The Innkeeper

Chapter 1327  A highway and a stairway

For his own sake, Lex had to keep a healthy distance from all things related to the Dao… but if it was something that was literally heading straight for him, he couldn't really ignore it now could he?

"I'm not sure. Is there even such a thing as a Dao Garden?" Lex asked.

The Gardener shook his head, and then continued to walk forward, leaving the Drama-cat behind.

"Actually, I have no idea if Dao Gardens exist, but that's definitely not what happens. Let's pause a bit and talk about Divinity and Deities. Are you familiar with them?"

"Yes, more or less," Lex said. "I recently learned about how others can become Deities, though I am not sure about how Deities are born." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Gardener nodded.

"Well then you are probably familiar with the fact that the normal method for a Deity to grow is to accumulate followers, and what the followers follow is not the Deity directly, but the mythos he crafts in the form of a religion. The religions, too, must follow specific patterns and be limited by certain guidelines that the Deities themselves are restricted by through their very existence.

"I'm sure you already know this, but most, if not all religions have the concept of Heaven and Hell, or at least a final destination for the good and the bad after death."

Lex suddenly stopped. The question of what came after death was one that plagued every living being, and while Lex had searched for answers through the cultivation world, the consensus he seemed to discover was that no one actually knew what happened.

While the Deities proclaimed a final, eternal resting place, a paradise of some sort or the other, and in certain cases that actually managed to pull such a feat off for selected souls who died within their realms of influence, most cultivators believed that even Deities did not know. Or at least that's what he understood from the books he got from the Infinity Emporium.

Was he, at least, about to learn the truth from the Gardener of all people? Was he the keeper of this grand secret?

"What I want to tell you is that both Heaven, and Hell, exist, though not in the fashion that Deities portray them. When a Garden surpasses the Immortal realm, it does not become a Dao Garden, but becomes what Deities refer to as Heaven.

"Whether it is the Garden of Eden, the Halls of Valhalla, the Field of Reeds, or whatever else a religion proclaims, they all refer to actual gardens that genuinely exist in the Universe. Of course, those Gardens don't necessarily have anything to do with those Deities. Instead, it's just that those places are used by Deities as anchor points for Karma."

Lex once again heard terms he was familiar with. He himself had quite a few anchors linked to the Midnight Inn, and he had tried learning about Karma but it was so elusive. Why was it that his gardener knew more about these things than him? Perhaps it was because it was all linked to gardens?

"Can you tell me more about these Heavenly Gardens? What about hell? Are they also linked to gardens?"

The Gardener shook his head.

"How could gardens be linked to hell? That's absolutely preposterous. I have no idea how hells are formed, but I can tell you more about the Heavens, not Heavenly gardens. Once a garden rises enough in rank, it becomes a Heaven.

"I do not know how or why, though. The only reason I know about this is because I have been helping the Galactic Sovereign with his gardening, and so it has been imparting its knowledge on me, like a teacher to a professor. Since he has yet to accept me as a disciple, I cannot claim such a station.

"In essence, to raise a garden to such a level, it needs to achieve a number of things. Firstly, it must be akin to a paradise. That means it must provide health, harmony and energy to all beings affiliated with light, with the divine and the holy, while simultaneously being akin to the most potent of poisons to all things associated with the dark, the damned, the defiled, and the forsaken.

"Secondly, it needs to be filled with, and even produce its own divine energy. But producing divine energy is not a simple task at all. Even the Rosebush that the turtle planted cannot produce divine energy so easily. Instead, it needs to be nurtured until maturity, at which point it will produce a Rose Deity.

"While it will be a pathetically weak Deity, since it has no followers, almost all plant Deities have a nurturing aspect to them, which means that it will constantly provide its divine energy to nourish its garden. With a number of such Deities all working together, a foundation for a Heaven can be formed.

"Thirdly, each and every Heaven needs its own unique identity and mythology, which the turtle will have to create on its own. There are many more requirements, such as adequate fertilizer, sufficient plants, regular maintenance, and more, but I am not too knowledgeable about that yet."

"What about those plant Deities themselves? Won't they try to devour each other and grow their strength? I've heard the fastest way for a Deity to grow is to devour other Deities. Not to mention, who will control them?"

The Gardener shrugged.

"These are things I have not pondered over yet. The garden is too far from nearing such a feat. Let alone that the Rosebush is far from maturing, the other, more basic prerequisites of such a garden need to be met, such as sufficiently rare and impressive plants."

That did not encourage Lex about the situation as much as it should have. With the turtle focusing on the garden, how long could it really take for it to plant countless rare and valuable plants? Inside a newborn realm that was teeming with energy and Mythics plants already? Not that long if Lex had to guess.

But there was another source of information Lex could reach out to, specifically, the devils and the angels. From what he understood, the devils controlled a realm called Garvitz, which was literally equivalent to hell, while the angels had Eden corp, which was likely related to Eden.

"Thank you for sharing this with me. This is truly all very important information for me," Lex said, looking at the Gardener seriously.

"Not a problem. Come to me any time if you need to know anything more."

"Actually, I just thought of another question though I don't know if you'll have the answer. If the turtle succeeds in creating a Heaven, and some Deities link it to their religion, do you think they'll try to come over and take control of it?"

The Gardener shrugged.

"I've heard that Heavens have angels or something to protect them. No, wait, not angels. Elysians. Although I suppose any Heaven formed in the Midnight Inn will be protected by the Innkeeper."

"Yeah, the Innkeeper… of course…" said Lex weakly, before bidding the Gardener farewell, and teleporting to his office.

"Mary, do you think this could be a problem?" he asked as he sat back in his chair.

His faithful assistant popped up in front of him in, out of all things, an angel costume.

"This is one of those things the system won't let me talk about."

"The system? Why would it… no… no wait a minute, I remember that the system likes to create environments to suit its guests. Don't tell me…"

Before Lex could even finish the sentence, the familiar sound of a new notification rang in her ears.

New Quest: The Host has accidentally done something right, so don't do something wrong on purpose. Ensure the completion of the Midnight Heaven, and find a suitable entity to inaugurate its opening!

Quest time limit: 1000 years

Quest Reward: New Guest rooms! Picnic basket!

Quest failure punishment: Reduction of Hosts authority and privileges! 300 MT penalty!

Remarks: Stay away from Apples!

New Quest: Where there is a Heaven, there must be a Hell! Build the Midnight Hell and find a suitable entity to inaugurate its opening!

Quest time limit: 1000 years

Quest Reward: New Guest rooms! Sauna and Hot tub upgrades! Sun-tan room!

Quest failure punishment: Reduction of Hosts authority and privileges! 300 MT penalty!

Remarks: You need one highway and one stairway!

Lex read the notifications, and actually breathed a sigh of relief! The 1000 year deadline meant that even the turtle wouldn't achieve creating a Heaven so soon. Lex was afraid that in a couple of years he'd have to face another invasion by yet another Deity, or even more.

With 1000 years to prepare, Lex was confident that he would be more than strong enough to deal with any issues that might crop up. Or he'd already be dead.

Either way, in the short term, this was no longer a concern.

Lex turned his gaze towards Mary who was looking at him innocently.

"So about that Phoenix feather," she began with a grin.