A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 824 Chapter 821: Side Story - New Fate and Upheaval (2)

It is a 'chain'.

From the fissures splitting open across Makli Simseong-chung's form, an endless torrent of dark chains surges forth like a cascading flood, wrapping tightly around his skin.

Facing this eerie and terrifying spectacle, Makli Hyun-ah experiences a wave of revulsion, coupled with an inexplicable dread.

Thump, thump, thump...!

All at once, Makli Hyun-ah senses an odd sensation stirring within.

It's as if a memory is on the verge of surfacing.

'I...'

He had believed he plunged directly into this Penglai Star realm after being struck by a truck.

Yet, was that truly the case?

Prior to the fatal impact, before arriving in this realm...

Hadn't he encountered [someone]?

Gazing upon those viscous black chains, Makli Hyun-ah is gripped by a peculiar unease that washes over him.

Chwarak, chwarak, chwarak!

Surrounding Makli Simseong-chung, the Qi Building Elders from the Seogyeong Makli Clan brandish what appear to be custom-crafted flag magic artifacts, starting to manipulate the entity that has been invoked into his frame.

Furthermore, the Core Formation Grand Elder of the Seogyeong Makli Clan, previously stationed within the warship, erupts outward, recites a dharma incantation aimed at the monstrous entity shrouded in chains, and executes hand seals as though commanding the aberration.

Right then,

Jjeooooooeong!

As the chain—seemingly fused with the monstrous entity's very tissue—lashes out, a section of the Lianshan Makli Clan's formation crumbles instantly, causing the whole domain where the primary family's array extends to quiver violently.

Witnessing this, the Elders and Grand Elders of the Lianshan Makli Clan draw back in horror, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.

The Lianshan Makli Clan Head, Makli Hong, clenches his teeth, his complexion ashen.

"Th-That...what is that...? That...isn't that a lifeform at the Nascent Soul stage?"

Doubt clouds Makli Hong's features, while a grim shadow falls across the countenances of numerous Makli Clan Grand Elders.

"...Elder Makli Hye-seo..."

Makli Hong turns his gaze toward Makli Hye-seo in the Clan Head Hall and addresses her with a face twisted in despair.

"Will that person truly not aid us...? The foes have called forth Nascent Soul stage might!"

Yet, in response to Makli Hong's plea, Makli Hye-seo merely exhales deeply and shakes her head.

"...They insist on safeguarding only me. They don't appear inclined to intervene further."

Kwaaaaaang!

And while they converse, the adversary's Nascent Soul stage monstrous beast unleashes a barrage of assaults, sending tremors through the entire formation once more.

From that ensuing blast, Makli Hyun-ah—shielded by Makli Hweol at the back—coughs up blood and collapses into unconsciousness.

Observing via the consciousness domain how the Extreme Ghost Path Body, a rare prodigy, sustains injury, Makli Hong grips his fist tightly, his chest aching as if bleeding.

"Damn it...in the end, must I intervene personally...?"

Woo-wooong!

The formation's energy starts to converge upon Makli Hong.

Concurrently, Makli Hong's cultivation level surges upward.

Makli Hong, positioned at the peak of Core Formation, ascends to the Nascent Soul stage in a flash.

The technique Makli Hong practices is one of exceptional rarity.

It fuses personal cultivation with a formation to accelerate progress, yet it typically restricts one from unleashing peak strength, yielding only the might of a realm one tier beneath the actual attainment.

Additionally, the practitioner becomes bound to the formation's confines, offering no special edge over fellow Nascent Soul cultivators inside it.

Makli Hong attained Nascent Soul and claimed the clan head role through this flawed path. Deploying his utmost would shatter his cultivation base, forcing years of secluded recovery.

"If I unleash my strength this time, I'll be confined to bed for years once more...!"

Makli Hong mutters in anguish as he prepares to dispel the summoned Nascent Soul stage monstrous beast from the opposing side.

"...!"

Abruptly, Makli Hong snaps his head toward the unconscious Makli Hyun-ah, and a grin of delight creeps onto his lips.

