Chapter 4562: Wang Wen And Thousand Machinations
Chapter 4562: Wang Wen And Thousand Machinations
Stepping into outer space, Lu Yin looked back at Furball. "Senior, can you help me keep an eye on the Lepidarch? I am afraid that it might disappear."
Furball eyebrows shot up. He actually wants me to do something?
They reflexively wanted to scold this skeleton, but after thinking for a moment, Furball gritted its teeth. "Fine..."
This was their scheme, and it was not a simple one either. This was only the beginning.
Furball was actually quite uncomfortable with letting Lu Yin go. After all, if this skeleton left and never returned, there was nothing that they could do about it. And yet, this step also had to be taken. Obscura could not use any means to control this skeleton. Offering benefits was the most reliable form of controlling it.
Lu Yin left. While watching him leave, Furball exhaled slowly and then silently settled into the Qi Megaverse.
Far away, Thousand Machinations glanced at Furball before moving back to its own Abyss.
Although the Qi Megaverse was not far from Thousand Machinations' Abyss, the two were not close either. With Lu Yin's speed, he could cover the distance very quickly, but because his Stillness was almost completely depleted, his speed was greatly reduced. It would take him several years to return.
Considering his earlier situation, if he had not happened to find the Qi Megaverse, his skeletal clone would have never been able to return safely. The Lepidarch would have destroyed him long before he arrived.
Several years later, Lu Yin returned to the Abyss. He saw Thousand Machinations standing by the river as he crashed to the ground with a bang.
Thousand Machinations turned back and saw Lu Yin smash into the ground. "Did you complete your task?"
The bones that formed Lu Yin's skeleton had all been shattered into multiple pieces. He bitterly replied, "No. I killed four of the Immortal butterflies, which alarmed the Lepidarch. I couldn’t defeat it."
Thousand Machinations was not surprised. "What about the Grand Clarity materials?"
"Those butterflies devour Myriad Metal Qi, and they’ve already devoured all the Myriad Metal Qi from the Grand Clarity sourceboxes there, which caused the material to lose its effect. It’s all useless now."
"I see. What a pity," Thousand Machinations replied.
Lu Yin stared at Thousand Machinations' back. "I only narrowly escaped from death during this trip. Fortunately, at the crucial moment, I encountered a creature from Obscura, a giant that wields a cyan colored power. If not for them, I really would have been killed by the Lepidarch."
Thousand Machinations gave Lu Yin a strange look. He readily admits to it? Is he certain that I was watching him the whole time?
Lu Yin was calm. Of course this was something that needed to be addressed openly. Regardless of whether Thousand Machinations had been watching him the entire time, Wang Wen's shadow lurked behind Furball. Since Wang Wen had said that there was no reason to worry about Thousand Machinations learning about Obscura's invitation, Lu Yin intended to see just how capable Wang Wen truly was. Could he really make an Abyssal conceal things for him?
"This situation can also be considered an opportunity. There is no need to tell me everything," Thousand Machinations said.
Lu Yin replied, "As a being of the Death Megaverse, I feel that I should still inform Your Excellency of it."
"No need."
Lu Yin had intended to confess that he had been invited to join Obscura, but Thousand Machinations' attitude showed that they truly did not care.
In Lu Yin's perspective, Thousand Machinations was very similar to Wang Wen. While they might look like they did not care about things, in reality, they just had greater schemes in play.
Lu Yin did not believe that the Abyssal truly did not care about the matter, but since he was being told not to say anything, he would stay silent.
"I do not care about your encounter with Obscura, but you must deal with the Lepidarch," Thousand Machinations suddenly announced.
Lu Yin was startled. "Deal with the Lepidarch? But I am no match for it!"
"Then find a way to deal with it. The Lepidarch Continent has always wandered close to the borders of my Death Megaverse. That bug believes that it does not need to fear my Death Megaverse because of its natural characteristics. Indeed, for many years, we have allowed it to live freely, but that does not mean it should. You are an Aberrant, which makes you the most suitable to take action this time."
