If Lex had to guess, based clearly on the remarks, it basically meant that the Nether was somehow responsible for providing energy to the universe. Considering the fact that the notification mentioned absorbing, recycling and rebuilding, he guessed that the Nether somehow absorbed the wasted energy from the universe, or maybe outside the universe, and adapted it so that it could be used within.

Such a simple explanation made sense to him, and considering the complexity and scale of the universe it was not unbelievable that the universe had its own dedicated power source. The thing about the Heaven and Mortal realms was unclear, but it could also potentially be explained if he treated Arch-Heaven as the Heaven realm, and the rest of the universe as the Mortal realm, although that was also contrary to his understanding of the universe.

Also, as far as he knew, the Nether was a part of Arch-Heaven, so there were some serious flaws with such an explanation.

The thing then that remained the greatest mystery was the but about 'what was forgotten is not necessarily lost. Had the Nether been forgotten about at some point? Or was there more to the story than he knew about.

Honestly, it could be a combination of both. He just didn't know enough to be able entirely comprehend the scale of the secret he had just uttered. Considering all the effort he put in to get his hands on the puppet, he hoped it was worth it.

On a side note, the option he picked seemed to not have initiated any additional quests, and for that Lex was grateful.

Just as Lex was getting ready to judge the value of the secret based on the reactions of the Dao Lords in front of him, the Enigma Pillar began to shine with a blinding light, turning the entire interior of their barrier into a canvas of white.

For a few seconds, it stayed that way, and when the light finally dimmed, it had turned azure. Well, that was one way of saying it was a big deal.

When Lex looked from the pillar to the other Dao Lords, he found that all of them were thoughtful, but not shocked or surprised. At least based on appearances, it did not seem like the Innkeeper had revealed anything too great.

"Innkeeper, how can you know this?" Ventura asked, his voice oddly neutral, and lacking from the vibrant array of emotions he loved to show. "Have you discovered a way to probe the Nether?"

Ventura asked the question openly instead of in private, but the very fact that he was asking such a question, combined with his unusual tone, alerted everyone that things were not as they seemed.

Even if they did not pick up on the hint that Ventura and Eclipse did, they at least noticed one important matter: the Innkeeper seemed to know what was going on inside the Nether! So far, no one had ever returned from inside the Nether, at least as far as they knew.

The Innkeeper looked at Ventura, noticing his unusual demeanor. Internally, Lex began to worry if he might have made a mistake. Was that secret too big a deal? If it was, he could always just explain that he extracted the secret from a Heaven's Puppet, but offering an explanation at all would make him look weak.

Deep inside Lex' soul, Nuwa's clone began to slam her face into the wall. Facepalming was no longer enough - she needed a wall. Did this bloody human find it so challenging to avoid provoking his own doom?

"Innkeeper, you do not need to answer that," suddenly said Eclipse as she looked at Ventura challengingly. "We all came here openly and freely, in the spirit of joint adventure. While everyone else has played it safe, using technicalities to fulfil the requirements of this activity, only you have played the game properly. Do not be afraid that this can be used against you. I would like to see if the great Ventura can find a technicality that can fool the spirit of the karmic oath bound by an Eclipsecrawler's Sentinel."

All the Dao Lords seemed to realize that the situation had evolved past what they had originally imagined. At the same time, they understood that their 'playing things safe' by teasing secrets was not looked favorably upon by Eclipse.

Indeed, what was the point of playing such a game if they only eased instead of properly revealing their secrets? Where was the risk? The thrill? How could they expect to get a decent reward without putting in the required effort.

Perhaps that's why the pillar had been so slow to activate. Yet it seemed that the Innkeeper had seen through this, and contributed a secret so that they would not suffer a loss. They could not help but feel slightly grateful towards the Innkeeper. That gratefulness, however, did not prevent them from also feeling greed towards their secret.

Unfortunately, it seemed that with that oath protecting him, they could not act against him. The Primordial Queen's warning about technicality meant that their original idea of being clever with the secrets they heard might not actually end so well.

Then again, even that made sense. How could a game played in the Primordial Garden ever be so simple?

The Innkeeper looked from Eclipse, to Ventura, and then just shrugged. "Why so serious? I don't mind sharing," the Innkeeper said casually, as if he was not concerned or threatened in the slightest. "Ventura, if you're interested, I don't mind telling you how I learned this. The question is, what can you pay me to make that worth it? Eclipse already told me she'd make my contributions worth it. I imagine someone as wealthy as you can certainly afford it." Suddenly, the tense environment collapsed as Ventura suddenly realized that Eclipse would have to pay for such a big secret, and Eclipse realized that she had somehow screwed herself over!

Dammit, she had only offered a souvenir, so why had the Innkeeper gone all out for a trinket?

Thus, for the first time since the Primordial Age - excluding all incidents relating to Voidmaw - someone had managed to get the better of the Primordial Queen.