Chapter 4524: Rhythm

Lu Yin looked straight at Old Sixth.

The toad said, "Withered Requiem completely released all of its restraints in order to forcefully reach their full potential. Although their combat power rose, they also became bound by what they became. Their thoughts are now very simple: destroy whatever civilizations they see, flee from enemies they cannot defeat, and create the most beautiful music. That is all.

"Schemes and plots no longer matter to them at all. Even if we had the conversation just now right in front of them, they would not have even the briefest thought of stopping things. If they had such thoughts, their music could not be pure, and their strength would not have reached their current height."

Everything that one gained had a price associated with it. Some people believed that they had received a bargain, while the truth was that they had lost something somewhere else without knowing it. Withered Requiem exchanged their sense of self for their current abilities, but in doing so, they had lost themself.

It was like how, when a person wandered the world, they had to wear clothes.

In contrast, Withered Requiem wore no clothes at all. They lacked the weight of clothing, but they had also lost the ability to withstand the cold.

"Life comes from nothing and returns to nothing. One comes into the world with nothing at birth, and they take nothing with them to death. To live is to follow a circle." Lu Yin sighed.

The bear clapped its hands.

Old Sixth said, "That’s right."

The bear clapped its hands again, and Old Sixth told Lu Yin to tell a story. "Tell a story while beating out a rhythm that follows your own story."

Lu Yin did not quite understand. "I make up all of my stories."

"Whether they are made up or real does not matter. As long as you can beat out a rhythm that fits your own story, it is fine," Old Sixth explained.

Lu Yin tried doing that. First, he told the bear a story, and then he beat out a rhythm.

He tried the same thing for several days in a row, but it never felt quite right. Only when the bear had Old Sixth repeat the story that Lu Yin had told while he beat a rhythm with the story did Lu Yin begin to feel something.

How should he put it? It was simple: follow the heart.

When making up stories, one did not need to ask about logic. It was enough to follow their heart. Some people's lives were bitter while others’ lives were sweet. Some were born destined for struggle, while others received everything from birth. Some had bad luck throughout their entire lives, while some could find money even while walking down the road.

Everyone sympathized with those who had bitter fates, yet no one questioned whether it was reasonable.

Everyone also envied those who were lucky, yet everyone questioned whether it was reasonable. The better a person's fate was, the less others could understand why their luck could be so good.

It could not be explained. It was simply fate.

Stories had no logic, and similarly, life had no logic. No one knew what they might encounter next. Change and unpredictability were a fact of life.

Music allowed one to release their sense of self, while stories allowed one’s sense of self to return to the beginning. Logic or reason were unnecessary, as everything was about simply following the heart.

A bitter fate had its own optimism, and a good fate had its own reason. Only after seeing everything could one reach the end from the beginning.

Lu Yin thus followed the bear and Old Sixth. Sometimes, they stayed in the castle. At other times, they roamed the wasteland. Wherever they went, that was where they were.

Inside the castle, Zhou devoted themself entirely to studying music. They sat right outside the door that led to the Death Band’s territory on the top floor, as close as possible to the Death Band, in order to better hear their music.

Fishbone hid in the sewers every day, racking its brains for some way to seize the Building Blocks back.

Zhu had nothing to do.

Yong Heng was the busiest. He was chasing after Lu Yin and the others.

That was right, he was chasing them.

Fishbone had told the other members of the Dream Band the bear's identity. Zhu had immediately sought the bear out and shared the location of the Human Trio, only to be ignored. Combined with Withered Requiem's attitude, Zhu knew that they had lost all value to the Death Megaverse.

Yong Heng, on the other hand, became extremely motivated and focused entirely on following Lu Yin and the other two around. Wherever they went, he followed.

There were times when Lu Yin wanted to kill him. Yong Heng was an enemy of the Tianyuan’s humanity. Although he had been created and used by Wang Wen as a means to lure out Hong Shuang, there was no denying that Yong Heng had done many things to harm the Tianyuan.