"But I—"
"Chen." Thousand Machinations looked over and smiled at Lu Yin. "I did not say that you must deal with it right now. Immortal beings have plenty of time. 10,000 years is just a casual nap. You can continue cultivating and only take action when you believe that you are able to deal with the Lepidarch.
"The earlier urgency was because of the Grand Clarity materials. Now that we know that they are useless, what remains does not require us to act now. So, cultivate slowly."
Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. "I understand."
"Good. Did you have any other gains from this battle with the Lepidarch?" Thousand Machinations asked.
Lu Yin delightedly reported, "This junior had a breakthrough."
"Oh?"
"Perhaps experiencing approaching death allowed this junior to break through my limits. I can now absorb more Stillness."
"Yes. Death can indeed allow one to surpass their limits. It seems that you have broken through your own potential. Let me see how much Stillness you can absorb now. This will also allow you to recover."
The black sphere reappeared. Thousand Machinations' Three Deaths Art was always shocking to behold.
Lu Yin's Cosmic Art expanded wildly. He no longer hid its true limit. Thousand Machinations had undoubtedly noticed something during Lu Yin’s fight against the Lepidarch, which was why Lu Yin had reported a breakthrough. This was now the time for him to see the true limits of his Cosmic Art.
More and more stars appeared and revolved around him. In an instant, the range of the Cosmic Art surpassed that of an entire megaverse, and it expanded into the Aevum Inch. Before long, it reached the range previously shown, and then it quickly surpassed that.
Thousand Machinations stood by the river and looked up at the sky. No one knew what they were thinking.
Star after star continued to form. This time, Lu Yin hid nothing at all. He wanted to see just how much Stillness his skeleton clone could really absorb.
When the stars stopped condensing, Lu Yin finally opened his eyes. The Cosmic Art was a full one-third larger than what he had previously revealed as his limit.
One-third. It was a shocking increase. Even Thousand Machinations was caught off guard.
Lu Yin raised a bone hand and started condensing the Three Deaths Art.
Condensing the Three Deaths Art with the Stillness in the Cosmic Art was equivalent to starting over from the very beginning.
Thousand Machinations watched calmly, their gaze deep.
One cycle.
Two.
Three.
...
Five.
Lu Yin was still condensing the Three Deaths Art. Stillness frantically surged towards the center of his art. Six cycles, seven, eight.
The Three Deaths Art had long since exceeded what he could previously hold, and yet he was still gathering more Stillness.
Nine cycles.
Lu Yin suddenly looked at Thousand Machinations. Ten.
Thousand Machinations raised its head. For the first time, the unfathomable black sphere fluctuated, as if its expansion was being somewhat restrained.
At last, there was a chance to glimpse the depths of Thousand Machinations' Three Deaths Art. Although this was only the minimum qualifications to catch even that much and Lu Yin still had not truly seen anything, it was already quite impressive.
He had just absorbed ten times the Stillness that the Cosmic Art could contain at its true limit, but this was still not the limit of the Three Deaths Art for Lu Yin. He was still suppressing himself. He feared that something might go wrong if he continued absorbing more Stillness.
His Three Deaths Art currently contained far more Stillness than when he had gone to the Lepidarch Continent. If he had possessed so much back then, he definitely would have been able to hold out long enough to return to the Abyss.
Sometimes hiding too much was not a good thing. Perhaps Lu Yin had been overthinking things.
Even now, he was still keeping some things hidden. He truly wanted to let go of all restraints and condense the Three Deaths Art to its fullest potential, but he still refrained from doing so.
His body slowly descended to land beside Thousand Machinations. "Senior, I have recovered."
The bear exclaimed in amazement, "Are you truly not an Immortal being?"
Lu Yin was startled. If he had flesh and blood, he might very well have revealed a flaw in his reaction. Being a skeleton certainly had its advantages. As long as he did not move, nothing could be gleaned from his expression. "Senior, what do you mean?"
Thousand Machinations slowly said, "In terms of Stillness, in the entire Death Megaverse, apart from me and Nethersea Suppression, no one surpasses your reserves. Even Dark Prisonbone, who is second only to us, can only be considered comparable. Not even it surpasses you.
