A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 819 Chapter 816

After Makli Hyun-ah shares introductions with Makli Hweol, she picks up a bunch of details about the Makli Clan straight from him.

"Here's the central hall for the primary family. The clan leader, Grand Elders, and Elders gather here for their discussions."

"Over there lies the talisman workshop. A horde of talisman experts craft talismans in this spot and handle the Makli Clan's money matters."

"And this is the Beast Stable for training demon beasts. They get drilled here and deployed for all sorts of Makli Clan activities. Take that monkey demon beast named Amwon, for instance—it's got the Immortal Beast lineage of the Mountain-Destroying Demon Ape. That little guy's a pro at massages, so getting one boosted by the Mountain-Destroying Demon Ape's power leaves you totally invigorated. Loads of visitors flock to the Makli Clan and..."

"The Makli Clan stands as an ancient, renowned lineage in Yanguo, split right now between the main house and the branch house. We're part of the branch house."

With Makli Hweol's guidance, Makli Hyun-ah gathers plenty of insights on the Makli Clan and the nation known as 'Yanguo'.

'To start with, this spot...it's clearly not Earth.'

Word is, this realm is a world dubbed 'Penglai Island', or simply 'Penglai Star'.

Shockingly, the folks he figured were stuck at a medieval Chinese tech level actually grasp concepts like planets, stars, and heavenly objects, complete with a super precise map of their world.

"Way back in ancient eras, the old-timers believed the world was flat. They figured the borders of that flat land were sealed by something named the World Shield Force, trapping this world in a tight space like a goldfish bowl. Legends say the ancients viewed this place as existing inside somebody's mind, dubbing Penglai Star the Head Realm."

As Makli Hyun-ah takes in the ancient lore Makli Hweol reveals alongside the world map, a laugh escapes him.

"Puhaha, that's some wild fancy straight out of the ancients' playbook."

"Spot on. It's a hilarious notion. Back then, solid cultivation techniques likely hadn't been invented yet, making it tough to zip around the globe via the Flying Escape Technique and map it out properly."

"Cultivation methods... Flying Escape Technique..."

Makli Hyun-ah struggles to wrap his head around the concepts Makli Hweol lays out.

In the end, he bites back his shame and quizzes Makli Hweol on all these unfamiliar terms.

Luckily, Makli Hweol responds to every one of Makli Hyun-ah's queries with patience, showing zero ridicule.

'I feel like a total infant.'

This world overflows with unknowns for him.

"No shame in that at all. You look like you're from some mortal land... Plenty of clueless mortals out there don't know these everyday truths."

Suddenly branded an clueless mortal lacking even basic knowledge, Makli Hyun-ah just coughs awkwardly, unable to argue back.

That's because Makli Hweol's recent explanation taught him how cultivators draw a line between themselves and mortals.

So, that day, trailing after Makli Hweol, Makli Hyun-ah absorbs info on key spots and warnings within the Makli Clan.

Plus, he picks up loads of basic facts about the world at large.

***

"Alright...so the Makli Clan I'm in is the branch family, and..."

Makli Hyun-ah heads back to his assigned quarters and sorts through everything Makli Hweol told him.

Come tomorrow, Makli Hweol plans to present him to the family elders, and once the formal greetings are done, Makli Hyun-ah will dive headfirst into studying cultivation methods.

From Makli Hweol's rundown, the 'Extreme Ghost Path Body' Makli Hyun-ah carries appears to be a big deal for the Makli Clan's top brass.

"So the main family of the Makli Clan goes by the Seogyeong Makli Line, named for Seogyeong City, Yanguo's old capital where they're based...and our branch family here is the Lianshan Makli Line, tied to Lianshan City in Yanguo, right? The Seogyeong Makli Line's a Devilish Path outfit that drains human vitality, but the branch, the Lianshan Makli Line, broke off during Makli Cheon-sa's era and shifted to a neutral stance between righteous and devilish paths, focusing on beast taming and talismans...that it?"

And from the intel, the main family held off messing with the branch due to Makli Cheon-sa's sway, but with Makli Cheon-sa now risen to the Middle Realm...

They're scrambling to swallow up the branch family.

"Ugh... Damn, this mess is tangled..."

Still, as expected, the branch family—the Lianshan Makli Line—resents the main family's meddling, rejects turning Devilish Path, and especially since the Seogyeong Makli Line's swarmed by foes, they want no part in reuniting.

Put simply, the Lianshan Makli Line believes the main family faces an imminent wipeout from all the grudges they've built up, so they refuse to get dragged down and destroyed alongside them.

The main family, the Seogyeong Makli Line, figures absorbing the branch would let them weather the full enemy assault, so they're eyeing it hungrily, desperate to pull it in.

In this mess, Makli Hyun-ah's arrival shines like a beacon for the Makli Clan's branch—the Lianshan Makli Line.

