Chapter 279 - - 277 Eliminate Influence_1

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After showing off, Duge pushed through the reporters and plunged into Jingming Hotel.

Zhao Hongmei directed the security guards to block the reporters outside.

Ever since Duge began speaking on behalf of the Cultivation World, his and Zhao Hongmei’s phones had been ringing incessantly, with ringing and calls, all kinds of notification sounds beeping non-stop.

Entering the hotel and keeping the reporters outside, the world finally quieted down.

Seeing Daoist Qingsong’s name on the incoming call, Duge answered the phone enthusiastically, “Senior brother, why are you calling me just after coming down the mountain?”

“…” Daoist Qingsong choked for a moment, “Tell me your location, I’ll come to you immediately. Before I get there, don’t contact anyone else.”

“Alright,” Duge promptly agreed and gave out his location.

On the other side, Zhao Hongmei also picked up the phone: “President Wu.”

“Zhao Hongmei, let Cheng Yu take the call.” President Wu’s voice came from the handset, frantic and infuriated.

Zhao Hongmei glanced at Duge, turned, and walked to one side with the phone, explaining the strange events that had occurred from yesterday until now, and finally said, “…President Wu, the contract probably can’t restrain Cheng Yu anymore.”

“Can’t restrain my ass, do you know how big a disaster he’s caused?” President Wu shouted, “Calls from city and provincial leaders have come to me, asking me to eliminate the impact quickly. With such a huge mess, not even Daoist Suwen can save him, let alone if the Heavenly Emperor himself showed up. If I don’t fix him, I myself will be in deep trouble.”

“Are you suggesting we sever ties with him?” Zhao Hongmei was also flustered.

“If I sever ties with him, I might as well be dead,” President Wu said, “I don’t even dare to close his Weibo account right now. You go on Cheng Yu’s Weibo, post the new movie promotion, and tell them everything Cheng Yu is doing is for promoting the new movie in collaboration with a magician.”

“Isn’t our new movie related to cyberbullying? Should we add another one?” Zhao Hongmei asked.

“Add it. I’m not really going to make it anyway,” President Wu ground his teeth, “Add the elements he talked about. Tell his fans not to believe in or spread rumors, and that there’s no such thing as Daoist Skills in the world. Everything Cheng Yu has done is a cooperation with a magician for the movie promotion, orchestrated by the company. Zhao Hongmei, Cheng Yu won’t last long. Once he’s dealt with by the higher-ups, we’ll issue a statement then and distance ourselves. For the next couple of days, you keep him stable and don’t let him cause any more trouble.”

“What about the reporters?” Zhao Hongmei asked.

“Let them be,” President Wu said, “They’ll be taken care of. Really, how could there be any Daoist Skills in the world? I need to find somewhere to get an Amulet for myself…”

Muttering, President Wu hung up the phone.

Duge, with his sharp ears and keen eyes, overheard the conversation clearly but didn’t take it seriously. As long as there was no complete ban on him, he wasn’t afraid of any covert manipulations.

He had memorized all the talismans from the Collection of Talisman Scripts long ago.

With his formidable martial skills, even when using basic talismans, he was quite fierce in combat, not at all like what Yu Ming said about the Talisman Sect not being skilled in fighting.

At the moment, however, Duge was unable to draw higher-level talismans such as “Bean Soldiers” or “Supreme Pure Cave Seal.”

After all, those talismans were too powerful.

The Supreme Pure Cave Seal was carved on a seal, equivalent to borrowing the power of Shangqing. It could be used as a seal directly, and even formidable Ghost Kings would be subdued with one press.

It was said that the “Demon Sealing Cave” on Heavenly Master Mountain used nothing more than the Heavenly Master Zhang’s seal to suppress evil.

However, Duge multitasked, keeping the Spirit Condensing Jue running at all times. As long as he kept increasing his attributes, he believed it wouldn’t be long before he could draw talismans like “Bean Soldiers” through his own power.

…

Zhao Hongmei followed President Wu’s orders, logged into Cheng Yu’s account, and posted two new movie teasers, explaining Duge’s unusual behavior over the past two days.

And the reporters who originally interviewed Duge published articles full of anticipation for the movie and amazement at the magician’s performance.

However.

But with news being deleted and live streams being banned, few people believed this kind of refutation.

Rumors spread far and wide.

Of course.

There might also be trigger keywords like “manipulation” stirring the pot from behind the scenes.

