A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 638: Northern Heavenly Venerable

Chapter 638: Northern Heavenly Venerable

The moment Hyeon Mu descends upon Mount Sumeru.

Kim Young-hoon and the other Enders all open their eyes wide.

A fleeting instant.

No, it should be said to be the fleeting instant within a fleeting instant.

Within that minuscule fraction of time, Seo Eun-hyun is disassembled in a flash.

It begins with the neck.

Seo Eun-hyun is torn apart limb by limb, starting from the neck, and dies.

Even that is only faintly perceived by Kim Young-hoon alone.

Paat!

By the time everyone becomes aware of Hyeon Mu, she is already standing atop Seo Eun-hyun's fractured body.

The one who reacts the most is Kang Min-hee.

: : Seo Eun-hyun!!! : :

Karmic Fire blazes from her eyes and engulfs the area in an instant.

Tadak, tadadadak!

Oh Hyun-seok steps forward and protects the others using the power of Primordial Chaos, and Hyeon Mu takes Kang Min-hee's Karmic Fire directly to her body.

However...

Even as she burns fiercely in the Karmic Fire, Hyeon Mu shows no reaction.

"What is this now? Trying to warm an elderly with some tea, perhaps?"

Her hollow eyes scan the surroundings.

Kang Min-hee sheds blue tears and glares at Hyeon Mu.

: : How dare you... To Seo Eun-hyun...! : :

Kugugugu!

With that, her entire body swells and begins to grow larger and larger.

Her form gradually transforms into a massive being cloaked in darkness.

Starting with Kang Min-hee, the other Enders also begin revealing their true forms.

Jeon Myeong-hoon transforms into a lightning god with three heads and eight arms.

Oh Hyun-seok becomes a warrior of chaos made entirely of vapor.

Kim Yeon becomes a giant god formed of pale pink light.

However, even seeing all this, Hyeon Mu shows not the slightest concern.

Instead, she only brushes her neck and clicks her tongue.

"Mere slaves...wearing such cumbersome shackles on their necks dare to confront this Venerable? Listen well."

She looks at Kim Young-hoon, then at the Naming Supreme Deity beginning to descend within Oh Hyun-seok, and gives a meaningful smile.

"Among those present, the only ones who can stand against this Venerable...are at least those not wearing shackles. If you intend to confront a Heavenly Venerable...you should have at least tossed aside such nuisances beforehand!"

Chwararak!

Something slips down from the end of Hyeon Mu's sleeve.

It is a snake.

Black snakes begin flowing out of Hyeon Mu's entire body.

Hiss hiss—

The snakes hiss as they begin to fill the surrounding area.

Kurururung!

Though they seem to be move as if alive, each snake radiates its own distinct power and begins to spread like storm clouds, seizing a part of the Abyss and brewing a storm.

From within that storm, hollow eyes flash.

Those eyes fixate on Kim Young-hoon.

A fleeting instant.

Kim Young-hoon barely deflects the strike that Hyeon Mu aims at him.

Hyeon Mu, targeting Kim Young-hoon's heart with her claw technique, exchanges heart language with him for a fleeting instant.

—Now then...before we begin in earnest, shall we enjoy a bit of amusement?

Hyeon Mu regains her stance with a relaxed expression as she faces Kim Young-hoon, and Kim Young-hoon hurriedly begins to move his body.

Thus, the great battle between the Enders and the Heavenly Venerable begins in an instant.

'Where...is this...?'

I blankly try to hold on to my senses.

It's strange. 

I feel drowsy.

But I also feel that if I lose consciousness like this, I might never open my eyes again.

'Why...am I like this again...?'

After thinking for a while, I realize what happened to me.

'Ah...right. I was killed by Hyeon Mu.'

And that too with just a single strike.

I couldn't even perceive it. 

Because her strike wasn't merely an attack, the moment Hyeon Mu unleashed her move, I was hurled straight into the domain of purity and began to be annihilated.

In front of Hyeon Mu, prophecy and revision hold no meaning.

An authority that completely ignores such miscellaneous methods of revival, throwing one's very existence directly into the domain of purity to be erased.

That is Hyeon Mu's power.

'So this...is how I die... That's not...so bad...'

It's regretful that I didn't live with even more effort...

