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

Chapter 202: Inquiring About the Sect’s Recent Situation

“Mm,” Sun Yi nodded, his tone carrying the weight of a seasoned visionary. “Their base Cultivation might be low right now, but they are the lifeblood of the Qingyun Sect’s future. We must invest heavily in their development.”

He shifted the topic to critical logistics. “Are there any bottlenecks in our supply of Heavenly Soul Liquid?”

Er Gouzi’s face immediately tightened into a stressed grimace. “Currently, our reserves are holding. However, our burn rate is accelerating at an alarming pace. Looking at our projected consumption graphs, demand will outstrip our supply very soon.”

Even with two operational Demon Refining Towers working around the clock to synthesize the liquid, the drain on resources was massive. Every new recruit was subsidized with Heavenly Soul Liquid from day one, establishing a foundational baseline so they could seamlessly integrate the Split Spirit Technique later on and bypass traditional Cultivation bottlenecks.

Furthermore, the main peak housed over 50 elite disciples actively pushing for the Golden Core stage. Their consumption rates were staggering. Add in the rank-and-file disciples—who gladly paid premium Sect points to upgrade their divine souls—and the inventory was constantly stressed.

And this was just the baseline. The true heavyweights of the Sect hadn’t even tapped into the reserves yet. If the Golden Core Elders requisitioned their share, the vats would be drained in minutes. Let alone the Nascent Soul powerhouses. Even Sun Yi was actively rationing his own intake, waiting for production capacities to scale up.

“What is the status on the raw materials for the next Demon Refining Tower?” Sun Yi asked. He had previously tasked Er Gouzi with treating this as a top-priority acquisition.

“We are aggressively sourcing everything on the market,” Er Gouzi reported. “But we are bottlenecked by one critical component: Soul Refining Stones. Our procurement teams are working overtime, and we just received a missive from the Seven Star Tower. Their next trade convoy will be carrying a shipment of them.”

Sun Yi nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. The moment that shipment clears, break ground on the new tower immediately. We need to scale our production output of Heavenly Soul Liquid.”

“And what about our Body Tempering tonics?” Sun Yi pressed. Because the Qingyun Sect adhered to the rigorous path of Trinity Cultivation, physical conditioning was just as vital as spiritual nourishment.

Er Gouzi sighed, his frown deepening. “The depletion rate is critical. Our on-hand inventory of Body Tempering resources is dangerously low, and the Seven Star Tower’s delivery cycles have been dragging out.”

“Body Tempering resources are foundational,” Sun Yi said, his eyes narrowing in calculation. “We cannot afford to have a single point of failure in our supply chain. We need to diversify our vendors immediately. Send envoys to quietly scout out other merchant alliances. Furthermore, mandate Lin Hai to dedicate more acreage in the Spiritual Medicine Garden specifically to Body Tempering crops.”

“Headmaster, the Garden is still in its infancy,” Er Gouzi pointed out, clearly anxious. “We won’t see any harvestable yields in the short term. With our headcount surging and our overall Cultivation realms advancing, the demand is only going to skyrocket. If we don’t bridge this gap soon, I’m afraid…”

Seeing his Deputy Headmaster on the verge of a logistical panic attack, Sun Yi offered a reassuring, confident smile. “Relax. I’ve been running private R&D on this exact issue. Most of my bandwidth recently was tied up in engineering the Qingyun Battle Armor, but I’ll be pivoting my focus to this next.”

Er Gouzi’s eyes widened, a spark of hope cutting through his stress. “You already have a working prototype, Headmaster?”

“I have a theoretical framework,” Sun Yi corrected smoothly. “It requires further testing and optimization. But if the trials are successful, it will permanently resolve our Body Tempering supply chain.”

A wave of immense relief washed over Er Gouzi. As the man managing the day-to-day operations, watching their stockpiles dwindle while waiting on the Seven Star Tower was agonizing. But if Sun Yi said he had a solution, it was as good as done. The Headmaster didn’t make empty promises.

“Give me a status update on the Spiritual Medicine Garden,” Sun Yi ordered, moving down his mental checklist.

“Under Lin Hai’s management, the agricultural zones are officially online,” Er Gouzi reported briskly. “The planting schedules are executing at maximum efficiency. We just need to wait out the maturation cycles.”

“Getting the infrastructure operational is the most important step,” Sun Yi agreed. “The Garden is a long-term investment. We are building for the future. For our immediate needs, we still have the Myriad Demon Forest to exploit. By the time we strip the forest of its natural resources, the Garden’s first yields should be ready for harvest.”

“Your strategic foresight is unparalleled, Headmaster,” Er Gouzi said, his voice filled with genuine awe. Sun Yi was always three steps ahead, viewing the board from an entirely different elevation.

“What about the infrastructure projects? Give me the metrics on Black Wind Mountain.”

“According to the latest site reports, the massive reconstruction effort is entering its final phase. The War Soul Mausoleum you commissioned has been fully erected. We are just waiting on Patriarch Qingxuan to personally calibrate the defensive Formations.”

“Good. Coordinate the logistics to transfer the remains of our fallen members to the Mausoleum. Once they are laid to rest with proper honors, we’ll have the Patriarch lock down the grid.” Sun Yi paused. “And Evil Spirit Valley?”

“The sheer scale of the Valley project is demanding,” Er Gouzi explained. “We’ve had to subcontract a massive labor force of Rogue Cultivators. We are hitting all our current milestones, but we are still at least six months out from completion.”

“There is no rush,” Sun Yi stated firmly. “Evil Spirit Valley is slated to be our premier commercial hub. Quality takes precedence over speed. It must be built strictly to the architectural blueprints. No cutting corners.”

Sun Yi had poured countless hours into drafting the urban planning for Evil Spirit Valley. His vision wasn’t just a local trading post; he intended to build the largest, most lucrative economic zone in the entire Chaos Demon Commandery. It would serve as a financial magnet, drawing in foreign capital from neighboring commanderies to continuously fuel the Qingyun Sect’s expansion.

However, realizing that vision required hard power. If they opened a super-market now without the martial strength to secure it, they would simply be painted as a wealthy, defenseless target. Growth had to be methodical.

“Have we intercepted any communications from Patriarch Xia Mu and Patriarch Ouyang Can?” Sun Yi asked. To rapidly elevate the Sect’s standing, he desperately needed those two Nascent Soul executives on the payroll.

“We received a secure transmission a week ago. Both Patriarchs have successfully liquidated and integrated their family assets. They are currently organizing the migration caravans. ETA is approximately two months.”

“Excellent. Their arrival will bring a much-needed influx of capable management,” Sun Yi said, his mind churning with expansion models. “We are critically understaffed. The Chaos Demon Commandery is vast, and our current deployment of Qingyun Dao Palaces hasn’t even hit ten percent of my projected targets. Our market penetration is simply too slow.”

He looked sharply at Er Gouzi. “Wire them a priority message. Instruct them to aggressively acquire Flowing Silver and Flowing Silver Essence in the Heavenly Saint Commandery before they leave. Buy out the entire market if they have to. Blank check.”

Sun Yi’s ultimate objective was total market dominance. To transform the Chaos Demon Commandery into the Qingyun Sect’s undisputed stronghold, he needed to integrate the entire mortal populace under their administrative umbrella.

According to his data models, achieving total administrative coverage required a minimum of 5,000 Qingyun Dao Palaces. With each Dao Palace requiring a staff of five Sect Cultivators, that meant he needed a standing workforce of 25,000 personnel.

The deficit was massive, and Sun Yi had an empire to build.