The Innkeeper

There was no time. Everything happened too quickly. Lex and the Tree were fighting, and the Tree was losing, but not fast enough. Lex decided to use a stronger technique to speed things up. Somehow, that had brought about an apocalyptic event that threatened to eradicate an entire continent.

If blame had to be assigned, Lex thoroughly allocated it on the Tree. Why was it fighting so hard? If it had just sat there and let Lex win, none of this would have happened. But a debate on why some people were just unreasonable was pointless, so it was best not to dwell on it.

Lex did not understand how techniques worked. Or at least, he did not understand why making them in certain ways within one's body brought about certain effects. Some people created techniques without understanding the why. As long as they could understand the effects, that's all that mattered. But such a mentality left room for unknown flaws, and so Lex did not subscribe to such a method.

Instead, he focused not on the manipulation of spiritual energy, but of laws instead. For some reason, it was a lot easier for him to do that. Wasn't he essentially just manipulating the effects of laws when he created laws anyway?

Once he began creating the technique, inspiration just kept coming and he realized that what was before him was not a calamity, but an amazing opportunity.

Lex moved, and activated his newly created technique which he immediately named Heaven's Furnace. An invisible barrier formed around the tree, coating it like a second skin, just in time for the bright light to end.

Then the explosion happened. But instead of a shockwave shooting through the realm, the explosion was contained perfectly within the barrier Lex had created.

The strength of the initial explosion was such that nothing Lex had ever created before could block it even for a fraction of a second, yet Heaven's Furnace stayed strong. It had to, after all, since a furnace's sole purpose was to contain heat and pressure.

But while the barrier remained strong, without a single blemish, Lex did not look so great. He had become pale and his eyes reddened. That was because, much life Impervious hands, the defense of this barrier was based on the toughness of Lex's own body.

While that did not mean that Lex was exposed to the devastation of the explosion in place of the barrier, it did mean that the pressure he faced was directly proportional to what he was blocking. Yet this was only the beginning.

Since the explosion was not allowed to spread, all its energy remained trapped within the barrier, alongside the remnants of the dragon fire as well. That in turn continued to result in subsequent explosions!

The countless nations formed under the shadow of the Tree watched in horrifying awe as the Tree was replaced by a chaotic mis of fire, light, and things they could not completely understand.

But this was not enough. A furnace was not designed to just hold heat, no, it was designed to melt and purify. Lex had employed every relevant law he could think of in designing this technique, because he was not satisfied with just containing the explosion. No, he wanted to refine the tree into a much smaller, much purer, and more compact material that he intended to use as an ingredient for his system.

His mistake was in thinking that only natural ingredients could be absorbed by the system, but no one had ever stipulated that. If he could refine the remains of an unbelievably powerful Mythical being, which had its potential repeatedly enhanced under the influence of Amber Chaos resin, then why couldn't that be used as an ingredient?

The law of power, of defense, of control, of fire and many more were used to create this technique. For the laws that he lacked an affinity in, he made use of array characters to tap into their underlying laws. It might not be the best way to create a technique, but it was working damn well.

Lex raised his trembling hands and pressed his fingers as if he was squeezing something, and the barrier began to shrink in size. Yet there was still a raging inferno within, and it resisted his every effort. It wanted nothing more than to break free. It wanted nothing more-

A black, burnt root suddenly slammed the barrier. Somehow, surrounded by endless fire, exploded by dragon fire, and squeezed by the immeasurable pressure with the Heavens furnace, the Tree of Heaven had still not died.

Perhaps such a thing was to be expected. How could the influence of not one but several Dao level ingredients be limited to solely potential? But no matter how the tree bashed against the barrier, it did not budge.

Considering that the barrier was the original size of the Tree, and yet now the Tree was lost within the flames, banging against the barrier for release, it was evident how much of the Tree had already burnt away.

Cracks began to form on Lex's skin as he struggled to maintain the technique, and keep the size of the barrier shrinking. Blood started to seep out of his nose and ears. Even with his great self control, he could not keep himself from grunting and groaning each time the tree smashed the barrier.

But the barrier itself never once wavered. Besides light, the barrier allowed nothing else to escape. The ground did not so much as tremble when the explosions happened, and no one felt the Trees dying throes.

There was just the visage of a tree shaped explosion, growing smaller slowly, forming a breathtakingly beautiful sight. It was as if a tree made entirely of swirling flames and replaced the Tree of Heaven.

For a time, Menara bathed in the glow of the burning tree, replicating the lights and colors of a beautiful dawn, and eventually, a breathtaking dusk.

For two whole months, Lex kept the barrier in place, slowly shrinking it. Finally, when it reached just two feet in size, the pressure finished. What remained was a flame, still swirling and filled with all the colors of the sky, and fixed in the final shape of the Tree of Heaven.

Lex let the barrier collapse, finally, and approached the small tree made entirely of fire. He was hesitant at first, but from the tree he felt no danger, no heat. All he felt was a welcoming warmth. He touched it, and it was barely lukewarm in temperature.

But much more warning than that was the sound of a notification he heard. Lex read it, and despite his horrendous state, smiled.