"...! I-Is that it? No need for me to exert myself fully..."

Wiiiing!

Makli Hong manipulates the surroundings near Makli Hyun-ah via his technique, restoring the youth's vital energies.

All to facilitate the smooth arrival of the entity revered by every member of the Makli Clan, Makli Hong included!

***

Jing— Jing— Jing—

Makli Hyun-ah slipped into oblivion from the blast as the chain-woven grotesque entity battered the formation twice.

'Where could this be...?'

In his senseless state, he perceives himself tumbling ceaselessly into a void resembling a profound, shadowy chasm.

'What sort of chasm is this...? I...passed out...? Then, is this my subconscious?'

Instinctively grasping his location, he grows bewildered.

'Within my subconscious...lies a depth like this? What on earth is this place?'

It happens right then.

Something grazes Makli Hyun-ah's awareness as it plummets without end.

It radiates brilliance and vastness.

From that luminous expanse, Makli Hyun-ah recollects a figure glimpsed previously.

'Makli...Cheon-sa...?'

The entity responsible for dispatching Makli Hyun-ah to the Makli Clan.

Indeed, Makli Cheon-sa.

The luminous form resembling Makli Cheon-sa casts a glance at the descending Makli Hyun-ah into the depths below and speaks.

[Rest. I shall exert every effort to prevent that malevolent divinity from seizing your form and inflicting harm upon you...]

'Malevolent entity...? My form?'

Perplexed, Makli Hyun-ah continues his infinite descent into the void.

Into a boundless container capable of housing any magnitude of being...

***

Tsuaaaaaaa!

This occurs as Makli Hweol prepares to relocate the unconscious Makli Hyun-ah.

A blaze of light erupts from Makli Hyun-ah's frame, and his eyes snap open wide.

Makli Hweol senses intuitively that this isn't the familiar Makli Hyun-ah, but another presence, and he bows low in reverence.

"Makli Hweol...pays respects to the clan ancestor."

The presence that has manifested within Makli Hyun-ah's body.

'Makli Cheon-sa' acknowledges the salute curtly, then steadily advances past the juniors toward the formation's boundary.

Peering over the brink at the aberration entwined in myriad iron chains, Makli Cheon-sa voices her words.

[Members of the Seogyeong Makli Clan. Do you comprehend at all what you have invoked at this moment?]

To this, the Core Formation Elder directing the aberration responds with eyes alight.

"Makli Cheon-sa...? How unexpected. A senior who displayed no strong ties to the clan left a split soul and ascended... Did you employ some Body-Separation Great Method?"

[Respond to the inquiry.]

"Hahahaha, just as senior utilizes a clan junior's body to safeguard the clan...we too borrow the might of a higher-dimensional entity to defend the clan. Recently, we acquired the Shaman Family Method, which included a summoning array to call forth a being from the remote Astral Realm."

[You ignorant fools... In attempting to avert the household's crisis, you've invited a far worse disaster! Seeking to expel a fox, you've summoned a dragon instead! Are you unaware of 'whose' servant you have called?]

"'Whose?' Do you claim it serves a Star Shattering stage senior?"

[Idiotic fools. Did you recklessly open the gateway without grasping what, or whom, your invocations target!]

"You remain burdened by needless concerns. It's merely a ritual chant for the ceremony! All that lore about the entity linked to the Peng Bird dominating the Antimatter Sea is just a way to anthropomorphize the natural forces of that Astral Realm! Do you truly accept that a divine True Immortal toys with us from beyond the world? You resemble a flat Head Realm advocate insisting the Head Realm is flat."

[...Debating with lower realm simpletons who deny even the True Immortal's existence is futile. Tsk! O Great One, I am Makli Cheon-sa. Grant us passage, I beseech you!]

Makli Cheon-sa, inhabiting Makli Hyun-ah, inclines her head deferentially toward the chained entity, and upon witnessing this, the Core Formation Grand Elder of the Seogyeong Makli Clan displays confusion.

