Yaoguang had someone take the prototype flying sword to the Nine Cauldrons Sect headquarters. Several days later, Li Qingshan found Yaoguang within the Void Psyche World created by the Psyche Kingdom. Present alongside him were Lou Yuyu, Xu Qiexing, and Liang Qiu, hall master of the Logistics Hall.

"Hall Master Lou, I apologize for disturbing you with so many matters ongoing in the East Sea, but we really need your opinion for this meeting," Li Qingshan said as he turned to Lou Yuyu.

"Sect Master, you’re too polite," the man said with a laugh. "The East Sea is in a strangely calm state right now. After we crushed more than three hundred elite great cultivators of the Xuanming Sect, the Great Yue Dynasty, the Star Sea Sect, the Ancient Immortal Sect, and even the Great Sun Sword Sect all suddenly began to behave properly. The sword cultivators that occasionally patrolled our territory have all retreated to the islands they control and are holding their ground. Our people are taking over the islands one by one without encountering any resistance. It’s been easy," Lou Yuyu said with a smile. "Besides, with good news like the finalization of the improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying sword, I’d welcome you, Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang, and everyone else bothering me a bit more."

Li Qingshan, Liang Qiu, and Xu Qiexing all smiled. Li Qingshan said directly, "The reason the East Sea is so quiet is that these sects can’t figure out what method we used to wipe out over three hundred elite great sword cultivators of the Xuanming Sect in one stroke. But it’s foreseeable that, to clarify this doubt, they will inevitably conduct a round of probing next. Otherwise, every force around the East Sea will be unable to eat or sleep in peace."

Lou Yuyu nodded solemnly. "We’ve already prepared for the coming storm. If the Xuanming Sect dares to counterattack, we’ll directly strike their homeland."

"Good," Li Qingshan said with a nod. "The Xuanming Sect isn’t a problem by itself. If the Infinite Star Palace weren’t backing them and the Great Sun Sword Sect weren’t blocking the front, they’d never dare act so recklessly before our Nine Cauldrons Sect. To reclaim the East Sea, the real opponent is the Great Sun Sword Sect, and we also have to guard against interference from the First Yang Sect. Considering the full context, how many treasured artifacts does the Warfare Hall need to have a solid advantage in the contest for the East Sea?"

"In my view, the more the better, but..." Lou Yuyu replied, glancing at Xu Qiexing and Liang Qiu. "That depends on how much funding I actually have available."

"The Purple Firmament Type 15 improved flying sword has reached the world's top standard. It’s enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the flying swords used by the strongest battle institutes of the Infinite Star Palace, the Thousand-Beast Sect, and the Immortal Alliance. Even the strongest battle institutes of the Lunar Sect, Dharma Heaven Pavilion, and Golden Temple fall short by comparison. So even if we have to sell everything, we must equip you first," Liang Qiu said heavily. "Funds can be temporarily diverted from spell and body cultivators to sword cultivators and used for flying sword procurement."

He added, "After all, if our sword cultivators can fight their way out, they won’t need much support from body cultivators or spell cultivators."

Xu Qiexing agreed and turned to Yaoguang. "The improved Purple Firmament Type 15 model is basically beyond valuation in spirit stones. The technology embedded in it is simply too advanced. A weakened export version of a third-generation high-grade flying sword from the Infinite Star Palace sells for as much as 200 thousand spirit stones per blade. If your flying swords were put on the market, even 300 thousand would see people scrambling to buy them. But the Nine Cauldrons Sect can’t offer such a high price."

"I understand," Yaoguang said. "All materials and raw resources can be procured internally from the sect. In addition, the Purple Firmament Institute’s profits can be paid through other means. For example, Stellar Souls are very useful to me."

In other words, he wanted spirit treasures. Li Qingshan, Liang Qiu, and Xu Qiexing immediately understood what Yaoguang meant.

"I agree." Before Liang Qiu and Xu Qiexing could speak, Li Qingshan responded first. "We’ll use the Primordial Unity Bell as Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang’s profit."

"The Primordial Unity Bell!" Lou Yuyu, Liang Qiu, and Xu Qiexing all changed expressions at once.

"That’s the spirit treasure you use to suppress your mind and nurture your psychic consciousness..."

"I remember this spirit treasure doesn’t belong to the sect, but is your personal possession, Sect Master..." Lou Yuyu and Xu Qiexing simultaneously transmitted their thoughts via psychic consciousness.

They did not know that all of those transmissions lay fully within Yaoguang’s perception.

"What’s mine is the sect’s. There’s no real difference," Li Qingshan said with a faint smile. "Besides, among the eight spirit treasures of the sect, three are in the hands of the ancestor, one is with Lou Yuyu, one is with Murong Hui, and the remaining spirit treasure, the Alchemy Furnace, isn’t something Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang can use. The most suitable for him, and the one that currently fails to realize its value, is the Primordial Unity Bell on me. After all, I spend most of my time in the rear."

He immediately added, "Moreover, you all know the power of the Dharma Form spirit treasure I recently acquired. With that item, I can foresee and guard against any crisis before it reaches me."

At the mention of that Dharma Form spirit treasure, the others gradually steadied themselves. With that treasure, and with the sect master usually stationed in the rear, his safety was already well assured. In that case, taking out the Primordial Unity Bell was acceptable.

Seeing that no one else objected, Li Qingshan turned to Yaoguang with a smile. "Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang, you should give us a good price."

"The cost of the improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying sword is around 180 thousand spirit stones. The usual profit margin on flying swords is about 15%, so let’s go by that standard," Yaoguang said.

"That won’t do. That won’t do. With the superiority of the Purple Firmament Type 15, a 15% margin won’t get it," Li Qingshan said, waving his hand.

