A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 345: The Deceased (7)

Translator: TranslatingNovice

Editors: Z0Rel, BlueMangoAde, Resnut

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A dark basement.

"Phew, it's all done now."

"Good, now it will be complete once we engrave that."

A monster with 38 eyes and a woman standing next to it smile at the small doll in front of them.

A small doll in the shape of a little girl.

And sealed within it is the Shadow Yin Gate Leader, Eum Wa, trembling with rage.

"Huhu, don't worry. We won't do anything outrageous. Rest assured."

"Don't worry, as long as you behave quietly, we won't threaten you."

Kim Yeon lightly picks up Eum Wa.

Eum Wa struggles frantically in Kim Yeon's hand, but the sealing spell embedded throughout the puppet binds all her power, rendering her helpless.

"You should be grateful instead. If you kept remaining as a ghost before the Cult Leader, you might have truly gone mad."

Yeon Wei, who has come down to the basement unnoticed, leans against the wall and speaks to Eum Wa.

"Even if a ghostly creature within the puppet feels the true death of the Cult Master, they won't be able to properly perceive it due to interference. The fact that you can maintain a clear mind and not just scream mindlessly is also thanks to the Cult Leader's grace, so you should be thankful."

"Kugh you devilish cultist bastards, what nonsense are you spouting after turning me into this! Release me immediately!"

"Hm. Let me have it for a moment, Yeon-ah."

Yeon Wei takes Eum Wa from Kim Yeon and then throws her somewhere after a brief moment.

"Huaahhh! Where are you throwing me, you devilish cultist bastards! Uaaah, hik!"

And then, someone with thick hands catches the thrown Eum Wa.

"From now on, the enlightenment of the Shadow Yin Gate Leader is entrusted to you, First Guardian Ghost King Wei Shi-hon."

"Thank you, Strategist-nim."

It's Wei Shi-hon, the Death Corpse Sect Leader who has pledged allegiance to the Wuji Religious Order.

"Wei Shi-hon! You traitor! How could you betray me like this!?"

Eum Wa squirm and screams in Wei Shi-hon's hand, but Wei Shi-hon looks at her with pity.

"I joined the Wuji Religious Order for your sake. If you turn your heart to the Wuji Religious Order, you will receive a proper puppet body and the Cult Leader's grace, engraved with the circuits, making you even stronger than before."

"I don't want to hear anything from a traitor who betrayed us for power! Release me at once!"

"Releasing you will come later. For now, let's learn about the Wuji Religious Order together."

Wei Shi-hon takes Eum Wa and leaves.

Wei Shi-hon emerges from the Wuji Religious Hall and carefully holds the struggling Eum Wa in his grip as he tries to move somewhere.

At that moment.

Kwarurung!

Suddenly, the sky turns red, and Jeon Myeong-hoon descends next to Wei Shi-hon.

In Jeon Myeong-hoon's hand is a pure white skull.

Seeing this, Eum Wa wails bitterly.

"Baek Rin!!! Even you!!!"

But unlike the sealed Eum Wa, Wei Shi-hon notices something and asks Jeon Myeong-hoon.

"Wait, Chief Law Protector. That skull..."

"Yeah, I lost him."

Jeon Myeong-hoon nods indifferently and lifts the skull.

At those words, Eum Wa sighs in relief in Wei Shi-hon's grip while Wei Shi-hon frowns.

"I explained in advance about Baek Rin before. In an emergency, he can abandon his body using the life-saving spell 'White Bone Shedding Shell Strategy (白骨脫殼之計)' and escape with only his Nascent Soul."

Jeon Myeong-hoon looks at Wei Shi-hon.

"You did indeed say he would abandon his body and escape with his Nascent Soul."

"Yes! But how did you lose him!"

"But did you mention that the Nascent Soul would split into thousands of pieces, and each would use the ground-shrinking technique to escape?"

"Uh...! That, that's...a divine ability that can only be used at the utmost mastery (極成)of the White Bone Shell Discarding Strategy...?"

Jeon Myeong-hoon clicks his tongue.

"It seems he mastered the life-saving method without your knowledge to great completion. Well, anyway, it was my first time seeing such a technique, so I was momentarily surprised and lost him. Next time, I won't miss."

Despite Jeon Myeong-hoon's words, Wei Shi-hon can only sigh deeply.

