Saddled with Debt

Chai Lun is a decisive person, and the two of them started discussing various technical terms related to Puppet Factory right there at the dinner table.

"Back when Teacher Che was helping the Immortal Sect Fourth Arsenal design weapons and assemble Puppetry using mechanical automation, I also went along to do odd jobs. I originally thought that Puppet Factory were something only large-scale operations like the Immortal Sect would use."

Chai Lun said with a sigh, "Using Puppetry to replace manual labor is a very luxurious thing."

Because there are many cultivators in the Immortal Sect, labor costs are low.

However, even the most ordinary first-tier Puppetry requires at least 100,000 Merit Points to produce.

The latest data shows that the average salary of Qi Cultivation Cultivator in the Immortal Sect is 14,750 Merit Points per person per year, while in Vermilion Cloud City, a remote city, it is even lower than this average.

In other words, the price of making one Puppetry was enough for Chen Mobai to hire a Qi Cultivation Cultivator for nearly ten years.

Moreover, the scope of use for Puppetry is very narrow; first-tier puppets can only recognize some commonly used commands, which is far inferior to humans.

If there are any advantages, it's that the Puppetry are absolutely obedient, never make mistakes, and don't need rest; as long as there's enough energy, they'll work endlessly.

"I plan to expand and strengthen my factory. After all, I have at least two hundred years of lifespan left. After a one-time investment in this Puppet Factory, I can recoup my costs in about ten years. Tightening my belt for a while in exchange for substantial future profits seems quite worthwhile."

Chen Mobai's words were half true and half false, mainly because the Puppetry was absolutely obedient to secrecy and would not expose his freeloading of resources from the Sky River Realm within the Immortal Sect.

"But it seems you're a little short on funds?"

Chai Lun put down his wine glass, looking troubled.

He had already read Chen Mobai's plan before he came. The cost of one hundred Puppetry alone would be tens of millions of Merit Points. In addition, the purchase and customization of new equipment and production lines to adapt to the Puppetry would require an investment of nearly twenty million Merit Points.

Of these, the "Heavenly Calculation Bead" alone required 1.8 million Merit Points.

"It's alright, I have a backup funding plan. Besides, my idea is to complete the overall plan first, so that I don't have to invest all at once. The Magic Artifact and equipment for making Talisman Paper Talisman Ink can be modified first."

"However, we mainly need your help, Senior Chai, to make the Puppetry and reduce costs."

"The main body and less important parts of the Puppetry are made of wood, which saves nearly two million Merit Points."

Upon hearing Chen Mobai's words, Chai Lun couldn't help but look surprised.

"While using wood can reduce costs, it also ages and breaks down faster. Originally, a Puppetry could be used for twenty or thirty years, but with this method, it probably won't even last ten years."

The most expensive part of a Puppetry is the Chip, which is the main controller. This thing is all about technology, and if you want to use the Heavenly Calculation Bead for identification and control, you can't cut corners.

Next is the drive mechanism, but since Chen Mobai has Spirit Stone, he can save a lot of money.

For the remaining spiritual energy channels, Movable Joint, adjusting gears, etc., the standards cannot be lowered for the sake of future maintenance.

However, for the remaining main body of the Puppetry, as long as the client has no objection, it is fine to use any material.

The most advanced material is the Bionic Materials in the Formless Puppet, which can perfectly simulate the human body.

Secondly, there are hard spiritual materials such as refined iron alloys, among which wood is the cheapest.

Because it breaks easily.

However, Chen Mobai himself is already an excellent Puppetry. He only needs to build the framework of the Puppet Factory first. Later, he can stay in the factory to maintain and repair it himself.

The other main reason is that he possesses the Divine Tree Secret Realm, where spiritual wood resources are almost inexhaustible, which he can obtain for free.

Actually, there is another issue here. Before using the spirit wood to make Puppetry, it is necessary to check the relevant documents from the Immortal Sect Forestry Bureau to ensure that the spirit wood has been approved and legally felled and sold.

However, Chen Mobai himself was the client, and Chai Lun was someone he had invited to make the Puppetry. He had already assumed that the junior's materials were all legal, so there was no need for him to do anything unnecessary.

However, to be on the safe side, Chen Mobai ordered a batch of spirit wood from a supplier in the neighboring Yumu City that he had previously cooperated with, under the name of the Soaring Heavens Talisman Factory.

This way, even if relevant departments investigate in the future, they can produce the relevant documents.

There might be some issues with the quantity, but in Vermilion Cloud City, Chen Mobai confident that with his background, the Immortal Sect Agency won't be able to find out to that extent. After all, Qin Baipeng has already provided a lot of policy support to help him settle down.

Moreover, once his business grows bigger and stronger in the future, Chen Mobai plans to contract a forest farm in Yumu City, where he can control the upstream and downstream supply chains and perfectly make up for this problem.