But still, isn't this enough?

Isn't this...

A life lived fully enough...?

'I just...want to end it now...'

But just as I think that.

'Ah...'

Woo-wooong!

My consciousness begins to rise again.

'Aaaah...!'

I grit my teeth.

'Uaaaaaaah!!!'

Kigigigik!

The authority of regression forcibly drags me out of the domain of purity and starts regressing me.

However, is it because I remain conscious within the domain of purity?

I realize that this is being treated as a type of Heavenly Escape, and my body is beginning to re-emerge into reality.

'Please...! Please...!'

I cry out toward the authority of regression that pulls me from death.

'Just leave me alone already!'

That's enough.

I just want it to end!!

Puhwak!

With that, I gradually return to reality and resurrect.

If left like this, I will end up fully escaping from the domain of purity again and fight against Hyeon Mu.

'Damn it...'

Ironically, Hyeon Mu's power, which melts the opponent by casting them into the domain of purity, seems to not work this time.

It must be because the power of my regression lies in a domain deeper than Hyeon Mu's single strike.

'So I can't die, huh.'

Of course, dying isn't really my goal. Rather, my purpose is to live the best life I can, and be buried in the land I've lived in. So maybe this is fortunate in a way.

However...

The vague fear of not knowing where this story will end plants a deep despair in me.

That's when it happens.

'...?'

I suddenly feel something strange.

A bizarre sense of dissonance.

Within the domain of purity, I feel as though I can see some strange link connected to regression.

'Why...does it feel like the authority of regression is rooted in [a place deeper within the domain of purity]...?'

Hyeon Mu is clearly a being capable of casting others into the domain of purity or freely wielding its power.

However...

For some reason, I feel as though this authority called regression stems from a place even deeper than the domain of purity that Hyeon Mu can access.

At the same time, I recall something from before.

'Undeniably...Hyeon Mu once shook the authority of my regression itself!?'

Yes.

And that means...

'If I keep fighting Hyeon Mu, I might find a clue to sever the regression!?'

Puhwahahak!

I return to reality and look toward Hyeon Mu, who now stirs a black storm and faces all my comrades at once.

The other Enders are unleashing barrages of attacks through their respective authorities at Hyeon Mu.

But it seems none of them have yet revealed their true authority. It feels more like a prelude to gauge one another's strength.

Still, even during this prelude, my comrades are completely overwhelmed fending off the black storm unleashed by Hyeon Mu, and the only one she charges at with seriousness is Kim Young-hoon.

Even so, Kim Young-hoon sticks solely to defense, and for some reason, I get the feeling that he's barely holding it together.

It is then.

'...Huh?'

Before I know it, I become aware of Hyeon Mu's weapon trying to cleave through my neck.

Hyeon Mu, who just moments ago had Kim Young-hoon pinned, suddenly appears before my eyes again as if she's deleted time again.

There's no time to think further.

Before Hyeon Mu's sword slices through my neck, I use all my strength to cut my own neck first with the Impermanence Sword.

Pukwak!

In the next moment,

I sever my neck by my own will and use Heavenly Escape.

Perhaps because it's not Hyeon Mu who cast me into the domain of purity, but me doing it on my own will—

I manage to reappear beside Kim Young-hoon using Heavenly Escape and regain my senses.

But then, immediately after.

Blink—

'...!'

I suddenly sense Hyeon Mu stabbing into my heart again.

The tip of her sword is scraping against my heart.

The terrifying speed sends shivers all over my body.

'I can't even perceive it...! Isn't this basically deleting time!?'

I can't keep going like this.

Pukwak!

Once again, I kill myself and flee using Heavenly Escape.

But right after—

I feel Hyeon Mu's sword entering through my mouth, aiming to sever my spinal cord.

'Crazy...'

Puhwak!

I use Heavenly Escape again.

And when I open my eyes, Hyeon Mu is already upon me once more, killing me.

It's relentless.

So relentless, it feels like Hyeon Mu is obsessively focused on killing me.

In the end, I have to repeatedly use Heavenly Escape and experience death again and again due to Hyeon Mu.

And then, during one of those times.

'This is...'

Every time I enter and exit the domain of purity, I start to sense something.

'Something...is clinging.'

