A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 803 Chapter 799: Future King (4)

It might have truly been a sincere concern for the preservation of good.

He likely feared that a being who consumes Origin Essence to become an Emperor capable of manifesting a Heavenly Domain might inadvertently birth a hell within its borders.

Thus, even while severing what was necessary, there remained a lingering desire to align himself with righteousness.

But...

The moment he clashed with, dismantled, and slew an entity that—by any standard—had embraced evil to sate a sadistic nature, trapping souls in eternal enigmas and tormenting them...

He understood that such justifications were merely hollow excuses.

'Ah, I see.'

What Hong Fan now stood before...

Was not a gentle divinity like the Chief God Fuxi, who inherited godhood at birth and claimed the cosmos as his birthright.

It was a different kind of legend. Like Hong Fan, this rival had climbed from the status of a mere mortal, endured every conceivable hardship, and finally ascended to the Imperial Seat.

This was the very first 'worthy rival' Hong Fan had ever encountered.

Chief Gods possess terrifying power, yet lacking the perspective of a mortal, they are devoid of venomous will. Conversely, mortal beings who harbor such venomous will lack the necessary rank and authority to challenge him.

For Hong Fan, who carried a mortal’s spite while facing immortal beings to claim his throne...

There had not been a single true opponent until this moment.

Witnessing the newly crowned Imperial Venerables, the truth finally dawned on him.

'I see. I...'

Until this very second, not one person.

Not a single entity had ever stood at an equal height beside him.

'Did I simply want to collide...?'

He slaughters a Supreme Deity who ruled through selfishness, ignoring the agony of mortals—an entity less vile than the first primordial evil he had ended.

Following that, he continues to systematically execute Supreme Deities who are progressively less wicked.

With every Supreme Deity he strikes down, an indescribable, boiling emotion surges within him.

Yet, the thirst is never quenched.

In this realization, he also discovers why he clung to the concept of "good" as his shield.

'Good is the most powerful...'

Much like the kindness Hwe-ah once bestowed upon him.

Surely, if he protects the gods who harbor goodwill, a powerful being will one day emerge who can endure the full extent of his power.

He brandished hope and virtue as his justification solely to safeguard that potential being.

'If they possess goodwill, they might... be the ones to stop me, who has climbed a mountain of corpses.'

Since birth, the method of ending a life was always clear to his vision.

It remained the same even after his sight was taken.

He possessed no power to restore his starving, frail mother,

No way to mend his ailing wife,

No means to restore trust to the friend who turned against him.

But...

When it came to the act of killing, he was without peer.

The act of taking life.

Perhaps that...

Was his authentic destiny, concealed behind the god of regression that lived within him like a parasite.

From the moment he was born, everyone around him could perish from a simple touch.

Only now does Hong Fan...

Truly recognize his own deepest desire.

'I...'

The pinnacle of the killing arts he perfected begins to shift and evolve into myriad forms, gradually gaining symbolic weight.

A technique designed to slay the undying Chief God.

If the Golden Speed Heavenly King or the Star Genesis Supreme Deity were to witness it in the future, they would deem it to have reached the Martial Pinnacle long ago. Yet, because it remains undefined, it is a savage technique that has not yet reached the Ultimate of Martial Arts.

'I want... an existence that does not shatter even when I draw near.'

He, who embodies darkness, yearns for a light so radiant that he cannot consume it.

He has been searching... for a light so intense that even a blind man could feel its presence.

Apex of Killing Techniques.

Heuk Sa.

Apex of Internal Energy Methods.

Darkness World.

Apex of Movement Techniques.

Black Heaven.

The singular meaning of slaughter that unites them all.

"This, truly... is legitimate Martial Arts...!"

If Martial Arts holds any meaning, it is only to prune away those who cannot become a light for him.

It exists for the sole purpose of killing the "other."

The moment he realizes this, and the moment he defines it as such.

