Within the Jade Bloom Grotto-Heaven, in the Qilian Mountains
Elder Zhang Dongyu and Zhu Siyu of the outer sect were presiding over the annual entrance ceremony. The curse power, amplified by Ding Yun, struck again, shattering all defenses without any room for resistance.
It directly entered their bodies and took effect.
In an instant, the two who had been proudly proclaiming sect rules on stage were now howling in agony like stray dogs, covered in pustules.
This terrified the newly initiated disciples into screams.
Some inner sect disciples were also at a loss.
They could only quickly report upwards.
Following this, both new and outer sect disciples were advised to leave. The two outer sect elders, still writhing in pain, were lifted by the spiritual energy of the inner sect disciples and escorted to the Sect Master's Hall.
Even as outer sect elders, they still held the title of Elder, and their disciples could not interfere.
Moreover, they couldn't discern the nature of the situation.
It was up to the Sect Master and the other elders.
Before long, the Sect Master, who was not in seclusion, along with several inner sect elders, arrived in a hurry and immediately stepped forward to examine the condition of the two outer sect elders.
They wanted to understand who had ambushed them.
And how to treat them.
"It's curse power, and it's curse power applied through the threads of karma. But ancient witchcraft and curses were eradicated a thousand or eight hundred years ago. How have they reappeared now..."
"No, curses applied through karma require specific conditions. These conditions can be either for good deeds or for accumulated sins. The pustules on their bodies only appear when the curse is applied with the karmic thread of accumulated sins. So, what sins have these two committed to be cursed in such a manner?"
Ding Yun was openly cursing others this time, making no attempt to conceal it.
Therefore, the Sect Master of the Jade Bloom Sect and the elders immediately recognized the situation. Curses came in many forms: direct curses, curses using birth dates, and curses using an aura. However, these types of curses generally only weakened lifespan or caused the five decay of heaven and man, never resulting in pustules.
Pustules only appear when the curse is based on the evil deeds of the cursed party, invoking their sins, thus signifying that these two outer sect elders were not good people.
They had accumulated deep sins.
Faced with this situation, the Sect Master and the inner sect elders were at a loss. Although it was a curse, it invoked their own sins, resembling a method of divine punishment for evildoers.
It was estimated that only merit could wash away the curse.
But where would they find so much merit?
"Where did they incur these sins, and whom did they offend to be subjected to such a curse?"
"Even if they have sins, our sect cannot allow others to interfere in their punishment. Sect Master, this is a provocation! In my opinion, even if we cannot save the two outer sect elders, we must investigate the matter thoroughly. And demand an explanation!"
"Use the Heaven-Reaching Mirror to examine the person behind the karmic threads. I'd like to see who dares to overstep their bounds and disrespect us."
Although they had clearly identified that the two outer sect elders were in the wrong, due to their usual lofty status and protective instincts.
After some discussion, they still felt.
They needed to find the mastermind and demand an explanation.
However, as they were not skilled in curse techniques or karmic arts, they had to bring out the sect's most treasured artifact, the Heaven-Reaching Mirror, to investigate.
Then, they were stunned.
Through the Heaven-Reaching Mirror, they could clearly see the karmic threads intertwined around the two outer sect elders extending for tens of miles. Instead of being tied to a single person, countless karmic threads crisscrossed each other, forming a dense karmic net. At the core of this interwoven net was a terrifying curse fueled by an almost infinite amount of human incense offerings and the power of human belief.
It was evident that the perpetrator had used human incense offerings and the power of human belief to cast a curse, and it was not solely targeted at the two outer sect elders of their sect.
The perpetrator was likely targeting a specific type of transgression.
All those who committed this transgression would be cursed.
Upon seeing this, they dared not use the Heaven-Reaching Mirror to penetrate the human incense offerings and the power of human belief to investigate the mastermind. This was because, to cultivators, human incense offerings and human belief were undoubtedly potent poisons.
