A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation

Chapter 468: First Day, First Day, First Day...First Day!!!

Piiiit!

My consciousness returns.

It's that situation again.

I gasp for breath and look around at my comrades.

Oh Hyun-seok is still wiping away his tears while laughing, and Kim Yeon, with a solemn expression, still has the white bird drawn on her face.

Jeon Myeong-hoon is trembling, as if recalling something, while Seo Ran has returned to his original form, and Hong Fan looks around in confusion.

"H-Hurry!"

Using attraction force and Immortal Arts, I tear open an entrance to the True Devil Realm, throwing my comrades in before attempting to follow them in.

However, the moment I try to enter the True Devil Realm, my body is forcefully repelled.

At the same time, all of my strength is forcibly sealed.

: : I have been waiting. : :

An all too familiar will follows.

"W-Wait! Chief Judge..."

Pukwak!

Without even giving me time to speak, I am crushed.

The last thing I remember is one phrase from Blood Yin.

: : I don't know about anything else, but I can never forgive you for summoning [Them] inside my friend. : :

My consciousness sinks.

That is my twenty-fourth return.

The first moment of the twenty-fourth cycle!

"Heok"

I tremble uncontrollably, clenching my teeth.

I look around again.

It's still the same.

The point of my regression has been fixed in the worst possible form!!!

"Ah, no..."

I feel my mind going blank as I grit my teeth.

'Time has been fixed.'

I need to find a way.

I need some method to escape this situation.

'For now, let's try not using attraction force.'

I suppress attraction force, seal all my spiritual power and spiritual energy, and push my comrades far off into the Interdimensional Void before holding my breath myself in the darkness. Рαɴȯ𝔟ЕS̈

The next moment.

: : I have been waiting. : :

"This f—"

Crunch!

That is my twenty-fifth return.

The first moment of the 25th cycle.

'Stay calm. First, accept that the regression has been fixed. I need to find the best way.'

I recall the warning Great Mountain gave me.

'An immense misfortune lurks ahead of you.'

The misfortune They spoke of must have been this, being trapped in the cycle of time.

'They taught me the method to desecrate fate.'

I recall the words of Great Mountain.

: : I have been waiting. : :

"This d—"

Without giving me time to think, Blood Yin appears.

Crunch!

That is my twenty-sixth return.

The first moment of the 26th cycle.

'Quickly, quickly!'

I recall the words of the Great Mountain Supreme Deity.

There's no time to think calmly!

—Remember, fate 'must' be fulfilled. The fates prophesied by True Immortals are of a nature that 'must be realized.'

Blood Yin prophesied that our meeting is an inevitable fate.

Thus, that 'fate must be fulfilled.'

—You, too, can shatter a prophecy head-on once you reach this domain, but since that's impossible for you right now, I'll have to teach you a trick. Listen carefully, you fool. The method to desecrate fate is simple. If there's a fate where the universe will be destroyed, the way to twist that fate is to raise a slave called 'the universe' and then kill that 'universe.' If you do so, fate will be fulfilled—no matter how forced it may be—and you'll be able to escape the absoluteness of fate by insisting to the world that you didn't resist fate.

That is the way to mock and desecrate fate.

Kwaduk!

I immediately cut off my arm and create a cursed beast.

"Keruk?"

The cursed beast rolls its eyes, unable to grasp the situation, and I shout at it.

"From now on, you are Blood Yin."

"?"

"There, we've met now! Everything is done, right!? I'm leaving!"

I open the door to the True Devil Realm together with my comrades.

They reach the True Devil Realm.

And I am thrown out.

Toong!

"Heok, heok...h-heok..."

Dripping in cold sweat, I look back.

: : I have been waiting. : :

The figure is there again.

That is my twenty-seventh return.

The first moment of the 27th cycle.

I realize that I'm a moron.

'Because I didn't have enough time to think things through, I acted too hastily.'

But even without time, failure still leads to growth.

More of Great Mountain's words come to mind.

