A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 843 Chapter 840: Side Story - Mythical Relic (5)

Chapter 840: Side Story - Mythical Relic (5)

...

...

An uncomfortable quiet hangs momentarily between Makli Hyun-ah and the Black Marquis.

Makli Hyun-ah glances about nervously, pondering an escape route.

'The beast scroll and the Rabbit Seven Heavenly Lords...curse it. Except for the garments made via social influence, every other dharma treasure and the beast scroll shifted along, right!? Am I truly the sole one who stayed put?'

Makli Hyun-ah comprehends that he has almost no survival methods remaining, and he clenches his lips firmly.

The Black Marquis scans the surroundings as well.

“Based on the celestial energy calculation device's findings, this doesn't appear to be a snare, but rather you were overlooked because of some unforeseen error. Isn't that the case?”

“Hahaha! How could it be!? I deliberately remained to catch just a glimpse more of the Black Marquis's splendid appearance! I wasn't abandoned by accident at all! I'll transmit this magnificent encounter to my offspring through the ages! I've beheld the Black Marquis's esteemed countenance sufficiently, so this lowly one will depart now. Farewell then!”

Once Makli Hyun-ah utters these words, he spins around promptly and attempts to soar off.

Yet, drawn by the pulling force erupting from the Black Marquis's hold, he is yanked directly toward the Black Marquis, with his neck seized in the Black Marquis's grip.

The Black Marquis hoists Makli Hyun-ah up single-handedly like a small feline, their eyes flashing with a malevolent shine.

“Now that I reflect, you possess a unique physique. A preliminary scan via the celestial energy calculation device revealed a vast interdimensional void...or perhaps a realm, within your soul. Someone with such exceptional traits as you could greatly aid the advancement of the puppets. I'll escort you to the facility, perform a thorough examination, and attempt alterations on you.”

“Kuaaagh! That mustn't occur, blast it! I'm escaping this spot!”

Chwaruruk!

Makli Hyun-ah swiftly folds himself into the second dimension, followed by the first, morphing into a line of symbols and sliding free from the Black Marquis's grasp. He then adheres to the earth and hastens away from the Black Marquis.

The Black Marquis launches and explodes a couple of projectiles at Makli Hyun-ah, but merely the landscape elements Makli Hyun-ah clings to erode, leaving Makli Hyun-ah, now a line of symbols, completely unscathed.

“Hahaha! You believe that will succeed? Once I become two-dimensional or one-dimensional, what can you possibly achieve? What can you do, I ask! Ahahahaha...”

Kwaduduk!

Yet, prior to the conclusion of Makli Hyun-ah's mocking laugh,

Via the pulling force, the Black Marquis elevates the whole nearby terrain skyward and compacts it into a sphere, rendering Makli Hyun-ah incapable of breaking free from that airborne chunk of earth regardless of his efforts.

The Black Marquis smirks and declares.

“Thus, you're a one-dimensional entity. Then, rest.”

Kwaduduk!

Suddenly, the terrain mass formed into a ball crumbles under immense pulling force, and Makli Hyun-ah promptly blacks out amid the pinnacle of crushing gravity.

***

“Heok!”

As Makli Hyun-ah regains awareness, a recognizable ceiling appears before him.

It is the practice chamber of Ban Ta, located within Ban Ta Castle in the Purple Gold Realm.

Due to Ban Ta's intent to draw Makli Hyun-ah's mind and instruct him whenever Makli Hyun-ah dozes, his mind has been tugged to Ban Ta Castle.

Before him, Ban Ta, shifted into a feminine form, sits cross-legged and awaits Makli Hyun-ah with a soft grin.

“You've arrived, my pupil. Now, shall we commence today's cultivation.”

“Master! Aid me, please!”

The instant Makli Hyun-ah spots Ban Ta's visage, his face lights up and he pleads for assistance.

“This pupil has been seized by the puppet forces of an entity known as the Mad Lord in the Vast Cold Realm! They intend to subject me to horrific experiments! Kindly rescue this pupil!”

“Hmm...”

Ban Ta appears to mull over Makli Hyun-ah's plea, then responds.

“At my cultivation level, I can somewhat perceive destiny. Your current capture by the puppets will actually prove a tremendous boon for you. In fact, it will bring you steadfast allies, so fear not excessively.”

“B-But Master...”

“Well, regardless, those puppets under the Mad Lord face issues with bodily alterations, so enduring modification while awake might be frightening. Rest assured. If it's terrifying, simply remain unconscious throughout.”

“Does that imply...I'll continue staying with Master...?”

“Hm? Perhaps...you find it unpleasant?”

Ban Ta observes Makli Hyun-ah's response with a faintly disappointed look, and Makli Hyun-ah shakes his head vigorously.

“H-How could I!? This pupil enjoys it! However...”

