A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation

Seo Hweol laughs as he watched me, surrounded by the sound of thunder.

Rumble―

"Huhu, no matter how great the Heart Path Method is, if it doesn't hit, it's nothi-"

Crash!

As the sound of thunder roars, the next moment I knee Seo Hweol in the head.

His head is cleanly severed by the sharp energy.

"That makes one."

"Ah..."

Kugugugugu!

Seo Hweol transforms into his true body.

The massive body of a sea dragon fills the dark space.

[Demon Ability, Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl.]

Swoosh!

Within a radius of five hundred Li.

A gigantic water droplet, big enough to be a thousand Li in diameter, appears in the dark space.

In an instant, Seo Hweol and I are trapped inside a spherical sea, with Seo Hweol freely swimming and pressuring me.

[Demon Ability, Three Hundred Million Jin Sweet Water Peach.]

Wo-woong!

Suddenly, the water pressure becomes immensely heavy.

The water droplets flow into my remaining flesh, seemingly trying to swell it up like a water-soaked peach.

But in the next moment.

The colorless lightning wrapping my body turns into a golden hue.

The first lightning.

An Invisible, undetectable, and penetrating all barriers to strike the Nascent Soul, Heavenly Tribulation.

And the second lightning.

Flash!

My body transcends the demon ability of the Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl, literally leaping through space.

This is truly Surpassing Radiance.

A Heavenly Tribulation striking down faster than light and tearing through space.

My attack hits Seo Hweol's neck.

Of course, being at the very peak of the Four-Axis stage, Seo Hweol's body itself remains intact.

However.

"That makes two."

The reason the Heart Tribe is abhorred is due to the Heavenly Tribulations they incur when rising to higher realms.

It will be quite amusing when Seo Hweol tries to ascend to the Integration stage.

The third Heavenly Tribulation.

'Can I do it?'

The reason I can replicate the Surpassing Radiant Saber is because Kim Young-hoon's martial arts developed alongside me, and also because the foundation of the Surpassing Radiant Saber and the Formless Sword lies in the same basis as the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship and Severing Vein Saber Method.

Though I promised Gyu-baek, can I really replicate others' emotions?

I delve deeper, concentrating my consciousness even more

Wo-woong!

Outside Seo Hweol's canopy.

The figure of Kim Yeon shines even brighter.

Connected to Seo Eun-hyun, her brightness seems to increase even further as Seo Eun-hyun shines brightly.

And then, her figure, which had been still, moves her hand.

"Hmm...?"

The Mad Lord's eyes sparkle.

"The consciousness of my disciple... Not a Nascent Soul, but something more evolved.... Is this the direction the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon should aim for?"

Wo-woong!

Kim Yeon's figure points at the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Realizing what she intends to do, the Mad Lord chuckles.

"She intends to activate Yeon’s Play...? Alone? No, not alone. She plans to collaborate with Seo Eun-hyun who entered inside. Well, let's see how it goes."

The Mad Lord looks at Kim Yeon with anticipation in his eyes.

And Kim Yeon moves her hand.

In her grasp, countless threads of consciousness are caught, and those threads enter the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, activating its final stage.

Kugugugu!

Wo-woong!

The golden radiance of Yeon’s Play activates.

It flows into Seo Hweol's canopy.

The Mad Lord quietly watches the scene.

"No matter how much you try to activate the Yeon’s Play from the outside, if you don't create coordinates for time-space inside and supply power towards those coordinates, it's useless. What exactly are you trying to do...?"

'Dive deeper, even deeper!'

As I concentrate my consciousness to unfold others' hearts.

Wo-woong!

The thread of consciousness connected to me from Kim Yeon shines.

At the same time, a golden radiance surrounds me.

'This is...'

I fee; it as soon as I am touched by the radiance.

This is Yeon’s Play.

Kim Yeon, from outside, activated Yeon’s Play and sent its power to me.

But what should I do with it?

How should I...

'...Wait.'

A thought flashes through my mind.

'Is that it...'

I immediately put the thought into action.

Wo-woong!

Having studied the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and understood the operation of Yeon’s Play, I also grasped how the Mad Lord attracted spacetime.

First, replicate that moment of desire as a puppet show to fix the coordinates of spacetime.

Then, using one’s own gravitational pull to twist spacetime to create a path between that spacetime and the current.

The key is fixing the coordinates.

The difference between the Mad Lord's puppet show and my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is just in the materials.

