A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 831 Chapter 828: Side Story - Purple Gold Realm (1)

In the heart of the Purple Gold Realm.

Within Ban Ta Castle's central pavilion.

A figure there suddenly opens his eyes.

"Such a strong fate...astonishing. Has someone with a fate this strong ascended from the Lower Realm again? Is this the New Fate that rumors have been going around about among the True Immortals lately?"

He smirks grimly and chuckles softly in the shadows.

'...This time is certain. Three fates this strong. I also made thorough preparations, and I even spread barriers across the entire realm so that the Star Shattering stage Esteemed Ones absolutely cannot escape... This time, I will definitely succeed. This time...!'

Gripping his shaking right fist and gnashing his teeth, a savage spark flashes in his eyes amid the gloom.

"I have been sitting in this place for 40 billion years. I must not fail again. This is the last time...! If I still cannot succeed this time...I will not forgive it. Hand over the opportunity to me, One Qi of the Primordial Chaos...!"

Within Ban Ta Castle.

In the pavilion's core, the man shrouded in darkness gazes upward at the starry sky and tightens his fist.

***

Across numerous Middle Realms, a location known as the Void Spirit Pond exists.

The Void Spirit Pond functions as the Flying Immortal Platform linking to the Lower Realm, and legends claim that in ancient times before the Flying Immortal Platform's creation, the Void Spirit Pond itself acted as that platform.

And hovering over one such Void Spirit Pond in the Purple Gold Realm.

A burst of light erupts, unveiling two individuals and a damaged boat-like flying magic artifact.

"Keheok!"

"Kieeek!"

These are Makli Hweol and Makli Hyun-ah, fresh from their ascension out of Penglai Star.

Makli Hweol coughs up blood and scans the surroundings, realizing they have materialized above a Void Spirit Pond; he swiftly seizes Makli Hyun-ah, activates escape light, and dashes away from the pond while supporting him.

"Isn't this the Flying Immortal Platform of the Purple Gold Realm? Why is there nobody here?"

Bewildered, Makli Hweol surveys the area with a confused look and assesses the circumstances.

'At the last moment, did we collide with the Purple Gold Realm's barrier and get deflected from our intended destination? Tsk... For now, no humans seem present, so we should conceal ourselves while sorting out the details.'

With the limp Makli Hyun-ah slung over his back, Makli Hweol employs the Flying Escape Technique and soars through the vicinity.

Quickly, Makli Hweol reaches a village over a thousand li distant and scowls.

'Are they amid a war? Why is everything destroyed?'

As he ponders the chaos in the Purple Gold Realm, Makli Hweol enters a deserted house in the devastated village first and gently places Makli Hyun-ah down.

Once settled, he retrieves Makli Hyun-ah's beast scroll and summons the demon beasts that ascended alongside him.

"Come out, Badger. Rabbit Seven Heavenly Lords!"

Flash!

Instantly, a raccoon and seven rabbits emerge from Makli Hyun-ah's beast scroll.

The raccoon now stands as tall as a human, exuding a subtle aura of demonic energy.

Both the raccoon and rabbits have advanced to the Core Formation stage.

Makli Hweol requests assistance from the raccoon demon beast, Badger.

"Miss Badger. Could you please scout the nearby area?"

"Leave it to me, my lord!"

Badger grins with a 'hehe,' gathers the rabbits, and darts off into the surroundings.

After a while, Makli Hweol receives the report Badger returns with.

"I questioned minor Demon Races like mouse demon beasts or pigeon demon beasts in the area. They mentioned that a few days back, Demon Race and Human Race cultivators clashed in battle and then departed, leaving nothing behind. Powerful entities smashed into one another, ravaged the whole region, and headed south...so it looks like they won't return anytime soon."

"Hm, I see. Thank you, Miss Badger. Then this one will recover body and mind...so I ask you to be my Law Protector for just a few days."

"Yes, just leave it to me!"

With his instructions complete, Makli Hweol deploys formation flags and plates within the forsaken house to establish a defensive formation, then pulls out bedding and fire attribute spirit stones from the storage scroll, heats the area, consumes a healing pill, reclines, and drifts into slumber.

He appears to be easing the exhaustion accumulated from the ascension.

Observing this, Badger positions herself by Makli Hweol and regards him with a thoughtful gaze.

"Hm...strange. He acts as if he has no memories at all... Did he really seal his memories completely...?"

Badger roughly adjusts Makli Hyun-ah, tucks the blanket securely around him, and turns her eyes to Makli Hweol.

"I hope you regain your memories quickly..."

Her soft tail gently sweeps over Makli Hweol's face, and for a time, she vigilantly guards them as they rest.

***

In the shadows.

Makli Hyun-ah abruptly beholds a blue glow drifting before his vision.

"You are..."

He recognizes it.

The presence that, during ascension, compelled Makli Hyun-ah to glance back...

