I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

Communicating with them at a special frequency can greatly protect oneself and prevent conflict. When the level is high enough, one can even influence or command these beasts, and even perform strange actions.

When Lu Yuan saw this, he was reminded of Sandworm Town.

Karl taught him to play the song of the sandworms. When the bone flute was played, the sandworms did indeed quiet down; it was a form of communication.

He continued reading.

The book then goes on to describe the decline of ancient music theory.

There are two reasons.

The first is that the entry barrier is extremely high.

In the early stages of learning ancient music theory, there are almost no means of self-protection. You may learn the tune and be able to play it, but before reaching a certain threshold, when facing a truly bizarre or enraged behemoth, your skills are practically useless.

Reaching that threshold takes too long, and most people don't make it to that day.

The second reason was even more fatal: later, an easier method was found.

Extraordinary paths were opened up one by one: faith, knowledge, the supernatural, each with its own way. Cultivation was fast, effective, and resilient. Who would want to spend years or even decades studying the slow and unreliable ancient music theory?

Over time, ancient music theory declined.

Lu Yuan turned the pages, and the book's main text entered its core section.

The core of ancient music theory is the music itself.

Different tunes correspond to different objects. Sandworms have their own songs, and other wild animals have their own tunes. Each one is the result of repeated trials and explorations by our predecessors. Without a corresponding tune, there is no way to communicate with the corresponding being.

Besides the difficulty, the biggest reason for its decline was the loss of the original music.

Those who could play the instrument are dead, those who could blow the flute are dead, and the scores are incomplete, discontinuous, or lost. A complete ancient music theory piece is extremely rare in this era.

The book mentions one exception.

Unless one has mastered ancient music theory to its fullest extent, that step is called "music arises from the heart".

When you reach that level, you can communicate with all things in the world even without music. You don't need a corresponding melody or frequency; wherever your thoughts lead, all things respond.

But such a person has never appeared in the empire; he is merely a theoretical concept.

Lu Yuan stared at the four characters "The music arises from the heart" for two breaths, then turned the page.

It's too far away, no need to even think about it. Although I can see the experience bar, apart from encountering new knowledge and strange things, the improvement is not obvious. I've been in this world for almost a year now.

If he weren't constantly being chased, he might have been able to improve his skills in other areas besides forbidden arts. As for forbidden arts, it's difficult to improve them without encountering new strange and corrupting influences.

Forcing myself, someone with extraordinary knowledge, to venture into danger...

He then flipped through the pages.

The book includes several pieces of music.

Three broken pieces: "Insect Repelling Music," "Wolf-Attracting Music," and "Beast-Slaying Music."

The sheet music was all incomplete. The book clearly stated that even the recorder himself did not know what the whole piece was like. Only fragments and the general melody were left, and a rough outline could be barely discerned.

Lu Yuan glanced at the three incomplete scores. The fingering was intermittent, and the tune was sometimes high and sometimes low. He couldn't piece together anything complete.

The only relatively complete song is the plant accompaniment.

The effect is to communicate with the plant, and it can even make the plant grow faster, which can be used when planting.

Lu Yuan's gaze lingered on this page.

Communicate with plants.

He can concoct medicine himself, and his herbalism skill has just increased to forty. Moreover, medicinal herbs are everywhere in Oak Forest City. If Banzhile can really deal with plants, then he might have an additional auxiliary path on his path of concocting medicine.

He continued reading.

The book then goes on to describe the difficulties of using plant-based products.

Unlike the music for insects and beasts, when playing music to repel insects or attract wolves, you can at least see the other party's posture, expression, and movements. You can vaguely tell whether it is afraid, angry, or quiet, and adjust your tune according to the feedback to better improve yourself.

But plants are different.

Plants have no expression, no movement; you can't perceive their current state at all. Similarly, you don't even realize when a piece of music is played too high, too low, too fast, or too slow.

Therefore, the accompanying music is an extremely difficult piece.

Lu Yuan closed the book, leaned back in his chair, and thought for a moment.

He took out a sandworm bone flute from his waist.

The bone flute was grayish-white all over and was a gift from the current town mayor. It had been passed down for who knows how long, and the flute body had developed a light patina from being rubbed by his fingers.

The accompanying music in the book originally used a different tubular instrument, different from the bone flute, but essentially the same, both relying on breath and fingering to control the frequency.

Based on his understanding of music theory, Lu Yuan went through the fingering of the accompanying musical instruments in his mind and applied it to the bone flute, and was able to play it roughly.

He glanced at the gray text again.

[Ancient Music Theory: 5.9/50]

He was just starting out. Back in Sandworm Town, Karl taught him some basics, but as his level increased, his progress became slower and slower. After a long time of playing, his level only increased by 0.01. Eventually, he simply stopped playing and left it there untouched.

Now that we have a new piece of music, perhaps we can give it another try.

Lu Yuan brought the bone flute to his lips and, following the fingering instructions for the accompanying music in the book, slowly blew a note.

The sound was extremely soft.

