Pelagor led Lex towards the center of the realm, though this time they did not rush at all. The land surrounding the Shell had been turned into a retribution, and crossing it was far from simple. He dared not be careless.
Lex, too, took this obstacle quite seriously because Pelagor and explained to him in detail what to expect. Unlike the previous retribution he faced, which only became more difficult because he taunted it, this one actively became stronger based on his actions.
His durability, his speed, his strategy all contributed to making the retribution stronger in a targeted manner for its sole goal was to eliminate him. Moreover, this retribution was perpetual, and wouldn’t go away with time. The only way to resolve it was to pass through it as quickly as possible, except that doing so was detrimental to Lex in this scenario.
Since Lex would need to pass it to reach the shell, and then he would have to pass it again to exit, if he used his fastest speed from the beginning, the land would adapt to counter that speed.
Thus, he would need to begin by only being slightly faster than the retribution land itself, and continuously increase the ability he demonstrated so that it would not improve too much. Abilities such as teleportation, whether through space or other laws, were especially lethal, because the retribution lands were especially sensitive to them, and would react in pletely insidious ways to sabotage the attempt.
If he succeeded it was all well and good, but if he failed his situation would instantly turn dire. According to one rumor within the stronghold, there was a person once who tried to teleport out of a retribution land. Instead of stopping him, the retribution land changed his coordinates and sent him deep within the lands filled with Dao level resources. The only reason that person survived was because, incidentally, he landed in front of the Fortune Lord.
There was no way of knowing whether this rumor was true or false, but most treated it as true and Lex did not wish to test it out using his own life.
"This is the edge," said Pelagor as he stopped suddenly, though Lex could see no defining differences between the normal realm and the retribution land. "The shell is in the altar in the middle, and the altar itself is a sort of safe zone, but until then you’ll have to be careful."
Lex nodded, and then stood up. It was time for him to prove himself.
He stepped forward without hesitation, and instantly he felt the difference, even though everything looked the same as before. Everything, from the ground underneath his feet to the air and the energy around him, suddenly became hostile towards Lex. Yet, much to his surprise, no attack came. The danger land did not react to his presence at all, and the very lack of any action troubled Lex.
He moved forward, warily, and yet nothing happened. Even Pelagor was confused, though he did not say anything lest he distract Lex.
With every slow, steady step forward, Lex felt that the hostility towards him was increasing, yet nothing happened even so. Lex did not stop, nor did he increase his speed. He simply walked through the barren land, over the mounds of rubble, over the petrified lake, towards the altar in the middle.
At first the altar was not visible at all, but after a few hours it finally entered his line of sight as he climbed a hill. Ten pillars held up a dome shaped roof, with a marble pedestal in the center. Even from afar, Lex could see the black colored shell on the pedestal, and it was no bigger than a fingernail.
It was hard to believe that such a tiny thing had caused such a huge fuss, yet it was undeniable. The Primordial aura could not replace Primordial energy, yet the aura alone here felt just as thick as the Primordial Garden. If that was the case, Lex could not even imagine what its intensity would be up close. As for why the retribution land was not attacking him, Lex had no clue, and he had no intentions of lingering to find out.
Even up until the very end, nothing happened, though Lex had suspected all along that the land would strike at the very last moment. Since that did not happen, Lex could only assume that the trap would only be sprung on his return journey.
He didn’t mind the ease with which he reached his target, but he also didn’t like the fact that the retribution land seemed to display some form of strategy. Just to be sure, Lex checked and then double checked his memory as well as his spirit to make sure that he wasn’t under some kind of spell or illusion, but that did not seem to be the case.
He stopped thinking about it and approached the black colored shell instead. This thing... if he could manage to replicate its ability for himself, or in his necklace, then Lex’s survivability would skyrocket.
Dao aura, or radiation, was one of the most dangerous things in existence for him - mainly because if he directly faced a Dao Lord it would equate directly to death making the level of danger irrelevant.
If he followed the instructions on how to use this shell given to him by Pelagor, he would only be able to replicate its ability to a limited extent, and only once. That would be a supreme waste of such a treasure. Of course, if he tried something else and didn’t gain that remarkable ability, he would not only waste this trip but he would need to retrieve Pelagor’s desired resource without the protection of the shell’s ability.
Lex stepped through the pillars and towards the podium, deciding to study the shell up close first. There was no rush, he could take his time. If he could use divine energy to somehow inscribe this ability inside his necklace...
Lex crossed his legs and sat in the air right in front of the shell, focusing on it and trying to learn everything about it that he could.
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