had been charred by a strong flame, yet the char did not rub off on his clothes.

The sound of thunder rumbled in the sky above him, causing the cultivator to open up his eyes and look up. His lightning tribulation was finally coming, though that did not seem to elicit any emotion from the man.

"All the oracles, fortune tellers and prophets in the market seem to have disappeared," said a woman reading from a file. Though she was quite a distance away from him, her voice carried as if she was right beside him.

"I told you, we should stop relying on them," the man calmly replied as he stood up.

"Well excuse me for trying. One of my daughters, and my son have disappeared and I have no other way to look for them. What do you want me to do?"

"Put your shoes on, it's almost time," the man said looking up.

The woman grumbled, but she listened to the man and quickly put on her shoes that she had taken off while she rested. The man seemed cavalier and uninterested in the fate of his children, but it was only because he could sense that they were still all alive.𝑙𝘪𝑏𝓇𝑒𝑎𝒹.𝘤𝑜𝘮

While the two were chatting, the man's lightning tribulation began, yet the lightning did not have time to fall. As soon as it formed, a sword slash filled with incredibly sharp sword intent cut the skies open, revealing an unknown space.

The man and the woman quickly jumped through the opening, leaving the planet for some unknown destination.

*****

Silence filled the room as Lex and Powell stood face to face. They were staring each other in the eyes, neither willing to back off. A silent tension began to build as the seconds passed by as neither said anything, though they both knew the value of each second surpassed that of an entire spirit stone mine.

Tick. One spirit stone mine. Tock. Another spirit stone mine. Tick-tock. Two more mines, and each second that passed by like this, they were losing out on mines like this!

Finally, Powell could no longer contain himself and opened his mouth, but the door behind him swung open and another Powell walked out! For some reason, Lex knew that he was once again face to face with the original Powell.

"Are you serious? You have unlimited access to a dragon's hoard?"

"Yes, but I cannot say for how long. You can decide whether you want to suffer a loss by wasting time negotiating, or you want to minimize your losses and just give me what I want."

"Are you willing to sign a soul contract? The only stipulation will be that inside the hoard you will look for a very specific treasure for me and do your best to get it without having to suffer mortal danger. If there's too much danger, you can stop, or if you don't find it then it's my loss. But if you do find it, you have to hand it over. In exchange, I'll give you the best protection we have against spirit pull, and the largest spatial treasure we have available. Both will be free, as long as you sign the soul contract!"

.cοm Lex raised an eyebrow, but did not give his emotions away in any other way.

"Let me see the contract. You should also tell me what the treasure is and where it might be. Every second I waste, someone else could be closing in."

"It's called Peronian Jade. I'll give you a compass that looks for it, and a special container for it as well. The jade has no harmful qualities so you don't need to worry about anything, but you have to give every bit of it you find. It'll be a part of the contract."

He pondered for a moment, but had no recollection of the item. Although it was no doubt going to be extremely valuable, Lex would be getting sufficient gains in exchange. He examined the soul contract but found no tampering, or any other conditions besides the one Powell stated.

He didn't like having to sign a soul contract, but considering he would be getting two extremely valuable treasures in exchange, Lex suppressed his discomfort.

"Fine, I'll sign it," he said. "But first, I want to see what you'll be giving me."

Powell nodded, and brought out two items. One was a large drum that could be worn on one's back. It was not exactly inconspicuous, but it contained 1 mile square of area inside it. Unfortunately, that was still too small compared to the dragon hoard, but it was big enough for now. The second item was a crown that looked quite flimsy. In fact, Lex was slightly concerned he might break it by just picking it up, but Powell assured him that that was the best tool they had to protect him from spirit pull.

Not wanting to waste any time, Lex signed the contract using his finger as the pen and spirit energy as the ink. As soon as he signed it he felt an uncomfortable sensation in his body. It was something he could ignore, but at the same time it was mildly suffocating, as if he wore a tie too tightly.

Powell also handed him a thin, black piece of jade, which was the compass that would point him towards Peronian Jade.

With everything in order, Lex promptly left the shop, and then teleported to the Inn, then back to the hoard. Barely a couple of minutes had passed, but Lex's situation was completely different, hopefully. He put on the flimsy crown and tested to see if his thoughts still drifted. Nearly 30 seconds later, Lex finally concluded that he was safe, as he was able to retain his lucidity throughout.

The capitalist in Lex was finally set free, and he grinned like a madman as he descended to the bottom most floor of the hoard. Getting free money and treasure felt even better than collecting tax refunds!

Chapter 769 Disbelief

Before rushing down to the last floor, where he strongly suspected he would be faced with the dragon, or what remained of it, Lex took out the black jade piece that Powell had given him. If the Peronian Jade existed, the compass would find it.

