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

Chapter 181: A New Era for the Chaos Demon Commandery

Patriarch Qingxuan had departed, yet the rogue cultivators remained fixed in the sky. They hovered in silence, waiting for Sun Yi’s verdict.

Even without the terrifying pressure of a Nascent Soul ancestor, the remaining Qingyun Sect forces were more than capable of obliterating this ragtag group. The gazes directed at the Qingyun disciples were filled with apprehension, bordering on terror.

It didn’t take long for the battlefield to be swept. The Qingyun disciples gathered every scrap of value and presented the spoils to Sun Yi. The final tally was staggering—the Xuanyin Sect’s treasury exceeded even the Zhou Family’s, totaling approximately 170 million Spirit Stones.

“Tsk, tsk. The ancients weren’t lying—murder and arson really are the fastest way to a golden belt.”

The rate of return here was far more ferocious than hunting in the Myriad Demon Forest. For a fleeting moment, a dangerous thought crossed Sun Yi’s mind: *Should I just liquidate every other faction in the Chaos Demon Commandery while I’m at it?*

He quickly dismissed the idea. He had already extinguished several major powers in quick succession. If he continued to aggressively target the remaining forces, they wouldn’t just sit there waiting to be slaughtered.

The Qingyun Sect could spend money to hire external aid, but so could they. If the remaining small factions united and pooled their wealth to hire experts from the Heavenly Saint Commandery, the situation could spiral out of control. It was a risk he didn’t need to take.

The Qingyun Sect had effectively secured hegemony over the Chaos Demon Commandery. The priority now was stability and infrastructure development. As long as the remaining small fries knew their place and followed the rules, they could live.

Sun Yi, flanked by Elder Jin Jue and the core team, flew up to the nervous crowd of rogue cultivators. His gaze swept across their faces, noting their tension.

Seeing them trembling like quails, Sun Yi flashed a bright, harmless smile and waved his hand. “Relax. There’s no need to be afraid. The Qingyun Sect is a disciplined organization. We don’t slaughter the innocent.”

The several hundred rogue cultivators instinctively looked down at the ruins of the Xuanyin Sect below. The ground was still littered with uncollected corpses. They looked back at Sun Yi’s sunny smile and found his statement… somewhat difficult to digest.

“Ahem.” Noticing the awkward silence, Sun Yi cleared his throat to regain control. “You all witnessed the entire process today. Now, I have a job for you.”

“Headmaster Sun, please give your orders!” one cultivator stammered quickly. “As long as it is within our power, we will certainly comply!”

“That’s right! Please instruct us, Headmaster Sun!”

Sun Yi nodded, his expression turning serious. “I need you to be my messengers. Spread the word of what happened here today. Tell every cultivator and faction in the Chaos Demon Commandery that from this moment on, they must abide by the Qingyun Sect’s rules.”

He raised a finger. “The rules are simple. No faction or cultivator is permitted to harm innocent commoners or commit acts of tyranny in their territories. If you want cultivation resources, hunt Demon Beasts. Bring the corpses and demon souls to the Qingyun Sect, and we will trade fairly.”

His voice dropped an octave, turning cold. “But if anyone dares to break my rules… well, the Evil Spirit Valley, the Black Wind Stockade, the Zhou Family, and the Xuanyin Sect serve as excellent examples of the consequences.”

The rogue cultivators shivered.

“Headmaster Sun, please rest assured! We will spread this message with all our might!”

“Yes, Headmaster Sun! Consider it done!”

Sun Yi’s expression softened again. “Good. Sorry for keeping you all waiting so long. Everyone, go collect two thousand Spirit Stones from my disciples as a labor fee, and then you may leave.”

The crowd froze.

“Headmaster Sun… the Spirit Stones aren’t necessary. It’s just a minor matter,” someone tried to refuse, terrified that taking the money might be a trap.

Sun Yi waved his hand dismissively. “I am the Headmaster of the Qingyun Sect; I don’t believe in unpaid labor. If I say take it, you take it. Just do the job properly.”

“Thank you, Headmaster Sun!”

“Headmaster Sun is wise and generous!”