In short, aside from the public forums and message boards where discussing the Heavenly Demon was forbidden,

in private groups and obscure forums, discussions about Heavenly Demons, ghosts, Daoist Skills, and all sorts of bizarre topics blazed hotly, with all the experts analyzing and various firsthand sightings…

In response to this.

The officials let it flow on its own.

They knew, no matter the issue,

the heat was only momentary.

Get a few experts and scholars to stir things up a bit, find some new hot topics, lead the rhythm for a few rounds, and the direction of public opinion would naturally change.

Perhaps netizens could even start quarreling among themselves…

The more mysterious and strange a matter, the more unbelievable it became in the retelling. Without witnessing it themselves, who would really take it seriously?

As for those who had seen it with their own eyes, there were not many who would believe them either.

…

Duge instructed Zhao Hongmei to buy a large amount of cinnabar and yellow paper, and then he locked himself in his hotel room, drawing talismans all day.

He needed to prepare for the battle that evening. Ordinary people used them to boost their attributes, but the Cultivation World was the main battlefield against the candidates; he must win the friendship of the Cultivation World.

Zhao Hongmei didn’t know about Duge’s learning process nor the fact that Duge had challenged the juniors of the Dao Cultivation World.

Therefore, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation, she obediently purchased the talisman paper and let Duge practice while she busied herself cleaning up after him.

In her opinion, Duge had only been studying with Daoist Suwen for one day and couldn’t be expected to be able to draw talismans himself. Those thunder talismans, Cloud Rain Talismans and the like must have been given to him by Daoist Suwen for protection.

As long as Duge obediently practiced Dao and didn’t cause trouble online, that was the greatest success.

…

In the afternoon,

Qing Song found Duge, but as he entered the room, he was immobilized by a talisman Duge threw on the ground.

Then he watched, wide-eyed, as Duge drew one talisman after another with the efficiency of an assembly line worker. Unable to utter a word of persuasion until he broke free from the Immobilizing Talisman, he silently started mixing cinnabar for him.

At that moment,

he understood why his master had gone into seclusion.

Why had his junior brother so boldly claimed to challenge all the young generations of cultivators?

To be able to draw talismans non-stop after just one day of learning, his Spiritual Power seemed inexhaustible. If he had such a talent, he would have become unbearably arrogant long ago.

Compared to his junior brother, Qing Song felt that all his life’s cultivation might as well have been spent on a dog.

It’s maddening to compare oneself to others, and disgraceful to compare goods!

If it weren’t for watching over his junior brother to make sure he didn’t beat the other sect members too harshly,

Qing Song would have wanted to go into seclusion like his master and never show his face again.

“Junior brother, when you fight those from the sects tonight, try to restrain yourself and avoid taking any lives,” Qing Song said while mixing the cinnabar, offering advice to his fellow disciple in a different way.

“Don’t worry, Brother Qing Song, I know my limits,” Duge smiled as he drew another Immobilizing Talisman, “I must also thank you for coming to back me up. You’re different from Brother Yu Ming, who’s too timid, always wanting me to apologize to those nobodies. I’m so proud. Master has said I am a cultivation genius, destined to achieve the Golden Core Great Path eventually. How could I possibly apologize to those inferior to me…”

I’m not here to back you up either!

Qing Song let out a silent sigh and said, “Junior brother, you don’t need to draw so many Immobilizing Talismans. I was caught off guard just now; that’s why you were able to immobilize me. During a real fight, Immobilizing Talismans aren’t very useful.”

“Thank you for the advice, Brother,” Duge grinned, “But since I have time, I might as well draw some more, just to practice my hand control.”

Immobilizing Talismans were not Dan Cong’s “ban” characters that could immobilize ordinary people for a minute or two.

Against cultivators, they could at most immobilize them for a few seconds, and those with high Cultivation Levels might only pause briefly.

Furthermore, they would have to hit the target, which required high precision. This was also why the Talisman Sect was not adept at combat.

But for Duge, even a brief pause was enough for him to launch a powerful offensive.

After all,

besides talismans, he also possessed formidable martial abilities brought by the keywords.

The talismans mostly consisted of those for exorcising evil or repelling ghosts, and the offensive ones were either Five Thunder Talismans or Divine Fire Talismans. Bearing no grudges, it wouldn’t be right to kill those juniors of the Dao Cultivation World with them.

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