He understands the path for his killing art to reach a domain that could be called the ultimate of Martial Arts.

Perhaps he once craved ordinary love.

Perhaps he sought simple human connection.

However, this reality is populated by fragile things that break the moment he makes contact.

A world that rips at the gentlest brush, like a realm made of thin paper—that is the world as Hong Fan sees it.

Even those hailed as gods are merely slightly larger sandcastles that he can collapse with minimal effort.

Though they bet their lives, in the end, this world only offers existences that are always too easy to kill.

In a tattered world where everything disintegrates upon touch...

To the child who brings pain to every precious bond and, feigning courage, tries to pursue hope.

The fact that a legitimate opponent he can 'truly face' has finally appeared,

Is a hope beyond words.

But...

Ultimately, the only way the child interacts with the world is through the act of killing.

Just as a nation built by the sword falls by the sword.

A connection forged in blood must end in blood.

A cycle of karma, once set in motion, can only be bound by that same karma.

To the child born without the chance to be loved, who kept reaching out to destroy everything he hated,

What he truly required was an opponent standing at an equal or superior height.

Yes, perhaps what he needed was a parent to scold him and grant him attention.

Yet in this world, there is no one who can even surpass a single child.

Lights that extinguish the moment he tries to reach for them...

They are meaningless to him.

Since hope inherently stems from the unreachable, he clings to it and continues to reach out toward others.

Present.

Darkness devours the world, reducing all that exists to nothingness.

The former Obsidian Devil Heavenly King funnels power into the Swallowing Heaven Mantra, consuming everything as they transform into a distorted, tiger-like shape with bared fangs.

Witnessing this, Hyeon Mu, with a hand resting on the Heavenly Void Furnace, once more thrusts one of the Seven Heavenly Lords into the furnace and ignites the incense flame.

But in the next heartbeat,

I, assuming the role of halting the Future King's strike, step forward and unleash the Turning Wheel Mantra.

The mantra, shaped like a vast galaxy, gleams as it absorbs the power of countless stars and begins to whisper the Supreme Deity's authority to me.

In the path of Immortal Cultivation, the formula for a Supreme Deity is called Primordial Chaos, while the formula for a Heavenly Venerable is known as Three Flowers.

However, these are merely definitions within the Immortal Cultivation system.

From the rank of Supreme Deity and above, one has already stepped halfway out of the Immortal Cultivation system; thus, realm formulas serve little purpose other than to describe one's essence.

Three Flowers is just a metaphor for the Three Absolutes, representing a Heavenly Venerable who can summon a mere fragment of their essence.

Similarly, Primordial Chaos symbolizes the core of the Supreme Deity realm and only loosely belongs to the Immortal Cultivation framework.

Huuuuup—

Consequently, the Primordial Chaos formula does not require the lengthy Cultivation of previous stages. The moment

one ascends to Supreme Deity, one masters it instinctively.

As natural as drawing breath.

Drawing upon the memories of the 16th cycle within the Heavenly Void Furnace, I execute the Supreme Deity realm formula.

All of Mount Sumeru trembles in sync with my breathing.

The entire gestation world that Hong Fan had split in two mends itself, and the overflowing chaos within begins to pulse with my breath.

A Creator God shapes the world using chaos as the medium of creation.

Supreme Deities, likewise, have their consciousness evolve into a Heavenly Domain to create a universe upon reaching their realm.

What then is the distinction between a Creator God and a Supreme Deity?

Are they not both architects of existence?

The difference lies in the nature of chaos.

A Supreme Deity inhales chaos—the raw material of creation—to breathe fate, life, and soul into the myriad spirits within their Heavenly Domain, weaving countless stories.

A Creator God, by their very nature, generates and wields chaos as the substance of omnipotence.

When Supreme Deities are enthroned, their names are etched into the Heavenly Seats.

And these Heavenly Seats are located at the very base of Mount Sumeru.

In the Outer Sea beyond Mount Sumeru, the Supreme Deity's jade throne is manifested.