"Are they aiming to join the 'Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance,' that group of righteous-path sects and families, using my Extreme Ghost Path Body...?"

From the details, with Makli Hyun-ah's body and Makli Cheon-sa's split soul within, the Lianshan Makli Line can chat with Makli Cheon-sa in the Middle Realm now and then, even call down some of her power for massive clan boosts.

And with that kind of might, the Righteous Dao Immortal Sect Alliance would notice them, so the plan seems to be leveraging him to break from the old Makli Clan and push for a fuller shift in their ways.

'Family power plays...I'm so over them...'

Memories of his Earth family flood back.

The Lee clan's semi-chaebol setup.

There, it was a brutal dogfight where they bartered marriages with the rival Jeon clan semi-chaebol and clashed over gains with the Oh clan's competing firm.

That's the family intrigue Makli Hyun-ah knew.

Sure, as the illegitimate kid, he stayed out of the heart of those battles.

He had no shot anyway.

But even catching the fallout his sister Lee Seo-ah dealt with showed him how cutthroat and sneaky those clashes get.

'Yet another family...another cursed one... If I'd foreseen this, I never would've picked the Makli Clan on that form...'

Letting out a regretful sigh, Makli Hyun-ah flops onto the bed in his Makli Clan room and gazes up at the

ceiling.

In this tough Makli Clan, can he even scrape by...?

His concerns stack up like towering peaks already.

'Well...what if surviving's a struggle?'

Makli Hyun-ah slides under the covers, places Jegal Mikhail's remains beside his pillow, and shuts his eyes.

'If I can't make it...I'll just live like back on Earth...'

Ignoring the family squabbles.

Hiding in some quiet nook of the home, dragging through a dull hikikomori routine—those were the days...

He can revert to that.

No, probably...

Odds are, that's how it'll play out.

Makli Hyun-ah's just worthless garbage without skills or promise.

He's always been that...

***

"Wood attribute single spiritual root!? A Heavenly Spiritual Root genius! And that's not all—a Ghost Path Body!? Plus an Extreme Ghost Path Body at peak purity grade!? Ancestor, what the hell is this!!??

The following day,

Before Makli Hyun-ah, a bunch of elderly grandmas and grandpas buzz around, poking and prodding his frame.

Up against the Makli Clan's Grand Elders and Elders, Makli Hyun-ah stutters, totally lost on how to react.

'Wh-What's happening here?'

"It's packed solid with the Ancestor's split soul... When Lord Makli Cheon-sa nails ascension and hits Four-Axis, we'll basically snag Nascent Soul-level fighting strength right here... Hahaha, even if the Ancestor acts aloof toward the clan, she hooks us up like this before heading out!"

The Lianshan Makli Line's present clan head,

Makli Hong, heaps praise on Makli Hyun-ah till he's dizzy with it.

"You're our Lianshan Makli Clan's shining hope! Haha, quick now, whisk him off to study the techniques. At minimum, he needs Qi Building so the Ancestor can descend without hassle!"

Having blown past Grand Perfection Core Formation into half-step Nascent Soul, the clan head showers Makli Hyun-ah with wild acclaim, lavish presents, and soon escorts him to the Makli Clan's archive.

Makli Hyun-ah's baffled.

What potential does a guy like him hold for this warm reception?

He'd get it more if they'd brushed him off lightly.

But stares brimming with such keen interest and warmth...

That's the sort of focus Makli Hyun-ah's never gotten in his entire life.

'Wh-What's this...?'

And for Makli Hyun-ah, unused to any spotlight like this, such attention weighs heavy.

'Ugh...I'm choking up differently from Earth days...'

Stuffing his stuff and the Elder and Grand Elder gifts into a weird 'magic artifact' dubbed a 'storage scroll' that the clan head hands over as a gift, Makli Hyun-ah makes for the Makli Clan's archive.

"From now on, you'll master the Makli Clan's techniques and advance. Come on, inside we go."

Makli Hweol tugs the overwhelmed Makli Hyun-ah toward the Makli Clan archive, chuckling 'hoho'.

He even looks like he's relishing Makli Hyun-ah's discomfort from all the extra fuss.

Shortly, in the archive's depths, Makli Hyun-ah encounters the Elder serving as its keeper.

"I'm Makli Hye-seo, the archive guardian and Cultivation Elder who aids family on cultivation puzzles."

A stunning lady in a blue palace gown eyes Makli Hyun-ah and says.

"I've caught wind of your tale. You're Lord Makli Cheon-sa's adopted daughter, they say?"

"...I'm...her son."

"Oh, my error. Anyway, pick any three technique tomes from the archive. Hweol'll guide you to top picks."

"Ahaha, looks like I'll lean on Daoist Makli Hweol's...assistance."

At Hye-seo's remark, Makli Hyun-ah starts to thank Makli Hweol ahead of time.