—Of course, a being on the level of a True Immortal wouldn't leave behind such a sloppy loophole. For example, even if you raise a slave called 'the universe,' if that slave only shares the name with the universe and nothing else, the identity likely wouldn't be accepted. So, to bypass fate using such a sacrifice, you'd at least need to bring in something like a 'small universe.' If it truly possesses the same essence as the entire Heavenly Domain, then it's possible to forcefully fulfill the fate.

: : I have been waiting. : :

"...At least give me some time to reflect on the past. Twenty-eight..."

[TL: One of the two ways to say twenty-eight is similar to 'This fuck.']

Puduk!

That is my twenty-eighth return.

The 28th cycle.

I have no choice but to recall Great Mountain's 'whispers' even faster in this ever-pressing time constraint.

—Therefore, the method to desecrate fate is to 'perfectly' fulfill that fate on a smaller scale. By doing so, you'll build up resistance to that fate, making it difficult for the same fate to affect you twice... That is the only way for someone at your level to defy fate.

In short, it's a kind of 'apotropaic magic',

Like stepping in dung and encountering a small misfortune, thus avoiding a greater disaster.

By warding off bad luck like that, just as I gained 'resistance' after seeing Governing Immortal and indirectly encountering [Higher Beings] a few times, the same resistance builds up against fate itself, allowing one to escape from it.

It's like how a god cannot destroy the world twice with the same prophecy of a great flood.

—Of course, you'd still need the abilities of the Sacred Vessel stage for that.

"...What am I supposed to even do?"

—I've told you everything. Survive. Then, die by my hand.

With that, my memory of Great Mountain's advice ends.

"Hah..."

What am I supposed to do?

: : I have been waiting. : :

"Hold on, Elder..."

Crunch!

'Perfectly...same essence...small scale...fulfill fate...'

That is my twenty-ninth return.

The 29th cycle.

Toong.

As soon as the cycle begins, I send my comrades flying toward the Astral Realm, while I move to the True Devil Realm.

"Ha, haha, hahaha!!!"

I let out a cry of joy.

"I did it!!!"

Though separated from my comrades, I succeeded in being the first to enter the True Devil Realm without hesitation the moment the cycle began.

According to Baek Woon's explanation, the True Devil Realm is practically the same entity as Blood Yin.

The fate of 'meeting Blood Yin' has been fulfilled...

"For now, if I move to the Lower Realms or another Middle Realm..."

And then,

The sky of the True Devil Realm turns red.

: : Interesting. : :

In truth, they were originally one body.

Though separated, they are the same entity, so I thought the fate of 'reunion' was fulfilled.

'...Is it because the name is different?'

A name carries fate.

The being who was once Yu Hao Te was renamed 'Blood Yin,' and their fate has also changed.

In that case, the True Devil Realm is not the same as Blood Yin.

: : I have been waiting for you. You called upon [Them]. You alone cannot be forgiven... : :

'But at the same time, because they were once the same entity, it's a world where they can interfere whenever they want...is that it...?'

Feeling an overwhelming despair, I grit my teeth and pull out the last resort I can muster.

"Immortal cultivation is repentant enlightenment... Just like tiny grains of salt..."

Crunch!

That is my thirtieth return.

The 30th cycle.

"Heh, heh heh...heh heh heh...!"

I feel my mind slipping from the 30th cycle.

It feels so distant.

There's no answer.

Just how in the world am I supposed to escape from here?

I sense that the being can follow me even if I escape to the ends of the universe.

'Even pulling out the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra won't work.'

I'll be killed before it activates.

No, even if it does activate, the difference in level between me and Great Mountain is so vast that it would barely destroy the Human Realm territory and the surrounding area, let alone the Heavenly Domain.

"Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens...!"

I invoke another Immortal Art that twists fate, the Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique.

A cloud of calamity obscures the sky, blocking fate!

: : Do you know...how many times I have suffered at the hand of the Lightning Immortal? : :

Pukwak.

The red world pierces through the black cloud and crashes down on me.

: : I have waited a long time. : :

Cruuuunch!

