Chapter 189: Cloud Cultivation, the Greatest Platform, Discarding the Donkey After the Mill!

"Fundraising? How do you want to raise funds?"

Qinghao frowned.

"Not to mention whether executing it would test people's greed……Just the fact that once it grows large, Honghuang's vast map means resources vary by region, and a single issue called fairness is enough to stillborn your fundraising."

"It's not scarcity we fear, but inequality!"

This Wu Clan hero shook his head. "Don't let it happen that when you do social welfare, you end up causing public outrage… Believe me, the Demon Race's higher-ups absolutely have the knack for exploiting loopholes, making your plans go bankrupt."

"Moreover, no matter how you raise funds and operate, it's impossible to make everyone strong. Cultivation resources, Daoist talent, comprehension and wisdom……Some people, even if given the opportunity, are utterly useless."

"Many people think that their own mediocre, useless life is due to bad timing or poor rebirth, that changing worlds or getting a cheat will let them immediately dominate and be invincible……They don't realize this idea is laughable; such success is less a personal achievement and more the result of external forces."

"So, your pure fundraising idea……still needs consideration."

"Hehe!" Fengxi chuckled, his expression a hint of "cunning" and "slyness," "These principles, I naturally understand."

"I don't want to test people's hearts at all, nor do I want to gamble that everyone has suitable talent, comprehension, and wisdom……"

"Therefore, my fundraising differs somewhat from what you imagined."

Fengxi smiled, changed his tone, his voice deep and solemn, filled with utmost sincerity, as if this vast hall had become a lectern stage, with countless beings present, listening to his inner voice.

"Cultivation——what is it for?"

"Is it for fighting and killing?"

"No!"

"It is to enjoy life and possess the ability to protect oneself!"

"But in reality, due to various factors, the strong and the weak face different circumstances."

"The weak need power for protection yet lack it; the strong roam heaven and earth, thus having surplus idle power."

"Moreover, because of racial differences, the gap in cultivation talent leads to differing difficulty in cultivation for each."

"Let the strong stay strong, the weak stay weak……Oppression and being oppressed nearly solidify into an unsolvable food chain!"

"I, Fengxi, have a great vow to resolve this era's perplexing ailments……Even without supreme power, unable to establish heavenly laws, or use force to bind sentient hearts' demonic thoughts……"

"But I will exert my utmost effort toward the ultimate goal, and first establish preliminary social welfare."

"Up to this point, the talk was still normal."

Qinghao listened calmly, unflappable, steady as an old dog.

"But after that, once Fengxi finished expressing his idea……he was no longer so calm."

"His gaze was strange, as if he'd refreshed his view of Fengxi, this 'good friend'."

"For example, by opening market channels, we achieve a connection of power between strong and weak, a rebalancing of resources and strength!"

Fengxi's tone rose fervently: "We will build a platform to allocate the surplus power of the strong, allowing the weak, after paying resources or luck as funds, to obtain combat power for self‑protection when needed—such as when oppressed—or to possess decisive strength when power is required to solve difficulties."

"And the strong, therefore, no longer need to engage in inefficient, unstable looting; by joining our system, they can regularly receive a share of resources, achieving steady progress in their cultivation."

"This is my social welfare enterprise, called——Cloud Cultivation!"

After Fengxi finished speaking in an affected manner, he returned to his previous tone: "Ha……Qinghao, what do you think of this idea?"

"Uh……" Qinghao pondered, wanting to speak but stopping, after a long while his mouth twitched: "Your social welfare……isn't at all about fundamentally strengthening everyone's power; you're just a porter moving resources and power!"

"What can I do?" Fengxi rolled his eyes, "I have no choice either!"

"Without a stable era, without a unified Honghuang supreme authority to command me, and without ample time to develop farming……How else can I proceed without taking shortcuts?"

"Moreover, my method—building the biggest platform to trade resources and power—can to the greatest extent avoid the regional disparity in cultivation resource output and each individual's vastly different talent……Once truly implemented, although there are no explicit legal rules binding the strong and weak, a stable interest bond can achieve, via another path, the goals the law seeks."

"The key is, we can still make a profit!"

