Chapter 847: A Thousand Faces of Senior Sister
The situation was far more dire than he had anticipated.
It wasn't just the Cong Yun Sea. All across the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, illustrated albums of Senior Sister Zhao were circulating in the shadows.
Cultivators, by nature, possess a certain pride. It was only natural that none would broadcast the fact they were secretly poring over these albums.
And yet, the content was utterly captivating. Anyone whose will wasn't forged from iron would find themselves lost in a thousand fantasies after just one look, their minds thrown into turmoil.
Even seeking release with another cultivator offered no true relief; the longing would remain, unquenched. All they craved were more albums of Senior Sister Zhao.
And just then, more explicit, more life-like albums would invariably surface from the shadows. They were a gradual, methodical temptation, luring cultivators one step at a time into the abyss.
Crucially, the timing was perfect. The entire hierarchy of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, from the highest echelons to the lowest ranks, was preoccupied with the grand recruitment examinations.
They had completely failed to notice that in the silent, unseen corners of their world, something exceedingly dangerous was quietly spreading through their ranks.
"So impatient," he mused. "Have they already begun to test the waters?"
Ji Shaoli's expression was unreadable.
The methods of a Longevity Heavenly Venerate, even one of the weaker ones, were like an attack from a higher dimension against ordinary cultivators—utterly indefensible.
Even cultivators at the Dao Integration realm fell into that "ordinary" category.
Therefore, it came as no surprise to Li Fan that He Zhenghao had been ensnared.
Even a man who constantly doted on his wife and daughter had his soul utterly captivated after a single glance at the salacious tales of Senior Sister Zhao.
And one had to remember, while the He Zhenghao of today was no longer significant in Li Fan's grand scheme, he was, in fact, an exceptional cultivator.
He had no power, no backing, and had clawed his way up all on his own. Despite being actively suppressed, he had still managed to become the guardian of an island. Furthermore, he was quite accomplished in the Dao of formations, capable of holding his own in conversations with the various masters of the Array Strategy Hall...
How many cultivators in the world were not his equal!
Yet even He Zhenghao had succumbed so easily to Senior Sister Zhao's albums. One could only imagine how lesser cultivators would fare.
"This is a hundred times more dangerous than any Heart Ascension Pill."
"And the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is letting it spread, completely oblivious."
"Should I warn them...?"
Ji Shaoli hesitated, uncertain of his next move.
As much as he wanted to see the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance suffer a crushing defeat and be forced to reveal its final trump card, he couldn't help but feel a deep-seated apprehension when faced with the methods of the One Heart Heavenly Venerate.
"The Alliance must have its own way of handling this," he reasoned. "It's not my place to worry."
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Shaoli ultimately decided against meddling. He would watch from the sidelines.
He merely instructed the cultivators in the Mutual Aid Association to resist any momentary curiosity and stay away from the albums, while he himself kept a close watch on the subtle changes unfolding in the shadows.
But it wasn't long before Ji Shaoli realized he had still underestimated the power of the One Heart Heavenly Venerate.
As the old saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.
Simply knowing something is dangerous isn't enough to banish the thought entirely.
In fact, knowing the true identity of the album's protagonist—a supreme expert of the Xuanhuang Realm, one of the ruling Heavenly Venerates of the Five Elders Council—only fanned the flames of their curiosity.
They also harbored a sliver of wishful thinking, a dangerous confidence in their own fortitude.
Just one peek, they thought. What's the harm...
Once such a thought took root, it was nearly impossible to dispel.
Instead, it grew stronger with each passing day, leaving their minds in a perpetual haze.
When that desire went unfulfilled, it swelled to monstrous proportions.
By the time Ji Shaoli sensed something was amiss, three members of the Mutual Aid Association had already succumbed. They had secretly acquired an album and were studying it in private.
Greatly alarmed, Ji Shaoli had no choice but to place them all in solitary confinement, where he could supervise their efforts to cleanse their minds.
"It's simply impossible to guard against."
Listening to the hateful curses echoing from the darkness and witnessing their maddened behavior, Ji Shaoli's expression soured.
"And this is only the initial stage, with the influence cut off almost immediately."
"Those cultivators who are truly ensnared..."
A chill crept down Ji Shaoli's spine.
"Senior Sister Zhao might be somewhat lacking in actual combat, but her influence over cultivators is truly second to none among the Heavenly Venerates."
To prevent anyone else in the Mutual Aid Association from falling victim, Ji Shaoli decisively recalled them all and sealed off Haixuan Island once more.
"There's still some time before the recruitment exams anyway," he thought. "I refuse to believe the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is completely oblivious to this."
"Let's just see how they respond."
It was just as Ji Shaoli had predicted. As more and more cultivators fell under the influence of Senior Sister Zhao's albums, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance finally caught wind of the situation.
The Alliance's response, however, was a lesson in itself for Ji Shaoli.
There was no grand, public ban on the albums' circulation. In fact, official channels never even acknowledged their existence.
Instead, almost overnight, thousands of different secret chronicles began to circulate throughout the Alliance.
All of them were texts that had previously been sealed away, forbidden from being circulated or traded.
This included titles like the one Li Fan had seen before, The Forcible Seizure of the Tai Shang Primordial Scripture by the Dharma Spreading Heavenly Venerate.
There were also others, such as The Legend of Wuyou, the Demon Infant Who Devoured His Parents, and The Scholar Who Parted a River with a Careless Word...
Some were written texts, others were illustrated records.
Their contents were bizarre and fantastical, each telling a different story. Some even contradicted one another.
But they all shared one common thread: they were all about the five Longevity Heavenly Venerates of the Five Elders Council.
Previously, the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had known only that these five Longevity Heavenly Venerates existed. Beyond their names, they knew nothing.
Now, with so many secret histories suddenly surfacing, their attention was naturally captivated.
Before long, the contents of these chronicles became the hottest topic in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Everywhere one went, cultivators could be seen discussing them.
Even those who normally paid no mind to worldly affairs were drawn into the universal discussion and made a point to learn more.
Ji Shaoli also noticed that, amidst this frenzy, the allure of Senior Sister Zhao's albums had inexplicably begun to fade.
Among the chronicles released by the Alliance, many were naturally about the One Heart Heavenly Venerate. They didn't deliberately tone down the erotic elements; instead, while recounting the deeds of a great expert who rose from humble beginnings to revitalize a sect, they also wove in plenty of blood-pumping details.
But for all their appeal, when compared to the albums circulated by the Five Elders Council, they lacked that fatal allure.
After viewing these, one wouldn't be left so obsessed as to lose all appetite. There was a momentary thrill, and then the details would naturally fade from memory.
Ji Shaoli mused thoughtfully, "Once the veil of mystery is lifted, the allure plummets."
"Once you've seen one, you've seen them all, and they become dull. Of course, the readers have no idea that the albums of Senior Sister Zhao released by the Alliance and those spread by the Five Elders Council are two entirely different beasts."
"Of course, this atmosphere of public discussion also serves as a deterrent."
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