That is my thirty-first return.

31st cycle.

"Ha...! Ha, haha! Hahahahahahaha!!!"

I laugh maniacally.

Everything feels utterly hopeless, just as it did when everything was destroyed by the Great Mountain Supreme Deity.

When I was tortured by Yeong Seung, I did recover my memory at the 'last moment,' but since I lost the memory of 'me' within the countless regressions, it didn't feel this distant.

But this time, I can feel it very clearly. That there really is no answer.

I am trapped in this timeline.

"Huha! Huhahahahaha!"

: : I have been waiting. : :

"Huaaaaah!!!"

Crunch!

That is my thirty-second return.

32nd cycle.

"Huaaaaaaah!!!"

I hurl myself at Blood Yin with every bit of strength I have.

I die while only screaming.

That is my thirty-third return.

...

33rd cycle.

34th cycle.

35th cycle.

"You bastard! Do you know who I am? I am the current Chief Judge's...!"

Baduduk, Badudududuk!

I try to impersonate one of the beings of the Underworld with the intensifying aura of death, but I die in the most excruciating way so far.

That is my thirty-sixth return.

...

62nd cycle.

63rd cycle.

64th cycle.

"Zhengli! Zhengli! Zhengli! Yeong Seung! Yeong Seung! Yeong Seung! You xxx! Somebody, anybody, come here! Hurry!!! Please!!!"

That is my sixty-fifth return.

...

222nd cycle.

223rd cycle.

224th cycle.

"Hoho, Daoist Blood. Do you know who I am? Sent by the [Oldest One], I am..."

: : Just who are you daring to impersonate. : :

Jiiiing!

Chijijijijijik!

I die experiencing not only every imaginable pain a human body can endure, but also the pain that can be endured by every living being of the Bright Cold Realm, True Devil Realm, and Blood Yin Realm.

That is my two hundred twenty-fifth return.

'Which cycle am I on again?'

Ah, I remember now.

This is already the 500th cycle.

I feel my head aching as I think.

Even as I keep dying, I think.

'In all 500 attempts, I've tried everything I could, using every plan and power at my disposal.'

I've shouted for Zhengli, I've even tried calling upon Yeong Seung and the Heavenly Venerable of Time, and even the Radiant Eight Immortals that Baek Woon once called upon.

But the time given to me is too short.

No matter what I do, I die in an instant.

'It's impossible to fight back.'

Even the 'method to defy fate' that Great Mountain told me about cannot be attempted unless I reach the Sacred Vessel level.

But I'm not even at the Star Shattering stage, let alone the Sacred Vessel stage.

My martial realm is at Void Shattering, but still...

"...Wait."

As I meet my 558th death, something comes to mind.

'Can I do it?'

I grit my teeth as I organize the thought that just popped up in my head.

There was a time when I even tried to 'Return to thee' to Blood Yin, but that didn't work either. I just ended up dying a slightly more painful death. 

Asking for help from someone won't break this situation.

'I need to raise my realm.'

Right now.

I must raise both realms of the Heaven and Earth Tribes to reach the Star Shattering stage!

Crunch!

612th death.

'If I turn Heaven, Earth, and Heart into the Star Shattering stage, the Three Great Ultimates will manifest.'

Moreover, within my domain, there is even the artificial star created by the Mad Lord.

'If I rise to the Star Shattering stage, I'll be able to match Heaven, Earth, Heart, and Puppet!'

If I can do that...

Perhaps, with the realm of the Star Shattering stage, I might be able to wield strength comparable to the Sacred Vessel stage.

'I'll rise to the Star Shattering stage, use the strength of the Sacred Vessel stage to defy fate, and break through head-on.'

A head-on breakthrough.

That is the only option left for me.

Amidst endless deaths, I begin to continuously undergo repentant enlightenment from the Qi Gathering stage to the Star Shattering stage, all for the sake of a head-on breakthrough.

700th cycle!

With eyes gleaming, I form hand seals.

'From now on...'

I will begin the Star Shattering advancement ritual.