Absolute Regression - Chapter 789

Zziiiiiiiik.

The barrier tore apart with a sharp sound.

The two figures didn’t miss the moment and hurled themselves into the breach.

Whoooosh.

As soon as the two entered, the ripped barrier instantly reconnected. The power maintaining it was no ordinary force.

The Drunken Demon looked at the Demonic Buddha in admiration.

“That was truly a dazzling move.”

It was a clever response, and in truth, dazzling to the eyes as well.

Had it been the old him, he would’ve taken offense and grumbled, “Are you mocking me for glowing?”—reacting with a crooked attitude.

But the Demonic Buddha of now only showed a faint smile. If the situation hadn’t been urgent, he might’ve even boasted a little. The Young Cult Leader calls me ‘the little giant,’ you know.

With that, the two shot toward the Ship of Wealth and Honor.

From the ship, a powerful wave of darkness was emanating.

“This isn’t ordinary smoke.”

The Drunken Demon didn’t know, but the Demonic Buddha recognized what the dark mist was guarding.

“This ship is enveloped in the Greed Annihilation Art.”

The Demonic Buddha was also well-versed in the martial arts of the Dark Palace.

He extended a hand toward the wavering mist on the ship’s surface.

Fwaaaaash.

The smoke gently pushed back against his hand, yet he could feel the immense force within it.

“I’ve never encountered such potent dark demonic energy in my life.”

“It seems the Dark Palace Master himself unleashed this technique.”

At the Drunken Demon’s words, the Demonic Buddha nodded.

Their expressions turned grim. That meant Geom Mugeuk, who was on board, might be in danger. It was actually more worrisome knowing he wasn’t alone.

“We must find a way in, no matter what.”

Little brother, hang in there. This hyung will find a way in, no matter what.

Just as the two were examining the ship—

A presence stirred behind them, and the Drunken Demon turned around.

For a brief moment, he flinched.

A single droplet of water hovered in the air.

The moment he sensed something unusual—

Shwaaaaak.

The droplet shot forward like a secret weapon had been launched.

The Drunken Demon twisted his body in midair, dodging it.

Fwoom!

The droplet brushed right past his face.

It wasn’t just water. Had it hit, it would’ve torn through flesh and shattered bone—a devastating droplet.

The Demonic Buddha, too, stared ahead with a hardened expression.

A droplet hovered before him as well—this time, two.

Fwoom! Fwip!

Two streams of droplets now flew toward the Demonic Buddha. He raised his hand to intercept them.

Smack! Crack!

The droplets burst as they collided with the energy unleashed from his palm. Their force was anything but ordinary.

The Drunken Demon and the Demonic Buddha exchanged glances.

And just like that, as if those two attacks had only been tests—

Slaaaash.

Dozens of water droplets leapt into the air from the calm surface.

Just as the eyes of the two Demon Supremes gleamed coldly—

Pupupupupupupung!

The droplets shot through the air toward the Drunken Demon and the Demonic Buddha.

At the same time, the Demonic Buddha’s prayer beads flew through the sky.

Swishswishswishswishswishswishswishswish!

Thwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwack!

The flying beads struck the droplets midair, bursting them all one by one.

Silence returned, as if nothing had happened.

“There’s someone here using water arts.”

At the Demonic Buddha’s words, the Drunken Demon shouted drunkenly,

“You bloated water ghost, stop fooling around and come out already!”

Then, from the distant water, an old man emerged.

Slaaaash.

Upright and unshaken, the old man rose straight from beneath the surface. On his robe was an image of crashing waves, and as if the water were solid ground, he stood atop it. It wasn’t a martial arts trick—he truly stood on the water.

The Demonic Buddha immediately recognized him.

There was only one old man who could wear such a robe and appear this way.

“That’s the Sea God of the Azure Depths.”

The Sea God of the Azure Depths was a figure even the Drunken Demon had heard of—an absolute master of water arts once known by the name Water King. A supreme martial artist who once claimed that in any battle atop water, he was without equal under the heavens.