The mood flipped instantly. The Qi Refining cultivators in the crowd beamed with excitement, their faces flushed red. For a rogue cultivator at the bottom of the food chain, two thousand Spirit Stones was a massive windfall—a life-changing sum for some. The fear evaporated, replaced by the thrill of a payday.

“Zhao Lun, handle the distribution,” Sun Yi instructed.

“As you command!”

Zhao Lun immediately organized a team of disciples. The process was efficient, and within moments, bags of Spirit Stones were handed out. The rogue cultivators, clutching their unexpected wealth, bowed deeply to Sun Yi before scattering in all directions.

Sun Yi remained at the Xuanyin Sect. There was much to do—corpses to clear, formations to dismantle, and land to survey. This location would soon be transformed into a massive spirit herb plantation base.

***

As the rogue cultivators dispersed, the news spread like wildfire. The destruction of the Xuanyin Sect, combined with Sun Yi’s new “Code of Law,” sent the Chaos Demon Commandery into a frenzy.

Every faction, large and small, was shaken to its core.

“The Xuanyin Sect had multiple Golden Core experts! And they were wiped out just like that? This Qingyun Sect is terrifying… No, cancel the blood sacrifice! We can’t do that anymore!”

“Issue the order immediately: No one in the family is to touch a hair on a mortal’s head! Everyone, keep your heads down and stay indoors. If anyone goes out and causes trouble for me, I’ll kill them myself!”

A Golden Core Patriarch of a mid-sized family issued a strict lockdown order the moment he heard the news.

Elsewhere, at the Blood Spirit Sect—a sect infamous for its blood-path cultivation techniques—panic had set in. The sect possessed three Golden Core cultivators, and they were currently huddled together in the main hall, looking pale.

“Looking at the Qingyun Sect’s actions, they intend to thoroughly sanitize the Chaos Demon Commandery,” one elder said, his voice trembling. “Evil Spirit Valley, Black Wind Stockade, the Zhou Family, Xuanyin… they’re all gone. We’re next.”

“If they dig into our history, they’ll wipe us out without a second thought. Forget it. The Blood Spirit Sect is finished. I’m leaving the Commandery.”

“I’m not staying here to die either. This place is too dangerous.”

“Let’s go. The sky has changed over the Chaos Demon Commandery. We need to run while we still can.”

Within the hour, the three Golden Core experts disbanded the Blood Spirit Sect and vanished, fleeing for their lives.

Meanwhile, the Dongshan Li Family, a powerful clan with six Golden Core cultivators, was in a state of emergency.

In their grand hall, the six patriarchs sat with grave expressions. Originally, they had no quarrel with the Qingyun Sect. However, after the fall of the Black Wind Stockade and Evil Spirit Valley, the Li Family had greedily seized several resource points belonging to the fallen factions.

When Qingyun disciples had come to claim those territories, the Li Family had used their superior numbers to beat them back, injuring several disciples.

“The Qingyun Sect is unstoppable,” the family head said heavily. “If they can crush the Xuanyin Sect, we are nothing to them. We made a grave mistake.”

He turned to one of the elders. “Fifth Brother, prepare a generous gift—no, a *massive* gift. You will go personally to their gate and apologize. You must obtain the Qingyun Sect’s forgiveness, no matter the cost.”

“Yes, Brother!”

Across the region, similar scenes played out. Forces that had previously clashed with Qingyun disciples over resources suddenly became docile. Envoys laden with gifts were dispatched en masse toward the Qingyun Sect.

On the roads, cultivators who encountered Qingyun disciples gave them a wide berth, bowing respectfully. And for the first time in centuries, no cultivator dared to lay a hand on a mortal. The entire Chaos Demon Commandery was undergoing a violent, yet stable, transformation.

However, in a desolate mountain range to the west of the Commandery, a shadow lingered.

The Evil Spirit Ancestor stood on the edge of a sheer cliff, the wind whipping at his robes. His cultivation had fallen drastically, regressing to the Grand Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage. Yet, the aura coiling around him was thicker, darker, and more ominous than before.

Behind him stood two Golden Core cultivators, their heads bowed in absolute submission. They were the lucky ones—stationed at remote resource points when the disaster struck, they had been found by the Ancestor and now served as his last remnants.