In all honesty, Lex did not mind doing the man this favor. He only wished that he could have kept a small piece of jade so as to study what was so special about it. There was a strong possibility that the jade was just an item he needed to sell to another client, but regardless, the overwhelmingly favorable deal that Lex had gotten made him curious.

As soon as he summoned the jade, it vibrated and an arrow appeared pointing down. There indeed was Peronian Jade, and it was at the lowest level of the hoard! Lex subtly nodded, as if such a thing only made sense.

He put the jade away, but before he could depart, his ever present, ever reliable holographic assistant spoke up.

"Hey Lex, do you think you could do me a favor?" she asked, her voice tinged with shyness and awkwardness. It was apparent that she was feeling very uncomfortable about the request she wanted to make.

"How can I help?" Lex asked, though he suspected he knew what was coming.

"Would it be possible for you to find me a very special item present in the hoard? It… it can help me make a body."

"A body?" Lex repeated, genuinely surprised although he anticipated a request might be coming his way. "For you to get a body, wouldn't it have to be given to you by the system?"

"Yes, technically that is the proper way of doing things. But you are well aware of loopholes in the system rules, and this is one of them. If I make my own body, instead of getting one from the system, I'll have much fewer restrictions on me than usual. I'll be able to answer all your questions that your insufficient authority prevents me from informing you."

"What do you need?"

"In case the dragon down below has a child, or is about to have a child, he may have prepared a special blood altar in its private chamber to nourish the egg. If that's the case, there will be a scale inside the altar. I need that scale."

"I'll keep an eye out," Lex said, before continuing down. He did not question Mary at the moment about why she knew what a dragon might do to nurture its child, or about her desire to get a body. He felt like he wouldn't get a proper answer, and even if he did, he was currently on a time crunch so now was not the time.

He had taken a look at the floor he was in for anything valuable he might find, but this floor seemed to have nothing besides prisons holding various races and the dwarves' corpses. Neither interested Lex at the moment so he decisively left.

A few minutes after Lex left, one of the dwarf corpses moved and picked itself up. The leader, Barley. Seemed to be recovering from death itself, though he did not seem concerned with that. Instead he gaze seemed fixed on the staircase leading down below.

"Lex William?" he murmured to himself as his strength slowly recovered. He seemed to have heard the name when the creature had yelled it out earlier.

Lex, who was descending the stairs, paused for a moment and turned around. His senses were extremely sharp and detected some kind of sound, although he was not sure what it was. A sense of urgency filled his heart.

The first dwarf that Lex had seen, Terrol, had mentioned that elves were on their way for news of the dragon's demise had already spread. Others could also be arriving even as he waited descended.

No longer holding back, Lex began to rush to the bottom of the stairs, though he did not drop his guard. If there was one strange creature here, there could be more. Moreover, the King was supposed to be here somewhere, though the fact that the sounds of Lex's fight had not attracted him was unusual.

Lex wiped sweat off his brow one more time as he neared the entrance to the final chamber. By now, not only were the effects of Dragons Might causing Lex minor problems, but the heat was also causing him to sweat nonstop. If he failed to wipe his brow, whether by hand or spirit sense, the sweat would get into his eyes, making it hard for him to see.

When he finally reached the last step, he had already entered the final chamber. There was no door or barrier, and the entrance appeared instantly even if it could not be seen earlier.

The moment Lex entered, his knees buckled and he crashed into the ground with full force, causing the ground to tremble. He had not been dropped just to his knees, but his chest had also been pushed down to the ground, his face smacking the floor.

He had not been attacked by anyone. Instead, the moment he entered the chamber, he was hit by the full force of the Dragons Might. Irrespective of his unwavering pride, and the immense strength packed within his body, when he finally came face to face with a dragon outside of the Inn, Lex had been forced into nearly a prostrating state.

"What… the hell…" he said with gritted teeth as he slowly brought his arms beside himself and pushed himself up. When he was finally able to lift his face off the floor he looked forward, and suddenly went blank. The sight of the dragon before him was like a clap of thunder in his mind, making him blank and causing him to fall onto the ground once more.

When he finally recovered, Lex was struck by endless disbelief. He… he could not even look at the dragon without suffering, since its aura was completely unrestrained. It was only now that he was beginning to understand how massive a role the Inn played in neutralizing the effects of cultivators natural aura. If it were any other Golden core cultivator instead of him, they may have already been seriously injured or even died!

Chapter 770 In his bones

A small pool of sweat formed on the ground around Lex, though it did not last long as it began boiling shortly after. The scorching heat of the stone floor did not bother Lex nearly as much as the shock of what he was suffering.

