"I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was coming to the Inn," said the Celestial to his partner. "But it certainly wasn’t this. Look up. Do you see that rain? That’s Rose Fragment Essence. It’s usually found in newborn realms that have a lot of vegetation. It is theorized that it makes realms more fertile, though it’s never been proven. I’ve never seen so much of it before. It usually evaporates into the realm long before most can even encounter it."

"What does any of that have to do with the auction?" the partner asked, not even remotely interested in anything else.

"Oh, come on, don’t tell me you’re not even the slightest bit interested in the Midnight Inn after everything we’ve been hearing down at the Humanoid Alliance," the Celestial said. "Not to mention, just the fact that it’s raining Rose Fragment Essence is interesting on its own. This is blatant terraforming of the realm right in front of our eyes. How often do you get to see something like that? I did a thirty-decade thesis for my masters on Realm Environment Alteration, and the only thing I had access to as research were hypothetical projections and models created by the A.I."

The partner looked at the Celestial with a deep, nauseated look, and then turned back to the auction, and raised his plaque card to indicate that he was bidding. Raising without mentioning the price meant that he bid the minimum amount required to bid. He really wanted to get his hands on that Locust Compost. Despite its name, the item could actually forcefully degrade any material added to it for composting.

Although the effect was straightforward, the realworld utility of it was mindblowing! That could basically speed up the breakdown of materials from millions of years to mere hundreds of thousands of years! Compared to some stupid, unknown rose rain water or whatever, this is what he

cared about.

The Celestial shook his head and turned back to look up at the rain, studying the way it dissolved and the effects it had on the surrounding environment. Such short term observation would not yield any real results. If he could sit here and study the influence this particular rain had over the next dozen decades or so, only then would he begin to grasp at the finer details of how it affected a newborn realm.

Believe it or not, such opportunities were rare in the universe, despite the abundance of smaller realms. The number of realms that were developing but likely wouldn’t reach full maturity was actually absurdly large. But the circumstances in each of them were so different, and getting access to them was usually so difficult that it wasn’t worth it.

One time, the Celestial wanted to go to a developing realm owned by some company not really worth mentioning. The visa application for it was so stringent, it asked for all travel history for the past 50 million years and all affiliations with any warring factions, intentions of undergoing any tribulations and so much else that he just gave up. It totally wasn’t worth it.

"Well, I’ll take it that you’re handling the auction then, so I’ll head off to do the other mission," the Celestial said, to which his partner grunted.

The Celestial rolled his eyes, but then withdrew his aura entirely, and summoned one of the Inn workers. Although it looked like the Celestial was here for the auction, that was just a front. In truth, the Humanoid Alliance had sent him here with another mission - one that he could not let others know about, so he had to wait till the auction began.

"Dear guest, how can I help you?" said the worker who came in - a mere Nascent realm human, yet she remained completely unbothered by his status or cultivation level. It was quite an interesting phenomenon he’d observed in the Midnight Inn. It almost made him want to spend a few centuries here studying the development of mortals from birth to maturity to see how an environment free from pressure affected the development of their psychology. Unfortunately, he was on the clock.

"Please deliver this to the Innkeeper," the Celestial said, handing over a simple letter. "Let him know that this is from the Humanoid Alliance. And keep this matter between us, will you?"

"Of course," the worker said, before taking the letter and teleporting away.

"The teleportation in the Inn is so interesting," the Celestial commented. "They don’t utilize any space laws, and they don’t leave any trace either. It’s quite convenient for covert missions."

The Celestials’ partner groaned, but didn’t say anything. Since they’d been partners for so long, they were well aware of each other’s quirks. One was a total academic, with dreams of becoming a researcher at a university, and one was brutally practical, only caring about what he could actually use in his own life. Unfortunately for him, the Celestial hadn’t yet fulfilled all the criteria to take on a research position in any respectable institution. Working for the alliance would help fulfil his universal exposure credits though.

A few minutes later, the same worker reappeared.

"The Innkeeper is requesting your presence," he said. "If you’d like, I can bring you right to his office."

The Celestial nodded, and allowed himself to be teleported away, directly into the Innkeepers office. He couldn’t afford to be seen anywhere else, which is why he had to be teleported directly in. He’d heard about how typically entering the Innkeepers office required crossing some kind of trial. The Celestial couldn’t help but wonder how the trial worked.

Yet he didn’t have time to ponder for too long as he appeared directly in the office, right in front of the Innkeeper who seemed to be waiting for him.

"Innkeeper, I hope you do not mind my intrusion," the Celestial said, bowing deeply.

"Please, disperse with these formalities. Take a seat. I’m quite interested to hear why you think I would be able to help you with your task."

The Celestial sat down, as instructed, and pulled out another letter - one he was supposed to deliver with his own hands.

"I believe this should explain everything."

The Innkeeper gave an amused smile, before taking the letter and sitting down at his chair. Smoothly, he pulled out a letter opener and removed the wax seal - the one that contained the aura of a Dao Lord.

The Celestial gulped, and at the same time couldn’t help but look at the letter opener. He wondered what it was made of.