Absolute Regression

Chapter 729: The Young Cult Leader Woke Him Up

“Careful, careful. There’s a stone there. Watch your step.”

Seo Daeryong, who was walking beside Dan Ah, was keeping a sharp eye on the ground.

“I’m fine! If anyone saw us, they’d think we were walking through a formation.”

Dan Ah’s belly was swollen. She was only two or three months away from giving birth.

“You must be tired, let me carry you.”

Seo Daeryong didn’t care in the least about what others thought. When he crouched down to give her a piggyback ride, Dan Ah pressed his shoulders gently and spoke.

“Walking and moving around, even deliberately, is good exercise. It keeps both me and the baby healthy. I’ll head back now, so you should go on.”

“Let me walk you home. I’ll see you there before I leave.”

“I said I’m fine. Go on. Master will be waiting.”

Dan Ah had come out only to see Seo Daeryong off as he went to train.

“Will you be alright getting back on your own?”

“Why? Do you think enemies are lying in ambush on the way home?”

Seo Daeryong fussed endlessly, but he had never been happier than these days. He had been glad when they were married, but when he heard that she was pregnant, he was overjoyed. The moment she told him, he had been struck speechless.

I’m going to be a father?

There was no way to express such a feeling. It was nothing like the joy of entering Underworld Pavilion as the top disciple, nor like becoming the disciple of Blood Heaven Blade Demon. This was a different kind of happiness entirely. It was so immense that often it didn’t even feel real.

Of course, the worries matched the joy. The baby had to be born healthy. Dan Ah had to be safe. The child had to grow up well. He was already carrying the weight of all future concerns.

“Wait a moment.”

Seo Daeryong gently placed his hand on Dan Ah’s belly.

“The little one is quiet today.”

Dan Ah smiled and looked at him. Could life truly be this good?

“I’ll be going now.”

“Go carefully. Don’t trip.”

“I’m still a martial artist, you know. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’ve lost my internal energy!”

After seeing her off, Seo Daeryong arrived at the dwelling of Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“I am late, Master.”

Seo Daeryong’s demeanor shifted completely from the one he had shown with Dan Ah. When it came to training, he was more diligent than anyone.

He greeted Blood Heaven Blade Demon and was about to head out to the courtyard when—

“Take this with you.”

“What is this?”

Blood Heaven Blade Demon handed him medicinal herbs.

“The Demon Doctor sent someone to deliver it.”

“The Demon Doctor?”

“He said it would be good for the baby and the mother, and that it must be taken.”

“Why would the Demon Doctor send this to me?”

“How should I know?”

Seo Daeryong had never been close enough to receive such a gift.

Then, from behind, a familiar voice called out cheerfully.

“Why else? A friend asked for a favor.”

Seo Daeryong turned in surprise and saw Geom Mugeuk standing there.

“Young Cult Leader!”

Seo Daeryong rushed over to Geom Mugeuk.

Standing by the window, Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked even more startled than Seo Daeryong.

“That person over there is the Demon Doctor’s friend.”

“Ah!”

Seo Daeryong looked back at his master with a shocked face. How could he, a disciple, not have known such a thing?

In other words, his master had arranged for the medicine to be made.

Before Seo Daeryong could voice his gratitude, Blood Heaven Blade Demon stepped away from the window and disappeared inside.

Geom Mugeuk spoke in his place.

“My disciple, I especially asked the Demon Doctor to prepare this. Elder, you should at least accept a little credit for it!”

Seo Daeryong raised his voice with heartfelt gratitude.

“Thank you, Master!”

From inside, there was no reply.

Geom Mugeuk then congratulated Seo Daeryong.

“So, you’re finally becoming a father.”

“The one who seemed least likely to marry, the ugliest, the most pitiful of us… is becoming a father.”

Seo Daeryong’s throat tightened as the thought alone made him emotional.

“This is all thanks to you, Young Cult Leader, and to Master.”

“I’ll give you a gift later to celebrate.”

“I don’t need anything. Your very existence is a gift, Young Cult Leader.”

“Really? I was planning to give you something very expensive and precious.”

“……”

“……”

“My child doesn’t yet know of your existence… so perhaps a gift would still be needed.”

Geom Mugeuk burst into loud laughter, and Seo Daeryong laughed along.

Then from inside came the voice of Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“If you’re here, stop chattering and come in.”

As Geom Mugeuk walked inside, he said to Seo Daeryong,

“Later, you’ll have to pass down secret teachings. About how to raise a child.”