He knew there was a difference, there had to be one. But for him, who cultivated the most mysterious and powerful technique in the universe, to not be able to even stand in the presence of a dead dragon was astounding.𝓁𝑖𝑏𝑟𝘦𝒶𝘥.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Well, to be fair, Lex was merely in the Golden core realm, while the dragon was definitely stronger than the Earth Immortal realm. That meant that it was at least a Heaven Immortal, if not a Celestial Immortal. That was a difference of at least 3 or 4 major realms.

Lex closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming himself down. He had to collect himself and figure out a way to resist the Dragons Might. He somewhat understood why he was taken by surprise by the sudden increase in the power of the Might. The deepest chamber must have special barriers to prevent the aura from going out, or else Lex expected the entire planet might suffer due to it.

But none of that mattered right now. He had to overcome this, and not just because all his looting depended on it. Lex's ego, or more accurately, his new sense of self would not allow him to just let things go the way they were.

He firmly believed that while he had much of his success because of the system and his technique, he considered himself and his persistence and skill the defining factor for his success. He did not mind the fact that he was pushed down, although that wasn't pleasant either. But he absolutely could not allow himself to remain groveling on the ground.

When Lex reopened his eyes a fire seemed to be lit within them, and once again he picked himself up. This time, he kept his gaze focused on the ground as he lifted himself, feeling each muscle and nerve aching as he pushed himself to the limit.

Neither Harden nor Impervious Hand or any other technique seemed to help at this moment, as the force pushing him down could not be so simply blocked. It was a result of the natural hierarchy of beings. It was the appropriate reaction shown by a being at the bottom of the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum towards a being at the top.

Lex circulated his spiritual energy as fast as he could, fueling his aching body, but that did not lessen the trembling in his hands. Suddenly, Lex understood what it must have felt like for the dwarf when its bones broke under the weight of the Dragons Might, his because he could hear the bones in his hands cracking.

But nothing, not the immeasurable weight pushing him down, not the failure of his techniques to help, not the pain that seemed to transcend his physical body and pierce his very soul, and not the voice screaming inside his heart to just give up and teleport back to the Inn could stop Lex.

After an excruciatingly long time, Lex managed to pick himself up… into a crawling position. On his hands and knees, Lex gasped for air as if he had done the most intense exercise of his life. There were aches in his body in places he didn't even know existed, or could hurt.

Compared to the mighty beings of the universe, he was truly naught but a pitiful ant, if that. As countless negative thoughts assaulted his mind, making his confidence waver and weakening his resolve, he could not help but remember one of his earlier musings. He wondered what aura was, and where it came from.

Lex believed his own state of mind affected it, but so did his actions. He had developed a powerful aura without even realizing it, influenced by his time as the Innkeeper. He wondered if, now that almost every advantage his system and his technique had given him seemed to be stripped away, he continued to perform incredible feats, how that would affect his aura.

After all, previously he only believed he would have been incredible even without his advantages. Now he had the opportunity to prove it.

Gritting his teeth and strengthening his resolve, Lex lifted his neck and looked forward.

There, dominating his vision, was a massive golden-brown beast that seemed larger than life. All measurements seemed to fail as in his eyes, the dragon seemed the largest thing he had ever seen. No mountain, no planet, no star could compare to the enormity that was this beast before him.

The dragon was resting on all four of its legs, its wings neatly folded over its back. Its tail seemed to coil neatly on the floor beside it, as if it was resting. If one paid attention, they could see its chest rise and fall, indicating that it was breathing softly as if asleep. Yet contradictory to that very observation, the dragon's massive yellow eyes seemed to be open, and for some reason, seemed to be focusing solely on Lex.

He could not use his spirit or soul sense, and his instincts seemed to be failing right now as well. Still, somehow, he knew that the dragon's body was alive, but its soul was already dead. What sat in front of him was a living corpse, in a way.

Thunder rumbled in Lex's might and his consciousness itself seemed under attack, for the sight itself of the dragon was too noble for him - let alone the fact that they were making eye contact. Tears of blood began to leak out of Lex's nose, giving the world a red tinge, yet Lex did not blink. Instead, he focused on a soft, elevated groove on the dragon's forehead. There seemed to be something there, though Lex could not see it properly from this distance.

But he didn't care exactly what it was. He saw that spot and something deep inside of him seemed to wake up. An urge to resist, to rebel, to bite and claw against whatever crap list told him his place was below the dragon seemed to swell in his heart.

At first, that voice was small and barely audible against the cacophony of voices in his heart telling him to retreat to the Inn and take it easy. But the longer he stared at the dragon, the stronger the voice grew.

His tears of blood dripped off his face and mixed with the pool of boiling sweat below him, only to sizzle as well and fill the air with an acrid smell. But that unpleasant smell seemed to reinvigorate Lex. It was the smell of pain, of fighting, of resistance.

