Chapter 444: The Great Money-Making Venture

The Celestial Gate!

Lu Ye arrived to find the Celestial Gate’s members already waiting.

Upon seeing Lu Ye appear, the crowd immediately spoke in unison, "Hail, Grand Master!"

Everyone was extremely enthusiastic.

Among them, some had ascended from the Fifth Heaven.

Lu Ye’s legendary teachings had long been widely known throughout the Celestial Gate in the Sixth Heaven.

To them, Lu Ye was like the walking embodiment of the Three Thousand Great Dao—who wouldn’t be enthusiastic?

Lu Ye smiled and greeted everyone.

The Grand Master of the Celestial Gate’s Sixth Heaven was called Taoist Qingxuan, a peak-Void-Realm expert, and still relatively young, meaning he had the potential to one day ascend to the Emperor Realm.

He’d been a prodigy in his youth, whose name resounded across the Sixth Heaven, near-peerless in his generation.

In a past life, Lu Ye had killed him in the Seventh Heaven.

"Grand Master—hah!—you’re here! We’ve waited ages—finally, you’ve arrived!" Taoist Qingxuan laughed heartily.

"Greetings to all!"

Lu Ye nodded with a smile to everyone.

"Grand Master, we’ve already prepared a banquet for you. Please, come inside. Let’s feast and talk."

Amidst the pleasantries, the group made their way inside.

Taoist Qingxuan kept introducing people to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye didn’t recognize everyone, as when he had gone on his killing spree, many had still been small fry. He hadn’t bothered to ask their names before ending them.

At most, some faces looked familiar—he knew how they had died.

Seeing them again now felt perversely nostalgic.

The group sat atop an endless cloudscape, and soon, ethereal maidens began serving wine and dishes.

"Grand Master, since you are the Celestial Gate’s Grand Master and have now ascended, the Celestial Gate should naturally be under your command. We should all follow your orders. What do you think?" Taoist Qingxuan asked with a smile.

"No need—you remain Grand Master. However, I do have some matters for which I require the Celestial Gate’s assistance," Lu Ye replied with a smile.

"Oh? What matters? Speak freely, Grand Master. Succeed or fail, the Celestial Gate won’t hold back," Taoist Qingxuan vowed.

"Then I’ll be blunt."

Lu Ye carefully considered his words.

"I plan to sell elixirs, magical artifacts, talismans, modify various techniques, and tweak Divine Abilities—all right here on Celestial Gate’s turf. What do you all think?" Lu Ye said with a smile.

The crowd gaped.

Short of selling himself or digging ditches, Lu Ye was basically cornering every major industry in the cultivation world!

At this rate, the Sixth Heaven’s economy would tank.

By then, chances are, only the Hehuan Sect's business would boom.

"Boss, you strapped for cash?" Ning Tianming asked.

He was the master of the Fifth Heaven and had risen through the ranks long ago. Though his strength wasn't particularly outstanding now, he had killer management skills, earning him the position of deputy Grand Master in the Heavenly Gate.

Basically, such management talents from major sects are hot commodities anywhere.

Lu Ye didn't conceal the truth either. "Indeed, I've been running low on funds recently."

"Grand Master, the Heavenly Gate's loaded! You're the Grand Master of the Heavenly Gate, and these resources are entirely at your disposal. Do we really gotta stoop to this to earn money?" Taoist Qingxuan hurriedly said.

Lu Ye smiled helplessly. "Won't cut it."

Taoist Qingxuan was blindsided.

"There are plenty of resources. How about I take you to see for yourself?"

He thought Lu Ye was underestimating the Heavenly Gate's true strength.

Lu Ye shook his head.

How could he not know how many resources the Heavenly Gate had?

They exceeded those of a normal major power—he had tallied them in his previous life.

But it truly wasn't enough. Cultivating the Primordial Power was like feeding a bottomless money pit.

To be honest, the Heavenly Gate's resources weren't even sufficient for Lu Ye to make one major breakthrough.

He had already tried. Now that he possessed the Primordial Power, his cultivation was at least a hundred times more difficult than that of ordinary cultivators at the same level.

Of course, he was also a thousand times more powerful than his peers.

"Next, I'll start by brewing elixirs using the Heavenly Gate's medicinal herbs. You'll be responsible for selling these pills and getting the word out about my work."

"In return for the Heavenly Gate's contribution, I'll give you 1% of the take as compensation."

"Business is business, even between brothers—I won't accept any refusal on this matter."

Taoist Qingxuan...

Actually, Taoist Qingxuan wanted to say that although refining pills, crafting talismans, and forging artifacts alone could yield decent profits, expecting to match the Heavenly Gate's current wealth was pure fantasy.

In fact, it wasn't just Taoist Qingxuan who thought this way—others in the Heavenly Gate shared the same view.

Because everyone knew Lu Ye's path of growth—he had clawed his way to the top, as the saying goes, "No guts, no glory."

Amidst his slaughter, Lu Ye naturally acquired many treasures.

Perhaps this had led him to have no clue about today's prices.

A single person juggling all this work—even if they worked themselves to death, the payoff would be peanuts!

"Grand Master, one man can only do so much. Maybe we should reconsider. Let's be real, the margins on potions and stuff are quite low."

"Everyone, there's no need for doubts. Just treat this as humoring me. If this endeavor fails, I'll give you Dao lectures once. If it succeeds, I'll do so twice. So whether it succeeds or not, you won't lose out!"

Hearing Lu Ye's words, they stopped pushing back so hard.

Go ahead and try, just to humor the Sect Master. As long as we serve the Sect Master well, won’t we have the chance to hear his teachings?

With bellies full and cups drained, everyone was actually looking forward to Lu Ye's lecture.

But Lu Ye didn’t give one.

Of course not—if he started lecturing, these people would all go into seclusion. Who would help him with the work?

Under the guidance of Taoist Qingxuan and Ning Tianming, Lu Ye inspected the treasury and various parts of the Celestial Gate.

Among them was a place called the Listening Fire Pavilion, which was where the Celestial Gate’s alchemy elders usually worked.

The alchemy elder was named Taoist Muhe, a woman of extraordinary beauty, a classic beauty—with rosy lips, pearly teeth, bright eyes, and a slender willow-like waist.

But in Lu Ye’s eyes, she was just another face.

For now, Ning Tianming and Muhe were responsible for carrying out Lu Ye’s instructions, gradually expanding the workforce based on the scale of his profit scheme. The pills they refined could be sold in the neighboring Celestial Gate City—since the quantity wouldn’t be too large yet.

Lu Ye first called for some materials.

The materials for artifact crafting were selected from what was available in the treasury.

Muhe watched curiously. Knowing that Lu Ye was a reincarnated Celestial Lord, his alchemy skills had to be exceptional, so she volunteered, hoping to learn something.

Once the materials were in hand—

The Vermilion Bird True Flame erupted.

All the materials floated up into the air.

Every single one!

The first step in alchemy—the bird’s... wait no, the first step in alchemy is to refine the cauldron first!

Watching seven cauldrons take shape rapidly, Muhe’s jaw slowly dropped.

Making seven at once was a minor issue.

The bigger question was—did the Sect Master not even have a proper alchemy cauldron?