A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation

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Chapter 675: Eternal Regression

Kiririk!

I die.

At the same time, my mind and the surrounding environment seem to shift slightly, and I instantly return to life.

’This place is...’

—Let us determine the true Mountain God.

Hyeon Mu disintegrates into chaos before my eyes, and from afar, a massive torrent of chaos boils up as a power I know well reveals itself once more.

’So the first day of the 1006th cycle...is here...’

Splitting Emperor Splitting Heaven (裂帝裂天).

: : Annihilation (滅) Advancement (進) Mu (戊). : :

Once again, the golden wave crashes toward me.

I understand the situation.

After Oh Hye-seo just recently awakened to her fate, and the Future King observed it,

My regression point has become fixed to this very moment.

I accelerate my consciousness and connect to Indra’s Net.

But...

’Astounding. Even connected to Indra’s Net, I still can’t avoid Annihilation Advancement Mu.’

The authority held by the Salt Sea Supreme Deity as the Castle Wall Heavenly Lord.

The principle of the Phenomena Extinguishing Mantra learned from the Salt Sea Supreme Deity.

The power of the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea accumulated by the Great Mountain Supreme Deity.

And the enlightenment of Annihilation Advancement (滅進) seemingly obtained through dual cultivation with Hyeon Mu.

All of those combined unfolded with the Mantra of Splitting Heaven, which splits even the Absolute into seven pieces!

That alone is inescapable, and an inevitable death.

’No matter where I flee, I can never escape. There isn’t even a place to run to. I have no choice but to face it head-on.’

But having just died from it, I know.

’There’s...far too little time.’

Even if I obtained enlightenment of Marital Pinnacle, I still need time to internalize and refine it before I can use it to resist.

But this instantly unfolding simplified Splitting Heaven Mantra.

If I keep dying in front of Annihilation Advancement Mu like this, no matter how many times I try, fully grasping the enlightenment of Martial Pinnacle will be difficult. 

’This is troublesome...’

I frown and send a message to Oh Hye-seo, who is blankly zoning out.

—Oh Hye-seo. Right now, the Great Mountain Supreme Deity is trying to kill us. Can’t you use your authority to escape all the way to Mount Sumeru in one go or something? If not that, at least slowing down the time it takes for that authority to reach us would be great.

Oh Hye-seo seems slightly surprised by the will I transmit through Indra’s Net, but answers immediately.

—Impossible. My authority isn’t that kind of power to begin with. Moreover, even if it was, the sheer force condensed by the Great Mountain Supreme Deity is so vast it’d crush my authority. More importantly...

Oh Hye-seo answers me coldly.

—Even if it were possible, I wouldn’t use it for you.

’...’

It seems Oh Hye-seo isn’t going to be of any help right now.

’Time...is lacking’

It may be the first day of the 1006th cycle, but the actual time I face the Great Mountain Supreme Deity directly is only a few seconds.

Kugugugugu!

I perceive the death that’s right in front of my nose.

’I’m not afraid.’

Though it’s suffocating just like during Blood Yin, there’s clearly an exit even if it is distant, so I only need to aim for it and keep striving.

The problem is the time for those efforts.

’This isn’t like the simple Star Shattering advancement. I can’t finish it in just a thousand cycles.’

This is the ultimate of Martial Arts.

To manifest even a fragment of that power would take not a thousand, but ten thousand cycles.

No...

At this rate, with only a few seconds given each time, I’d need billions of cycles to have even the slightest chance of success.

Chwaaaaagh!

The power of Annihilation Advancement Mu rips apart my Impermanence Sword and obliterates me.

As I die, I think to myself.

’Good...’

To have even a thousand chances to collide everything I’ve accumulated in Martial Arts against the Splitting Heaven Mantra is, when I think about it again, a fine opportunity.

That must be why this smile already lingers at the corner of my lips.

But according to the words of the Underworld, if I repeat regression another thousand times, even the Supreme Deities will begin to notice.

’Since Great Mountain is a special case among the Supreme Deities, even nine hundred cycles might be enough for him to realize the regression.’

In other words, at worst, I have around eight hundred regressions left. At best, about a thousand.

’I must reach Martial Pinnacle within that time. Can I do it?’

I assess myself with cold clarity.

And I realize.