Molting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 930: Restriction

The problem was how difficult they were to perform. They required helpless subjects, long procedures, and consumed resources to create their effects just like the products other Professions produced. Worse yet, if a Restriction were to fail, it would cause permanent harm to the person it was placed upon. It was much safer and easier to spend effort creating tools, formations or even talismans. They could be passed on to others or traded for resources. Many feared that Restrictions would be used to turn people into slaves or cripple their capabilities, but thankfully the Restrictions that did so were many times more expensive and difficult to use than Magic Tools that did the same thing.

Even so, many large groups still maintained a few bits of knowledge of Restrictions. Mainly for the same reason that Sage was using now. To protect their secrets. The members of the Chong Clan and its Branches all had a Restriction placed upon them to prevent someone else from stealing the Insect Immortal Index from them. Placing a Restriction upon so many people took quite a long time and so much of the time was spent on this.

The other thing that took time was the rehabilitation of the fifth rank and sixth rank members. Unable to be easily affected by implanted suggestions, there was a need to ensure that none of them could be tempted to defect to the Four Major Businesses. It was even more important considering that these were the strongest members of the Chong Clan and more of them had access to the improved versions of the Insect Immortal Index.

Sages questions about the Insect Immortal Index and the Chong Clan were answered during this period. Just as hed suspected, the Chong Clan never actually had the True Insect Immortal Index. Each of the factions had access to an improved version of one of the Indexes techniques, just like the Lang Clan did. The Xie had an improved version of Mature, which allowed their scorpions to become Demonic Insects and grow stronger as they aged. The Wa had an improved Merge, which is how they combined with their toads to wear them like armor. The Wu had an improved version of Mutate, which they used to create so many Centipede weapons and equipment.

The Jinxi and Xiyi surprisingly didnt have any improved techniques. It made sense for the Jinxi as they had overthrown the original Clan leaders, but the Xiyi were one of the first factions so it was odd they were left out. Either way, these improved techniques were considered their highest secrets so only the Nascent Souls and most trusted Core Formation Cultivators of each faction had access to them.

Applying Restrictions to these people was easy with the help of the Purple Mist Sect to render them unconscious, but it was a harder thing to ensure their loyalty. This was why there were some in the Clans that went missing and never returned. Only those who could prove they were immune to blackmail, coercion and disloyalty to their Clan were able to return. Those who were deemed unfit had to stay on the Inner World for the rest of their lives.

They were subjected to many methods to test their loyalty. Kidnaping their loved ones, offering them huge rewards, along with psychological and physical torture. It was a bit extreme, but without being able to affect their minds like the weaker Cultivators, the Lang Clan had to make sure these people wouldnt give up the secrets of the Insect Immortal Index to the Four Major Businesses. It was especially tricky because they had to make sure there werent those putting on an act in front of the Lang Clan just so they could get the chance to be released again. If they held a grudge against the Lang Clan now, then many might want to spread the Insect Immortal Index just to spite the Lang Clan. The Lang Clan went to the trouble of setting up elaborate scenarios where the Chong Clan members thought they were released or had broken free to the outside world and then tempted them.

The whole ordeal was quite the massive headache and if Sage had to do it on his own he would likely have treated them like those gangsters from the Astral Hidden Realm and just locked them up without giving it any further thought. Things were different this time as he had the Lang Clan, the Purple Mist Sec, the Prosperity Company, and even the descendants of the Three Kings to help him. Those mercenaries hed brought in had ruled the human kingdoms and then passed away, leaving their descendants to take over. The three of them were all Nascent Souls, but their lifespans were not infinite. A Nascent Soul usually lives about ten thousand years, which is a terrifying amount of time, but the Inner World had progressed many times that by now. At Sages previous level, the seven hundred times multiplier meant it took less than fifteen years for that much time to pass on the Inner World.

This was also why he didnt feel as much concern over the Lang Clan still on the Inner World as he did for those who had returned to the outside. The Lang Clan on the Inner World was now so many generations removed from him it took a pile of documents to trace their relation to him. With so many minds and so many methods at their disposal, most of the more powerful members of the Chong Clan and its Branches were pulled over to their side and convinced to accept Restrictions. It took some time for the Elders to come around, but for the most part the Lang Clans tyrannical ways were merely enacted to ensure none of them would leak the secrets of their Clan. It was already in the best interests of the Chong Clan for such a thing not to happen. If it wasnt for the fact that they were being forced into this, most of them would support such an ideology. It took years for these Elders to get over the spite they felt for being treated as irresponsible children at best, or prisoners at worst.

Many tried to fake their loyalty, but the many plots that Lang Clan created to test loyalty as well as many unusual Magical Tools discovered most of them quite easily. One of the most useful weapons they found in this regard was the Lang Clans oft overlooked Pheromone powers. They were not as directly powerful and controlling as the Hypnotic Eyes could be, but Pheromones were far more subtle and could be used on even the most powerful Cultivators at reduced potency. It helped the hidden agents earn the trust of the Chong Clan and more easily discover their secrets. It was pretty easy for them to spread a handful of the most powerful Chong Clansmen through the Inner World to remote areas and create scenarios to test them. The most used was merely to let them feel theyd escaped and were now in a remote part of the world. Then strangers from the nearby town could observe them while helping them find a way back to their home Kingdom.

Only a handful of the Chong Clan members and its Branch members were unable to be subjugated and were left upon the Inner World. The others had Restrictions placed upon them, as well as pacts sworn on Oathstones or with Blood Contracts. Not only did they have to prevent the Insect Immortal Index from spreading, they also had to hide the secret strength of the Lang Clan. While initially furious, they eventually came to terms with the fact that their ally was so powerful. The rest of the world had no idea how powerful the Lang Clan really was, nor did they know how closely the Lang and Chong Clan were connected now. Theyd lost the upper hand, but it also meant they had a powerful thigh to cling to in the future.