Chapter 1496 — 1496: Uncomfortable I

When a creepy voice starts whispering in your ear, it was basic instinct to immediately turn and investigate what or who was speaking. The best case scenario was that a friend of yours was pranking, while the worst would have to be some kind of incredibly powerful monster. Or maybe it was something disgusting, though Jack couldn't imagine something more disgusting than the smell currently haunting him.

In this given situation, though, Jack had the good sense not to immediately look back. One had to be incredibly careful in the cultivation world, and even more so in the Folklore realm. He had heard too many horror stories, and knew well enough that the chances were high that if he turned to look, he might see something he shouldn't or wasn't qualified for.

Of course, he has basic protective instincts so he immediately wrapped his body in a protective layer of fairy dust, and then answered the strange voice's question. He was looking for the seven dwarf dragons because he wanted their help to get to the Artica realm, and that they would find the New Age Expo interesting. It was a win-win scenario. Or atleast, that had been the case originally.

"Oh? Such an altruistic soul. You want to tell the Dao Lords about an event they'll find interesting, and you want nothing in exchange right?"

Jack frowned, for the voice had suddenly turned grating. Normally, he wouldn't let just that bother him, but at the moment his tolerance was very low.

"Naturally, I hope they can bring me and my crew along with them when they go. It is not an unfair request."

The voice, instead of questioning him further, began to laugh demeaningly.

"Oh, poor little fairy. That may have been true at first, but now you have another request in your heart too, don't you? While your previous request may have been fair, the addition of a new request, without providing anything of value, makes the deal unfair, doesn't it?"

Jack suddenly grimaced, and not because of the annoying laughter behind him. Instead, it was because he had indeed been hoping that the Dao Lords would help them fix his situation.

It wasn't exactly lethal. After all, he was being affected by the hand even before he was aware of it. But at least he didn't have to constantly suffer as a result of it. He lived a pretty decent life, albeit in ignorance.

Now that he knew about the hand, he had a clue about what was affecting the fairies and could possibly try to resolve it, at least for himself. But the ideal situation would be for him to at least escape the influence of the horrendous smell first.

Yet… it seemed like hoping for charity was not a good strategy. In truth, if a large part of Jack's mental capacity was not occupied by trying to maintain his sanity, he would have already realized it was so. Desperation, however, caused him to be blindly hopeful.

"But a request for a favor is still fair. You can choose to address your predicament first, and then find another way to fulfil your original goal."

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Jack clicked his teeth, and thought about it for a moment. But even though he was used to achieving the impossible, it wasn't as if he could pull an impossible feat out of his pocket whenever he wished. He couldn't think of another way to get the Dao Lord's favor, nor could he think about how to get to the Artica realm himself.

Technically speaking, the Dao Lords did not even need him to come and tell them about it. He was sure they already knew about it. But the legends about the seven brothers were clear. Since they were habitual troublemakers, the other Dao Lords had specifically set restrictions against them.

Only if someone requested their aid or assistance could they leave their territory, and much more importantly, the realm. Of course, to actually restrict them was probably not so easy. It was probably more of an understanding, otherwise Jack would not have been able to find a way to reach them even if he did use the river of death.

"No, I'll stick to my original request," Jack said, suppressing the immense reluctance in his heart.

As distracting, disorienting and disgusting as the smell was, it wasn't actually causing him any direct harm. He would just have to tolerate it for the time being, as going to the Artica realm as Jack was much more important than getting rid of the smell for discovering the fairies hidden past.

"We shall see if you can maintain your resolution before the end. Follow the path I am transmitting to you, and you will reach the temple of the seven brothers!"

The voice faded away, and when Jack checked behind himself, there was no one there. Only the information that had somehow just appeared in his mind remained as evidence that such a mysterious being had visited him in the first place.

Unfortunately, it would take them several days to reach the temple. Without a solution to his smell problem, Jack was feeling even more irritable, yet he had to control himself.

"Tiny-Sparkles, change of plans. I know how to reach our destination. Follow the path and lead us to the temple. I am going to meditate in my quarters in the meantime."

Jack felt weary, not from escaping the river Styx, but from the constant torture he was being exposed to. The severity of the situation was so severe, it was only after the strange voice had forced him to give up on getting the Dao Lords to resolve his situation that he thought of the most obvious answer of all.

His own cultivation technique, the one he used as Lex, was still applicable even on Jack. If he was under any kind of strain, the technique would use that to push his growth in that direction. Since he was being tortured by the smell of Karma, cultivating now should give him some resistance to Karma, right?

If that didn't work, he was certain to get some mental resilience at least, though what he was truly hoping for was complete immunity to the smell.