Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 160 The Complete Body Refining
"Reporting to the sect leader, I have invited a cultivator skilled in ley line exploration to inspect the tourmaline mine. According to the measurements, the mine is over two thousand meters long, with the deepest point being three hundred meters underground. The tourmaline is the most abundant mineral, with a yield of over three thousand catties."

In addition, it also contains some Xuan Ying Stone, Azure Stone, and the most valuable Black Gold Stone. A rough estimate suggests that if this vein were fully mined, it could bring you approximately 80,000 low-grade spirit stones.

Fang Jingxuan nodded. Mining is always highly profitable. Chen Heichan is short-sighted, only thinking about plunder. He has never thought about business management. He probably thinks it is troublesome and time-consuming, and it is faster to just rob.

But I am different. With spirit mines and spirit fields as my two sources of profit, supporting dozens of cultivators is not a problem.

"In your opinion, what would be the best way to mine it?"

He Can pondered for a moment, then said:

"My suggestion is to let the mortals come and mine. Compared to cultivators, these mortals do not need to be paid with spirit stones. As long as they are fed and clothed, they will work wholeheartedly."

The cost of hiring a Qi Refining cultivator is enough to support ten thousand mortals. This spirit mine is finite; it will be exhausted sooner or later. It's better to mine it slowly and steadily, saving money and bringing other benefits to the sect leader, such as immortal seedlings with spiritual roots.

Hearing this, Fang Jingxuan looked at He Can seriously. He was indeed a smart man, able to guess his thoughts.

The rogue cultivators recruited from outside can only do odd jobs, while the mortal offspring produced within one's own territory are the ones who will wholeheartedly serve one's cause.

"Then I'll leave this matter to you. Go and relocate 10,000 ordinary people from outside, about 1,000 or 2,000 people from each surname. Try to recruit those who bring their families, let the able-bodied men mine, and let the women, children and the elderly cultivate farmland in the west to grow grain."

"Select a few hundred more people to go out to sea to fish. We aim to achieve self-sufficiency within five years. I will not collect taxes from them. However, all their children born after this period must undergo a screening process. Those with spiritual roots must become my disciples."

Upon hearing Fang Jingxuan's instructions, He Can immediately agreed, while Huang Xie, standing to the side, spoke up:

"I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

Fang Jingxuan glanced at him with interest. This plant expert was clearly unwilling to have all the limelight stolen by He Can.

"But there's no harm in talking."

"I believe this tax must be collected. No matter from Baishan or the Chaotic Star Island in the outer sea, there is no sect that does not collect taxes. I know that the sect leader looks down on the income generated by mortals, but if you set this precedent, it will set a bad example for other island lords. In the long run, we will be isolated by all the island lords."

That's one point. Also, if the number of mortals increases, if it's 10,000 now, then it will be 100,000, or even 1 million.
"The sect doesn't collect taxes, so how will it cover the costs of governing these mortals? It can't just take money from the sect's profits, can it? The sect leader must understand one thing: the sect is the main entity, and mortals are merely appendages. We cannot put the cart before the horse. I hope the sect leader will think this through carefully."

After listening to Huang Xie's insights, Fang Jingxuan thought about it and gradually realized that he had made the mistake of relying on experience. In the world of cultivation, cultivators are the foundation, while mortals are no longer the most important.

He doesn't need to gather a crowd; all his power originates from himself, and everything must serve him. The foundations of the world are different, and his past experiences are completely inapplicable in the cultivation world.

"What you say makes sense. So, how much tax should I collect to make it reasonable?"

"Generally, we take 50%, but some islands take 70%. However, since the sect leader is generous, I suggest that we do the same as the other island lords and take 50% first, and then return 10% or 20% depending on the actual situation. This way, these mortals will be even more grateful."

"Heh, they work hard all year, I take 50%, and then casually return a little bit to them, and they're grateful. It sounds ironic."

Fang Jingxuan seemed to remember something, and his tone was somewhat mocking. Huang Xie didn't know why Fang Jingxuan was like this, but he immediately found a reason for Fang Jingxuan. "You have given these mortals a safe environment. You have protected them. You have given them land. It is only right that they give you 50% of their harvest."

"Huang Xie, what you said is very good. From now on, I will entrust the taxation and management of mortals to you. He Can will be in charge of foreign affairs, and you will be in charge of internal affairs. The two of you working together will save me a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing this, He Can and Huang Xie both echoed:

"Follow the Sect Master's order!"

The two then exchanged a glance before quickly averting their gazes, a subtle tension quietly brewing within them.

Fang Jingxuan sensed this with his divine soul, but he didn't care at all. Whether they were mortals or cultivators, it wasn't what he cared about most. His current focus remained unchanged: cultivation.

Half a month later, more than a dozen Qi Refining families around Black Toad Island sent people to the banquet, where Fang Jingxuan officially announced the birth of the Qingxuan Sect.

With Chen Heichan's example, no one dared to cause trouble, especially after the Cui family of Guixufang sent people to observe the ceremony, everyone became even more wary of Fang Jingxuan.

Currently, the Qingxuan Sect established by Fang Jingxuan only recruits a dozen or so outer disciples; there are no inner disciples, core disciples, or true disciples.

Adhering to the principle of "better to have none than to have something of poor quality" and emphasizing merit, Fang Jingxuan's Qingxuan Sect didn't even have a proper framework.

But Fang Jingxuan was not in a hurry; at this moment, his mind was entirely focused on cultivation.

More than half a year later, Fang Jingxuan, who had delegated all the miscellaneous tasks, appeared alone in the depths of the outer sea, inside a remote volcanic crater.

Leaving Tuoyuan above to protect him, Fang Jingxuan quietly removed all his clothes and stepped into the depths of the sea, thousands of feet below the surface.

Here, streams of boiling water are constantly spewed out by the earth, and through the layers of water curtains, you can see the crimson magma flowing beneath the seabed.

This is the body-refining space that Fang Jingxuan needs. After more than half a year of cultivation, his "Nine Revolutions of the Azure Sea Technique" has reached the critical moment of breaking through to the final revolution.

Fang Jingxuan left his physical body completely unprotected in this extreme environment of alternating hot and cold.

The water vapor at several hundred degrees Celsius hitting his body only brought him a slight pain; the extreme cold and harshness gradually made his blood and qi boil.

After three days of adjustment, at midnight on this day, Fang Jingxuan suddenly opened his eyes in the deep sea.

The time had come. Accompanied by a pounding heartbeat, Fang Jingxuan began to fully circulate the "Nine Revolutions of the Azure Sea Technique".

As the power of the Azure Sea circulated within Fang Jingxuan's body, his blood and qi increased moment by moment until they reached a certain limit. When his body could no longer withstand it, the final barrier shattered with a crash.

At this moment, the [Formless Cicada Shedding] in his sea of ​​consciousness shook its wings once more.

(End of this chapter)