Of course, Lex would have wanted nothing more than to throw those two Dao Lords into Abaddon and then watch them be devoured by that accursed place. Or punish them into some kind of imprisonment inside a dungeon. Or trap them for a million years...

More practically speaking, however, Lex knew that he could do nothing to them. He had no strength to punish them, nor could he ask Eclipse to punish them on his behalf, as that would lower his prestige as the Innkeeper.

He looked around and saw that all eyes were focused on him. He did not take any Dao Lords facial expression to represent their actual emotions, for they were all too scheming. However, the looks of curiosity, wariness and even fear and doubt could be seen on all of them.

"I am quite disappointed to see such an unfortunate development," said the Innkeeper, his voice genuinely sorrowful. "It seems that cultivation levels can be gained by many, but etiquette and common decency have still eluded some. I have brought you here, opened my tavern to you all, granted you many opportunities, and in exchange you have destroyed my tavern, and endangered my workers."

Though the Innkeeper retained a neutral tone when he spoke, deviating from his usual warmth, everyone got chills when they heard his voice. Some people, even when screaming and shouting, could not create the same sense of oppression and dread that the Innkeeper, with a simple butter knife in his pocket, created while speaking in a level and calm manner.

Throughout the tea party, there had been no shortage of shocking things, and throughout those periods, the Innkeeper's tone and demeanor had suffered not the slightest bit of fluctuation at all.

Even the incident which caused them all to erase their memories - whatever it was - had not caused even the smile on the Innkeeper's face to flicker. Yet now, that smile was gone. He did not even frown - he merely withdrew his warmth. Yet the absence of that warmth felt more chilling than the killing intent that had painted the sky black.

A strange light flashed through Ventura's eyes. Even when talking to Asho, despite his provocative nature, the Innkeeper had not shown such demeanor.

"I provided you with an opportunity to survive war, and in exchange, you brought destruction and disrespect to me. From here on out, you two are officially blacklisted from the Midnight Inn, and your invitation for this tea party is revoked. I have no need for your patronage," the Innkeeper said decisively.

Many found that punishment off. After all that, they were only banished? But then, it didn't take long for them to understand the gravity of that punishment. If the Innkeeper could, on a whim, arrange for a tea party inside the Primordial Garden, then what else might he be able to do? If he planned not a tea party, but a full fledged dinner party, where would he host it? Moreover, how else but through the Innkeeper could any of them get the opportunity to meet entities as prestigious as the Primordial Queen and Ventura?

To be banned from the Midnight Inn was truly and genuinely depriving them of many future opportunities. Suddenly, many looked at the two Dao Lords with pity or schadenfreude in their eyes.

"Innkeeper, this... this was merely an accident," said one of the two offending Dao Lords. "Surely there is no need to ruin our relationship over such a minor accident."

The Innkeeper's already neutral expression somehow became even more neutral - if such a thing was possible.

"An attempt on the lives of my workers is not a minor incident," the Innkeeper said directly and without any hesitation. "In fact, owing to my status as a host, I have restrained my judgment in this matter. I can only hope, for your sake, that others are as restrained or merciful as me in passing judgment."

Without waiting for either of the two Dao Lords to reply, the Innkeeper looked towards Eclipse, as if to let her know that he was done.

Eclipse could not help but smile amusedly as she witnessed the Innkeeper's actions. It was clear to her that he genuinely wanted to do a lot more, but had restrained himself. It seemed like, in his eyes, the value of those mortal workers far surpassed any benefit the two Dao Lords could bring him should he react leniently to this occurrence.

Such restraint at their level was rare. After all, most of the time there was no reason for them to show restraint at all - the exact mindset which had resulted in the explosion of the tavern. While that was strange enough, his odd valuation intrigued Eclipse. She had never met anyone who had valued mere mortals over a Dao Lord.

It required a special kind of insanity to disregard the sheer difference in their status. But, she did not find such insanity appalling. If anything, she found it slightly endearing.

Her gaze shifted from him to the other two. Well, unlike the Innkeeper, she had no reason to show any restraint. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, as she wanted to do.

"A guest should act like a guest. I don't like the attitude you have shown in my presence, demonstrating your disregard and disrespect for me," Eclipse said plainly and dismissively, as if she was already tired of this situation. "I won't kill you, but if I just let you go like that people will start taking me lightly. I'll tell you this, though. You're lucky you destroyed the tavern, and not something from my garden, or else nothing could have saved you."

Without allowing the two Dao Lords to protest, or resist, the massive spider in the air attacked, swallowing them, before disappearing. Where they went, and what their situation was, nobody knew. It was unlikely that they would have died so easily, but then again, none could understand how two Dao Lords were just taken so easily.

An air of fear and uneasiness spread among the guests as they looked towards

Eclipse.