Today was such a beautiful day with hard-working and animated villagers along with the start of the new year. This was how the morning began but now, because of numerous Jianyu sect disciples coming down the mountain, doing certain odd things, people were bewildered and feeling uneasy. What kind of bad stuff were happening again this time?
Seriously, being average mortals was no easy thing. This realm of humans was full of dangers and many unexpected things. But what could they do when they were born with the fate of a mortal? No spiritual roots.....no cultivational power...gods are just so unfair.
So, as such useless mortals as they were, these villagers had no choice but to rely on these cultivators. This sect had been the sole protector of their villages for decades. And deep down in their heart, these village inhabitants here also felt extremely grateful for it as well.
Glancing at dozens of disciples in snow-white robes who were entering and exiting one home after another in their villages, a curious customer asked.
"What are they doing sticking those things at the door of every single house?"
"Aiyaa...don't ask. Maybe it was something to scare evil spirits away or other sorts of bizarre things like they always do."
" Yeah, they also came to my home asking for permission to stick those talismans at my door."
"Evil spirits?...it's rare to see such sorts of creatures around our village's vicinity these days. Even if there's the danger of such evil beings, can't that bar...um....what is it that those culitvators called?....."
"Are you talking about the barrier?"
"Ahh...yes....yes...that barrier thing....isn't it enough to protect us? I heard young disciples built it just a month ago."
"That's what I'm curious too. Since that time, it got really rare to see demonic beasts or evil spirits came giving us troubles. But now, what kind of problems make these disciples busy themselves this much?"
"I have no idea either. When I ask, they just said those things were only meant to protect us if some unexpected things came up.....not something serious. Who would believe that bullshit?"
"Life is difficult for our mortals. Even if something serious is really happening, what can our mortals do other than hoping for the best and praying ....mortals...mortals....it is such a punishment of gods for us to be born as average mortals."
An old man sitting at a not so far table concluded which had other customers around followed his words with heavy sighs.
Indeed, elders of the sect tried their best to hide this serious problem from villagers, not to give them unnecessary concern. But now, it seemed like their plan didn't do the trick because some were already making a guess about these strange turn of events already.
These talismans young disciples were using was called "soul protector". In fact, it was invented by the emperor himself not a long ago after inspecting how the curse worked.
Earlier, before those esteemed guests from the imperial city went back, they handed hundreds of these soul protectors to the elders. These talismans were already in use at the capital. And according to the emperor's order, every home, restaurant, pavilion or whatever kind of buildings it was, it had to be under the protection of this talisman. People were forbidden from wondering to places which had no protection of this soul protector.
Not only the capital but also many other cities, towns and villages in the kingdom were already starting to use this powerful talisman, believing that they couldn't get cursed as long as they were under its protection. But only high ranked officials and sect leaders knew the practical truth.
It couldn't give them hundred percent protection as they had expected. These talismans had their own limits. Even such a personal creation of the great emperor was not enough to prevent the curse. So rumors like all these things could be the doing of a powerful demon and that, this very demon had a high chance of becoming the next demon lord started spreading amongst the society of cultivators.
Yeah.....earlier, mistress Wang did say that the culprit behind the scene might be the citizens themselves, not some evil creatures. But it was not absolute truth. In fact, one could take what she said as utterly wrong because it was ninty nine percent like sure that the chance of the real culprit being a demon.
The mistress just said that based on the fact what her husband told her in a hurry. Of course, that's not to say all citizens were innocent and they didn't implicate in this matter at all. Some of them were involved, not even knowing they themselves had become the tools of that demon.
Here's what general Yang said at the meeting hall.
The demonic mastermind behind was very clever and careful with his schemes. They still couldn't find out the detailed way used by those wicked citizens to curse others. And it was highly probable this demon might have used his subordinates to spread the technique of this curse at first.
Yeah....there were many people they caught red-handed at the capital, of course. But never once did they find out that very-well-hidden way to use the curse. Either such people ended their life after having caught by them or they died from million ways of death in a matter of minutes after being subdued by them.
That demon seemed to have thoroughly planned not to let his unique method of soul consuming curse get exposed to the whole outside world. But whatever those mischievous people did to curse others, one thing was for sure. As long as a mortal fulfilled a certain minimum amount of cursed humans for that demon, then whatever one wish of theirs would come true.
Human beings were just like that. They couldn't be loyal to a certain someone as much as they do to their own greed. And that demon, fully aware of this fact, seemed to get an idea to use this point to his own advantage.
And as expected, his plan worked. People might use this curse, not knowing they were cursing someone at first. But based on the fact that numbers of cursed patients kept increasing day after day, there was no way those wicked people woudn't realized it was the result of their own doing.
They might get frightened or feel guilty at first. But faced with their own endless desires and practical unbelievable outcome of using this curse, what would they choose? Their own desires...or certain principles which they had never cared in the first place?
The answer was clear. And the capital, being the territory of such a big portion of merciless people, had become the very place which had suffered the most from this curse...