The Innkeeper

Chapter 1456 Dao Heart

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Chapter 1456 Dao Heart

A teenager he may be mentally, but it was an undeniable fact that Bedford was a Celestial Immortal. Whether it was true or not, it was better to believe that no Celestial Immortal was anything less than a genius. Considering that Bedford was even a Dao seed, and had been since he was a mortal, it was undeniable that his genius far surpassed anything Lex had ever achieved.

Sure, he caused an anomaly every time he broke through, but when that was compared to someone who had discovered his Dao as a mortal - whatever that meant. - he did not even deserve to be called a genius. Fortunately he kept meeting beings who were immeasurably more powerful than him, which is why he never really became arrogant about his own power.

The point was that underestimating Bedford, or believing for even the briefest of moments that they could somehow take advantage of him, would be a grave mistake. To extract valuable information from him, one needed to be entirely sincere whilst also knowing the appropriate limits of what to ask and what not to ask.

In essence, this was the perfect job for Velma.

"I don't understand much about human anatomy, but I suppose I can speculate. Based on my deductions, I can say with confidence that these baby pictures qualify as 'cute"," Bedford said with great pride.

Lex maintained a stoic expression, saying nothing and treating this as a price for the sake of acquiring valuable information. It was a steep price, but one he was happy to pay.

"Yes, that is not a side of Lex many get to see," Velma said lamentingly. "Even as a child, he was always serious and so focused on work."

"Ah, that's so different from me," Bedford said, a look of reminiscence painting his face. "Among my siblings I was the weakest. My comprehension was low and my body was weak. Since I always knew I wouldn't be a decent cultivator, I focused all my efforts onto fun and entertainment. Who knew even having fun could build and temper my Dao Heart, preparing me for the ultimate greatness I have achieved."

"Ooh, what's a Dao Heart? That sounds impressive?"

"Ah, that's too esoteric to explain in words. You could say it's a combination of experiences, self discovery, mentality and mindset which needs to be developed and polished enough for someone to even qualify to ponder over their Dao, let alone discover it. I'd say more than 99.99% of all Celestial Immortals fail to develop their Dao Heart sufficiently, thereby cutting off their path to the Dao Lord realm.

"It can't really be helped. There's no fixed way to nurture a Dao Heart, as it not only depends on the individual, it also depends on the kind of Dao they will eventually discover. Considering the fact that it's impossible to know what Dao one will discover until it actually happens, it's basically impossible to prepare for. Even actual Dao Lords cannot help others gain insight into their own Dao."

"That's crazy. I've never heard any of this before. Normally, someone can't even talk about this stuff outside the Artica realm without being overwhelmed by the burden of knowledge related to the Dao," continued Velma, frankly admitting why she'd never heard any of this before.

"Well, to be fair, it's kind of pointless for anyone other than a Celestial to know anyway," Bedford said. "Don't look at me and think that anyone can discover their Dao anytime. Like I said, even most Celestials don't attain the most basic qualification to discover it in the first place. Looking too far ahead can cause you to overlook the more immediate concerns of your cultivation.

"Speaking of more immediate concerns, I believe you're outsiders from other realms, correct? Would you mind sharing some of the details of your arrival? I've been out of the loop lately. Once I get a better understanding of things, I might be able to guide you on how you can best benefit from your visit here."

Velma and Gerard explained about the Expo in detail, as well as how they attained the qualification, while Lex considered the knowledge about the Dao, For all intents and purposes, it seemed similar to a school of thought that a person individually adhered to. But he dared not treat the Dao as something as simple as that.

If it was as simple as finding a school of thought that one's character could adhere to wholeheartedly, then any number of enlightened mortals could have discovered their

Dao.

Instead of focusing on that, he diverted his thoughts towards the Dao Heart. It was the precondition to even consider what ones Dao might be, and he had no real idea how he might nurture it.

Even though Bedford said that there was no way to establish one's Dao Heart, there had to be at least some underlying principles that Dao Hearts all shared or adhered to. Understanding them might give him some insight into how he could develop his.

At the same time, he was also monitoring how the field was affecting his body. By now, his entire skin had turned a deep shade of red, and the damage was beginning to pierce into his body.

"I understand," Bedford said while folding his wings as if he was crossing his arms. "Let me ask you your objectives then. Once I know what you hope to gain from this Expo, I can provide you with some guidance. What exactly do you hope to achieve during this Expo?"

The three looked at each other and shrugged before answering.

"To be honest, not much since we're going to be leaving shortly," said Velma. "The flow of time here is too great. We have too much work waiting for us, so we can't be here too long. It would have been nice to learn about the Artica Races plan for development for the next 50 millenia, but none of us can wait long enough to not only participate in the qualifying round, but also attend the end of the Expo in five years."

That answer surprised Bedford, for that went against his expectations! He'd met many races, and all of them always pursued some kind of objective in each of their actions. He did not think that as a character flaw or shortcoming. It was only natural to have expectation of a gain of some kind in any action they performed.

That was why he found it perfectly natural that they wanted to ask him questions about the Dao. That was also why he found it so absurd that they were actually going to just give up on such a big opportunity. It was almost as if they were on vacation. "You really have no objectives at the Expo?" he asked again in disbelief. He felt like maybe they were just being modest, although his senses confirmed otherwise. "Well, if I really had to say anything, it would be for my date to go well," said Lex. "I asked out another participant on a date, so I should see her soon. I just hope I can find something interesting to do."

Bedford suddenly raised his head, and looked at Lex with great admiration.

"Only a true warrior can pursue his heart's desire, ignoring the temptations of treasure and wealth for it. I like your style. Let me give you a few ideas for a decent. date. I myself have not been on one since I'm locked here, but I can give you a few

ideas."

As it turned out, despite lacking experience, Bedford had some really good ideas, which caused Lex some pain. He wanted the date to go well, but he also didn't want to pull out all the stops since he was only meeting her to extract information from her. What if the date went too well and they started to like each other? No, he better stay away from the more romantic ideas.

Lex stated that he wanted a simpler date. Honestly, he would have opted for racing, but that would cause them to spend too much time alone instead of with each other. He needed an enjoyable activity they could do together, but one that would also give them opportunity to converse.

After a little more chatting, they decided on the venue of his date, the Sapphire Gondola. But with that, their conversation leaned towards a natural conclusion. "Are you sure you don't want anything?" Bedford asked again, actually feeling bad. He had plans of how he would manipulate the greedy humans, but as it turned out they weren't all that greedy.

Lex thought for a moment, but then decided not to be sly and instead ask what he was wondering out right. Even if he didn't get an answer, he didn't mind.

"What exactly is a Dao Heart, and what can I do to develop one?"

Bedford looked at Lex for a long time. It wasn't that this information was valuable. In

the Artica realm, it really wasn't. He could find out by asking anyone, which is why Bedord never really considered it a big deal to mention these things.

No, what stumped Bedford was that the human wasn't the least bit interested in taking advantage of the Artica race. It was so unusual. He'd never come across such a

situation.