71: Chapter 71 Cultural Invasion

The night of the City of Liver Emperor never truly descends.

The roar of the Geocentric Furnace is its heartbeat, and the shimmering light of the rune production lines is its pulse.

Thousands upon thousands of players have turned into tireless worker ants, transforming massive amounts of resources into the sinews and bones of war.

In the air, the scorching heat of metal, the fresh fragrance of herbs, and the fishy sweetness of demonized materials mix in a bizarre way, forming a scent unique to this war fortress, known as "Fervor."

On the top floor of the Council Hall, the office of All Realms Connector is the eye of the storm, yet it is unusually quiet.

"...The sect of that little bitch Yun Shang, 'Yaoguang Peak,' appears untainted by worldly affairs, but in reality, it is the largest spirit stone lending institution in the Central Sacred Land. The 'Seven-Part Guiyuan Loan' they created has caused thirty-seven second-rate sects to lose their homes and families within a century, with all their assets falling into their hands. They claim to the outside world that these sects had 'deficient virtue and exhausted luck,' and voluntarily merged their foundations into the Central Sacred Land to seek protection."

The voice of Demon Lord Night Radiance, filled with resentment and glee, echoes in the mind of All Realms Connector through a sliver of mental connection.

"And then there is the grandmaster of Chief Examiner. Back then, in order to seize the position of Dao Child, he personally pushed his own Dao companion—who was the most talented 'Heavenly Heart Sword Physique' of the Central Sacred Land at the time—into the Gui Xu Spirit Eye. Afterward, he forcibly broke through his cultivation realm using the sword heart left behind by his Dao companion, while claiming to the outside world that she had heroically sacrificed herself to protect the seal, earning himself ample fame and posthumous glory. The dossier for this incident is hidden in a secret compartment on the third floor of the Central Sacred Land's Discipline Hall, numbered 'Xuan-73'..."

All Realms Connector listens expressionlessly, fingers tapping lightly on the smooth obsidian desktop.

In front of him, Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation is holding a data screen, his face flushed with a sickly crimson, like an addict seeing the purest product.

"Boss! Boss! Stop for a second!" Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation rubs his hands excitedly, "This... this is not just intelligence! These are ready-made hit web novels! No, this is a strategic nuclear weapon! The kind that can flatten the Central Sacred Land's ten-thousand-year reputation with a single blast!"

A light known as "stirring up trouble" glimmers in his eyes, as if he has already seen the Central Sacred Land in a state of chaos, with everyone fearing for themselves.

"Night Radiance's intelligence is seventy percent true and thirty percent false." The voice of All Realms Connector is as cold as ice. "He wants to use us to retaliate against the Central Sacred Land, so he will inevitably include his own agenda, and may even set a trap."

"I understand!" Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation chuckles and pushes up his glasses. "So we cannot report it as 'news'; we must tell it as a 'story'! Stories, after all, are a mix of truth and lies, reality and fiction—that's what makes them captivating! The point is not to make everyone believe it immediately, but to... plant a thorn in their hearts!"

All Realms Connector nods slightly, acknowledging his plan.

"The council has already approved the budget for the first phase of your 'Thunderclap Project'." He takes a data-flickering token from his drawer and tosses it over. "The Propaganda Department, Intelligence Department, and Technical Department are all under your command for the time being. I have only one requirement."

He raises his eyes, his gaze like a blade: "Before our 'Gate of Worlds' opens, I want the words 'Central Sacred Land' to transform from a sacred totem into a laughable joke worth doubting in the hearts of the mortals and low-level cultivators of the Central Continent."

...

Three days later, at the headquarters of the "Culture and Propaganda Department" of the City of Liver Emperor.

This place was originally a huge warehouse, but now it has been transformed into a creative workshop filled with ingenious ideas.

Hundreds of players specializing in this field have gathered here, and the air is filled with the sparks of colliding ideas.

"'Chronicles of the Sacred Land: I Killed My Wife for the Position of Dao Child'—how is this title? Is it explosive enough?" one player shouts, spittle flying.

"Tacky! Too tacky!" another person immediately retorts. "We are conducting a cultural invasion, not setting up a street stall! We need class! I suggest adapting it into storytelling: 'Love Severed at Gui Xu Eye, Hatred Locked at Yaoguang Peak'! Find a buddy with a good voice and have him tell the story at the largest teahouse in Wangxian City—I guarantee every show will be packed!"

