100: Information Warfare (Part Two)

By the third day, the public opinion showed signs of becoming uncontrollable. Yao Beasts everywhere were discussing the matter.

The essence of public opinion is actually to stir up class conflict. This time, while it seemed simple, Gu Yuchuan had actually stirred up conflict between three classes.

The first was between humans and Yao. Gu Yuchuan's persona was that of a hero fighting for the Yao Race, while he painted the opponent as one who persecuted heroes and spied on military secrets. Although he didn't explicitly say the opponent was a Human Race Cultivator, that was the implication.

The second was the conflict between the periphery and the interior of the Cloud Sea Marsh. This conflict had always existed. Yao Beasts from the interior, relying on the high concentration of Spiritual Qi and powerful Cultivators there, looked down on the Yao Beasts outside. Thus, the external Yao Beasts harbored resentment toward them. Gu Yuchuan represented the periphery Cultivators, while the Other Shore Demon King represented the interior Yao Beasts.

The third was the conflict between Advanced Cultivators and low-level Cultivators. Even though the Yao Sovereign was currently regulating the rules of the Cloud Sea Marsh to prevent the wanton killing of Yao Beasts, the oppression of low-level Yao Beasts by high-level ones still existed; it was unavoidable. Not just in the Yao Race, but surely in the Human Race as well. Now, this conflict was very deep. Gu Yuchuan represented all low-level Cultivators, while the opponent was the oppressor.

With this series of overlapping factors, it was expected that public opinion would spiral out of control. Yao Beasts had already spontaneously gone to the Demon Generals and Demon Kings in charge, demanding a thorough investigation. As more and more Yao Beasts joined in, the matter could no longer be easily suppressed. The Black Shark Demon King went to the interior to seek justice.

At this time, the interior was also not peaceful. Although there were many Demon Kings in the interior and even a Yao Emperor presiding, they were still restricted by the Yao Sovereign and had to obey him. The interior simply had more abundant Spiritual Qi; in reality, there was nothing else miraculous about it. They also needed to know about the outside world, and the public opinion had reached here. The one currently in charge of the interior was called the Misty Demon King, a great expert at the Golden Core Eighth Layer and a top existence among Demon Kings.

He was a cold man, wearing a pure white gauze robe that clung to his body. His expression was very poor, and his tone was also bad: "Why hasn't the Other Shore Demon King arrived yet? Do I have to personally invite her?"

Clearly, the public opinion outside made even this Demon King in charge feel that it was troublesome. If a major conflict between the interior and periphery of the Cloud Sea Marsh were truly sparked, he would also have to take responsibility.

Finally, the Other Shore Demon King arrived late. She wore a red dress and had exquisite features, looking dreamlike and ethereal. An ordinary person would be intoxicated by her beauty with just one glance, unable to extricate themselves. This was her beauty. However, the Misty Demon King before her was clearly no ordinary person.

"Other Shore Demon King, I sent someone to summon you and told you to come immediately. You dawdled for so long before coming. Do you look down on me, or do you look down on my status as the one in charge?"

The Other Shore Demon King was only at the Golden Core First Layer Realm. Although they were both Golden Cores, the gap in their status and cultivation was even larger than the gap between the Foundation Establishment Stage and the Golden Core Stage. Since the other party was angry, she was naturally afraid and softened her attitude.

"Highness Misty, it wasn't intentional. I've been in seclusion recently, so I was delayed when I came out. You know that I respect you very much."

Normally, after a few such flattering words, the matter would pass. After all, the Misty Demon King wouldn't scold a Demon King over such a small thing. But now was different; he was nearly dying of anger, so his attitude remained very poor.

"Are you in seclusion? I see you've been quite active, even finding the time to interfere in the affairs of the periphery. Is that something you can interfere in? Do you know why the Cloud Sea Marsh is divided into three regions? It's to prevent high-level Cultivators from interfering with the growth of low-level Cultivators. You disregard the Yao Sovereign's Imperial Decree so much—what are your intentions? Do you really want to go to the Human Race?"

This sentence was a direct attack on her heart, for the Other Shore Demon King was not innocent. In her youth, she had traveled and had a relationship for a time with Situ Xuanming of the Yellow Springs Sect, who was Situ Wangchuan's father. However, she eventually abandoned that relationship and returned to the Yao Race, never doing anything to betray them. So, the matter was dropped. In fact, many in the Yao Race had had relationships with the Human Race; as long as they didn't do anything afterward, nothing would happen.

But the Other Shore Demon King had violated a taboo; she had taken action.

The Other Shore Demon King's expression flickered with panic. She couldn't admit to these things. But before she could speak, the Misty Demon King spoke again: "The matter of you plotting against the Azure Scale Demon General has already spread, and it has even been discovered that you did this to stand up for the Yellow Springs Sect. Think about how to settle this. I advise you to first find out what the current situation actually is."

The Other Shore Demon King was finally flustered. She immediately sent out a burst of magic power to contact her subordinates. Soon, a Jade Slip flew over. After reading it, her body felt a bit weak.

"Your Highness, this... I absolutely didn't mean it this way. This is complete slander."

The Misty Demon King stared intently at her expression but didn't see anything: "I don't care about that. I've already notified you of the situation. Resolve it as quickly as possible. If the public opinion continues to develop and becomes uncontrollable in the end, your fate will not be good. After all, your own hands aren't clean."

When the Other Shore Demon King walked out, she was in a daze. This tactic looked all too familiar; wasn't it the same kind of tactic she had planned to use against the opponent? Who would have thought it would be used against her? She couldn't understand why this was happening, but she had to stop the matter from spreading further.

But public opinion is like that; once it reaches a certain point, it's hard to resolve. Blocking it will only backfire, and explaining it loses the initiative. People have preconceived notions, making it hard to explain. Only the person who created the public opinion can explain it. Therefore, if she wanted to resolve this public opinion now, she could only go to the Azure Scale Demon General and have him step forward.

But to make her bow her head to a Demon General—she couldn't do it. However, she knew one thing: she couldn't let it drag on. The public opinion would only intensify.

As for Gu Yuchuan, he had spent these days at home refining several Spiritual Artifacts, and his cultivation had also grown quite a bit. He was very comfortable and happy every day. He knew that the one suffering right now was definitely not him. The Other Shore Demon King was the one suffering the most. He wanted to see how she would break the deadlock.