A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 836 Chapter 833: Side Story - Being Ban Ta's Disciple (2)
Previously on A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation...
Chapter 836 Chapter 833: Side Story - Being Ban Ta's Disciple (2)
Kugugugu!
Swords descend like a storm.
In the midst of this sword light torrent, Ahn Geum summons numerous lost spirits, alters the trajectories of the sword beams, and narrowly dodges them.
"You monstrous old witch...you truly revealed your true nature at last!"
She grinds her teeth and glances at the spot where Makli Hyun-ah plummets.
'Lee Hyun-ah appears to be Lee Seo-ah's ultimate taboo. Touching him without cause would only harm my position. No choice then. For the moment, withdrawal is necessary...'
With that thought, she seals away the Penglai Star essence pulled from Makli Hyun-ah into her Integrated Dao Domain.
'In any case, I've acquired the means to locate my brother's path, which was my main objective...so I'll pull back today. Stirring up trouble needlessly won't yield any advantages.'
Having swiftly decided, Ahn Geum clasps her hands and whispers.
"Integrated Dao Domain."
Wo-woong—
A dark energy swirls around her fiercely, while the wails of vast hordes of lost spirits echo across the skies and lands.
"Million Wandering Souls World Perishing Wind Advancement (千萬幽魂一界毁風進)."
Hwiooooooo!
Suddenly, the landscape of heaven and earth transforms.
A realm of drifting spirits, swept by endless chilling gales, overtakes the original scene.
In the heart of this spirit domain, Ahn Geum wields a gale of hexes capable of wiping out a whole world's society, pulling the distant Nether Crossing Ship closer.
Kugugugu!
The onslaught of endless sword beams shreds the drifting spirits, yet for every one destroyed, new ones reform and surge toward Lee Seo-ah.
But that's not everything.
As the spirits get ripped apart by the sword light, chilling winds converge around Ahn Geum, shaping into Ghost Kings.
The sharper these Ghost Kings' forms grow, the more prominent the crimson banners they clutch become. Those banners slowly shift to a azure glow, radiating a chilling, ominous curse energy.
And at last, once the banners fully turn azure.
Ahn Geum directs her finger at Lee Seo-ah, who unleashes sword energy from atop the Integrated Dao Domain.
"Curse release."
Flash!
Simultaneously, the hexes built up from Lee Seo-ah's destruction of the spirits explode in unison.
As the hex-laden banners wave, a torrent of azure chilling wind rushes at Lee Seo-ah.
Lee Seo-ah merely observes and scoffs.
"On the contrary, I appreciate it. I've kept suffering Qi Deviation in my technique due to my poor grasp of curses and blessings...and now you're aiding my cultivation personally!"
The Three Great Ultimates behind Lee Seo-ah gleam intensely, and she too joins her palms.
"Four-Axis Canopy."
Chwararararak!
Around Lee Seo-ah, four luminous orbs unfurl like flowers in bloom, and myriad star clusters and cosmic clouds manifest as sword light encircling her.
It's like the cosmos itself guards Lee Seo-ah's vicinity.
Her Three Great Ultimates take in the curses directly, shining even more vividly.
Forming a sword gesture with her fingers, Lee Seo-ah summons something from within her Four-Axis Canopy.
Kugugugu!
A colossal blade emerges.
These immense swords, each stretching over three li long, invade Ahn Geum's Integrated Dao Domain, ripping through the drifting spirits.
And that's far from over.
'What...the blades keep coming without cease?'
Three-li-long giant swords start pouring down endlessly from her Four-Axis Canopy.
Soon, each unleashes crystalline flames and sweeps across Ahn Geum's entire Integrated Dao Domain.
"Ah, no...!"
Ahn Geum attempts to deploy spirits and hexes to fend off as best she can, but it proves futile.
The flaming giant swords shatter every barrier she raises and rampage unchecked through her Integrated Dao Domain.
Worsening matters, Lee Seo-ah, enveloped by the Four-Axis Canopy, charges straight at Ahn Geum.
'Damn it...!'
Ahn Geum twists the space in her Integrated Dao Domain, frantically trying to create separation, but Lee Seo-ah's advance outpaces her spatial manipulations.
At this pace, she'll end up captured by Lee Seo-ah, her form and the whole Integrated Dao Domain sliced apart!
Ahn Geum clenches her jaw and resorts to her final measure.
"Radiance Seven Lords, Seventh Seat Rain Dew Heavenly Lord (光明七君第七座雨露天君)!"
The [Name] she invokes takes form inside her Integrated Dao Domain, unleashing a massive burst of radiance.
Upon hearing that [Name], Lee Seo-ah's body liquefies and starts dissolving, prompting her to cough up blood and encase herself in Glass True Fire to halt the change.
