Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

After the grand opening ceremony, numerous merchants and disciples of the Qianji Sect deposited money into the bank. Of course, most of these were pre-arranged by Liu Xing, leveraging his status. In just one day, the bank attracted 50 million in deposits. Other cultivators, skeptical, also deposited some spirit stones and then immediately withdrew at another window. Finding the deposits and withdrawals were as smooth as advertised, they finally felt reassured.

In the past, when cultivators traveled, they either carried their money with them or buried it in a cave. The world of immortal cultivation was a jungle of survival of the fittest, where the law of the jungle prevailed. Fellow Taoists were even less trustworthy than demons and monsters, requiring constant vigilance. Basic trust between people was lacking. Liu Xing's nearly two hundred years of cultivation experience had given him a clear understanding of the laws of survival in this alien world and the aspirations of the human heart.

Therefore, he didn't expect to change people's mindsets. He clearly understood that as long as customers knew that the bank could earn interest, guarantee the safety of their funds, and provide collateral for loans when they needed spirit stones, and could solve many of their practical needs, that would be enough. As long as he had strong financial backing, he didn't have to worry about customers not coming.

Sure enough, after a brief trial, more and more people were willing to deposit their idle funds in the bank. In just one year, the bank's deposits reached 200 million, which was already close to half of the Qianji Sect's wealth. To ensure the bank's safety, the Qianji Sect permanently stationed a Nascent Soul Elder to oversee it.

With money in hand, Liu Xing began to invest in real estate. He selected mountains with excellent spiritual veins to develop cave dwellings and establish markets. These spiritual veins were generally owned by someone else, so Liu Xing would invest in joint development or seize them by force. He employed a variety of methods, investing in ten projects within three years and seeing profits within five.

Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. In the Points Hall, several senior executives were holding a meeting. Lu En and Cui Yan were present.

"Junior Brother Liu, you really impressed me. You have earned 100 million in profits for the sect in just ten years!" Cui Yan praised him generously.

"We've achieved what we have today thanks to Senior Sister Cui's guidance. I contributed some ideas, but I wouldn't dare take credit for anything," Liu Xing said modestly. Cui Yan was becoming increasingly satisfied with this candidate for headship, and she was already considering stepping down.

"Junior Brother Liu, you don't have to be so modest. This is indeed your credit." Lu En added.

"Master Lu, Junior Brother Liu's rise has finally allowed me to find a successor. I want to pass on the position of the Points Hall Master to Junior Brother Liu. He is more than capable enough. I also need to go into seclusion to prepare for the condensation of my Nascent Soul." Cui Yan resigned to Lu En.

"Ah, Junior Sister Cui, have you found that opportunity?" Lu En asked with some surprise.

"No way, the opportunity to form a Nascent Soul is so illusory. I have been delayed in the Points Hall for a long time. I didn't dare to let go before because I didn't have a suitable candidate. Now that Junior Brother Liu has grown up, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief, step down and let the wise man pursue my own path." Cui Yan said slowly, obviously full of yearning for the Nascent Soul path.

"Junior sister, you are right. People like us who practice Taoism should go against the will of heaven and change our destiny. We should seize every moment and should not let mundane affairs hinder our great path." Lu En nodded in agreement.

"Junior Brother Liu, are you confident in taking over the Points Hall?" Lu En turned to ask Liu Xing.

"For the development of the sect, I will go all out. I also wish Senior Sister Cui to achieve great success in her Nascent Soul and make further progress on the path to immortality." Liu Xing also knew that Senior Sister Cui's pursuit of the great Dao could not be delayed, so he calmly accepted the new task.

"Okay, senior sister was right about you. Keep up the good work." Seeing that Liu Xing took over the position of hall master, Cui Yan finally felt relieved.

"Junior Brother Liu, Junior Sister Cui, from now on, you will complete the handover work of the Points Hall. If you have any difficulties, just tell me directly." Seeing that both of them had agreed, Lu En made the arrangements.

"Okay, don't worry, Senior Brother Lu." Liu Xing and Cui Yan both replied.

"Junior Brother Liu, I've collected a pill recipe over the past few years and am giving it to you as a reward for your contribution to the sect." Seeing that everything was arranged properly, Lu En took out a pill recipe and handed it to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing was overjoyed. He was deeply touched by the fact that Senior Brother Lu was silently concerned about his cultivation.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu!" Liu Xing said gratefully.

"You're welcome. Miraculous medicines are hard to find. It depends on your own luck." Lu En waved his hand and said with a smile, not caring.

At today's meeting, Liu Xing was promoted to the head of the Points Hall. This increased his authority and a small thrill washed over him. Over the past decade, his investment management had been quite fortunate, with mostly profitable investments and a few losses. Overall, it was a positive development, primarily due to the financial changes it had brought to the otherworld. The ten major sects followed suit, establishing their own banks. Liu Xing had already gone one step further, opening branches of the "Thousand Machine Bank" in several important markets, each with a dean to serve a wider range of cultivators.

Due to internal conflicts between sects, the Qianji Bank branch hadn't been established in other sects' territories. However, Liu Xing wasn't in a hurry. This would take time and require lengthy negotiations. He believed that as long as there was profit to be made, the sects could cooperate for mutual benefit.

Furthermore, as an investment helmsman, Liu Xing met many influential figures in the business, manufacturing, and real estate sectors, building a vast network of connections. These individuals often sought Liu Xing's closeness, whether seeking information to secure their funds, securing additional loans, or simply hoping to invest and make a fortune.

Therefore, for the first three years, Liu Xing worked tirelessly to improve infrastructure, the next three years focused on inspecting and evaluating various projects, and the last three years have been spent even more at various drinking parties and dinners. Within the Qianji Sect's sphere of influence, Liu Xing's reputation is truly immense. Compared to Zhong Yueqiu and Pei Xiu, he pales in comparison.

Over the past three years, Liu Xing had received numerous gifts, and combined with the sect's rewards and commissions, his personal wealth had reached millions of spirit stones. By catering to the needs of fellow practitioners seeking favors, he had also received two useful pill recipes and some medicinal herbs. This had made him realize that power truly did improve efficiency, and this had made him even more eager to pursue the positions of Hall Master and Sect Leader.

Various beauties threw themselves at him, making him unable to defend himself, but his heart was always with Yingying, and he always remained true to his heart.

Furthermore, he had been closely following the progress of the Jindan puppet project for the past ten years. Now that he had some money, he invested another million to help Qian Yuan and the other two. The project had made significant progress and now only needed to overcome a few key challenges before it could be delivered. This delighted him greatly, and he had high hopes for the successful refining of the Jindan puppet.