160: Chapter 160: Saving the Sect? I'm an expert at this.

After settling matters with the Wu Clan, Jiang Ning's mood did not become any lighter.

In her mind, the words Wu Xiangtian had spoken about the "Qingyun Sect" kept echoing.

Exhausted spiritual veins... mounting debts... disciples leaving... existing in name only... selling off mountain peaks...

These words were like needles, pricking at her heart.

Although she had originally only regarded the "Qingyun Sect" as a temporary place to stay.

She did not have very deep relationships with most of the people in that sect.

However, it was ultimately the first "home" she had after coming to this world.

She still remembered Sect Leader Lu Yun, who looked very serious but was actually very protective of his own.

She still remembered Junior Brother Sun, who was obsessed with alchemy all day long and was a bit dim-witted.

She still remembered Senior Sister Lin, who always liked to spar with her and had a straightforward personality...

And there was the thousand-year-old pine tree in front of the mountain gate, under which she often meditated.

And the experimental field in the back mountain, which she had cleared herself and planted with various melons, fruits, and vegetables...

Those people, those events, those scenes flashed through her mind, one by one.

"Has everything changed?..."

Jiang Ning stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the Command Center, looking at the bustling, vibrant construction scene outside, yet a wave of inexplicable melancholy welled up in her heart.

Once upon a time, the "Qingyun Sect" had also been like this, full of hope.

Although it was poor, although it was small, the disciples under its banner were all very spirited.

Everyone believed that as long as they worked hard at cultivation, one day, they would be able to make the sect shine with glory once again.

But now...

"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Liancheng's voice came from the side.

He was holding two steaming cups of coffee and handed one to Jiang Ning.

"Nothing." Jiang Ning took the coffee and took a gentle sip.

The bitter yet fragrant taste allowed her chaotic thoughts to calm down a little.

"Still worrying about that sect called the 'Qingyun Sect'?" Zhang Liancheng asked.

He had also heard Wu Xiangtian's confession just now.

"I wouldn't call it worrying." Jiang Ning shook her head. "Just feeling a bit sentimental, that's all."

"I can understand." Zhang Liancheng nodded. "After all, that place counts as your 'old home.' Now that something has happened to your old home, you must feel bad."

He paused, then asked tentatively: "Do you... plan to go back and take a look?"

Jiang Ning fell silent.

Go back?

In what capacity would she return?

To save that sect which was on the verge of falling apart?

She was no longer that small Qi Refinement Stage disciple who needed to rely on the sect for protection.

She was now the Chief Consultant of the Xia Kingdom's Reclamation Group and the highest representative of Earth civilization in the Immortal-Mortal Realm.

On her shoulders rested the future of two worlds.

Did she still have the energy to care about the life or death of a third-rate, insignificant cultivation sect?

From a rational perspective, she shouldn't go. It would be a waste of her precious time and energy.

But, from an emotional perspective... she couldn't just sit by and do nothing.

After all, back when she was at her weakest, it was the "Qingyun Sect" that had taken her in.

Although she had also solved many troubles for the sect and could be considered to have settled the karma.

But, humans are not made of wood or stone; how could she not have feelings?

Seeing the hesitation on Jiang Ning's face, Zhang Liancheng smiled.

"Actually, I think you should go back and take a look," he said.

"Oh?" Jiang Ning glanced at him, somewhat surprised.

"From the perspective of our Reclamation Group, we also need a suitable entry point to integrate into this world."

Zhang Liancheng analyzed: "The Wu Clan is too small and too weak; they can only serve as our laborers and sources of intelligence. But this 'Qingyun Sect' is different."

"Although it has declined now, after all, it was once a formal sect with a complete heritage, mountain gate territory, and fixed assets."

"Its foundation is far better than the Wu Clan's."

"If we can 'take over' it..." A shrewd light flashed in Zhang Liancheng's eyes, "And transform it into the first industrial base and talent cultivation center for our Earth civilization in the Immortal-Mortal Realm, that will have immeasurable, huge benefits for our subsequent development."

"Isn't this exactly what we are best at: 'mergers and restructuring'?"

"Taking a bankrupt enterprise from the old era and, by injecting new capital, new technology, and new management models, allowing it to regain its vitality, or even become stronger than before."

"This solves your personal emotional issues while also aligning with our long-term strategic interests."

"Killing two birds with one stone, why not do it?"

After listening to this analysis from Zhang Liancheng, which was full of the scent of a "capitalist," Jiang Ning couldn't help but laugh.

The lingering melancholy and hesitation in her heart instantly vanished into thin air.

That's right. How could she have forgotten this?

What was she best at now? Fighting and killing? No. It was Infrastructure Construction, climbing the tech tree, and playing with "industrialized dimensionality reduction strikes"!

Saving a bankrupt sect? Wasn't this just a perfect pilot project delivered right to her doorstep?

Using Earth's industrial model to transform a traditional cultivation sect. That sounded very interesting!

"You're right." A light reignited in Jiang Ning's eyes.

"It's time to go back and see those pitiful senior brothers and junior brothers of mine."

A meaningful smile curled at the corners of her lips.

"By the way, let them also see what is truly called 'money power.'"

Three days later. "Qingyun Sect".

The mountain gate was still the same mountain gate. It just looked even more dilapidated than when Jiang Ning had left.

The stone tablet in front of the mountain gate, engraved with the three large characters "Qingyun Sect," had even cracked.

All around, weeds were growing, fallen leaves covered the ground, and it was a scene of desolation.

A young Daoist boy, wearing a faded cyan Daoist robe, looking only sixteen or seventeen years old, sallow and thin, was listlessly holding a broom, sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.

Just then, a streak of golden light descended from the sky. It landed in front of the mountain gate.

The young Daoist boy was startled, and the broom in his hand fell to the ground.

He looked up and saw a woman dressed in black athletic attire, heroic and dashing, and unbelievably beautiful, standing quietly in front of him.

"You... who are you?" the young Daoist boy asked nervously. It was his first time seeing someone with such an imposing aura.

"My name is Jiang Ning." Jiang Ning looked at the young Daoist boy in front of her, whom she didn't recognize, and asked, "Are you a new disciple? Where is Sect Leader Lu Yun?"

"Jiang... Jiang Ning?" The young Daoist boy was stunned when he heard the name, and then his eyes widened abruptly.

"You... you are that legendary Junior Martial Uncle Jiang Ning?!" His voice was full of shock and disbelief.

Although he had joined the sect late and had never met Jiang Ning in person. But he had heard the legends about Jiang Ning countless times from the senior brothers in the sect.

Things like how she single-handedly took on the evildoers of the Blood Evil Sect. Things like how she could casually produce various magical artifacts. Things like how she improved the sect's Spirit Gathering Array, making everyone's cultivation speed several times faster...

In the hearts of these newly joined disciples, Jiang Ning was a fairy-like figure who only existed in legends!

He didn't expect to see her in the flesh today!

"Junior Martial Uncle! You... you finally came back!" After the young Daoist boy reacted, his eyes turned red, and with a "waa," he burst into tears.

While crying, he said incoherently: "If you didn't come back, our 'Qingyun Sect'... would really... be gone!"

"Those bad guys from the Money Gang are here again! They... they said that if we don't pay back the spirit stones today, they will... they will take away our main peak!"