As the number of cultivators increased, so did the number of people who successfully achieved initial mastery. When the numbers reached a certain point, many things became quite natural.
For example, more people began to support the Taotie Technique.
More people started researching the Taotie Technique.
Even more people began researching those who cultivated the Taotie Technique.
Some even started live-streaming their cultivation, going for a medical check-up at the hospital every week.
To verify if the Taotie Technique truly cured cancer!
Following these actions, in less than half a year, public opinion online reversed. From widespread skepticism and ridicule, it turned into praise and support.
And this was not even the peak of the Taotie Technique's popularity.
The true glory of the Taotie Technique came about a month later, when the majority of cancer patients began to try cultivating it. A patient suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suddenly announced that he had tried cultivating the Taotie Technique for two months as a last resort. Not only had he managed to control his condition, but he had also shown signs of improvement.
This result strongly suggested that the Taotie Technique was not only effective for cancer patients but potentially useful for most terminal illnesses, even if it couldn't cure them.
It likely had controlling or inhibitory effects.
Perhaps it could even be useful for other diseases.
Even if the Taotie Technique could only manage symptoms, it would still be a matter of national, even global, sensation. This is because many diseases in the world are incurable, and even medication can only control the condition.
If one could achieve this by merely cultivating the Taotie Technique without medication, it would undoubtedly save patients a tremendous amount of money.
And it would certainly make pharmaceutical companies deeply resentful.
If previously, the Taotie Technique only garnered attention from cancer patients and their families, at this moment, the entire nation was paying attention.
Because they understood that even if they were not sick now, who could guarantee they wouldn't fall ill in the future? Learning it in advance would do no harm, and it might even be a cultivation method for health and longevity.
It was at this point that the Taotie Technique truly ignited a nationwide craze for learning.
And it was also at this point.
That many people discovered the cultivation method was not that easy to learn.
Even with step-by-step video tutorials, it still required cultivators to have a certain educational foundation. And it wasn't just basic language skills, but a solid understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Taoist theories.
Those who could read and had some self-learning ability were better off, able to catch up through extra study. For those who were illiterate or lacked self-learning ability, it was genuinely difficult. They could only ask for help from others, or pay for assistance.
Fortunately, there were many kind-hearted people. They knew that most illiterate individuals in this era likely came from less affluent families, so they created further simplified explanations based on the instructional videos uploaded to Dingyun.
They aimed to lower the learning threshold to a point where anyone who could understand human speech and was willing to learn could master it.
Some even produced braille versions and other accessible formats.
In short, most people were quite enthusiastic. They not only generously shared and explained the technique for free but also actively combated those who were charging for lessons. They believed it was outrageous for someone to profit from something the creator had released for free.
This was akin to a singer releasing their music copyright-free, only for others to charge for covers of that song – it was equally shameful.
Or rather, even more shameful.
Compared to the joy and celebration of many patients and ordinary people, major pharmaceutical companies and hospitals were far from happy, especially those that specialized in selling anti-cancer drugs, blood sugar regulators, blood pressure medications, and other suppressive drugs.
The saying, "May the world be free of illness, and may medicine gather dust on the shelves," might have been the wish of some, but for the entire pharmaceutical industry, very few genuinely desired such an outcome. After all, they depended on patients for their livelihood; without illness, they'd be left with nothing.
Therefore, a smear campaign against the Taotie Technique.
Soon swept in once more, more rapidly and terrifyingly than before. Overnight, the Taotie Technique seemed to become something utterly incurable, toxic, and harmful.
They might as well have claimed that cultivating it caused radiation.
Or that it led to hell.
But, it didn't have much of an effect.
This was because the Taotie Technique was entirely different from medications; they were two distinct entities. If Dingyun had initially introduced a miracle drug that could cure all ailments, or a cure for cancer, then various smear campaigns might have been effective, and people might have indeed worried about side effects and temporarily halted or stopped taking it.
But the Taotie Technique was a cultivation method, and a freely disseminated one at that. It had no connection to the medical field. No matter how the pharmaceutical companies united, they couldn't prevent the spread of this cultivation method. Claims that cultivating the Taotie Technique would result in adverse effects were even more laughable.
Setting aside the natural affinity and pursuit of divine martial arts manuals among Chinese people, there was no historical record of anyone dying from cultivating martial arts, or suffering from side effects. Qi deviation was something found only in novels.
In reality, the worst that could happen from cultivating a martial arts manual was mistaking a fake one for the real thing, deceiving oneself and others, and then being soundly defeated.
Like a certain divine whip master...
Those who met with misfortune were usually those who had deluded others and, in the process, deluded themselves. If you simply cultivated without causing trouble or provoking others, what accidents could occur?
Besides, the Taotie Technique clearly stated that this cultivation method could only treat illnesses and do nothing else. Claims of lightness skills were pure nonsense. At best, excluding its healing function, its overall effect might be inferior to practicing Tai Chi.
Such a gentle cultivation method.
Who would believe that practicing it would lead to ruin?
Even if the pharmaceutical companies fabricated some cases, or even caused a few deaths to falsely accuse it, few would believe them. People were no longer as gullible as they once were. The online blacklash was clearly indicative of a problem; it was obvious that those whose interests were harmed were the ones slandering and framing it.
All those who benefited, whose conditions were managed, or even cured by the Taotie Technique, could not stand idly by while the technique that saved their lives and considerable money was being slandered.
They truly united their forces, utilizing every available resource.
They delved deep to uncover the truth and reported all the internet trolls and behind-the-scenes instigators.
Under the vast sea of the common people, what could the pharmaceutical companies achieve even if they banded together? The smart ones had already begun to pivot to medical devices, health supplements, or specialized drugs for diseases that the Taotie Technique couldn't treat, or for which its effects were too slow.
Those who remained stubbornly unrepentant and threw all their chips in either broke the law and were apprehended, or suffered heavy losses.
A majority of those who were stubbornly unrepentant and made a last stand had backgrounds in foreign pharmaceutical companies, or were branches established by them. Seeing their inability to compete, they quickly banded together and were the first to promote the Taotie Technique abroad as demonic, urging people not to cultivate it. They aimed to seize the initiative and at least protect their overseas markets.
Compared to the Chinese people, who were no strangers to martial arts manuals and internal energy cultivation, people in other countries who had never encountered such things were far easier to deceive.
The mere mention of Eastern witchcraft, sorceresses, demons, and the idea of going to hell was enough to scare most people.
Thus, preserving most of the market.