“Just have one of your own first!”

With that, Geom Mugeuk entered Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s chamber. The moment he stepped inside, he took a deep breath, savoring the scent.

“Ah, the smell of books! I’ve truly missed this!”

Blood Heaven Blade Demon, still wearing a look of surprise, asked,

“Did you truly achieve Ten Star Greatness?”

“No, I came down simply because it was too difficult.”

But Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not believe him. Instead, his eyes brimmed with certainty as he looked at Geom Mugeuk.

“You really have achieved it.”

“Why do you think that?”

The thought was the same as his father’s.

“You wouldn’t have come down otherwise.”

The playful expression vanished from Geom Mugeuk’s face. He respectfully clasped his fists and bowed deeply.

“Thanks to you showing me the right path, Elder, I was able to achieve Completion and return. I truly thank you.”

Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s gaze softened into solemn respect as he looked at the bowed Geom Mugeuk.

He, too, clasped his fists and returned the courtesy.

“Congratulations on achieving Completion in the Nine Calamities Demon Art.”

This was not a courtesy to Geom Mugeuk, but to the art itself. Even when the Nine Calamities Demon Art was displayed ordinarily, it deserved respect—much more so now that it had reached Completion.

After exchanging bows, Blood Heaven Blade Demon gazed silently at Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk had astonished him many times before, but never as he did in this moment.

Yes, he had always believed that if it were Geom Mugeuk, he would certainly achieve Ten Star Greatness—but never had he imagined it would be this soon.

Even when he had heard that Ten Stars was already within sight, he had thought it would still take at least several years.

After all, even Geom Woojin, once called a heaven-sent genius, had only achieved Ten Stars much later in life.

“What do you plan to do now?”

At Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s question, Geom Mugeuk pulled a book from the shelf, sat on the bedside, and opened it.

“I’ve heard the reason great men fail after success is because they try to change their lives too drastically all at once. Even when things change drastically, they should change only a little. But they try to change too much too suddenly.”

Looking down at the pages, Geom Mugeuk then raised his head to meet Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s eyes.

“Nothing will change. Even after leaving the Cult and returning, I will still come to pay my respects to you first. I will still sit here and read. I will still learn fist techniques from Master. I will still exchange bouts with the Sword Supreme. And I will still assist the Poison King in his research on poisons.”

And with the strength of this unchanging life, I will achieve the Twelve Star Greatness.

*         *         *

Returning to his residence, Geom Mugeuk performed the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique.

A vast plain unfolded before his eyes.

There, he summoned the Heavenly Demon Spirit.

Before his father, the Heavenly Demon Spirit had not manifested, but now it appeared instantly.

‘Why did you not appear before Father?’

Looking into its eyes, Geom Mugeuk understood at least that it was not out of fear. His father had guessed the truth without even seeing this spirit.

With a broad smile, Geom Mugeuk explained the place to the Heavenly Demon Spirit.

“This is a space I created using the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique. When we meet, it will mostly be here.”

There would not be many places in the outside world where the Heavenly Demon Spirit could be comfortably summoned.

“So even if you don’t like it, don’t destroy it. This is the place I treasure most.”

The Heavenly Demon Spirit only gazed heavily at the world within the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique.

“It’s alright. I’m well-trained at talking to quiet people. If you were created from me, I doubt you’re truly taciturn. So it’s fine to show your true nature. I like people who talk a lot—or rather, I like a Heavenly Demon Spirit who talks a lot.”

He would have liked even a smile, but the Heavenly Demon Spirit gave no response.

Then Geom Mugeuk noticed its waist.

“You! You’ve changed, haven’t you?”

He realized that its appearance had altered. The Heavenly Demon Spirit now carried a sword at its waist. And, surprisingly, that sword resembled the Black Demon Sword.

This change had occurred upon mastering the Seventh Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.

And there was yet another change.

Looking closely, Geom Mugeuk noticed a faint pattern etched onto the chest of the Heavenly Demon Spirit, something that had not been there before. Because its body was as dark as pitch, the mark was difficult to discern, and its exact shape could not be made out.

He thought that only after mastering up to the Ninth Form would he be able to see the Heavenly Demon Spirit’s final form.

Whish—

Geom Mugeuk soared up before the spirit’s face, locking eyes with it.

The look in his eyes and his aura changed as he floated there. No longer the bright, talkative demeanor he had shown before, but instead the calm, taciturn version of himself from before the regression. Within those eyes lay a profound loneliness, carrying his sincerity.