Moreover, his temperament was far from simple.

And yet, Lu Yin hesitated. There was no other reason than Yong Heng's experiences. He had constantly betrayed various individuals and organizations. There was no one Yong Heng would be loyal to forever, possibly not even Wang Wen.

Lu Yin was using his skeleton clone to investigate the Death Megaverse, and he had no idea what he might encounter or when. It was possible that Yong Heng might prove to be of some help.

Most importantly, Yong Heng could not be killed in Joy City. Killing him would be easy, but doing so without Withered Requiem noticing would be difficult. The Abyssal might be able to tolerate schemes and plots, but they would not tolerate anyone breaking the rules of Joy City.

It was not worth to risk his clone for just Yong Heng.

"It was a scorching afternoon, and hail began falling from the sky," Old Sixth's voice rang out. Lu Yin concentrated as he struck a stone.

"Why would hail fall on a scorching afternoon?" Old Sixth was irritated.

Lu Yin looked over. "That is none of your concern. Just recite it."

This was a story that he had just made up. Thousand Machinations was listening very intently, and yet this damned toad was busy picking out flaws.

Old Sixth glared at Lu Yin. "A burly man held a child as he fled from the pursuit of his enemies. Blades slashed past, mountains shattered, and his head was split open by hail.

"Can someone so powerful actually have his head split open by hail?" Old Sixth protested.

Lu Yin frowned. "I told you that it’s none of your concern. Keep going."

Old Sixth was frustrated. "Blood dyed his eyes red, and a group of black-clad men pursued him to this place."

The toad paused, unable to restrain themself. "Is there any reason for these pursuers to wear black in the afternoon? Wouldn’t that make them even more obvious?"

Lu Yin started to lose his patience. "What does it have to do with you? They like it, so why isn’t it allowed?"

"It still has to make some sense!"

"You’re not the boss, so why does it need to make sense to you?"

"I can’t keep reciting this!"

"You dare defy Lord Thousand Machinations?"

Old Sixth glanced at the bear. The bear gave a thumbs-up, though only the heavens knew what that meant. Old Sixth let out a deep sigh. "One black-clad man attacked from the left, one black-clad man attacked from the right, one black-clad man attacked from above, and one black-clad man attacked from below-

"Can’t you just say that the attacks from the black-clad men came from every direction?"

"I like it this way. I am searching for a rhythm. Isn’t that allowed?"

"Brat, I’ve discovered that you are very annoying!"

"Damned toad, you aren’t very likable either!"

Old Sixth glared viciously at Lu Yin, who met the glare with one of his own. "Speaking of which, why are you a toad and not a skeleton?"

Old Sixth sneered. "That is none of your business."

Lu Yin retorted, "Then my story is none of your business. When it comes to my story, I am supreme. I created it, so I am its god."

Old Sixth warned, "Talking like that makes it easy for you to get beaten."

"I’m not afraid of pain." Lu Yin raised his head.

Old Sixth was infuriated. Similar scenes had played out many times before. Lu Yin had discovered that this Seven-Treasure Anura actually had an obsession with logic. The more unreasonable a story was, the more unhappy the toad became. It was no wonder why they had been so irritated more than three centuries ago and had claimed that Lu Yin was just making up stories.

Listening was one thing, but now that Old Six had to repeat Lu Yin’s stories, they could no longer endure them. They kept trying to intimidate or threaten Lu Yin, telling him to make his stories a bit more logical. The more that the toad protested, the more farcical Lu Yin’s stories became. There was no other reason than that he wanted to argue with Old Sixth and try to find the toad’s bottom line.

Why was Old Sixth in the Death Megaverse? Was it still the same creature as in the past?

Ancestor Shan had still been thinking about Old Sixth even when dying, and Lu Yin had also kept the toad in mind. As long as there was a chance, he would definitely take Old Sixth away and give Ancestor Shan an explanation.

Time passed slowly, and soon, several years had gone by.