Yes.

To breathe Chaos, a Supreme Deity must transcend Mount Sumeru. Thus, their presence exceeds the mountain and is anchored as a jade throne at its absolute foundation.

There are many ways to explain the intricacies, but only one law is required right now.

A Supreme Deity has the power to inhale chaos!

Kugugugugu!

The Heavenly Void Furnace slips from Hyeon Mu's grasp, clattering as it is pulled toward me.

Hyeon Mu’s eyes flicker as she exerts a powerful attraction force once more.

The pull of fate itself attempts to anchor the Heavenly Void Furnace.

But in this world...

There is a force as potent as fate.

"Master, your disciple Star Genesis arrives to offer bowing rites at your spirit altar."

I cry out, inhaling the Primordial Chaos world within the Heavenly Void Furnace with my entire being.

Woo-wooong—

The Heavenly Void Furnace vibrates in response to my voice.

"Master, your disciple Star Genesis arrives to offer bowing rites at your spirit altar."

I shout once more, fearing that my master Ryeong might not hear me.

Guuuwoooooong—

The Heavenly Void Furnace rumbles again, drawing closer to my position.

Hyeon Mu’s eyes twitch as she seizes the black leg of the furnace, physically preventing it from reaching me.

"Master."

I call to him again.

The spirit altar that the Great Mountain Supreme Deity spoke of.

The world of Penglai Island shares the same architecture as the Head Realm.

And the shrine of the Salt Sea Supreme Deity that Senior Brother constructed is located at the heart of the Heaven-Treading Desert, in the center of Ascension Forest.

That is right.

Master’s physical form was devoured by the entire Head Realm.

His soul was shattered and diminished, becoming Cheongmun Ryeong—a weak soul who could never hope to move past the Qi Building stage.

If that is so...

Where is the fate of that high divinity who once grasped the Absolute of Miracle?

'I saw it during the 16th cycle.'

What spoke to me within the domain of purity was undoubtedly his fate.

The fate of the Salt Sea Supreme Deity Ryeong slumbers within the Heavenly Void Furnace!

"Your disciple Star Genesis arrives to offer bowing rites at your spirit altar!"

This means...

'As long as Master rests within that Primordial Chaos, if his disciple calls while breathing that chaos as a Supreme Deity... he will answer from within!'

Hyeon Mu sneers, tightening her grip on the Heavenly Void Furnace.

Kurururung—

Countless Gandhara swirl and wrap around Hyeon Mu’s hand, augmenting her strength.

"Do you honestly believe he will respond? He is deceased. Only a shell remains. Do you presume to summon the dead beneath the authority of the Owner of Fate?"

Hyeon Mu scoffs.

But in the next heartbeat, the smirk vanishes from her face.

Ggigigigik—

A hand!

It is a hand as white as snow.

Clench—

It is a hand formed of Salt Mountain.

The snow-white hand of Salt Mountain emerges from the Heavenly Void Furnace and seizes Hyeon Mu’s wrist.

At that sight, I smile broadly.

"Fragment of the Future King. Do you dare... dismiss the authority of one who once held the position of Owner of Miracles as merely dead?"

Enders grow closer to fate as they approach death, becoming stronger because miracles touch the very principle of mortality.

Master passed away.

And because he passed, he has not truly vanished.

Had they imprisoned him alive to rot, he might have faded, but because the Future King slew him, he will never truly be gone.

Not until a new Owner of Miracles is born!

Cheok!

I perform a single bow toward the seal of the Salt Sea Supreme Deity dissolved within the Heavenly Void Furnace.

Pasasasak—

The Gandhara reinforcing Hyeon Mu’s wrist turn into pillars of salt.

I perform a second bow.

Peoseoseok—

Hyeon Mu glares at the hand and summons the power of fate, but the opposing side begins a debt enforcement upon her.

The authorities of Enders that Hyeon Mu has stolen and absorbed are being reclaimed.