Kugugugu!
A yin entity like Ahn Geum dispatches an emissary from afar to rescue her follower across dimensions.
Jjeooooeok!
Spacetime rips open, and a True Immortal-level apostle from the [Rain Dew Heavenly Lord] reshapes the fabric of reality.
The Apostle of Light flings Lee Seo-ah to the distant edge of the Purple Gold Realm and motions to pull Ahn Geum and Makli Hyun-ah into their realm.
That's when,
Gigigigigik—
Time seems to freeze.
An absolute temporal pause unnoticed by Ahn Geum or Makli Hyun-ah.
Indeed...
In the True Immortal Realm's sensory field, perceptible only to True Immortals.
A figure steps between the Apostle of Light, Makli Hyun-ah, and Ahn Geum.
A man in violet robes with violet gaze.
It's Ban Ta.
: : That suffices. The mortals' struggle seems concluded, so retreat to your realm. : :
The Apostle of Light replies in a tongue beyond mortal comprehension.
It conveys, essentially, defiance.
To that intent, Ban Ta's eyes gleam violet as he reveals a pale smile.
: : Perhaps because you're a True Immortal ascended in a Heavenly Domain unlinked to the Purple Gold Realm? That explains your audacity to bare fangs at me... : :
Tududuk, tududududuk!
The Purple Gold Realm's essence and spacetime itself yield around Ban Ta.
: : Had you merely rescued your follower, I'd permit it, but attempting to seize my disciple too, and defying my counsel to challenge me, demands one of your limbs as penalty for that offense. : :
Kiiiiiiing!
Spacetime and the Purple Gold Realm's dimension recede, leaving only Ban Ta's unadulterated intent to occupy the void.
Ban Ta's intent, saturating heaven and earth, ascends into the light dimension, clashing with the Light True Immortal poised to harm his disciple in a higher realm.
While repelling the Purple Gold Realm's influence, Ban Ta's sheer resolve and dominion spars repeatedly with the Light True Immortal, then severs a portion from the light dimension before withdrawing.
: : Take it as tuition paid. Should we cross paths again and you prattle ignorantly about me, it won't stop at a single limb. Begone! Stay away from my disciple henceforth! : :
Delivering his icy admonition, Ban Ta expels the one-armed Light True Immortal and seals the fleeting link to the light dimension by force.
Right after, in the near-static time, Ban Ta scoops Makli Hyun-ah into his embrace.
"This turns out conveniently. Crafting a Decaying Corpse Realm from a True Immortal's corpse will boost your cultivation, my disciple."
Reentering the halted flow, he boots Ahn Geum toward the Purple Gold Realm's Chaos Realm zone, then heads back to Ban Ta Castle.
In this way, the crisis involving higher entities in the Purple Gold Realm concludes swiftly.
***
Purple Gold Eight Regions, Tongue Domain.
Lee Seo-ah, hurled there by the Light True Immortal, surveys her surroundings, clenches her fists, and retrieves a talisman from her robes.
—For times of peril, take this Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Talisman. It's a protective charm mimicking part of a mighty Immortal Treasure's might. With it, in your current Heavenly Domain, you can teleport to any recalled location. But wield it wisely.
—Uses are limited, and back-to-back activations aren't feasible. Even for remembered spots, you can't reach just anywhere. Forbidden areas include living True Immortal innards, Penglai Star, Ban Ta Castle in the Purple Gold Realm, the Purple Gold Realm's Manas Domain, Araya Domain, severe spacetime storm zones, Avici, or degenerate star cores—none accessible via the Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Talisman, so employ it judiciously.
In essence, it's her vital escape charm.
Yet Lee Seo-ah activates this scarce-use lifesaver without delay.
'Hyun-ah, I must rescue Hyun-ah!'
Paaatt!
Upon triggering the talisman, Lee Seo-ah reappears at the prior battleground.
Despair soon grips her.
'I-I can't spot him... Did the Light True Immortal drag him to the Radiance Heavenly Domain? No, impossible...'
Kiiiing!
Lee Seo-ah's eyes form a Taiji pattern as she senses the echoes of bygone events.
She can't witness the superiors' clash directly, but energy remnants reveal themselves.
And these energy traces here are the most recognizable in the Purple Gold Realm.
Ban Ta's energy.
"Sacred Master Ban Taaaaaaaa!"
Lee Seo-ah comprehends her brother's abduction to the dreaded Ban Ta Castle, famed for stifling realm advancement, and she cries out in anguish.
***
Purple Gold Realm, Chaos Realm region.
Atop an islet in the Black Sea.
