A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 508: Seo Ran's Family (3)

Chapter 508: Seo Ran's Family (3)

'...He’s screaming so much it makes feel sorry.'

However, there's nothing I can do.

The End is approaching and there's no way I, who is only at the early Sacred Vessel stage, can make proper asures.

For the sake of the living beings of the Purple Gold Realm, at least until the End, it would be better for Ban Ta to take charge.

[Hmhhmm... It's unfortunate.]

[I'll have to wait for the next opportunity.]

Baek Woon and Hae Lin just smack their lips and turn away, while Yu Oh and Ja Eum looks at for a mont with a sense of regret.

And...

Ban Ta suddenly rolls his eyes and bares his teeth.

[...Yes... Congratulations, Daoist Seo. But do you happen to know? Among us Sacred Masters, it is customary to give an initiation ceremony when a junior succeeds in becoming a Sacred Master.]

[...This is the first I'm hearing of it.]

[Of course it's the first ti! This is a tradition passed down only within the Purple Gold Realm.]

'I rember Ban Ta being the first Sacred Master of the Purple Gold Realm...'

[...I am not a Sacred Master of the Purple Gold Realm, so I don't believe there's a reason for to undergo that initiation...]

[In celebration of junior's advancent to Sacred Master, I, Ban Ta! Will give the best initiation ceremony ever!]

Kugugugugu!

Above Ban Ta's head, a purple thundercloud appears.

Inside the purple cloud, pure white lightning rumbles.

The thundercloud gradually grows in size, until it envelops the entirety of Cedarwood Painting.

'He's really angry...'

I silently click my tongue and decide to accept his strike for now.

And in the next mont—

Kwarurururung!

The purple thundercloud strikes directly towards , pounding the entire Cedarwood Painting.

'This insane Sacred Master...does he intend to annihilate ...!?'

From within the storm of the purple thundercloud, I summon the Three Great Ultimates behind .

But the Three Great Ultimates waver like candle flas in the face of the purple storm.

'He's drawing upon the power of the Purple Gold Realm to attack ...!'

At this rate, the entire Cedarwood Painting will collapse.

Of course, there is another option.

'If I sever my synchronization with Cedarwood Painting, this thundercloud targeting will only push into distant space, leaving Cedarwood Painting untouched.'

The choice between perishing with Cedarwood Painting or abandoning my Sacred Master position here is laid out in front of !

Though it may seem like a petty move, this attack feels like the regret of Ban Ta, who has held the position of Sacred Master for 500,000 years and still hasn't found a successor.

'Can I...endure...?'

As I struggle with all my might—

Wo-woong!

Sothing is added around the power of the Three Great Ultimates.

'This is...!'

The power of Cedarwood Painting itself!

That power is supporting .

'Is it because I have taken the role of Sacred Master that I can draw upon the world's power? But...the power of the Decaying Corpse Realm alone is not enough. Greater power...I need greater power!'

Greater power!

Even more formidable power!

It's at the mont that thought crosses my mind.

Kiiiiing!

Gradually, Ban Ta's thundercloud seems to slow down, and the world montarily darkens.

'Is this...stopping ti temporarily through attraction force? No, it accelerated my consciousness!'

I realize the identity of the force accelerating my consciousness.

'The will that has waited for a long ti for Oh Hye-seo or those like her, the Heavenly Rejected...this is definitely an inheritance from an Ender!'

Paaaatt!

At the sa ti, an illusion appears before my eyes.

It's an illusion of a monster.

That monster is a sword cultivator.

Every ti the golden monster moves, thousands and hundreds of millions of golden swords sway from its body, piercing throughout the universe.

Within that vision, I notice the monster is fighting soone.

'That's...!'

It's Hyeon Gwi.

The girl with a ponytail and donned in black martial attire is dancing.

The monster roars.

The entire universe trembles at the monster's utterance, and the sharp energy the monster emits cuts the universe.

However, the essence of the sword, which seems to split Heaven and Earth, cannot penetrate inside the dance of the girl.

Within her dance,

Within the circle inside, nothing can intrude, and everything seems to scatter into nothingness.

Trying to resist the terrifying force of that circle, I unknowingly find myself clenching my fist.

The Colorless Glass Sword is held in my hand.

Then...a familiar movent begins from her.

The girl who peacefully draws a circle.

Everything around that girl vanishes, leaving just a single circle between Heaven and Earth once again.

In the next mont...

Pasasak!

The circle shatters.

And the darkness of Heaven and Earth is lifted.

The golden monster, battling within the cosmic space, is shattered to pieces.

"You have reached One Wheel (一輪). However, you have not fully obtained Mandala (曼陀羅). Would you then, perhaps, be able to make the flower bloom?"