"Sect Master Li, since you are willing to part with your own spirit treasure, what harm is there in me giving up a portion of the profit?" Yaoguang replied. "How about this? I’ll produce 600 Purple Firmament Type 15 improved flying swords for the Nine Cauldrons Sect at a price of 180 thousand spirit stones per sword." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"180 thousand..." Li Qingshan did a quick calculation. Yaoguang was effectively valuing the Primordial Unity Bell spirit treasure at 16 million spirit stones. But 600 Purple Firmament Type 15 improved flying swords... That was essentially one sword per third-tier great sword cultivator.

If the re-equipment could be completed smoothly, then even without relying on Yaoguang as a Dharma Form cultivator, the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s sword cultivators would be able to roam the East Sea freely and defend the islands as though they were the sect’s own backyard.

"Isn’t that a bit low? After all, the performance of the Purple Firmament Type 15 truly reaches the level of a fourth-generation flying sword. You’re giving up all the profit. What about the wages of the personnel at the Purple Firmament Institute?" Li Qingshan asked.

Ten fourth-generation high-grade treasured artifact flying swords were probably comparable in cost-effectiveness to a single first-generation spirit treasure. After all, spirit treasures were too extravagant for Foundation Building cultivators and too underwhelming for Golden Core cultivators.

"It’s enough," Yaoguang said. "The wage issue can be resolved easily."

He smiled. "Although the renovation of the spirit-gathering arrays has only just begun, thanks to them, my spirit stone income should exceed two million this year. Those spirit stones won’t go to waste. They’re just right for paying the wages of three grandmaster teams and twenty-six master teams."

Hearing this, Li Qingshan and the others could not help but laugh.

Logistics Hall Master Liang Qiu sighed. "Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang, you are truly the wealthiest person in our Nine Cauldrons Sect. In another ten or twenty years, once all the new spirit-gathering arrays have been completed, having an annual income in the tens of millions wouldn't be surprising."

"Ten or twenty years? Tens of millions?" Yaoguang glanced at him. "Hall Master Liang, you got that wrong. At that point, we will certainly have reclaimed the Shiwan Mountains and the East Sea's islands. Stopping at just tens of millions would be a joke. By then, I should be making hundreds of millions!"

His words stunned Liang Qiu for a moment before he nodded. "If that day really comes, even that hundred million would be spent willingly by everyone in the Nine Cauldrons Sect. You would deserve all of it."

"A hundred million. I really wouldn't know how to spend that much when the time comes," Yaoguang said, then glanced at Li Qingshan. "Sect Master, you should urge Hall Master Wu a bit more. When will the Thousand-Star Pill finally be refined? Once it can be produced, I want as many as there are."

"I am urging him, I really am," Li Qingshan said with a bitter smile.

The Thousand-Star Pill was a highly precious pill for cultivation at the Star Lord Realm, a third-generation low-grade treasured pill. Unfortunately, to this day, not a single person in the Nine Cauldrons Sect had ever been able to refine it.

Of course, it was not as though Yaoguang would stop cultivating just because the sect could not produce the Thousand-Star Pill. It was simply that he would have to buy it from pill shops run by other forces, and at a lower frequency. Even so, the price was several times higher, and it made his heart ache.

"I will do my best to refine two hundred improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying swords before the Great Sun Sword Sect begins probing us. It should be enough to complete the equipment of two battle institutes," Yaoguang said.

Li Qingshan nodded. Liang Qiu added, "The Logistics Hall will fully cooperate with you. All materials required for the flying swords will be transported to Longxiang City as soon as possible."

"Alright," Yaoguang said.

After coordinating and discussing matters with Liang Qiu, Yaoguang concluded the meeting. Once the order for six hundred flying swords was issued, the Purple Firmament Institute quickly became extremely busy.

The complexity of high-grade flying swords far exceeded that of low-grade ones. Not to mention ordinary refiners, even some less proficient artifact-refinement masters were not qualified to assist and could only watch. Yaoguang had to handle much of it personally. Under such circumstances, efficiency naturally could not be high.

After a full month, only fifty Purple Firmament Type 15 improved flying swords had been produced. Of course, that was because everyone was still unfamiliar with the process. As time passed, the monthly output of the Purple Firmament Type 15 was still expected to eventually reach one hundred.

However, just as Yaoguang was starting to fully devote himself to refining the improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying swords, and Lou Yuyu was directing the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s sword cultivators to advance steadily in the East Sea while remaining vigilant against the Great Sun Sword Sect and other forces, a piece of news disrupted everyone’s plans.

The Xuanming Sect had suddenly lost more than three hundred great cultivators. Thousands more high-tier cultivators had been captured or killed. Coupled with the loss of the East Sea's islands, this caused massive upheaval within the sect.

That upheaval brewed over the course of one or two months and spread from the higher-ups down to the lower levels, until everyone in the sect was clamoring for the Nine Cauldrons Sect to pay in blood. Yet the Xuanming Sect’s higher-ups knew very well that they lacked the ability to retaliate against the Nine Cauldrons Sect and could only suppress those voices within the sect.

That caused further problems. With no outlet for their fury, the disciples of the Xuanming Sect turned their gaze toward a group of people who had once belonged to the Artifact Sect, whose sect had collapsed and who had fled to live within Xuanming Sect territory.

Although those from the Artifact Sect's era did not necessarily acknowledge the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the Xuanming Sect did not care. In their eyes, these people from the Artifact Sect and the Nine Cauldrons Sect were all part of the same faction.

At once, all that anger found a target. Those who once belonged to the Artifact Sect suddenly found themselves systematically persecuted and slaughtered.