A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 813 Chapter 810: Afterstory 2 - Back

Hwiiiiiii—

Fierce Vairambha Winds howl wildly across realms from one otherworld to the next.

Upon the birth of a Heavenly Domain,

The surge of energy that flows during the creation of a universe gets known as the Vairambha Wind.

As a Heavenly Domain emerges, such a stream of Vairambha Wind forms and envelops the entirety of Mount Sumeru.

Yet, within the emptiness linking these otherworlds, thousands upon millions—numbers impossible to count—of these Vairambha Winds surge endlessly.

Indeed, across diverse otherworlds and isolated Heavens and Earths, myriad realms constantly arise and fade into oblivion.

Within every one of those Vairambha Winds, tales from countless worlds echo faintly, while glimpses of additional realms shimmer through.

Certain worlds mirror Earth precisely.

Some realms share identical histories, differing only in the minor tales of a handful of inhabitants.

Others draw from Earth but unfold with entirely altered occurrences.

Plenty of such worlds feature beings termed Hunters, or portals called Gates that unleash invasions from other dimensions.

Even realms emerge boasting systems eerily akin to Mount Sumeru's cultivation methods.

These worlds appear captivating.

Occasionally, the urge strikes us to glance briefly into them or dive in to experience their wonders.

Still, we push through the might and allure of those Vairambha Winds...

And ultimately reach that remote world.

We manage to arrive in the era of our own origins.

"Everyone, adjust your rank and size, please."

Bringing our full rank and scale unchanged would shatter a tiny place like Earth instantly, or at least drive every soul on it to utter insanity.

Upon hearing me, my companions nod in agreement and shrink their forms to match typical human proportions.

Piiiing, ping!

As Earth draws closer, various Enders native to it—including Vast Cold's soul, which journeys back with us—leverage the boost from my Requiem Filling the Heavens' Nirvana Tranquility to slip into their former timelines.

They choose not to dwell in our shared era.

Naturally, those craving extended life might cross paths with us in this age, but it changes nothing.

Hwiooooooo!

"Entering now. Here we go...!"

Flash!

Simultaneously, after traversing an endless, arduous journey...

We arrive back in our original world, home to Earth.

Chwaaaaaa!

Myriad eras whisk by us, and after spanning vast epochs...

We land precisely at the instant the landslide engulfed us.

Darkness surrounds everything.

"Mm, keokeokeuk..."

We transform into spiritual forms and merge into the Earthly bodies where we met our ends.

Even Kim Young-hoon, having reached the Heavenly Being stage through cultivation, finds spiritualization straightforward.

Yet, these long-lost bodies show decay in spots, with soil crammed into throats and organs alike.

Perhaps that's what makes his throat scratch so?

Oh Hyun-seok hacks violently.

Keuruk!!!!! Keuruk!!!!!

And just like that, our galaxy crumbles to ruin.

"..."

Shiiiiiii...

In the desolate void left by our galaxy's destruction, we all fix our gazes intently on Oh Hyun-seok.

Oh Hyun-seok, face drained of color, lowers his head toward us in apology.

"S-Sorry! I did scale down my rank and size, but holding back my raw strength feels unfamiliar..."

"...Hahh...Hyun-seok-ah..."

Kim Young-hoon exhales a heavy sigh, clenching his jaw, while Jeon Myeong-hoon eyes him coolly and adds his words.

"I'm a bit let down. After all, this is our home..."

"I-I truly apologize! If I can snag at least a relic from the Heavenly Venerable of Time, then I could wield it and..."

"Everyone, that's enough."

I sigh deeply and step in to ease the tension as my comrades press Oh Hyun-seok relentlessly.

"Right now...this mess stems from our poor grasp of our own immense power. This time, I'll reverse the flow of time."

Wiiiiiiing—

The Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag seizes Earth's dimensional time laws and gears up to unwind the clock.

Without the Radiance Mantra in this realm, manipulating spacetime poses no real challenge.

"Still, it looks like we'll have to seal our powers while on Earth."

"That makes sense."

"I'll assist."

Kang Min-hee raises her brush.

As she sketches a taenghwa in the emptiness, it absorbs into our beings.

"Creating and imposing rules is beyond me now that the Absolute Fragment has vanished...but I can craft a comparable Immortal Art. Built on our collective might as its core, no single person's power—unless it surpasses our combined strength—can shatter it. So..."