In a corner, Appearance is Justice is leading a group of cosmetic-focused players, making final adjustments to the illustrations of a comic book.

"No, no! This profile of Fairy Yunshang has too much compassion and not enough cunning! Remember, her character design is a 'White Lotus Saintess' on the outside, but a 'Scorpion Demoness' on the inside. You need to draw that kind of pitiable, heart-wrenching look, but if you look closely at her eyes, you should be able to feel a hint of coldness and calculation! Understand? Contrast! That is art!"

"Report!" a tech-geek player runs over excitedly, holding a peculiar rune array disc. "The latest achievement of the 'Rune Compiler'! [One Dream of a Hundred Years · Projection and Sound Recording Rune Array]! It's a one-time consumable that can take the storytelling we've recorded, pair it with the '3D animation' provided by big shot V87, and loop it on any wall for the duration of an incense stick! Comrades, we can host open-air movies now!"

The entire workshop instantly erupts.

Storytelling, scripts, folk songs, comic books, open-air movies...

These "cultural products," unheard of in the cultivation world, are rapidly produced like a virus under the catalyst of the players' unconstrained creativity, and then packed and sent to one place—the "Frontline Infiltration Squad" led by Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet.

Wangxian City, the most prosperous trading city at the foot of the Central Sacred Land.

The city is shrouded in immortal energy, the streets are spotlessly clean, and the cultivators and mortals passing by all wear an innate sense of superiority.

The order here is maintained personally by the patrol disciples of the Central Sacred Land; for ten thousand years, no one has dared to act presumptuously in this place.

Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet is currently disguised as a fur merchant from a remote land. She enthusiastically pulls at the owner of a teahouse, chatting about interesting anecdotes from her hometown. In just a few words, she extracts everything—the shift change times of the patrol squads in Wangxian City, the personality preferences of their leaders, and more.

The players under her command are like drops of water merging into the ocean, scattering into the city in twos and threes.

Some disguise themselves as peddlers walking the streets, some as wandering cultivators seeking knowledge, and some even spend money to take over the most remote storytelling stall.

The operation begins quietly when night falls.

At the entrance of an alley in the south of the city, in an inconspicuous corner.

A player clears his throat and begins to tell the story of "Love Severed at Gui Xu Eye," which has just been artistically processed, in a cadence of ups and downs.

Soon, a few passing mortals are attracted and stop in their tracks.

The story is at the part where the male protagonist pushes his beloved into the abyss for the sake of his future. The tragic atmosphere makes all the listeners wring their hands and sigh.

Just then, a cold shout comes from nearby.

"Audacious scoundrel! How dare you spout nonsense here and concoct stories about the sages of the Central Sacred Land!"

A young patrol disciple dressed in white with an arrogant expression strides over. His gaze is as sharp as a sword, and he exudes the pressure of the late stage of Qi Refining.

The surrounding listeners are immediately scared and scatter like birds and beasts.

The player telling the story turns pale instantly, as if scared out of his wits, and kneels on the ground trembling, unable to even speak.

"Immortal Master... Immortal Master, spare my life..."

"Hmph, spreading demonic rumors and shaking people's hearts—according to the law, your cultivation should be abolished and your tongue cut off!" A trace of viciousness flashes in the young disciple's eyes, and he is about to make a move.

"Ouch!"

Suddenly, a nearby stall selling candied haws is "accidentally" knocked over, and the bright red candied haws roll all over the ground.

"My candied haws!" The vendor (played by a player) lets out a miserable scream, throws himself onto the ground, and grabs the young disciple's calf. "Immortal Master! My entire livelihood is right here! You must seek justice for me!"

The young disciple frowns, caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.

Just at the moment he is distracted, a player disguised as a passerby slides past him like a ghost, his finger brushing against the sword tassel at his waist at an extremely tricky angle.

A [Micro Tracking and Eavesdropping Rune], smaller than a grain of rice, sticks onto it silently.

"Immortal Master, calm your anger, calm your anger!" Little Trumpet squeezes out from the crowd at the right time, stuffing a piece of broken silver into the young disciple's hand with a face full of smiles. "This person is a madman who just ran out from his hometown; his brain doesn't work well. You are a magnanimous person, please don't lower yourself to his level. We will take him away immediately, I guarantee we won't cause you any trouble!"

