Absolute Regression Chapter 655

Episode 655: Today is not the day of the Demonic Cult’s leader

The person who arrived at Cheongunrim was Cheon-ae Geosa.
He walked through the misty bamboo forest. The person waiting in the pavilion in the distance was Geommu-geuk.

Geommu-geuk silently watched Cheon-ae-geosa walk toward him while leaning against the railing. Then, when his eyes met Cheon-ae-geosa’s, he waved happily.

The sword dance did not postpone its fight with him.

‘I’m killing you today!’

Of all the enemies I’ve ever met, there was no easy one, but this Cheon-ae Geosa was just as difficult of an enemy as any.
I couldn’t know the potential of his true form, and I didn’t know who would come out to help him.

Cheongunrim.

The stage that Geommu-geuk had decided on was right here.
It was the favorite place of the martial arts leader Jin Pae-cheon, so he thought it would be the most suitable stage for the final battle with Cheon-ae Geosa.

There was another practical reason for this.
The fog that flows through Cheongunrim all year round.
Today, a special moment unfolded in this fog.

Cloud and fog hidden formation.

Originally, the Unmu Eunhyeongjin was a formation for hiding, where people could hide in the rising fog. Once the formation was activated, even the most skilled people would not be able to find the people hiding in it unless they knew the destruction method.

It was also known as one of the highest-level formations that the Murim Alliance possessed, as even formation experts could not tell whether it was real fog or a formation unfolding when it was unfolded in the fog.

Right now, in the misty, misty formations that spread out, there was Jinpaecheon. Thanks to this location and formation, it was possible to create this stage without revealing the existence of the space-time transfer technique.

This stage was the most important stage that would determine everyone’s fate, and Jinpaecheon was the most important audience.

Cheon-ae Geosa came up to the pavilion. After greeting him, Geom-mu-geuk was amazed at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.

“I can see why the Lord loves this place. The fog flowing through the bamboo is fantastic.”

Cheon-ae-geosa silently looked at Geommu-geuk, who was looking outside. He was standing with his back turned, but there was no room to find any openings.

Cheon-ae-geosa raised his hand and touched the air. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. The energy that Geommu-geuk had spread out like a spider web.
Even though he had his back turned, the So-gyo-ju was in complete control of himself and this space. And he didn’t bother to hide that fact.

The hot heat that had passed through Cheon-ae Geosa’s eyes disappeared the moment Geom-mu-geuk turned around.

“Come, my lord!”

Cheon-ae Geosa took a few steps forward and stood next to Geommu Geuk, looking out at the bamboo forest.

“The fog is thick today.”

It sounded like he had been here often, so Geommugeuk asked him.

“Have you been here before?”
“I come here sometimes too. It’s my friend’s favorite place.”

The two of them seemed to have forgotten all the tension from their first meeting and treated each other calmly.

“Why don’t you ask? Why is the leader not here and you are?”

Today, this was the place where Jin Pae-cheon had asked Cheon Ae-geosa to meet.
Cheon Ae-geosa only made a face that said, ‘It’s obvious even without asking,’ and didn’t say anything.

“I asked the lord to let me see you. Last time, the lord said so firmly that there would be no next time.”

Cheon-ae Geosa turned his gaze towards Geommu Geuk.

“You didn’t call me to kill me?”

It was as if he had known this would happen but had come anyway, with a look in his eyes and a tone of voice.

“If that were the case, would you have come? Isn’t it because you judged it not to be so that you came?”

Geommu-geuk could tell from Cheon-ae-geosa’s reaction that he had anticipated this situation that he was waiting for. If so, then the invitation was from this side, but this stage was also his stage.

His and his own shared stage.

‘What have you prepared for this stage?’

Who will be able to leave this stage alive will be determined by whose preparation is more thorough.

“Even if you kill me, you must come.”
“You’re coming even if you’re dying? Why?”

Then Cheon-ae Geosa answered calmly.

“Because my friend called.”

His eyes were somehow empty and lonely.

If Geommu-geuk hadn’t seen his true form in the space-time teleportation technique, he would have been confused even at this moment. That’s how sincere he was in his words.

“I would die if that guy told me to.”

It would be heartbreaking for Jin Pae-cheon to hear these words. In fact, he must be watching this scene with a complicated heart even now.

“You are amazing. I have no intention of dying obediently if Ha-gun tries to kill me.”

The eyes of the great monk shone coldly.

“You weren’t trying to be friendly, you were trying to use Jin Dae-ju.”

He mentioned the rumors as if someone was listening.