“Hahaha, that's sufficient. It was merely a jest.”

Ban Ta remarks while caressing Makli Hyun-ah's head.

“In any event, indications show an ancient dire disaster stirring near the Purple Gold Realm, rendering it unsafe as well. That's precisely why I dispatched you to a different Middle Realm. Retaining you close is hazardous too, so I'll return you to your form. And from now on, I won't summon you for a while. I must head to the Araya Domain and Manas Domain to ready for the dire disaster.”

“Master...will you be safe? Isn't it perilous?”

“...”

“...Master? What's the matter?”

At Makli Hyun-ah's concern, Ban Ta's face grows somewhat vacant once more.

“...Nothing...it's simply...you inquiring not from a worried mind that 'if the Sacred Master vanishes, you'll have to lead the Purple Gold Realm as Sacred Master'...but from pure concern for me...you might be the initial one...”

“...”

“Thank you, pupil! With you present, I will definitely prevail!”

“Ueup!”

Ban Ta's eyes, blending slight bitterness and profound emotion, draw Makli Hyun-ah firmly into an embrace.

“Don't fret excessively over the puppets. Until the issue settles, I'll seal your mind, allowing you to drift solely in the alternate realm inside your Extreme Ghost Path Body. You'll find benefits there too, so while awaiting your allies' rescue from the puppets, explore your inner domain.”

“Uup...th-thank you, Master!”

Makli Hyun-ah, cheeks flushed, expresses gratitude to Ban Ta, who, with assured demeanor, pats him and proceeds.

“Now, anyhow, it appears your dread of the puppets has lessened somewhat... Thus, let's enjoy a delightful session with your master!”

Makli Hyun-ah thereby conducts various cultivations on the Confucian Family Method alongside Ban Ta.

***

Kwarurung!

The foreign realm housing the Human Race Grand Alliance.

Within the 'Ghost Mother's Tomb'.

A section of that alternate dimension trembles.

“...I stated my betrothed, Hyun-ah, remains stranded. Return me there.”

“Kugh...! It's regrettable, but if we perform space substitution via the Yin-Yang Family Method divine power in such a brief span...I might endure, but the miss will suffer immensely.”

Ahn Geum, while contorting and clutching Ha-eun's throat, stares fiercely at Ha-eun and 'Jo Yeon', bound by the Yin-Yang Family Method as they execute space substitution.

“Your suffering means nothing to me. As a cultivator from the start, shouldn't you accept a measure of agony as routine? We've battled at the front lines with our forms, our Integrated Dao Domain, our souls ripped by the puppets. Yet the so-called chief strategist claims she can't retrieve the key personnel because of minor discomfort?”

“It's not mere minor discomfort... We...no, the miss...must fulfill the mission. And for that mission, she's burdened by it in her uneasy state... For the miss, employing a cultivation technique isn't straightforward. Each cultivation intensifies the mission's pressure on the young lady...!”

“Well...I don't fully grasp it, but I believe I get the gist.”

Ahn Geum utters while eyeing Jo Yeon and Ha-eun with a gaze laced with mockery.

“I sensed from our first encounter that you're no typical person. Your aura resembles a drifting spirit more than a human's...”

She whispers in an icy tone.

“What you term mission is likely a form of destiny. A destiny you must fulfill in this existence...but I possess a potent destiny too, so I comprehend. I know intimately how a mighty destiny curses one. I see that destiny's burden torments you with suffering. Yet, due to that torment, will you shirk your duties?”

Beneath Ahn Geum's icy stare, Ha-eun quiets, and Jo Yeon presses her lips together.

“We placed faith in your strategy, committed our beings, clashed in combat, and returned victorious. Due to a flaw in your strategy, Hyun-ah, my betrothed, dropped alone on the field and got left. You're plainly accountable for the strategy, and if you genuinely shoulder responsibility, then rather than fretting over destiny's curses or such, shouldn't you assume accountability!?”

At her vehement words, Jo Yeon parts her lips.

“...Martial Artist Ha-eun. Cease, please. We apologize to Lady Ahn Geum.”

“You ought not to apologize, but vow to bear responsibility. I'm not in the best spirits now, so...”

“We will bear responsibility. But currently, it's practically unfeasible. Considering the puppets' habits, they won't linger needlessly to unleash wrath on Cultivator Makli even now. They've likely transported him to the factory, aiming to alter him into a puppet and probe the Confucian Family Method.”

“...So, to retrieve Hyun-ah, we require the factory's position? Where's that facility?”

“...Forgive me. The factory isn't one site but divided into thousands, tens of thousands, or beyond, with branches that relocate independently daily, hence...we can't pinpoint where they've conveyed Cultivator Makli. Moreover, they block cultivators' celestial energy tracking via something termed the celestial energy calculation device...”