The young disciple looks at the silver in his hand, then at the "vendor" wailing while hugging his leg and the "madman" trembling on the ground, and the look of disgust in his eyes deepens.

He feels that his noble identity has been tainted by this group of lowly mortals.

"Get lost! All of you, get lost! If I see you again next time, I will definitely execute you without mercy!"

He kicks the "vendor" away, brushes his sleeves in disgust, and turns to leave.

The disturbance seems to have subsided.

In the shadows of the alley, several players regroup.

"Done!" The "master thief" player makes an OK gesture triumphantly. "This rune is the latest improvement by Brother Zhang San. It can not only eavesdrop but also share his vision and spiritual power fluctuations in real-time within a ten-mile radius! This kid is our mobile 'human surveillance'!"

Little Trumpet nods with satisfaction: "Very good, the stress test is complete. The vigilance of the Central Sacred Land disciples is lower than expected, and... they are too arrogant. The plan can be fully launched now."

In the following days, Wangxian City begins to change a little.

In the corners of the eastern city, every late night, fleeting light and shadow images appear, telling secret gossip about a certain fairy sect's lending practices.

In the taverns of the western city, drunken mercenaries begin to sing a folk song called "The Bitterness of the Sacred Land," with explicit lyrics and a catchy tune.

Even the girls in the brothels, in their pillow talk, whisper to the cultivators who come to seek pleasure, boasting about the "secret gossip of the Central Sacred Land's high-level officials" they have heard.

Rumors, like a silent plague, breed and spread in every corner of the city.

At first, no one took it seriously, treating it all as jokes.

But when different stories were told by different people, yet could vaguely corroborate each other, the seeds of doubt were quietly planted.

Inside "Tingfeng Pavilion," the largest teahouse in Wangxian City.

The storyteller who once had no customers is now the hottest figure in the whole city.

In front of him, there is a sea of people, with no empty seats; even the aisles are packed with people.

He claps his folding fan, strikes the gavel, and the entire teahouse instantly falls silent.

"Last time, we said that Fairy Yunshang of Yaoguang Peak appears to be compassionate, but in reality, she hides a knife in her smile! She personally set up the 'Seven-Part Guiyuan Loan,' causing the sect leader of the Qingfeng Sword Sect to have his Dao heart shattered and to self-abolish his cultivation! Today, we shall talk about how the Qingfeng Sword Sect's treasure, the [Azure Sea Tide Sword], fell into the hands of Fairy Yunshang..."

The story is full of twists and turns, and is captivating.

The listeners are enthralled, sometimes angry, sometimes sighing.

In a private booth in the corner, Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation sips tea leisurely, watching the "Cultural Influence" value on the light screen rising slowly but steadily, a smile of being in control appearing at the corner of his mouth.

On the map in front of him, tiny red dots have already appeared in the vast green area representing the power of the Central Sacred Land.

A single spark has already ignited.

And at this moment, ten thousand miles away, at the Central Sacred Land, atop Yaoguang Peak.

By the lotus pond shrouded in clouds and mist, Fairy Yunshang is quietly listening to a female disciple's report.

"...Master, those rumors have spread far and wide, the hearts of the people in Wangxian City are wavering, and even a few small sects that rely on us have sent people to ask around. This disciple suggests immediately dispatching the Discipline Hall to seal the entire city and execute those who spread demonic rumors on the spot!" The female disciple is filled with righteous indignation, her words filled with killing intent.

Fairy Yunshang does not speak.

She extends her slender jade hand, gently plucks a lotus leaf stained with morning dew, and watches the crystal clear water droplets rolling on the leaf.

"No need."

Her voice is colder than the pond water, with no joy or anger detectable.

"The noise of a few ants—let them be."

The female disciple is stunned and wants to urge her further, but is stopped by a look from Fairy Yunshang.

She raises her head and looks toward the direction they call the "Barbaric Frontier." In those eyes, which are like autumn waters, a deep, inscrutable smile flashes, one that no one can understand.

"Let them make a scene; the bigger the scene, the better."

She whispers to herself, her voice scattered by the wind.

"I would like to see what kind of path this uncontrollable blade can carve out for me."