It stems from a voice bearing the identical vibe as Guildmaster [Silver Snake] Ji Hwa.

"Who are you? What relation do you have with Guildmaster Silver Snake?"

At his query, a laugh erupts from the blue glow's core.

For some reason, it echoes emptily.

[Silver Snake? Silver Snake, you say? Ha, haha...hahahahaha...! I see. So they went to your world...]

"What...?"

The voice speaks as though familiar with Guildmaster Ji Hwa.

Makli Hyun-ah's pupils narrow sharply, and he addresses the blue light.

"What do you mean by that? Do you...know Guildmaster Ji Hwa?"

[Ji...Hwa... Truly a name I have not heard in a long, long time... They go around revealing their name carelessly to the point even you, an ordinary person of that world, heard their name. They completely forgotten our mission and spirit, is it...? How lamentable...!]

Tststststststs...

As if furious,

The blue light's fluctuations intensify.

Makli Hyun-ah senses a sting in his eyes.

His head throbs as if expanding.

It mirrors the sensation from viewing the [Hand of Starlight].

[Kukuk... Enough. What is the point of the lament of the defeated? Right. How are they doing? From the fact that even you, who was originally a mortal and only received talent, know their name, they surely made a name for themselves in that world... Did they conquer a country? Ruin it? Start wars? Restore order?]

"Uh..."

Faced with this, Makli Hyun-ah feels somewhat lost on how to respond.

He is not Guildmaster Ji Hwa, yet oddly, he hesitates to reply truthfully.

[If they are the kind who flipped this world upside down and sold body and soul to an evil god, then surely...they flipped that world over too...because they are definitely that kind of existence...!]

"Um...th-that's..."

Makli Hyun-ah sweats coldly, offers an uneasy chuckle, and chooses to recount Ji Hwa's guild exploits.

"She raided the [Guardian Dragons of the Fallen Nation] more than twenty times...in other words, she did mass hunting. And she beat the [Black Sorcerer] to death as many as seven times. As for [Devil Hunter] as well, she beat them to death all by herself so many times that I can't even count. And on top of that, the guild of the Guildmaster has a world ranking of...I mean, in the overall rankings of the entire world, it has achievements that place it within the top three."

[Is that so...? I do not know well, but even just hearing the names, those are powerful achievements... So they made a name for themselves in that world as well... They did not throw away their pride completely. Even if the ones they protect changed, they are still a guardian of order...]

"..."

To safeguard Ji Hwa's honor, Makli Hyun-ah resolves to stay silent.

"Th-Then, just a moment...who on earth is Guildmaster Ji Hwa?"

Gulping, Makli Hyun-ah questions the blue light.

"At the last moment...I saw her driving a truck and killing us. After I got run over by her truck and came to my senses, I already fell into this world. Why did she drop us into this world? What relationship do you have with her? Do you know her identity?"

Upon hearing this, the blue light surges as if detonating.

The dark void tints with blue radiance, as though engulfed by azure.

[I do. Because they were one of us.]

Tsaaaaaaat!

From the blue light's origin, Makli Hyun-ah perceives a [Blue Snake Biting Its Tail].

Witnessing it, Makli Hyun-ah's eyes widen inevitably.

For it matches the guild emblem of their group, [Loot Farming Heavenly Lord].

The sole variance is that Ji Hwa's version gleams silver.

That emblem soon dissolves, and from the light's heart, a certain entity materializes.

The entity at the blue light's center dons imperial robes, a majestic crown, and conceals their face behind a luminous mask, rendering it indistinct.

And upon that mask, a subtle character 'Gab' (甲) appears.

[I am the First Seat of the Radiance Seven Heavenly Lords...Great Forest. I am the chief seat of the Heaven Immortals who opposed the evil god that rules the world...]

"...!"

True Immortal?

Makli Hyun-ah grasps that the entity before him possesses immense stature, and his frame tenses.

[In a distant ancient age...when we were called not the Radiance Seven Lords but the Radiance Eight Immortals.

[There was one evil god. That god negated all reason and order of this world and created a new heaven, and...in that process, with evil heresy and schemes, they brainwashed and corrupted the Fifth Seat of the Radiance Eight Immortals, who was one of our own. And...that is our former companion whom you call Ji Hwa...]

'B-Brainwashed and corrupted?'

At last, Makli Hyun-ah comprehends why Ji Hwa would shriek 'Keeeek' and pound keyboards furiously while cursing guild members during boss raids.

'So that's it...it was the aftereffect of being corrupted!? No wonder she's so violent!'

[After that evil god was ascended to an unbelievably powerful realm...they created fates that bring chaos and despair to this world, and they called in souls from other worlds to carry those fates forward, and they are trying to devise evil schemes once again...]

"C-Could it be...!?"

[That is right. You and your companions are precisely...that evil god's scheme. The New Fates...!]

"Th-That...then what am I supposed to do!?"

