A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 821 Chapter 818: Side Story - Talisman War Great Death Mausoleum (1)

'The Naming Family Method stands as the most potent essence-draining divine ability.'

—Makli Hyun-jok, please employ the term essence-absorbing.

[Editor: Essence (精) carries a dual significance in East Asian tongues, take a stab at it.]

Makli Hyun-ah, brimming with assurance on his features, gazes upon the masses of vital essence pulled from the Sea Dragons in vast quantities during the previous night.

—Makli Hyun-jok! Kindly, refer to it as essence-absorbing!

'Clones of Sea Dragons formed by drawing out their vital essence via the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon might dissipate after merely a handful of assaults...!'

Yet, that holds no concern.

"Charge, Blue-Eyes Sea Dragons!"

Kuwak!

The trio of Sea Dragons unleashes dragon breath in unison.

Enormous beams erupt from their jaws, surging wildly towards Makli Nobi's Sea Dragons, which have endured relentless essence extraction by Makli Hyun-ah's Naming Dao technique over the span of two nights.

It is at this moment that Makli Nobi comprehends.

The cause behind his Sea Dragons' quivering!

His Sea Dragons...

Feel terror.

Kwagwagwagwang!!

Makli Nobi's Sea Dragons release their dragon breath with utmost vigor to clash directly, yet ultimately, they falter under the repercussions of two nights' essence drainage and get overwhelmed by the spectral dragon breath invoked by Makli Hyun-ah.

Kururururur!

"Th-This is impossible!"

In sheer dismay, Makli Nobi observes his Sea Dragons being pitifully hurled aside.

"Wh-What manner of witchcraft is this!? Our Makli Clan has no record of such a technique!! E-Elder! Hasn't that rascal picked up some forbidden demonic skill!? Isn't he a spy from the Seogyeong Line!?"

Nevertheless, Makli Yu-chi, initially displaying astonishment at Makli Hyun-ah's feat, soon adopts a grave demeanor and denies it with a head shake.

"Such a scenario is unlikely. Elder Makli Hye-seo would have detected it if true. Moreover...the unfamiliarity of this technique stems from..."

Makli Yu-chi creases their brow.

They possess knowledge of the Extreme Ghost Path Body as well.

A physique ideally suited for possession by diverse eerie spirits and deities.

Within that form resides the fragmented soul of the clan's forebear, Makli Cheon-sa.

'It could be a technique granted by the ancestor who rose to the Upper Realm, marking its debut appearance... Indeed, the prowess of an Upper Realm art defies comprehension.'

"...That detail remains a guarded clan mystery, so cease prying."

"Kuugh...!"

Makli Nobi clenches his teeth in rage and unfurls the beast scroll housing his demon beasts.

"You wretched kid... Do you truly believe you can overcome me!? A mere third star in Qi Refining! I shall demonstrate the might of the Qi Refining seventh star!!"

Woo-woooong!

Myriad illusions of demon beasts begin emerging around Makli Nobi.

This represents the hidden technique from Makli Nobi's Beast Taming approach, known as Demon Beast Heavenly Survey.

"Gal!"

Kugugugugu!

Kuoohhhhh!!

With Makli Nobi's ferocious bellow, the spectral demon beasts surrounding him erupt in a collective roar.

This terrifying bellow rivals the dragon breath of a Sea Dragon, surpassing even the output from the pair of mid Qi Refining stage Sea Dragons that Makli Nobi typically employs, approaching the potency of a Qi Building stage Sea Dragon's breath.

The capacity to deliver, in a fleeting moment, an assault nearing Qi Building stage intensity!

That constitutes a key maneuver within the Demon Beast Heavenly Survey that Makli Nobi has perfected!

Makli Hyun-ah's Sea Dragons expel dragon breath anew, but ultimately, they yield to the blast from Makli Nobi's assault, their forms beginning to disintegrate entirely.

"As anticipated... Extracting from the Sea Dragons for just two days caps at launching two assaults..."

Witnessing the Sea Dragon illusions crumble, Makli Hyun-ah swallows hard.

Still, fear does not grip him.