Fengxi produced an abacus from somewhere and clacked it loudly.

"Platform!"

"If we could cover Honghuang……just think, at every moment such enormous resources and power flow through our hands."

"We needn't embezzle or skim."

"As long as we exploit the time lag, using the idle resources in that gap for investment and production, with such a large principal, how much profit could we generate?"

"Achieving the biggest platform is like having a hen that lays golden eggs every moment!"

Fengxi's eyes now sparkled.

Qinghao stared at him, speechless.

'"Why……is the style so strange?"'

'"A perfectly fine social welfare scheme, yet it's been forced onto a money‑making path……"'

'"Who did you learn this from, someone utterly devoid of conscience?"'

Qinghao let out a deep sigh.

"Our social welfare platform can actually expand its business further……" Fengxi's interest sparked, he waved his arms and continued, "Beyond mere power and resource trading, we extend the scope—for example, to connect cultivators who process cultivation resources and have diverse needs, letting aspiring cultivators purchase more efficiently and cheaply to get the best‑value products, we add a block outside Cloud Cultivation called Cloud Gather Many!"

"Is this also your social welfare?" Qinghao gave a sideways glance.

"Naturally!" Fengxi nodded vigorously, "Stimulating resource circulation and consumption, aiding small‑medium entrepreneurs, providing them the greatest market——vast Honghuang and the Myriad Heavens!"

"Of course……As platform providers, we have first‑priority trading rights and the clearest grasp of the market's direction, earning some hard‑earned cash from buying low and selling high……that's perfectly normal!"

Fengxi spoke with confidence.

"By the way, we could also use various little means to collect those trading users' personal info and social ties, then later target them with ads, keep an eye on their wallets, even subtly turn them into pawns for other purposes?" Qinghao chuckled, adding a sentence for Fengxi.

Fengxi's face stiffened, he gave a dry cough and laughed twice, "Ha……hehe……How could that be? That's not happening! I'm so kind and upright, how could I act like that?"

"Pfft……I still don't know you?" Qinghao shook his head, not believing a word.

"However, your plan is not bad; theoretically it's perfect, but putting it into practice isn't easy."

Qinghao pinpointed the crux: "Even if the entire Wu Clan backs you, it's still very difficult."

"One could even say, success thanks to the Wu Clan, failure also thanks to the Wu Clan."

"With the Wu Clan's existence, you can get this platform implemented, yet it will likewise touch the sensitive nerves of the Demon Race's higher‑ups, prompting them to crush it without restraint!"

Unless……

Qinghao spoke, then suddenly paused, his eyes flickering nonstop.

"Unless what?" Fengxi asked.

"Unless, there is someone who stands outside the Wu Clan and the Demon Race, barely counted as…… at the very least, on the surface a third-party great divine ability wielder, taking on this task." Qinghao said slowly, "The Wu Clan side cooperating with them, one in the open, one in the dark, they have a tacit understanding…… but this way, it's just sacrificing some interests in exchange for the implementation of the welfare platform."

"That's not impossible……" Fengxi pondered.

"From the perspective of the Wu Clan as a whole, naturally the benefits outweigh the drawbacks." Qinghao said, "But if that's the case, you here might end up with a lot more trouble in the future."

"Oh? Is that so?" Fengxi scratched his head, somewhat confused, "What trouble?"

"The Great Dao is a struggle, authority is a struggle." Qinghao laughed, "I see you focusing your mind and effort on karmic virtue and social welfare…… perhaps it's related to your future attainment of the Great Dao and becoming a Luo?"

"So for now, inviting a deity in is easy, but sending them away later will be difficult…… this welfare platform, sharing profits with that third-party great ability wielder and merging ideas, will easily become a struggle over the Great Dao in the future."

"The greater the benefits here, the less likely the other side will let go easily…… then there will be entanglements."

Fengxi listened to Qinghao's explanation, feeling torn inside.

However, in the end, he shook his head, "For now, let's put the clan's interests first."

"Being able to add such a key card for the clan ultimately outweighs my personal interests."

"Moreover, didn't you also say that?"

