Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

When Master Wang woke up, he thought he had arrived in the underworld.

The surroundings were dim, with only a few eerie green will-o'-the-wisps flickering—no, those weren't will-o'-the-wisps, they were a few pairs of eyes.

Golden vertical pupils, scarlet heterochromatic eyes, icy blue cold eyes, and a pair of seemingly gentle but unfathomable black pupils.

"woke up?"

A clear, cold female voice rang out from above.

Master Wang shuddered and scrambled to retreat, only to find himself bound like a rice dumpling by a golden rope. With the slightest movement, the rope dug into his flesh, causing him to grimace in pain.

"Jiang... Immortal Jiang! Ancestor Jiang!" When Master Wang saw the woman in red sitting in the armchair in front of him, he immediately kowtowed repeatedly.

"I was wrong! I was blind! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a three-year-old child to raise..."

"Alright, stop memorizing lines."

Jiang Yining held the map she had taken from his storage bag in her hand, tapping it lightly with her fingertips. "This map is well drawn."

Sect Leader Wang froze for a moment, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging painfully: "That...that's what I use to collect tolls..."

"Toll fee." Jiang Yining chewed on these three words, a smile curving her lips. That smile made Sect Leader Wang feel that it was even more terrifying than the eyes of those killing gods just now.

"The Golden Saber Sect occupies a vital passage where the three realms meet; they've made quite a business out of it."

"No, no! It's just a small business!"

"I also think it's a small business," Jiang Yining said, slamming the map on the table. "The scale is too small."

She stood up, her red dress trailing on the ground, and walked up to Master Wang, looking down at him.

"Fighting and killing are so boring, Sect Leader Wang, let's talk about cooperation."

Sect Leader Wang was dumbfounded: "Cooperate...?"

Who should we partner with? This bunch of freaks?

"What? Don't want to?" Ye Wuhen, who was standing to the side, snorted coldly. The demonic energy in his hand turned into a small black snake, which crawled down the Wang Sect Master's trouser leg.

"Yes! Yes! I want it!" Sect Leader Wang screamed, "I'll do anything as long as you don't kill me!"

Jiang Yining nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Chu Jinglan, who was sitting elegantly sipping tea on her left.

"Your Excellency, please prepare pen and ink."

Chu Jinglan unrolled the scroll, and the densely packed clauses on it made one dizzy.

He read aloud in a gentle voice: "First, effective immediately, the Golden Saber Sect and its eighteen accompanying sects will automatically be incorporated into the 'Construction Brigade' under the Desolate Abyss banner, responsible for infrastructure construction within a hundred miles of the Desolate Abyss. The construction period... is tentatively set at five hundred years."

"Five...five hundred years?!"

Sect Master Wang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Although cultivators have long lifespans, he only had two or three hundred years left to live. Wasn't this just making him work until he died?

"Too short?" Ji Lingxiao's fingers lightly brushed across the scabbard of the Broken Heart Sword, producing a crisp sword ring. "Then add a thousand years."

"Not short! Just right! Perfect!" Master Wang almost bit his tongue.

Chu Jinglan continued reading: "The second clause is that all control of the trade routes of the eighteen sects be handed over to the Desolate Abyss for unified management. In return, the Desolate Abyss will provide the eighteen sects with 'safe protection'."

"Thirdly, all passing caravans must transit, resupply, and trade at the 'Trading Market' established in the Desolate Abyss. The eighteen sects are responsible for attracting customers and providing security. Each merchant brought in will be credited as a day's work period."

……

As he read through the list, Master Wang's heart bled. This wasn't cooperation; it was blatant ripping them off, bones and all! Not only were they forced to do hard labor, but they were also forced to hand over their livelihood, their very means of trade, and then help these bandits solicit customers?

"This...this is too much..." Sect Leader Wang tried to make a final struggle.

"Too what?" Bai Ze crushed the table leg into powder in his hand, his golden pupils filled with threat. "Too merciful?"

"That's brilliant!" shouted Master Wang. "Patriarch Jiang is a business genius! I'll sign! I'll sign right now!"

He was afraid that if he had been a second later, he would have become that table leg.

Chu Jinglan handed him the pen and pointed to the signature area: "Put your fingerprint here, and remember to use your blood essence."

Essence and blood serve as the guide, and Heaven bears witness. Once you repent, your inner demons will retaliate, leading to death and the dissipation of your spiritual essence.