The girl, who shattered the golden monster, simply moves her hand.

With that movent, all parts of the monster's body are instantly moved into the Interdinsional Void and annihilated.

However, one single part resembling a thigh does not move according to the girl's will.

Seeing that, the girl gives a small exclamation.

"You've blood the flower. You've set foot sowhat into Piranirvana (入滅). But...what does that even matter?"

With that, I erge from the illusion,

Yet, I do not escape a certain ecstasy that has captivated .

And, without a word, I let my sword hang and aim it at Ban Ta's thundercloud.

Bo-oong!

Following Hyeon Gwi, I try drawing a circle.

Within the sword movent that carries neither sword energy nor intent, Ban Ta's thundercloud is cleanly sliced in half.

[What!!??]

Ban Ta shows a shocked expression and retracts the thundercloud montarily from .

However, I ponder the aning of the sword swing I just perford, paying no mind to the external situation.

'This is...One Wheel (一輪).'

A single circle appears before my eyes.

Now I understand.

This circle is nothing special.

Perhaps...it has been inside from the very beginning.

Another na for this circle is Seated Detachnt, Entering Hope (坐脫立望).

In the realm of Tribulating Heavens, I condensed all of myself to create the All-Heavens Sword.

'The Owner of the Void' likely compressed all of the previous realms and discovered the Wheel (輪).

'I see. This is...Hyeon Gwi, or rather, the main body of the one who uses the na Hyeon Gwi. The realm na of the Owner of the Void!'

As I confirm what is called 'One Wheel,' I once again compress my martial realm.

Wo-woong!

I raise my All-Heavens Sword.

Compressing the Formless Sword once created the All-Heavens Sword.

Compressing the Formless Sword while wishing that all the colors of my life would be imbued within it, I nad it All-Heavens Sword.

A single strike tempered from everything in my life.

That is the All-Heavens Sword. That is Seated Detachnt, Entering Hope.

'I've been...drawing a circle.'

I can see a certain circle within the All-Heavens Sword.

In truth, every scene and mont of my life has been drawing this circle.

Beyond the scene I thought was flat, there is another scene.

Like both sides of a coin.

And just as continuously spinning the coin eventually turns it into a sphere, my life has, in fact, always been overlapped with death.

As life and death have always been rotating within , drawing a circle, the perfect circle has always been within .

Gazing into the enlightennt of the Owner of Void, I swing the sword again as if entranced.

And, I look towards the next mont.

Beyond One Wheel.

To the realm I have nad Void Shattering.

Beyond the movents of the Owner of the Void, I naturally hear the realm na she coined.

Mandala (曼陀羅).

Beyond the All-Heavens Sword, the Wheel (輪) seems to rotate, and countless images are drawn around it.

It is the life of the entity known as Seo Eun-hyun.

My life is drawn into a Mandala and seems to scatter throughout the entire world.

Then finally, the very last mont!

Pasasa!

The Mandala shatters to pieces.

Just as the circle shattered.

My life returns to nothingness (無).

'Is this...the end?'

For so reason, my throat tightens.

But in the next mont,

I feel 'sothing' beyond that nothingness.

It is...a fragrance.

Though I can't identify which flower's scent it is, the instant I inhale that incredibly fragrant aroma—

I feel as though I could let go of everything.

Beyond that void (空虛), where nothing exists except the overflowing unknown fragrance.

It's as if I can hear the realm na of Void that Jang Ik called the Third Step Before the Throne.

Udumbara (優曇婆羅).

Yes.

One Wheel (一輪).

Mandala (曼陀羅).

Udumbara (優曇婆羅).

These are the great steps pioneered by the Owner of the Void.

Kwarurung!

As soon as I realize these realms, I feel as if thunder is crashing in my mind again.

Red Lotus (紅蓮).

Prajna (般若).

Dragon Flower (龍華).

This is another realm found in the mories of the golden monster.

It sohow does not seem to be the original realm of the monster, but I can clearly sense that the entity trained its power in accordance with this realm to oppose the power of the Owner of the Void.

And simultaneously, I can sense a commonality between these two realms.

It is that they each describe the ultimate of their realm as sothing 'alive.'

Udumbara and Dragon Flower.

They are all nas of legendary flowers and trees.

They are things with life.

As if treating martial arts (武) as sothing truly alive.

Feeling this, I suddenly realize sothing.

'Three Flowers Wuji (三花無極). At so point...like Jang Ik's Three Steps Before the Throne, I started collectively referring to my Seated Detachnt, Entering Hope, my Void Shattering...and the next third realm as 'Three Flowers Wuji'.'

Thinking about it, there was no 'trigger' for that.

