The closer and closer they got to the obstacle course, the greater and greater the pressure the surroundings gave to Lex, to the point where he started to sweat. What was going on? Why did he feel weaker after becoming a Heaven Immortal than he did as an Earth Immortal?

Back then, he could fight above his level and could do as he pleased. Now, after going up a level, not only had he almost died by a random tribulation, but just the ambient pressure of his environment was putting him under great stress!

Fine, yes, it was understandable that anything mimicking the Primordial Garden would not be weak, but wasn't this ridiculous?

"The area you were previously in was greatly weakened because of the addition of a new segment of the realm," Eclipse suddenly said. "A new realm fused with the Primordial Garden, so that creates small areas which haven't fully adapted yet to the laws. The fusion process lasts a few thousand years, creating shallow spots such as the one you were in previously.

"We are now about to enter the Primordial Garden for real. Grit your teeth, we don't want you accidentally biting your tongue off - that happened once when a weaker elder from Ventura came over. He was so shocked that while talking he accidentally bit his tongue off, which was a shame because his tongue was his main combat organ. It was quite embarrassing for him to have to grow it back."

"His tongue as his main weapon?" Lex repeated, in surprise. He was imagining some kind of frog or lizard when Eclipse explained.

"Yeah, he was an Elf named Bard, who said he had the Bard profession," she said. "Basically, he used to talk a lot. He once talked an earthquake into fizzling out, and he was sparkling while he did it. It was quite entertaining"

Lex was trying to imagine that when they entered the garden properly. The pressure on Lex increased drastically causing his skin to tingle and his instincts to go wild. All around him was immense danger, and Lex felt as tiny as an insect. The danger here was genuine, and quite formidable.

In fact, Lex started to feel like he was back in Abaddon, because anything and everything around him could become a source of danger for him. But at least in Abaddon, his opponents would only be of the same realm as him. Over here, that was not the case.

Everything, from the trees, to the grass, to mosquitoes in the air, all of them seemed to be at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm. But more than that, they contained a savage aura, an explosive strength that was quite minacious.

Lex felt suppressed, but his eyes gleamed. Yes, this was the Primordial Garden - a vivarium of the Primordial times. The tingling sensation of death just around the corner, the heavy air, the chaotic energy, all of them excited Lex.

It would be a tragedy if the universe became too easy for him to wade through too quickly. Since he had the privilege of still being weak, he should challenge himself and enjoy it as much as he could. After all, this privilege would not last long.

"I'm suddenly really looking forward to the obstacle course," Lex could not help but confess.

In truth, he realized that he might already be under the Dao Lord's influence. His dropped guard, his constant decisions to do as she suggested, even going as far as coming to her himself. All of this might be the influence of a Dao Lord, meaning he would probably need to go to the Seraphim Resort again to get himself cleansed of a Dao Lords aura. But that wasn't a big deal.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he still probably needed to deal with the issue of the kidnapped Crystal realm, the kidnapped Ventura students, the Kraven, Vinei, and the others. But the necessary people had keys to the Inn, and he could kill Kraven through karma. The students could just return to Ventura with their elders, and if he established a good relationship with the Primordial Garden, that would probably be a good thing for the Inn.

So, he used that as an excuse to put everything else out of his mind and focused on the obstacle course.

It didn't take too long, with Eclipse jumping harder and farther each time, that they reached into what looked like a network of mountains made entirely of crystal. Or perhaps only the surface was made of crystal, because the entire network seemed to be hollow.

What was more surprising was that within the crystal mountain range, Lex could clearly see the Crystal race, working and moving around like ants in a colony. Just the sight of them was enough to reveal that they were having a hard time because the mountain range was also home to a number of other beasts and creatures who were competing with the Crystal race for territory. "This is my Laxilo Display - an area I made so that I could look at and appreciate the growing Laxilo vein. Unfortunately, many years ago I had to use up all the Laxilo ore to refine a treasure for someone, leaving the case empty. These Crystal fellows asked if they could inhabit it, so I let them go in, but they seemed to have trouble with the local species inhabiting the mountain range. "That's when I got the idea. For non-natives of the garden, this underground network is practically an obstacle course from hell, and very hard to traverse. It'd be very interesting to see someone try and conquer it. But I'm not heartless enough to throw people in there just for entertainment, so I've never been able to use it properly? So, what do you say? You interested?"

Lex studied the Crystal Mountain Range for a few seconds, then turned towards Eclipse. From what he recalled, she said she had thirty seven Dao Lords... but she never mentioned Demi-Dao Lords.

"Will all of those Demi-Dao Lords...remain in the obstacle course while I go through?" Lex asked, doing his best from keeping his voice from trembling. After all, there were dozens of Demi-Dao Lords down there. Dozens.