With trembling hands, Sect Leader Wang bit his fingertip and pressed his bright red fingerprint onto the scroll. As the fingerprint touched the scroll, a golden light shone through it, signifying the completion of the contract.

Jiang Yining's smile deepened.

"Loosen the reins."

Bai Ze snapped his fingers, and the golden rope vanished instantly. Sect Master Wang slumped to the ground, feeling utterly drained.

"Situ Kong," Jiang Yining called out.

"Here it comes!"

Situ Kong ran out carrying a huge abacus. The abacus was also specially made, with beads polished from top-grade spirit stones, producing a crisp and melodious sound when it was turned.

"Take Master Wang to 'Yi Shi' to select a location."

Jiang Yining pointed to the largest open space at the entrance of the desolate abyss, "Tell them how to build it. Remember, it has to be grand, luxurious, so that people can tell at a glance that this is a den of iniquity."

"Alright!" Situ Kong grabbed the limp Wang Sect Leader to his feet. "Let's go, Foreman Wang, time to get to work."

Master Wang was dragged away like a walking corpse.

The hall fell silent.

"Will this really work?"

Ji Lingxiao frowned, clearly uncomfortable with this money-grubbing approach. "Cultivators should prioritize strength, not engage in these commercial activities..."

"Strength?" Jiang Yining turned around and looked at the ethereal sword master.

"Does Da Bao's spirit sword cost money? Does Er Bao's writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone cost money? How many rare and precious herbs does San Bao's gold-devouring beast consume every day?"

She held up one finger and waved it in front of Ji Lingxiao.

"I'm not just raising three children..."

Ji Lingxiao remained silent.

He remembered the top-grade flying sword that Da Bao had broken while practicing swordsmanship yesterday, and he also remembered that San Bao had chewed a hole in his ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Jade Marrow Bed... These kids are all very expensive.

"Moreover," Chu Jinglan continued, fanning himself with his folding fan, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, "Ningning's move is called 'boiling a frog in lukewarm water.'"

"Killing them will only invite more hatred from other sects. But turning them into a community of shared interests..."

He pointed to the bustling scene outside the door.

"As long as they get a taste of sweetness, even just a little bit of soup, they will become the most loyal dogs of the Abyss."

"At that time, the Desolate Abyss will no longer be a demonic den that everyone hates, but the greatest hub of interests in the Three Realms."

Jiang Yining snapped her fingers: "Correct."

"Alright, stop analyzing here." She waved her hand. "Get back to work."

The four men, whose mere stomp could shake the entire cultivation world, exchanged a glance and resignedly dispersed.

Driven by both the threat of death and the lure of money, the construction speed in the Abyss is astonishingly fast.

Within three days.

A magnificent market rose from the ground.

Unlike the rigid markets in the cultivation world, this "Yi Market" is full of Jiang Yining's wild yet exquisite aesthetic.

The ground was paved with white marble contributed by the Golden Knife Sect, the shops on both sides were made of thousand-year-old ironwood, and the roofs were illuminated with luminous pearls.

The most ingenious part was that Jiang Yining had Situ Kong erect a huge stone tablet at the entrance, with two lines of large characters engraved on it:

"With money, you can have anything you want here."

"No credit will be granted; violators will be punished."

The inscription was signed with four bright red seals: a sword, a fox, a ball of demonic fire, and a scroll.

With these four seals appearing, even a Nascent Soul stage expert passing by would have to consider whether their wallets were thick enough and their lives were tough enough.

The first group of merchants were wandering cultivators who had mistakenly entered this place. They were initially terrified, thinking they had stumbled into a den of thieves.

As soon as he entered, he was stopped by enthusiastic disciples of the Golden Saber Sect (forced to work).

"Sir/Madam! Looking for a room? We offer 24-hour hot spring baths!"

The disciple enthusiastically promoted the product: "That's personally heated daily by the Sword Master with his pure Yang sword intent. One soak is equivalent to three days of meditation! It can also dispel cold toxins and strengthen the body!"

"Want to buy some pills? These are spiritual herbs that the Demon Emperor personally supervised and accelerated to maturity. Their potency... wow, you'll know once you try them!"

"Want your fortune told? The Master of Tianji Pavilion has set up his stall up ahead; it's free if it's inaccurate!"

While business was booming over there, Jiang Yining was reviewing the accounts when she suddenly felt nauseous...