Chapter 4459: The Second Note
Chapter 4459: The Second Note
Lu Yin took the note. This was the second one.
Some being had sent a note down the River of Aeons to him before. That time, it had informed him of the location of Miao Zun's trial to join Obscura. This time, it was different.
Lu Yin looked at the note, and his gaze sharpened. “The Keeper of Balance will stop Obscura from initiating another conscription for war.”
It was only a simple sentence, and yet it made Lu Yin's heart sink. The Keeper of Balance really was about to make a move.
The appearance of Bestowal God had been a warning. On the other hand, preventing Obscura from initiating another war meant that, as soon as his human civilization's 2,000 years of protection expired, they would no longer have Obscura’s protection. At that time, aside from members of Obscura not being allowed to directly act against one another, the Keeper of Balance would be free to target the Trio.
They were already laying out their plans.
But why? Was it because of Chu Songyun’s breakthrough? Because there was now another guardian artifact? Or could there be some other reason?
With the Keeper of Balance doing this, it meant that there were less than 800 years remaining in the 2,000-year protection period. That was very little time, and Lu Yin felt a growing sense of crisis. He did not know what awaited the Human Trio, and he needed to come up with a response.
Either he needed to become strong enough that the forces used by the Keeper of Balance could do nothing, or the Trio needed to remain under Obscura’s protection.
What troubled him the most was that he had no idea what other means the Keeper of Balance still had to deal with humanity, aside from the Divine Realm. Was it possible that they would act personally?
It might be possible that the simplest solution is to extend the protection period from Obscura. If that was true, then he would have to start a war with a mandatory conscription.
Right, there’s another option. Lu Yin lay down in the floating coffin and entered Vestigium. “Ba Se, come out.”
“What is it?”
“The Keeper of Balance broke the rules. Are you going to do anything about it or not?”
“Do you have evidence?”
Lu Yin angrily snapped, “When Second Furball broke the rules, you never asked for evidence, so when it comes to this Keeper of Balance, why do they get special treatment?”
“Yellow broke the rules and injured Orange. That is a fact. Since you say that the Keeper of Balance broke the rules, who was injured?” Ba Se remained completely calm.
Lu Yin had never expected Ba Se to truly pursue this matter. It was true that Chu Songyun had not been injured, and the Keeper of Balance’s attack had forced out a guardian artifact. What Lu Yin really wanted was to seize the initiative and prepare the ground for what came next.
“It seems that Obscura’s so-called rules depend on the individual. Second Furball was weak, so it deserved its bad luck. The Keeper of Balance is strong, so it doesn’t matter if they break the rules,” Lu Yin spoke loudly, ensuring that his voice spread across Vestigium.
Ba Se's tone remained as calm as ever. “If there is evidence, Obscura will naturally enforce the rules.”
“Hm? Child, are you feeling wronged? Tell us about it,” Old Man Hehe teasingly called out.
You Che's voice also rang out. “Lu Yin, don’t be impulsive. Everything depends on evidence. I believe that there must be some misunderstanding here.”
Lu Yin grew irritated the moment You Che spoke. “Rules are like a line. Some stand above it, and others below. I understand that, and I am only giving everyone a reminder. Before you break the rules, you better first make sure whether you stand above the line or below it.”
Then he addressed Ba Se again. “I want to ask something. Can a mission reward be traded for a protection period from Obscura?”
Ba Se said, “Yes.”
“How much time can a six-star reward buy?”
“That requires discussion.”
“Discussion? With whom?”
“Obscura’s protection concerns all members of Obscura, so such a matter requires discussion with all members.”
“Then what if I designate a single member of Obscura for protection?”
“There is no such reward available to be exchanged. All that is possible is a period of protection for all of Obscura.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Exchanging protection for all of Obscura would clearly put him at a disadvantage. If a six-star reward could be traded for the protection of just one Obscura member, the duration would certainly be longer.
This required a transaction, just like when he had traded a five-star reward with Furball.
This led to a new question: the Obscura member who he most wanted to protect the Trio was White. Lu Yin would choose White without hesitation. White was simply too powerful. They had once confronted Shang Jing, the ancestor of the Plume Immortals, head-on. They had tracked Second Furball like a ghost, and they could also open gates across the main stream of the River of Aeons. Their strength and methods were unfathomable. With White protecting the Trio, there would be no cause to fear even the Keeper of Balance. But how could Lu Yin get White to negotiate a deal?
“Ba Se, I want to speak with White alone.”
“Please confirm that White is in Vestigium.”
Lu Yin felt a headache coming on and shouted, “White, are you there? Let's talk.”
No one answered.
“White?”
“Hehe, child, there’s no need to shout. White will not respond to you. They are very special.”
“Special in what way?”
“Hehe.”
Lu Yin frowned. “You Che, you are there, right?”
“I am here, Lu Yin. What can I help you with?” You Che was as polite as ever.
Lu Yin directly stated, “I want to speak privately with White. Help me arrange it.”
You Che replied in a helpless tone, “I am sorry, but I cannot contact White.”
“Then who can help me contact White?”
“I can help you,” Black spoke up, addressing Lu Yin alone so that no one else could overhear.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. “Your condition?”
“You know it.”
“That price is too high.”
“I do not know why you want to contact White, but when it comes to many things, what White can do, I can do as well,” Black stated.
Lu Yin took a deep breath. White and Black were opposing colors. It made sense that, if White was powerful, then Black should not be far behind.
If things truly reached the worst outcome, Lu Yin could trade with Obscura’s Black. Of course, that would only be if the Trio faced true danger.
Furthermore, if even Black was not enough, there was still Old Man Hehe.
Lu Yin could trade star charts with one and branches of the River of Aeons with the other. Both were possible options.
