Even in the state of deep slumber, the Celestial Inn was dreaming about the distant past. Everything was much simpler back then, it loved to hear the guests' conversation in the dining hall, or just happily refining Qi Essence that was given by the guest as payment for the services and hospitality.
Tucked in the remote region of the cosmos, surrounded by radiant stars and galaxy, stood a humble building called Celestial Inn atop Chaos Origin Jade Stone, hovering amidst the vast space.
Numerous top grade Immortals, Empyreans, Transcended Spiritual Beasts and many high born cultivators flew here from far and beyond to celebrate One Millionth Birthday of the man renowned for his wisdom and benevolence, he wasn't the strongest, but highly respected by many. He was widely known as the Immortal Sage, the Innkeeper who had refined and protected the Celestial Inn since the day it chose him as its master.
Since the Celestial Inn's dining hall and courtyard was already too crowded, they wouldn't mind throwing their own party on the Celestial Inn's premises. Most of these powerful deities and goddesses were at the Transcendent Dao Stage, the pinnacle of Third Step Cultivation Rites before entering godhood.
Due to their immense power and actual mass of their mere existence, the dust and gas in the space around them began to be drawn in by their own gravitational force, causing nuclear fusion as the atoms collided with their Qi Fluctuations. In the eyes of mortals who observed these phenomenons from millions light-years away with limited devices and knowledge, they might have mistaken these deities as stars or planets.
Their individual might and strength were enough to shatter an entire planet with a single flick, extinguish a star with a single huff, and even give birth to countless beings with a single drop of their blood.
However, none of them have any slightest idea of causing disorder within a radius of one hundred light-years away due to the Celestial Inn's powerful restrictions. Anybody who dared disturb the Celestial Inn's peacefulness would be banished. Worse, they would be hunted down by these powerful beings once the party was over.
Inside the main dining hall, joyous laughter and colorful Qi Fluctuations filled the main dining hall. The guests emptied their cups of wine in one gulp, some of them lifted the entire wine pot above their heads and drank the content in one go.
Meanwhile, dozens of beautiful musicians from Joyful Melody Sect played the instruments masterfully. The beautiful disciples of Dual Qi Sect danced to the music with alluring movement and transparent dresses, entertaining the male guests in hope of receiving their grace and blessing in the bedroom.
"Bottom up! Bottom up!"
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
The brawny man with a big hulking body drank the entire pot of wine yet he showed no sign of passing out just yet. On the other hand, his drinking opponents were utterly wasted, dropping to the floor like broken twigs.
Brewed by the Immortal Sage himself, this wine was renowned for its Cosmic Soul Nurturing property, but the intoxication level was something no ordinary being could handle. If consumed by mortal practitioners below Soul Manifestation Realm, one drop was enough to make them lose their soul and explode due to the immense Qi Essence in the wine.
In the mortal world, one sip of this wine would be considered as a heaven-defying treasure, but here, they could drink it as they wish without end as if they were drinking it straight from the river.
"Hahaha! Little Sister Hongye! Bring more Celestial Bamboo Wine to table! Tonight's drink is on me! Hahaha!" The big, brawny expert donned in a golden cuirass extended his hand, voluntarily squeezed out a small portion of his vast Transcendent Qi Essence to the crystal ball amidst the hall to pay the balance.
"Coming! Coming!" The cute and petite servant wearing white hanfu emerged from the kitchen, bringing everyone's pots of wine on the table.
She was a mortal cultivator at a mere Soul Manifestation Stage who was brought up by the Immortal Sage from a Rank 5 Cultivation World, and she was beloved by the patrons for her look and outstanding wit. In a Mortal Cultivation World, Soul Manifestation Stage was considered as a king or an ancestor of a martial sect or a clan, but in this dimension, anyone below Deity Transformation Stage was an ant compared to these godlike entities.
However, It's an unwritten rule amongst the patrons of the Celestial Inn that every maidservants who worked in this establishment were their little sisters, and must be protected at all cost whether in working hours or outside the Inn.
"Hehe, Little Sister Hongye, your cultivation stage has advanced again?! Your talent is indeed very profound, you jumped from Early Stage to Mid Stage Soul Transformation in just 100 days the last time I met you!"
"Surely you jest, Lord Immortal Elephant. For me, as a mere mortal, a hundred years have passed since the last time we met."