"For a creature that is not even an Immortal being to absorb so much Stillness is enough to be recorded in the history of the Death Megaverse."
Lu Yin quickly replied, "This junior has simply been lucky. I encountered you, Senior, who helped me reach the limits of my own potential, and then I repeatedly fought with my life on the line in the Lepidarch Continent. That allowed me to break through the limits of my own potential. How many beings in the Aevum Inch can even reach the limits of their potential, let alone break through them? No matter what this junior may have achieved, it all comes from you, Senior."
Thousand Machinations grinned. "No need for such pleasant words."
Despite what the bear said, it was smiling very happily.
"By the way, Senior, you said before that many beings had died here while trying to reach the limit of their potential. Did those deaths not increase your karmic chain?" Lu Yin suddenly remembered a question he had had.
Thousand Machinations very casually replied, "No."
Lu Yin very much wanted to ask why not, but Thousand Machinations cut him off. "Since you have recovered, what do you plan to do next? Continue cultivating? Push to break into the Immortal realm? Surpass Nethersea Suppression and me in regards to Stillness? Or something else?
"Speaking of which, you were granted Bone Script by Withered Requiem, right? They can no longer control you. You are now free."
Lu Yin respectfully replied, "This junior wants to go meet the cyan member of Obscura."
Thousand Machinations was rendered speechless. "Even if I do not care about such things, saying it directly to my face is showing far too little regard for me, isn’t it? You are openly trying to betray the Death Megaverse."
Lu Yin looked at Thousand Machinations. "It is precisely because I respect you, Senior, that I said anything. As a being of the Death Megaverse, I absolutely will not betray it. Obscura can make this junior probe for information about the Death Megaverse, but this junior can also help the Death Megaverse obtain information about Obscura—"
Thousand Machinations raised a hand to interrupt Lu Yin. "Stop. My brain is already very worn out from creating battle techniques. I do not have the leisure to listen to you ramble on about such things. Do whatever you want, but there is one thing I must remind you of."
It stared at Lu Yin very intently. "Forget your identity as a human. It is an identity that will doom you beyond redemption, no matter if you are in my Death Megaverse, Obscura, or anywhere else. This is true no matter whom you join or whom you betray."
Lu Yin paused for a moment. "I understand."
Thousand Machinations shook its head. "I have said a little too much. Do as you please, but if I need you, you must come back and translate for me."
Lu Yin nodded. "This junior will do so."
Several days later, he went back into the Aevum Inch and made his way towards the Qi Megaverse. He did not use Obscura's gate to reach his target. After all, he wanted to use the Lepidarch. However, he did not know the butterfly’s whereabouts, so how could he go alone?
Seeing Lu Yin leave, Thousand Machinations looked at its paw. Did he truly break through his limits? Not necessarily. What an interesting test subject.
The Abyssal did not care about what Lu Yin wanted to do. After all, it did not matter. However, it truly wanted to see the limit of the human race. Even so, it could not go too far.
Hmm... raise him up with one hand and suppress him with the other.
Time passed, yet Lu Yin was still moving towards the Qi Megaverse.
Thousand Machinations suddenly emerged from underground and looked over at something in puzzlement. At some unknown time, a gate had appeared in their Abyss.
"It’s been a long time." Wang Wen stepped out of the gate to stand before Thousand Machinations with a smile.
Thousand Machinations stared at Wang Wen, rather surprised to see him. They raised a paw and drew a circle.
Wang Wen smiled. "I don’t understand what you mean. I can only guess that you might be very surprised to see me. Or perhaps, pleasantly surprised? After all, we are old acquaintances."
Thousand Machinations crossed their arms and stopped moving. They simply stared at Wang Wen.
Wang Wen continued to smile. "I’m the same as you. There are many things that I care about and also many things that I don’t care about. The difference is that our pursuits are opposed. I pursue balance, while you seek to break that balance. Because of this, you once targeted me. While you have since given up, you remain fixated on the human civilization.
"I believe that you have studied many of the human skeletons within the Death Megaverse, but it is useless. Even the one you are currently studying is completely different from me."