“When I heard the rumor that the leader of the Demonic Cult was approaching the Demon Extermination Lord and becoming friendly with him, I already knew your intentions. Your intentions to use natural law to deceive the True Leader.”

Geommugeuk accepted the words leisurely.

“That is too disrespectful of your friend. The leader is not the type of person to fall for a trick so easily.”
“That is why he tried to use his blood relatives.”

Cheon-ae Geosa continued to dig into this part.

“I understand that you approached Ha Ryeong in addition to the Demon King. Are you still going to say that you have no ulterior motives? What exactly is your purpose?”

If you just listen to these words, you’ll look like a total bad guy. That’s why this fight was so tricky and difficult. Because he was someone who thoroughly took advantage of even these parts.

“As you know, my purpose is to reveal the identity of our master.”
“How funny. The leader of the Demonic Cult came to Infinite and revealed my identity as a person who has lived as a sect member for decades.
Even a passing dog would laugh.” “Since no dog would pass by, I will laugh at least.”

The sword dance smiled brightly. A blade was hidden in that leisure.

“There are only two of us, so is there a need to hide your identity like this?”
“I repeat, I have no identity to hide.”

The sword dance asked him what he was most curious about.

“Why don’t you ask? Why did I call you the Incarnation of Vengeance?”

It was obvious that he would react to those words, but he showed no interest at all.

“Revenge? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The swordsman sat on the railing and spoke to himself as if he was reasoning.

“You are the one whose composure was broken by those words. Why do you hide your identity like this even though we are alone?”

The sword dance already knew the answer.

“You know, sir. What kind of place this is.”

At that moment, he didn’t miss the sharp light in Cheon-ae-geosa’s eyes.
He knew that there was an audience on this stage. That audience was Jin-pae-cheon.
That’s why he only chose stories that would shake the heart of the leader.

“You tried to use your blood relationship to deceive that person with all kinds of words, but it didn’t work on me. I will protect my friend to the end.”

Geommu-geuk could tell. Words couldn’t move him. Especially if he knew that Jinpaecheon was watching.

Now was the moment to throw in another trick instead of words.
The eyes of the swordsman sank coldly, revealing a different atmosphere than before.

“It doesn’t matter. I can reveal your identity.”

Even the great master of heaven reacted to those words. His eyes toward Geommu-geuk contained these emotions. You? How?

“There was a quickest and most surefire way, but I couldn’t use it for one reason or another.”

The reason was related to Jinpaecheon.

“I needed the Lord’s permission to use that method.”
“What permission?”

The gaze of the swordsman grew cold.

“Permission to kill you.”

The moment the words ended, a prayer emitted from Geommugeuk’s body.

The next moment, Cheon-ae-geosa realized that he was standing in the blue sky.
Of course, it was not the sky, but the sea. The sky was so clear that it was reflected in the sky, so it felt like he was standing in the sky.

The prayer was different than before.
The sea was clearer. And the endless abyss beneath my feet was deeper and darker.

with a plop.

The great man of heaven fell into the sea.
An invisible force caught him and dragged him deep into the sea.
He was suffocated. It was too powerful to be the prayer of a single person.

Cheon-ae-geosa also let out his own prayer.
His prayer began to push out Geom-mu-geuk’s prayer.
The dark abyss surrounding him became brightly lit.

Around him, he could see the snow fluttering on the pure white snowfield.
Then, the surroundings became dark again.
He was being dragged back into the abyssal sea under the pressure of the Black Swordsman’s prayer.

Cheon-ae-geosa raised his internal energy and uttered his prayer more powerfully. The surroundings became bright again, and then dark again.

Darkness and light alternated, as if a light were turning on and off.

As the sun rose, the snowstorm grew fiercer and fiercer. The flower that had bloomed alone there was in even greater danger.

From darkness to light, back to darkness, and back to light.
That was it.

Shhhh!

A single sword suddenly flies in front of Cheon-ae Geosa’s eyes.

Crunch.

Cheon-ae-geosa broke the railing of the pavilion and flew backwards to dodge the sword. It was a surprise attack by Geommu-geuk, who was engaged in a prayer fight.

The swordsman standing at the end of the pavilion looked down with a cold gaze while holding a sword.

“If you do not reveal your true prayer, you will die by my hand.”

Despite the warning from Geommu-geuk, Cheon-ae Geosa was not afraid. Instead, he smiled.

“Will you be able to clean up the mess?”
“When did the demonic cult guys you know commit crimes while worrying about the aftermath?”