Rumors had swirled ever since he vanished from the martial world.

Some said he had died battling another top master, others claimed he drowned while recklessly training in water arts. Still others believed he had secluded himself alone on an island in the middle of the sea.

But for some unknown reason, he had been recruited by the Dark Palace.

“That stinking old sea monster is still alive!”

At the Demonic Buddha’s mockery, the Sea God of the Azure Depths gave a cold laugh.

“I’ve heard of you too—some pathetic clown playing the role of a Demon Supreme.”

The Demonic Buddha’s face hardened. Had they met on land, this fool wouldn’t even dare look him in the eye.

But now, the old man had every reason to boast. They were surrounded by nothing but water, and with a barrier enclosing the space, there was nowhere to run.

The Drunken Demon turned to the Demonic Buddha and said,

“I’ll take this one. You find a way into that ship.”

Their gatekeeper was none other than the Sea God of the Azure Depths.

Which meant that someone even stronger was inside, targeting the Young Cult Leader.

They had to get in as quickly as possible.

“No, why are you giving that to me? I’ll fight, you find the way.”

“That won’t do.”

“Why not?”

“You can’t entrust a thinking job to a drunkard.”

Though the Drunken Demon’s voice was slurred, his gaze was clear. The Demonic Buddha immediately understood the meaning behind it.

In terms of martial art affinity, the Demonic Buddha understood dark demonic arts far better. That’s why he had immediately recognized the Greed Annihilation Art earlier.

‘Got it. I’ll find a way in as fast as I can.’

Nodding, the Demonic Buddha turned to the Sea God of the Azure Depths and said,

“Don’t die before I find a way. I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”

Leaving that declaration behind, the Demonic Buddha launched himself away.

He leapt toward the opposite direction of the Ship of Wealth and Honor, as if he didn’t care at all about the fight happening here.

The black mist hadn’t been rising for long.

If he moved quickly, he might find a spot where the mist hadn’t yet fully formed.

Left alone, the Drunken Demon approached the Sea God of the Azure Depths with a drunken grin in his eyes.

“Are we the only clowns here? A wrinkly old man doing chores for the Dark Palace at your age—you’re a clown too. Fine then, let’s have a clown show!”

Shwaaaaak!

The Drunken Demon charged at the Sea God.

Thoom!

But something blocked his path again.

Up close, he could see it now—a wall of water stood before the Sea God.

Though it was clearly made of water, he couldn’t penetrate it.

“Again?”

Shwaaaaak.

Paaang.

He struck out, but couldn’t break through the watery barrier.

“How do you people even get into fights when you’re such cowards?”

Through the rippling water, the Sea God’s distorted face could be seen grinning.

The Drunken Demon plunged into the water with a splash.

But even below, another barrier blocked him.

He tried leaping over it with lightness technique, but there was a ceiling as well.

This water-formed protective wall was the Sea God’s secret martial art.

Secret Martial Art of the Sea God of the Azure Depths: Third Form – Sea-Filling Water Wall.

The Drunken Demon knocked against the water wall like a drunkard banging on a tavern door.

Thunk. Thunk.

“It's not even two-on-one. Just one-on-one. We’re standing on water—that’s your turf. And you’re still acting like a coward? I’m even floating here using my internal energy, which means I’m burning through it! Just come out! There’s plenty of water here too!”

Despite the Drunken Demon’s taunting, the Sea God didn’t flinch.

“And a demon dares speak of cowardice? How shameless.”

The Sea God began drawing up his internal energy.

“Today, you lot will become fish food in Dongting Lake.”

The Sea God began his full-scale assault.

Plop. Plop. Plop. Plop-plop.

Dozens of circular ripples appeared across the water around him. Like raindrops falling onto a pond, round ripples began to form across the surface.

Secret Martial Art of the Sea God of the Azure Depths: Fourth Form – Raging Stream Shockwave.

The ripples began to explode.