"Well, apologies, but...over these two days, the essence I've drained isn't limited to the Sea Dragons!"

—Please, Makli Hyun-jok, opt for the term essence-absorbing.

"I shall reveal the outcome of the power I've essence-drained from all over these two days!"

Wooo-wooong!

Makli Hyun-ah channels his full might into every talisman he's carried along.

Soon enough, apparitions of the Beast Stable's Qi Refining stage demon beasts—whose essence Makli Hyun-ah has tirelessly drawn for two days—manifest within the arena.

"Here it comes, I'll combine everyone's strength and topple you!"

Kugugugu!

Upon Makli Hyun-ah's directive, the illusions of the Beast Stable's Qi Refining demon beasts unleash their strikes toward Makli Nobi's blast.

Regardless of the assault's nearness to Qi Building stage, countering the onslaught from dozens of Qi Refining demon beasts...

...proves utterly unfeasible.

Makli Nobi's blast gets breached, and the onslaught from the demon beasts cascades onto Makli Nobi positioned behind it.

Makli Nobi, face slack with disbelief, beholds the incoming torrent of strikes and voices his despair.

"I stand as...a Qi Refining seventh star... Beyond Makli Hweol Hyung-nim, I rank as the academy's top young talent... How...could a mere Qi Refining third star best me, a seventh star...?"

Before long, the surroundings blaze in white, and amid it, Makli Nobi shuts his eyes, accepting his loss.

Kwakwagwang!

Struck by Makli Hyun-ah's barrage, Makli Nobi bursts through the dueling ground's barrier, hurtles to the distant outer wall past the arena, and embeds into it.

Kugugugu...

Makli Nobi's torso lodges within the outer wall, with merely his legs protruding and spasming outside.

At this spectacle, all onlookers fix their astounded gazes on a single point.

There, as the dust settles, a charming youth grins smugly, nose held high in feigned grandeur.

"Hoho...your downfall boils down to a single cause. A profoundly straightforward one."

Makli Hyun-ah pivots, reciting a familiar quip from Jegal Mikhail.

"You irked me."

Makli Yu-chi beholds the display and exhales deeply.

"Victor, Makli Hyun-ah!"

"Ah, th-thank you!"

Makli Hyun-ah, who had turned away in an attempt at poise, swiftly spins back, dashes to Elder Makli Yu-chi, and offers his gratitude.

Thus, Makli Hyun-ah claims triumph in the pivotal clash against Makli Nobi.

"Remarkable. How exactly did you triumph over a seventh star while merely at the Qi Refining third star?"

To Makli Yu-chi's inquiry, Makli Hyun-ah rubs his nose and replies.

"I merely leveraged the essence-draining capability of my innate true method, the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon."

"Hooh... I suspected you were scheming something with your frequent visits to the Beast Stable—that explains it."

"Hoho... The preparations Daoist Makli Hyun-ah has undertaken can likely be tallied on one hand."

“……”

Sensing Jegal Mikhail's encouraging look, Makli Hyun-ah puffs out his chest with pride and marches boldly toward Makli Nobi.

Wooong!

Makli Yu-chi extracts Makli Nobi from the outer wall and mends his head along with his body's various injuries, whereupon Makli Nobi regains awareness, slumps in place, gazes upward at Makli Hyun-ah, and sighs.

"...I concede. Per our bet, I'll yield anything in my possession. What is it you desire?"

Gesturing at Makli Nobi, Makli Hyun-ah declares.

"You pledged to grant me anything belonging to Cultivator Nobi, right? I wish to essence-extract from Cultivator's power, so kindly assist."

"...! Y-You mad fool... Y-You intend to essence-extract from me?"

Makli Nobi shudders, but then, recalling his prior commitment, he speaks through gritted teeth in humiliation.

"F-Fine... If you seek my essence, then claim it! I'm just a pathetic failure regardless...! Proceed as you wish!"

"Very well. Then..."

Makli Hyun-ah promptly retrieves brush, ink, and paper from the storage scroll, chants the incantation of the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon, infuses it with sincere invocation, and inscribes Makli Nobi's [name].

Simultaneously, Makli Nobi's vital essence flows directly into the inscribed name by Makli Hyun-ah and gets sealed therein.

