A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 844 Chapter 841: Side Story - Mythical Relic (6)

Splash!

Hyeon Rang hoisted her up and drifted away before dropping her unceremoniously into the hot spring behind the mountain.

"Kuaagh! It is boiling!"

"Hahaha, stop being so dramatic! Just scrub yourself clean, Junior Sister Tae! I need to reach the Jegyo Dharma Assembly, so I'm off!"

Once done, he vanished into the air with a flash, leaving Makli Hyun-ah splashing and sputtering in the scorching pool, struggling to regain his composure.

"Kuaaagh! S-Save me! Someone help! This isn't even a proper hot spring! Kkeuugh!"

Makli Hyun-ah desperately tried to channel the power of the Confucian Family Method and the Naming Family Method, but no matter his efforts, the energy refused to manifest.

Suddenly,

Flash!

A surge of strange energy he had never encountered before flooded his limbs, and he instinctively drew upon it to fortify his trembling form.

Paaatt!

Bathed in a brilliant golden radiance, Makli Hyun-ah felt the intense heat fade as his body began to recover.

"Whew... I survived. Is this... the Buddhist Family Method?"

Makli Hyun-ah contemplated the mysterious spiritual power coursing through his veins.

This sensation was undoubtedly the Buddhist Family Method. Unlike what he knew, it felt warm and gentle, circulating through his spirit veins like a rhythmic, eternal wheel.

"A peculiar technique, indeed..."

He continued to circulate the Buddhist Family Method while gradually absorbing the memories of Tae Yeol-jeon, the host of this body.

"Let us see. The host is Tae Yeol-jeon... raised from childhood by a nun named Bong Hwa who kept this temple. She shares a senior brother-junior sister bond with Hyeon Rang, the successor to Bong Hwa. It is less like a typical temple and more like an obscure cultivation Sect. Not that it matters; the place is practically abandoned, with no visitors outside of those two..."

Hyeon Rang acted as the diligent successor, constantly busy since the passing of the former abbot, while Tae Yeol-jeon spent her days locked away, wallowing in laziness, aware that any effort on her part would yield no benefit for the temple.

Her main hobby seemed to be burning through the spirit stones accumulated by predecessors while reading novels and fairy tales in her room.

"...There is almost no knowledge of the world here; her mind is filled only with stories and myths."

From fables regarding an old man ascending to the heavens after failing to raise his realm, to tales of the Lord of Heavens and Stars, or the legend of the Mountain Divine Spirits, Tae Yeol-jeon’s memories were a cluttered mess of folk tales.

"Both Hyeon Rang and Tae Yeol-jeon are at the Qi Building level... Wait, she wastes her time hiding away, yet her realm is comparable to the hard-working Hyeon Rang? Hah, what a waste of talent. But more importantly..."

Makli Hyun-ah felt his frustration mount; there wasn't a single shred of useful information buried in these memories.

"Eighty percent of her existence is just roasting chestnuts and reading fiction in a room! Why does Senior Brother Hyeon Rang even tolerate her? If she were mine, I would have thrown her out long ago! Where are the facts I actually need about this world?"

Exasperated by the lack of intel, he resolved to hunt for information elsewhere.

"Fine. I will clean up, head out, and gather what I can from the locals. Now let's see..."

Once he had finished scrubbing Tae Yeol-jeon clean and grew comfortable with the Buddhist Family Method's circulation, he set off toward the village he had glimpsed earlier while flying with his Senior Brother.

'The Innate True Methods. I cannot use the Naming or Confucian Family Methods. However... if I concentrate, I can manipulate my consciousness. Oddly, there are signs that the Innate True Methods are attempting to resurface.'

Woong!

He scanned the villagers, looking for someone whose mind was easy to infiltrate, and firmly latched onto one of them.

Suddenly,

Shururuk!

In a heartbeat, Makli Hyun-ah possessed the mortal.

'Huh? Is shifting bodies truly this simple? No, something is wrong...'

He felt a massive wave of discomfort and resistance emanating from the mortal shell.

'Why does this body reject me? Is the compatibility that poor? This is unbearable. I need to extract these memories and return to Tae Yeol-jeon’s body immediately.'

Making a swift decision, he drained the necessary information from the mortal’s recollections and dashed back to his original host.

"Heheok... heok..."

The blissful relief of returning to Tae Yeol-jeon’s body was overwhelming.

'Why does it feel this natural? It is almost more comfortable than my original vessel.'

Puzzled, he began organizing the information captured from the mortal.

'This world is known as the Chained Light Realm (鎖光界)... Similar in size and conditions to the usual Decaying Corpse Realms, apparently.'

It earned its title because of the pale blue-white sunlight during the day and the appearance of the chain-shaped, Chained Moon at night.

Religion was the cornerstone of the Chained Light Realm.

'The three major religious orders of the Chained Light Realm...'

The most prominent was the Star Moon Religious Order, which venerated the Chained Moon. Closely following was the Great Forest Religious Order, which worshipped the sun. The least significant was the Jegal Religious Order, followers of a divinity called Mikhail.

These three orders constantly vied for power, raiding one another's followers in a continental power struggle. In the neutral zones left behind by their conflicts, minor groups like the Buddhist and Immortal Sects—such as the Grand Nirvana Temple—attempted to survive.

As the name Jegal Religious Order registered in his mind, Makli Hyun-ah exhaled a weary sigh.

"...Found you, Jegal Mikhail. So you were passing yourself off as a god here..."

The identity of the 'Fourth Earthling' Ahn Geum was seeking had finally surfaced.

'With this, Ahn Geum should stop pestering me.'

Of course, the responsibility to verify the existence of Jegal Mikhail still remained.

"Very well. First, I will locate the Jegal Mikhail shrine and offer a prayer."