There isn't much difference.

Boo-woong!

I infuse the power of Yeon’s Play into the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

The power contained within the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections surges into the Colorless Glass Sword.

Fate has its own gravitational pull.

Then, wouldn't history comparable to fate also possess a similar gravitational pull?

Flash!

My history accumulated in the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections shines, distorting spacetime.

I begin my sword dance.

And right beside me, performing the dance alongside me, appears the shadow of a man.

I transparently encapsulate that dance, that heart, within the Formless Sword and unfold it.

Kururung!

Once again.

Golden rays of light strike Seo Hweol directly.

I smile as I look at the side profile of the man manifested through the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

"It's been a while."

The Surpassing Radiant Saber I manifested this time is much more natural than the one I forcibly manifested just before.

The man leaves me a smile and disappears back into the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

'So that’s how it is...'

Unbeknownst to me, my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections is the optimal method to unfold Yeon’s Play.

I feel confident.

At this moment.

The Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections and Yeon’s Play

My Treading Heavens Beyond the Path and the curse of lightning transformation have all merged.

I realize what I can do.

Tststst!

From the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, a green figure springs out.

The green figure, wielding a podao, is manifested by Yeon’s Play.

Four Treasures Annihilating Heavens Blade.

Heaven-Collapsing Annihilating Heavens.

The last Annihilating Heavens of the Four Treasures Annihilating Heavens Blade.

The strike that granted the green figure the title of Heaven-Collapsing Esteemed One.

The strongest strike that can even collapse the heavens.

The absurd power that had split the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress in two at the verge of the Star Shattering stage unfolds from my Formless Sword.

Crash!

Green lightning strikes Seo Hweol's flank.

The third lightning.

A Heavenly Tribulation that tears everything apart and destroys it through space.

Seo Hweol's flank is laid bare with scales stripped away to reveal muscle and blood vessels.

However, Seo Hweol enters into the Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl, absorbing water attribute spiritual energy and calmly prepares his attack.

[Demon Ability, Extinguishing Masoulem Raining Heavens.]

Swoosh!

The water of the Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl turns into sharp raindrops, scattering in all directions.

Each raindrop possesses the insane power to destroy hills.

Kuguguguk!

When Seo Hweol focuses his gravitational pull on me, the raindrops all plunge towards me.

Baek Nyeong adds power to the gravitational pull from within his magic artifact.

However, the figure of Baek Nyeong is also present within my Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

Baek Nyeong is manifested, and I receive and unfold his Beyond the Path..

Mountain Repelling Whip!

The Formless Sword extends like a whip in all directions, distorting [weight].

Eventually, the raindrops that envelop me turn into streams of water that, although full of spiritual energy, weigh no more than a speck of dust.

Kugugugu!

Not stopping there, I break through the clouds formed by the water streams and launch an attack on Seo Hweol's back.

The immature Beyond the Path of Baek Nyeong’s also becomes a Heavenly Tribulation within my Formless Sword, striking Seo Hweol.

The fourth lightning.

A Heavenly Tribulation that makes the body so heavy that even moving a finger becomes difficult upon impact.

Kugugugu!

I swing the Formless Sword from Seo Hweol's back, rush towards his front paw, cut off the small necklace tied there, and kick the necklace away.

Pang!

The crystal piece containing Baek Nyeong's soul flies towards Yu Hwa, and I prepare for my final move.

Kugugugu!

Once again, golden light swirls around my entire body.

And from the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections, the figure of Gyu-baek appears.

No, it isn’t just Gyu-baek.

Starting from Gyu-ryeon's first appearance, falling in love with Seo Hweol, being betrayed, transforming into Gyu-baek, and returning to this place.

All her forms appear and are manifested in the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

The golden light turns into chains.

I wrap the chains around the Colorless Glass Sword and look at Seo Hweol.

[Demon Ability, Illusory Mist of Ten Thousand Shadows.]

Realizing that being hit by this will be disastrous, Seo Hweol creates an illusion to hide and avoid it.

But it's useless.

I have the combined vision of Heaven, Earth, and Heart Tribes.

I see it.

I hold the golden chains.

Holding the heart I received from Gyu-ryeon and Gyu-baek, I infuse it back into the Formless Sword.

"Here I go."

Behind me, Gyu-ryeon and Gyu-baek.

And all the connections I've made in this life.

The countless records of past and history accumulated throughout my lives push me forward.

'Ah...'

