The Innkeeper

Chapter 1263  Insight

The plan to bring down Sanguis Pluvia could not be simple. It was clear that they were working with the Fuegan to fight the Henali, and could possibly even be a part of the Fuegan themselves. The reasons behind their attacks against the Origin realm were unknown, but it was a fact that they had managed to hide from the Henali.

Lex did not, for a moment, think that he was stronger or even smarter than a Dao Lord - any Dao Lord. The only advantage he had working for him, according to the research he had done, was that Sanguis Pluvia were focused solely on hiding from Dao Lords, and did not consider anyone else a threat at all.

That made sense, in a way. If they could even hide from Dao Lords, then how could those weaker than Dao Lords ever possibly find them?

Lex had a theory, and it began with plotting everything within the Midnight Inn. The separation of an entire realm, not to mention the protection of the Inns own Destiny level formation, created the possibility that all of Lex's plans would remain undetected.

That is why, while not all, a majority of Lex's secret meetings occurred within the Inn.

The second thing was finding a way to their core base or bases, discovering their most important members. Whether they themselves had Celestial level cultivators, or if they could borrow them from the Fuegan, was unknown. But what was known was that they left no traces.

Even after the Inn workers infiltrated countless bases, they could not find any information about the core operations and personnel of the terrorist group. They only found hints and traces of their upcoming actions.

So then how could Lex get to the heart of the organization? Lex's anger, held firmly within, yearned to be let out but that could never happen until Lex caught and killed not only Damian, but the whole organization backing him.

Lex studied the history and activity pattern of Sanguis Pluvia, and discovered one vulnerability. For the most part, the organization operated in silence. They may strike and devastate a country, or a star system, or even more, and never be discovered unless by accident. Yet that was not true for all of it. There was one who took great pleasure in being known, in being hunted, and in fooling everyone time and time again.

It was Jeffrey. Not only did he like to cause a big scene, he always wanted to be recognized for his work, and yet somehow continued to evade the best of efforts to capture him. Considering that the Henali, an organization that could rule an entire realm, were unable to find him meant that the resources being used to ensure he remained hidden were massive.

Lex didn't know if Jeffrey was doing this because he was willful, or if this was a deliberate plan by Sanguis Pluvia. Either way, it was evident that he held an important position within it.

So he became Lex's target. Of course, it was pure luck that Lex encountered Jeffrey within the Trails of Eternity, but even if he hadn't, Lex had plans in place to slowly find him.

Now that everything was in place, Lex just needed to continuously push Jeffrey to the breaking point, forcing him to reveal more and more of Sanguis Pluvia's secrets.

No interrogation would yield results, of that Lex was certain, so instead he used an approach where Jeffrey revealed everything on his own. By pushing him to the limits of his sanity, but not quite killing him, Lex could get him to reveal greater and greater secrets.

Of course, this plan wasn't fool proof. Nothing ever was. But all the evidence pointed towards the fact that Jeffrey was not an ordinary member of the organization, and so Lex was willing to bet on it.

Even if he wasn't, Lex would squeeze him until he was drained, and make Sanguis Pluvia feel some pain. Then, he would find a way to eradicate them eventually.

Jeffrey crushed his locket, and suddenly Jeffrey's cultivation began to skyrocket. This was not some kind of artificial boost, but rather a sign that he had been suppressing it on purpose.

Since the real Lex was still hidden from detection, and was still touching Jeffrey, causing him to suffer from mild illusions, he noticed that a part of the seal within his mind crumbled. This was both interesting and a little disappointing.

Lex immediately read through a number of Jeffrey's memories, but at the same time, he was pushed away.

Jeffrey suddenly went from being in the middle of the Earth Immortal realm to the peak of it! Moreover, his new memories insinuated that Jeffrey himself did not know much of his past, or even his own secrets.

They had been locked away for unknown reasons. Lex still did not get to the bottom of things, but he did learn some interesting things. Sanguis Pluvia was ruled by someone that Jeffrey referred only to as Her majesty.

Lex hadn't been able to get any more information, but even that was pretty good. He also discovered some tidbits about Jeffrey's own secrets that were hidden in the now unsealed part of his brain.

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS YOU MAGGOT!" Jeffrey roared, his wyvern body growing larger as more power funneled into it. With burning red eyes he looked towards Lex's illusion, but he wasn't there.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!" he declared, a feeling of pride swelling within his chest. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his neck, and Jeffrey's vision began to change.

He saw his own body, and he saw Lex, casually sitting on Jeffrey's back holding his sword.

"Who the hell is hiding from you?" Lex scoffed. "I'm a little disappointed. I knew you were a demented little worm, but who knew that you don't just make clones of others. Even you, yourself, are just a clone. I wonder where the real you is."