Makli Hyun-ah tracked down the path to the shrine and began his walk.

***

Human Race territory.

Deep within the Tomb of the Ghost Mother.

Inside a shrine dedicated to the Immeasurable Life Buddha, Ahn Geum spoke with a True Immortal, securing a vow that they would unleash a single, decisive strike.

Unfortunately, due to the unique nature of the Vast Cold Realm, a direct assault could not incinerate the entire puppet legion at once, so the Immortal would provide support through an Immortal Art instead.

Even so, the news helped ease the burden of her concern regarding Makli Hyun-ah's rescue.

Yet, Ahn Geum’s expression remained grim.

She pulled a divination bowl and several sticks from her storage scroll to begin a ritual.

This wasn't a technique learned in this realm, but a blend of her mother’s shamanistic roots from Earth, refined through her own cultivation experiences.

Because this method trumped the lackluster celestial calculations typical of the Heaven Tribe, it remained the reason she survived long after defecting from the One Qi of the Primordial Chaos Religious Order and Black Ghost Valley.

Clack!

As she interpreted the falling sticks, her face paled. A profound sense of impending doom loomed in the near future. It wasn't the puppets. It was something far more personal.

Lee Seo-ah.

It appeared that Lee Seo-ah would soon be hot on her heels.

'That freak. I never realized a Three Great Ultimates cultivator could reach such heights.'

The sheer scale of the vision suggested Lee Seo-ah had grown significantly stronger than before.

'She must have advanced to the Integration stage.'

Having previously been at the Fourth Axis stage as a Three Great Ultimates, she was now surely at the Integration stage. With her unique constitution and innate talent, she likely outperformed Ahn Geum, whose own strength was barely pushing beyond the Integration threshold.

'If her actual prowess translates beyond the Integration stage, combined with her Wind-Painting Sword Sea Impermanence Body talent... she is likely at the Quasi-Star Shattering level.'

If Lee Seo-ah pursued her into the Vast Cold Realm, Ahn Geum would be reduced to minced meat without any chance of resistance.

'If I want to live, saving Hyun-ah is important, but... I must find my own escape first.'

Ahn Geum served as the Saintess of the Immeasurable Life Buddha Religious Order, while Lee Seo-ah acted as the Saintess for the One Qi of the Primordial Chaos Religious Order. Although the latter technically didn't use the title, the favoritism shown by the local True Immortals made her status absolute.

If Ahn Geum invoked a True Immortal for aid, Lee Seo-ah would simply do the same, rendering her political advantage useless. A confrontation would mean certain death.

'But a chance for a breakthrough exists.'

Ahn Geum remembered her teacher, Gongmyo Min-hee of Black Ghost Valley.

—One day, head to the Vast Cold Realm. In the human territories, you will find a Ghost Path legacy left by the legendary Ghost Mother.

Her master had loved her like her own child, filling the void left by her mother’s institutionalization.

‘Master…’

Gongmyo Min-hee was effectively a mother figure. Her betrayal of the valley had been a necessity to avoid forgetting her true mother on Earth. Perhaps that was why Min-hee had intentionally let her flee; she had understood that conflict of the heart.

"Huuu..."

She began to resonate with the Tomb of the Ghost Mother, mirroring the teachings passed down by her master.

The Tomb was likely an alternate space built by local humans to house the very inheritance her master had described.

"I will survive."

Ahn Geum hardened her resolve, determined to rewrite the fate of being slaughtered by Lee Seo-ah.

"I will survive... and find my way back to my mother."

She recalled the secret formula Min-hee had provided for accessing the inheritance.

—Your talent is legendary, Geum-ah. Like the Ghost Mother. Combine your talent with my research, and you will unlock the hidden path.

As she recited the mantra, her mind began to merge with the environment of the Tomb.

Tststststs...!

Her soul slipped into the darkness, eventually arriving in a strange, formless void.

'This place is...'

Chwaruruk!

Faint images flickered in her peripheral vision. A figure in black mourning clothes threaded rules through the shadows, whispering.

—Through [Bridle Creation], I shall carve a sanctuary for those who follow...

The voice sounded hauntingly familiar, like her mother’s own melody.

—Hidden from the prying eyes of the [Heavens]... so their stories may endure.

'So the Ghost Mother's Tomb is...'

It was a gateway, a repository designed for future generations.

—This is an archive. Receive what we leave, and pass it on to others.

Suddenly, the figure in the vision turned, locking eyes with her. The figure smiled with eyes of a deep, warm blue.

—It is also a place for memories. Record your own story here, so it is never forgotten through the ten thousand generations.

Ahn Geum felt a strange, inexplicable comfort in that gaze.

—I, too, shall leave the memories within... my own heart...

Paaaatt!

The vision shattered, and she felt herself falling into an expanse of endless black.

'Is this the inheritance? An alternate dimension for storage? Is that it? Is there nothing more?'

Then,

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Goosebumps erupted across her skin as she whirled around.

From the distance, a figure draped in overwhelming [death] approached.

'Th-This is...!'

Fear gripped her. Her body, saturated with gathered ghost souls and Ghost Path arts, began to tremble uncontrollably.

As a half-ghost, she was acutely sensitive to this approaching presence, forced into a state of primal terror by the mere aura of the being.

Thud!

The identity of the footsteps revealed itself.

It was a crazed Ghost King, adorned with the severed heads of eighteen fellow cultivators embedded into his shoulders as trophies.

The Ghost King spoke.

[I am Seo Li.]

She instantly knew she couldn't withstand him. His very existence was the embodiment of death.

[You, who seek the inheritance: if you truly want what Madam Ghost Mother left behind, you must first surpass me, your examiner.]

Ahn Geum and the million wailing spirits within her body let out a collective scream as they readied for the end.