It was not often that Eclipse got sentimental. While such a thing was entirely normal for regular humans, it was less common even among stronger humans. Immortals, at least, developed not only in body and soul, but also in spirit so that their emotional threshold was much greater. After all, to endure the vicissitudes of eternity required a much stronger mind, able to bear change and hardship.

Beyond that, cultivators also specifically focused on honing their mind because a weak minded cultivator would be unable to endure the hardships and trials that cultivating brought.

A combination of these factors and more made it so that most cultivators hardly ever got sentimental, at least in regards to emotions like sorrow and regret. This was intentional as these emotions had a greater chance of creating mental barriers or heart demons!

A heart demon born from the mental struggles of an entity like Eclipse would have strength corresponding to her own, automatically making it stronger than most beings in the universe! At that point it would be entirely questionable if the Devil's control over Demons would even work on such a being!

Even that is just one of the many possibilities a weakness in the mind could create, with many other possibilities much worse. So in general, cultivators tried to hone their minds continuously, and avoided feeling too sad or sentimental if it was possible. Eclipse, however, seemed to do none of that.

Once the memories struck her, she allowed herself to wallow, even if only for a few hours. Lex did not know what the protocols among Dao Lords were for dealing with such situations, so he did what he would have done for any normal human - he just listened, and let the person know that they were being heard.

"For him to be looked upon favorably by you, he must have been a remarkable person indeed. I will remember his name, and honor his memory when I get the chance," said the Innkeeper softly, though there was a solemn promise in his voice. He wasn't just saying that because Lunareth might be an ancestor of Marys.

Eclipse did not respond with more than a nod, but Nulli who returned shortly after expressed great interest in the Innkeepers words. She had returned to being blue, though her cheeks still showed shades of pink mixed within.

Looking at the Innkeeper caused her blush to strengthen, but this time the color did not leave her cheeks.

"You're all talking about Lunareth? Now there was a handsome Celestial. It's quite a pity what happened to him, or else the Celestial race might have been a Sage race by now," she said, taking a seat beside them.

Lex could not help but feel like there were more secrets regarding this person, but did not delve into them for now. He was too weak to do that.

"History is filled with both tragedy and fortune - which of those a person will receive is up to destiny" the Innkeeper said softly. It was just an elaborate way of saying that some things were out of their hands, and bad things happened to good people sometimes.

Both Nulli and Eclipse glanced at the Innkeeper, but then spoke no more on the topic.

Instead, Nulli and Eclipse began to chat amongst themselves - mostly about things that Lex could not understand at all. Thus, through sheer ignorance, Lex saved himself from suffering through immense shock since he could not understand what there was to be shocked about to begin with.

Slowly the day came to a close, and the ninth day began. Even more Dao Lords emerged from their meetings, and began to mingle among each other openly. Some even continued to explore the possibility of more partnerships, but did so openly.

That included not just the Dao Lords invited to the party, but also the Innkeeper, Eclipse and Nulli!

Ventura, of course, used this opportunity to try to recruit more professors for the academy, strengthening his own forces. He was not too interested in partnering with others unless it benefited his academy somehow. That also meant that others would not approach him unless they were interested in joining him, as he'd already made his stance clear.

In comparison, Eclipse, the Innkeeper and Nulli were relatively open to new alliances and partnerships.

They no longer tried to get the Innkeeper to make his teleportation abilities available to them for use. It was pretty clear he wouldn't do that. But maybe he'd be open to other possibilities. The same was true for Eclipse and Nulli.

Compared to the other two, the attending Dao Lords knew even less about Nulli than the Innkeeper and Eclipse. Whether she had some power she belonged to, or what realm she normally lived in, or even where the other Nulliths congregated were all mysteries to them all. This was as good an opportunity as ever to explore these possibilities.

Unfortunately, they quickly learned that two of the three weren't so cooperative. While the Innkeeper repeatedly mentioned that the Inn was open for all, he refused to get involved with anything outside his Inn, regardless of how lucrative their offers were. Eclipse, likewise, was entirely uninterested in things outside her garden. She directly told them that if they wanted to seek the possibility of cooperation, they should talk to Harriot instead of her, as the Dao Congress could do as it pleased. After all, it had assets both inside and outside the garden.

In truth, none of them knew exactly how expansive or powerful the Dao Congress really was, so this might be a good opportunity to find out.

In comparison, Nulli was a lot more open. Well, at least she did not directly shut anyone down. She asked questions about what they were willing to offer, and what they required from her. In fact, on a few occasions, she even agreed to help build a time acceleration formation for them so that they could train at

increased speeds.

Encouraged, slowly the trio drew even more Dao Lords who used the opportunity to not only discuss partnerships with Nulli, but also converse more

with the Innkeeper and Eclipse.

Lex sighed internally. The whole reason he had sat beside Eclipse was so that he could avoid the other Dao Lords, yet now that had become the very reason

he was swamped.

Of course, he still needed to maintain his friendly and approachable demeanor, but also needed to avoid interacting with them too much lest he gets

overwhelmed again.

Thus, walking that delicate balance, alongside his somewhat improved Dao Body, Lex managed to survive the ninth day as well.

Finally, the tenth and last day of the tea party began. The closer the time came to the end, the more intense the mood became at the tea party. Everyone of them was aware that this was not an opportunity they could get repeatedly, so they did their best to make the most of it. Any secrets shared here in the Primordial Garden could avoid detection from external forces in the universe. In the last days, many of them even took some time out to cultivate within the tavern. Their cultivation lasted only a few minutes, at most, as they could not afford to cultivate too deeply surrounded by so many other Dao Lords. However, they still used this opportunity to secretly carry out many plans they had held onto for a long time.

There was also an air of palpable tension in the air, increasing with each passing minute. Once they left the tea party, it would be time for them to once again return to the war. Harriot had given no updates regarding the dome, which meant that no one had been able to resolve it till now!

Moreover, the situation with the war was uncertain, but what was certain was that they would need to participate. For the first time in this current, as of yet unnamed Age, Dao Lords felt threatened en masse. If even Dao Lords felt threatened, then the situation for those below that realm could be imagined.

Slowly, the time passed until only six hours were left till the tea party was finished. At this point, all Dao Lords had completed their meetings. They had also checked through all the belongings to ensure that nothing was stolen.

Seeing as how everyone was just waiting at this point, Lex requested that all the Dao Lords convene for the final dinner which was held on the tavern terrace.

Unlike the last two times, the dinner menu this time was something the Innkeeper personally decided not that anyone besides the chef knew as much. It was tomato soup, followed by a grilled cheese sandwich.

Of course, for the Dao Lords, the food was nothing more than an excuse to gather - only Lex himself enjoyed the food thoroughly.

There were no grand speeches - not yet anyway. All the Dao Lords just sat

together, ate, talked and focused on their present. They could not help but reflect on the Innkeepers words a few days ago about being grateful for what they had at the moment.

Even only a few days ago, the words did not mean much. Yet after what happened to the two Dao Lords, and what awaited them now, they could not

help but realise that they really did need to be grateful for these few days of peace. Who knew when they could get something like this again?