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

Chapter 130: Elder Ye Luo Opens the Fire Gate

Three days later, Sun Yi and the management team brought the over fifty disciples who met the hardware requirements into a specialized operating theater.

The next step was the surgical installation. Sun Yi, alongside the five Elders, began hard-coding the new Dantians into the disciples’ bodies.

It took another three-day grind to fully patch the new Dantian modules into all fifty-plus subjects.

The newly upgraded disciples were ecstatic. Activating the Five Gates triggered a massive internal shift, and their raw power skyrocketed.

Finally, they understood why Zhang Yuan’s team was so monstrously powerful. This secret technique to open the Five Gates was simply too heaven-defying—an absolute game-breaker.

Post-op, Zhang Yuan and his squad collected the modified disciples for integration.

Sun Yi instructed Er Gouzi to rezone a prime sector on the main peak specifically for the War Hall. From now on, the special-ops unit would be headquartered at the Sect’s core.

“At last, their Dantian arrays are fully deployed,” Elder Jin Jue beamed, visibly delighted. “As long as they can break through their current bottlenecks, their future development potential will be boundless.”

“A pity we lack the means to aid their breakthrough right now,” Elder Qin Chu sighed, the financial reality dousing the mood.

“Fear not. I have absolute faith that the Headmaster will divine a path to shatter their bottlenecks,” Elder Ye Luo stated, his gaze fixed firmly on Sun Yi.

Sun Yi smiled confidently. “Don’t worry. I’ll find a workaround. The patch for that bug shouldn’t take too much longer.”

Despite his crushing schedule, Sun Yi had been constantly researching the Heavenly Soul Liquid formula. Thanks to his split-mind exploit, he could multitask across eight threads. Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, two of his soul avatars were perpetually dedicated to decoding the production schematics.

“How is your Body Tempering Art progressing?” Sun Yi suddenly asked, shifting focus.

“This old man is ready to attempt the Fire Gate,” Elder Ye Luo replied. As a practitioner of a fire-attribute Daoist Art, the Fire Gate was the optimal entry point for his build.

“If your specs are ready, let’s initiate the Fire Gate protocol immediately,” Sun Yi said. “Booting up the Fire Gate will massively optimize your crafting efficiency for artifact and pill refining.”

“It is regrettable that the Seven Star Tower failed to source a Spiritual Fire during the last trade,” Elder Ye Luo shook his head, his face full of longing. Ever since he witnessed Sun Yi effortlessly refine the Purple Extreme Berserk Flame, he had been obsessed with acquiring a Spiritual Fire of his own. Unfortunately, such heaven-born flames were exceedingly rare; scoring the Purple Extreme Berserk Flame had been pure luck.

“Let’s focus on the present. Prepping the operation for Elder Ye Luo’s Fire Gate now,” Sun Yi ordered.

The team moved efficiently, having already perfected the workflow. Inside the cultivation chamber, Elder Ye Luo sat cross-legged. He opened his mouth and swallowed the specialized catalyst core.

Wrapped in dense True Qi, he navigated the substance directly toward his heart meridian.

At this stage, Elder Ye Luo’s focus narrowed to a razor’s edge. The heart was not the right lung; a single misstep here would be fatal.

Taking a deep breath to steady his Dao heart, Elder Ye Luo began the refinement process.

He had personally assisted Sun Yi in opening the Five Gates and had just spent days operating on the War Hall disciples, so he knew the procedure by heart.

Two days later, the catalyst was fully refined, its volatile aura perfectly synchronized with the rhythm of his beating heart.

Then, Elder Ye Luo frantically injected a torrent of True Qi into the core. The saturation phase lasted for an entire twenty-four hours.

Sun Yi and the Elders watched with bated breath. They knew this was the critical failure point.

Suddenly, Elder Ye Luo’s hands flashed through a series of seals, instantly detonating the special substance inside his heart. A cataclysmic force erupted. To Elder Ye Luo, it felt as if a giant hand had just ripped his heart apart.

The visceral agony was so overwhelming that a muffled groan forced its way out of his throat.

Under the brutal shockwave, micro-fissures spiderwebbed across the surface of his heavily reinforced heart.