The voice in his heart, the smell in the air, the ache in his bones, the unwillingness in his soul all joined together to form an unstoppable force that slowly filled every fiber of Lex's being. His gaze still locked on the dragon's forehead, Lex continued his effort to stand up straight. His stupid back had bent down, but he would not leave it like that.

Chapter 771 One step

Outside the castle-cum-mountainrange, the war was still ongoing, although a few minor details had changed. Instead of the many nobles working together to fight against the forces of the royal family, they were now all fighting together as brothers in arms and members of the same race, all against the icy abominations that had so suddenly appeared. They were surrounded, and though the situation had not become dire yet, anything could happen at any time.

No one understood where these abominations came from, but they understood well what their obsession with the castle was. These… things hated heat, and hated the Frigals who had immense heat inside their bodies. But the greatest source of heat on the entire planet was on the last floor of the dragon's hoard in the castle behind them, and that was attracting the abominations from across the planet.

Of course, none of them felt for even a second that the creatures could succeed in extinguishing the heat source, but even if they wanted to passively let them go by, the creatures would not permit it. After all, even if their bodies had less hea compared to their main target, they could not be ignored.

Just as the battle was reaching its pinnacle, the sound of hundreds of rockets seemed to fill the air. Though Frigals could not see, they used other senses to detect that the sounds were not rockets, but countless ships entering the planet's atmosphere from orbit. They were all aiming for the castle.

But they made one miscalculation in their plans to bypass the battle on the ground and directly enter the castle. The abominations were called as such because they had no fixed shape or identity. The only thing that was fixed was that they seemed to have bodies made of ice. That meant that… all they needed to do was alter their bodies to take flight.

With hundreds of new massive heat sources appearing to aggravate them, the abominations let out howls of fury before they took flight. There were two battlefields now: one in the air and one on the ground.

*****

Although motivation, passion and dedication all burned within his heart, standing up was easier said than done. Will power was one thing, but accomplishing something seemingly impossible required more than something as ethereal as thoughts and prayers. He needed something more.

He hesitated for only a mere second before he made a decision. He could either rely on arrays, a few of which could somewhat help him. Or, he could use his current situation to run his cultivation technique.

Unfortunately, he could not run his cultivation technique and use his spirit energy for other tasks at the same time, so he had to choose. Ultimately, the choice was simple. Arrays could provide him immediate but limited relief. The technique, however, had the potential to use his current situation and adapt to it to give him greater benefits. Maybe he could even develop a resistance to Dragons Might. There was only one way to find out.

With his decision made, he began cultivating while he continued to lift himself up. Lex could not help but release a guttural cry as he pushed himself up right. He felt like he was deadlifting a planet!

His cultivation technique was not hampered at all by his movement or the pressure around him, and in fact ran even smoother in these harsh conditions. Slowly, he could tell that it was already bringing about some changes in him, but he could not spare the thought to observe these changes. He had to use every ounce of willpower, and actual power, to move even a few inches.

Despite the hardship, the ultimate winner was Lex - if one could consider standing up a victory at all. Unfortunately for him, standing up did not give him any release , nor did it make it easier for him.

He looked forward and estimated how far the dragon was. Normally this was not an issue, but at the moment the dragon seemed to occupy his entire mind, so it was difficult for him to pay attention to the gap between them.𝘭𝑖𝒷𝓇𝘦𝘢𝒹.𝑐𝘰𝘮

In the end, he gave up. What did it matter anyway? How far could it really be? He tried to drag his foot forward, so as to avoid lifting it, but the friction with the ground was too great. It was not possible. Taking in a deep yet painful breath, he lifted his left foot up and stepped forward.

"Fuck!" Lex cursed as he fell down and lost nearly all his progress. How had walking turned into an impossible task?

He had put his foot down incorrectly, causing him to stumble. Moreover, the immense pressure and the horrible angle caused something in his left knee to crack. As someone who generally avoided cursing, not at all due to childhood trauma of getting his rear whupped for doing so, the fact that he cursed so loud spoke of his frustration.

It was not the bone crushing pain that caused Lex the frustration as much as knowing that with an injured knee, another hurdle on his already impossible task was added. With clenched fists, he tolerated the pain as he pushed himself back up again. Fortunately, as a cultivator, he was not subject to the same weaknesses he was back when he was a pure mortal.

Although his knee was injured, he could use the various muscles in his leg to accommodate his weight as well as forcefully divert the pressure on his knee.

Finally, when he pushed himself back up, with unsurpassed focus, Lex once again lifted his leg and took a step. This time he did not mess up, so he was able to divert his weight onto his other leg, and ready himself for his next step.

He looked up at the dragon one more time, which was only a few miles away from him, and realized he needed to speed up. If he took 10 minutes on each step, he'd never make it before the others arrived. Suddenly, he felt like cursing again.