A True Immortal has no physical form, but if I were to imagine having one...

It feels like something is caught on my neck every time I go into and return from the domain of purity.

And that sensation is...

'A shackle...?'

It resembles the iron collars put on slaves or prisoners.

'What is this...? Something Hyeon Mu put on me...? No. It's different from Hyeon Mu's. But...without this shackle-like thing, I think I could respond to Hyeon Mu's movements much better.'

The more I die to Hyeon Mu, the more ways to counter her come to mind.

And for that, I feel a growing urge to cut off this cumbersome, shackle-like thing.

And then, in the very next moment—

Shwak!

Hyeon Mu's sword aims for my neck, and I parry it with the Impermanence Sword.

Tuuung!

I have deflected Hyeon Mu's strike for the first time.

"Hooh...?"

'I can perceive the shackle.'

I control this shackle as best as possible to not be hindered by it, and block Hyeon Mu's movements.

Then...!

'Cut!'

For a moment, the will of the Impermanence Sword becomes one with my own.

My Impermanence Sword seems to rise greatly, then severs the 'shackle' caught around my neck in an instant.

Kwagwagwagwang!

The moment the shackle is severed, the entire Abyss rumbles as if shaken, and the laws of the Abyss tremble wildly.

It's as if the Abyss is transforming into chaos, just like the Outer Sea.

Hyeon Mu watches this, and for some reason, gives a mischievous and charming smile.

"...!"

Her smile is so alluring that for a moment, I nearly lose my senses.

But it's not the kind of ordinary affection or gentleness. It feels more like an allure dragging me into a mire.

However...

'Not a chance.'

I do not let myself be bewitched by that smile. Instead, I thrust the Impermanence Sword toward this shackle that tightens around my neck as if alive.

Kwagwagwang!

Once more, an explosive sound bursts forth from around my neck.

At the same time, I succeed in completely severing the shackle that is trying to reattach to my neck.

Pshwiiiiiiii—

"Looks like you've shaken off the nuisance. You are now just barely qualified to face me."

I look at what has fallen from my neck.

It resembles the collar of a slave, yet as time passes, it unravels into the form of 'wisdom' and begins to blend into the chaos.

And seeing that, I widen my eyes.

That wisdom.

The identity of the shackle that had been binding me all this time, is none other than my Immortal Title.

The Immortal Title, Crystal Glass Being.

That is the very shackle that had bound me until now.

Shwiring—

In that moment, Hyeon Mu's weapon grazes right in front of my eyes, and I narrowly evade Hyeon Mu's strike.

But unlike the near misses until now, this time I clearly 'perceive' and dodge it, even if only by a sliver.

Pshht—

Of course, even though I dodge, I fail to deflect all the sharp energy, and the tip of my nose gets cut.

"Now that's more like it. How does it feel? Refreshing, isn't it?"

"..."

I glare at Hyeon Mu.

That's right.

Until now, Hyeon Mu hasn't even taken us seriously. She's merely been playing with us to give me enlightenment.

"You haven't been fighting us properly."

"Why on earth would I need to go all out against those wearing something like a shackle? That'd just kill the fun..."

Hyeon Mu lets her weapon hang loosely.

Paatt!

Before I realize it, Kim Young-hoon appears beside me.

He doesn't say a word, but I immediately understand his meaning.

Cheok, cheok!

He and I face Hyeon Mu, each taking a stance to launch an offensive.

The reason Kim Young-hoon has been focused solely on defense until now was to prepare for our coordinated attack.

However, Hyeon Mu doesn't take a battle stance against us. She just smiles leisurely.

"Well, you're now worth looking at, but...not yet."

"What?"

"Not yet... The guests haven't all arrived at the banquet. If we are all going to dance together in the emptiness, the more guests, the better..."

Kugugugu!

It is then.

I sense presences descending from other Heavenly Domains, from other dimensions.

'This is...!'

"In this cramped Mount Sumeru, you are not the only ones who have reached Udumbara. For them, being able to dance with this Venerable is a tremendous honor...so there is no reason they would not come. So until all the guests have arrived, this is merely a bit of fun."

Twitch—

I feel Hyeon Mu's body slowly beginning to distort.

Shiver!

