Lex felt like he was in a dream. One of the things he had feared so much, for so long, was his identity as the Innkeeper being exposed. Now, the tea party had not even begun, and not only was his identity already exposed - at least to one person - but he'd already witnessed the immense friction between powerful forces.

He had no idea how he was going to get through the rest of the tea party, nor could he focus on that ordeal at the moment. Whether he liked it or not, he was thoroughly in the palms of this serpent lady. Although he had already heard Ventura referring to her as Nuwa, he dared not address her as such. Nuwa shook her head, and looked at Lex, studying him.

"You already know who I am," she stated directly, not bothering with a self introduction. "You may not know much else, but have at least gathered that I am protecting you - I have done as much now, and I have been doing so for a very long time already. You are not entirely to blame, since you seem to cause a universal phenomenon every time you progress your cultivation level.

"Thus, I have obscured your fate and your identity. I have kept you from detection by beings who would view your entire existence as a toy. Even now, I have established a connection between you and I in front of those two so that you may have a modicum chance of survival in the long term. Do you know why I have done so much?"

Lex had an urge to crack a joke about her saving him because he had killer lemonade, but Nuwa's lips wavered, as if she sensed his intentions and didn't give him an opportunity to actually answer.

"I have done so much because I consider you an investment," she informed him solemnly, not a trace of humor in her expression. "You have great potential, and if you can ever reach the Dao Lord realm, you can become a worthy asset. But this is the last time I will help you, besides hiding your traces during your ascension to the Celestial realm. Hence forth, I advise that you take all actions with great prudence.

"Even 1, with my power, with my influence, have spent the last two ages in hiding, not attracting attention. It is not because I enjoy the tranquility, but because this universe is at war! Not the new wars, involving the major realms, but a hidden war that has transcended the ages, occurring in the shadows."

Nuwa seemed genuinely agitated as she talked about the war, as if she was distracted by something. After a couple of moments, she recomposed herself, and stared back into Lex's eyes.

"The waters in this universe run deep. No one knows who all the players are, and not a single one of these top powers can be trusted because they may say one thing, but will be plotting something else behind your back. Remember this, no matter what you do, no matter how things progress, even if I never acted out to protect you, you will always be considered a member of my faction by the other powers - even as they entice you to join them.

"I see that you seem to have a good relationship with the spider, but do not lower your guard. One of the reasons that the secrets of the Primordial Age are kept so well is because very few Dao Lords, and even fewer Immortals from that age survived past it to share the details. She played a great role in that as well. This realm, her garden, is made from the corpses of countless Primordial beings. How else could she set the foundation for a realm that can endlessly create Primordial Energy? So you see, she is not as harmless as you treat her to be"

Lex shrugged.

"I never considered her to be harmless," he explained. "I am just going off of how she treats me. I think someone like me is not adequately qualified to question the motives and thoughts of such powerful beings. I can only act and react on face value."

The thing was, Lex did not always have the option to do as he wished. The system was especially adept at forcing his hand, so even if he understood the concepts of prudence and caution, he did not always have the luxury of adhering to them.

"My knowledge of the upper tiers of the universe is also limited. I have to often face much stronger beings, unaware of how I might provoke them. The easy thing to do would be to avoid them, but often even that is not up to me. If you could guide me on how I can avoid attracting their attention, maybe I could stop getting into trouble," Lex concluded.

Of course, his conclusion only received a look of disdain.

"If you want to avoid attracting attention, then stop doing your level best to get yourself killed," she stated. "You are a good investment, but if I have to

constantly nanny you, then you are no better than a liability."

Lex smiled wryly. Although the Innkeeper acted aloof of any worldly concerns, Lex could not be like that.

"I sincerely thank you for all the protection you have given me. If there comes a day where I can repay you, then I will surely do my utmost," Lex said, bowing sincerely towards Nuwa.

The half woman, half serpent had her expression soften as she watched Lex, and then shook her head.

A small secret that very few knew about her was that the title she had gained of Mother Nuwa was not because she created all the humanoid races, but because she had a soft, motherly heart - a critical weakness that had been taken advantage of before as well.

"If you want to do something for me, then stay alive, and keep getting stronger," she said eventually with a softened tone. "You don't need to mind the Humanoid Alliance, or care about such things. Although there is a secret war going on, it is secret because beings like me are currently restricted in this universe. As long as you stop purposefully provoking trouble, I can grant you safety until the end of the Dawn Era."

Something Nuwa refrained from mentioning was that even she did not know how long the Dawn Era would last. That was something only Eclipse could answer, for only she held the abillity to start the next Era. The Primordial Garden not only sealed her own power, but in a way acted as a seal on the growth of the universe itself.

Whether she was keeping this Era going was because she was protecting the universe, or because she had her own hidden agendas was something only she

could answer.