Just 'at so point,' I thought to call the Martial Art realms of the Middle Boundary 'Three Flowers Wuji' and did so.

It has nothing to do with flowers, so [why] did I na [this] Three Flowers Wuji?

Chills!

I realize a terrifying fact.

"It was [today]!"

Three Flowers Wuji.

I realize that it's only [today] that I got the [trigger] to call the Martial Art realms 'Three Flowers Wuji.'

'Insane...'

The mont I identified the term Three Flowers Wuji [on this tiline], on [this very day]!

The realm 'Three Flowers Wuji' was [imprinted] across [all my tilines].

In other words, beyond the tilines of the regressor, , it engraved the realm into the [ who had yet to witness] the legacy of the ancient Ender in the Peaceful Cloud Realm.

I understand that fact and 'how' it was made possible.

'An ancient...Ender's power. It's the power of an ancient Ender!'

A terrifying authority that engraves all realms even into my past self just from eting at this mont!

It's a bone-chilling ability that is in no way inferior to regression.

'Co to think of it, Kim Yeon from a previous cycle said so.'

That our authorities aren't just a broad consciousness domain, Heavenly Golden Thunder Body, Ghostly Yin Transformation Immortal Root, and such.

Such things are just the trivial 'fragnts' that erged when the true power on the Plane of Fate was manifested onto the Plane of Qi.

This is the true authority of an Ender who has fully harnessed the power within the Plane of Fate.

It isn't a joke; it's an authority on par with regression.

Depending on its use, it's an authority that could even render regression as sothing 'trivial.'

"Heok...heok..."

Having confird the new realm na and the authority of a previous Ender, I look around.

'This place is...!'

I realize where I am.

My physical body had briefly danced a sword dance in ecstasy on the Peaceful Cloud Continent of the Peaceful Cloud Realm.

But now, my soul is on the 'underside' of the Peaceful Cloud Continent.

In other words, I have co to the 'backside' of the flat Decaying Corpse Realm.

'This is...'

There, I see a Mandala (曼陀羅). It is a Mandala of a mountain (山) of cedarwood (杉木) drawn on it.

A giant Cedarwood Mountain (杉木山)!

And, a Mandala inscribing the saga of a hero who entered the Cedarwood Mountain, defeated a monster, stole seven halos, and offered them as a sacrifice to the heavens.

'...I see. What Jang Ik wanted to see...was this.'

Only now do I fully understand why Jang Ik nad the Heart Tribe territory Cedar Wood Grove (杉木叢).

And while I'm staring at Cedarwood Mountain.

The Mandala depicting the Cedarwood Mountain quietly disappears.

Paaatt!

Simultaneously, as the Sacred Master of Cedarwood Painting, I am pushed out by an unknown force, returning once more to the summit of Glass Cedarwood Mountain.

At the sa ti, a whisper echoes in my ear.

—If you want to see it properly, prove it.

What must I prove?

Sohow, I feel like I know.

'It must be...to prove my own Martial Arts.'

Clench...

Clenching my hand tightly, I vow to one day return to the Mandala of Cedarwood Mountain.

For that is an opportunity to experience the inheritance of one of the few Heart Tribe entities beyond Void Shattering in this world.

As I rise back to the top of Cedarwood Painting, I half-open my eyes and et Ban Ta's gaze.

Ban Ta stares at in silence before speaking.

[...Yes. I have lost. Do as you wish. The Sacred Master of the Purple Gold Realm...the opportunity will co soday.]

The extraordinary skill I just displayed seems to have greatly surprised Ban Ta.

Kooong—

He reaches into the void and seems to pull out sothing before throwing it to .

[Take it. For a genius like you, reaching Entering Nirvana will be imdiate. It's a specialty from the Purple Gold Realm that helps with advancing to Entering Nirvana. It's a Dusk Talisman (黃昏符). I'm sorry for testing you recklessly. Take it as a token of apology.]

Wo-woong!

I catch the golden talisman he throws.

'This is...'

I can sense an overwhelming level of degenerate energy.

It feels as if an entire black hole of the universe was refined and cramd into the talisman.

In a way, it's a talisman-shaped singularity engine.

'Even for a Sacred Master, it's an item of considerable difficulty to refine. To give a such thing...'

It seems he is truly sincere.

[I accept the apology. It is I who should be sorry for not being able to attend the invitation.]

[Haha. If you're sorry, then later on, help catch a fresh Sacred Vessel with .]

Thus, I completely resolve all animosity with Ban Ta, and I am formally recognized as a Sacred Master by all the Sacred Masters of the Middle Realms.

In that way, I prepare for the impending End with Seo Ran by my side.

Simultaneously, as I press Seo Hweol to uncover his plans and intentions...I begin my Sacred Vessel stage cultivation.