Chiiiii...

"Y-You rascal, what are you—!?"

Deprived of his vital essence, Makli Nobi instantly blacks out and collapses, while Makli Hyun-ah hoists the 'Makli Nobi talisman' encapsulating Makli Nobi's vital essence and grins slyly.

'Hmph, this fool threatened to enslave me, didn't he? Starting now, you're my slave, Makli Nobi scum!'

[TL/N: Nobi means slave.]

Via this talisman holding Makli Nobi's vital essence, Makli Hyun-ah can not only invoke Makli Nobi's power as needed henceforth, but in crises, affixing it to Makli Nobi allows control over his deeds.

To put it simply, while this talisman holds its potency, Makli Nobi effectively serves as Makli Hyun-ah's slave.

"Makli Nobi controller, secured!"

Makli Hyun-ah tucks the talisman securely into his chest and turns from Makli Nobi, prompting numerous Makli Clan young talents to approach and engage him in conversation.

"H-Hey, Makli Hyun-ah. What exactly is that technique?"

"Makli Hyun-ah Unnie, you're so awesome!"

"I-I want to touch that talisman too!"

"C-Could you spare me one of those talismans? I'll fetch whatever you request!"

"Me too...I want to touch it as well. I'm touching the talisman!"

Suddenly, Makli Hyun-ah panics amid the throng surrounding him, his social unease flaring, so he hastily departs the area.

***

Several days afterward.

Makli Hyun-ah eyes the stack of gifts before him in his chamber and releases a long sigh.

Various spirit stones and spirit elixirs,

Along with spirit ink, spirit brush, and spirit paper aiding Makli Hyun-ah's talisman crafting, accumulate in abundance.

And likely due to the lasting impact of his bout...

Letters from numerous Makli Clan members arrive, beseeching Makli Hyun-ah to craft talismans for them.

"Tsk... Crafting talismans for them isn't difficult, but..."

Makli Hyun-ah sighs.

They undoubtedly seek the talisman Makli Hyun-ah wielded, the one harnessing demon beast power to spawn illusions.

"Producing that requires essence-draining all over the place, and it's such a chore..."

The motive behind Makli Hyun-ah's sleepless two nights extracting demon beasts' vital essence to forge the talisman was the tangible menace of Makli Nobi. No other compelling factor existed.

Absent such a peril, Makli Hyun-ah wouldn't have exerted himself to create this talisman.

'What a hassle... Even mere breathing feels taxing now, and contemplating this task makes it excruciatingly more so...'

Makli Hyun-ah sighs and wrestles with how to address these petitions.

A short while later, Makli Hyun-ah devises a shrewd notion.

"Ah, yes. That's the solution."

Makli Hyun-ah swiftly assembles brush, ink, and paper before seeking out Makli Nobi.

***

Makli Clan infirmary.

Following his duel defeat to Makli Hyun-ah, Makli Nobi has lingered in the infirmary, receiving care for his wounds over multiple days within a restorative array.

"How are you faring, can you get around?"

"Yes, Great Elder, I'm recovered now."

Makli Nobi's form, from the head downward, had been slammed into the outer wall, compounded by Makli Hyun-ah extracting his vital essence, leaving his state severely compromised.

Consequently, not only Elder Makli Yu-chi, the healing specialist, but the infirmary's chief healer,

Great Elder Makli Young-guchi, father to Makli Yu-chi, had to personally transport and tend to him for days.

"At this crucial juncture as you near Core Formation stage, I regret burdening you, Elder Young-guchi."

"No issue. It's for the clan's rising stars, so why fuss? Furthermore, attending to you lets me thoroughly revisit healing techniques, benefiting me instead.

 "...My thanks."

 "Proceed then."

 "Yes!"

Makli Nobi bows to Makli Young-guchi and exits the infirmary.

A bit later, beyond the infirmary, he encounters an unwelcome visage.

"Ah, there you are. Cultivator Makli Nobi, you've been hiding here."

"...Makli Hyun-ah..."

