The Innkeeper

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom

The preparations for the festival went far beyond preparing a few abodes and expanding the regions - speaking of which, he allocated a 100 acres flat lands far from all current attractions and gave it exclusively to the Gardener so he could finally complete his landscaping artwork.

Of the numerous other tasks, both minor and significant, that Lex did, decorating the Inn was one which required more of Lex's time than anything. The Inn had to look both festive yet at the same time calming and beautiful.

Making the Inn look mirthful was obviously important, for the festivities would feel incomplete otherwise. Yet, since cultivation was a big theme as well, an environment which soothed the mind was imperative. After all, cultivation, while sometimes comfortable and relaxing, could also be strenuous and overwhelming. As such, it was extremely important to maintain a calm and collected state of mind. While most of that work would obviously be undertaken by the cultivator themselves, creating an environment conducive to the task was the bare minimum one could do.

As such, they decided that dense population areas would be decorated according to the ongoing activities, but the further one got from places such as the village and Main street, the more soothing the environment would be.

This was the area where the Planning division's prowess showed. While Lex would have ended up recreating decor derived from Earthen culture, they incorporated ideas from multiple planets.

Lights were hung up across buildings, though they were not connected through wires or actually connected to the buildings. Using some advanced technology from the Vegus planets, an invisible pathway was laid out over all the buildings along which the colorful lights flowed like water traveling down a stream. Only, they were not limited to just different colors. Beautiful designs and patterns were intricately formed, changing at random as they traveled across the buildings and streets.

Immersive tags were created which would be passed out to the guests, and depending on where they were and what activities they were watching or participating in, they would see different decor and hear different music. Two people standing side by side who were focused on separate events would have differing experiences in every sense!

Recalling some of his education from back at the academy at the Crystal realm, Lex knew that even spirit energy could have different accents or scents, and enhance a person's aura and presence, though usually it was something that had to be consciously cultivated. He integrated that feature into each and every part of the Inn, so each place would genuinely feel unique in every sense.

Moving further away from the crowded areas of the Inn, the kind of decor changed. Instead of lights and music and such designed to entice and invigorate the senses, the focus here was more on nature and natural energies.

Lex was once again limited in his ideas, which included planting blooming cherry blossom and almond trees. Entire fields with trees full of pink and white flowers filled the Inn. Jasmine shrubs were planted in the wild and near winding paths, filling the Inn with their pleasant scent.

The Planning division, who had obviously done their research, took things a step further and gave Lex a list of other flora to add. An entire forest of trees with purple crystal leaves appeared, which grew gems and diamonds instead of fruits.

Massive flowers that were taller than trees with stems thicker than an ordinary man were grown, dotting the landscape. These flowers, which looked awfully similar to sunflowers, grew leaves in a peculiar spiraling design around the stem, acting as a staircase for anyone to climb the top. The natural scent was extremely refreshing and had a natural purifying effect on the environment.

A number of peculiar shrubs were also planted, with yellow and orange-colored leaves instead of green. Yet the color of their leaves was not their peculiarity. No, instead, at night the shrubs would shrink and absorb all their leaves until they formed the shape of a random animal, after which the shrub would relocate.

Furthermore, upon the request of the division, despite Lex's reluctance, he added a number of insects to the Inn. Although previously he had stuck to butterflies, since they were obviously beautiful, this time he added a list of insects which, surprisingly, immediately made the Inn better!

Honey bees and ladybugs Lex was familiar with, but the rest were small and beautiful critters that came from various other planets. They did not look creepy, but instead took the shape of fairies, of flowers, of orbs of light and more.

As if that was not enough, the way they interacted with the plants released a natural accent into the surrounding spiritual energy, hinting at the fact that the Inn was finally developing an ecosystem that was not completely dependent on the system itself.

Of course, none of these plants or insects just randomly appeared. Back when Lex had to bring in animals and trees from Earth, he had to get seeds or bring a few specimens in first before the Inn could replicate them. It was the same now as well, the only difference being the use of the Guild room made it, so he didn't have to source these things himself.

Which was good, because even all of these were just some of the things that went into the preparation for the event. Yet ultimately, through the assistance of the system, the workers and some extra effort on his part, everything went smoothly.

The week finally passed, and only a few hours remained before the event began. A massive crowd had already gathered at the Inn, not that Lex had to cater to them himself.

He was currently focused on keeping his cultivation steady. In his meditation room, a shirtless Lex could be seen balancing his body only on the tip of his middle finger. His body was raised vertically in the air, and beads of sweat rolled down his body as he did continuous push ups with only his finger.

In the background, the camera that was recording him was completely irrelevant, and the tiny spray bottle filled with artificial sweat- eh, the tiny spray bottle filled with water, had absolutely nothing to do with his current actions. Yes, he had merely sprayed water on himself to cool down and not because his incredible, amazing physical prowess made it difficult for him to sweat under normal conditions.

He was merely using physical exercise to keep his body strained and prevent it from breaking through, yes. Lex definitely had not considered starting a calisthenic YouTube page in his free time at all. He really did not have the time for that.