There, Ahn Geum, face vacant, uses the extract from Makli Hyun-ah to divine her brother Ahn Gyeong's location.
Her findings show Ahn Gyeong hasn't yet departed Penglai Star, so only Penglai Star's aura serves as the linking medium.
But upon pinpointing Ahn Gyeong's position, Ahn Geum stares skyward in stunned disbelief.
"Hah..."
Exhaling a sigh laced with misery, resentment, and grief, Ahn Geum collapses onto the ground right then.
"...This can't be real."
For some reason, all her vigor seems to ebb away.
***
Purple Gold Realm, Ban Ta Castle.
Makli Hyun-ah awakens within.
"Huh...? This place...is it my room?"
"You've roused, disciple."
"Master...! You rescued me?"
"Naturally. And I've obtained a present for you too. When you advance your realm, this gift will make your cultivation far more rewarding."
"Wow, thanks, Master!"
To Makli Hyun-ah's gratitude, Ban Ta briefly shows a dazed look.
"Uh...Master? What's the matter?"
Drip...
Then, witnessing Ban Ta abruptly weeping, he fears he've erred somehow.
And Ban Ta's following statement leaves Makli Hyun-ah utterly shocked.
"Out of the myriad parasitic scum who joined as my students...you alone received a cultivation-boosting gift and gave me genuine thanks..."
"..."
"Thank you, disciple. Truly, only you... Now then. Rise quickly, and let's resume cultivation."
Makli Hyun-ah ponders what sort of individuals Ban Ta's other disciples must be.
Questioning Ban Ta's string of unfortunate pupils, he joins Ban Ta for further cultivation.
***
A few months elapse.
Under Ban Ta's guidance, Makli Hyun-ah attains a massive breakthrough.
Kiiiing—
Makli Hyun-ah fully transmutes the spectral energy in his frame into social authority, solidly establishing the base for the Four-Axis stage equivalent realm.
Furthermore, this isn't social authority forged from living beings' faith and acknowledgment, but rather direct conversion of energy to social authority via the Soul Plane-spanning force.
Thus, Makli Hyun-ah gains profound insight into the planes and their inherent powers.
"Master, I feel ready to attempt the Four-Axis stage realm now!"
"Hahahaha, worthy of my disciple! Very well, I'll now detail the distinctions and parallels between the Immortal Family Method and Confucian Family Method for the Four-Axis stage."
'Master truly excels.'
One lesson Makli Hyun-ah gleaned from Ban Ta's tutelage is his exceptional prowess as an instructor.
With vast knowledge and sharp discernment, Ban Ta instantly detects Makli Hyun-ah's confusions, dissecting and clarifying them simply.
Hence, during these months of practice, Makli Hyun-ah never encountered a blockage.
'Plus, he regularly fortifies my physique with elixirs, clears my channels via meridian tracing and vessel opening, maintaining perfect equilibrium for my Confucian Family Method body.'
In terms of instruction alone, Ban Ta stands as the premier mentor.
Indeed.
Merely in pedagogy, Ban Ta's the finest.
Kwagwagwang!
In Ban Ta Castle's practice area, amid Makli Hyun-ah and Ban Ta's session.
A section of the wall crumbles, revealing a Small Person Race member who aims a pin-thin lance and yells.
"Sacred Master Ban Ta! Today marks my victory over you! Face my Heavenly Extreme Spear!"
Kwagwagwang!
The Small Person Race clutches the needle and lunges, barreling at Ban Ta and Makli Hyun-ah.
Though the hand-sized Small Person Race seems adorable at first, its strike is anything but.
With one spear swing, spacetime compresses instantly, placing the Small Person Race nose-to-nose. Makli Hyun-ah evades solely due to Ban Ta.
Kururung!
Makli Hyun-ah recoils in terror as the spear distorts spacetime and hazes plane borders.
"You Heart Tribe leeches! At it again!? Cease this madness!"
"Recognize me as Sacred Master! I'll claim the Purple Gold Realm's Sacred Master throne!"
"Spare me the lunacy! Sacred Master cultivation holds no value for you Heart Tribe vermin, and inheriting the seat is impossible! Even if I somehow elevated one of you, wouldn't you transform the Purple Gold Realm into an Asura Realm?"
"An Asura Realm? All envision a paradise of Martial Arts rivalry and delight!"
"If you truly covet my Sacred Master position, master an Immortal Family Method or any Non-Immortal one and cultivate to the Sacred Vessel stage."
"Hmph, I shun the foul Heaven and Earth Tribe methods! Beneath the heavens, Martial Arts alone is my ally!"
"You, you...! These Heart Tribe pests worse than parasites!"
Ban Ta, utterly exasperated, places Makli Hyun-ah aside, tr