"It's become complicated now..."

"What's complicated?"

"Baek Rin once did a favor to an Elder of the Black Ghost Palace when he was at the Heavenly Being stage. With time, that Elder would have become a Black Elder of the Black Ghost Palace. They might support Baek Rin in challenging our sect."

"Hmm..."

After pondering for a moment at those words, Jeon Myeong-hoon smirks.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We have the Cult Leader, don't we?"

Wei Shi-hon sighs, looking at Jeon Myeong-hoon's absolute trust in the Cult Leader, and then recalls Seo Eun-hyun.

A being with 19 heads and 38 eyes.

'Well...it might be alright with the Cult Leader.'

Wei Shi-hon turns to look at Jeon Myeong-hoon entering the Wuji Religious Hall, then turns around and takes Eum Wa to another part of the Wuji Religious Order.

"Hmm, Black Ghost Palace, huh..."

In the basement of the Wuji Religious Hall.

The Wuji Ghost King Seo Eun-hyun is sitting on the cult leader's seat, tapping on its armrest.

"For now, what does Yeon Wei-nim think?"

Yeon Wei shakes her head at Jeon Myeong-hoon's report.

"There's nothing to worry about. This White Yin Domain is a non-aggression zone between Penglai Island and the Underworld Ghost Palace. If the Black Ghost Palace or Flower Painting Western Heaven Palace tries to intervene here, the Underworld Ghost Palace and Penglai Island will block them. They are not kind enough to let a cake they couldn't have go to another big force. On the contrary, if the Black Ghost Palace comes, we might even receive support from the Underworld Ghost Palace or Penglai Island."

"Hmm, I see."

Seo Eun-hyun nods upon receiving the report.

"Then for now, it's best not to act recklessly and to focus on slowly expanding our forces?"

"Yes, that would be best. Slowly but swiftly leveraging the advantage of the Wuji Religious Order's puppet offerings to swallow the White Yin Domain is our top priority. Even if that Baek Rin fellow brings the Black Ghost Palace, if you're in control of the White Yin Domain, they will have no choice but to recognize your dominance and withdraw. Huhu..."

"Understood. Then, for the next 200 years, we'll refrain from rash actions and focus on growing our force and strengthening our position."

Having thwarted the intruders, the brief meeting at the Wuji Religious Hall concludes.

Boo-woong, boong, boong!

After the meeting, Kim Yeon went to the training ground assigned to her and took the Starting Form.

'What can I do to understand what this emotion is?'

She thought she could simply distinguish it by seeing the colors of intent of the Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

But oddly enough, the color of the emotion Kim Yeon feels is 'colorless.'

She can't figure out what her emotion is.

'Joy is golden, anger is red, sorrow is dark blue, pleasure is silver, love is light pink, hatred is dark red, desire is black.'

These are the colors she sees in her vision after mastering the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon and reaching Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

Upon reaching Five Energies Converging to the Origin, she confirmed that these colors merged to become colorless, forming the domain of consciousness.

Therefore, this colorless emotion she sees should have been 'all emotions.'

But Kim Yeon knows.

'It's different, it's not 'all emotions'.'

Although it's the same colorlessness she saw when reaching the Five Energies Converging to the Origin, she understands that the colorless emotion her own feelings produce is unique and special.

'What is this emotion?'

She can instinctively sense it.

The day she discovers the 'name' of this emotion,

She will be able to see the true color of this emotion.

"Phew..."

She repeats the Paired Wing Dance.

At the same time, she repeatedly operates the Intertwined Branches Heart Method, becoming accustomed to the internal energy method.

Woo-woong—

The pure spiritual force surges through her meridians at a terrifying speed.

Woo-woong—

Kim Yeon reaches out into the air.

As her hand moves, the pure spiritual force gathers in the air, moving according to her will as she infuses her consciousness into it.

This is the initial stage of controlling Gang Qi.

It is said that by practicing to infuse Gang Qi into the air and inputting intent into the Gang Qi to move it freely, one can reach the Ultimate Pinnacle.

'He said if I reach the Ultimate Pinnacle, I'll become overwhelmingly strong.'

Seo Eun-hyun said so.

Kim Yeon believes that reaching the realm of Ultimate Pinnacle where one can directly utilize the power of consciousness will make her incredibly strong.

