Absolute Regression-Chapter 327 : You Already Saved Me
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 327: You Already Saved Me
Corpses formed a mountain.
It wasn’t a metaphor—there were literally so many corpses of ghost souls that they filled the space. At the very top, the Demonic Buddha sat, eyes closed, chanting sacred scriptures.
Puk puk puk puk puk puk puk!
The ghost souls began to vanish in rapid succession, turning into black smoke. Because he had taken them down nearly all at once, they disappeared almost simultaneously.
As they all vanished, a door beyond them came into view.
Ma Bul quickly made his way toward it.
He hadn’t expected to be so worried—but he was genuinely concerned about the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Weren’t they friends? In the past, when they'd only shared idle laughter and shallow words, he would’ve never risked this kind of danger to save him.
But things were different now. When Jeong Dae first said he was stepping down, he'd thought, What kind of idiotic move is that? Yet now… he understood.
Was that why?
He didn’t want his friend to die in a place like this.
When he opened the door and stepped through, it was a wasteland.
Whoooooosh!
A sandstorm swept toward him, covering his body.
“Damn it.”
This blasted illusion art, this cursed sandstorm—it was all driving him crazy.
In this endless wasteland, how in the world was he supposed to find his way out?
That’s when something caught the Demonic Buddha’s eye.
A flower blooming between the cracks of a rock. He stood in front of it for a long while, gazing down.
Whoooooooooosh.
Then came an unsettling sound from behind, and suddenly, darkness fell as a massive shadow loomed over him.
When Ma Bul turned around, a monstrous demon, immense in size, was looking down at him. It was a creature formed entirely of sand. 1
A killer formation being!
Golden energy surged and spiraled from both of the Demonic Buddha’s palms.
Shwaaaaaak! Thud!
The energy blast struck the demon right in the chest.
And then—
Whirrrrrrrrrr.
Sand surged up from all around, immediately filling the hole.
Shwaaaaaaaaaak! Boom!
The second blast blew a hole in the demon’s face—but it was the same. The sand instantly sealed it shut.
Shhhhhh!
When the demon stretched out its hand, sand poured out in torrents.
But it wasn’t ordinary sand. Slicing winds infused with razor-sharp energy spiraled around it, vicious enough to tear flesh to shreds with a single touch.
MA Bul flung his body aside to dodge the attack.
Kwaaaang!
The ground where he had just been standing caved in with a loud crash, sending up a cloud of dust.
As the Demonic Buddha backed away, the massive demon slowly advanced, as if trying to crush him underfoot.
Quickly forming a seal with both hands, the Demonic Buddha shouted—
Demon-Palm Annihilation Seal!
In that instant!
A shadow loomed around the demon.
The creature turned its head to look behind.
And then, descending from above its head, was a colossal palm of a Buddha statue—far larger than the demon itself. From the palm radiated a golden brilliance. 2
KWAAAAAAAANG!
“Kueeeeeeeeeeek!”
The sand creature let out a scream sharp enough to tear through ears as it was blown away into a cloud that was carried away by the raging sandstorm.
As Ma Bul joined his palms and prayed, the golden palm faded into a radiant glow and disappeared into the swirling sandstorm.
All that remained on the ground where the massive demon had stood was a deep impression of a giant handprint.
Where the demon had vanished, a door appeared.
Just as the Demonic Buddha was about to approach it, he noticed something—the flower he had seen earlier was now lying on the ground.
He picked it up, stared at it for a moment, then tucked it into his waistband. 3
And with long, steady strides, he stepped through the next door.
* * *
When the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader summoned blue energy into both of his hands, the Illusion King hid behind So Baekta and spoke.
"Your opponent isn’t me."
Clang, clang.
Iron doors to the left and right of where Jeong Dae stood swung open, and from each, a master of illusion stepped into the space. 4
The Illusion King introduced them.
"These are the Blood Guardians, protectors of the Blood Cult."
The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader replied,
"Counterfeits, modeled after the real Blood Guardians. Don’t forget—the Blood Cult is already a thing of the past."
With those words, he extended a hand.
Whirrrrrrrrr!
With a gust of violent wind, one of the Blood Guardians was sucked straight into his grasp.
It was the same technique the Illusion King had used earlier to draw So Baekta in. The two used similar methods, but with distinct differences.
The man caught in his grip began to twist uncontrollably, unable to resist.
"Guuuuh..."
A sinister energy flowed from the Blood Guardian’s eyes—something far from human qi.
Crack crack crack crack.
His entire body twisted like wrung laundry and collapsed in death.
"How long has this place been in the making?"
Jeong Dae could tell—this painted-world space wasn’t something the Illusion King had created on his own.
It was a meticulously arranged domain prepared over centuries by those dreaming of reviving the Blood Cult, and it embodied the culmination of its illusion arts. 5
"It’s been here since the day I first joined this organization."
"So you cast aside all that long history... to chase your dream."
"You know it too, don’t you? That life can sometimes blow winds in directions we never expect."
The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader nodded, just about to reply, when the second Blood Guardian suddenly launched a surprise attack at him.
The attacker charged straight for the vital acupoint on his body.
Shiiik! Pooook!
With a piercing gust, something invisible tore through the attacker’s torso. The charging Blood Guardian collapsed instantly.
Jeong Dae mimed pulling something from the man's body. Though it wasn’t visible, the way he moved made it feel like it was a long spear.
"What do you think? Care for a match between your Formless Qi and mine?"