Shhhhh.

Geommu-geuk flew out of the pavilion and flew towards Cheon-ae-geosa.
Cheon-ae-geosa did not dodge but drew his sword and confronted him.

Champ champ champ champ champ!

The blades clashed against each other, and sparks and sounds of clashing erupted one after another.
A dozen or so attacks and defenses passed in an instant.

Shhh!

The last attack that flew in irregularly was barely avoided by Cheon-ae-geosa.
If he had not been able to avoid it, it would have resulted in his neck being cut off. The murderous intent of the sword dance contained in the sword was real.

“I told you before. It’s not a bad idea to kill people like you and then clean up the mess afterwards.”

The swordsmanship of Geommu-geuk was neither the nine-flower magic nor the flying swordsmanship. It was simply a stabbing and cutting attack, but the martial arts of Geommu-geuk were contained in those simple swordsmanship.
Geommu-geuk’s attacks, free from the herbivore style, were incredibly fast and fierce. The strength that freedom gave was being demonstrated without fail at this moment.

Pfft!

Blood spurted from Cheon-ae-geosa’s arm. He was as famous as the leader, but it was not because he was as strong as the leader that he was famous. He was famous because he was Jin-pae-cheon’s friend and also because he was a great swordsman.

He couldn’t handle the momentum of the sword dance that was pushing forward so fiercely that he felt like he was going to kill them.
Even when he was in danger, he didn’t reveal his true form.
He was certain of one thing.

‘You can never kill me!’

As expected, Cheon-ae Geosa knew exactly what kind of place this was today.

‘I have to show Jinpaecheon my true identity. The more you try to kill me, a master of the Jeongpa sect, the more suspicious he will become.’

With every drop of blood shed, the suspicion towards the little sect leader would grow.
That was what Cheon-ae Geosa was certain of.

And the certainty was that he was also performing a sword dance.

‘You must show your true self.’

Because I absolutely do not want to die in vain here. How could I, after enduring it for the past several decades, die in vain like this?

Shhhh!

The sword of the sword dance flew towards his neck.

The great monk did not avoid it.

‘Eventually, it will stop.’

Because I will never kill myself.

It was as if two carriages were rushing towards each other.
Two carriages that were galloping without stopping, confident that the other would definitely pull the reins.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo.

And at the last moment, one of the two men pulled the reins and changed direction.

Kaaaaang!

An ear-piercing cracking sound erupted.
The sword dance was thrown back and retreated.
At the last moment, Cheon-ae-geosa swung his sword and counterattacked. And this counterattack was incomparably faster and more powerful than anything he had ever shown before.

Geommu-geuk was really crazy and didn’t retrieve his sword until the last moment. It wasn’t because he really wanted to kill her, but because he believed that she would definitely avoid it.

No matter how strong the will of the great master is, there will be something that will betray him.

It was none other than the ‘survival instinct’.

I believed that if it was a survival instinct of such a strong master, he would definitely try to survive even if it meant ignoring his will.
Just like how no matter how much Geommugeuk tried to die, Cheonmahosingong would not just let it go.

Another person was standing in the place where Cheon-ae-geosa had stood.
He was the same person, but he was spewing out completely different prayers. He was Hwa-ryul-cheong. When he fully revealed himself, his presence was incomparable to before.

He was standing in the middle of a battlefield.
Instead of the snow blowing, the ashes of burnt corpses were flying around him.
It was different from the prayer I had seen at Musojang that day.
If the prayer back then was a war that had taken place in one area, the prayer I saw now was a war that had taken place throughout the Central Plains.

Blood flowed like a river and corpses piled up like mountains.

Among them, Hwa-Yul-Cheong stood with eyes as hot as lava.

“You won’t step forward even though they’re trying to kill me?”

The person Hwa-Yul-Cheong was talking about was not Geommu-Geuk. He spoke to the fog.

Then someone spoke through the fog.

“I decided to trust that guy over you.”

The main character of the voice was, of course, Jin Pae-cheon.

Was it because he had expected it from the beginning? Even though Jinpaecheon appeared, Hwaryulcheong didn’t look afraid at all.

“You believe in the leader of a demonic cult, not a friend you’ve known for decades?”

His words were not filled with regret or sorrow, but with mockery and anger. After all, Jinpaecheon had seen his true self.

Jinpaecheon’s voice gradually came closer.

“That guy, today he’s not the leader of the Demonic Cult.”

Soon after, Jinpaecheon was fully revealed through the fog.

“Today is my grandson’s friend.”