“I summoned you today to tell you congratulations for learning your first martial art. Being congratulated felt rather good.”

Geom Mugeuk spoke to the Heavenly Demon Spirit with quiet composure.

“Congratulations.”

And then he saw it—the dark, abyssal eyes of the Heavenly Demon Spirit flickered faintly. It not only understood his words—

‘It can feel emotions as well!’

*         *         *

Within the darkness, an old man sat.

His back was straight, his hands folded before his dantian. His eyes gleamed within the void, as though ruling over the darkness itself.

Srrrk—

From the floor before him, a black circle emerged, and a figure clad in black rose up.

The black-robed man prostrated himself and reported.

“The Young Cult Leader has returned.”

The old man’s eyes flared with intensity within the dark.

“So he has finally come back!”

It was as if he had been waiting all along for Geom Mugeuk to descend from the Daecheon Mountains.

“Pass down the order to proceed.”

“Yes.”

But at the very instant the command was given—

“Please, stay your order for a moment.”

The one who revealed herself was none other than Priestess Palace Master Gaye—the same woman who had previously informed the old man about the appearance of the red orb in the world. In the space where all else was pitch black, she wore robes of pure white.

“What brings you here?”

“Please, come with me for a while.”

She would not have come unless the matter was urgent.

The old man rose from his seat. The black-robed subordinate sank back into the ground.

When the old man moved, something astonishing occurred—the darkness surrounding him followed like a living being.

This was not merely the emission of dark energy from his body. Real darkness itself clung to him.

Ssshhhhh—

The darkness shifted its forms. At times it floated like clouds that cloaked him, drifting alongside. At times it warped, making him appear like a demonic specter.

Then, as though a stream of light were descending from the heavens, a shaft of darkness fell from the ceiling, draping him in shadow from head to toe.

The darkness moved as though it were alive.

At the end of the corridor, above a door, was drawn the sigil of the Secret Box and six orbs.

Inside was the place where the two of them had once spoken before.

In the corner sat a large Secret Box, and on the ceiling, constellations were drawn across the entire expanse.

“What is it?”

Gaye lifted her eyes to the ceiling, her gaze trembling.

“Look there.”

The old man raised his head. In that instant, his eyes blazed with a fierce light within the darkness.

Among the stars painted on the ceiling, the largest one at the center was lit.

There was only one meaning to this.

“He has awakened.”

“!”

A silence of shock and disbelief filled the air. It was truly something unimaginable.

“He awakened on his own?”

“Yes.”

“That is impossible!”

The old man’s fury surged, and the darkness cloaking him scattered in all directions like frightened beasts. His figure was revealed in full.

His face bore the heavy traces of time. Deep wrinkles, layered like ancient tree rings, made it impossible to guess his true age. His features were buried beneath those folds.

Anyone who looked upon him would wonder: how could one so old sit with such a straight back, glare with such fierce eyes, and speak with a voice carrying such resonance?

This was none other than the Dark Palace Master of the era.

Dark Palace Master Hwa Mu-gyeong.

No matter the circumstance, Hwa Mu-gyeong had always held control over his mind. But in this moment, even he was unsettled.

“How could this be possible?”

At that, Gaye spoke a single name.

“The day the Young Cult Leader descended the mountain, he awakened.”

“!”

Hwa Mu-gyeong’s eyes blazed with intensity.

“What do you mean? That the Young Cult Leader’s descent awakened him?”

Incredibly, Gaye believed just that.

“I believe the two are bound by a single fate.”

Thus, she spoke with certainty.

“It was surely the Young Cult Leader who awakened him.”

When the plan using the Flying Blood Serpent had failed, Hwa Mu-gyeong had considered it.

Should I awaken him?

But Gaye had stopped him then, warning that the martial world would drown in a sea of blood. Hwa Mu-gyeong knew it as well—awakening him was a choice of last resort. And there was a vast difference between being awakened by another and awakening by one’s own will.

“Even if he has awakened, he cannot break the seal of the place where he is imprisoned.”

And then it happened.

Flash—

One of the countless stars on the ceiling lit up.

The two of them stared in shock.

Flash—

Another star nearby lit up.

Flash, flash!

A star would light up, then immediately go dark, and another would blaze.

This one lit and faded, then that one lit and faded. The sequence repeated again and again—

Flashflashflashflashflashflash—

A constellation was completed. Among the countless constellations, one formation shone brilliantly.

Both Hwa Mu-gyeong and Gaye knew exactly what it meant.

“He has begun breaking the seal.”