Cultivation, Inc.I Use Capitalism to Fix a Dying Sect

The first item on the table was a jagged lump of gold-red ore the size of a human head. Faint, ghostly flames licked across its surface, and a wave of blistering heat radiated from its core.

Mystic Fire Gold. A Tier-3 ultra-rare alloy. Even Tier-4 artifacts often utilized this material as a base. In the current market, it was practically priceless.

Next lay a fiery red pearl, roughly the size of a chicken egg. It pulsed with a dense, rhythmic heat.

Lava Crystal. A high-density energy source formed only in the deepest subterranean magma flows. Another Tier-3 treasure.

Then came a half-foot-long, blood-red horn. It spiraled elegantly, its surface marked with natural rune-like striations. It possessed the translucent beauty of a polished ruby.

Sun Yi’s database recognized it instantly: the horn of a Fire Rhinoceros Beast. A Tier-3 Demon Beast material known for its supreme conductivity.

Finally, a palm-sized crimson crystal—Earth Fire Essence Crystal.

Sun Yi scanned the array of components. Processing valuation…

Elder Ye Luo hadn’t held back. These were flagship-tier assets. The raw material cost alone was astronomical.

“These are high-capital investments, Elder Ye,” Sun Yi said, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Aren’t you worried I’ll brick the build and waste them?”

“Hehe.” Ye Luo chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. “If the Sect Master is the one using them, the concept of ‘waste’ does not exist. Success or failure, the resources serve their purpose.”

“Please, begin, Headmaster,” Elder Jin Jue leaned forward, his eyes shining. “Let this old man witness the true might of the Purple Extreme Berserk Flame.”

The room fell silent. The audience was locked in.

“Initiating,” Sun Yi murmured.

He took a deep breath. System Command: Activate Fire Gate. Output: 40%.

A violet flash erupted before him. A basketball-sized sphere of the Purple Extreme Berserk Flame materialized, hovering steadily in the air.

With a mental command, his True Qi swept up the four materials. They floated into the purple inferno.

Process: Thermal Breakdown.

Poof!

The purple flames roared, enveloping the materials in a terrifying embrace.

The efficiency was ruthless.

Within an hour, the structure of the Mystic Fire Gold collapsed, turning into a glowing liquid. Thirty minutes later, the Fire Rhinoceros horn dissolved. The Lava Crystal and Earth Fire Essence followed suit.

“By the Heavens…” Elder Qin Chu gasped. “That melting speed is unnatural!”

Although Qin Chu wasn’t an artificer, he knew the specs. Melting Tier-3 materials usually took days of slow roasting. Sun Yi was doing it in minutes.

“Elder Ye,” Elder Li Tai whispered, not taking his eyes off the fire. “Could your Dan Fire achieve this throughput?”

Ye Luo shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. “My Dan Fire is a candle compared to that blast furnace. Even at full power, it would take this old man five times as long just to soften the outer shell.”

“But your cultivation base is profound!” Elder Han Yun’s eyes were wide as saucers. “How can the gap be this wide?”

“It is a hardware difference,” Ye Luo explained, slipping into a lecture tone. “A Spirit Fire is inherently superior to a cultivator’s internal Dan Fire. And the Sect Master possesses the Purple Extreme Berserk Flame—a top-tier model even among Spirit Fires. Furthermore…” He narrowed his eyes. “I suspect the Fire Gate in his body acts as a dedicated amplifier.”

“However,” Ye Luo added, his expression turning grave, “melting is merely the initialization. Next is the Purification phase. That process drains True Qi like a flood. I worry if the Headmaster’s reserves can sustain the load.”

The Elders fell silent, tension filling the room.

Sun Yi didn’t hear them. He was in the zone.

Status: Purification Mode.

Inside the purple inferno, the four blobs of molten liquid tumbled and spun. Under Sun Yi’s microscopic control, impurities were forced out, popping like tiny bubbles and rising as wisps of white smoke.

