The Innkeeper

The spirit crystal mountains were a magnificent sight. Though there was dirt and various kinds of vegetation covering the mountains, the clear crystals were visible prominently from every corner.

If you looked deep within the crystal, you would only see a distant darkness, but on surface level it was a mesmerizing sight, nevertheless. The energy concentration here was also extremely high. It was to the point where Lex was almost certain even a normal Foundation realm cultivator would not be able to tolerate it.

Heck, even Lex himself felt slightly uncomfortable so close to the mountain - or he would, if he removed the Host Attire. The air was 'thick' almost, and the wind had a texture which was something he could not wrap his head around.

But that hardly mattered. This entire mountain, and everything on it, including even the dirt, was extremely valuable. The grass growing here was almost transparent, with only the lightest green hue, but was better and more valuable than natural treasures that grew in other places.

These were extremely premium goods, and one would need to be at the very least in the Golden core realm to tolerate them. For example, if tea was made using these grass leaves, then traditional Foundation realm cultivators would explode upon drinking them.

Of course, this was only Lex's own analysis based on his knowledge. It would take proper study to explore the benefits and limits of just this grass alone, not to mention the trees, fruits and vegetables found growing on this mountain. Heck, Lex was pretty certain that if he took a handful of the dirt here and auctioned it at the Infinity Emporium, it would sell for an immense amount.

But that did not matter to Lex. Why would he need money now that he had literal mountains of spirit stones? No, what he needed now was much more valuable.

He teleported away, and reappeared around 1600 feet (500 meters) below the mountain in a small, underground cavern.

The cavern, though naturally formed, had an unusual shape in that it was a long, narrow corridor that moved in a spiraling pattern towards the center. For the first time ever, Lex felt like he was being exposed to one of the characters he used to make arrays in nature.

Although Lex had seen these characters used in architecture, he had never been able to find them in nature, which is where they're supposed to exist. In fact, they're supposed to be so common that they exist in everything he has ever seen or touched. But, for whatever reason, Lex had never found them - until now.

Instead of appearing directly in the middle, Lex appeared at the beginning of the cavern and walked its length. With the Host Attire on, he was not worried about getting stuck in some kind of trap.

Instead, he tried to study the character, and try and guess what meaning it was associated with. There was a small puddle of spirit elixir on the ground that he was walking above - it would be a shame if he dipped his shoes in something so valuable.

Strangely, Lex encountered no obstacle. Perhaps if he had not been wearing the suit he would have, but he was not interested in experimenting at the moment. When he reached the end of the spiral, he found a naturally formed bowl made entirely of diamond, filled to the brim with a milky liquid.

Right above it was a crystal stalactite extending down from the roof of the cavern, all the way down till it nearly touched the liquid in the bowl. If anyone else were to come here they would have no way of knowing, but Lex knew that this bowl was directly under the very peak of the mountain above it.

A warm, yellow glow filled the stalactite, as if carrying light from the very tip all the way down to these dark tunnels, and on its very tip, the light seemed to condense into a liquid. A drop was still forming on the tip, and eventually it would fall into the bowl.

Lex's body, which had grown tremendously strong during his training at the temple, began to react towards the liquid. His instincts woke up, and were causing him to crave the liquid as if he were on the verge of dying from thirst, and had encountered a heavenly oasis. Its scent, so pleasant and subtle, enticed him to take just a sip.

But as appealing as it was, this was not Lex's primary goal, though he did plan on taking some with him when he departed.

His goal was something hidden within the pool of milky elixir. Using his spirit sense, since he didn't want to accidentally spill some of the elixir if he used his hand, he reached into the bowl and took hold of a small, intricately designed necklace that seemed to have formed naturally.

Even the string around it was made from metal he did not recognize, but gave off a profound aura - as if it were the most valuable thing in the world.

"Milk of the mountain," Mary muttered in awe, as she appeared on his shoulder. "This is good stuff. But I don't recommend you have more than a drop of it before you become an immortal. How much of this you can absorb is limited, and it would be too wasteful to have it now."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lex nodded as he began to lift the necklace. It was surprisingly heavy, straining him.

"Can you… can you set aside a drop for me as well? To create my body, I mean."

"No problem," he replied. "This is only the second item you've asked for to create your body with. Just how high quality is the body you're trying to make?"

"It's not about high quality," she answered, with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "If I want to recreate a body from my original race, this is just the bare minimum of what I'll need. Even if I succeed, the body will probably be akin to the one I had as a child, at most. Probably not even that, if I'm being realistic."

"What- what was your actual race?" Lex asked, stunned. It never occurred to him that she wasn't human.

"I was a Celestial."