At the same time, a chill runs down my spine.

I sense cold sweat forming on Kim Young-hoon's body.

'Even Kim Young-hoon, who has reached the Heavenly Venerable rank...is this tense!?'

Kugugugugugu!

Then, from far off, colossal beings begin to descend.

I realize all of them are faces I know.

Underworld Ten Kings.

Third Seat.

Blade Mountain True Lord (刀山眞君) Qin Guang (秦廣).

Underworld Ten Kings.

Sixth Seat.

Sword Tree True Lord (劍樹眞君) Wu Guan (五官).

Underworld Ten Kings.

Eighth Seat.

Corpse Saw True Lord (鋸骸眞君) Tai Shan (泰山).

Underworld Ten Kings.

Tenth Seat.

Wind Path True Lord (風途眞君) Du Shi (都市).

Blade Mountain, Sword Tree, Corpse Saw, Wind Path.

Four Great Kings of the Underworld Ten Kings have descended.

Yet they don't seem to be here to help Kang Min-hee. They do not glance in her direction, much less offer assistance.

And strangely, though they would normally be accompanied by Ghost Kings, Yakshas, Rakshasa, and Asuras, they appear entirely alone.

At that moment,

The Blade Mountain True Lord Qin Guang holds something in their hand.

It is a blade.

Upon the surface of that blade rise countless blade mountains, making it look more like a spiked club than a saber.

The Sword Tree True Lord Wu Guan begins to unsheathe their sword from their entire body.

They transform into something akin to a ghost made entirely of swords, much like myself.

The Corpse Saw True Lord Tai Shan throws off their judge's robe.

Revealed beneath are countless circular saws made of darkness.

The saws spin endlessly like a wheel, and their number is so vast they are as uncountable as stars.

The Wind Path True Lord Du Shi begins to summon blade winds around them.

Eventually, they become an interstellar wind—no, the Heavenly Wind between Heavenly Domains itself, becoming a massive whirlwind that sets its gaze on Hyeon Mu.

'I see...'

I break into a cold sweat.

Before, they hadn't properly revealed themselves, and because I saw them only in the Underworld, I hadn't noticed.

But now I understand.

They have all reached Severing Heaven.

In Underworld terms, they are beings who have reached the realm of Dragon Flower. 

And it doesn't even seem like that's the end.

"Why hasn't Yan Luo come this time?"

At those words, Great King Qin Guang strokes their blade of blade mountains and responds.

[The Chief Judge must assist the Imperial Venerable and thus cannot act lightly.]

"Unfortunate. You are all like mirror copies of each other, but at least it would have been amusing."

"...!"

'If that's true, then...'

That means the number of those who have reached the realm of Dragon Flower from the Underworld, including the Yama True Lord Yan Luo, totals five.

I look toward the Underworld side.

Each and every one of the True Lords from the Underworld intensely radiates the power of Narayana Nature.

Strangely, they all seem to have gained the Divinity of Preservation, or acquired Triple Divinity specialized for it.

Just then,

Kururururung!

Suddenly, spacetime twists, and countless clusters of stars gather in the void.

Immediately after, something breaks through spacetime from within that place.

It is a being composed of countless arms.

Northern Dipper Seven Heavenly Lords.

Sixth Seat.

Martial Melody Heavenly Lord!

The Martial Melody Heavenly Lord, who had once fought me, pierces through spacetime and appears.

At the same time, I realize that back then, the Martial Melody Heavenly Lord was holding back a great deal against me.

Though only one trace of Mahesvara Nature is sensed from them, they are unmistakably a Severing Heaven powerhouse.

Then, from a distant place, a deep fragrance drifts in.

'This scent...'

Jjeoooeok!

Spacetime splits again, and someone else appears.

It is a familiar face.

Snorting through flared nostrils, they emerge—a Heavenly Pegasus, clad in a black-red martial robe over a pure white body!

With white wings on their back, they fall from a flower field brimming with the vitality of countless lives and laughs.

The Immortal Beast White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus.

The Flower Overseer of the Eastern Heaven Flower Field has descended here in their true form.

From them flows the same creation-specialized energy as from Kim Young-hoon.

[It has been a while, Hyeon Mu. Are you hosting a banquet once again? How long has it b