Lu Yin did not know whether the method he was using was good or something else, but he found that he was understanding Withered Requiem's music better and better. He understood it better than he had 300 years ago, and he was also becoming better and better at letting go of his mind.

Putting aside the improvement in his mental state, he simply felt more and more free to follow his heart. It was as if a path was appearing beneath his feet.

This was probably what people meant by “formlessness defeating form.”

At this moment, they were out in the wasteland. Lu Yin was beating a rhythm while Old Sixth spoke in a low voice, reciting an extremely illogical story that left the toad thoroughly unhappy.

The bear leisurely bobbed its head along.

In the distance, Yong Heng sat calmly, watching the bear with a very serious expression on his face. He had been watching the three beings for several years. He had never stopped observing them.

When Lu Yin's skeleton clone disappeared, Yong Heng had immediately been unable to find the bear. That had continued on for more than 300 years. Clearly, if the bear did not want someone to find it, they would not be able to. It was no different from how it was always able to find Lu Yin whenever it wanted to.

The current opportunity was rare, so Yong Heng could only seize every possible chance. Even so, he did not dare to disturb them, which was why he simply watched.

Bang!

Old Sixth crushed some white bones beneath a foot while roaring, "It is clearly night! Where did the sunlight come from?"

Lu Yin retorted, "Can’t there be two suns?"

"Then it isn’t night!"

"I want it that way. So what?"

"Change it!"

"No."

"Will you change it or not?"

"I won’t change a single word."

"You!" Old Sixth wanted nothing more than to slap Lu Yin to death.

At that moment, Withered Requiem began to sing. The booming music finally managed to suppress the toad’s frenzy. Old Sixth panted heavily while glaring fiercely at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin contemptuously spat, "You’re just a toad. What? Can you overturn the heavens? I don’t even know what species you are."

Old Sixth clenched their jaw and cold shot back, "I’m a Seven-Treasure Anura."

Lu Yin was surprised. "A Seven-Treasure Anura? Good name. Are there seven of you?"

"It is my species."

"Tell me about them."

"Hmph! Tell you? Are you worthy?"

"Fine, then I’ll make them a part of my story. The Seven-Treasure Anuras are a lot of toads. The eldest—"

"Shut up!" Old Sixth roared. "You dare to insult the Seven-Treasure Anuras?"

Lu Yin answered in a very serious tone, "There is no insult. Don’t worry, I will definitely tell a soul-stirring story of the Seven-Treasure Anuras. It will move the heavens above and shake all living creatures down below. Those who hear it will grieve, and those who listen will weep. This story will fully show what it means to be deeply moving."

Old Sixth threatened, "You are not allowed to tell that story!"

"I’m currently quite inspired."

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"It’s not my fault. I do not know about them, so I can only imagine things myself. Please move a bit further away. I need to think carefully."

Old Sixth’s breathing grew ragged, and then they moved closer and closer to Lu Yin, until their shadow covered him.

Yong Heng shifted and looked over.

Lu Yin fearlessly stared back at Old Sixth.

After the two stared at each other for a while, Old Sixth stopped releasing pressure and sat on the ground. The toad looked somewhat deflated as they proceeded to slowly speak about the Seven-Treasure Anuras.

They were genuinely afraid that Lu Yin would make up some nonsensical story. Although this would not have any effect on the Seven-Treasure Anuras, the idea of having to repeat such nonsense was too terrifying, especially because Old Sixth felt guilty towards their own kind.

Lu Yin listened in silence, not interrupting at all.

Old Sixth's voice echoed across the wasteland. As they spoke, they were also recalling the past. Lu Yin could tell that the toad’s mood had changed. They were like a lonely traveler remembering their hometown, and their voice fell low.

The Seven-Treasure Anuras had existed for a very long time, ever since the Nine Ramparts era. It was impossible to share their entire story in one sitting, so Old Sixth only told Lu Yin the general situation of their kind. What they spoke of most were lotus leaves, ponds, and that seven-colored land. It was possible that they even dreamed of that place.