She gestures toward me and declares,

"From here on, barring Seo Eun-hyun, hardly anyone could break free of this binding."

"Wait, if it's our full combined force including mine, wouldn't even I be trapped?"

"Your forte lies in channeling others' power. Techniques like Splitting Emperor Splitting Heaven Separate Heaven Martial Arts that draw from us...well, if you really try, you could shatter it."

"Hmm...got it."

"Besides, when we head back to Mount Sumeru eventually, we'll need your strength, so it's fitting you can override it."

Wooo-woooong!

The Northern Dipper Sealing Immortal Flag at last rolls back time to the point before our galaxy's demise, and with Kang Min-hee's aid, we cap our powers at a level safe for Earthly existence.

This Immortal Art for power restraint, dubbed [Human Bridle], proves remarkably effective.

Our curbed might settles at the Heavenly Being stage.

But we layer on extra seals—double, triple, even quadruple—and ultimately dial it down to the third star of Qi Refining.

The setup allows us to release up to Heavenly Being strength if the need arises.

Sure, if some foreign divinity bursts in, I can rally my allies' forces to snap the Human Bridle and counter, and we each hold plenty of ways to skirt the bridle and tap our true forms' power, so the limit isn't crippling.

We plunge into the landslide anew.

Keuruk, keuruk...!

Using our techniques, we clear the grime from airways, lungs, stomachs, injuries, eyes, noses, mouths, and ears.

"Hmm...but escaping this? With the mountain's mass pressing down, third star Qi Refining might not cut it..."

Jeon Myeong-hoon, crammed in the SUV, prods the soil and mutters, as I shrug casually.

"Forgot I'm a mountain spirit?"

Wooong—

I sense every current and rhythm in the landslide rubble, swiftly pinpoint the frailest spot, and deploy the Earth Surpassing Path to Cultivation.

Kugugugugugu!

Thanks to Earth Surpassing Path, the earth stirs and, writhing around the SUV, hoists it toward the ideal escape route.

Puhwak!

Finally, we burst free from the landslide's grip.

Chiiiiiii—

Since our era's bodies now host our spiritualized cores, we all bear the identical features from back then.

"Huaaaaagh, m-my hair...!"

Kim Young-hoon laments bitterly, staring at his reflection in the SUV's window.

Having kept his locks for ages, adjusting to baldness hits hard.

"Hmm...at this stage, my frame's pretty frail. Time to retrain with Azure Heaven Creation Sect methods..."

Oh Hyun-seok tsks, eyeing his current form that maxes at a 700kg total lift.

"Ugh, short hair feels off again..."

Jeon Myeong-hoon clears his throat, glancing at his reverted cropped style.

"...Gotta ditch Earth smokes."

Kang Min-hee's expression sours, sensing the toxins lodged in her cigarette-soaked body.

Kim Yeon pauses to gaze skyward, stretching languidly.

"...Well, we're home anyway."

What thoughts swirl in her mind, I ponder?

Atop the soil heap from the landslide, Kim Yeon bellows triumphantly,

"We're back home!!!"

The highway stands empty save for us.

Our SUV alone caught the slide, and on this seldom-traveled road, silence reigns around us.

In that serene valley,

Kim Yeon's cry, toned to mere human pitch without world-shaking force, echoes clearly.

"We're back!!!"

Witnessing this, Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kang Min-hee, and Oh Hyun-seok join in, dashing forward to yell together.

"We!!! Are back!!!"

Howling our return to Earth with wild abandon...

We all erupt in joyful tears.

...Yeah.

"We...are truly back...!"

I glance once at Ji Hwa, who resides in Oh Hye-seo's form after reshaping every fiber to match her silver-haired mortal likeness, then roar out.

"We're back!!!"

We've returned.

To the cherished homeland we've yearned for...

In the end, we head to the workshop as planned.

For the landslide, I channel my mountain dominion right onto Earth, mending the collapsed slope to its prior form, then fortifying it against future slides, wrapping things up neatly.

The SUV, clogged with debris, gets Kim Yeon's touch—not just repaired, but upgraded.

Now, a button triggers rear thrusters to smash sound barriers, and tweaks turn it into a beam-firing war machine.

"Want more? I could slap on a transformation feature anytime!"

"Sounds great. Throw in one that shifts into a three-headed dinosaur."

