In fact, now that he knew, he had to keep it a secret, after all, if the emperor knew that he had allowed something like that to happen, he'd likely be executed.
On the other hand, if he kept ignoring Lilia's demands, then he'd soon be out of a job, maybe even dead if Lilia was really angry.
His job was like constantly walking on a tightrope, trying to maintain an incredibly delicate balance at all times.
He just hoped that Lilia wasn't pregnant, because if she was, it wasn't a secret he was capable of hiding anymore.
Letting out a loud sigh, the old man rubbed his sore forehead, thinking it may be about time to retire after this final trip.
"So, has anyone found anything?" Someone said, breaking the silence, and giving the old man some respite from his chaotic thoughts.
"Nothing."
"Nothing on my end either."
Soon enough, the crowd was disappointed to find no solution to the problem at hand, the underground chamber seemingly having no escape other than the sealed entrance.
Of course people naturally trusted themselves the most, so the rest of the day was spent with people going in and out of each room by themselves, double checking.
However, even after an entire day of searching, nothing was found, some even resorting to attacking the walls in hopes of finding weak spots, but failing as per usual.
"This is getting tiresome, old man, do something." Lilia said, having long been bored of being confined here.
"I can, but I'll have to kill everyone first just in case." The old man replied, not wanting someone to escape and leak their location.
"Fine, but make sure to not hurt Minos." Lilia said, not concerned about the others.
"As you command." The old man said, before flicking towards a nearby cultivator.
With a flick of his finger, a bright beam of Nux shot out like a laser, ripping through the Inner Heaven cultivator and leaving behind a massive gaping wound.
The cultivator could only look back in shock at the sudden attack, wanting to say something, but being blocked by the blood that had rushed to their throat.
The man collapsed lifelessly, blood spilling ceaselessly from their throat and chest, blotching the earth underneath them a deep red.
"What the hell are you doing you maniac!?" Potin shouted, immediately drawing the old man's attention.
The old man was concerned about Potin's protest, rather, it was exactly his shouting that caught his attention, giving him his next target.
"Stop, if you kill Potin, you'll have to kill me too!" Minos said just as the old man's finger pointed towards Potin.
"Boy, don't get involved with things beyond you." The old man said calmly, though the threatening intent in his voice was clear.
But Minos ignored him, just standing firmly in front of Potin, blocking his body with his own. Seeing Minos's stubbornness, the old man could only look back at Lilia helplessly, waiting for her command.
"Minos, why are you protecting a man you barely even know?" Lilia asked.
"I barely know him, yet he's already proven to be a far better person than you, so why shouldn't I help him?" Minos replied.
"Why do you say these things, have I really made you hate me that much?" Lilia said, her eyes going slightly red.
"I don't like your nature, your cold hearted, blood thirsty, and completely self absorbed, only concerned with your own wants and desires!" Minos bellowed, emptying his heart in front of the confused crowd.
While they had no idea what the relationship between Minos and Lilia was, they naturally hoped Minos won, because from the looks of it, they would die otherwise.
"I didn't know you hated me so much. Since you are that resentful of me, I'll just kill everyone you love until I'm the only one left in your life."
"Potin, run quickly!" Minos bellowed, using his body to give Potin enough time to activate his Aptus, quickly bolting into another room.
As much as he wanted to thank Minos, he knew now wasn't the time to waste on words, so he made sure to remember this favor as he ran.
With Minos in the way, the old man could only let out a dissatisfied grunt, watching Potin escape into another room.
The others also took this chance to escape to the other rooms, using these final moments to explode with their maximum potential in an attempt to find an exit.
"You do know what you're doing is pointless, right? There is no escape for them, but since you're so fond of Potin, I'll let him live a little longer." Lilia said, as she sent the old man to the room furthest from Potin's.
Minos wanted to attack the old man, but a single wave of his hand sent him blasting into the wall, nearly shattering his spine in the process.
No longer having the strength to even stand up, Minos could only watch as the old man walked into the room for a few minutes, before coming out, his robe sprinkled with droplets of blood.
With the first room cleared, he headed to the second, familiar screams echoing out from the room for a few seconds before silence consumed everything.
Minos wasn't the sensitive type, but his eyes went red as he watched the old man systematically slaughter these people one by one, almost as if mocking Minos's weakness.
He wanted to get up and fight some more, but after struggling for a bit, he collapsed again, his back having been severely injured by the old man's casual attack.
Seeing the old man get closer and closer to Potin, Minos felt his heart clenched, his memory flashing back to when his small village was slaughtered.
For the first time since he became a cultivator, he felt weak, no different from those days when he was a mortal.
Just like when he saw those bandits kill his friends and family with no remorse, now he had to watch again as a new friend was killed right in front of him, his struggles once more being reduced to futility.
He wanted to cry, but he had no tears left, having lost them all the day his mother died, so he could only watch with red eyes, as the old man made his slow death march.
He hated Lilia, he hated the old man, and most of all, he hated himself for not having the strength to stop this tragedy.
While Lilia wouldn't kill him, living the rest of his life with her would be akin to hell, even worse than death in his eyes.
Since he was destined for pain no matter what, he might as well choose the route of least suffering, so after resolving himself, he pulled out the familiar green liquid that had once given him a new life.
He wanted to at least attempt to reach the Inner Heaven realm before he died, so he might as well give it his all in this last hurrah.
Even though he wasn't fully ready yet, it was clear he didn't have any time left, so without a second thought, he began pouring the liquid unceasing down his throat.
As he did so, he didn't forget to run the Pure Nux Ascension technique, controlling the energy to unceasingly hit the area behind his navel in an attempt to open his 'Inner Heaven.'
Once his 'Inner Heaven' was open, he would finally be able to slowly absorb Nux into it, and then use that Nux as he pleased.
The main danger with opening the 'Inner Heaven' was the body not being strong enough to handle the opening, but having reached the 12th Layer of Mortal Renewal, he wasn't worried about that.
Beyond that, there was also the risk of poor control, causing the Inner Heaven to expand too much, destroying it if lucky, exploding yourself if not.
One has to firmly know their own limits, not pushing too hard for fear of destruction, but also not pushing too little, or else they may limit their future potential.
But honestly, Minos didn't care about any of that, his mind having thrown out all caution as he came to terms with his current circumstance.
Since there was no escape, he might as well push as hard as possible and see just how far he could push his Inner Heaven, somewhat curious as to where his limit lies.
He almost laughed at the thought of exploding into blood and gore in front of Lilia's eyes, the thought of knowing she would never get what she wanted comforting him somewhat.
He also took this final moment to apologize to Rubella, Beetus, Venix, Zatiana and all his other friends and acquaintances, the thought of never seeing them again filling his heart with sadness.
But most of all, he apologized to Tinka, his wife, his friend, his teacher, and most of all, his love.
Despite being on the verge of death, he couldn't help but smile as he thought of her, the joyous remembrance just further accentuating the depression that was suffocating him.
'I'm sorry Tinka, please forgive me…' He thought as he let out a final sigh, before refocusing on his breakthrough.
As the energy unceasing hit the area behind his navel, he could feel a slight cracking sound echo out from the depth of his body.
This sound didn't exist in reality, but it was no illusion, rather it was confined to the special space inside his unopened Inner Heaven.
With a final attack, the cracking sound turned into a bang, and Minos 'felt' a magical new space opening up rapidly within his body.
As he funneled his energy into the space, it expanded, getting larger and larger at a rapid pace.
A normal Inner Heaven had a diameter of one meter in all directions, and with Minos's constant influx of energy, he quickly reached that size.