Seo Eun-hyun isn't wrong.

If she, with her Integration level of consciousness, begins to use the acceleration of the Ultimate Pinnacle, her direct combat power will be amplified unimaginably.

However, as she practices the Interwined Branches Heart Method, she wonders.

'If I become overwhelmingly strong, will I find the name of this emotion?'

Finding the name of her emotion isn't merely for self-satisfaction.

According to the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, once mastered, there should be no unreadable intent.

But there is one intent that she is unable to read.

Thus, she hasn't truly mastered the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

'I must master the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.'

The Mad Lord has left her a dharma treasure containing enlightenment.

Kim Yeon obtained the enlightenment to combat the Mad Lord from that dharma treasure, and in order to comprehend the enlightenment, she must master the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

Yet, she is sometimes confused.

Is she trying to understand this emotion for the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon?

Or is she trying to master the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon to understand the emotion?

'...I don't know.'

She repeats the Paired Wing Dance.

Again, and again, and again.

'If I don't know, let's just do as Eun-hyun Oppa said for now.'

Even if she doesn't know, he will surely be right.

He always has been.

With each step she takes, she recalls old memories.

"Hello, I'm Supervisor Oh Hye-seo, who will be working with you from today onwards. Please call me Supervisor Oh."

Shortly after she became an employee.

A new person transferred from another department.

Her name was Oh Hye-seo, and it was said she was bullied in her previous department.

The main perpetrator, a team leader in the Management Department, had been referred to the disciplinary committee, dismissed, and expelled from the company. Oh Hye-seo, the victim of the bullying, wished to move to another department due to her trauma.

"Gosh. That must have been tough."

"Hm, not really. Everyone else was kind, except for Team Leader Im, so it wasn't that hard."

From the first day of her transfer, Oh Hye-seo started talking to Kim Yeon, and they quickly became close without even realizing it.

"I don't know much about the Sales Development Department, so please teach me well, Miss Kim Yeon."

"Oh no, I'm just a regular employee, and you're a supervisor..."

"Still, those who have been here longer know much better. Right, Miss Min-hee?"

Kang Min-hee, sipping coffee, glanced at her and replied with a blank expression.

"Yes, sure."

"...Hek, your short response makes me sad."

Seeing Kang Min-hee not paying much attention, Oh Hye-seo pretended to cry and joked around. Maybe this seemed quite endearing, as the male employees in the department would often playfully talk to her.

During lunch, Kim Yeon talked about Oh Hye-seo while eating hamburgers with Kang Min-hee.

"Min-hee Unnie, isn't Supervisor Oh amazing? Even though she was bullied, she always stays cheerful..."

"Hmm..."

Kang Min-hee replied indifferently while chewing on fries.

"She...feels really suspicious"

"Hm, pardon? Why?"

"Well, that team leader from the Management Department, Im. I saw him apologize to Oh Hye-seo before he left. He apologized for bullying her, saying he didn't know why he did it and that he was sorry for not being considerate. He was crying and seemed genuinely sorry."

"Huh. Why would someone like that bully then..."

"That's what I'm saying is strange. I know Team Leader Im a bit, and he's a really kind person. He's soft-hearted, loves animals, and volunteers at orphanages, especially the one supported by SJD, the Orandoran House. The higher-ups thought highly of him, and he was even up for a promotion. So, what would make such a person bully Supervisor Oh?"

Kim Yeon stole Kang Min-hee's fries and thought.

"Maybe he just didn't like her at first sight?"

"That's unlikely. Even if you don't like someone at first glance, working together in this company and getting scolded by the boss makes it so you can't help but get close. Anyway, I really don't think there was actual bullying."

"Huh? Then what was it?"

"Well it was...but where did my fries go?"

Although she heard some unsettling things from Kang Min-hee during lunch, Kim Yeon still found herself liking Oh Hye-seo whenever she saw her.

Actually, Oh Hye-seo was a person who was liked by everyone.

Kim Yeon soon forgot all about Kang Min-hee's words and became close to Oh Hye-seo.

Moreover, Oh Hye-seo was very capable. Within three days of her transfer, she surpassed Kang Min-hee to become the top elite in the department.

Before long, Oh Hye-seo and Kim Yeon were calling each other 'Unnie' and 'Dongsaeng' (An affectionate way of calling someone younger than you).