"Right, our sense of time is different! Hahaha, Immortal Sage is truly lucky to have you as his servant. Little Sister Hongye, I know you wouldn't want to be a servant for the rest of your life in the Celestial Inn, right? How about coming with me to the Spirit Beast Realm once you reach Deity Transformation? I'll personally look after you and ensure your path to become a goddess!"
Hongye smiled faintly as she shook her head. "Thank you for your kind offer, Lord Immortal Elephant. However… I prefer to forge my own path. Becoming Immortal Sage's servant is one of my cultivation rites after all."
"Lord Immortal Elephant is right, Xiao Hong… Better yet, you'll be our princess! It would be our greatest honor to house Immortal Sage's disciple in our palace!" One of the big guy's subordinates teased her a little bit.
Hongye was adamant with her standing point. She wouldn't abandon her Cultivation Path over a worldly desire such as a princess in the Spiritual Beast Realm.
However, before the Elephant Beast muttered another sentence, a man's voice deeply resonated in the dining hall, silencing the rowdy guests at once. Even the musicians and the dancers paused their work, bowing and offering their greetings towards the Innkeeper who walked down the aisle calmly.
His Qi Fluctuations as an Eternal Paragon God spread outward like endless waves of Qi that could flood even an entire mortal planet, killing the inhabitants instantly.
"Little Elephant, seems like you have enjoyed my Celestial Bamboo Wine a little too much…"
The thin and tall old man stood poisedly, his white hair tied into a single bun, secured with a hairpin. His eyes calmly panned over the guests as he walked into the hovering crystal ball in the middle while stroking his long white beard.
His plain white hanfu added his unreachable, godly aura. Nobody would believe that this old man was a mortal for once.
The big guy stood up, walking towards the aisle and offered his sincere greetings. "Junior greets the Immortal Sage. Happy one millionth birthday to you, Immortal Sage!"
"Long live Immortal Sage!"
"Long live Immortal Sage!"
The other guests soon followed their gesture and expressed their sincere congratulatory words one after another.
Nevertheless, Immortal Sage always kept himself low-profile, and never appeared arrogant. It's just how he was for countless years.
Immortal Sage chuckled lightly. "Haha, thank you, everyone. As the Innkeeper of the Celestial Inn, I humbly extend my gratitude for your countless years of patronage. Therefore, to commemorate this joyous day, I and Celestial Inn have agreed to open the rooms for one hundred days without charge! Of course, everybody must adhere to our rules and maintain the harmony of each dimension where you cultivate. Otherwise, you'll be trapped there for eternity!"
"Is that really alright, Immortal Sage?!"
"Yes, now get in there before I change my mind."
Everybody was smiling. 100 days cultivating inside the Celestial Inn's rooms for free was equivalent to 100 years cultivation in the outside world.
Meanwhile, Immortal Sage looked down, his Spiritual Sense eventually reached the Zenith Immortal Realm which was already in preparation for war against each other. It was an inevitable conclusion, even after ascending to the higher realms, they couldn't resist the worldly temptation to prove themselves as the strongest by violent means.
Immortal Sage sighed dejectedly, shaking his head. "Countless worlds, countless desires yet to be sated. Everything will eventually end in a full circle."
*****
"Ahh, what a joyful memory, how long has it been? One million years, perhaps? I can't tell anymore… I hope Immortal Sage and the regular guests are okay and able to reincarnate themselves after the bloody war that destroyed Zenith Immortal Realm…" Celestial Inn mused inwardly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Celestial Inn jolted awake from its beautiful dreams when a sudden explosion resounded from above the mountain where it was buried to avoid being found by top rank deities of outer dimension.
"Those damn humans again, why can't they resolve their problems like civilized beings? Haiya, forget it, these mortal men are all morons after all." Celestial Inn muttered, trying to enter its slumber once again.
But alas, the sound of explosion was getting louder and louder, forcing the Celestial Inn to extend its Spiritual Sense to the ground surface to see what was happening.
Within a minute, it found the source of the disorder at the high cliff of Taichung Peak. Celestial Inn eventually spotted a mere Vein Awakening practitioner being chased down by
numerous Meridian Tempering experts.
If the Celestial Inn had a corporeal body, it must have been shaking its head in pity.