Normally, this required the geothermal pressure of an Earth Fire room or a Tier-3 Artificer’s immense reserves. Sun Yi was neither. He was running this on a Foundation Establishment chassis.

Warning: Energy Levels Dropping.

Warning: Reserves at 15%.

Time blurred. Sun Yi entered a flow state, his mind acting as the CPU regulating the temperature variance to within a fraction of a degree.

A full day passed.

Sun Yi finally exhaled, his face pale, sweat beading on his forehead. The materials inside the fire had shrunk significantly, glowing with a pure, concentrated brilliance.

System Alert: Battery Critical. Remaining Charge: 1%.

He had cut it close. Extremely close. Another hour, and his system would have crashed, ruining the materials. But the purification was complete.

“Phase Two complete,” Sun Yi thought, fighting the fatigue. “Now for Phase Three: Fusion.”

This phase was less about raw energy (True Qi) and more about processing power (Soul Power).

Soul Integrity: 100%.

“Excellent!” Elder Ye Luo breathed a sigh of relief loud enough to be heard. “He passed the energy bottleneck. Now comes the fusion. The magnetic repulsion between Tier-3 materials is immense… I wonder if his Soul Power can handle the compilation errors.”

“Hehe, relax,” Elder Jin Jue grinned. “The Headmaster’s soul is a fortress. This step will be a walk in the park.”

Suddenly, Sun Yi’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint of light flashing within them.

Execute Merge.

A massive surge of Soul Power erupted from his mind, wrapping around the four molten spheres like a vice.

Alert: Material Incompatibility Detected. Repulsive Force Rising.

The four elements fought against each other, magnetic forces trying to push them apart. Sun Yi didn’t flinch. He applied brute force calculation, his Soul Power crushing the resistance, forcing the molecular structures to align.

Slowly, agonizingly, the blobs began to merge.

This process consumed another twenty-four hours.

Finally, the resistance broke. The four materials collapsed into a single, unified mass of gold-red liquid, the size of an adult’s fist.

Fusion Complete.

Sun Yi didn’t stop. He immediately began the Shaping protocol.

Using his mind as the mold, he stretched the liquid. It elongated, flattened, and sharpened.

Moments later, a Sword Embryo hovered in the flames.

It was one foot long, glowing with a translucent gold-red hue. It lacked the complex Artifact Runes that would come later, but even in this raw state, it hummed with power. Waves of scorching heat and sharp Sword Qi pulsed from it, distorting the air.

“Look at that quality…” Ye Luo stared, mesmerized. “That is merely the embryo, yet the oscillation readings are off the charts.”

“Tsk, tsk.” Elder Jin Jue clicked his tongue, shaking his head in wonder. “A Foundation Establishment cultivator forging a Tier-3 artifact… If word of this leaks, the cultivation world will lose its collective mind. Eyes will pop out of sockets.”

“Hahaha! It is our fortune that he belongs to the Qingyun Sect!” Elder Li Tai laughed, slapping his thigh. “If he can do this now, imagine when he upgrades his cultivation? We’ll be mass-producing Tier-4 legends!”

“We used to rely solely on Elder Ye for high-end gear,” Qin Chu grinned. “Now we have two heavyweights. The Sect is entering a golden age.”

“Don’t forget the backend team,” Ye Luo reminded them. “Hall Master Yan at the Refining Hall has also pushed his patch through. He is a Tier-3 Artificer now as well.”

“Truly? The Refining Hall is scaling up nicely.”

Inside the circle, Sun Yi ignored the chatter. He grabbed two High-Grade Spirit Stones, one in each hand.

System: Recharge Mode Initiated.

The final step—Inscribing the Runes—was the most delicate operation. It required peak performance. He couldn’t risk a glitch now.

The meltdown and fusion had to be done in a single, uninterrupted sprint—yī gǔ zuò qì. But now that the hardware (the Sword Embryo) was forged, he could pause to install the software (Runes).

Sun Yi closed his eyes, drawing in the spiritual energy greedily. He wouldn’t proceed until his status bar was full green.