The tasks given by Seo Eun-hyun were always tough, but Oh Hye-seo took on all the difficult ones herself, leaving only the easy ones for Kim Yeon, which naturally made her interact more with Oh Hye-seo than Seo Eun-hyun.

"Ah, Unnie. I've finished this."

"Hmm, thanks. Ah, Yeon-ah. You made a mistake here?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. It's no biggie between us."

Oh Hye-seo would often overlook Kim Yeon's mistakes.

But Seo Eun-hyun was different.

"Colleague Kim, you got the document name wrong."

"I-I'm sorry."

"There are also some small format errors. Did you use the B12 format I gave you last time?"

"Actually...I used a different one. I'm sorry."

"...I told you to use that format. Why did you use a different one?"

"I'm sorry."

'Hye-seo Unnie always asked for this format...'

"Redo it."

Receiving the document back from a stern Seo Eun-hyun, Kim Yeon pouted slightly as she started over.

That's how it was at first.

But as time passed, things started to feel strange.

"Oh my, Yeon-ah. You made a mistake here again."

"Ah, really?"

Oh Hye-seo always found mistakes in her documents.

But at some point, Seo Eun-hyun stopped saying anything.

"Ah, thank you. You can go now."

"Um...Supervisor?"

"Yes?"

"Did I make any mistakes?"

"Hmm, no mistakes."

"But someone else said this was wrong..."

"Really? Who?"

"Supervisor Oh..."

"Ah...Miss Hye-seo said that? Weird. We all use this format..."

After briefly flipping through the documents, Seo Eun-hyun shook his head.

"Kim Yeon, there's nothing wrong here. Maybe Miss Hye-seo pointed out something else?"

"Oh...I guess I remembered wrong. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. You've been improving a lot lately and have been very helpful."

As her skills improved, Seo Eun-hyun stopped criticizing her.

But Oh Hye-seo continued to insist she made mistakes just like the beginning when she didn't, laughing it off.

'Why?'

Kim Yeon felt something was off, but she let it go for the time being.

However, there was one incident involving Oh Hye-seo.

It happened after a company dinner.

Everyone was slightly drunk.

Kim Yeon, in particular, was a bit tipsy.

Before everyone headed their separate ways, Kim Yeon saw Oh Hye-seo following Seo Eun-hyun.

'Huh? What's this? Hye-seo Unnie...'

She decided to follow Oh Hye-seo.

At first, she just intended to say goodbye.

But at some point, Oh Hye-seo disappeared.

'...?'

As if she had hidden somewhere in the darkness, Oh Hye-seo was nowhere to be seen.

But her distinctive perfume lingered.

Oh Hye-seo was definitely nearby.

This strange situation where Oh Hye-seo disappeared, her perfume remained lingering on the nose, and its source was near Seo Eun-hyun.

At some point, as if entranced, Kim Yeon followed Seo Eun-hyun to find Oh Hye-seo.

But Seo Eun-hyun noticed Kim Yeon awkwardly following him before she could find Oh Hye-seo.

"...Uh..."

"...Kim Yeon?"

Kim Yeon met Seo Eun-hyun's gaze with a blank expression, mouth agape.

'Ah, I was only following Hye-seo Unnie...'

The situation had turned strange.

Seo Eun-hyun, slightly taken aback, asked,

"What are you doing here?"

For a moment, Kim Yeon was at a loss for words.

She always found Seo Eun-hyun a bit intimidating.

And now, it seemed like she had been caught stalking him.

"Um...that's..."

'I saw Hye-se Unnie stalking Supervisor Seo, so I followed her to see just what she was doing.'

Kim Yeon tried to say that, but what came out was different.

"Hye...Hye...Supervisor Seo...stalking..."

Seo Eun-hyun seemed to process her words for a moment, then responded with a thunderous statement.

"You were stalking me?"

"Ah, no, no..."

Fortunately, Seo Eun-hyun smiled.

"Haha, just kidding. It seems you can't speak well right now because of being drunk. Come here for now, I'll help you. So...someone seems to be stalking you so you wanted my help, right?"

"Uh...ah..."

She wanted to say something, but whether it was from nervousness or drunkenness, she couldn't speak properly.

She wanted to explain, but since she couldn't speak, she just let it be.