It was an immense burst of force. Pillars of water erupted from all directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Drunken Demon narrowly slipped between the eruptions, dodging the blasts by a hair’s breadth.

“Aaack! I’m gonna die!”

He leapt here and there, his movements looking more like drunken dancing than martial arts.

Boom! KWA-BOOM!

Just when it seemed like he’d been caught in the explosion, the Drunken Demon flailed out from behind it, swinging his limbs as he emerged. He had clearly been caught in the blast, yet somehow managed to launch his body in another direction.

At a glance, he looked like a drunk man being chased by a dog—stumbling, flailing, darting every which way. His gestures were those of a drunkard about to collapse at any moment.

But his movement technique was nothing short of extraordinary. Each motion contained the very essence of divine footwork.

In that very moment, the Drunken Demon was testing out the martial insight he had been contemplating throughout his journey while drinking.

Once the Raging Stream Shockwave had fully detonated, the Drunken Demon shouted,

“Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how many fish you just killed?!”

He acted as if he truly were a mad drunk.

‘He dodged that?’

It was possible to dodge. But no one had expected it to be evaded in such an absurd manner. He looked so drunkenly out of control that it was impossible to tell if it was skill or sheer luck.

The Sea God of the Azure Depths launched his next attack.

Secret Martial Art of the Sea God of the Azure Depths: Fifth Form – Ten Thousand Currents Revolving Ring.

The waters beneath the Drunken Demon began to stir.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!

A massive whirlpool erupted under his feet.

“What the hell is this now?”

As he leapt into the air, the whirlpool twisted upward like a towering water pillar.

Whirrrrrrr!

Like a living creature, the whirlpool chased him, intent on devouring him.

“It’s a snake! A water snake!”

The Drunken Demon hurled internal force down at it from midair.

Puhhh-ong!

The whirlpool split apart like it had been struck, but the water immediately converged again, forming an even larger vortex.

As he fled, the Drunken Demon slammed into the Sea-Filling Water Wall set up by the Sea God and bounced forward—only to be swallowed by the oncoming whirlpool.

Inside the vicious water vortex, powerful enough to shred flesh and bone, the Drunken Demon could be seen spiraling helplessly. His limp body resembled that of a doll.

“Got him!”

No one could survive once caught in the Ten Thousand Currents Revolving Ring.

But because of who the opponent was, the Sea God accelerated the whirlpool even further.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

With such dizzying speed, the Drunken Demon could no longer be seen. Soon, he would be torn to pieces, not even a corpse remaining.

“Well, that’s one taken care of.”

The Sea God of the Azure Depths called out toward the Demonic Buddha.

“Hey, you stunted little piss pot! It’s your turn now!”

At that moment, the Demonic Buddha shot into the air from the opposite side of the Ship of Wealth and Honor.

He glanced once at the frenzied whirlpool, then vanished from sight again.

The Sea God scoffed.

“Where are you going, you stunted little piss pot! Hiding won’t save you—there’s nowhere to run!”

But then—

The madly spinning whirlpool began to slow.

The Sea God flinched in surprise. He hadn’t slowed it down himself… yet the speed was dropping.

At last, when the whirlpool came to a complete stop, the Sea God of the Azure Depths widened his eyes.

Splash.

The Drunken Demon landed on the water, completely unscathed.

“Damn, that made me dizzy.”

He staggered.

“How...? How is that possible?!”

The Sea God couldn’t hide his shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

“You broke free of the Ten Thousand Currents Revolving Ring with your bare body?”

Faced with the disbelief in the man’s eyes, the Drunken Demon took another swig from the liquor gourd at his waist.

“This body’s spent a lifetime reeling through drunkenness. And no matter how dizzying that whirlpool was, it’s nothing compared to the mess that is my life.”

Then, with drunken eyes, the Drunken Demon smirked.

“How about a drink? I’ll tell you all about it.”

He staggered closer to him.