Wearing an expression of embarrassment, Makli Nobi questions Makli Hyun-ah,

"That day, once you felled me, what...exactly did you do to me...?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I simply performed some essence-draining."

"Eeeek...you..."

"Setting that aside, I need a favor."

"What...?"

Makli Hyun-ah, from the elixirs gifted by the clan's young prospects, offers a vial of wound-healing pills to Makli Nobi and states,

"These are wound-healing pills. Your healing ought to be complete, yet they'll aid in restoring your vitality. Accept them and fulfill one request for me."

"...Very well. What more do you seek from me...you kid...?"

Makli Hyun-ah extracts the crafted talisman from his chest and presents it to Makli Nobi.

"Kindly promote it a little for me."

"Pro...mote?"

Makli Nobi regards Makli Hyun-ah with utter confusion.

Makli Hyun-ah proceeds to elucidate for Makli Nobi.

***

Woong!

"...Thus, the essence extracted from tamed demon beasts in this manner forms the core of the talisman that felled Cultivator Makli Nobi. It's a feature of my Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon technique."

"Uuuhm... S-So 'essence-extracting' refers to that...?"

"...? What else did you assume?"

"Sh-Shut it! Regardless, if you inscribe talismans bearing the [name], my role henceforth is to distribute them to clan members and demonstrate their usage, correct?"

Makli Nobi swallows nervously, retorts sharply, then accepts Makli Hyun-ah's talisman and inquires.

"Indeed, I'd appreciate your help with that."

Makli Hyun-ah's Talisman Dao method, the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon, seals power within names.

Yet through study, Makli Hyun-ah discovered that while he alone can chant the formula and concentrate to etch the [name]...

Sealing power into that name can be accomplished by others without issue.

In essence, Makli Hyun-ah's strategy involves mass-producing talismans etched with [names].

He intends to distribute these as samples to the somewhat renowned Makli Nobi, let him circulate explanations on infusing power into the talismans, and enable clan members to personally embed the requisite demon beast essence. That's the scheme.

'This minimizes my effort, while I still pocket the gifts...a perfect win-win, right?'

Unaware or not of Makli Hyun-ah's cunning plot...

Makli Nobi accepts and scrutinizes Makli Hyun-ah's talisman earnestly.

"Hm... Talismans crafted via your approach possess such utility... Understood. Exceptional, truly...your technique offers broader applications than I anticipated."

"Hehe...yeah, I agree."

"In any case, I get it. If it functions as described...the clan members will adore it. No, even the family elders might embrace it with great enthusiasm."

"Hehe...excuse me?"

"I comprehend. I'll handle promoting your talismans' usage responsibly. Thanks for this chance."

After thanking Makli Hyun-ah, Makli Nobi, resolute in expression, gathers the talismans and proceeds to the main house's inner sections.

Observing Makli Nobi's demeanor, Makli Hyun-ah scratches his head.

"...Hm, is it that big a deal...?"

***

Chiiiiii—

Months have passed since the showdown with Makli Nobi.

Half a year has now elapsed since Makli Hyun-ah's arrival at the Makli Clan.

"Huahhh...so this marks the sixth star realm of Qi Refining..."

Makli Hyun-ah sheds his upper robe and, surveying the [names] covering his torso, lets out an awed whistle.

As Makli Hyun-ah flexes, the [names] simultaneously glow in turquoise and resonate.

"At this pace, Qi Building stage lies within a few years, and Core Formation after...then I can crush that brute. Come on, push forward, Lee Hyun-ah!"

After verifying his cultivation level, he dons his attire with exhilaration and commences crafting the day's talismans.

It is then.

"Daoist Makli Hyun-ah, may I enter?"

Responding to Makli Hweol's summons, Makli Hyun-ah halts his talisman work and admits Makli Hweol.

"What matter brings you, Daoist Makli Hweol?"

"I see you're engaged in talisman making. I've arrived to discuss something briefly about it. Has production been smooth of late?"

"Yes, absolutely. Actually, the Naming Dao Conferring Gods Canon has advanced recently, elevating the caliber of talismans I produce."

"Hoo...in what specific manner has it improved?"

Makli Hyun-ah presents a talisman adorned with diverse runes solely along