Knowing his life was on the line, Elder Ye Luo did not hesitate. He swallowed a pre-prepared Vitality Pill and immediately redlined his True Qi to suppress the explosive detonation.

The high-tier restorative flooded his system, its vast medicinal power rapidly patching the fissures in his heart. Combined with his all-out suppression, the berserk energy was gradually forced into submission.

Another day passed. Elder Ye Luo slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a long plume of turbid gray air. A relieved smile touched his pale lips.

“My thanks to you all for acting as my Dharma Protectors.”

“As long as your hardware is intact. Run your recovery protocols,” Sun Yi said.

Seeing that Elder Ye Luo had successfully brought the Fire Gate online, the entire room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Elder Ye Luo nodded, pulling two High Grade Spirit Stones from his ring and fully absorbing their Spiritual Qi to replenish his reserves. Sun Yi and the others waited silently on standby.

Unbeknownst to Sun Yi and the Qingyun Sect, danger was already darkening their skies. High in the clouds, not too far from the Sect’s borders, a massive flying boat was tearing through the void toward them.

This was not a Rank 4 flagship, but a Rank 3 vessel. Though its top speed lagged behind a Rank 4, its sheer tonnage was just as imposing.

Upon the foredeck stood seven figures, hovering slightly above the boards. At the vanguard stood the ultimate threat: Wen Sha, Sect Leader of the Black Wind Stockade.

Flanking him were Daoist Ghost Wood, Daoist Centipede, and Old Monster Skeleton, along with three other early Golden Core stage enforcers.

The Black Wind Stockade had mobilized a strike force of over 500 cultivators for this raid. Beyond the seven Golden Core heavy-hitters, the rest were entirely Foundation Establishment elites. It was a small but terrifyingly dense concentration of power.

“Heh heh, the Qingyun Sect is finally in our sights. The fools likely don’t even know their doom is upon them,” Old Monster Skeleton cackled, a fierce, sadistic light flickering in his hollow eyes.

“Gah gah gah! My little darlings are starving. They can’t wait to drink their fill of blood!” Daoist Centipede hissed, vibrating with excitement.

Wen Sha, however, raised a warning eyebrow. “Do not forget this seat’s command. Our objective is not the total annihilation of the Qingyun Sect. We are here to inflict crippling damage and seize their resources. If we wish to eradicate them entirely, we must wait until our Patriarch ascends to the Nascent Soul stage and personally crushes that old fossil, Patriarch Qingxuan.”

“Fear not, Sect Leader. We know better than to leave that old ghost Qingxuan completely alone,” Old Monster Skeleton grinned. “We shall leave him a few disciples and grand-disciples to weep over.”

“Sect Leader! I care not for the rest, but that old ghost Jin Jue must die by my hand!” Daoist Ghost Wood snarled, his eyes flashing with a predatory gleam as an overwhelming hatred radiated from his very bones.

Having been critically wounded by Elder Jin Jue’s sneak attack during their last encounter, Daoist Ghost Wood harbored a burning vendetta. He wished for nothing more than to tear Elder Jin Jue to pieces.

Upon learning of this raid, he had ignored all warnings. Dragging his severely injured body, he forced his way onto the ship, explicitly defying even Wen Sha’s initial orders.

“Very well. I shall aid you in capturing Jin Jue. His fate will be yours to decide,” Wen Sha replied coldly.

“Many thanks, Sect Leader!” Daoist Ghost Wood’s skeletal face split into a malicious grin.

Standing at the prow, Wen Sha stared in the direction of the Qingyun Sect, his gaze sharpening into a lethal glare.

Through exorbitant bribes to corrupt Seven Star Tower merchants, Wen Sha had confirmed that Patriarch Qingxuan was not in the Sect. He also learned the Qingyun Sect had just purchased a king’s ransom in supplies. Wen Sha couldn’t resist the ROI of such a raid; the opportunity was too perfect.

If he waited any longer, the Qingyun Sect would consume those resources. To secure that vast wealth, Wen Sha decided to strike now.

Intelligence showed the Qingyun Sect only possessed five Golden Core cultivators, all mid-stage. Even though Elder Jin Jue had recently ascended to the late Golden Core stage, he had barely consolidated his cultivation. With seven Golden Core cultivators on his side, Wen Sha was certain they could easily crush the resistance.