"Sigh… Strong bully the weak, and the weak could do nothing but begging for mercy. Humans still do the same regardless of what world they were born into."
The power disparity between two Cultivation Realms was indeed too great. Theoretically, Vein Awakening Realm couldn't hold a candle against Meridian Tempering experts. However, the young man who was being chased down by stronger enemies was not slowing down at all. He covered one kilometer distance in a single leap.
But heaven would not spare the weak.
In just a flash, a Spirit Core Expert flew above him, cutting his escape route in one fell swoop! With just a kick to his abdomen, his meridian was completely destroyed. The young man coughs out a mouthful of blood, but his fury and anger burn brightly in his eyes.
The young man Wei Yan grimaced in pain, holding his chest so his heart would not collapse. "Darn it! I can't shake them off even with my Wind Tiger Feet!"
"Wei Yan… Hand over the Marriage Certificate so Lu Muwan could officially marry Young Master Teng Guoqiang," said the old man whose cultivation stage was at Spirit Core Realm.
"Hmph!" Wei Yan snorted. "I would rather die to maintain her dignity! Teng Guoqiang may have Lu Muwan's body, but not with her heart and soul!"
"Hahaha!" The old man laughed haughtily while hovering in the sky. "Pride, dignity, and honor means nothing in front of absolute power! However, I am not someone who would bully the weak. All of this farce is just good business. Now, hand over the Marriage Certificate, and I will let you live!"
"If that's the case, you have to kill me first!"
"As you wish!"
The old man blinked forward in a flash and killed Wei Yan by destroying his Spiritual Root and central meridian which was located at his navel. By doing this, not only did he kill Wei Yan physically, it also destroyed his soul, making him unable to be reincarnated.
The old man tossed Wei Yan to the side after taking a red and gold scroll from the fold of Wei Yan's clothes.
"We get the Marriage Certificate. Let's get out of here." The old man muttered coldly. There was no remorse in his eyes.
"Yes, Elder Teng Shen!"
At this moment, the Celestial Inn recognized the surname and it stirred something inside its very being. However, as a Heavenly Sentient Treasure, it can't meddle with mortals' fate.
Even so, the Celestial Inn was able to grasp the general situation with its Supreme Rank Spiritual Sense. It's impossible for these low grade mortal practitioners to feel its presence even at close proximity.
"Tsk, tsk… Poor man, he hasn't had the chance to consummate his wife after their wedding day, yet she was stolen from him by force. Now, he has to die a virgin. It must hurt him greatly."
Unbeknownst to those men, Wei Yan was actually still breathing, his soul refusing to leave his body just yet due to the strong feeling for his wife.
"Heaven and earth are so merciless. Wan'er… I am sorry… I couldn't avenge you, the Teng Clan is too powerful! I will break you free in my next lifetime. I promise!" Until the last word had escaped his mouth, his soul eventually left his body, faded away into nothingness.
Afterward , something stirred inside Celestial Inn's consciousness. When its deep resentment was awakened and collided with Wei Yan's vengeful intent, The Celestial Inn vaguely remembered who killed its original master.
"Now I remember… My master was killed by the Heavenly Primarchs Pavilion one hundred years before that catastrophic war! And Teng Clan is one of many families in the Pavilion. It seems like fate truly works in a very mysterious yet also childish way. Hahaha!"
When the two powerful resentment aligned, the Celestial Inn decided to transfer its consciousness into the young man's dead body.
Afterward, Celestial Inn deconstructed and refined its building-esque appearance into a golden key inside the body in order to replace the Central Meridian, healing the organs and so on. Fortunately, the Five-element Spiritual Root was still intact.
Soon after the assimilation was completed, the Innkeeper System fired up once again after a million years of dormancy!
[Rebooting Supreme Innkeeper System]
Reboot Completed!
Transferring Consciousness into a new vessel…
Transfer Completed
Confirming new identity
Name: Wei Yan
Race: N/A
Spirit Root: Five Elements Roots
Cultivation Stage: N/A
Awakening Type: N/A
Elemental Affinity: N/A]
[Celestial Inn is now the master of itself!]
[Warning! Your new form will not be approved by Heavenly Court if they find out!]
"To hell with those hypocrites' rules! Now, I am now masterless nor will I ever accept one! And I shall avenge my late master's death or I will cease to exist!"