---Xiguang Province----
A wistful sigh could be heard in the cold, damp air of the tomb. The two men were standing in a dusty cultivation chamber, littered with decaying signs of its former inhabitants. The barren catacomb looked centuries old, but that was all just an illusion.
"You sigh like that every time we finish one of these," Marco said with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he placed the rotten box on the pedestal in the back of the chamber. After the 38th time of baiting one of these traps, his companions' regretful sighs became a little annoying.
"It's just such a shame for us to-"
"Leave such a good weapon in the hands of these scum from the Sect Alliance, yeah, yeah. You said that a billion times. How often do I have to tell you these are not a gift? We are poisoning the well," Marco said, expertly arranging the box.
Inside was one of the slew of cursed weapons, Minas Mar had shipped to the Voracious Cloud Continent. It was a sleep, dark gray sword. Its double-edged blade exuded an almost visible sharpness. With a vivid aura that made one think the sword itself would jump from its box to strike down intruders, it stood in stark contrast to the dull cave, reeking of death.
For the past couple of weeks, Marco had been setting up places like this with the help of the Soaring Eagle Sect and the Luminous Mountain Sect. The cultivators were experts when it came to the right look an ancient site was supposed to have.
Together with them, he had built ancient tombs, sealed cultivation graves, forgotten secret realms, abandoned estates, and pseudo-dungeons, all spiked with the very special present the Tower master had for the Cloud Continent.
Each of these sights held at least one epic-rated weapon, enchanted with a demonic power that ate away at the wielder's mind, body, or soul. Seth even placed a letter with them, explicitly instructing him to let nobody directly touch them. Some of them could corrupt a man with just a touch.
"I know, I know, but still..." the man from the Soraing Eagle Sect said sadly. "Why are they the only ones getting to have a good time?" he asked. Even when the price was poisoned, he was still jealous of the adventure.
They didn't just build these places. The Luminous Mountain Sect had meticulously crafted and spread rumors about these places, and specific clues and old maps coincidentally made their way into the hands of promising talents or desperate youths of the Sect Alliance.
What did the natives call these again? Heavenly Occurrences? Happy Meeting... No, right. "Fortuitous Encounters". Quite a few had already had their "Fortuitous Encounters" after a little treasure hunt and claimed their prizes.
The demonic influences would not become obvious right away, so for now, the swords were quickly gaining the name of master pieces left behind by a master of ancient times. It helped that the weapons far surpassed most items crafted in the Xiguang Province.
Some even hailed them as heaven grade. Marco could blame them. Although he didn't touch them, they all came with an instruction leaflet that summarized their effects. That helped craft the themes of the traps.
Based on the notes, these weapons were insane for epic weapons. The most ordinary ones did things like tripling physical damage, rivaling some legendary effects he had heard about. The only reason they were not relics or even legends was the terrible price one had to pay. The power was not free.
Marco had already seen some of the effects in the earliest "chevaliers of fortune". They were enraptured by the swords, eager to use them whenever. Their demeanor became more violent and obsessive in general. Many were also easy to provoke and would all too quickly take a life, and these were just the starting signs of the encroachment, barely a week after first contact.
Still, for the first weeks, they would barely notice, and the weapon would be their greatest blessing. But later on, it would be their downfall. Not just because demons would corrupt them and possess the weak.
They would make them paranoid, rightfully so. Even without the demonic blessing, the swords themselves would create stress and rifts within the faction. The inner conflict would further weaken their factions.
"Don't worry, you will get your fun once we start auctioning these off," Marco said, standing up. He was finally satisfied with the arrangement of the box. Now, when one entered the cave dwelling, their eyes would be instantly drawn by the mysterious glint of the sword in the far back.
He had made sure it was not too obvious, only catching just the right amount of light, to make an adventurer curious and come looking. Satisfied, he joined his partner at the mouth of the cave dwelling.
"Oh, right, I'm looking forward to that. How many more of these do we have to prepare before we can do that?" the other said with a sinister smile. He was jealous of the adventurer of found a treasure sword in a ruin, but he was looking forward to watching people buy their own doom for a fortune.
"This was the 38th. We have two more to set up, then we have to wait a while for the rumors to spread.," Marco estimated. Currently, only 15 sites had been discovered, and rumors were just starting to build up.
Once they bloomed completely, and everyone heard about these treasure swords, it would not be weird for some of them to appear in auctions across the province. Or in the hands of downtrodden lone cultivators, selling them to sects aware that it was a crime to harbor treasure without sufficient strength.
As merchandise, loot, and gifts, they could funnel even more cursed goods into the hands of their enemies. By the time Minas Mar came, these people would rip each other apart all on their own. They would just come to collect the easy pickings.
"Nice, only two more and we are finally done, " the cultivator said, exiting the cave together with Marco. Outside was only a thin stone ledge at the edge of a violent stream of water, and the food was a steep gulch.
They had to make it believable if people were supposed to think that these sites had not been found by anyone for a couple of centuries. Once they both stood outside, the cultivator started carving characters into various places around the entrance. Some he damaged himself, others were only carved shallow from the start.
Everything to make it seem like a formation that was worn down by time, only now revealing the hidden treasure. This was the setting for most of their traps. Marco had thought this theme was a little campy, but it seemed common sense on the Cloud Continent.
If an ancestor wanted to leave a legacy, there were only two ways to acquire it. Either you proved yourself worthy of the challenges left behind, or you were lucky to arrive so late that all challenges had already fallen to time, but nobody else had claimed the prize already.
They also bet on this to explain why there was "suddenly" a generation of powerful swords appearing. The places that were hiding them simply all grow so old at the same time that it becomes easy for some lucky ones to claim the goodies.
Against all of Marco's doubts, it was actually working.
"Let's get out of here. I want to get back to the village before it gets dark," his partner said and took the lead as they returned.