Most people, no matter how sensational an event is, will only treat it as a spectacle if it doesn't happen near them or involve them. Only when it truly happens close to home, when someone they know contracts a Ghost Face Sores, or when a family member is kidnapped, do they become enraged and curse the traffickers daily. That's when true sensation arises, along with discussions online and offline over tea and meals.
Ding Yun's curse was gradually expanding its reach over time, achieving precisely this effect. Before long, with the combined efforts of hundreds of millions of netizens, her curse had successfully spread nationwide and was still expanding outwards. Furthermore, no city could claim to be absolutely free of human traffickers or those with vested interests in them. Thus, as Ding Yun's curse radiated across the country, it was natural for human traffickers to appear in greater or lesser numbers, suddenly afflicted with numerous Ghost Face Sores all over their bodies, in various locations across the nation. Adding to this, some of them were local celebrities or acquaintances, making it hard *not* to cause a sensation.
Initially, only those who were online knew about this news and were discussing it. But as patients with Ghost Face Sores began appearing locally, everyone shared it on their social media and discussed it in family chat groups. The relevant news and heat quickly transitioned from online to offline, penetrating all corners of the country. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it reached the countryside and entered every household.
It could be said that from dinner onwards, almost every household across the country was discussing this topic. Whether eating at home or out, as long as they weren't those who strictly observed "no talking while eating," they would be chatting over their meals. And any conversation would inevitably lead to this topic.
...
Xu Hui Street, Annan Residential Area, Ding Yun's parents' home.
During their family dinner, they naturally brought up the topic. They cursed the human traffickers, deeming them deserving of death and their fates inadequate, while also marveling at whether the curse was real and how miraculous it was. Ding Yun didn't say much on the matter, merely agreeing with her parents.
After dinner and helping with the dishes, she returned to her room. Instead of resting, she opened her computer and began to sense the curse she had imprinted into the network: "How come there are dozens of escaped fish. No, not escaped fish, it's that the curse's power isn't strong enough to curse them. I want to see what these dozens of fellows are using to resist the curse."
Through the curse, Ding Yun easily detected the causal networks connected to it, and dozens of them had not bound successfully; the other party had been resisting all along. And they had succeeded. Upon discovering this, she quickly connected to the causal network within the curse using her spiritual power and located the whereabouts of those escaped individuals. She even managed to sense some of their auras.
"Cultivators. It seems I wasn't wrong. This world indeed has a cultivation realm relatively separate from the mortal realm. But why are these cultivators involved with human traffickers? Why aren't they practicing Qi and cultivating in their own blessed lands, but instead come out to traffic people? Forget it, it doesn't matter. They are definitely wrong for trafficking people, so I'll strengthen the curse."
The causal lines and auras of cultivators were distinctly different from those of ordinary people, so Ding Yun identified their identities with a single sensing. Although she didn't quite understand why these cultivators were involved in human trafficking at this moment, she couldn't delve deeper to investigate. Therefore, with barely any hesitation, she used her spiritual power to further strengthen the curse and directed all its power towards those dozens of causal lines that hadn't been cursed properly.
In other words, she temporarily mobilized the full power of the curse to attack those dozens of uncourted cultivators. Then, one by one, these cultivators were broken through, their causal lines successfully bound. The curse took hold, and their bodies began to rot.
Among them, Ancestor Chixue of the Mingyu Blessed Land, deep within the Youdu Mountain Range, suffered the most. Ancestor Chixue had sensed a curse upon him hours ago, but due to its weak power, he didn't pay it much mind. Moreover, he was at a critical juncture in his cultivation, so he didn't even bother to retaliate, merely isolating the curse temporarily while he focused on absorbing blood essence to break through.
Blood essence, as it were, is the essence of human blood. The entire blood of a mortal could only be refined into a single drop. Currently, he was sitting in a blood pool formed from pure blood essence. Some of this was refined from living people, but most was bought from hospitals. Unfortunately, ordinary mortals had become powerful now, possessing terrifying weapons, and coupled with stable national order, it was no longer possible to abduct thousands or tens of thousands of people for cultivation as it was decades ago.
However, the blood bought from hospitals was ultimately inferior, lacking vitality and life force. To ensure his cultivation process went smoothly, he had to order his subordinates to buy people from human traffickers with mortal currency for refining blood essence. Not to mention those he killed decades ago, just in the past few years alone, the number of people he refined into blood essence was no less than three hundred, both men and women, for the convenience of yin and yang balance.
When Ding Yun officially unleashed the curse's power, it coincided with his critical cultivation stage. As a massive force of curse appeared, his method of isolating the earlier curse was easily shattered. His defensive measures were also utterly incapable of blocking the curse's invasion. Before long, Ancestor Chixue's entire body, from his physical form to his magical power, and even his soul, was infected by the curse. As countless Ghost Face Sores appeared on his body, his internal magical power became uncontrollable, wreaking havoc and tormenting him from within. His soul, meanwhile, was filled with resentment and malevolent energy. With the help of the curse, this resentment and malevolent energy transformed into the people he had harmed, each ferociously pouncing and gnawing at his soul.
Ordinary mortals afflicted by the curse only suffered physically. Cultivators like him, however, experienced a comprehensive torment involving their bodies, magical power, and souls—a three-in-one affliction. This was his experience even while hidden in his blessed land. Once he left it, he would be engulfed by karmic fire, burning away his sins, ultimately leading to the annihilation of his soul and eternal damnation.
Within moments, the demonic Ancestor Chixue, who had been arrogant for over a hundred years, was inside his secluded cave dwelling, tormented by the curse into a formless state. He was completely paralyzed, unable to speak, his divine sense immobilized, and thus unable to call for help. Most crucially, he had already achieved abstinence from grains, leaving him to endure the torment and unable to die.
The other cultivators were in similar predicaments, with variations depending on whether they were in seclusion or had other cultivators nearby. Some attempted to help dispel the curse, while others sought help from elders or the sect leader. In any case, this curse event eventually drew the cultivation world into its midst.