"Ultimately, what exactly are you implying...? This entity is simply a creature from a realm known as Black Star, senior. We merely forged a pact with an intelligent being from Black Star and summoned its avatar in return. Stran—"

Waduk!

It unfolds in that instant.

The chain entity extends its tendrils toward the addressing Core Formation Grand Elder.

Swiftly, the chains coalesce into a hand-like structure, and before the Grand Elder can mount any defense, that appendage engulfs him entirely.

Crunch, crunch, gulp!

From the chain-formed hand emanates the noise of voracious devouring, and shortly, the limb that consumed the Core Formation Grand Elder manifests an opposing hand, slowly shaping into a colossal figure of chains.

Beholding this, the Seogyeong Makli Clan's Qi Building Elders cry out and frantically wield their flags to rein in the titan.

"Wh-What are you doing!? Contracted beast, honor the agreement!"

"Be content with just Makli Simseong-chung's lifespan! This violates the pact! We—"

Crunch!

Yet, as they babble excuses and strive to dominate the titan, the Qi Building Elders along with scores of Qi Refining juniors from the younger ranks are dragged into the chain cascade erupting from the titan's base and vanish.

In moments, chains overrun the Seogyeong Makli Clan's warship, and amid the surging chains, the titan exposes its torso and smirks.

: : YoudonotknowthatitisbytheverysmallconnectionwithonefromtheMakliClaninthelosthistoryofmyLord'ssixteenthlifethatyouareallowedtopersistuntilnowwithouthavingyourseedcutoff,andyetyoustillveneratetheDevilish?Youstillholdcountlessbloodritesandfailtorestrainyourdesires,sacrificingothers?MyLordhaslongsincecutoffexpectationsforyou,soI,inplaceofmyLord'sanger,shallpunishyourwrongness.Foolishones,nowthatyourfatehasbeenexhausted,accordingtothelawofRetributionthatmyLordhasplacedintheheavens,youshallreturnandreceiveallthekarmayouhavebroughtwithyou.Iprophesize.Youshallnotavoidthisgreatruin. : :

Chijijijijijik!

The black chain titan expels utterances brimming with vast informational fragments, but due to its origin in a superior dimension's tongue, only Makli Cheon-sa faintly grasps the intent.

Nevertheless, Makli Cheon-sa beads with icy perspiration.

'My comprehension stems not from elevated realm, but because that entity regards me, regards us, sparing us from exploding and perishing upon hearing those utterances.'

Makli Cheon-sa comprehends that while the malevolent presence could obliterate them effortlessly, it handles them with utmost delicacy, akin to fragile fledglings.

[O God! Having ascended to the Upper Realm, I once brushed against myths tied to Thee. Thou art assuredly the counterpart to the Peng ruling the Antimatter Sea, and I recognize Thee as one who devours solely the sinful.

[We of the Lianshan Makli Clan resolved to sever ties utterly from the main lineage of the Seogyeong Makli Clan, and never have we indulged in such profound devilish transgressions.

[Spare us, I implore! My descendants shall proclaim your glory!]

In reply to Makli Cheon-sa's entreaty, the entity emits a low chuckle and voices comprehensible spirit words.

[Indeed, I devour only the sinful, and while your karmic debts aren't absent, they warrant judgment in the Netherworld, not through my intervention.]

[Then...!]

[Yet, as a guardian Great God of Heaven and Earth, I bear the obligation to mark the emergent fate in this realm. My awareness must imprint upon the flesh of that new fate...]

[...!]

Makli Cheon-sa remains ignorant of which new fate the divinity references, but she discerns they target Makli Hyun-ah, the vessel she occupies.

[...That is unacceptable. Were you an evident benevolent deity, perhaps otherwise, but your punitive criteria are obscure, and knowing thousands, nay tens of thousands of civilizations have fallen to your grasp unknowing the cause, I cannot permit an evil god like you to claim my adopted daughter's form.]

[How lamentable. Even recounting the war of light and stars, the horrors of those lights, you couldn't fathom it. Rejoice in your birth under stellar grace. Absent my Lord's benediction, your audacity would go unpardoned.]

