The Innkeeper

Lex had already realized that everything he had accumulated was not necessarily for the best. He used to think that gaining more affinities was beneficial, and while it was to an extent, the price was similarly steep. The worst part was, Lex had so many affinities that as of right now he could not even capitalize on the benefits they should have provided him.

So now he was stuck with the price without gaining any of the benefits. It was as if he bought a hundred manual cars, the bank had sent him the bill with a deadline, but he did not even know how to move his legs, let alone drive!

To be honest, he was navigating his cultivation without proper or systematic guidance, and he often came in contact with amazing opportunities so he could not be blamed for always trying to grab onto them. But it seemed that, sometimes, it was better to give up those opportunities than latch onto them.

He listened to the projection seriously as he was about to discuss the matter regarding his divinity. He did not know why he put so much faith in the projection - it was as if something deep inside of him did not doubt a single word he said, despite the fact that he kept being looked down on.

"If you were anyone else, I would guide you to the path of divinity. There is a predefined, systematic way in which you can transition from cultivating yourself to cultivating divinity. The benefits you get on the path of divinity are tremendous. Not only can you grow your strength at an incomparable speed, but you can also avoid the traditional tribulations you would have to experience.

"Moreover, compared to the average cultivator, a deity is always more powerful and is a lot more versatile. They are also harder to kill, and have longer lifespans. At a glance, it seems like there are only endless benefits and no drawbacks. But the truth is, to someone incredibly talented, such as yourself, the divinity path is a leash, holding you back from fulfilling your true potential.

"First of all, as a deity, your life-force will be inextricably linked to your believers. That means, regardless of how strong you are, if someone targets your believers and kills them all, and your associated belief vanishes, you are at risk of certain death or, at the very least, a severe drop in power! That's because deities don't absorb energy in the normal way. They absorb divine energy channeled to them through their believers.

"Your growth will also be linked to the growth of your associated belief or beliefs. You will also be inevitably trapping yourself, for a deity can only travel either where his or her belief exists, or in special areas filled with divine energy so that it can sustain their existence.

"Although saying such a thing is being too hopeful, deities also have an upper limit to their growth, after which, regardless of how much their belief grows, they will not grow fundamentally stronger. While that limit is too far from you, and there is no guarantee you will ever even reach it, you at least have the potential to do so.

"Much more importantly, someone with the opportunities that you have definitely has the potential to surpass deities on the same level. There is basically no reason for you to make such a transition.

"But the issue is, there are already two distinct traces of divinity on you, and they are both strong enough to be detected. That means that there are two separate beliefs forming around you or your actions, and that your body has already received some of the associated divine energy and begun to form a shell of your divinity. Fortunately, someone or something seems to have absorbed all the divine energy instead of letting it store in your body.

"Despite having an affinity for divinity, if divine energy harnessed from a specific belief begins to store within your body, it will be like poison in your system. It will directly clash with the spiritual energy in your body, and put you at great risk for cultivation deviation! That is why my suggestion to you will be to remove both of those from your body.

"But worry not. Removing them does not mean you will lose out on benefits. Instead, you'll be able to use them even better than you currently can! The divinity will be moved from you to an iconic or symbolic item, which you can then bond with. The items will continue to grow stronger as the belief grows, and can become exceptionally strong weapons or tools if the belief reaches a sufficient level!

"Speaking of bonds, we have completely skipped discussing your bonds so far. There's a reason for that. Typically, bonded items and creatures don't directly increase your own strength. While you have some… unusual bonds, that seems to be the case for you as well. I would not recommend bonding to too many items or beings until you reach the immortal level.

"However… there are still some things we still need to discuss regarding your bonds. I… you, eh, the bond you have with the World Seed Lotus… That is quite an unusual bond, not to mention it is in a partial state. If we can study it, or if you can explain the details to me, we may be able to use this to give you a major boost quite quickly. It can even help in restraining the deity.

"The same is the case with the Fenrir. Actually, Fenrir's are particularly potent against deities, so if it is strong enough, it could be extremely useful. Though, since the temple is focused on human development, I cannot help you strengthen the Fenrir.

"Actually, if your Dragon Treasure spirit has been close to any real dragons, and has absorbed some of their aura, then that could be useful as well. It's almost like you're already halfway into being a Deity Slayer on your own!"