Star Odyssey

Chapter 4440: The Small Courtyard

In outer space, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes and let out a breath. The death of the skeleton allowed him to once again experience the razor-thin line between life and death. That feeling had once been the key to him comprehending the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival. It was that exact sensation that had allowed him to gradually complete the God of Death Transformation. It was the true feeling of death.

Within his inner universe, the Stillness trembled slightly.

The fish skeleton had not given him any sort of warning in advance, and it had only babbled on about the sewers. The destructive force of the music traveling through those tunnels was so great that, besides the skeleton that Lu Yin had Possessed, even a Dukkhan would not have been able to endure it.

That fish skeleton was somehow able to endure, proving that its strength was not low. It was no wonder that it had dared to bother Zhou again and again. Zhou was a peak one-law Immortal. Without true power, there was no way that the skeletal fish would even dare to approach such an individual.

Still, the fish skeleton had not lied; it really could get inside the castle. As long as one could withstand the force of the sound traveling through the tunnels, they could move about beneath the castle and learn a great deal of information.

Joy City was already traveling in the Divine Realm’s direction, but it would still be several hundred years before the two met. Lu Yin had no intention of wasting these several hundred years just waiting. He would continue rolling his die, but his target had changed. He would find that fish skeleton again and return to the sewers.

Three months later, Lu Yin Possessed another skeleton and began searching for the fish skeleton. However, Joy City was simply too vast and its rivers too numerous. Finding a single fish skeleton would not be easy. So, Lu Yin changed his approach and searched for Zhou instead. That fish skeleton would not give up on recruiting Zhou.

However, Lu Yin immediately stopped and ended the Possession.

The skeleton that he had managed to Possess was not particularly strong, and it was certainly not capable of withstanding the force of the music in the sewers. For Lu Yin to get any use out of his efforts, he needed to Possess a truly capable expert.

So, he kept rolling his die.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three years had gone by. Lu Yin looked around and then examined his latest skeletal body. Not bad strength. When the creature had been alive, it had undoubtedly possessed the power of a peak Dukkhan, and its bones were extremely tough. It would certainly be able to withstand the force of music in the sewers.

On top of that, Lu Yin’s current location was not too far from Zhou.

He determined the direction and started making his way towards the Immortal skeleton.

He had Possessed quite a few skeletons by now, and he had become very familiar with the lands outside the castle, so it did not take him long to find Zhou.

Zhou did not stay in a hidden place. From time to time, other skeletons would observe the Immortal from afar. All of those skeletons were beings who had never seen an Immortal before, and they were very curious about what an Immortal was like.

Zhou sat there in silence the whole time, communicating with no one. They also did not seem to have any intention of entering the castle, but Lu Yin had Possessed the Immortal once before, and he thus knew that Zhou also desired to enter the castle. It was the place that every skeleton granted life by Withered Requiem longed to reach.

Having located Zhou, Lu Yin should be able to quickly find the fish skeleton as well.

He did not want to wait, so he walked over to the nearby river, raised a hand, and struck the water.

Bang!

The tremendous impact split the river apart and sent many skeletal fishes flying up. He checked all of them. They all looked about the same, but the one he was seeking was probably not among them. He moved on to the next river and struck again.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

One thunderous impact after another struck the rivers, drawing the attention of many skeletons. They might not understand what Lu Yin was doing, but they also did not dare to interfere. They lacked the strength to do so, and besides, there was no reason for them to interfere.

Occasionally, one of the skeletons in a river would resist, only to be casually swept aside.

With a bang, another river split apart, and a fish skeleton leapt up. "Brother, what is the meaning of this? Have we offended you?"

Lu Yin stared at the fish skeleton. This was the one. "Where is my brother?"

The fish skeleton looked confused. "Who’s your brother?"

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low, "The one who went into the sewers with you to enter the castle."

The fish skeleton was surprised. "Was that your brother?"

"Yes."

"Oh, what a coincidence. Your brother is in the castle."

"The castle?"