For a moment.

I see every scene recorded in the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections.

I see what makes up the person I am.

Tst, tststst!

'The Black Dragon's True Blood...'

Why do only the young members of the demon race under a thousand years participate in the Immortal Beast Blood Fusion?

Why don't they infuse the power of immortal beasts into older members to strengthen their race's power?

Today, I finally realize the reason.

'The True Blood, is being expelled from the body...!'

Immortal beasts are beings that oversee history.

All beings who live more than nine times their natural lifespan and amass a grand history,

Are seeds of immortal beasts in themselves.

I have, living for over 2,000 years, already bloomed the qualifications to become an immortal beast.

The cumbersome power of the Black Dragon is unnecessary.

The True Blood of the Black Dragon could have been a disaster that nearly prevented my own blossoming as an immortal beast.

But at this moment, I realize!

Sssshhhh―

The dragon's form disappears from my body, and the pale fog of the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections envelops me, starting to infuse new power.

Although it's only this much for now, if I continue to amass history...

I might truly ascend as a new immortal beast.

Flash!

The form of the Black Dragon and the power of lightning.

Both are expelled from Seo Eun-hyun's body in an instant and Seo Eun-hyun is clad in white and surrounded by a pure white mist.

Seo Eun-hyun’s figure grasps the golden chains and launches himself towards Seo Hweol.

Seo Eun-hyun's last gift to Seo Hweol.

The final lightning.

A Heavenly Tribulation that continues to fall until Seo Hweol dies.

The Heavenly Tribulation, manifested by the Auspicious Exchange of Emotional Expression received from Gyu-baek, absorbs the power of the white fog and accelerates, briefly surpassing his thoughts.

Seo Eun-hyun's sword, and Gyu-baek's heart.

Directly pierces Seo Hweol's heart.

Fzzt...

Seo Hweol coughs up blood and begins to draw the space of darkness into his body.

The four Axes return to Seo Hweol's body.

Seo Hweol looks at Seo Eun-hyun and then at the Mad Lord watching him from outside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Sssshhh...

The figure of Kim Yeon, having completed her task, gradually disappears, and the Mad Lord begins to lapse back into madness.

"Seo, Seo Hweol? Seo Hweol... Seo Hweol. Oh… Seo Hweol!!!"

Seo Hweol transforms into his human form, smiles briefly, then turns into a blue light and disappears somewhere.

The Mad Lord, drooling, leads the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and flies off following Seo Hweol's trail.

And Seo Eun-hyun collapses right there.

Crackle...

Next to Seo Eun-hyun, Yu Hwa shatters the magic artifact containing Baek Nyeong’s soul, liberating him while looking at Seo Eun-hyun.

"…Are you satisfied?"

"I am satisfied."

"That's good…"

"One thing..."

Seo Eun-hyun's entire body is swirling with pure white mist and lightning.

The mist tries to expel the lightning, but the lightning consuming Seo Eun-hyun's body is faster.

Seo Eun-hyun, turning into lightning and scattering, speaks to Yu Hwa.

"The Heaven-Collapsing Esteemed One... infused something into Gyu-baek. Gyu-baek conveyed her heart to me, and now it's inside me... I think I should pass it on to you..."

This was the consolation the Heaven-Collapsing Esteemed One gave to Gyu-ryeon and Gyu-baek.

Also, a part of the Esteemed One's enlightenment about the heart (emotions).

―Some cultivators say the amount of air in the lungs is the heart (emotions), and since the lungs correspond to metal, the heart (emotions) is metallic. But if we follow your cultivators' logic... since the metal of the Five Elements corresponds to the Qian of the Eight Trigrams…

“ ‘'Isn't the heart from the heavens? Your heart lives touching the heavens, and just as you cannot deny the heavens, you cannot deny the heart. So even if someone denies your heart, it never truly disappears.’ “

These are the words Jang Ik conveyed to Gyu-ryeon and Gyu-baek.

And through them, the words and enlightenment he infused.

Where does the heart come from?

If Heaven is fate and Earth is life, then perhaps the Heart comes between fate and life, accompanying life.

The performance is over, but the heart remains, continuing onwards.

After conveying Jang Ik's enlightenment to Yu Hwa, Seo Eun-hyun finally scatters into fragments of lightning and disappears into the void.

That is Seo Eun-hyun's sixteenth return

Translator Notes: This entire cycle felt like a build up. I'm ready for the next!