Both the Blood Cult and the Heavenly Wind Cult possessed techniques to shape invisible qi into weaponry.
Of course, the Illusion King refused. Had he been the type to accept such a proposal, he wouldn’t have taken So Baekta hostage in the first place.
"That wouldn’t be respectful to those waiting for you."
Clang, clang.
The iron doors to either side opened once more, and this time, two more Blood Guardians emerged from each.
"How many Blood Guardians were there again? I read about it a long time ago, but I can’t quite remember."
Just from the Illusion King’s calm smile, it was obvious—many more were ready. The reason they weren’t sent out all at once was to drain the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s internal energy over time.
"Isn’t it a waste to throw them away like this?"
"This organization was created for that very purpose."
The cold-hearted Illusion King had no reason to worry about the loss of the Blood Guardians.
And the Blood Guardians themselves charged forward without a trace of fear.
Shwaaaaak!
Invisible Formless Qi flew from the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s hand. 6
Puhk!
The Blood Guardian who had charged at the front was slammed into a wall. With no visible weapon piercing him, it looked as though he had died while suspended in mid-air.
The remaining three Blood Guardians let out a roar in unison and charged. The pressure of their palm strikes, filled with sinister energy, shot toward Jeong Dae.
The spot he had been standing in was destroyed in an instant—but he was no longer there.
The one coming from the front had his waist snapped backward. The one on the left took a palm strike to the chest. The last one had his throat pierced.
Clang.
The iron doors opened again, and this time, four more Blood Guardians emerged from each side. They showed no fear. These Blood Guardians, born of illusion, were nothing more than killing machines executing orders.
"I take back what I said earlier. That nonsense about the old Blood Cult being more bloodthirsty than now—I take it back. You're worse."
The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader’s mockery only drew a cold smirk from the Illusion King.
These eight new Blood Guardians fought differently than the ones before. They scattered in all directions, then simultaneously began chanting incantations.
From their fingertips, red lines shot out, forming a web-like structure all around.
It tightened and pressed in on the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, like an inescapable net.
"It’s dangerous, Master!"
So Baekta cried out in alarm, but there was no way out.
Slash.
Just as Jeong Dae was about to be torn into a dozen pieces—he was gone.
He reappeared behind one of the Blood Guardians who had attacked from the east.
Fwish—
Slice.
The blue energy in his hands became a long thread that cleanly severed the Blood Guardian’s neck.
Before the body could fall, the blue thread slashed through the air once more.
Thud!
The forehead of the Blood Guardian directly ahead was pierced, and he collapsed.
Fwhirrrrrrr—
Red threads and blue threads tangled in the air.
But the red threads couldn’t keep up. The blue threads wove their way through the complex web with ease.
Each time the blue thread tightened, a Blood Guardian's body was severed. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's movements, utilizing threads of qi, were the very pinnacle of illusion-based martial arts.
The Illusion King remained composed, unshaken even as the Blood Guardians fell one by one. He had expected this level of resistance. More than anyone, he understood just how much internal energy each of the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's techniques consumed. No matter how deep his reservoir of qi, it was impossible to take on all of the Blood Guardians.
The iron doors opened once again, and this time, eight emerged from each side.
* * *
Flap, flap.
The moment a blue butterfly landed on a Blood Guardian's shoulder—
Srrrk—
The Blood Guardian collapsed and died without a sound.
With a soft pop, the butterfly that had defeated the final Blood Guardian vanished into thin air.
This marked the fall of the last of the thirty-two Blood Guardians who had emerged from both sides.
The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader remained as poised and serene as ever, hands clasped behind his back.
But So Baekta could hear it—the sound of his master’s breathing, which had gone unheard until now. His master was tired.
Jeong Dae was fighting an arduous battle. The Blood Guardians were deadly, but the real threat was the Illusion King. Throughout the battle, he had launched surprise attacks and exerted pressure, constantly disrupting his master. Every time his master tried to unleash a powerful illusion to sweep them all away, the Illusion King intervened.
...Master.
If not for himself, his master would’ve found a way to kill the Illusion King first.
1 : The Sandman from Spider Man !!! He started to take roles in other media than movies. It’s hard to find a good job when you’re made of sand, and he needs money in case his daughter's illness relapses.
2 : Lol it’s Wyzen now XDXDXD (Azura’s Wrath) I strongly suggest reading that part with the (iconic) Asura Unleashed track ^^ And the japanese version is clearly the superior one.
3 : I see 4 possibilities. 1, just a flower *Metal Gear ensues* ; 2, an important Chekhov gun/flower for later ; 3, one of the Poison King requests ; 4, just to give a reason for Jeong Dae to rant ^^
4 : The infamous ‘minion summon’ that every bad guy possesses by default !!!
5 : If he overrides its control, it might become a good emergency shelter for the future Cult Leaders.
6 : Consumption wise, making invisible threads and let the Blood Guardians turn themselves into sashimi by running into them headfirst is a better expense lol ^^
7 : Such silent trust and comprehension is proof of their strong link. It might have been muddled and twisted by Hwa Wang, but it’s still there.
8 : I want to say it’s cheating, but it’s not. Staking every advantages for you and using every means against your opponent is just common sense. So let’s say if a villain uses it, it’s cowardly, and if it’s a hero, it’s clever !!! Hypocritical, yes, but winners write history.
9 : Left door from his perspective, right door for Jeong Dae.
10 : That’s the quickest way to summon you after all XDXDXD