"Yes—wait, hold on. I only told your brother that the castle could be entered through the sewers, so how do you know about that?"

Lu Yin raised his chin. "Our clan has an innate gift. Whatever he knows, I also know."

The fish skeleton did not believe that at all. "Then why are you asking me? Don’t you already know what happened to your brother?"

Lu Yin nodded. "I cannot sense what happens inside the castle."

The fish skeleton let out a breath. "Well, your brother is currently enjoying himself inside the castle. Do you want to go too?"

"Is he really in the castle?"

"Don’t you already know?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Fine, I’ll go too. Lead the way."

"All right." The fish skeleton bounced once. "Hold on tight."

Lu Yin jumped into the water, grabbed the fish skeleton, and soon saw a familiar scene. The fish skeleton led him through tortuous passageways in the water, and they ultimately entered the castle through the sewers.

He discovered that the fish skeleton carefully chose the timing when leading others into the castle. It needed to wait for the music to stop. If there was music playing, it would take a detour and continue circling until the music stopped.

This was probably to prevent anyone from realizing that the sewers were actually a sound amplifier.

But what was the point of doing that? Lu Yin did not understand it, though he did not need to. He simply needed to follow this fish skeleton in.

They soon arrived beneath that same manhole cover.

"Where is my brother?" Lu Yin asked.

The fish skeleton replied, "He’ll be here soon. Don’t be anxious."

The music would likely soon play again, and its pressure would fill the tunnels. Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he waited quietly.

Sure enough, the music soon started, and a roaring sonic pressure filled the sewer. The fish skeleton stared at Lu Yin while he remained as steady as a mountain.

No way. Is this guy really so strong? The fish skeleton was puzzled and circled around Lu Yin.

He asked again, "Where is my brother?"

"He’ll be here any moment. Don’t rush."

"Just what is this place?"

"The castle’s amplifier. It lets all of Joy City hear the music from the castle. So, how is it? Isn’t it wonderful?"

Lu Yin’s voice turned cold. "My brother could have never withstood that music just now. Did he die?"

The fish skeleton hurriedly said, "It’s not my fault! I warned him in advance, but your brother insisted on coming in. There was nothing I could do!"

Lu Yin suddenly reached out to grab the fish skeleton. "Then why did you lure me here as well? Are you trying to get me killed?"

The fish skeleton hurriedly retreated. "Brother, don’t be impulsive! This is the castle. We can’t kill each other here."

Lu Yin continued to try to grab the fish skeleton, but it was extremely slippery, and it instantly shot away.

That was exactly what Lu Yin wanted. Once the fish skeleton ran, he would be able to enter the castle. With that in mind, he moved toward the manhole cover.

At the same time, another irritated voice came from the castle. "Why is there still noise? Wasn’t it cleaned out last time?"

"Maybe it wasn’t cleaned thoroughly. I’ll clean it again."

"No need. I’ll do it myself."

Lu Yin continued moving closer to the manhole cover. As long as he could get past it, he would be inside the castle itself. If he wanted to learn more about the Death Megaverse, he first needed to understand Withered Requiem, the ruler of one of the Death Megaverse’s Abysses. And to understand this Abyssal, Lu Yin needed to enter the castle. Closer. Closer.

Just as the skeleton that Lu Yin had Possessed was about to reach the manhole cover, the entire sewer shook, and it felt as though it was being lifted up. Water surged in the direction of the manhole cover. Lu Yin stopped right beneath it and looked up. Through the cover, he could make out an eye socket which lay behind a pair of sunglasses, and it was staring through the grate.

This eye was larger than the entire sewer tunnel. The tunnel was enormous, at least several meters wide, and yet at this moment, it seemed to shrink many times over, and the skeleton that Lu Yin had Possessed became an ant that was being stared at by a giant eye.

"So it really is clogged," the voice said. The eye socket behind the sunglasses disappeared, and the mouth of a skeleton pressed close to the manhole cover and blew sharply once.

The skeleton that Lu Yin had Possessed had the strength of a peak Dukkhan and very impressive defenses, and yet it was instantly blown to ash by a single breath. It was completely erased.