"I think I understand, but I still need your guidance on some key aspects during the production process."

After the meal, Chai Lun looked at Chen Mobai with new respect, and his tone of voice became quite polite.

During their conversation at the Puppet Factory, Chai Lun sometimes couldn't even keep up with Chen Mobai's train of thought, which meant that his mastery of Puppet Dao was no longer as good as that of this junior.

However, Chai Lun didn't have any extra emotions. He even thought to himself that Chen Mobai was indeed worthy of being the Chief of the Wuqi Dao Academy, Teacher Che's proud closed-door disciple, and the first Foundation Establishment in the Immortal Sect. It was normal for him to surpass him.

Little did he know that Chen Mobai's mastery of Puppet Dao was entirely due to the Enlightenment Tea.

"Senior Chai, you're too kind. I'll need your help to gather some Puppetry technicians to complete the basic framework of this Puppet Factory."

Chen Mobai knew that Chai Lun was truly capable, so he entrusted this business to him.

"Leave it to me."

Chai Lun patted his chest confidently, then immediately called his own company and asked them to bring various tools to Vermilion Cloud City.

After arriving at the Soaring Heavens Talisman Factory, the two signed a custom-made contract.

The agreement stipulated that one hundred Tier 1 Puppetry of the labor force type would be custom-made according to Chen Mobai's requirements, with a total price of 2.2 million Merit Points. Chai Lun's side would only be responsible for the production, while Chen Mobai, as the client, would be responsible for the procurement of all materials for the Puppetry. After the puppets were completed and passed inspection, the client would also be responsible for their maintenance and upkeep.

Knowing that Chen Mobai was short of funds, Chai Lun generously accepted only a one million Merit Points advance payment, with the remaining one million two hundred thousand yuan to be paid in installments over the next three years.

Chen Mobai was naturally extremely grateful for this.

A few days later, after helping to settle the technical staff of the Chai Lun Puppet Manufacturing Factory, he personally went to Yumu City to negotiate with several timber factories, making it seem as if he had really purchased a lot of spirit wood.

Since the Soaring Heavens Talisman Factory usually only needs to store Talisman Ink Talisman Paper and does not need a large warehouse, there was nowhere to put the first batch of spirit wood that was actually purchased after it was delivered.

But this was intentional on Chen Mobai. He used this as an excuse to ask Qin Baipeng for help, and rented a large open space outside the city to place the spirit wood he had purchased from Yumu City there.

Before each Chai Lun was Puppetry, he would arrange for people from the Talisman factory to come and cut the spirit wood into various lengths according to the requirements, and then transport it into the city by cart.

Most of the time, this open space where the spirit wood is stored is uninhabited, with only a simple Array Formation for enclosure and protection, which Chen Mobai added with a Mystic Mist Talisman for concealment.

Then he painstakingly bundled together the Red Sun Spirit Wood that he had cut down with the Primordial Yang Sword Sha in the Divine Tree Secret Realm last time, and then placed his hand on it, sending it here in batches through the Turtle Treasure.

In the Divine Wood Sect, the Red Sun Spirit Wood is used for burning as fuel.

This kind of spiritual wood has a mild temperature, and the temperature of the spiritual fire produced by calcining it is easy to control, making it very suitable for Alchemy.

However, in the realm of the Immortal Sect, it is already considered a mid-to-high grade spiritual wood. The Green Cypress Spirit Wood that Chen Mobai purchased from Yumu City is not even as good as the Red Sun Spirit Wood.

"Junior Brother Chen, the quality of the first batch of spirit wood is not very good. The Puppetry made from it will probably only last two or three years before they have to be scrapped. I think we shouldn't cut corners too much on this part."

Inside the Talisman factory workshop, Chai Lun pointed to the first batch of ten Puppetry he and his technical backbone had made from Green Cypress Spirit Wood, his expression not very satisfied.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, senior. We'll return all the spirit wood from this supplier and replace all the spirit wood from the second supplier."

Chen Mobai was originally thinking about how to naturally eliminate the Green Cypress Spirit Wood and replace it all with Red Sun Spirit Wood, Chai Lun's words made him go along with it.

"We have enough materials such as Spiritual Power Hose, Gear Plate, and Movable Joint, but the Main Controller Chip hasn't arrived yet. If we want to debug the Puppetry, we must hurry up with the materials."

Chai Lun was pleased to hear Chen Mobai's willingness to listen to his suggestions, but he still raised his requirements regarding the supply of materials.

"I'll make another call. If all else fails, I'll make a trip to West Xuan Cave Heaven myself."

The rest of the materials were fine. Chai Lun's Puppetry factory had its own long-term suppliers. After Chai Lun's introduction, Chen Mobai completed the purchase at the lowest price and the materials were being transported to Vermilion Cloud City in batches.