"Got it, ready by tomorrow!"

Kim Yeon truly excels.

I dredge up faint driving recollections and take the wheel.

Hwiiiiii—

Ji Hwa's eyes sparkle as the car hums along, landscapes blurring past the highway window.

"Seo Eun-hyun, why does the car stick to the right lane?"

"Seo Eun-hyun, what's that gadget named a traffic light?"

"Hey, Seo Eun-hyun, look—a metal hunk soaring overhead! Didn't you say your world lacked spell-like tools!?"

This realm's novelties must dazzle her, as Ji Hwa leans out the window, jabbing at sights while firing questions.

She'd viewed my memories earlier, so I figured she'd grasp Earth, yet...blanks abound.

"The wildest bit is this car thing. How does a jumble of scrap metal chug along sans spirit stone? From some vaporizing fluid inside?"

Clack, clack—

Her inquisitiveness peaks as she attempts to dismantle our speeding vehicle using her core, the Sword Extreme Imperial Sword, for a peek inside...

Ultimately, Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee must hover nearby, fielding her endless queries like doting parents.

Despite assorted mishaps...

We reach Jeon Myeong-cheol's villa by Mount Chilgap in Cheongyang County, our workshop spot, settle in, handle basics, and finally unveil our prize.

"Uwahahaha, ages since last time!"

Chiiik—

Kim Young-hoon salivates, cracking open a beer from the cooler.

Oh Hyun-seok's gaze ignites too, stacking beers and soju high, while Jeon Myeong-hoon preps the SUV's iron plate with ingredients for fried rice.

His version, zapped with lightning essence for extra zing, smells irresistible.

Wednesday evening, June 25.

As dusk paints the sky, we grab Jeon Myeong-hoon-style fried rice, huddle up, toast beers, and chuckle heartily.

"To our long-awaited return! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Kim Young-hoon and Oh Hyun-seok nurse the chilled brews, sipping deliberately to relish every bit.

Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee summon Ji Hwa, serve her soju in tiny cups, and share the drink.

I join Jeon Myeong-hoon in fetching Jeon Myeong-cheol's prized white wine from the fridge, pouring and clinking.

"Isn't this your uncle's favorite?"

"What, skipping it? You brat! A lowly 'Deputy' defying the 'Chief's' command—insubordination!"

"...! True, you outranked me!"

"Gal! Call me Chief Jeon Myeong-hoon from now on!"

I snag the wine from Jeon Myeong-hoon, sip, and snicker.

"Still, you're way younger than me."

On Earth, Jeon Myeong-hoon edges me by three years, but Mount Sumeru's regressions piled on eons for me.

"Hmph, my cycle memories are back too."

"Toss in my trillions of years in the Heavenly Void Furnace, the warped timelines of the Outer Sea, plus the torment regressions forced by Yeong Seung."

"Lucky you, ancient freak."

"Like you're not?"

"Quiet, Old Monster Seo! Age means zilch here—it's the firm! Down another from your boss!"

"Kikikikikiki..."

"Kikiki!"

We trade the wine bottle, scanning our group.

Craving brews or just indulging, Kim Young-hoon and Oh Hyun-seok polish off five frosty cans alongside Jeon Myeong-hoon's zesty fried rice.

Kim Yeon and Kang Min-hee sport rosy cheeks, while Ji Hwa—who first balked at the "suspicious brew!"—now chugs soju from the bottle, eyes glazing over.

Spotting the tousled Ji Hwa, burly guys from the adjacent villa—built like athletes—glance over and approach.

"Hey, ladies! Don't bore yourselves there—join our fun!"

"Sisters, we've got a pool; swimsuits available? Come on over and—"

"Gal!"

Intoxicated, Ji Hwa grabs the Sword Extreme Imperial Sword and leaps up.

"How dare you whelps, plain mortals sans spiritual roots, address an immortal...nay, a third star Qi Refining cultivator!? I'll etch into your mortal frames the peril of eyeing a cultivator!"

Boong, boong boong!

"Uh, uuuuh...!"

"Uwaaaagh! Real blade!"

"She's nuts!"

Kwaang, kwakwang!

Ji Hwa lashes her sword across the men's villa, smashing fixtures and neatly severing the clubbers' car rears.

This pace suggests the tipsy Ji Hwa might truly fell folks, so we have to drag her of