In outer space, Lu Yin’s eyes suddenly opened, and he stared into the distance with a bit of lingering fear. That breath had contained a terrifying pressure. Forget a peak Dukkhan, as even an ordinary Immortal would have been instantly crushed.

That had been Withered Requiem. Lu Yin had personally experienced the pressure that the ruler of an Abyss could exert.

The pressure from Withered Requiem had been no less than Hong Xia’s at his peak.

He had also experienced death again.

The only thing was that Lu Yin had not been able to sense anything related to how the sewer had seemingly shrunk. There was something wrong with that castle. Was that the ability of the Building Blocks mirebound artifact?

Unfortunately, he had learned nothing.

That fish skeleton should be fine, as it had fled long before the “clog” had been discovered. It was certainly slippery enough.

Lu Yin had originally planned to keep rolling his die, but after thinking things over, he decided to stop for the moment. He had already entered the sewer twice with that fish skeleton’s guidance. If he continued, he might be discovered. It was better to wait a while before trying again.

There were still several hundred years before Joy City would run into the Divine Realm. Lu Yin decided to return to Manifest City instead. The sooner he gained control of that place and could protect the Trio, the sooner he would gain some peace of mind.

The only question was how exactly You Che would make his move. Part of the reason why Lu Yin had saved his six-star mission reward from Obscura was to deal with You Che. Only by clearly understanding what he was capable of could Lu Yin find a way to deal with You Che.

So far, he was not clear on anything related to Che. Where was his Hollow Void Mountain?

Lu Yin entered Manifest City once more. No matter what means You Che might possess, Lu Yin needed to first find the means of controlling Manifest City. Only after that would he have to deal with You Che.

In fact, that method could even serve as bait.

But even after all this time, Lu Yin had found nothing. Fortunately, he was at least able to cultivate Willforce within the guardian artifact, so his time there was not wasted.

He decided to continue observing the city with Willforce.

Soon enough, Lu Yin circled the city once in his bird form and then landed in a tree. He looked down at a grandfather and grandson who were resting in the shade below. The smiles on their faces were so pure that they made others long for them.

Woof, woof.

A little dog ran out, and the child beneath the tree got up to chase after it while his grandfather laughed loudly.

Lu Yin’s gaze followed the child out of the courtyard. It was on a secluded little lane, some distance from the city’s main street, so there were not many people nearby. There was nothing to worry about.

"Don’t run, Little Yellow. Don’t run." As the child chased after the dog, he rounded a corner of the street, only to bump into someone. Both let out startled cries.

The child fell down, his eyes reddening as he rubbed his forehead. That hurt!

Woof woof! Little Yellow barked sharply at the child’s side while staring warily at the person who had collided with the child. That person was rubbing his thigh. The collision had hurt him too.

The grandfather hurried out to see what had happened.

Lu Yin stared blankly at the man who was rubbing his thigh. Tuo Lin?

The grandfather ran around the corner. "I’m sorry, sir! Truly sorry. This child is too mischievous. I’m sorry."

Tuo Lin rubbed his thigh. "It’s all right, Grandpa. Please check and see if the child is hurt."

The boy clung to his grandfather’s leg, shrinking back a little in fear. His grandfather quickly replied, "Thank you, sir, but the child is fine. I’m sorry. Please come into our courtyard and have some tea."

While the grandfather had merely invited him in out of courtesy, Tuo Lin was genuinely thirsty, and his eyes lit up. "Really? Thank you!"

The grandfather froze for a moment, but then he smiled. "Really. Please come in."

Tuo Lin followed the old man into the courtyard, and right beneath Lu Yin’s eyes, happily began chatting with the grandfather and grandson.

Perched on Tuo Lin’s shoulder was a wild cat, and a rice seedling was stuck to his back. He had a very odd appearance.

Lu Yin stared straight down. Why is Tuo Lin a human? So many people have entered Manifest City, yet not a single one has ever stayed human. Why can Tuo Lin do so?