But the Sea God didn’t notice—the Drunken Demon’s footwork had changed. He was now walking across the water as if it were solid ground, just as the Sea God had. Somewhere in the whirlpool, he had grasped an epiphany.

“You mad drunk bastard!”

Something about his eyes—still hazy with drink—sent a chill down the Sea God’s spine. This was an opponent who had survived something no one should ever return from.

The Sea God unleashed a powerful technique.

Secret Martial Art of the Sea God of the Azure Depths: Sixth Form – Boiling Extremity of Water and Fire.

Bubububububu.

The surrounding water suddenly began to boil furiously.

“Die half-cooked!”

Slaaaash!

The water, now molten like lava, surged up in waves to engulf the Drunken Demon. It was a heat that even Protective Energy couldn’t block. This was a move that had claimed the lives of many masters.

Fwoooosh!

The scalding water poured over him, but the Drunken Demon didn’t dodge.

“Gaaaaah! It’s hot!”

Screaming in pain, he trudged forward—step by step—until he reached the Sea-Filling Water Wall.

What protected him wasn’t Protective Energy, but the Liquor Qi billowing around his body.

Chiiiiiiik.

The heat burned through the Liquor Qi, hissing audibly.

Steam rose off the Drunken Demon’s entire body, his face bright red, and yet he reached out and began tearing into the Sea-Filling Water Wall—with his bare hands.

Zzzziiiiiiik.

And, to everyone’s astonishment—it tore.

“When we’re drunk, we don’t feel pain! We don’t see a damn thing either!”

As the Drunken Demon thrust his flushed face through the rip in the wall, the bloodshot eyes glaring through the gap sent chills down the Sea God’s spine. He had fought countless enemies in his life, but never one like this.

If his opponent had used a secret martial art to block his technique, he wouldn’t have been so shaken. But this man had simply endured it—bare-bodied.

Even after being hit head-on by his martial art, he hadn’t faltered. It was as humiliating as it was terrifying.

‘A Demon Supreme is this strong...?’

This was not the Demon Supreme he had heard about.

The Sea God swiftly flung himself to the opposite side, escaping out of the Sea-Filling Water Wall.

The Drunken Demon staggered after him, slurring with a crooked tongue.

“Thanks to you, I reached enlightenment. Now c’mon—take a drink from me and fire up that whirlpool again!”

“You crazy bastard!”

Startled by the sheer intensity, the Sea God of the Azure Depths stepped back.

Thunk.

He bumped into something behind him.

Startled, he turned to look—only to find the Demonic Buddha standing there, his body radiating a soft, golden light.

The Demonic Buddha looked at him and spoke coldly.

“That stunted little piss pot is right here.”

In his hand, the seal of binding was already formed.

“Damn it...”

He didn’t even have time to curse properly.

Crack!

Like a lightning bolt, golden energy came crashing down onto the Sea God’s head.

His skull shattered, and he dropped dead on the spot.

The Drunken Demon looked down at the corpse and muttered,

“I get it. You turn around, and you forget. Turn again, and you forget again. You forget when you’re old, you forget when you’re drunk.”

The Demonic Buddha turned to him and said,

“Let’s go. I found a way in.”

“You see? I’m at least a hundred times more useful than some drunkard!”

And just then—

A loud explosion rang out from the distant lakeshore. From where the Tenebrous Ghosts Corps' subordinates were stationed, the clashing of weapons echoed. Enemies were swarming in from all directions like a hive of hornets.

“Now I see it. They laid the net and waited from the start—to devour us.”

As the Drunken Demon spoke, the Demonic Buddha took the liquor bottle from his hand and drank deeply.

Seeing that, the Drunken Demon chuckled.

“These bastards are about to bring out the old rage in our Demonic Buddha.”

The Demonic Buddha hurled himself forward.

The Drunken Demon followed right behind him, both of them launching themselves toward the rear of the Ship of Wealth and Honor.

They didn’t worry about the outside world.

For while this place shone gold, that place would be filled with pure white laughter.