[I lack deep knowledge of the lord you serve, but one truth stands clear. The vessel you inhabit isn't a Ghost Path Body, merely that of a standard Qi Building cultivator, ill-suited to endure long! Liberate my juniors now, and retreat to your Palace of the Black Blades!]

Those declarations prompt the chain entity to boom with thunderous mirth.

With their laughter, the sky dims and flares, as though the cosmos itself convulses.

[Arrogant creature! Suppose because my vessel is lowly, I'm powerless against you? Dare you challenge me?]

Kwaaaaaang!

As the chain being swings its fist, the Makli Clan's barrier shatters in one strike, and myriad Qi Building Elders spew blood before collapsing.

The shockwave plunges Qi Refining juniors into instant stupor and blackout, with only advanced youths like Makli Hweol scarcely holding firm.

Makli Cheon-sa sweats profusely and lifts a finger.

From her fingertip, celestial essence channels forth, drawing ambient Heaven and Earth spiritual energy to her side.

Swiftly, she manifests Nascent Soul-caliber combat prowess and unleashes a storm of spells upon the chain being, yet it roars in amusement and hurls a fist her way.

Kugwaaaaang!

Struck by the entity's blow, Makli Cheon-sa hurtles through the primary hall's structure and crashes to the formation's far edge.

Splurt!

[In this borrowed shell, my full might eludes me. If only this form attained Qi Building...!]

Makli Cheon-sa grinds her teeth while mending Makli Hyun-ah's injuries, and at this display, the chain being snickers.

[Even with your true form, treading Immortal Family cultivation, would you defy me, an Immortal incarnate?]

[...But what if it's not Immortal Family Methods?]

[Ahaha, what was that?]

Makli Cheon-sa offers a subtle smile and touches her temple.

[Scanning my adopted daughter's recollections, among the tomes I perused, one proves apt. O Apex of the Immortal Family, care to face the Confucian Family Method!]

Makli Cheon-sa accesses memories within Makli Hyun-ah's mind via the Beast Taming technique, and employing her own Beast Taming art, she transmits a message to every demon beast in the Makli Clan.

[Heed me! I am Makli Cheon-sa. I stand as the zenith of Beast Taming in the Lianshan Makli Clan!!]

Every demon beast ensnared by Makli Cheon-sa's Beast Taming arts lifts its gaze toward her, eyes filled with profound veneration.

Makli Cheon-sa's Beast Taming technique alone commands the awe and allegiance of demon beasts.

The veneration from myriad demon beasts transmutes into incantation scripts via the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy Makli Cheon-sa wields.

These scripts soon evolve into 'social authority', with dark 'social authority' draping over Makli Cheon-sa's form.

Distinct from Makli Hyun-ah's mere faint black glow,

The Great Demon Pacifying Heaven Formation's potency, invoked by Makli Cheon-sa, assumes a defined shape.

Dark radiance weaves a jet-black military outfit (具軍服).

A battle hat (戰笠) crowns the head, while military uniform (具軍服), battle garments (戰服), and battle cloth (戰布) cloak the frame, a battle belt (戰帶) encircling the waist.

Finally, wooden boots (木靴) materialize on the feet, finalizing the ensemble.

Unlike standard military garb, Makli Cheon-sa's creation gleams predominantly in inky black.

This black light-forged military outfit attests to her social authority.

Makli Cheon-sa fixes her intense gaze on the chain being and directs a pointing finger.

Tududududududu!

Heaven and Earth spiritual energy faces suppression.

The formidable social authority Makli Cheon-sa erects rejects and crushes aberrant forces and disordered essences.

Chiik, chijijijijik!

The spell-propelled Seogyeong Makli Clan warship forfeits its incantations' vigor and commences a slow descent, while the chain being's tendrils also wane progressively.

[I, drawing upon Makli Cheon-sa's social authority, declare an edict and proclaim thus! Entities not of this world must return whence they came, and oppressors of this lineage shall duly pay the toll and face fitting retribution! Grounded in this land's social authority. In Makli Cheon-sa's name, I command that the banis