The Innkeeper

Chapter 1414  Karma II

"Also keep in mind that for now I am only touching upon the surface level concepts of Karma, the ones that can clearly be explained with words and understood by you. The deeper, more esoteric functions of Karma cannot be conveyed with words, and can only be personally comprehended and implemented. No other person can touch upon them.

"I am saying all this so you understand that you, young man, have stepped into some troubled waters. Accumulating a lot of Karma is not something that can be done intentionally, for everyone only ordinarily has the exact amount of Karma that associates with their level.

"For example, an immortal will have the exact amount an immortal can support, and a Dao Lord will have one befitting their status. But, an immortal associated with a Dao Lord will also subsequently have a larger pool of Karma that they can support, so that they can never really intentionally use their own power or influence to accumulate Karma. "That is because one also digests Karma, which is where the concept of good or bad Karma comes in. The kind of Karma you digest affects you directly and indirectly, which is why people think doing good things will get them good in return, even though such a thing is not really guaranteed.

"But you, for some reason, gained a tremendous amount of Karma for confronting Sekhmet - almost as if the Innkeeper had not provided you with direct protection. That is also probably another reason why he lets you solve things on your own without interfering, so you can reap the benefits as well as Karma.

"By the way, quite a number of Dao Lords are trying to study how the Innkeeper managed that little feat of letting you accumulate Karma like this. It might be unique in the entire universe. But, that's not your concern. What you need to be worried about is that you have an immense amount of positive Karma on your body, so much so that it will take you centuries to digest if you don't accumulate a single bit of Karma ever again.

"The problem is… that Karma can also be plucked by someone else, and used for a myriad of purposes. Such a thing will naturally harm you, and even if it doesn't do that, it will definitely deprive you of your hard earned Karma.

"On the other hand, there will also be countless others out there, such as myself, who will want to spend more time with you in person. The more you digest such positive Karma, the more good luck you will have, and those around you can benefit from it as well. Now you understand a tiny fragment of the enticing delicacy you yourself are at the moment."

Lex shivered, and looked at Mama Pari oddly, but she didn't do anything unusual so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As a personal rule, he avoided people who called him a delicacy.

"So what can I do to fix the situation?" Lex asked. "Someone told me that I have an imbalance of Karma, and that if I correct it, my problems will go away."

"Oh yes, there's that too. That's a particularly dicey problem, separate from all the good Karma you have. I cannot comment too much on that, since I do not know your personal details, but I can give you a guess. If the imbalance in your Karma is too great, to an extraordinary level - a level one cannot normally reach even if they want to - then because of the overwhelming strength of Karma, the part of you that has a lacking Karma will be forcibly erased from existence.

"But there are a few different ways you can fix that, with the easiest being just balancing your Karma, or raising your cultivation level. The higher your cultivation level, the harder it is to be affected by such an imbalance.

"As for the heaps of good Karma on your head, there are a few ways you can handle it. The easiest way is to just have a kid. Your kid will inherit a portion of your Karma, and in your case, also absorb a lot of the extra Karma you're carrying around. As a result…"

"I'm not having a kid," Lex said firmly. "What else can I do?"

"Sheesh, so stingy," Mama Pari said. "Well, you can increase the speed of your digestion of the Karma. The easiest way to do that is to empower yourself, make strong personal connections that are genuine, or raise your cultivation level. These are the three most direct and easiest ways for you to digest your own Karma. "Of course, if you're willing to do something more drastic, you can cut off your own excess Karma and plant a Karma plant, hoping it will grow to full maturity and sprout a fruit. If that happens, whoever eats the fruit will get all your accumulated Karma and more, and easily digest it."

"Okay, I'm good with plants. I can do that. But what are the drawbacks?" Lex asked.

"It's nothing much, but it will mess up your Karma until you reabsorb what you cut off, which will take more than just a few years. Also, you'll have extremely bad luck the entire time."

Lex rubbed his chin as he thought about his options. His own luck, as it was, did not need any help in bringing him misfortune, so cutting off his Karma did not sound like a good option.

But he couldn't exactly raise his cultivation level right now either, for he wanted to spend more time digesting his realm and getting used to his powers. So that left him with only one easy option.

"Mama Pari, how would you like to send some of your Projection children to the Midnight Inn? Just because you can't leave the Origin realm doesn't mean they should be stuck here as well. I can be their personal guide."

Mama Pari laughed, as if the idea excited her. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Little boy, having a kid is still the easier route. But since you want to try and build a connection with me, you'll have to try harder than that."