Completely different from the tunes he usually plays, the accompaniment notes are low and gentle, like a breath slowly being released from the chest, without ups and downs or sharp tones, so soft that the melody is almost inaudible.

He followed the fingering instructions section by section, blowing through three or four measures. His fingers and breath were coordinated fairly well, without any major mishaps.

After sorting things out, he turned his gaze to the windowsill.

The two potted plants were still there, their leaves thick and emerald green, covered with a fine layer of night dew, gleaming faintly under the light.

Lu Yuan played the Companion Plant Music on the two potted plants from the beginning.

The sound of the flute spread throughout the room, so deep it almost blended into the night; the melody was indistinguishable unless you listened carefully.

When the second section of the song started playing, the green plants on the windowsill moved.

The leaves themselves were trembling, regardless of the wind.

Lu Yuan continued breathing, his gaze fixed intently on the two potted plants.

The trembling of the leaves became more and more obvious, with a high frequency, fine and rapid. The whole plant seemed to be stimulated by something, the veins of the leaves were taut and stiff, and the tips of the leaves were slightly upturned. It didn't seem to be enjoying itself, but rather it seemed to be angry.

Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stopped talking.

The moment the flute music stopped, the trembling of the two potted plants ceased abruptly. Their leaves relaxed, returning to their original state, and they sat quietly on the windowsill, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Yuan stared at the two potted plants for a long time.

It's most likely a mistake.

The book clearly explains the difficulties of playing with plants: plants have no expression, so you have no idea if you're playing correctly. His previous piece was probably off-key; to the plants, it likely sounded like a provocation.

He looked at the bone flute in his hand, then at the green plants on the windowsill that remained as quiet as ever, and, somewhat speechless, put the bone flute away.

Let's stop here for now. We'll figure it out slowly when we get back to a safe place. There's no rush.

In the corner of my field of vision, gray and white text jumped silently.

[Ancient Music Theory: 5.9 → 6.0/50]

It rose by 0.1 points.

It worked a little better than he expected. The new piece was indeed effective. Even if he played it wrong, at least he was able to play a frequency he had never played before on the bone flute. His body was adapting, and his experience was improving.

Lu Yuan tucked the bone flute back into his waistband, turned off the lamp, and lay down on the bed.

The night outside the window was deep and dark, with a few chirps of insects coming from afar. The night in Oak Forest City was so quiet that there was not a sound.

He closed his eyes, his mind raced, but he wasn't thinking about ancient music theory.

Bronze City.

The communication crystal remained silent, without a single response since the evening I arrived in Oak Forest City.

I'm leaving tomorrow.

No matter what the situation is like over there, he has to go back.

On the same night, a fire was burning beneath the Bronze City.

Old Parliament Square, main collapse site.

The area around the collapse site has been thoroughly cleared. The broken stone slabs and piled rubble have all been removed, revealing a dark, gaping hole underneath. The edges have been temporarily reinforced with silver rivets to prevent it from expanding further.

Looking down through the gap, there was only a bottomless darkness, and a stench rose up from below, so strong that you could almost taste it.

The area around the collapse was crowded with people.

The Night's Watch, the Holy Armored Army, and the Iron Guard—the three forces formed a dense, dark mass, illuminated by torches and sandworm lamps. Several alchemical cannons had already been dismantled, their parts strapped to stretchers and carried by Holy Armored soldiers, awaiting transport.

The mithril was piled up in six wooden crates, the lids of which were not closed, and the silvery-white luster shimmered in the firelight.

The Iron Guard Battalion's furnace torches were positioned at the very front, their thick pipes gleaming with dark red heat patterns. The copper storage tanks attached to the ends were filled with fuel for the furnace fire, and the nozzles were pointed downwards, aimed at the black hole.

Four people stood at the very front.

The Ascended One stood in the center, his mechanical body reflecting a cold, hard silver light in the firelight. His mechanical eyes slowly rotated, scanning every inch of the collapsed opening. His right fist was clenched, the gears between his knuckles making a very soft, yet precise, sound.

Rex stood to his left, his hood pulled low, covering most of his face, revealing only a pale chin.

He exuded a heavy aura, but if you looked closely, you could see something slowly wriggling under his coat, dark red, moving along his skin in streaks.

Those were the swarming insects. Since their appearances had increased, the branches were all aware that there was also this strange and extraordinary being hiding there.

The attendant stood on the right, dressed in a dark robe, with a calm expression and his hands hanging at his sides, his fingertips faintly glowing with purple light.

To show his sincerity, the count sent his attendant over directly. The Blue Knight is now watching the new collapse in the inner city with the count, and the attendant is also allowed to come out on his own for a while.

Standing at the very back was a person, half a head shorter than the three in front. His face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, so his features were not visible. His body was very still, but the extraordinary energy emanating from him was extremely suppressed, like an undercurrent submerged at the bottom of the water.

Four-digit, fourth-order.

Agnes stood two steps behind the four, her greyish-white nun's robes swaying gently in the night breeze. Her hands were crossed over her chest, and her lips moved slightly, as if she were silently reciting something.