[That evil god is one who toppled the light and seized all possibilities and probabilities of the whole world into their grasp... Avoid their gaze, accumulate strength, and raise your realm. If you can ascend to True Immortality, then we, the Radiance Seven Lords, will surely make you break free from the evil god's grasp...!]

The True Immortal resembling an emperor, self-named Great Forest, extends a hand toward Makli Hyun-ah.

[We...will be your friends. Always remember us...and also strive to break free from the evil god...]

Drip...drip...

Makli Hyun-ah startles upon noticing a crimson haze trickle like liquid below Great Forest's mask.

Are they weeping blood?

Though uncertain, he senses profound fury and anguish in their quivering form.

[Until you reach that realm, always be careful and careful again. All [stars] are their subordinates. Beware of [stars]...the stars of the sky are all their [eyes]...]

Shiver!

[Your ability does not end with the Extreme Ghost Path Body. But remember this.

[Do not rely too much on abilities and fortuitous encounters... The evil god's schemes fill the heavens, so it is impossible to know how far their arrangements spread...]

Tsaaaaat.

Concluding their message, Great Forest's glow dims in place and conceals their presence.

Amid the boundless dark, Makli Hyun-ah reflects on the distant past when he first accessed this realm.

Having attained the Heavenly Being stage, his memories from birth to present remain crystal clear, making recollection straightforward.

'How many entities dwell in my subconscious...?'

From Makli Cheon-sa onward, then Jegal Mikhail, that eerie chain beast.

Now even Great Forest, the First Seat of the Radiance Seven Lords, joins them.

Makli Hyun-ah begins to loathe his Extreme Ghost Path Body constitution.

'Thinking about it, Jegal Mikhail also said that if I reach the Heavenly Being stage, I could know his identity...but even now, honestly, I still can't quite get a feel for it... What on earth is Mister Jegal Mikhail...?'

Perplexed, Makli Hyun-ah begins emerging from his subconscious.

After achieving the realm akin to Nascent Soul, navigating in and out of his subconscious has grown simpler, allowing him to probe for Jegal Mikhail and others within.

Yet he discovers solely Makli Cheon-sa's fragmented soul.

'Tsk... Is Mister Jegal Mikhail just an aspect of my PTSD, or is he really living inside me...?'

Makli Hyun-ah sighs, mulls over his concerns, departs his subconscious, and stirs from slumber.

***

"This place is..."

Makli Hyun-ah glances around and rubs his eyes.

Close by, Makli Hweol assumes a lotus position, circulating his qi to mend his wounds, while Badger and the Rabbit Seven Heavenly Lords watch over the pair.

"Hey, Badger. What's the situation?"

Makli Hyun-ah inquires of Badger, listens to the full account, and nods.

"Ascension succeeded, but...we still don't exactly know where this place is? Daoist Makli Hweol is healing the internal injuries he received while ascending... Hmm..."

While Makli Hyun-ah contemplates,

Kugugung!

A mighty blast echoes nearby, prompting Makli Hweol, mid-healing, to open his eyes and exhale deeply.

"It seems someone is fighting nearby. From the aura I sense, it seems to be at the Nascent Soul, Heavenly Being level... For now, let us go out together and take a look."

Makli Hweol ventures outside alongside Makli Hyun-ah, furrows his brow, and tracks the explosion's origin.

Slightly beyond the ruins, a diminutive green figure, a black-robed human, and a blue-robed cultivator wielding hordes of ghosts engage in a fierce three-way clash.

"Wail, Ghost Devil Banner!"

Kieeeeeee—

Myriad ghosts unleash eerie shrieks from the banner's depths, and at those cries, the green figure and black-robed person's faces pale.

But in the instant that follows,

"Hung, now the conditions are all met. You Immortal Family cultivators cannot dare use your power against the Confucian Family!"

Tudududududu!

The black-robed figure jabs a finger with a sinister grin, causing the blue-robed cultivator wielding the Ghost Devil Banner to plummet to the earth.

"Kuuugh...! Kuaaaaaa!"

Toppling amid swarms of ghosts and dropping to his knees, the man clenches his jaw and howls.

"Don't...make me laugh...! I...do you think I, Heo Yak-ham of the Great Azure Ghost Valley, will be defeated...!?"

[TL/N: The Hangul for Heo Yak-ham means weakness/frailty.]

"Kukuk...this is the Confucian Family Method! You Heaven-Earth Tribe cultivators can't even dare lift your heads before a Confucian scholar...huh?"

The black-robed man, flashing a triumphant and malicious smile, attempts to taunt the green figure and blue-robed cultivator fully, but puzzlement strikes him upon noticing the green figure remains upright.

"Wh-What is this...? I should have sealed off not only spiritual power but also demonic power... How can a yaoguai bastard stand on two feet? Are you saying you aren't a demon beast?"

In response, the green figure draws twin podaos from behind and sneers.

"Hehe... Have you never even