That would also allow him to save his six-star reward. Black and Old Man Hehe should be enough.
Thinking of that, Lu Yin softened his voice a bit. “Fine. When the time comes, I will trade with you.”
“That would be best,” Black replied.
Old Man Hehe’s voice echoed across Vestigium. “Child, you’ve gone quiet. Did someone promise to help you contact White? Let me warn you, do not believe others too easily. Very few members of Obscura can reach White. Hehe.”
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “I know what you want. If I use that to trade with you, are you willing?”
“Yes.”
“So direct?”
“Why bother hiding things?”
Lu Yin said, “Good. There will come a day when we make a trade.”
“Hehe.”
Lu Yin withdrew from Vestigium. Trading with members of Obscura was his last resort. As long as any other possibility existed, he would never willingly help a member of Obscura grow stronger.
But there was still one member of Obscura who had repeatedly helped him. Passing notes down from the main stream of the River of Aeons seemed exactly like something that Old Man Hehe would do. But precisely because it seemed so obvious, it was harder to trust.
Who was it? Were they really helping Lu Yin, or was there some ulterior motive?
He still had not figured out which member of Obscura had been watching Ancestor Shan.
Lu Yin rubbed his head. There were clearly not that many members to consider, so why was everything still so complicated? What he feared the most at this moment was that Ba Se would suddenly find new potential members. That would create new trouble all over again.
Not long afterward, Lu Yin went to attempt to obtain Crow Reversal again. He was somewhat more successful than before. After all, he had discovered a number of megaverses in the recent centuries while humanity had been preparing star charts, and he had absorbed a number of motes of green light, but it was still far from enough.
Lu Yin continued traveling from one cosmic civilization to another, lighting up the stars of his Star Fist while also building up the wall in his heart.
***
A massive rift in the void split the cosmos in two, swallowing countless skeletal creatures and a vast amount of light. Battlegrounds filled with slaughter stretched out in all directions, and endless bones filled the region.
Violent music blared in the distance, drawing closer and closer. Following it was an overwhelming amount of Lifeforce. It looked like a white monster.
Joy City was on the verge of collapse. Skeleton after skeleton charged out, but the city was surrounded by even more lights.
This was the battlefield between Joy City and the Divine Realm.
Just as Lu Yin had expected, the two had gone to war. There had been no communication, nor was any needed. There were rules between fishing civilizations, and yet those rules seemed to have broken the moment these two met, as one side had immediately attacked.
Within Joy City, beside a river, a skeleton raised its head to look upward. Even a corner of the castle had been smashed open. The ground was covered with countless shattered bones, including bones of various colors. They stretched out endlessly, even floating in the river.
So the war has finally begun.
The skeleton glanced around. It was Lu Yin. He had rolled his die to Possess a creature of Joy City because he had wanted to see what was happening. The moment he succeeded, he saw war, and not just any war, but an exceptionally brutal one.
Stillness did not provide Joy City with any advantage when facing the Divine Realm because the beings of the Divine Realm had no bones. They were beings of specks of light. Their essential lifeform was nothing more than a single mote.
This was precisely why Withered Requiem had initiated this war. A fishing civilization that could not be threatened by the Death Megaverse naturally had to be erased.
This was one of the possibilities that Lu Yin had anticipated. He had also considered the possibility that Withered Requiem would not go to war. After all, against the Divine Realm, Bone Script granted no advantage whatsoever. It could only be said that Lu Yin had slightly underestimated the Death Megaverse. They could tolerate the existence of fishing civilizations, but they could not tolerate the existence of a fishing civilization that was immune to the threat of Bone Script.
Memories continued to pour in. Within this skeleton’s memories, Lu Yin saw that Zhou had already charged out into battle, and another Immortal from outside the castle had done the same. That second Immortal was a massive creature made of complex bones piled together like a mountain. It had hurtled into outer space to smash countless motes of light apart with a single palm strike.
Lu Yin felt the terror of the sky collapsing and the earth splitting. That was the moment that Withered Requiem and the Divine Realm’s Divine King had started their battle.
At that moment, the roaring music had reached its peak. The Divine King had directly attacked Joy City, intending to destroy it, only to be lured away by Withered Requiem. No one knew where the two had gone to decide their own battle.
This war had started not long ago, and yet Joy City was already being crushed by the Divine Realm. Joy City could not match the Divine Realm in their number of Immortals, and Withered Requiem was also clearly unable to overpower the Divine King. If the war continued, Joy City would inevitably lose.
The Death Megaverse was very powerful, but Joy City was merely one of the seven Abysses. On its own, it was not enough to defeat a fishing civilization.
Lu Yin immediately ended the Possession. He then left the Trio, teleporting closer to the battlefield. He wanted to use this opportunity to weaken both the Death Megaverse and the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm was certainly a civilization that Obscura’s Keeper of Balance intended to use against humanity. The more the civilization’s strength was depleted, the less of a threat it would pose to his human civilization.
As for the Death Megaverse, there was even less to say. Lu Yin would weaken it as much as possible when given an opportunity.
No matter who won this war, both sides had to pay a price.
After teleporting again and again, Lu Yin finally drew close to the battlefield.
He stopped fifty years away from Joy City and did not move any closer, lest Withered Requiem or the Divine King notice his arrival.
Lu Yin first searched for where the Immortals were fighting on the battlefield. He quickly found Zhou. They were known as the strongest being in Joy City after Withered Requiem. They were not just facing one opponent, but rather two Immortals. Not only that, but both were undoubtedly true Immortal beings.
Aside from that, Joy City still had at least two more Immortals. One of them was a member of Withered Requiem’s band. That one was a rather formidable Immortal. The other was the Immortal that Lu Yin had personally seen being granted Bone Script during a Possession.