"This platform might succeed because of the Wu Clan, or fail because of them…… without bringing in a third-party great divine ability wielder to share the pressure, if the Demon Race goes all out to trip us up, I truly cannot build and implement it properly."

"After making the cake bigger and splitting it in half, versus not even getting any cake…… choosing between these two, I naturally know what to do."

"Just having this mental readiness is enough." Qinghao nodded slightly, "Only by seeing through gains and losses can one accomplish great things."

"Yeah…… accomplishing great things……"

Fengxi let out a light sigh and shook his head.

That's how it's said.

But to say there's not the slightest hesitation in one's heart would be lying.

Harboring a bit of reluctance, he tentatively asked Qinghao, "Eh…… if you were in my situation, what would you do?"

Qinghao glanced at him, then leisurely sipped his tea, "Of course, public duty comes first!"

"But……"

"After that great ability wielder finishes his work as a tool and builds the platform, then find a chance to kill him—what else is there to worry about?"

"Once the competitor is dead, we annex the remaining platform authority…… see, isn't that solving all problems?"

Fengxi listened, not knowing what expression to make.

Truly…… a hardcore solution.

Also very violent.

"This isn't easy, right?"

Fengxi furtively wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I'm just an ordinary little Wu cultivator; killing a great ability wielder…… seems unrealistic, doesn't it?"

"You should have some ambition!" Qinghao raised his brow, "In this era of great calamity, also an era of great opportunity—who knows, maybe one day you'll leap to become a supreme magnate!"

"Furthermore."

"Make good use of your background!"

"Behind you stands the Wu Clan!"

"By then, gather the troops, summon three to five hundred great Wu shamans, swarm forward…… any great ability wielder will be chopped into minced meat."

"In this era, you're either Demon or Wu…… neutral?"

"Neutrality means you're destined to be bullied!"

Qinghao spoke very bluntly.

"I'm just afraid that at the crucial moment he'll decide his side……" Fengxi delved into the discussion.

"Then we'll help him block that choice." Qinghao smiled faintly, "Leave him with no way to heaven or earth, rejected by both Wu and Demon, condemned by all under heaven!"

"When the great calamity comes, no one dares guarantee that they'll surely survive to the end intact……"

He said with deep meaning, "Even as mighty as a Demon Emperor or an Ancestral Wu, with power backing and followers, they could still die miserably…… moreover, it wouldn't hurt to add a few more great divine ability wielders."

Fengxi seriously savored these words.

After a moment, he let out a light sigh, "I've been taught."

Qinghao smiled, not taking it to heart.

Setting down his teacup, he was about to continue saying something.

But suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed the depths of his eyes, his expression slightly odd for a moment, then vanished.

Thus, the words on his lips changed, turning into a farewell.

"Alright, I've seen you, we've caught up…… I won't disturb your work anymore."

"Won't you stay a little longer?" Fengxi urged.

"No, no…… I remember I still have some unfinished business, so I'll take my leave." Qinghao said with a smile, "Here, I'll advance my wishes that you soon fulfill the practical requirements given by Ancestral Wu Houtu, and hand in a satisfactory answer."

"Thanks for your kind words."

Fengxi saw Qinghao out to the hall's exterior, waved goodbye, "See you next time!"

"Goodbye!"

Qinghao waved his hand and left in a very carefree manner.

Fengxi gazed into the distance, sighed, turned back into the hall, began planning, pondering how in the next practice he could build the 'Cloud Cultivation' platform he had just conceived, turning it into a social welfare program.

Although, once successful, the profits won't be small.

But…… you can't change its nature of benefiting all beings, can you?

Since that's the case, it remains a social welfare.

Mmm…… I've found the solution to the most difficult point; the rest is much easier.

Fengxi outlined the key points, praising himself, "I, Feng so-and-so, am indeed extraordinarily talented!"

He stood with his hands on his hips, very pleased.

But before he could feel pleased for a while longer...

The next moment, a large hand tore through the layers of void and rested on his shoulder.

Then, with a force—

Fengxi then realized he had appeared in a very familiar place, seeing a very familiar person.

——Houtu Ancestral Witch!

This Ancestral Witch looked at him with incomparable majesty, fingers tapping the table, "The time to test you... has come!"

(End of chapter)