5 5. Hidden Dangers

"Elder Ma! There are hidden dangers in some of these techniques!" Wang Feng exclaimed. Elder Ma was startled. If she were not magnanimous, she would ruin this boy just for insulting her work as a scripture elder. He just nonchalantly tore her face off. Second, she would kill him just for insulting the Shenshan Sect and accusing the organization of negligence.

Elder Ma gritted her teeth. The person in front of her was just a kid. When the momentary anger dissipated, she just decided to humor this dumb kid.

"Which scriptures are bad? Tell your aunt Ma," she smiled.

Wang Feng was happy that he was taken seriously.

"Carp ascending to dragon scripture, purple qi domineering art, qi and flesh emperor scripture, yin-yang oscillation technique, Jie mountain unrelenting scripture, qilin heart sutra, descending ape 29 movements."

Elder Ma was curious. "What makes you say that? What's wrong with these scriptures?"

Wang Feng nodded and continued.

"I've divined which scriptures are ominous to me, then divined the scriptures that are ominous to others, thus figuring out which scriptures are ominous in general."

Elder Ma was astounded. All of a sudden, she started thinking Wang Feng might be right. She sneaked a look at Elder Li. Elder Li interjected:

"The kid is very adept at divination; I would look into it if I were you."

She collected related scriptures from the archives. "Elder Ma, just because something is ominous to the general public, that doesn't mean it's malicious. It might just need a special body type, rendering it useless for regular practitioners. There is a fallacy called the "appeal to authority" fallacy. Just because someone is referencing an authority doesn't mean they are right. Even if that authority is divination results or even the heavens,"

Elder Ma nodded. She suddenly caught herself treating a little kid like a co-worker. Something inside her head snapped. She pinched Wang Feng's cheeks. "YOU ARE SO CUTE!" Wang Feng, in desperation, called out to Elder Li, "AAARGH HELP ELDER LI! HELP ME!" His eyes caught Elder Li snickering. "ELDER LI YOU TRAITOR! SAVE ME! DON'T JUST LAUGH!"

Five minutes later, cheeks swollen, sick, and tired of his mind from constant divinations, he asked Elder Li for someplace to sleep. Elder Li said he would have him as a guest. Wang Feng fell asleep the moment he lay down.

Meanwhile, Elder Ma went to work on the scriptures mentioned.

First was the carp ascending to the dragon scripture. Elder Ma compared the manuals to the cultivation memoirs of those who practiced them.

This scripture was fairly normal except for one detail: practitioners reported having dragon-like qi. A worry gripped Elder Ma's heart. She brought the descending ape 29 movements over. This manual was the same. Practitioners reported having ape-like qi. More sure of what was going on, she brought over the Qilin Heart Sutra. Records show that this one causes practitioners to have qilin-like qi.

Ma Roulan's expression turned grim.

"Bloodline suppression."

She imagined a war between a powerful dragon, a powerful qilin, and a powerful ape. These grand monsters summon their bloodlines to war. Shoushan disciples that cultivate these manuals disappear and show up on these battlefields, grotesquely and miserably controlled by the monsters, used as cannon fodder, food, or whatever the monsters need. A mountain of corpses, their dream of eternity tragically cut short.

She looked into other techniques. The yin-yang oscillation technique requires a pure yang or pure yin body to effectively cultivate. These body types produce qi that is at least 35 percent similar to yin qi or yang qi in nature, allowing the practitioners to cultivate in uncontested cultivation zones like glaciers and scorching deserts. The technique is optimized for that and harmful to the average cultivator. The yin-yang oscillation technique holds up to scrutiny. Purple qi domineering art is okay at the early stages, but at the middle stages, it starts to cause problems. The untameable, wild qi that the art produces is not suited for cultivation at all. The only plus side is that practitioners of this art are more powerful than their peers. Which means nothing if you are going to die anyway. The Qi and Flesh Emperor scriptures contain passages that would shift the nature of someone's qi. The aim of such passages is likely to be to create an army that is loyal to the throne, utilizing effects inspired by bloodline suppression.

Ma Roulan's heart sank. A faction that is huge in influence and borders, like the empire, did this. One can't fight the entire Yao dynasty and survive the consequences. The sect can only helplessly watch as disciples are pulled into various schemes cooked up by the crown and used as peons. The crown might also use them as spies by keeping their cultivation hostage.

The worst was Jie Mountain's unrelenting scripture. They utilized the same tactics as the Yao dynasty. They also have no justification for doing so. The Jie Mountain sect is our supposed ally. Doing this to the scripture they gifted to us is pure treacherous behavior. Worse yet, it is a casus belli for a full-blown sectarian war.

Ma Roulan brought her findings together and left to see the sect master. Sect. Master Shi Hong was once again interrupted through the emergency line. Elder Ma shared her findings with Shi Hong. The sect leader laughed and showed Elder Ma his fingertips. On his fingerprints, there were dao marks. "Do you know which dao these dao marks signify?" Shi Hong moved his fingers.

Ma Roulan felt terror in the deepest recesses of her mind. She just lost control of her body. She danced, knelt, laid on her back, and purred like a kitten. Even though she was forced to smile, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Shi Hong threw a booklet in front of Ma Roulan. "This is the Thousand Puppets Sutra, which I wrote. Guess what I've put in it. My control is far more comprehensive and concealed than these amateurish attempts. I was aware of all these from the beginning. Oh, and Elder Ma, please shed your naivete. The world is a wild place."

Gasping and coughing, Ma Roulan pushed herself off the ground. Venerable-level thrashing was too much for her emotional state. She started heaving and hiccupping. What she accepted as her righteous family turned out to be just as cruel as the rest of the world.

"Ah, give that Wang Feng kid a thousand contribution points. His terrifying dao marks might overwrite my controls. We have to get him addicted to vain and hollow success instead."

Castles in Ma Roulan's mind have been toppled. The castle named "We Are the Good Guys" was obliterated. "I can trust my sect and sect master." was gone. Stripped of her mental protections, her ego was vulnerable. Shi Hong lifted Ma Roulan's chin and landed a kiss on her lips. Ma Roulan's heart skipped a beat, not out of sudden blossoming love but sheer terror. The person in front of her was not human. He was the human-shaped embodiment of manipulation. Listless, she made her way back to the scripture hall.

She stared at the library for a long time. For every malicious manual, there were ten practices that were legitimate. Out there, people were looking out for their fellow men. There are far more decent people in this world than corrupt people.