But then Makli Hye-seo drops some cryptic lines.

"The Makli Clan's archive stretches far. Should you somehow drift from Hweol and get turned around...go for the white-covered books. The Extreme Ghost Path Body pulls in old powers..."

The final bit fades as Makli Hye-seo softens her tone, so he misses it.

Makli Hyun-ah just sees it as a tip to stay glued to Makli Hweol and avoid splitting up, then begins browsing the archive with him.

"First off, I oughta learn Daoist Makli Hyun-ah's tastes. With your Wood Spiritual Root, opt for a wood-type technique... Wood techniques branch into tons of styles. Daoist, any that feel like a fit?"

Makli Hyun-ah skims the technique catalog Makli Hweol passes him and coughs lightly.

'Mm...way too many.'

For starters, Makli Hyun-ah steers toward the traits he noted on the form before landing here, to get his bearings.

'I pegged my vibe as Devilish Path leaning in the righteous-devil split, so devilish techniques suit better, and hating frontline scraps or direct clashes, I went for the Makli Clan that bosses demon beasts and battles via talismans...'

Makli Hyun-ah's eyes lock on a specific entry in the technique catalog.

'Talisman Path techniques for wielding talismans. Beast Taming techniques to control demon beasts. And since tough training's not my style, Invoking Spirit techniques that let me mooch off higher beings' strength—that's my limit.'

For wood attribute techniques, stick to Talisman Path, Beast Taming, or Invoking Spirit ones, preferably with a devilish tilt if possible.

He'd answered the survey figuring this setup would work, after all.

'Mount Sumeru World promised heaps of battles...so it's a setup with demon beasts tanking upfront, me lobbing talismans from the rear, and if foes punch through, I invoke a superior being for backup and leech their power.'

Makli Hyun-ah's strategy boils down to one thing.

Freeloading.

Nothing but freeloading.

"Daoist Makli Hweol, I reckon I'll go with..."

He points out his picks to Makli Hweol: Talisman Path, Beast Taming, and Invoking Spirit techniques.

"Wise picks. The main house shines in devilish arts...but our branch, the Lianshan Makli Line, excels at talismans and demon beast control. Perfect matches for our clan. And they align spot-on with the Extreme Ghost Path Body's traits."

Makli Hweol gives a subtle smile at Makli Hyun-ah's selections and takes the front.

"Follow along. We'll head to the area stocking those techniques."

The pair navigates the archive a bit, with Makli Hyun-ah sticking to Makli Hweol until they reach the zone full of Talisman Path, Beast Taming, and Invoking Spirit techniques.

"This whole area holds the techniques you named. Wood attribute versions sit in the shelves with blue bindings, so focus your search there."

"Got it, thanks, Daoist Makli Hweol!"

He thanks Makli Hweol and scans the vast area all over.

"Hmm... Er...nothing here really jumps out... Maybe deeper in...?"

Makli Hyun-ah ventures a tad further into the zone.

Yet the deeper shelves boast tough titles and knotty descriptions.

"Better check with Daoist Makli Hweol. Uh, Daoist...?"

And just like that,

Makli Hyun-ah notices Makli Hweol's presence has vanished.

"...Daoist...? Daoist Makli Hweol?"

Hyun-ah backtracks to their starting point to hunt for Makli Hweol, but oddly, he can't pinpoint where they began.

'This archive...was it ever this huge...?'

No trace of Makli Hweol anywhere, and the archive feels oddly expansive.

All at once, fear grips Makli Hyun-ah, like he's wandered lost in a barren archive.

'If I call out, someone might search... But yelling in an archive...? Ah, perhaps Elder Makli Hye-seo could assist? Oh yeah, hold on—Elder Makli Hye-seo mentioned something odd. If I get lost, the white-covered books...'

Right then, as Makli Hyun-ah remembers Makli Hye-seo's tip,

Three white-covered books pop into view on a nearby shelf.

"Huh...?"

Those white tomes snag Makli Hyun-ah's attention.

He checks the label at the shelf's side.

"Non-Immortal Family Methods category (R).....?"

'What's Immortal Family Methods, and what's non?'

He flips open the technique catalog from Makli Hweol, but it skips any mention of Immortal or Non-Immortal Family Methods.

"Is the entire shelf Non-Immortal Family Methods? No clue what that means..."

Scratching his head roughly, Makli Hyun-ah follows Makli Hye-seo's words and yanks out the three white books for now.

Curiously, though from varied paths, their covered stages link up seamlessly.

"This covers Qi Refining to Core Formation. That one's Core Formation to Four-Axis and Integration... And finally, this claims cultivation from Four-Axis and Integration all the way to True Immortality?"

Thanks to yesterday's crash course on Immortal Cultivation basics from Makli Hweol, he's starting to get the hang of the stages.