Nuwa had already warned him not to trust anyone, including Eclipse. Although he certainly liked Eclipse's attitude, and she had done nothing to make him suspect her even in the slightest, the immense disparity between them made it so that Lex needed to be cautious regardless of the situation.

The same was true for all the other Dao Lords. If he wanted to fish for information, he subsequently needed to offer something in return. While he would do his best to gather information slowly without having to pay for it, he needed to prepare just in case he had to pay.

His mind went towards the Heavens puppet. He had an active quest which could turn the Heavens Puppet into a one-time use weapon, or reveal a forbidden secret about Arch-Heaven, or reveal a forgotten history about the Primordial Age.

The issue was that he wasn't sure how powerful a weapon the angel could be. If it could rival a Dao Lord, he'd keep it for that. If it couldn't, then it would be useless. Even if it could attack Demi-Dao Lords, he had the Butter Knife for that.

Besides that, he had to determine whether a secret about the Primordial Age, or Arch-Heaven were more useful to the other Dao Lords. Personally, he would rather stay away from any secrets about the Primordial Age. He felt he was too weak to dabble in such matters.

"I have heard rumors that the Path of Chaos is behind the wars," Ballom said, responding to the Primal. "I don't mean the puppet races that act as grunts for the Path of Chaos, I mean the true agents of the Path of Chaos."

The Primal shook his head.

"These rumors are naive. Who, besides the Tower of Providence, strictly adheres to those distinctions? I would be willing to bet money that there are many forces consciously cooperating with agents from the Path of Chaos. Why does it matter who they work with as long as they can get what they want? Unless there's a major reshuffling of the powers in the universe, I doubt this war will end soon."

What the Primal said made sense. The history of the universe was too long, and the strongest organisations had existed, at the very least, from the beginning of the Enlightenment Age, right after the Primordial Age ended. As such, these forces had a long time to accumulate resources, weapons and tools.

Now, these forces sought to transform those resources into personal power before the universe progressed into its next stage.

But even that was merely the surface level reason for the wars. Lex was absolutely certain that behind these wars were even greater reasons. After all, Lex was discussing this conflict from the level of a Dao Lord, but it was already confirmed that there were forces in this universe above that level.

Heck, Nuwa, Ventura and the Henali ruler were three such entities that he had personally met. There was also that entity that Henali ruler had mentioned - the one whose mere mention nearly caused an outright battle. Who knew how many more of such beings there were in the universe?

If even Nuwa was hiding from them, then it was certain that however many they were, they were at the very least as strong as her, if not stronger!

"There's still hope. If the war can be contained, then the situation can still be redeemed. Once the situation escalates to the point where even Dao Lords can die, there will be no heading back," said Ballom, shaking his head.

"We all need to make preparations. Does the Versalis bank have services regarding the war?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Not yet, but a few plans are in the works," the Primal answered. "The life insurance policy for Dao Lords will be our first priority to ensure the continued survival of a Dao Lord's descendants if they fall. Besides that, we are looking to mimic something like the Sanctuary Credits being used."

Bridget finally looked away from her beloved Ballom and towards the Primal curiously.

"Sanctuary Credits? What's that? I haven't heard of it before," she asked. Surprisingly, both Ballom and the Primal shook their heads when they heard.

"It's one of the greatest scams out there," Ballom answered. "Certain significant forces have joined together to create a 'Sanctuary' from the war. Anyone can pay to reside within, and they claim that the Sanctuary will not experience the war because so many forces will work together to protect the realm."

Bridget blinked, confused.

"That doesn't sound like a scam, right? What's wrong with offering a safe place?" she asked.

This time, the Primal explained.

"Claiming absolute safety, for one, is somewhat of a scam. Who can claim that they will stay absolutely safe? If the Sanctuary were a Major realm, it would still be somewhat believable, but it's not. I hate to say it, but the Sanctuary can be anything from a simple money grab, to bait, or accumulating souls for a mass sacrifice, or any number of shady things. It could also be real, but I highly doubt it. Even forces like the Henali don't dare to consider themselves absolutely safe, let alone a group of random powers."

The Innkeeper just stood among them, only listening and not speaking. It seemed somewhat inappropriate for him to gossip, and his persona of focusing only on his Inn must also be maintained. Fortunately, the conversation soon turned to his Inn regardless.

"If you don't mind me asking, Innkeeper, have you considered any safety measures for your Inn?" the Primal asked. "I am only asking because we will also soon be launching a safety financing service soon, targeted towards solo Dao Lords. Basically, it will be a standard package to help you build a strong defensive formation around your realm."

The Innkeeper nodded, not smiling or chuckling for once, since this was a serious topic.

"Safety is a primary concern for the Inn, or else how can I protect my guests? I have made several arrangements, though I won't go into the details. Of course, I don't mind getting help in improving my security, although I doubt my requirements could be met by a standard package."