Under the name of the Owner of Miracles, the cost is extracted, and life begins to flow into the arm made of salt.

I perform a third bow.

Finally, Hyeon Mu’s wrist itself transforms into a salt pillar, and the Heavenly Void Furnace is wrenched from her grasp.

Peoseoseok—

Reducing Hyeon Mu’s arm to salt dust, the Heavenly Void Furnace flies to me.

Seizing the moment, the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King presses their palms together and releases a roar.

Uuuuuuuu—

A mournful wailing echoes from the darkness.

An alien tongue fills the air like a funeral dirge.

It is the whisper that lives within the Swallowing Heaven Mantra.

Clang—

As the Heavenly Void Furnace reaches me, I feel its ownership temporarily transfer to my control.

Using the power of the dirge, the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King grants me full authority over the furnace while the song of the dead resounds.

'While the dirge plays, [this moment] is eternal...!'

Nothing can disrupt the flow within this funeral song.

In that instant, all the Enders who were in the rear charge forward, using their secret arts and spells to pin the Supreme Deities in place.

Simultaneously, Underworld, who had been focusing on fusing her Gandhara with the Absolute of Life, shifts her attention and raises a hand.

'Finally, you are doing some work!'

As if hearing my thought, Underworld gives me a look of annoyance before beginning to lower her hand.

Seeing this, the Supreme Deities react with the same terror they showed toward Vast Cold.

:: The [Oldest One] is exerting power! ::

:: O Netherworld Queen Mother, this one does not belong to the Five Cruels! ::

:: Where am I!? Why am I standing against the [Oldest One]!? ::

:: They cannot be opposed! ::

:: O Wheel Imperial Venerable of great mercy, have compassion! ::

These beings, whose intelligence had been purged, find their minds revived by the Underworld’s power and begin to scream in horror.

"...As I thought, leaving a fragment of will for autonomous control was a mistake. Had they been left fully alive, they might have rebelled, but at least they would have shown some spine. Because they were only half-revived, only survival instincts remain. Useless things."

Kiiiiiiing!

Clicking her tongue at the Supreme Deities, Hyeon Mu draws fate directly from the Absolute of Fate.

A monstrous gravitational pull erupts.

Huuung—

Underworld strikes down with her hand composed of Gandhara.

With that beast-like swipe, the same phenomenon that occurred with Vast Cold repeats.

It cannot even be perceived.

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!

A massive shockwave rattles the entire Audience Chamber, causing it to shatter once more.

And...

Over a hundred Supreme Deities are instantly ejected from the chamber.

They are hurled back into the otherworlds.

Normally, they would have been [deleted] like Vast Cold, but because Hyeon Mu used the Absolute of Fate to warp the Underworld’s point of impact, they were merely blown away.

"Radiance Mantra, Time Restoration."

Gazing at the Underworld with eyes that seemed almost nostalgic, Hyeon Mu triggers the Radiance Mantra.

Ggigigigik—

However, the mantra fails to activate.

The Obsidian Devil Heavenly King’s Swallowing Heaven Mantra is holding spacetime in place through sheer attraction.

'I see.'

Until the funeral dirge concludes.

No one here can escape through spacetime.

Underworld returns her focus to becoming the Life Supreme Deity. Seizing that opening, the Enders who were restraining the Supreme Deities launch a full-scale assault against Hyeon Mu’s Gandhara.

While the former Enders keep them occupied, Kim Young-hoon lifts his saber.

"I can sever the Gandhara. Support me!"

The Gandhara Hyeon Mu has summoned total about fifty.

As a mere shard of the Future King, she either cannot manage more or simply chooses not to.

Kim Young-hoon intends to thin the number of Gandhara she can control.

Jeon Myeong-hoon and Kim Yeon, grasping his intent, take their positions behind him.

Whether it is a spell linked to Vast Cold or not, Kim Yeon does not break her hand seal.