Kwaaaang!

Ahn Geum forcefully pins Ha-eun and erupts in fury.

“...When you mention probing the Confucian Family Method, does that signify they won't slay him immediately?”

“Indeed. Instead of swiftly eliminating a cultivator versed in a rare Hundred Families Method and converting him to a puppet, they'll probably head to a superior factory for in-depth study, so if we track merely the hundreds of superior factories instead of the tens of thousands of standard ones... Nonetheless, it demands time, and meanwhile...”

“Thus, for exceptional individuals, they conduct research prior to alteration, implying a window of time? What regarding a unique physique?”

“For a unique physique...”

“It's a physique from legends.”

Ahn Geum bites her lips and states.

“In our Immeasurable Life Buddha Religious Order, he's a candidate we elevated to potential Saint to forge him into one. He holds a physique of that caliber, and he masters at least two Hundred Families Methods. Then, wouldn't they direct him to a distinctive location among the superior factories?”

“...”

Jo Yeon absorbs her statement and contemplates profoundly.

“...A unique physique, two Hundred Families Methods. If it's genuinely such a remarkable physique...then maybe...”

Jo Yeon voices with a tense face.

“He could be conveyed to a site called the [Overseer Factory].”

“[Overseer Factory]?”

“In the ancient mythic era, legend holds the Mad Lord managed all puppets and factories via a unique fortress puppet known as the [Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress]. Yet the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress fell during the Mad Lord's time, and the surviving puppets of the Mad Lord have since built another fortress puppet that, akin to the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, supervises every puppet and factory. That's the [Overseer Factory], which commands all factories.”

“They claim the Overseer Factory collects boundless puppet lore, experimental data, and alteration details, and furthermore, it's crammed with countless Star Shattering stage puppets, plus cutting-edge tools to advance and mend them. Such a venue would suit examining the legendary physique you describe.”

“...Hence, there's a strong chance Hyun-ah is at the Overseer Factory?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Ahn Geum senses the celestial energy.

Makli Hyun-ah persists in the Vast Cold Realm.

'His failure to revert to the Purple Gold Realm suggests Ban Ta deems we can handle this degree of peril independently? But per these accounts, it's an insane stronghold swarming with scores of Star Shattering stage puppets. In that scenario...I understand. Ban Ta...you're urging me to deploy the hidden technique I've concealed?'

Ahn Geum clenches her lips.

“...Though that celestial energy calculation device or whatever hampers celestial energy detection...the Human Race Grand Alliance's detection prowess should suffice to locate a single site like the Overseer Factory. Assist me in assaulting the Overseer Factory.”

“Merely pinpointing the Overseer Factory's location involves the entire Heaven Tribe employing celestial energy detection and sharing updates in real time across races. Yet...still, the Overseer Factory is excessively perilous. It harbors hundreds of Star Shattering stage puppets by itself, and that's solely the disclosed count. Including concealed ones, Star Shattering stage puppets reach thousands. At this scale, it could rival a Sacred Vessel stage Sacred Master evenly! Were the Vast Cold Realm's Sacred Master not exceptional, the realm would already be puppet-dominated. I yearn to strike the Overseer Factory and conclude this conflict, but...practically, no race will volunteer first.”

“H-Hundreds of Star Shattering stage...no, regardless.”

Ahn Geum stands stunned by the puppet horde defying logic and struggles for words, but she tuts, composes herself, and continues.

“If it's to that extent...I'll reveal the hidden asset I've reserved and support you. The Human Race will spearhead, and via this chance, eradicate all puppets.”

“Your hidden asset refers to...”

“...I'm a Saintess of notable status even in the Immeasurable Life Buddha Religious Order. It's beyond just liaising with a True Immortal.”

Her subsequent revelation stuns all those assembled, altering their view of her.

“I can invoke a True Immortal adherent of the Immeasurable Life Buddha. Naturally, I recognize the Vast Cold Realm's unique condition impedes True Immortal entry. But with a proper altar and borrowed might, we can channel the True Immortal's divine power at least once.”

Still, this carries a usage limit, and owing to her prior True Immortal summons in the clash with Lee Seo-ah, Ahn Geum now holds roughly two invocations remaining.

Should she channel the True Immortal's divine power once more presently, it would count as another summons, reducing the tally.

The Vast Cold Realm's singular environment complicates True Immortal involvement, preventing direct descent and limiting to divine power transmission. It's not disregard for Ahn Geum's plea.

Thus, Ahn Geum nearly weeps blood at the loss of a cherished True Immortal summon opportunity.

'Yet, by extending this far for his pupil, I can earn some of Ban Ta's favor. Ban Ta's favor, if leveraged aptly, rivals a True Immortal summon right.'

Undoubtedly, something valuable remains valuable.

Ahn Geum