Although the Heaven-Reaching Mirror had the ability to penetrate these substances.
And investigate the true mastermind.
It would undoubtedly suffer severe depletion, rendering it unusable for at least a century. Otherwise, its foundation would be damaged. Compared to the loss and the current situation, it was clearly not worth it, and there was no need to do so.
"Forget it. Since it's not aimed at us, let it be. Later, send people to the mortal realm to investigate the situation, and have the disciples in the mortal realm see if they can find the mastermind through mortal means.
Mortal laws should not extend to us."
"This matter might indeed be related to the mortal imperial court. After all, no cultivator would be bored enough to expend great magic power, guiding human incense offerings and belief, specifically to curse those who have violated a certain law."
"Let's figure out the specifics first..."
After their discussion, they put away the Heaven-Reaching Mirror and began instructing their disciples to send messages to the outer sect disciples outside the grotto-heaven, tasking them with investigating the situation.
Meanwhile, in other grotto-heavens and blessed lands, and within concealed formations, most sects chose this same approach. They wanted to understand what laws their disciples had violated to be cursed, and they wanted to find the mastermind to lift the curse for them. They were cultivators, how could they be punished by mortal laws?
Wouldn't that be a complete absurdity?
Were cultivators shameless?
...
At the same time, Ding Yun, having confirmed that there were no remaining fish in the curse's radiation range, naturally closed her laptop and began to cultivate.
She was cultivating esoteric arts—
"Incense Golden Body Art" and "Boundless Merit Sutra."
These two cultivation methods were called esoteric not because they were evil, but because they were shortcuts. They were completely different from traditional step-by-step cultivation methods.
The "Incense Golden Body Art" could be perfected in moments, condensing an Incense Golden Body, as long as there was sufficient incense offering.
However, its drawbacks were also obvious.
It consumed incense offerings with every use.
Once the incense offering power was insufficient, one's cultivation would regress, and the golden body might even collapse. It was a pure "pay-to-win" cultivation method. With abundant incense offering, one was invincible, with permanent sustain and no rivals.
Without sufficient incense offering, it was game over.
The "Boundless Merit Sutra" was slightly better. Although cultivation could still be rapidly improved as long as merit was sufficient, the improved cultivation would not disappear as merit decreased later. The improved cultivation was stable.
The main drawback was that after entering the initial stages, this cultivation method could no longer be improved through self-cultivation; it could only be improved through merit. But where could one find so much merit to obtain? Thus, it was a cultivation method that seemed easy to begin but became increasingly difficult as one progressed.
However, Ding Yun had no intention of achieving immortality or anything like that.
She just wanted to quickly improve her cultivation, gain some self-preservation abilities as soon as possible, and avoid being harmed by cultivators.
Therefore, the drawbacks of these two cultivation methods were of no concern to Ding Yun. With the current abundance of merit and incense offerings, she naturally closed her eyes and began to cultivate. The progress of both cultivation methods and Ding Yun's cultivation were increasing at an incredibly rapid pace.
After Ding Yun had exhausted all her incense offerings and merit.
She had successfully condensed an Incense Golden Body comparable to the Nascent Soul realm, and her cultivation had reached the peak of the Golden Core realm.
If all the subsequently abducted individuals were rescued.
Her merit should be enough for her to break through to Nascent Soul.
This was the terrifying aspect of esoteric cultivation methods. As long as the corresponding conditions were met, the cultivation speed would skyrocket. With traditional cultivation methods, without the assistance of a leveling system or the consumption of elixirs, even with Ding Yun's previous cultivation experience, it would have taken her ten or eight years to barely reach her current strength.
Ding Yun did not pursue cultivating to become an immortal, undergo tribulation and ascend, nor did she pursue a deep foundation or stable realm.
Why waste so much time?
It was more important to possess sufficient strength as soon as possible, gain self-preservation abilities, and complete the World Pioneer task of inscribing her own mark into the world's origin.