However, only the main controller requires the Chip factory under the Sky Mending Dao Academy to be perfectly matched with the Heavenly Calculation Bead.

Chen Mobai naturally called Lou Fengcheng again. The latter originally didn't want to talk to him, but since he had already helped with the first favor, it would be contradictory to refuse this small request. It would be better to just refuse when buying the Heavenly Calculation Bead.

Left with no other option, Lou Fengcheng could only help again by introducing a junior student in charge of Chip sales to Chen Mobai.

Out of respect for Chen Mobai's status as the top Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Immortal Sect, the contract for one hundred Chip for the master controller of first-tier Puppetry was also finalized.

However, the total value of this contract was only 3.8 million Merit Points, which was the least significant amount in the Sky Mending Chip Factory. Moreover, due to its low technical content and thin profit margin, it was not taken seriously at all.

Even so, Chen Mobai still needs to transfer the full amount after the contract is signed before the Sky Mending Chip Factory will arrange for processing and production.

Unlike the purchase of spirit wood, where payment can be delayed for a period of time until the end of next year, this is different.

The Heavenly Calculation Bead 1.8 million, the initial processing fee for the Chai Lun team was 1 million in Merit Points, and with the addition of various other materials and miscellaneous expenses, the Soaring Heavens Talisman Factory's initial capital of 5.8 million was no longer enough to cover the full cost of the Chip.

Chen Mobai lamented that he didn't have enough money; the items at the Sky Mending Dao Academy were simply too expensive.

Even so, it was already a discounted price, and I was only able to buy it through Lou Fengcheng's connections.

These most advanced technologies of the Immortal Sect have always been in the hands of the Sky Mending Dao Academy. If it weren't for the Immortal Sect keeping them under control, the prices would probably be even more outrageous.

Chai Lun the money for the production fee and paid it in installments. As for the other materials, since it was the first time they had worked together and Chai Lun had introduced them, Chen Mobai didn't delay payment to avoid making things difficult for his senior.

With no other option, he had to activate the backup funding plan. He went to the Immortal Sect Bank in Vermilion Cloud City again and mortgaged his Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror.

Of course, only the ownership was mortgaged; the right to use it remained in Chen Mobai's hands.

In other words, although the Immortal Sect Bank gave the Merit Points to Chen Mobai, it did not use the magic Magic Artifact; Chen Mobai still kept it for his own use.

However, if he fails to pay the interest or repay the loan, the bank will exercise its rights and have the Immortal Sect's Law Enforcement Hall enforce the decree to take the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror from Chen Mobai.

This is also the most common type of mortgage loan in the Immortal Sect.

If it weren't for the fact that this Magic Artifact was the only one he possessed with a clean provenance and a clear lineage within the Immortal Sect, allowing for thorough investigation by the bank, Chen Mobai would have considered mortgaging the Flying Sparrow Hairpin, the Gold Jade Axe, and everything else.

However, although Chen Mobai possessed the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror, legally, after his death, the ownership of this Magic Artifact still belonged to the Wuqi Dao Academy, meaning he only had half ownership.

Therefore, when using it as collateral at the Immortal Sect Bank, a consent statement from the Wuqi Dao Academy is required.

Chen Mobai had already mentioned this matter to Che Yucheng, who, upon hearing that there was a shortage of funds to build the Puppet Factory, hesitated for a moment but still approved it.

It was Chen Mobai who was the one to talk to. If it were anyone else from the Dao Academy, Che Yucheng definitely wouldn't have been so easy to talk to.

Half of the ownership of the Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror was mortgaged to the Immortal Sect Bank for 13.5 million Merit Points.

Despite being heavily in debt, Chen Mobai felt surprisingly relaxed. He took the huge sum of money and planned to personally make a trip to West Xuan Cave Heaven to settle the Chip issue.

"Senior Lou, this is Chen Mobai. I've booked a flight to West Xuan Cave Heaven for the day after tomorrow and wanted to thank you in person for your help..."

Lou Fengcheng, who was drinking tea, answered the phone and choked on his tea when he heard Chen Mobai's words. Suddenly, he felt as if ants were crawling all over his body, and he couldn't help but tremble and cough violently.

"Um, I haven't been feeling well lately, I caught a cold, so I might not be able to entertain you. No need for thanks..."

Lou Fengcheng immediately declined Chen Mobai's offer to treat him to a meal to thank him in person for his help. He then patted his chest and assured Chen Mobai that as long as he completed the Merit Points, the Mending Heaven Chip would be produced with all its might and delivered to him in the shortest possible time.

"Oh, okay then. If you ever come to Chicheng Cave Heaven or Vermilion Cloud City next time, remember to give me a call. I'll treat you to a good drink."

[Screw you, I never want to see you again in my life.]

After hanging up Chen Mobai's call, Lou Fengcheng immediately rushed to the Chip factory in a great hurry.